1988 Charvel Model 4

details

This Model 4 arrived from Guitar Center and sadly was pretty poorly packed and received some notable damage on the outside edge of the body, causing a large crack in the solid paint finish. It looks like you could pry up some of the finish pretty easily and snap it off, but instead I ran a sliver of glue just under the crack and the repair seems to have prevented any further lifting. Guitar Center has not been the best at handling things like this and this was no exception - but I opted to keep it anyway after cleaning it up and playing it.

Much like some of my other Charvels, this one also has a beautiful glossy neck and very smooth polished frets, adding a lot to the feel of playing it. Hardware is completely factory, Jackson tuners, the JT-6 bridge, and Jackson pickups attached to a JE-1200 mid-boost powered by a 9V battery. The pickups are still passive, a J50BC in the bridge and two J200’s in the neck and middle positions. The J50BC may be functional as a passive pickup, but I’ve never gotten along with this pickup and I run the mid boost all the way up to avoid the shrill nature of this pickup. I’ve read that it gets thicker when completely disconnected from the electronics, but if I take the time to do that I may as well just swap it out for something else I know I like better. The J200’s are excellent as expected, and they benefit from more versatility - with the boost on, they stay solid and thick but with a single coil attack, which is a lot of fun for leads, but with the boost turned down they gain some of the desired scratchiness single coils are known for in rhythm tones.

This guitar has the behind the nut lock, and notably has allen head keys instead of the screw driver slots, much like my late-87 Model 5A . Combined with the serial number I estimate this guitar dates from 1988.

I no longer own this instrument