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Charvel is celebrating its Californian heritage with two new American Neo-Classic Superstrats that mark the company's long-awaited return to the Corona factory for a production run series.
The range offers two slick-playing, maple fretboard electric guitars that hark back to the firm’s origins as a SoCal repair shop, with hardtail and Floyd Rose variants on tap.
At its heart is the ultra-versatile Seymour Duncan JB/59 pickup pairing with parchment bobbins, as well as a one-piece quartersawn maple neck “carefully reproduced from authentic 1980 specifications” and brought up to speed with graphite reinforcement.
Both guitars feature alder bodies, with their 12-16” compound radius fretboards getting rolled edges, natural satin finishes, and 22 jumbo stainless steel frets with Luminlay side dots.
The SD1 HH FR offers a Floyd Rose 1000 Series trem with locking nut and retainer bar, while the HH HT variant swapping that out for a Charvel hardtail bridge. Controls, in true 1980s fashion, are cut down to just a Master Volume as these guitars stay true to the original Charvel speed merchant template.
And what ‘80s-minded build is complete without an eye-catching finish? The Floyd Rose-laden SD1 HH FR comes in Robin’s Egg Blue, Ivory Blitz, Gloss Black, and Racing Red.
Gloss Black, Racing Red, Velvet Midnight, and Ivory Blitz are on offer for the SD1 HH HT.
The hardtail model clocks in at $2,749, with the Floyd Rose version seeing a small price bump to $2,799, meaning these aren’t exactly bargain-basement builds.
Still, considering they are American-made and brimming with top-end specs, they were always going to break the $2K barrier. What's more, the spiritual homecoming will no doubt be cause for celebration for Charvel fans.
In recent years, Mexican- and Korean-made models have been dominating the Charvel lineup, with only the premium Custom Shop USA Select models heralding from the California factory.
A USA-made production run Charvel has been a long time coming, and we expect to see more in the not-too-distant future.
We also have to give Charvel top marks for having Dweezil Zappa shred in a skate park for the promo video. That’s undeniably cool.
“The American Neo-Classic San Dimas is a direct line back to where it all started, the shop, the craft, the obsession with making instruments that players actually want to play,” says Jon Romanowski, VP of Product, Charvel.
“Building it in Corona feels like coming full circle.”
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