PSA: Charvel Model 6 at Elderly

[MCChris]

For you '80s obsessed (and perhaps slightly effeminate) fellas:

http://www.elderly.com/charvel-model-6-1980-s.htm

Seems like a good price too.

[kizanski]

Yeah, I don't have the hair for that.

[diablo175]

Interesting adaptation to the JT-6 tremolo. Never saw that done before.

 

 

 

 

[MCChris]

18 minutes ago, diablo175 said:

Interesting adaptation to the JT-6 tremolo. Never saw that done before.

When I worked at GC in the early '90s we had a King V with that trem on it. Maybe a few other Jacksons as well.

[diablo175]

Agreed- the stamped trem is not uncommon- I owned a Charvel Model 3A and a Jackson San Dimas with the JT-6 on them. The modification to the string screws is uncommon. Notice how they protrude out the back of the barrel? It looks like someone added OFR style/length screws. They normally look like this:

[velorush]

Wow! That brings back memories! When friends opened a Charvel (and Ibanez and KMC) dealership in '86 I just had to have a shredder. But, having just snapped the headstock on my SG, I wanted nothing to do with another set-neck guitar, so I bought a 3A (HH) followed by a 3 (SSH). I thought those were great guitars and my first and only Floyd'd guitars.

The clear has yellowed a good bit on that one. I always liked the color choices of the Ibanez guitars better, but I much preferred the how the Charvels played so that's what I wound up with.

[devrock]

Holy sh*t they have some used nuggets that are KILLING me! A white ESP DV8?? ARGH!

[MCChris]

6 minutes ago, devrock said:

Holy sh*t they have some used nuggets that are KILLING me! A white ESP DV8?? ARGH!

They always do, and I don't mind letting you guys in on the secret. Means fewer nuggets to tempt me into parting with more of my money.

[Funky Chicken]

I had a Jackson Soloist that was almost identical to that guitar except it had EMGs and a Kahler on it. Same finish, headstock, inlays, and switching. 

Not surprisingly, I had a fabulous mullet as well. 

[velorush]

I wound up with EMGs (SA/SA/85) in my Model 3, as well, with an SPC replacing the Tone control.  A really versatile setup.

At the end of the summer of '86 I created what I called "The Ultimullet.^TM"  I'd grown my hair all summer long (actually from the middle of Spring Quarter) and went, toward the end of summer session to the barber and had him give me a crew cut over the entire front (the back was down to my shoulders by then. I went home the next week and the very sight of it made my mom cry.

That was the end of the Ultimullet.^TM 

[carfish7]

Prolly replacement lock screws. The originals strip super easy. 

I have the same guitar in a more traditional color less the neck through (Model 4) that will be hitting the FS section soon. I have no quarrel with the JT trem and LOVE the pickups and variable mid-boost. Awesome MIJ axes for sure.

[slipstream]

I've had mine for a while and added stainless frets, a Floyd and Duncan RTM.  Crank it through an old Boogie Mark III and you have serious neighbor issues!

[sirDaniel]

mid boost?

[devrock]

A white Model 6 is def on my GAS list. But, for whatever reason, it has to have a Kahler. That pink champaigne finish is atrocious.

[slipstream]

I gutted mine for Duncans and an EMG A/B switch, much better all around,  A Kahler nut finished the job.

 

[carfish7]

7 hours ago, sirDaniel said:

mid boost?

Indeed. The second "tone" knob gives a variable boost that does a great job of fattening up the tone and drives the amp harder. The J200 stacked pickups in the middle and neck sound great to my ears too.

[Jeff R]

The Model 6s were just (very, very well) Japanese-made Soloists with rosewood fingerboards instead of ebony, and an incredible value then AND now.

Agreed that it appears the original JT-6 butt screws were replaced with Floyd screws, which would not surprise me at all. The JT-6 units were made with cheap shit metal compared to Floyds and stuff would strip out and not be readily available, again then OR now. Part of the reason if I was shopping for a Model 6 or 5, I'd pursue a first-generation run with the Kahler Pro, or do a full Floyd conversion (especially that HORRID, ABSOLUTELY SUCK behind-the-nut string lock design) if it was a JT-6-era one.

Which makes me think about the first generation 3s and 4s and the dreaded Kahler Fulcrum. Which is enough of an argument to make anyone block the trem unit entirely. POS.

 

[diablo175]

11 hours ago, slipstream said:

I gutted mine for Duncans and an EMG A/B switch, much better all around,  A Kahler nut finished the job.

 

This is like the reverse of Cantrell's Rampage. My understanding of the issues relating to the behind-the-nut lock are that the strings tend to bind in the nut and you end up getting tuning issues regardless of whether they're locked down behind. Jerry Cantrell opted for Floyd locking nut vs. the Kahler behind-the-nut string lock on several of his Kahler bridge equipped axes. The blurb on G & L's Rampage says it was chosen by Cantrell because of it's superior stability (tuning) and sustain.

[carfish7]

No tuning issues for me whatsoever. A little "Nut Sauce" in the right grooves, make sure you know how to string/stretch/get comfy a Floyd setup and that fraction of an inch between the nut and locking point is moot.

Frets on the Net has those screws(and other JT6 bits) but they are not an exact replacement. They also don't stick out like the Floyd bits do so there is that. Oh, and a OFR drops right in I believe.

[Jeff R]

An OFR will drop right in there without mods using the original studs, I've done it twice over the years, but I did notice the range of the trem was affected by the stud design, the "lips" at the contact points, compared to OFR studs. Not as much wiggle room, literally haha! Both of my drop-ins included tolerating that horrid JT-6 string lock. If I would have done the right thing and pulled that piece of shit and replaced with a true Floyd nut, I probably would have pulled the JT-6 stud assemblies and put in Floyd studs after a dowel and re-drill.

What I just described is the exact solution I'm getting ready to apply to a client's second-generation Model 3 in the near future. We're definitely getting rid of that absolute piece of shit string lock (can you tell I detest them?) and I'll be creating and applying a small maple headstock shelf to make the OFR nut come together on it right. After that, we'll see how the OFR is behaving on the JT-6 studs for the client's tastes. If he wants the full range of play, we'll address the posts at that time.

Brief bullet essay: "Why I Detest the Absolutely Horrid Piece-of-Shit Jackson JT-6 Behind-The-Nut String Lock" by Jeff R.

• I prefer true locking nuts vs. behind-the-nut locking systems. The latter's extra friction points and potential for poor alignment between the two pieces is asking for tuning problems. Also, trivial, but I like using bigger, more robust screws and wrenches. Less change for strippage.
• It is an oversized eyesore. Those ridiculous stock screws that were to allow you to lock and unlock with a penny, marketing bah-hah, you HAVE to use a flat-head screwdriver in most cases, you just keep reading for the why ...
• Cheap pot metal shit on the JT-6 unit, Particularly on the clamp pads inside the assembly. Even the rare ones with somehow good alignment in relation to the strings and headstock (more on that) develop premature string grooves and no longer clamp the strings effectively. The cheap ass screws that attach the unit to the headstock are prone to strip their heads too, even using good and properly sized Phillips head screwdrivers.
• The string angles exiting the clamps are all over the place thanks to the pointy headstock and no string trees or employment of a retainer bar. Strings end up poorly aligned with the unit's internal clamp pads. Strings barely making contact or even missing some pads entirely (G and high E strings typically notorious) and/or butting up again the clamp screw (B string in this case), getting embedded in the screw's thread and not clamping because of it. Because of this incredible lack of engineering foresight ...
• The stupid fucker eyesore does not work.
• To make it work properly in un- or barely modified form, you have to do certain things as you bring the guitar up to tuning pitch and certain other things as you lock the mechanism, and often those things have to be repeated two or three times to get things right and to maintain adequate range for the bridge's fine tuners. And to make the shit hold when you "do" line things up, you have to lock with a flathead, meaning excessive torque on those pot-shit pads and that pot-shit assembly.

I hate those fuckers. I'd prefer to repeatedly slam my hand in a car door than deal with them.

[carfish7]

Well, yes - what he said. I agree fully with all of it except the part about banging my head repeatedly. There IS a drill to get the B and E to lock properly. Poor design to be sure.

[devrock]

So, Jeff, if I'm reading this right, you're not a fan of the JT6 locking nuts?

[diablo175]

Well, there ya go. Jeff systematically and decidedly cited everything I disliked (and even some I didn't know) about the JT6 trems.

[slipstream]

Frets on the Net has replacement studs that solve the range of motion issue which is what I installed.

[bigolsparky]

On 4/7/2016 at 10:39 PM, devrock said:

A white Model 6 is def on my GAS list. But, for whatever reason, it has to have a Kahler. That pink champaigne finish is atrocious.

Model 6 with Kahler in ATL.