Charvel San Dimas and So-Cal Guitars

[@satchitysatch]

Mine arrived today and it is fantastic So Cal in snow white it plays like butter, the floyd is a cheap one but it works fine, I would quite happily have paid the money for the neck alone, well chuffed.

[@colmonic]

I tried one of these the other day. I've been playing 21 years now and i've been through ibanez rg's, hamers, musicman, washburn all kinds. I couldn't believe how comfortable it was! It really felt like an old friend! It reminded me of hanging out in shops in the 90's and trying out all my dream axes and pissing off whoever the missus was at the time ( I still do). I can't recommend one enough and no I don't work for Charvel or who ever owns it now. They really are great guitars.

[@DavidMorley]

Dimarzio and So Cal for me. Classic Charvel tone.

[@FloydRose89]

These guitars are so versatile, especially So Cal model, although i have no money for it, i still think they are affordable, as he says. BTW this guy deserves much more attention, then the one he gets as a guitar presenter, he can play for sure!

[@andrewarriola904]

love to hear Paul shred love the guitars just as much

[@slapitman]

Love these guitars - building replica now. I've always liked Dimarzio's but I honestly reckon the SD's sound better in this demo. Cleaner and more versatile.

[@eljefeguapobarbon]

Love my red San Dimas...JB and "59 deliver awesome sound!

[@benben-sl7hi]

I love 80 ‘s style metal and to me the San Dimas nails that sound!

[@keasaildsslog]

pauls solos are always so awesome

[@MrStcarroll29]

I had owned all three but I only kept the tele style 2. It has an awesome tone. I replaced the block with a bick brass block and it sounds even better

[@scotty932096]

Jesus the improvement in the tele style with the Duncan's is just mind blowing

[@MrMyKamilsz]

Yeah but the usually narrow minded Tele players will tell you that it's ruined...

[@guyincognito320]

@@MrMyKamilsz Now that this video is 14 years old, I've never seen many people playing the Charvel teles. They still haven't really nailed that. There's no tradition of modding teles in the same way, and they make the same colors every year. There's another kind of 'dinky' tele with a reverse headstock and Fluence pickups, which is more in left field than any of the strats.

[@evalex71]

The neck on my San Dimas is incredible and the guitar sounds KILLER

[@jonmillerwv]

can you put the evh d-tuna on this floyd? I know there are some it doesn't work with.

[@MrStcarroll29]

I have the black So Cal, and the San Dimas style 2 (Tele body). I actually prefer the Dimarzio pickups to the Duncans in the Charvels. The pickups in my So Cal keep collapsing and are difficult to adjust properly. I wish I had the So Cal strat shape. Necks on both guitars are beyond amazing. I have never played a guitar with such a great neck.

[@brandon5pennies]

one of the nicest guitars in it's price range i've played by far the san dimas has a darker sound in person while the so cal has a more clear and smooth tone

[@acvwest1]

San Dimas 1 HH personally, less scratchy and solid to me. Got my eye on one. All now have SD pickups but they vary. Check the Charvel website, Pro Mod Series (3 Models) and ckeck out the specs. Now made in Mexico. Floyd Rose on Socal & San Dimas only. Hook up to a quality powerhouse AMP and should be good to go.

[@duck2587]

I have tried all 3 guitars and they all are awesome. For some reason though, the san dimas sounds the best. Its unbelievable how well it sounds. esp for the price

[@ChrisCorleyMusic]

Yes! and Thank you again. They ARE really great all around made guitars for alot of different styles too. Peace

[@jedaxel]

I'm SO GLAD my first guitar is a 22 years old Charvel SDK 075 H-S bought from a 2nd Hand guitar Shop! Loving it to EVERY FUCKING BIT!

[@seekah1]

The tele sounds amazing, and I bet pretty good value as well.

[@ckr1231]

Get 'em fast. They are going to Japan. Only the custom shop Charvel will be American made next year. I have the black San Dimas model. I have had it for a year and 5 months and it kicks ass !!!

[@vaibanez17]

I love that sound around 4:45, that's awesome. Charvels are nice.

[@jakeshuster8392]

never heard paul shred so hard those things must rock

[@commercialking]

I have that socal and the green SD1. They're fantastic guitars and the neck is the best part. I might be picking up the tele shortly as it's been discontinued.

[@KyleCarrington]

San Dimas Style I - all the way. Listen to that clarity that you get with lower output pickups. Classssssssssic

[@YonOtto]

I want the So-Cal! shame they ARENT affordable... Is that double locking trem?

[@ProbableCauseBluesBand]

Of the three I thought the last one, the San Demas strat style, was the best overall guitar, tonally speaking. Great playing too, this guy can shred em up!

[@deanmlshredder]

Damn dude. I've seen this dude do a lot of reviews. Never seen him go off like this. Fuckin sick!!

[@DiedrichKnickerbocker1783]

Oh, I have the So Cal also. Changed out the Evo neck for a Paf Pro. Much better fit. Never understood Charvel's choice Tone Zone/Evolution Neck. If you can get one I highly recommend.

[@Bombtrack411]

true. Jim Root also occasionally uses Charvels too.

[@joshuacummings3178]

Love the explanation Guitar World. I've been sold a So Cal Style 1!!!!

[@sierratechnicaladvisorygroup]

2020 Update: Win for the Sand Dimas/Seymour Duncan. Great vid.

[@georgeavouris8539]

great guitars

[@nevigo5519]

Charvel guitars are great.They have so good necks,and the pick ups are good too,and the real Floyd is always a good thing.

[@VanHalenfreak9]

love the san dimas style 1

[@mate6mty]

Gotta show the amp too...it makes a big differnce how you pair pick ups and amps ,digital and analog boost

[@Paquette011]

I have a style 1 in slime green, and 1 of the 15 crossed swords warren demartini prototypes and love both. killer axes

[@ChaosBurnsWithin]

holy shit... never seen a tele do metal THAT well before... bloody fuckin awesome! :D

[@JoaoNuno1995]

OMFG! You play like a boss!!!!

[@Chipmonkcheeks53]

The first guitar is lovely

[@ACMusicland]

Paul does great demos. Tasty playing. I own 3 Charvel San Dimas guitars now. Love them!

[@brandon5pennies]

that's attributed to the pickups mostly though san dimas has seymour duncans and so cal dimarzios as paul already said

[@sunnyjim98]

@Alacress yes it is the same only manufactured in korea, they are on the ESP M-IIs so it is very good! i had one, and it cost £1200 lol!

[@givemeajackson]

@R0bb89 the pointy headstock is a jackson trademark. jackson very similar guitars with the pointy headstock, like the jackson dk2.

[@ChrisCorleyMusic]

Thanks so much, yes they are made in Japan now but I was curious if these actual Charvels that Paul is playing this video might be the USA made, since the cross over was around 2010 I think?

[@karcheruprising]

They just did a reissue this year my friend!

[@Xanaduswells]

Great player! what amp are you using?

[@jakemk21]

My choices are a Sterling Music Man AX40, either the SoCal or SanDimas (both as a Style 1-2H), or the upcoming EVH Wolfgang Special. I'm aiming for something that's gonna give me a great 70's/80's-ish rock sound(think Van Halen and Guns n' Roses) and a great clean blues sound( like Stevie Ray Vaughan). Which one would give me the best bang for the buck?

[@MrMalq]

A great review paul/Guitar World. i really want the so cal style 1,but Charvel have stopped making them. :-( a very sad Charvel lover from Ireland

[@jkodee]

dam paul from guitar world can shred!

[@YonOtto]

shreds like hell at 4:23

[@MichaelLozano12]

God i love that so cal. i cant decide if i ant an american hss strat or this. this is cheaper and has a floyd, but the strat has the single coil bite too it and a humbucker in the bridge for when i need a little more output. i play allot of pink floyd, van halen, led zeppelin style music. occasionally some blues and some metal. any opinions? =/

[@tankdarla637]

2010 2011 so cal mij Blows away all american strats in every way possible

[@TheHornet79]

Charvel, Suhr, Vigier Best hand crafted guitars in my opinion

[@yamitanomura]

you are awesome man!

[@carsonlespaul]

I think these have been discontinued, at least the Japanese builds have anyway. The factory got closed down, I bought a 2011 model and can't say enough great things about it, feels like the guitar was made for me. The neck is completely flawless and blows away any esp or schecter I have played. Through my Marshall Valvestate halfstack or my brother's all tube peavey halfstack it dominates, maybe not as much as my Gibson Les Paul studio with EMG's but that's another subject. Great guitar Luv it!

[@inefficient]

@ChaosBurnsWithin He has two signature models. One with a bigsby and one without. Oh and there's a squire version of the one without.

[@jakemk21]

@Littlewing1213 Thank you so much! I've mainly been looking at Seymour Duncans for the bridge, but is there a specific Dimarzio bridge pickup that you recommend?

[@thesuppcollector]

It sounds kind of weird but you can discern usa from japanese models by paying attention to the color. The candy red and candy blue are for sure japanese and the plum purple and slime green as well as the orange I believe are all usa. As for the white and ferrari red, I'm not so sure.

[@BoogyWoogyCreep]

I have 4 Charvel So Cals and they all have Seymour Duncans in them from the factory.

[@heathwatsonguitar]

Lately Im finding Dimarzio's seem to have an extra 'Air' Type sound , Kinda more like a ES 335 , more organic, more individual, but still with a fizz that isn't trying to be overly vintage. Larry knows his stuff...

[@Direwarlord213]

Which of these guitars would be the best for heavy/Death metal. I am currently in a Heavy metal band and they are encouraging me to buy a Charvel. Would any of these work well?

[@P0wer2R0ll]

What guitar are best in all things of these two guitars? Jim Root Fender strat signatur or this Charvel?

[@badhorsie81]

which amp was used for this demo? Nice crunch :)

[@checklefthook]

Thats just in GB, from what i see you guys really get shafted with gear. Buy from the US/Canada because i go into a shop and see the MIJ versions for 800 bucks which is less than 400 GBP. I agree, 820 pounds for a So Cal is crazy.

[@Robertspurling]

25.5" scale. You can find the spec sheets at charvels website.

[@givemeajackson]

@R0bb89 and charvel started as a fender modding shop. charvel and fender always were pretty close.

[@CobraAce04]

I'm too used to the Gibson-style fixed bridge guitar. Been thinking of going super-strat. Dont think I'll find anything better than Charvel if I make that call

[@shredder2196]

this guy has the best job in the world

[@mynamesjames1]

so is charvel going to stop making these eventually?even just in plain black?

[@waththecluck]

@awesomejohnnet i agree with you any way better players use dimarzio because despite the clarity of the mistakes (if made) the resulting sound with out mistakes is clearer and more crisp. which is why people who dont often make mistakes like vai and satriani. duncans are put in heavy metal guitars becuase they have a thick sound muffle sound just like you said earlier :)

[@TheJuliokan]

Do you mean that these guitars are not made anymore? D: because I really want one So-Cal white x3

[@george14141414]

Are the floyds on the new charvels floating bridges? or just dive bomb style floyd?

[@injairgun]

@ryanchatfield1313 Depends on how low you have the Floyd. I have mine all the way down as I love super low action. But by doing this the bar can't be pulled up at all. I don't understand why Charvel didn't back route the Floyd cavity they did it on the Wildcard models!

[@Lukefareal]

didnt they put this video up yesterday?

[@xdenju456]

Hey, I was just informed by a Sam Ash representative that Charvel is no longer owned by Fender? I checked the Wikipedia article, but it doesn't mention anything about it. Does anyone have any information regarding this?

[@skylineXpert]

i will choose the san dimas, i was going to choose the so-cal, but i dont like the pickups on the so-cal, so i prefer the san dimas (strat body)

[@Beenyad]

@Loganator259 does that make it easier to change strings and drop tune and all that funk? like do you not have to worry about screwing up tension or balance or whatever it's called?

[@awesomejohnnet]

@timberghstt I respectfully disagree, The duncans sound muddy and muffle the players touch.. which is why most of the virtuoso players use dimarzios with their patented harmonic wind that produces the snap and clarity that Dimarzios are famous for. Duncans are also fine pickups but the hot players seem to prefer Dimarzios. Ducans cover up mistakes better but for players with hot hands the Dimarzio is the choice.

[@MrStcarroll29]

I have the style 2 (tele). Amazing

[@sunnyjim98]

@Cortgb34a get the charvel pro mod version, theyre made in japan, not america. same guitar though! theyre about £550-700

[@TheMorbidcarcass]

i read a review claiming that the so cal was routed to accommodate a single coil is that true?

[@ChaosBurnsWithin]

@SerLuckyGuy yeah, John 5 is pretty good, but most telecasters are built for country not shred metal. i think he has his custom made. im like 90% sure of it lol. im sure you could get away with putting EMG's in a tele, but idk... itd be odd to me... i personally love the les paul and strat shapes. my favourite company is Ibanez. the RG's and ARZ / ART models are epic. nah, just everything they do is awesome

[@thedancenight]

Is the so cal in the video coloured in "ferrari red" like the japaneses?

[@sgrouge]

Beware, On the SoCal access to last frets is not easy (same than on a strat) So dont see it as a soloist metal guitar, but rather more like a strat improved for hard rock!

[@miniDroiDs]

I played it a few days ago and in my opinion it depends on who is playing with it :)

[@TonyGognitti]

@JetSetStudios1 Oh, thanks, cuz I could never understood that :D Btw is it possible to find a Charvel guitar with all two tone knobs?

[@TonyGognitti]

Sorry, I am a noob, but I don't get it why is there only one tone knob or no knobs at all on Charvel guitars, even if it's HSS? Thanks

[@cbpk1996]

he'ss an awsome player

[@givemeajackson]

@cris88949 forget it, charvel is fenders hot-rod factory.

[@bingefeller]

@ryanchatfield1313 Is the Floyd Rose trem fixed to the body? Like, you can't pull up on the bar, right?

[@UMadUJelly]

So whats with the Pro Mods now and not using an OFR?

[@WoWintosh]

@george14141414 They are floating bridges, but you can't pull up very far because the bridge is not recessed into the body. The Wild Card pro mod has a recessed bridge.

[@inefficient]

So, um.... What amp are you playing these through?

[@ChaosBurnsWithin]

@inefficient i see. your comment has been acknowlaged. i learned something new today. thank you sir :)

[@FrankTheTankBowling]

Affordable MY ASS That so cal pro mod ranges between $800 to $1000. Including the warranty and tax is like another $100 depending on what you choose. I was lucky enough to get the slime green so cal for like $630 but even that’s consider pretty pricey

[@howlingmaddmurdock]

Is it just me or does the San Dimas sound better? Go to the soloing part @4:21 and then @8:33 for San Dimas

[@akaboo69]

awesome they are basically fenders but made for metal

[@JasonDeCarloGuitar]

What?? They don't make these anymore? :( the San Dimas strat sounded so good.....

[@eugenekrabs6400]

5150icantdrive55 they're making them again

[@darkhero101010]

@MrCORN1BREAD but compared to a $1500 dollar strat and an $2000 dollar Les Paul they aare not that bad right? plus they are made by fender if im right

[@AntonioSurface]

i wonder what they do with the guitars they review he also just fingergasmed on the strat shape without the pickguard

[@qaijuana]

Where I'm from, this guitar cost over SGD$3000. Can't afford this awesome stuff lol.

[@awesomejohnnet]

@StainIessChina I respectfully disagree, Slash and John Frusciante are "not" virtuoso's, if you asked them they would agree. They are exciting above average players for sure but "virtuoso" no. The duncans are more "technique camouflaging" pickups while the dimarzios are the articulate screamers, The only exception would be the new Malmsteen pickups that are exceptional. Yes heavy palyers use duncans too, the active lline of duncans are favorites of the metal lovers. "its all good" :)