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NGD - The Tale of the USA Select Charvel and the Mystery Pickup


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So as I divest myself of my Gibsons (save the two Lester's) and continue my descent into what is probably some sort of midlife crisis, I have acquired a snow white, Charvel USA Select SoCal.  I've wanted something that had a little more going on than 2 'buckers, and I lust after the Adrian Smith Jacksons and the Jake E. Lee Charvels.  When this popped up at an already solid price with another 15% knocked off for the July 4th Reverb sale, I bit.

So it showed up today.  On the plus side, it's pretty much mint.  On the negative side, it shipped with no hex keys.  OK, whatever.   But, why is the DiMarzio that is supposed to be in the bridge in the accessory compartment?  And for that matter, these single coils don't look like DMs either!  Well, shit, the only kind of guitar I even like DMs in are frikin Charvels, and I prefer them actually.  

*Goes to Reverb and re-reads ad.*

OK, so this thing is supposed to have the stock pups, but at least one of them isn't.  So I fire off an email asking if he knows what it is.  "No, sorry, I don't."

Nice... were you flipping this so fast you just didn't notice the pickup in the case?  Sounds stupid, but I actually think that is exactly what happened because:

Curiosity getting the better of me, I take the strings off and unscrew the pickguard.  Low and behold, someone has installed Suhr MLs in the neck and middle position and a Suhr Doug Aldrich in the bridge.  I don't have any experience with Suhr pups, but I know those are a bit more dear than the Super Distortion and two HS-2s that were originally in it.  Enough that it might be one of the rare times that an "upgrade" was arguably actually an upgrade.  I would have mentioned it were I selling it. 

As far as the guitar, even though it is a batch-made guitar rather than a custom order, the neck feels almost just as comfy and worn in as the CS Charvel I already have.  Fret work is equally awesome.  Soundwise, I'm digging the pickups!  The singles are really nice and glassy, and the bridge is pretty swell as well.  Overall, I found it played just like the CS that I've fallen in love with while sounding enough different that I immediately started thinking which songs it would be better for.  

2char.jpg

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I like USA Charvels. I’ve been through a few and they’ve always been very consistent, especially the neck carves. They feel great and have a big, aggressive tone. 

You lucked out on the replacement pups, Luc. While I appreciate transparency in used sales, many folks don’t know ( or care) about what they’re selling. 

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2 minutes ago, RobB said:

I like USA Charvels. I’ve been through a few and they’ve always been very consistent, especially the neck carves. They feel great and have a big, aggressive tone. 

You lucked out on the replacement pups, Luc. While I appreciate transparency in used sales, many folks don’t know ( or care) about what they’re selling. 

I'm crossed up on how many stars to give the seller.  Technically, his ad was completely misleading, but then, I feel like I benefited from it.  

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I could understand your review dilemma if he pulled the Dimarzios and put in GuitarFetish knockoffs, if you called him out on on a move to pull a fast one on you, and he did nothing to make it right on the back end. But don't penalize the guy because he made what is likely an mistake/oversight/whatever (that left potential net profit unrealized) with more expensive, less readily available and highly desirable pickups in the world of "hot rod guitars" (what is the mission and to who Charvel has marketed, with no changes in philosophy, for 40 years), in a non-custom shop, non-one-off assembly line piece from said original hot rod guitar company. If you hold back a star because you got a more hot rodded hot rod, you need to case the Charvel and go back to playing a Lester - and that b!itch better be bone stock, no "upgrades" LOL

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2 hours ago, Jeff R said:

I could understand your review dilemma if he pulled the Dimarzios and put in GuitarFetish knockoffs, if you called him out on on a move to pull a fast one on you, and he did nothing to make it right on the back end. But don't penalize the guy because he made what is likely an mistake/oversight/whatever (that left potential net profit unrealized) with more expensive, less readily available and highly desirable pickups in the world of "hot rod guitars" (what is the mission and to who Charvel has marketed, with no changes in philosophy, for 40 years), in a non-custom shop, non-one-off assembly line piece from said original hot rod guitar company. If you hold back a star because you got a more hot rodded hot rod, you need to case the Charvel and go back to playing a Lester - and that b!itch better be bone stock, no "upgrades" LOL

Well, it's a bit of a Kantian conundrum - yes the ends favored me, but was the spirit that led to them honest?  It could have just as easily gone the other way, and when it comes to revues, they are more to help future buyers more than vent my spleen I feel..  I think like that while I'm perfectly happy with the outcome, someone buying a guitar from this fellow might want to ask him to check under the hood rather than just getting the specs from a website.  

Let's say you were going to buy a guitar from this seller, and you knew he'd sold a guitar in the past that he listed with one set of specs and it in fact had another, even if you knew in that case it turned out to be a net plus, would you not be at least a little tempted to ask him if he checked to make sure the pups were XY or Z?  It could have just as easily gone the other way. 

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I'd say give him the 5 stars since it was a net plus for you, but describe that in the comment, so that 1)  If it is a mistake, it brings it to his attention and 2) Others are given the knowledge that it isn't exactly what's described.  If his other reviews are positive, I'd give the benefit of the doubt. 

 

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If you feel you are acting in the true spirit of protecting buyers by pointing out what I also think was an honest oversight on his part, go right ahead. I don't have a horse in this race.

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46 minutes ago, Jeff R said:

If you feel you are acting in the true spirit of protecting buyers by pointing out what I also think was an honest oversight on his part, go right ahead. I don't have a horse in this race.

That's actually why I am soliciting opinion on this, haha.  I'm curious what the peanut gallery here who isn't particularly invested thinks. 

 

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1 hour ago, scottcald said:

I'd say give him the 5 stars since it was a net plus for you, but describe that in the comment, so that 1)  If it is a mistake, it brings it to his attention and 2) Others are given the knowledge that it isn't exactly what's described.  If his other reviews are positive, I'd give the benefit of the doubt. 

 

I went with this, and even included the monopoly reference from here, haha. 

"Guitar arrived quickly and in great shape. The pickups weren't the stock pickups as advertised, but since it turned out that they were actually two Suhr MLs and a Suhr Doug Aldrich, I'm going to say that it was a bank error in my favor."

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59 minutes ago, LucSulla said:

I went with this, and even included the monopoly reference from here, haha. 

"Guitar arrived quickly and in great shape. The pickups weren't the stock pickups as advertised, but since it turned out that they were actually two Suhr MLs and a Suhr Doug Aldrich, I'm going to say that it was a bank error in my favor."

Nice!  I think that's well done. 

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If it didn't say there were "extra" pickups in the case just give him the 5 starts. And you scored on the Suhr's, no doubt about that. 

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Maybe give 5 stars but note that it wasn't entirely accurate. Unfortunately a lot of people selling/listing stuff really do NOT know. I can't remember how many people selling guitars have no idea whether they have the original pickups or not, or which pickups are actually in the guitar. I keep looking for Gibson SG Standards, and they changed around the pickups all the time, from the 490R/498T, to 57 classics, to 61 pickups (whatever those are), sometimes burst buckers. Also sometimes special runs were done for guitar center or other big retailers.

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