2021 Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Bass

[Ryan L.]

Nice! Oh how you have cleaned up that terrible stock spaghetti mess that inhabited the cavity previously. Well done! I have no idea how a bass could come out of the factory like that stock. EMG rules!

Yeah...I'm not impressed with the mess in my 5 string's cavity either. It's dead silent, and the preamp is quite usable. However....
I'm pretty sure mine is going to get an Audere 4 band sooner rather than later anyway. Not because there's a problem with the stock preamp, it's just that I love the 4 band Audere (my other 3 jazz basses have the Audere pre's in them).

 

[mysteryclock]

Nice! Oh how you have cleaned up that terrible stock spaghetti mess that inhabited the cavity previously. Well done! I have no idea how a bass could come out of the factory like that stock. EMG rules!

Thanks! I've seen a lot of what I'd call "mid-priced" basses come with the most godawful wiring nests when you remove the control plate. I've never figured out why more of them didn't go with the EMG-style quick connectors since they really are "quick" and don't require the same skill level as good soldering to put together.

 

[mysteryclock]

Yeah...I'm not impressed with the mess in my 5 string's cavity either. It's dead silent, and the preamp is quite usable. However....
I'm pretty sure mine is going to get an Audere 4 band sooner rather than later anyway. Not because there's a problem with the stock preamp, it's just that I love the 4 band Audere (my other 3 jazz basses have the Audere pre's in them).

With passive pickups the Audere's are probably my favorite preamp! They really work magic with Barts.

 

[mysteryclock]

BTW, if there's anyone out there like me who hates soldering (or just isn't that good at it) I've used Invalid Link Removed with absolutely 100% success for years. They make a durable mechanical connection and are gel-filled so they should be moisture resistant as well. The only skill required is a little wire stripping, which might (theoretically) not even be required but I do it anyway.

 

[Ryan L.]

With passive pickups the Audere's are probably my favorite preamp! They really work magic with Barts.

I agree. They really work *great* with the Nordstrand, Aguilar, and SD Basslines pickups in my Fenders, so I can't imagine the DiMarzios in this Charvel won't shine with one too.

 

[redstrand]

big fan of audere too

 

[MasterG]

What's everybody's out of the box action on these things. My local store has the green and blue four strings and the action is damn near a 1/2" at the twelfth fret on both of em. The necks are straight as an arrow though so that's not affecting it.

 

[trickyric]

I think this speaks to the QC more than anything. However today I'm filming the "fix" video where I take it apart, shield everything, and see if we can bring down the buzz wish me luck!

your video on this was great..
But, like the other guys said, mine was perfect out of the box too.... glad you put a fix out there though

 

[trickyric]

Nice! Oh how you have cleaned up that terrible stock spaghetti mess that inhabited the cavity previously. Well done! I have no idea how a bass could come out of the factory like that stock. EMG rules!

I think Fender is having a tough time with Covid too.. not the disease, the government intervention on their work force.
I purchased a Fender Jazz Ultra and it came with a dead rear pickup... I dropped it at the authorized service center and it took fender 2 months to get them the part for a new bass.... the other option was returning it.. but I wanted the color and getting another one was going to be a nightmare.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

think Fender is having a tough time with Covid too.. not the disease, the government intervention on their work force

The Charvel is MIM, no?

 

[trickyric]

The Charvel is MIM, no?

Yes, like 175 miles from Corona Cali. Transporting parts and shipping them around was a nightmare.. add another country and it got even worse.. once you added a border shipping became crazy.. that is why car dealers are having a rough time getting inventory...
My local guitar store is out of Fenders.. the owner told me his orders are not arriving...

 

[Ryan L.]

Yes, like 175 miles from Corona Cali. Transporting parts and shipping them around was a nightmare.. add another country and it got even worse.. once you added a border shipping became crazy.. that is why car dealers are having a rough time getting inventory...
My local guitar store is out of Fenders.. the owner told me his orders are not arriving...

My local store is having a heck of a time getting inventory. The PRS import stuff, Yamaha, Jackson, etc...I asked them about a 'burst Yamaha BB735A when I bought my Charvel, and he said he's had one on order for a few months, with no hint as to when it'll get there. Amps, guitars, basses, etc are all taking forever to show up.

 

[nismaniac]

i'm really interested in one of these basses, not only do they look amazing but from videos and soundcips, they seem to sound really good. One question for those of you with the 5 string, is it actually a 35in scale bass? I only ask this ridiculous question because a few years ago i bought one the Jackson CBXM V Ellefson basses and all the websites and specs listed 35in scale but after I got it I realized it was 34in scale bass...pretty crazy and disapointing. Anyway, thanks for the info!!!

 

[Joeykun]

@Ryan L. Is the string spacing on the 5 string 17.5mm?

 

[Richard I]

I'm really curious about those basses...I'm loving them, really
I wanted a 4 strings, lime green PJ, but I'm currently/going to be in need of a 5 strings. It bothers me a bit spending over 1000 euros (IInd hand)/1500 euros (new) for something made in Asia, like Lakland's Skyline series.
Pleasantly surprised about the 35" scale of the Charvel V, that may be the winner. Looking forward to hear something more from your Charvels

(I know I'll end up buying both the IV and the V...)

 

[madmaxreach]

Hey folks,

I got one of the 5 string Charvel JJ's brand new in the mail yesterday. Overall, I really like the instrument - it sounds good, feels good, fretwork is pretty good. I saw some reviews that complained of noisy electronics; mine is perfectly silent, thankfully.

Action was ok out of the box; i did need to put a shim in the heel of the neck to get the 12th fret action into an acceptable range. It feels great and intonates perfectly after that.

However....

Scale length.... it's advertised as having a 35" scale length, but it is in fact 34" scale length. I'm probably going to keep it because I like it anyway (what I really wanted was the Dimarzio J's, wider string spacing and the compound radius fretboard), but if the 35" scale length is important to you, steer clear.

I'll probably email Charvel to see what they say about it...

 

[LowEndLobster]

Here are my latest videos on the Charvel. The Darkglass mod came out great!

 

[trickyric]

Here are my latest videos on the Charvel. The Darkglass mod came out great!

didn't you sell this one? or was that another one?

 

[LowEndLobster]

didn't you sell this one? or was that another one?

Great question. I had two of these. First one was returned due to a failed preamp, second one is the one you see in the review, shielding vid, preamp deep dive, and darkglass video above. The second one has since been sold.

 

[trickyric]

Great question. I had two of these. First one was returned due to a failed preamp, second one is the one you see in the review, shielding vid, preamp deep dive, and darkglass video above. The second one has since been sold.

I am enjoying the videos btw