Chistopher
malapterurus electricus tonewood instigator
I finally got my new Charvel, and I must say it is the nicest bass I've played, it definitely feels like a 4-digit price range bass, even though I only payed $999!
Tuners are great, fit and finish are phenomenal, knobs turn easily, bridge is solid heavy and well made.
The neck is the best thing about it. The edges are heavily rolled, making it extremely comfortable to play. Also I've never on a guitar noticed a major difference with compound radius necks, but it makes a HUGE improvement on this bass.
The 3 band EQ is very flexible, capable of making minor differences and less subtle changes that are surprisingly easy to dial in.
The pickups are great and I have a wide range of tones between the P and J pickups. Anywhere from rumble to bright and clear. I don't know how big a difference the reverse P pickup makes, as I've never heavily played a P bass before.
Only two issues I had with it, two spots on the fretboard look liked the frets had created "tan lines" where the maple didn't fully caramelize. I know that's not a technically accurate portrayal of what goes on, but that's what it looks like. It's actually kind of cool. The other problem was the blend knob was "backwards". Turning it to the left turned the bridge on and turning right turned the neck on.
