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Modifications |
The early 80's gave rise to some fantastic new
ground-breaking guitar players and styles, almost all where more aggressive than their
predecessors. Heavy use of the tremolo was common, and many players chose to have their
traditional brass vintage trems "upgraded" to the new Floyd Rose, or Kahler
double-locking tremolo bridges. As a result, many of the early Charvels have been
"Floyded", or "Kahler'd." Additionally, many players routed out single
bridge pickups in favor of numbuckers, added a second humbucker in the neck position,
added a coil tap switch, etc. These are only some of the more common modifications done to
Charvels of the era. While these modifications may indeed actually improve the playability
and utility of an early Charvel, they are also irreversible in many cases, and have a
large impact on the collector value of a given instrument. |
Prepro Charvels that would otherwise have been lost
to parts, are sometimes restored by collectors using "era correct" parts. While
they are no longer factory original guitars, they can play as nicely, and can be purchased
for less money, making them accessible to both players and collectors. My personal
philosophy on restoration and mods is simple; if the guitar still bears its' original
finish, don't restore. If it has been repainted, that leaves the door open to restoring a
Kahler back to a vintage trem, removing the extra knob or switch, and repainting back to
the original finish. Otherwise, simply enjoy your Charvel as-is! |
I would roughly estimate that (conservatively) over
half of the total pre-serialized production run of Charvels have been destroyed, parted
out, or modified in one way or another. This leaves the existing number of original,
unmodified Prepro Charvels somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 or less, by my best
estimate. For some Charvel collectors, these Prepro Charvels are considered en masse
"Holy Grails." I am lucky enough to own Charvels from both the pre-serialized
and serialized eras and love them equally. Construction techniques, feel,
playability and attention to detail is superb in both eras, and I have
yet to play a Charvel I did not like. |
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