 | |
 | Download Example 1 Charvel So-Cal dirty rhythm riff (bridge) |
| Download Example 2 Charvel So-Cal dirty rhythm riff (neck) |
| Download Example 3 Charvel So-Cal dirty lead/rhythm riff (bridge) |
| Download Example 4 Charvel So-Cal dirty lead/rhythm riff (neck) |
| Download Example 5 Charvel So-Cal dirty rhythm riff (middle) |
| Download Example 6 Charvel So-Cal dirty lead/rhythm riff (middle) |
| Download Example 7 Charvel So-Cal Clean rhythm riff (bridge) |
| Download Example 8 Charvel So-Cal Clean rhythm riff (neck) |
SIGNAL CHAIN: All clips recorded with Charvel into Nio 2/4 into Novation Effects Rack. Dirty clips recorded with custom Marshall Setting w/ reverb & delay. Clean clips recorded with custom Fender setting with reverb & delay. | |
In June of 2008, Charvel began releasing the newly designed USA Production Models Series. These are American-made guitars, priced right around a grand. Every three months they release limited numbers of each model in custom colors—most recently Ferrari Red, Polar White and Taxi Cab Yellow. They offer two body shapes with Duncan pickups (San Dimas Styles 1 2H and 2 2H), and one with a pickguard and DiMarzio pickups (So-Cal Style 1 2H). They all come with black hardware, Grover tuners, Floyd Rose locking tremolos and a gig-bag. That’s a lot of bang for the buck!
Little Red... Charvel
For this review we received the So-Cal model in Ferrari Red, which is the same color as the Charvel Model 2 I had in high school! Like I said, I’m a fan from way back. After playing it for about an hour, I remembered why I loved my Charvel so much.
Though updated for a new generation of players, they still retain all the elements that made them so cool in the first place.
The guitar was set up, in tune and gig ready. Really! I haven’t had that happen with a new guitar in a while. The neck is quarter-sawn maple, with a nice “C” shape that is tapered as you go up the neck, very comfortable, and very shred ready. The alder body is balanced and meaty, without being tubby. This is a very comfortable guitar to play, and the 22 large frets make bending notes a breeze.
Since my background is in guitar manufacturing and design, I can be very picky when it comes to how guitars are made. Manufacturers spend the money on the parts that you can see, but sometimes skimp on the stuff you can’t. When designing a guitar to fit in a certain price range, sacrifices have to be made, like cheaper pots, lower quality wood, cheap paint and so on. So imagine my surprise when I opened up the Charvel and saw clean solder joints and quality parts. The neck joint is clean and the seams are tight. This means that the guitars are cut, sanded and assembled properly.
Most guitars on the showroom floor are, in my opinion, ninety percent done. Finishing and setting up a guitar takes time and money, and unfortunately that’s the area where the cost seems to get cut first, especially in the lower priced guitars. This was not the case with the Charvel So-Cal; it was rockin’ right out of the box.
Tone to Burn
The USA-made DiMarzio pickups are a total complement for this guitar. The Tone Zone in the bridge is a mid-rangy pickup with lots of bite and harmonic structure. If you’re a Paul Gilbert fan, then you’ll love this pickup. They combined the Tone Zone with the Evolution in the neck. This is a very interesting and complementary combination: the Evolution is a very smooth pickup, more PAF-sounding than the Tone Zone, but the difference is all good. These are not vintage pickups by any means. These are very modern pickups with complex tonal structures. I guess when you combine Paul Gilbert with Steve Vai you get a guitar that’s nothing short of “shredtastic.”
The Floyd Rose system is fully floated and works like it should, but this is the one thing I would upgrade on this guitar. The stock trem itself is fine and keeps the Charvel affordable, but upgrading to an original Floyd would put this guitar on a boutique level, and it would still cost less than some other guitar manufacturers charge. The single Volume knob and toggle switch might not offer enough tonal options for some players, especially if you’re used to rolling the tone knob down for a softer attack, but that’s not what this guitar is all about. It’s meant to be played aggressively without any knobs or switches getting in the way of your rockin’ self. I would have liked a push/ pull volume knob so I could split the neck pick-up into single-coil mode (but that’s a very easy upgrade and a small matter).
The Final Mojo
I hope we will see more options offered in the future, because if you’re not into locking tremolos and such, you might be turned off from buying this guitar, which is a shame because everything else on the guitar is top-notch and very player friendly. If you are in the market for an American-made guitar on a budget, the Charvel So-Cal is by far one of the best deals around. I for one am glad that Charvel is back and offering the kind of guitars that made them so special in the first place. I look forward to owning another one in the future.
Buy if...
you’re on a budget and want an American-made hot-rod Strat-style guitar.
Skip if...
you’re not into locking tremolos or the current color options.
Rating...
MSRP $1100 - Charvel - charvel.com |
Gibson originally launched the EB-6 model with the intention of serving consumers looking for a “tic-tac” bass sound.
The Gibson EB-6 was announced in 1959 and came into the world in 1960, not with a dual-horn body but with that of an elegant ES-335. They looked stately, with a thin, semi-hollow body, f-holes, and a sunburst finish. Our pick for this Vintage Vault column is one such first-year model, in about as original condition as you’re able to find today. “Why?” you may be asking. Well, read on....
When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye. The real competition were the Danelectro 6-string basses that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere and were suddenly being used on lots of hit records by the likes of Elvis, Patsy Cline, and other household names. Danos like the UB-2 (introduced in ’56), the Longhorn 4623 (’58), and the Shorthorn 3612 (’58) were the earliest attempts any company made at a 6-string bass in this style: not quite a standard electric bass, not quite a guitar, nor, for that matter, quite like a baritone guitar.
The only change this vintage EB-6 features is a replacement set of Kluson tuners.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
Gibson, Fender, and others during this era would in fact call these basses “baritone guitars,” to add to our confusion today. But these vintage “baritones” were all tuned one octave below a standard guitar, with scale lengths around 30", while most modern baritones are tuned B-to-B or A-to-A and have scale lengths between 26" and 30".)
At the time, those Danelectros were instrumental to what was called the “tic-tac” bass sound of Nashville records produced by Chet Atkins, or the “click-bass” tones made out west by producer Lee Hazlewood. Gibson wanted something for this market, and the EB-6 was born.
“When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye.”
The 30.5" scale 1960 EB-6 has a single humbucking pickup, a volume knob, a tone knob, and a small, push-button “Tone Selector Switch” that engages a treble circuit for an instant tic-tac sound. (Without engaging that switch, you get a bass-heavy tone so deep that cowboy chords will sound like a muddy mess.)
The EB-6, for better or for worse, did not unseat the Danelectros, and a November 1959 price list from Gibson hints at why: The EB-6 retailed for $340, compared to Dano price tags that ranged from $85 to $150. Only a few dozen EB-6 basses were shipped in 1960, and only 67 total are known to have been built before Gibson changed the shape to the SG style in 1962.
Most players who come across an EB-6 today think it was a response to the Fender Bass VI, but the former actually beat the latter to the market by a full year.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
It’s sad that so few were built. Sure, it was a high-end model made to achieve the novelty tic-tac sound of cheaper instruments, but in its full-voiced glory, the EB-6 has a huge potential of tones. It would sound great in our contemporary guitar era where more players are exploring baritone ranges, and where so many people got back into the Bass VI after seeing the Beatles play one in the 2021 documentary, Get Back.
It’s sadder, still, how many original-era EB-6s have been parted out in the decades since. Remember earlier when I wrote that our Vintage Vaultpick was about as original as you could find? That’s because the model’s single humbucker is a PAF, its Kluson tuners are double-line, and its knobs are identical to those on Les Paul ’Bursts. So as people repaired broken ’Bursts, converted other LPs to ’Bursts, or otherwise sought to give other Gibsons a “Golden Era” sound and look ... they often stripped these forgotten EB-6 basses for parts.
This original EB-6 is up for sale now from Reverb seller Emerald City Guitars for a $16,950 asking price at the time of writing. The only thing that isn’t original about it is a replacement set of Kluson tuners, not because its originals were stolen but just to help preserve them. (They will be included in the case.)
With so few surviving 335-style EB-6 basses, Reverb doesn’t have a ton of sales data to compare prices to. Ten years ago, a lucky buyer found a nearly original 1960 EB-6 for about $7,000. But Emerald City’s $16,950 asking price is closer to more recent examples and asking prices.
Sources: Prices on Gibson Instruments, November 1, 1959, Tony Bacon’s “Danelectro’s UB-2 and the Early Days of 6-String Basses” Reverb News article, Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, Tom Wheeler’s American Guitars: An Illustrated History, Reverb listings and Price Guide sales data.
Billy Gibbons is an undisputable guitar force whose feel, tone, and all-around vibe make him the highest level of hero. But that’s not to say he hasn’t made some odd choices in his career, like when ZZ Top re-recorded parts of their classic albums for CD release. And fans will argue which era of the band’s career is best. Some of us love drum machines and synths and others don’t, but we all love Billy.
This episode is sponsored by Magnatone
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
