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Mysterious charvel
- Thread starter txthrashking
- Start date
A few years ago I picked on up just liked that! It was in pieces and came in a box. I paid $40 for it and the guy even gave me a badass bridge and a hipshot Xtender to sweeten the deal! I for sure got the better end of the deal!
The bass played like butter. It has a very solid rock sound. Well rounded but with a good amount of punch/clarity. Good luck!
The bass played like butter. It has a very solid rock sound. Well rounded but with a good amount of punch/clarity. Good luck!
Amimbari should be here soon to identify it. He has an identical (or almost identical) one I believe.
That is Metal Thrashing Mad!!!! Sorry could not resist, lol. That is one sweet looking bass. I hope you give her a good home!!
KramerBassFan said:I'll take a stab at it and let Mike (Amimbari) correct me later.
87 or so 3B......
Any specs?
its most likely a 1987 3B in firecrackle..
maple neck, rosewood board, poplar wings, Jackson monolith bridge, Jackson open back tuners, Jackson active P/J pickups and a JE-2000 two band preamp.. the switch tip is a Charvel diamond shaped tip..
these basses are of the same exact quality as the Jackson basses of the same era.. they have a wide/thin P shaped neck.. the headstock is huge.. it's not a light bass, it has some weight to it.. it's a very comfortable P shape, the body contouring is nice, although the edges are not overly rounded like a Fender..
tonewise.. it's an extremely punchy/concussive bass.. i have an 87 3B in black, although i'm running my preamp at 18v for more headroom.. i also shielded my control cavity with copper and soldered the seams and installed battery clips..
i've since buffed the scratches out on the body.. it's a great bass, overall..
firecrackle isn't a common finish and it seems that they are sought after, from what i've seen of past firecrackle.. no two are alike, afaik.. that one has a nice pattern and seems in decent condition.. if you can get it for less than 350, i'd snag it if i were you..
these basses have a intense concussive, punch holes through concrete tone.. utter testicular fortitude.. very few basses have this authority and richness of tone, especially for the prices that these basses go for..
maple neck, rosewood board, poplar wings, Jackson monolith bridge, Jackson open back tuners, Jackson active P/J pickups and a JE-2000 two band preamp.. the switch tip is a Charvel diamond shaped tip..
these basses are of the same exact quality as the Jackson basses of the same era.. they have a wide/thin P shaped neck.. the headstock is huge.. it's not a light bass, it has some weight to it.. it's a very comfortable P shape, the body contouring is nice, although the edges are not overly rounded like a Fender..
tonewise.. it's an extremely punchy/concussive bass.. i have an 87 3B in black, although i'm running my preamp at 18v for more headroom.. i also shielded my control cavity with copper and soldered the seams and installed battery clips..
i've since buffed the scratches out on the body.. it's a great bass, overall..
firecrackle isn't a common finish and it seems that they are sought after, from what i've seen of past firecrackle.. no two are alike, afaik.. that one has a nice pattern and seems in decent condition.. if you can get it for less than 350, i'd snag it if i were you..
these basses have a intense concussive, punch holes through concrete tone.. utter testicular fortitude.. very few basses have this authority and richness of tone, especially for the prices that these basses go for..
can't sleep after a gig tonight so I thought to browse TB a little....
ya I taught some of the others well
. that's a 87 or 88 the serial would be either C7xxxxx or C8xxxxx stamped in the last fret.
I wonder if that is my old one? ( hahha no it is not, the pattern is different ) --
.
rare? only because of the paint cause they made a ton of 3b's, I've seen a bunch of the lavacrackles in my day but not as rare as this one>
I never in 25 years saw another.
.
full specs?
86-88, poplar wings and a maple center, only one of the MIJ model series that is Neckthru. 34" 1-5/8nut, Jackson passive pickups and a j2000 preamp.
If you get it for less than 400 you got a deal.
ya I taught some of the others well
. that's a 87 or 88 the serial would be either C7xxxxx or C8xxxxx stamped in the last fret.I wonder if that is my old one? ( hahha no it is not, the pattern is different ) --
.
rare? only because of the paint cause they made a ton of 3b's, I've seen a bunch of the lavacrackles in my day but not as rare as this one>
I never in 25 years saw another.
.
full specs?
86-88, poplar wings and a maple center, only one of the MIJ model series that is Neckthru. 34" 1-5/8nut, Jackson passive pickups and a j2000 preamp.
If you get it for less than 400 you got a deal.
if you DONT buy it, and the price is around 350-450, let me know. I can always use another Charvel over here.
and if you wanna know what it sounds like?
I used it to record some tracks for a friends album using a boss compressor into a small behringer mixer into his computer.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
if you DO buy it, the TR wrench is a 7mm pipe.
.
there is someone right here on the TB classifieds who is selling a pearl white one for 300 shipped if your not concerned with the rare color, but what it sounds like.
and if you wanna know what it sounds like?
I used it to record some tracks for a friends album using a boss compressor into a small behringer mixer into his computer.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
if you DO buy it, the TR wrench is a 7mm pipe.
.
there is someone right here on the TB classifieds who is selling a pearl white one for 300 shipped if your not concerned with the rare color, but what it sounds like.
amimbari said:if you DONT buy it, and the price is around 350-450, let me know. I can always use another Charvel over here.
and if you wanna know what it sounds like?
I used it to record some tracks for a friends album using a boss compressor into a small behringer mixer into his computer.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
if you DO buy it, the TR wrench is a 7mm pipe.
.
there is someone right here on the TB classifieds who is selling a pearl white one for 300 shipped if your not concerned with the rare color, but what it sounds like.
Sorry I'm not letting this one slip through my fingers
I am diggin those tracks thought
Thanx for the info
Is anything on it active?
ya, the person playing it...lol
like the gang said, passive pickups with a j2000 2 band preamp.
so no, nothing active. A little heavier than most units, but it balances well and I never noticed it compared to my model2 Charvel bolt on which is my main bass and just as heavy.
The neck stays straight forever, I have used EADG/DGCF-normal tuning/CGCF, many different types of el-cheapo strings and never had a fret buzz issue with a tiny tweek of the TR from time to time. The nut will only accept a 110 max E string so no BEAD using a 130 unless you file out the nut.
even though I would love to have another one, Let us know when you get it
I'm the person selling the '86 Pearl White 3B here on TB. Everything stated about these basses is true. They are super solid basses with ultra stable necks. Only thing I possibly see not stated correctly is that these basses have Grover Titan tuners on them, they are heavy smooth and stable tuners. I got mine with one of the P pickup coils dead, so mine sports a set of EMG P/J pickups with the preamp running at 18 volts. They do indeed punch through like nobody's business, and with the NT construction they get the compression of this type of construction. I have owned four of these over the years and cannot say anything bad about these Japanese crafted Charvels. They all played as well as their Jackson cousins just without the sharkfins and custom options that were available on them. Please buy this bass so amimbari can buy mine.
Peace,
Mike
Peace,
Mike
if you DONT buy it, and the price is around 350-450, let me know. I can always use another Charvel over here.
and if you wanna know what it sounds like?
I used it to record some tracks for a friends album using a boss compressor into a small behringer mixer into his computer.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
if you DO buy it, the TR wrench is a 7mm pipe.
.
there is someone right here on the TB classifieds who is selling a pearl white one for 300 shipped if your not concerned with the rare color, but what it sounds like.
i didn't realize that the tuners are Grover Titans.. i thought that they were a Jackson import tuner..
they are great basses..
i thought that they were a Jackson import tuner.. they are great basses..
Oops apologies, I owned quite a few Japanese made basses in the eighties and later. I had to replace a tuner on one of my B-70 Washburn Rudy Sarzo Slammer basses (Ugly heavy thud stick) and found out they were Grover Titan tuners. Pulled one off my 3B took a caliper to them and they both matched. But in the 80's the Japanese were masters of copying an instrument down to the last detail, and still are. So they may have been copies, and excellent ones at that. Mike would probably be the authority on this and all things C/J. They are not as easy to locate these days and Hipshot has not had a detuner for them for a couple years now. Still solid hardware, my Sarzo had a defective tuner from the factory and Washburn replaced it no questions asked.Mike B.
i didn't realize that the tuners are Grover Titans..
they are great basses..
When I buy it ima swap the pj set for a emg x series pj nd keep the old pups for a project I have in mind
detuner? oh ya the device for lazy people that can't mute their amp for 6 seconds while tuning to a D before the next song starts..... j/k
I tune to DGCF, so I always thought it was a waste of money, but some people like it DADG.
I never liked a switch so I just used a blend knob on my 86 -- much more tone control.
And pickups? IMO I would use SD 1/4pounders, not emg-x
this one has dimarzios in it so YMMV.
I tune to DGCF, so I always thought it was a waste of money, but some people like it DADG.
I never liked a switch so I just used a blend knob on my 86 -- much more tone control.
And pickups? IMO I would use SD 1/4pounders, not emg-x
this one has dimarzios in it so YMMV.
I would like to state that the EMG X series pickups are a completely different creature than the standard EMG pickups. They have a different internal preamp that gives them a warmer tone with more natural sounding midrange. And they have a hotter output than the standard EMG pickups. I had a P/J set in a Spector NS-2A with the BTC and EXB wired at 18 volts that was stupid loud. EMG even says the X series only require 9 volts to do their job as designed. However, I do like the Duncan 1/4 pounders as well. I even like the DiMarzio Split P which is basically two high output humbuckers wired in series which run about 19K resistance and incredibly hot output to boot. But they do not make a J pickup to match that model last time I checked. As always YMMV. Just offering my personal experience with these various pickups.
Peace,
Mike
Peace,
Mike
