How did they do that???????

M

MalmsteenStrathead

New member
I played one of the new EVH Charvel`s yesterday and have just 1 ?...How in the &^%$ does Charvel achieve that low of action ( it was ridiculous ) with absolutely NO fret buzz, and a ton of sustain and resonance? Im tellin you guys, I have never been so impressed over a guitar like I was with this one. In my almost 20 years of playing, Ive always had to sacrifice 1 aspect or another with action issues and etc for the sake of sustain, tone and whatnot. But not with this guitar. I didn`t even plug it in, coz it sounded AMAZING just on its own "acoustic" merit. It almost p@#$ed me off thinkin that in all this time of playing, Ive never had a guitar that was SO comfortable & effortless to play & it wasnt sacrificing anything in the sustain, tone dept. I know everyone has their own tastes and preferences, but Ive never played a guitar that inspired me to play the way that one did, and Ive played just about everything thats been made. The various Charvel`s Ive had over the years ( even 2 San Dimas models) weren`t even in the same ball park as this
one. When I think of the money I handed out to techs over the years for a "great" set-up, and in the end, NOTHING Ive ever owned was the "dreamplayer" like this guitar. I`m still kinda miffed about it. To be honest with you, I was always dead-set against throwing out over $2000.00 for a guitar, but now, I may be having second thoughts. Still, it`s a shame in my view, to have to spend that kinda cash to have a guitar w/ flawless playability. Sorry,just wanted to vent & share the tale.
 
Re: How did they do that???????

Yeah, if you want an action that can be set very low with no fret buzz, the guitar has to be built to really high standards and have great frets..

That's one of the things where it's "you get what you pay for"..
 
Re: How did they do that???????

I think the EVH Charvels have a compound radius fingerboard.... That way they can lower the strings right down.... These Charvels are set up nice and you can tell they take their time working on these strats! The 2 i saw in Vancouver while i was on vaction were very nice!!!!! I could never afford the $3200 Canadian for one........ i plan to make a one as close as i can out of Warmoth parts....
 
Re: How did they do that???????

i'm in the same boat man...i own 4 strats now and none of them are as nice as nice as black and yellow #721 (yeah i remeber the number i loved it so much haha). i love my strats but there is something special about those evh charvels. it had the best neck i have ever played on a strat like guitar. also for a floyd strat it had a great acoustic sound to it which floyds tend to rob a bit of. the neck is a 12-14 radius in case you wanted to know. i still kinda kick myself for not buying it but $2k for a one hum strat makes it kinda hard to pull out the cash along with the fact that it's painted like EVHs guitar and i don't play anything like him hahaha.

-Mike
 
Re: How did they do that???????

Zerberus said:
Jacksons Rock, period :headbang:
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To be honest with ya man, Ive owned a few high-end Jackson`s, including a PC-1, and to me,they weren`t even it the same league as the EVH Charvel. I really loved that PC-1 and have always liked and admired Jackson Guitars, But I never played 1 that closely resembled the flawlessness of playability that the EVH had, or ANY guitar for that matter. But hey...we all have different tastes. :)
 
Re: How did they do that???????

XSSIVE said:
i'm in the same boat man...i own 4 strats now and none of them are as nice as nice as black and yellow #721 (yeah i remeber the number i loved it so much haha). i love my strats but there is something special about those evh charvels. it had the best neck i have ever played on a strat like guitar. also for a floyd strat it had a great acoustic sound to it which floyds tend to rob a bit of. the neck is a 12-14 radius in case you wanted to know. i still kinda kick myself for not buying it but $2k for a one hum strat makes it kinda hard to pull out the cash along with the fact that it's painted like EVHs guitar and i don't play anything like him hahaha.

-Mike
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If I could get one of my Fender Relic Strats to play like a EVH Charvel, I would be in exstacy. But, Ive tried....and it aint gonna happen. :yell:
 
Re: How did they do that???????

It's annoying because even if you buy a guitar that is that well setup, it takes constant maintainance to keep it that way, because the frets won't wear evenly :( I've learned to lower my standards a bit and I'm learning to do my own setup work.
 
Re: How did they do that???????

Great dude, there I was thinking "No it's too expensive, it's a strat, it's not worth gassing on, get a Wolfgang!" and you spoiled it for me, I'm building up some serious GAS after reading your review and reviews like these usually tend to be right about a guitar :yell: :smack: :saeek: :burnout:
 
Re: How did they do that???????

JohnJohn said:
You can set low action on any guitar without buzzing if you take your time and work it slowly.
Just dropping the saddles isn't enough,you need to watch the frets,the nut the relief and the neck seating.
My acoustic has action lower than most electrics,just took some monkeying around with it was all.
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JJ, Ive tried what you`ve just said for almost 20 years, and Im sorry, but thats just not the case. Ive sent numerous guitars to numerous techs as well over the past 2 decades, and nothing Ive owned compares to the flawless playability of a EVH Charvel.
 
Re: How did they do that???????

Neeradj said:
Great dude, there I was thinking "No it's too expensive, it's a strat, it's not worth gassing on, get a Wolfgang!" and you spoiled it for me, I'm building up some serious GAS after reading your review and reviews like these usually tend to be right about a guitar :yell: :smack: :saeek: :burnout:
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Dude, over the years, Ive played everything from Alembic to Zion, and no guitar`s playability, imo, compares to that EVH. A $6000.00 Ace Frehley LP didn`t even have the perfect playability of the EVH, imo. I truly don`t think you would be dissapointed if ya got 1. It blew me away on every level. The finest built & set up guitar Ive ever touched, hands down.
 
Re: How did they do that???????

I've put a lot of effort into perfect setups, and I agree that there's some guitars that have immaculate necks! As a matter of fact, my first good guitar was a San Dimas strathead Charvel that played that good. I've been discovering lately that the very best playing necks are ones with a flat 12-14 radius and smallish frets, often a bit smaller than Fender Am Std frets. With a nut that's cut to absolute perfection and the saddle height 100% perfect, the next step is to tweak the truss rod till the neck has almost zero buzz.
Then, intonate it so good that the 10th-20th frets are dead center on the tuner.

If you do all that, some very special guitars will be as good as that Charvel you played, and some will just play 'very good.' The guitars I've played that fall into that special category are my Black Beauty, sunburst McCarty, and Schecter US Custom Shop Tele.
The rest fall a bit short of that, but still play pretty good.

Also check out Suhrs, Andersons, Grosh, US Schecter, and other handmade guitars. Most of those can be adjusted to play like butter with no fretbuzz.
 
Re: How did they do that???????

After my last post, I spent about 1 1/2 hours doing the most extensive setup job imagineable on my G&L Legacy Deluxe. I worked on the nut slots, and spent an hour on the saddles and trussrod, and even the trem springs. I got it playing really good, but no matter what, I just know it doesn't play as good as that Charvel EVH you played.

I really like the guitar, but I'm starting to wonder what it'll take to make it play as good as possible. I think eventually I'm going to take it to an excellent local luthier and have a fret leveling and bone nut installed. This is the guitar.
http://www.bluestheater.net/G&L-Legacy.jpg
 
Re: How did they do that???????

I stand corrected on a point you brought up. Tom Anderson guitars are absolutely out of this world in playability & quality. The few I played were totally flawless and "heavenly" as well. :)
 
Re: How did they do that???????

That is good workmanship for you, and it costs and there is a very good reason for that.
Guitars are like that when you get the right people to make them, then it is of no matter what type guitar it is, it simply just works.
 
Re: How did they do that???????

My Chavel has the action set so low I can't bend the E, A, or D strings without them choking out on the next fret. Yet, there's no buzz in regular playing.
 
Re: How did they do that???????

William Walstra said:
My Chavel has the action set so low I can't bend the E, A, or D strings without them choking out on the next fret. Yet, there's no buzz in regular playing.
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That's no use.. :/
 
Re: How did they do that???????

nuntius said:
That's no use.. :/
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Hehe I know. That's why I raised it enough to be playable over the whole neck.
 
Re: How did they do that???????

MalmsteenStrathead said:
I stand corrected on a point you brought up. Tom Anderson guitars are absolutely out of this world in playability & quality. The few I played were totally flawless and "heavenly" as well. :)
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+1
They have the most perfect necks and setup, that I, have ever played. I've also been very impressed by a couple of very nice PRS's, but I think they were set up by a luthier after they were purchased.
 
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