Anyone Know Anything About MIJ Charvel's?

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Picked up a MIJ Charvel Model 7 yesterday. This is a Tele-style body/pickup configuration with a reversed headstock.

Saw it at a pawnshop. Thought it was a USA a Charvel at the time, so I talked them down and bought it.

It wasn't till I got home that I confirmed it was MIJ.

I bought it with the intent to flip it, and I think I could make a little money off of it.

But it has good tone, compound radius maple fretboard, cool reversed headstock, and is fairly rare.

So I might just end up keeping it.

Anyone know anything about these guitars that would help me decide one way or the other?

Pictures will be posted later today

[cmatthes]

I know that they were made in Japan.

[Tres Aardvarks]

I had a MIJ Charvel neck that was pretty nice (since sold off to a friend).

[DBraz]

To be honest the Jap Charvels are good guitars. Mine has a Schaller/Jackson logo trem, Jackson Dimarzio pickups and is pretty well made.

It has a desert crackle finish one that was one of the first shred machines I ever bought and it is still going strong. It has been completely tortured and always comes back fro more. I have set it no fire (that was harder than it sounds without serious amounts of lighter fuel). It has been fully scalloped. I also used to spin it on the strap a la '80's and one of the strap locks broke. It crashed on the floor of the pub stage but without thinking about it we carried on and it was perfectly in tune. For that reason alone it's a keeper.

[FrettyMcgee]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: There's something about the old 80s Japanese necks that just feels right.

We need PIX!

[veatch]

I had a model 6 back in the day. Very solid guitars. I would play one today with pride.

[cspot]

Love them! Getting more collectable as people realize the quality.

If you ever feel like selling lemme say dibs!. The model 7 is popular.

Check out this site for lotsa good info. audiozone.dk/

Congrats!

[bubs_42]

I've owned Model 5 FX's, 5's, 1, 2, 3, Fusions, 750XL's. I was a Charvel Freak at one time, great guitars. The bolt ons were Pretty Good, the Neck Through one such as the Model 650's and 750's were really great guitars.

I was buying the Model 5's and 6's off ebay in the Late 90's for between $150 and $300. I had around 13 or 14 of them at the same time.

[murkat]

Top shelf guitars. Grover over shadowed the jap plant for sometime, making sure all were done right.

So right, that most models eclipsed the usa models. They are very nice, and no "asian made feel" to them.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

They were asking $450 for it.

They dropped down for $300, and then when I pointed out there was no sound in the middle position, they agreed to $250.

But now that I've looked at it longer and compared to other ones I've seen online, I think a previous owner stripped the top and tried to refinish.

So I guess I have yet another ugly but great sounding/playing guitar.

Pictures will be posted when I get back from a walk.

[Crimsontider]

Really nice guitars although I had a middle one. It was Basswood with the stock jackson pup's. Had a really good metal sound. Believe it was a 86 3A. I like my Slammer Series better, but a model 7 is a differnt story.

Here is the best place imo for information and specs. It goes year by year with each model.

http://www.charvelusa.com/charvel_model_series.html

[bubs_42]

Top shelf guitars. Grover over shadowed the jap plant for sometime, making sure all were done right.

So right, that most models eclipsed the usa models. They are very nice, and no "asian made feel" to them.

100% Agree.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

Thanks for the sites, guys...I used those to determine it was a Model 7.

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

The 3rd picture is supposed to show where a little extra stain kinda puddled and hardened.

Sorry for the blurriness on a few of the shots.

If anyone is extremely interested, I'll re-take those photos.

But it does sound great, and play great.

With that badly-refinished top, I probably couldn't get enough to cover what I have in it...but for what I have in it, it is a fun/cool guitar.

So I guess it works out okay.

[cspot]

Ouch, looks like someone tried to go all country on that bad boy. (Or tried to set it on fire ) Kinda looks like a familiar headstock mishap too.

Bet it still plays good though!

I love the look of beat up guitars, but I'm weird that way...

[Tres Aardvarks]

Dd somebody drag her behind their truck?

Bat guitars that play and sound great are still great guitars. I scored a scarab bass for cheap that looked like someone had taken a hammer to. Bass still played and sounded great, so I gigged it!

[specialk]

I like it, Nathan! Congrats on a good score.

[shredmeister]

MIJ Charvels are some of the best bang for the buck you can get. Great necks. I heard one that was beat to shit - fretboard had been hand scalloped to death - and that thing rang like a bell !!!

Shawne Lane use to play a 750XL. Can't go wrong with a MIJ.

[murkat]

J200 rail pup in the neck. My fav rail pup. do a push pull pot / series/ parallel with it. Bucker to single (noiseless, almost singly sound)

[Hamer_SS_guy]

I had a Charvel 750XL. Back in 1990 I went to the Musikmesse in Frankfurt and fell in love with a Jackson Fusion Pro. I didn't play it, just liked the visuals. Charvel had the 750XL which did resemble the Fusion Pro. I didn't buy one then. Instead I bought several Hamer's. One time in 2003, when I was in this forum already I had my interest in Hamer guitars renewed. I did play a Fender Strat mostly at that time, but I always loved cherry sunburst on figured maple. Someone posted a Cali in cherry sunburst here and suddenly I wanted a maple body Cali. I got outbid on a (mahogany) Cali on ebay at that time. So, mostly out of frustration I bid on a cherry sb Charvel 750XL and... won that auction. I got it and it was in a great shape and all original (except for a finetuning screw on the Floyd which was in chrome). It had those regular size Jackson pickups in it. I never had played a Charvel before. It looked great, but I couldn't get used to the neck profile, Also the sound wasn't what I wanted. I was used to the sound of the two Kramer Focus 3000 guitars I had (somehow I like old Kramer guitars better than Charvel/Jackson guitars). I still tried to find a Hamer Cali and about a month later I found a used one (even a maple body one) on the net. I kept the Charvel but rarely used it, the Cali was so much more what I wanted. A few months ago I sold the Charvel to a bandmate of mine, he is happy with it, so it was an okay deal for me (I sold it to him for 450 Euro). I really tried to like the Charvel, but I couldn't.

[Biz Prof]

Had two Model 2s in the late 80s-early 90s--both made exceptionally well. My first had an SD JB in it and served me well. The Jackson trem components were prone to disintegrating if subjected to copious amounts of sweat. Not a problem for me. I really liked the slotted screws on the locking nut, as you could easily lock/unlock with a coin or house key. I sold both whilst in the throes of a classic rock binge. Eventually picked up a Fusion Deluxe, which looks awesome, but is just an average player.

To me, any of the "Model" series, particularly those with the old logo, are a safe bet. I've played a few Model 6s that were incredibly well built.

[DaveL]

am sorry, don't think this is worth much. the necks on 80's MIJ charvels are actually worth a few bucks because

they're decent quality and charvel guys like to swap out parts/build mutts etc... but the tip of the headstock is

boogered, so it would have a limited appeal. the body doesn't help either... really clean ones would get

some interest. that said, I LOVE the MIJ pro mods...

but if you got it cheap and want to rock it, go nuts.

[stonge]

I wouldn't kick her outta bed for eating crackers, as they say. That would be a mean axe for thrashing in an alt - shitkicker band. Just sayin'

[Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame]

am sorry, don't think this is worth much.

but if you got it cheap and want to rock it, go nuts.

Yep, that was what I ended up talking myself into.

You can see the evolution of my realization that I wasn't going to be able to make anything off it as this thread proceeds.

But I'm okay with that. It sounds fantastic, and plays pretty well.

I'm going to follow Murkat's wiring advice, too.