2 Charvels or Not 2 Charvels. Is that a question?

[Maxi Funkl]

So ever since they came out a few years ago I've always wanted one of the Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas PJs in Mystic Blue.

I played two different examples at shops over the years. One at Nashville Used Music had pretty good fit & finish but it needed a setup BAD, and I wasn't quite sure that truss rod tweaking alone would get it to where I wanted it. It also had some deep dings on the bottom rim where some dope had mishandled it prior, and it suffered from a preamp with just a little more than normal self-noise or a lack of grounding. I showed them the dings and asked if they would come off the price a bit and they wouldn't even take $10 off the $1k price. Back on the wall it went.

Later I played a blue one at Guitar Center in Nashville and it was a great player but needed a fair bit of attention to the fret end finishing and was already cracked on both sides of the neck pocket in that little spot where Fenders frequently crack. Passed again.

Well, it looks like Sweetwater is trying to get rid of them now (I had already missed them at $650-700 at Franklin Guitar Works on Reverb), dropping the price to 899, and another 10% off Fender stuff, so $810. They had one blue one left. I called on Friday an asked if they could come down any further on the price, and brobeans got it to $789. Fair enough. I placed the order, but asked them to hold it until Tuesday so the bass didn't sit in a freezing trailer through the weekend snow storm that blew through. I picked Tuesday to ship so that any backlog in freight from the weekend would hopefully have a chance to work itself out. Cool. All good.

View attachment 7123687


Well... Sunday afternoon my buddy sent me this deal he saw at Adorama:


View attachment 7123688

DADGUM! $500!!!! And ONLY for this color. :/ I've owned three pearl white cars, and after blue/green tones, it's my next favorite paint finish. What was I supposed to do?! I HAD to order it!

So now I have two Charvels on the way to my house. I'm assuming these are being discontinued and we'll see something new to take their place from Fender/Charvel at NAMM.

Sunday evening, after I ordered the platinum pearl San Dimas, I thought about just settling for the white and canceling the blue one from Sweetwater before it ships, saving nearly $300... but then I thought about the experiences with the two examples I had played. I decided to leave both orders as-is and just wait to see what shows up. If they are both excellent, GREAT! I'll keep them both. If both are turds, I'll send both back.

But if one is clearly better than the other (meaning one has issues I can't quickly remediate and the other doesn't) then I will send the worst offender back and keep the other. I don't normally like doing stuff like this... with very rare exception if I buy something it's with the intent to keep it even if I'm not thrilled with it, unless it's just grossly defective or absolutely awful. Facebook marketplace is there for salvaging the rest of my poor decisions, haha! We'll see what shakes out, and I'll report back when they arrive.

So ever since they came out a few years ago I've always wanted one of the Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas PJs in Mystic Blue.

I played two different examples at shops over the years. One at Nashville Used Music had pretty good fit & finish but it needed a setup BAD, and I wasn't quite sure that truss rod tweaking alone would get it to where I wanted it. It also had some deep dings on the bottom rim where some dope had mishandled it prior, and it suffered from a preamp with just a little more than normal self-noise or a lack of grounding. I showed them the dings and asked if they would come off the price a bit and they wouldn't even take $10 off the $1k price. Back on the wall it went.

Later I played a blue one at Guitar Center in Nashville and it was a great player but needed a fair bit of attention to the fret end finishing and was already cracked on both sides of the neck pocket in that little spot where Fenders frequently crack. Passed again.

Well, it looks like Sweetwater is trying to get rid of them now (I had already missed them at $650-700 at Franklin Guitar Works on Reverb), dropping the price to 899, and another 10% off Fender stuff, so $810. They had one blue one left. I called on Friday an asked if they could come down any further on the price, and brobeans got it to $789. Fair enough. I placed the order, but asked them to hold it until Tuesday so the bass didn't sit in a freezing trailer through the weekend snow storm that blew through. I picked Tuesday to ship so that any backlog in freight from the weekend would hopefully have a chance to work itself out. Cool. All good.

View attachment 7123687


Well... Sunday afternoon my buddy sent me this deal he saw at Adorama:


View attachment 7123688

DADGUM! $500!!!! And ONLY for this color. :/ I've owned three pearl white cars, and after blue/green tones, it's my next favorite paint finish. What was I supposed to do?! I HAD to order it!

So now I have two Charvels on the way to my house. I'm assuming these are being discontinued and we'll see something new to take their place from Fender/Charvel at NAMM.

Sunday evening, after I ordered the platinum pearl San Dimas, I thought about just settling for the white and canceling the blue one from Sweetwater before it ships, saving nearly $300... but then I thought about the experiences with the two examples I had played. I decided to leave both orders as-is and just wait to see what shows up. If they are both excellent, GREAT! I'll keep them both. If both are turds, I'll send both back.

But if one is clearly better than the other (meaning one has issues I can't quickly remediate and the other doesn't) then I will send the worst offender back and keep the other. I don't normally like doing stuff like this... with very rare exception if I buy something it's with the intent to keep it even if I'm not thrilled with it, unless it's just grossly defective or absolutely awful. Facebook marketplace is there for salvaging the rest of my poor decisions, haha! We'll see what shakes out, and I'll report back when they arrive.

I have had the blue one now for 2 years once I replaced the preamp not a single issue. Hardware is excellent neck is wonderful if you love modern slim necks.

 

[scrivs]

My 12/24 GC $499 purchased mystic blue has one of the quieter I’ve heard. Everything looks hunky dory in the cav, love the neck, zero complaints

 

[musicman556]

Alright. the blue one from Sweetwater arrived. I took the Charvel box out of the outer shipping box and lit is sit for 3 hours to let it come up in temp a bit. It was about 25 overnight here, and about 50 degrees Fahrenheit when it was dropped on my porch. I ain't waitin' a day, but a few hours staring at the box while I work didn't hurt me.

The good: Fret ends are fine on this one. Fit and finish is excellent. Paintwork is beautiful. This really is a fantastic color and with great sparkle.

The roast on this neck is DEMONSTRABLY darker than the one on the white/platinum bass. I like it. It also smells delicious. Both have that nice roasted timber smell, but it's definitely stronger with the blue one.

The questionable: Sweetwater did ZERO setup on this thing. The pickups are WAY high and the action is to-the-floor low. Buzzier'n a chainsaw! Also, I immediately saw a disconcerting change of plane centered at the 11th fret when sighting down the neck, showing as an ever-so-slight backbow. That isn't helping the action/buzz/pickup closeness to the strings either, of course. For the moment, I'm going to let this keep getting up to temp until after dinner and re-inspect, then start with small truss wheel adjustments to see if this is something that can be fixed or if the next is not just roasted, but toasted.

I haven't even plugged either of these in yet, either. The last couple nights have been very busy but tonight is clear, so I should be able to spend some time with them and figure it all out.


I really love this finish

The fraternal twins. Put your hand over the bodies and just look at the difference in the color of the necks!

If the electronics on both of these check out, and I can get the neck/action on the blue one corrected, I think these are both keepers.

I have a strong preference for the blue, even at the $290 higher price I paid. If the neck adjustments work, then I have a great playing bass with no additional costs necessary. With the white bass, I have a trip to my tech and at least $40-50 to get it playable. If I find any issues with the electronics on that one, that would be the deciding factor to just go ahead and return it.

For now I'm going to get back to work, just enjoying the sweet and comforting smell of the roasted maple necks a few feet away.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

So ever since they came out a few years ago I've always wanted one of the Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas PJs in Mystic Blue.

I played two different examples at shops over the years. One at Nashville Used Music had pretty good fit & finish but it needed a setup BAD, and I wasn't quite sure that truss rod tweaking alone would get it to where I wanted it. It also had some deep dings on the bottom rim where some dope had mishandled it prior, and it suffered from a preamp with just a little more than normal self-noise or a lack of grounding. I showed them the dings and asked if they would come off the price a bit and they wouldn't even take $10 off the $1k price. Back on the wall it went.

Later I played a blue one at Guitar Center in Nashville and it was a great player but needed a fair bit of attention to the fret end finishing and was already cracked on both sides of the neck pocket in that little spot where Fenders frequently crack. Passed again.

Well, it looks like Sweetwater is trying to get rid of them now (I had already missed them at $650-700 at Franklin Guitar Works on Reverb), dropping the price to 899, and another 10% off Fender stuff, so $810. They had one blue one left. I called on Friday an asked if they could come down any further on the price, and brobeans got it to $789. Fair enough. I placed the order, but asked them to hold it until Tuesday so the bass didn't sit in a freezing trailer through the weekend snow storm that blew through. I picked Tuesday to ship so that any backlog in freight from the weekend would hopefully have a chance to work itself out. Cool. All good.

View attachment 7123687


Well... Sunday afternoon my buddy sent me this deal he saw at Adorama:


View attachment 7123688

DADGUM! $500!!!! And ONLY for this color. :/ I've owned three pearl white cars, and after blue/green tones, it's my next favorite paint finish. What was I supposed to do?! I HAD to order it!

So now I have two Charvels on the way to my house. I'm assuming these are being discontinued and we'll see something new to take their place from Fender/Charvel at NAMM.

Sunday evening, after I ordered the platinum pearl San Dimas, I thought about just settling for the white and canceling the blue one from Sweetwater before it ships, saving nearly $300... but then I thought about the experiences with the two examples I had played. I decided to leave both orders as-is and just wait to see what shows up. If they are both excellent, GREAT! I'll keep them both. If both are turds, I'll send both back.

But if one is clearly better than the other (meaning one has issues I can't quickly remediate and the other doesn't) then I will send the worst offender back and keep the other. I don't normally like doing stuff like this... with very rare exception if I buy something it's with the intent to keep it even if I'm not thrilled with it, unless it's just grossly defective or absolutely awful. Facebook marketplace is there for salvaging the rest of my poor decisions, haha! We'll see what shakes out, and I'll report back when they arrive.

I don’t feel guilty about commerce as long as you are within store policy and you aren’t ripping anybody off. Business decisions shouldn’t come with guilt. And businesses are well aware they are in competition with other providers. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose as long as they get their share they will be fine.

The question I have is why is a store offering the same instruments at 50% less than another store already offering the same model at 30% less than retail?

This would certainly give me pause. Sounds to me. somebody dumped a whole shipping container of these instruments \with issues on the market.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

I don’t feel guilty about commerce as long as you are within store policy and you aren’t ripping anybody off. Business decisions shouldn’t come with guilt. And businesses are well aware they are in competition with other providers. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose as long as they get their share they will be fine.

The question I have is why is a store offering the same instruments at 50% less than another store already offering the same model at 30% less than retail?

This would certainly give me pause. Sounds to me. somebody dumped a whole shipping container of these instruments \with issues on the market.

Well unfortunately these had electronics and grounding issues from day 1. Fender/ Charvel IMHO didn't address this issues nearly fast enough. If I were to buy another one because I love the necks Audere Classic would pre ordered. Might even try different pups quarter pounder or relentless but that's strictly a personal experience to see differences.

 

[markxander]

I have and love the JJ 5 string pro mod. The preamp was so noisy and bad out of the box that I thought it had to be broken. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough -- there's a dark
glass tone capsule in there now and it's my favorite bass.

 

[musicman556]

Alright, update time!

I decided to keep both basses. I like them and the prices were good enough. I took them to my buddy Brian Barrett at The LowEnd Bass Shop in Antioch/S Nashville and he took care of the fret sprout on the white one and set them both up for me.

The blue one he said could benefits from a fret level if I wanted the action absolutely to the floor, due to the mild humps in the neck. I generally have a little more action on my basses than others so I am leaving it for now and will see if it's a problem for me. He had it set up nice and low when I went to pick it up and yes, there was some extra buzz in a few playing positions. As I was playing at home testing it out I relaxed the truss rod a bit and it was great. My wife is a die-hard UK basketball fan, and a childhood friend of hers was with us for the weekend who is also a UK fan, and they both came to my cover band's show on Saturday night. I decided to take the new blue Charvel as they both thought it would make a great UK bass if I put a white "UK" logo on it, lol!

It played WONDERFULLY! I love the slim Jazz-ish neck (1.5" nut) and the electronics were good enough. I think (like everyone, it seems) that the preamp is what's holding this thing back from being absolutely epic. It's plenty think and meaty, but it's not really sharp and clear. It's not a heavy bass and I never really noticed it weighing on my shoulder through the 3 hour gig that turned into 4+ hrs because the audience participation was so great. I'm OK with it just as it is, but I think I'm going to take some of the tip money from the show and get an Audere 3 band preamp for it and see if that takes it from good to great. It will be cool to then compare & contrast the blue Audere-loaded San Dimas against the stock "platinum pearl" San Dimas.

Here is a little clip of the never-ending jam/chorus that is the back half of Journey's "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" from Saturday night.



@Zazie Moondust I can confirm that the passive mode IS passive. I took the battery out and pulled up the volume knob to passive mode and it works. I tried the passive mode both with the battery in and out, and the passive operation & sound was the same both ways.

Here are some gut shots from the blue one, and both basses are identical. I don't know why, but I thought when the second batch of colors dropped (the platinum pearl being one of them, I believe) later in production that they also updated the preamp. It didn't look like it to me.

The trim pot works in reverse. Clockwise is quieter, counterclockwise is louder. These basses were both set pretty hot, and I turned them both down to be more in-line with my other basses to help reduce futzing with compressor settings, lol. It definitely seems like an incredibly cheap preamp and kind of a wiring mess. I will say that the finishing work in the control cavity is good/nice.

I found no problems with noise, static, or grounding issues in either of these basses, and I am a stickler for quiet. I could freely let the bass hang with no hands on metal without worry throughout the gig.

I'm a happy camper!

 

[Maxi Funkl]

Alright, update time!

I decided to keep both basses. I like them and the prices were good enough. I took them to my buddy Brian Barrett at The LowEnd Bass Shop in Antioch/S Nashville and he took care of the fret sprout on the white one and set them both up for me.

The blue one he said could benefits from a fret level if I wanted the action absolutely to the floor, due to the mild humps in the neck. I generally have a little more action on my basses than others so I am leaving it for now and will see if it's a problem for me. He had it set up nice and low when I went to pick it up and yes, there was some extra buzz in a few playing positions. As I was playing at home testing it out I relaxed the truss rod a bit and it was great. My wife is a die-hard UK basketball fan, and a childhood friend of hers was with us for the weekend who is also a UK fan, and they both came to my cover band's show on Saturday night. I decided to take the new blue Charvel as they both thought it would make a great UK bass if I put a white "UK" logo on it, lol!

It played WONDERFULLY! I love the slim Jazz-ish neck (1.5" nut) and the electronics were good enough. I think (like everyone, it seems) that the preamp is what's holding this thing back from being absolutely epic. It's plenty think and meaty, but it's not really sharp and clear. It's not a heavy bass and I never really noticed it weighing on my shoulder through the 3 hour gig that turned into 4+ hrs because the audience participation was so great. I'm OK with it just as it is, but I think I'm going to take some of the tip money from the show and get an Audere 3 band preamp for it and see if that takes it from good to great. It will be cool to then compare & contrast the blue Audere-loaded San Dimas against the stock "platinum pearl" San Dimas.

Here is a little clip of the never-ending jam/chorus that is the back half of Journey's "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" from Saturday night.



@Zazie Moondust I can confirm that the passive mode IS passive. I took the battery out and pulled up the volume knob to passive mode and it works. I tried the passive mode both with the battery in and out, and the passive operation & sound was the same both ways.

Here are some gut shots from the blue one, and both basses are identical. I don't know why, but I thought when the second batch of colors dropped (the platinum pearl being one of them, I believe) later in production that they also updated the preamp. It didn't look like it to me.

View attachment 7136529

The trim pot works in reverse. Clockwise is quieter, counterclockwise is louder. These basses were both set pretty hot, and I turned them both down to be more in-line with my other basses to help reduce futzing with compressor settings, lol. It definitely seems like an incredibly cheap preamp and kind of a wiring mess. I will say that the finishing work in the control cavity is good/nice.

View attachment 7136533

I found no problems with noise, static, or grounding issues in either of these basses, and I am a stickler for quiet. I could freely let the bass hang with no hands on metal without worry throughout the gig.

I'm a happy camper!

I installed Audere Classic 4 Pre-amp in my PJ IV. The P is still hot my tech said it's due to the type of pickup how it's wound & sealed. The preamp was a massive improvement.

 

[Zazie Moondust]

@Zazie Moondust I can confirm that the passive mode IS passive. I took the battery out and pulled up the volume knob to passive mode and it works. I tried the passive mode both with the battery in and out, and the passive operation & sound was the same both ways.

Here are some gut shots from the blue one, and both basses are identical. I don't know why, but I thought when the second batch of colors dropped (the platinum pearl being one of them, I believe) later in production that they also updated the preamp. It didn't look like it to me.

View attachment 7136529

The trim pot works in reverse. Clockwise is quieter, counterclockwise is louder. These basses were both set pretty hot, and I turned them both down to be more in-line with my other basses to help reduce futzing with compressor settings, lol. It definitely seems like an incredibly cheap preamp and kind of a wiring mess. I will say that the finishing work in the control cavity is good/nice.

View attachment 7136533

I found no problems with noise, static, or grounding issues in either of these basses, and I am a stickler for quiet. I could freely let the bass hang with no hands on metal without worry throughout the gig.

I'm a happy camper!

Good to know, I guess there is just something weird going on with mine that it needs the battery to work.

I want to replace my pre-amp eventually anyway because something more flexible would be nice. Honestly I noticed today my guitar San Dimas has some weird unexpected wiring side effects too, (to be fair I think it's on Seymour Duncan that time) it's a shame because these are otherwise great instruments, but I mean I don't really consider either a deal breaker

 

[Yahboy]

Alright, update time!

I decided to keep both basses. I like them and the prices were good enough. I took them to my buddy Brian Barrett at The LowEnd Bass Shop in Antioch/S Nashville and he took care of the fret sprout on the white one and set them both up for me.

The blue one he said could benefits from a fret level if I wanted the action absolutely to the floor, due to the mild humps in the neck. I generally have a little more action on my basses than others so I am leaving it for now and will see if it's a problem for me. He had it set up nice and low when I went to pick it up and yes, there was some extra buzz in a few playing positions. As I was playing at home testing it out I relaxed the truss rod a bit and it was great. My wife is a die-hard UK basketball fan, and a childhood friend of hers was with us for the weekend who is also a UK fan, and they both came to my cover band's show on Saturday night. I decided to take the new blue Charvel as they both thought it would make a great UK bass if I put a white "UK" logo on it, lol!

It played WONDERFULLY! I love the slim Jazz-ish neck (1.5" nut) and the electronics were good enough. I think (like everyone, it seems) that the preamp is what's holding this thing back from being absolutely epic. It's plenty think and meaty, but it's not really sharp and clear. It's not a heavy bass and I never really noticed it weighing on my shoulder through the 3 hour gig that turned into 4+ hrs because the audience participation was so great. I'm OK with it just as it is, but I think I'm going to take some of the tip money from the show and get an Audere 3 band preamp for it and see if that takes it from good to great. It will be cool to then compare & contrast the blue Audere-loaded San Dimas against the stock "platinum pearl" San Dimas.

Here is a little clip of the never-ending jam/chorus that is the back half of Journey's "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" from Saturday night.



@Zazie Moondust I can confirm that the passive mode IS passive. I took the battery out and pulled up the volume knob to passive mode and it works. I tried the passive mode both with the battery in and out, and the passive operation & sound was the same both ways.

Here are some gut shots from the blue one, and both basses are identical. I don't know why, but I thought when the second batch of colors dropped (the platinum pearl being one of them, I believe) later in production that they also updated the preamp. It didn't look like it to me.

View attachment 7136529

The trim pot works in reverse. Clockwise is quieter, counterclockwise is louder. These basses were both set pretty hot, and I turned them both down to be more in-line with my other basses to help reduce futzing with compressor settings, lol. It definitely seems like an incredibly cheap preamp and kind of a wiring mess. I will say that the finishing work in the control cavity is good/nice.

View attachment 7136533

I found no problems with noise, static, or grounding issues in either of these basses, and I am a stickler for quiet. I could freely let the bass hang with no hands on metal without worry throughout the gig.

I'm a happy camper!

I remove the preamp and mod the Charvel PJ to fully passive Volume/Blend only. Tone became lively and crisp plus better dynamic.