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NGD1: 1987 Charvel Model 4

Started by Iperfungus, January 03, 2025, 02:58:01 AM

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Iperfungus

Long story short: just before XMas, I found this beauty and I took it home!

It's a wonderful red Charvel Model 4 from the '80s.
It has been modified with a recessed Schaller tremolo and a set of EMG pickups (89, SA, SA).
The whole circuit is made with EMG solderless parts, but I'm about to modify it.
At the moment there are a master volume, a master tone and another push-pull pot that splits the 89 and acts as a further tone control for the bridge humbucker only.
It makes no sense to me, so what I want to do is:

1) keep master volume
2) use the push-pull as master tone and to split the 89
3) remove master tone
4) add an EMG AB 220 booster (on the way home already)

The neck of these guitars is awesome and, notwithstanding the "heavy metal" look, you can play a lot of stuff with them.

Very well preserved, despite its age...no scratches, dings, chips or other major damages.
Almost perfect, also frets wear is very, very low.

Useless to say that The Red and my MP-1 are in love already!  :adabig:

Some pictures here below, fellows.

On the run again!

rnolan

Studio Rig: Stuff; Live Rig: More Stuff; Guitars: A few

Iperfungus

On the run again!

Dante

Nice looking Axe! Looks like a piece of candy :grin:

What's going on with that bridge? Is it routed for a Floyd, but with a Schaller installed? Looks like there's something under the two anchors, like a brass plate or another piece of wood(?)

Iperfungus

#4
Quote from: Dante on January 03, 2025, 11:06:49 AMNice looking Axe! Looks like a piece of candy :grin:

What's going on with that bridge? Is it routed for a Floyd, but with a Schaller installed? Looks like there's something under the two anchors, like a brass plate or another piece of wood(?)

The original bridge was the made in Taiwan Jackson JT-6 licensed Floyd Rose (a good tremolo...Charvel previously used Khaler 2520 and 2300 tremolo units), non-recessed.
The previous owner installed a recessed Schaller tremolo and a brass block has been screwed under the plate and around pivots, to prevent wood (it's basswood...and basswood is soft...) to deform and/or break around bushings (to install a recessed tremolo a good amount of wood were removed, reducing thickness).

I would have done the job differently, enlarging the bushing holes, inserting harder wood pins (like beech) and making new holes for the bushings...but that brass plate works fine!
I will paint it black at next strings change.

Why the Schaller isn't black?
Because that finish only was available at the time!  :lol:
On the run again!

Harley Hexxe

I only have two brain cells left, ...and I'm saving them for the weekend!

Iperfungus

On the run again!

MarshallJMP


Iperfungus

#8
Quote from: MarshallJMP on January 13, 2025, 02:08:05 PMLooks great  :thumb-up:

And plays better!
I did some mods already...

Removed the master tone, added an AB 220 Afterburner preamp (+20 dB) and wired the push-pull pot to split the 89 and as master tone.
I had to talk with Jesus The Lord a lot to achieve the result, since the push-pull/tone is an old revision of the pot and pins are slightly different from current version.
EMG Customer Support (great guys!) sent me the original manual of the 89 and that pot and in 30 seconds the guitar was wired as per my needings!
Solderless rules!
Now it's PERFECT.
A bloody loaded weapon set to kill.  :headbang:
On the run again!

MarshallJMP

Being an EMG user myself I never tried the 89, how does it compare to the 81 and 85? Also do you get decent results with the splitting?

Iperfungus

#10
Quote from: MarshallJMP on January 21, 2025, 12:55:06 PMBeing an EMG user myself I never tried the 89, how does it compare to the 81 and 85? Also do you get decent results with the splitting?

Ciao Phil!  :cheers:

Well, I never tried the 89 before and I've to say that's a very good pickup.
In full humbucker mode it's the same than the 85.
I do not hear huge differences.
Less "anger" than the 81, very Luke-ish tones and much more.
Very versatile guitar now.

The split mode works fine as well: it's more or less a SA.
I saw there's a second coil under the one that's active when you split the 89: that coil is activated in split mode, while the one that works in full humbucker mode is disabled.
I assume that's to make them noiseless...it should be a dummy coil or something like that, since the tone in split mode is 100% single coil's tone.

Furthermore, when splitted, the 89 works very well also when combined with the middle and neck SA pickups.

One of the advantages of these old Charvels, is that they have 3 on/off toggle switches and then you can have any pickup combination you want.

I also love the EMG AB 220 booster there: it's a very big plus!!

Now I'm restoring a 1985 Fernandes The Function FST-125 I bought some days ago and those guitars, back in the days, had a couple of EMG 81 caramel back pickups.
There's a lot to do there.
Wires are so old that putting pond and soldering them is a pain in the ass.
The threaded tremolo arm's housing part is about to break and there are no spare parts around...so I found a man who can build a new one for me with his lathe.
Some holes in the wood are craters full of rust coming from screws.
And other nice stuff like that.
I'll start a NGD thread as soon as I'll have the job completed.
I attach a picture of the Old Lady.



EMG rules.  :adabig:
On the run again!

Dante

The ol' girl looks pretty nice, she cleans up well :thumb-up: