On a whim, I dropped by my local Sam Ash on the way home the other day and spotted this very strange Charvel on the rack. I didn’t actually know what this was, and they had it listed as a “51 style Charvel.” I did a little research and found out this is a “Spectrum,” and it had acoustic strings on it and I could not get the tone knob or switch to really do anything. Still, the price was pretty tempting and I figured I’d come back and trade my Kramer XL1 for this, to have something a little different from my Kramer Pacer Custom 2.
Upon returning, I was able to get 85 bucks for the XL1, which seems fair especially considering the case that came with this Charvel - a nearly brand new Road Runner ABS case, which is much nicer feeling than the SKB Freedom I traded in with the XL1.
I completely disassembled this guitar, cleaned and polished it, and threw away a very crusty old 9v battery. After adding a new battery and lightly cleaning the contacts, I’m happy to say the electronics work great now - and I’m very surprised just how much I like it! The JE-1500 is a parametric EQ circuit, and the frequency is adjusted by the second tone knob. This circuit can be completely taken out of the circuit when flipping the mini toggle switch, which makes for some really cool ways to play parts - I was enjoying playing some songs by The Cars and then flipping on the JE-1500 for solos or other lead parts. Basically, it can be set in a half-cocked wah type position that sounds really great, and there is a bit more gain when engaged too which makes it perfect for solos. I also think it does a very good Humbucker impression tuned just a little lower, and the factory pickups are three J200 stacked single coils. Overall, I’m very impressed with this guitar even if it took a little love to bring it back to its full potential.
