2 x NGD

    Well, it's because it's (obviously) made for GG, who genre jumps many times in a gig, sometimes many times in the same song. He needs Strat, Tele, LP and thick jazz tones, so his guitar has them all rolled in to one. However, for me this poses a few problems. The neck humbucker is big, warm and dark, compared to the thin and zingy middle 'Tele' sound. A Rig that's dialled in for the neck pickup will sound brutally trebly when switching to the middle or bridge and middle positions. I just need to alter my mind set and think 'LP/335' when engaging the neck pickup, but it's difficult when I typically use that position for those Jimi/SRV type sounds. The bridge humbucker is lovely, but has a unique voice. It's not LP, but more nasally than your typical super strat. I like it, but it's very early EVH on higher gain profiles (which is great, if that's your thing). It is just a quite unique guitar that I'll have to find a place for in my repetoir.
    The Luke is more me right off the bat. Some great classic tones in that one, although with a slight twist, coming from regular single coils/humbuckers.

    Congrats, sambrox! Another happy (finally...) Charvel GG owner here, mine is the birds eye one. I agree with you about the huge specter of tones from it. I haven't found it to be as problematic as you but I understand where you're coming from.


    Another thing I'd add is that it has the most useful tone control I've ever had on a guitar! Love it. Usable in every position :)

    Just read your review. I also encountered QC problems with mine. There was no grounding wire from the trem claw to the volume pot, so the guitar buzzed, clicked and popped atrociously when plugged in! The hole between cavities was drilled, but no wire! Once I realised the blunder, it was easy enough to wire one in place, but I concur that QC issues like that on a guitar of that price (bought mine AFTER the price hike!) just shouldn't happen. I haven't checked for any of the woodworking issues that someone mentioned on TGP, but I see a slight blemish by the nut, where some excess glue hasn't been sanded away after they've fixed the nut in place. Doesn't matter other than aesthetically, but still shouldn't be an issue in the first place. It truly does play fantastically, though. I think I play about 20% better on this guitar, haha!


    If you get the time, I'd really appreciate it if you could record a clip using the different pickup positions on the same profile, just to see if the tonal differences are as great on yours as they are on mine. The lack of the grounding wire makes me wonder if there's anything else awry electronically...

    Quote from sambrox

    If you get the time, I'd really appreciate it if you could record a clip using the different pickup positions on the same profile, just to see if the tonal differences are as great on yours as they are on mine. The lack of the grounding wire makes me wonder if there's anything else awry electronically...


    Can do! I'll send you a link as soon as I get the time. It might be that my ears are just not as attuned to the differences as yours :)


    The thing about the QC issues too is that they're all over the place! My grounding wire was fine, but I've seen other reports of:


    * Bad woodwork like you mentioned
    * Misplaced screw hole for back cavity, resulting in one of the screws hitting air
    * Bad plastic bushing for the tremolo (I just received my replacement from Fender Scandinavia yesterday, will try it today)
    * Bad nuts (I'm wondering if mine has a very slight buzz on the high E, others have been more serious)
    * Strings offset on neck, high E too close to fret edge


    But, even after all that: it really does play fantastically like you say, and it's such a warm and welcoming guitar to hold. Quite something!

    Here you go, @sambrox:

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    Very quickly recorded, I've done nothing to the levels or any kind of editing after recording. Each of the four sections of the clip has each pickup position, starting at the neck for each one and ending up at the bridge.

    Quote from sambrox

    Well, it's because it's (obviously) made for GG, who genre jumps many times in a gig, sometimes many times in the same song. He needs Strat, Tele, LP and thick jazz tones, so his guitar has them all rolled in to one. However, for me this poses a few problems. The neck humbucker is big, warm and dark, compared to the thin and zingy middle 'Tele' sound. A Rig that's dialled in for the neck pickup will sound brutally trebly when switching to the middle or bridge and middle positions. I just need to alter my mind set and think 'LP/335' when engaging the neck pickup, but it's difficult when I typically use that position for those Jimi/SRV type sounds. The bridge humbucker is lovely, but has a unique voice. It's not LP, but more nasally than your typical super strat. I like it, but it's very early EVH on higher gain profiles (which is great, if that's your thing). It is just a quite unique guitar that I'll have to find a place for in my repetoir.
    The Luke is more me right off the bat. Some great classic tones in that one, although with a slight twist, coming from regular single coils/humbuckers.


    It makes sense considering the use GG make of this instrument. Not so fun when you want to play it in a more classic way thought... I never tried one by myself so thanks for the info! :) I'm not surprise by the high playability of the guitar which is the principal reason why it interest me.