NGD1: 1987 Charvel Model 4

[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! 

Some pictures here below, fellows.

[rnolan]

Very Nice Max

[Iperfungus]

Very Nice Max

I missed a red guitar, you know...

[Dante]

Nice looking Axe! Looks like a piece of candy

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]

Nice looking Axe! Looks like a piece of candy

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! 

[Harley Hexxe]

Sweet 

[Iperfungus]

Sweet 

...and f**king bad!

[MarshallJMP]

Looks great 

[Iperfungus]

Looks great 

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.