Charvel is a brand of guitar originally founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and then later, Glendora, California. Charvel guitars became popular in the 1980s due to their association with famous rock guitarists such as Edward Van Halen (Van Halen), Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Warren DeMartini (Ratt), Jake E. Lee (Ozzy Osbourne), Vinnie Vincent (KISS), Eddie Ojeda (Twisted Sister), George Lynch (Dokken), Allan Holdsworth, Shawn Lane and others.
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Having worked at Fender for three years in the early 1970s, Wayne Charvel originally started "Charvel's Guitar Repair" in 1974 to refinish and repair out-of-warranty Fender instruments. The shop earned a solid reputation among performing artists for its repair work, custom finishes, and upgraded parts manufacturing. When Asian companies began copying Charvel's parts and selling them at a discount, Wayne decided to begin building complete guitars. Charvel guitars were originally constructed from wood components outsourced to Boogie and Schecter bodies, and various Charvel and aftermarket hardware[1]. Wayne Charvel sold the company to Grover Jackson in 1978, and ceased all working associations with the brand name from that point forward.
After purchasing the company, Grover Jackson tooled to produce guitar bodies, which were sold to Mighty Mite and Dimarzio. The proceeds were used to fund an expansion into crafting necks. During this time BC Rich, SD Curlee, and Music Man approached Charvel with prospects of contract manufacturing of various wood parts. The income from these sales provided the Charvel shop with additional tooling and experience that would give Grover the footing required to grow the Charvel brand into a market contender.
Beginning in the late 1970s, Charvel popularized custom revamps of the Fender Stratocaster design - often consisting of a Strat-shaped body with a single humbucking pickup and Fender style tremolo bridge systems. This modernized Stratocaster configuration (commonly referred to as the superstrat) was particularly well suited to the heavy metal style of music that was hugely popular at the time. Charvel guitars became renowned for its use of creative graphics, unfinished maple necks, and various innovative appointments.
In 1980, Grover Jackson was introduced to Randy Rhoads, who had recently secured the job of guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne's new band. They worked together to develop a guitar to complement the polka-dotted Flying V built for Randy by Karl Sandoval. The initial prototype was not angular enough for Randy, but the second design resulted in a shape that Randy referred to as the Concorde. Grover was concerned that the radically styled, neck-through guitar was too different from Charvel's familiar 'Superstrat' theme, so he decided to label the instrument with his own name on the headstock in case the design proved unpopular. Contrary to Grover's concerns, the visual impact of this guitar would spawn the "Rhoads Model" that would soon become iconic in the industry, and served as the impetus that inspired Grover to found Jackson Guitars.
Charvel (and Jackson) guitars continued to be manufactured at the Gladstone Street shop in the city of Glendora, California until 1986. In 1986, the manufacturing facilities were relocated to Ontario, California, and the production of U.S.-built guitars carrying the Charvel name ceased shortly thereafter.
The success of Charvel in the 1980s led to Grover's planning to mass produce popular configurations in Asia. Whereas each Charvel guitar produced in California was essentially a hand built, custom instrument, the Japanese assembly line versions that appeared in 1986 would be categorized into model numbers. Grover eventually sold Charvel/Jackson to the Japanese manufacturer IMC (International Music Corporation) in 1989, and Charvel guitars were produced exclusively in Japan from 1986 to 1991.[2]
The Japanese made Charvels that appeared in 1986 could be easily identified from the San Dimas instruments by several distinct differences:
The Model 4 consisted of a full size Stratocaster-style body made of American basswood, 22 fret maple neck with rosewood fretboard, and mother of pearl dot inlays. There was a version with maple fretboard and black dot inlays that was called the Model 4M. The Model 4 originally featured the Kahler 2300 tremolo. After 1986, the Model 4 came equipped with a licensed Floyd Rose style tremolo (Jackson JT-6) and sharkfin pearl inlays.
The Model 5 was neck-through guitar very similar to the USA Jackson SL-2 Soloist. It featured thin profile 25.5" scale maple neck and poplar body, rosewood fingerboard with jumbo frets, and mother of pearl dot inlays. In early 1986 the guitar was offered with a Kahler 2300 series Pro tremolo with steel roller saddles, as well as Jackson J80C pickups with an active mid-boost control. Other controls include master volume and tone controls, as well as a five way switch which offered coil tapping. By late 1986 the Model 5 was redesigned with a Kahler 2315 Standard series tremolo with brass roller saddles. Larger pickup covers appeared by late 1986. After 1986, the Kahler was replaced with a non-recessed, licensed Jackson JT-6 tremolo that was similar to a Floyd Rose. The color options for this guitar were cobalt blue, red, black cherry, pearl white, and black. The Model 5 is one of the rarer Charvel imports.
Identical to the Model 5, but fitted with a single humbucker in the bridge position and equipped with a single volume control and no tone control.
The Model 5 FX featured the same construction than Model 6, the only differences being the scale (without shark fin inlays) and the pickups (one single coil and one humbucker). Also, some model 5FX had a slightly recessed tremolo.
The Model 5 FX were essentially Model 5A that were fitted with a neck single coil on arrival at the Fort Worth facility in an attempt to increase the guitar's market acceptance.
The Model 6 was basically import version of the Jackson Soloist, but under the Charvel name, and featured neck-through construction with a maple neck and poplar body. The neck has 24 jumbo frets on a bound rosewood fretboard. The Model 6 also featured a bound neck/headstock, and shark fin mother of pearl inlays. Model 6s came with Kahler 2300 Tremolos in early 1986, as well as an extra thin neck profile. The tremolo was later replaced with a non-recessed JT-6 Jackson unit, and the neck profile became a little larger. The pickups were a Jackson J50BC humbucker at the bridge, two Jackson J-200 stacked single coils, and an on-board mid-boost (Jackson JE-1200). The control layout consists of a one volume, one tone, a control for the mid boost, and an on/off mini toggle switch for each pickup.
In 1984, Charvel made a limited run of around 100 guitars called Route 66, which consisted of a Fender Telecaster style body in black, red, or sunburst, and fitted with chrome or black hardware and dice as volume knobs. The flashy styling and steep price tag ($1200) proved to be unpopular, and this basic style was later revived for Korean production under the Jackson brand.
In 1989, the Charvel line was expanded into a number of different series, including the Classic, Fusion and Contemporary. The Classic series included the 275, 375, 375 deluxe and 475 models. The Fusion series had shorter scale necks and included the Fusion Deluxe and Fusion Custom models. The Contemporary range included the Predator and Spectrum models. The Spectrum guitar was inspired by a Jackson guitar custom built for Jeff Beck, and was based on a Stratocaster style body, but with a reversed pointed headstock, an early 50s Fender P-Bass-inspired pickguard, wild colors, and an active tone circuit that produced a wah effect. The three single-coil pickups were in fact stacked humbucking coils. Most of the guitars at the time were equipped with Schaller hardware, including a licensed Floyd Rose locking tremolo. The Korean-made Charvette brand also came into being to do business in the lowest end of the market at this time.
As the 90s progressed brand fell from favor due to changes in music fashion and a drop in quality, as the Charvel name was applied to even lower quality budget instruments.
In more recent years various attempts have been made to revive the brand with higher quality Japanese and American made offerings. Today, the original late '70s to mid '80s U.S. made San Dimas models remain the most highly collectible examples of the brand.
The collectible status and escalating market prices of 1970s-80s U.S.-made Charvels have spawned a rash of fake 'San Dimas' Charvels, many of which conspicuously appear in online auction listings or elsewhere, and are misrepresented as genuine originals. These fakes are often created by swapping necks and/or "San Dimas" stamped neck plates onto Asian-made Charvels or other inexpensive guitars[6], and completing the project with a reproduction San Dimas era "Charvel - Made in USA" headstock decal[7]. In recent years, the problem has become widespread enough such that it remains a frequent topic of discussion amongst knowledgeable collectors of San Dimas era Charvel guitars[8][9]. Some fakes are convincing enough such that independent, expert confirmation is strongly recommended before considering the purchase of an instrument claimed to be original San Dimas era Charvel.
Charvel/Jackson was bought by Fender in 2002, and the Charvel brand entered a renaissance, with several U.S. made "San Dimas" models—so-named in order to recapture the original association of the Charvel name with high-quality, American made professional guitars.
Charvel presently offers several series of guitars, including both lower-priced Japanese and boutique-priced American made instruments, and operates a full-service custom shop.[10] Perhaps the most notable product of Charvel's present custom shop is the Eddie Van Halen signature model - a short run of which are actually paint stenciled by Eddie himself.
San Dimas Pro-Mods[11]
USA Production Models[12]
USA Warren DeMartini Models[13]
USA Custom Built[14]
Wayne Charvel has resurfaced in the realm of guitar manufacturing with varying degrees of success several times since selling the brand in 1978.
Wayne created a namesake model offered through Gibson, the "Gibson W.R.C. Signature Model" - of which only a limited number were made, but this saw little recognition and was short-lived due mainly to a lawsuit filed by Jackson. The Gibson W.R.C. models were made from 1987–1988 and were offered in three standard colors: red, black, and white. Of several hundred produced, 200 were 'show case' models that featured Wayne Charvel's signature on the bell and were accompanied by a letter from Wayne[15]. The WRC model came with a tan faux leather case with hot pink interior and combination locks. The earlier models were equipped with a Kahler Spyder tremolo, while later models featured a Floyd Rose Original. All featured a maple bolt-on neck with ebony fingerboard.
Today, Wayne and his son Michael own and operate Charvel Music, a full line music store in Paradise, CA, and currently manufacture guitars as a joint venture under the name Wayne Guitars.[16]
