I played in a covers band for years, and swore by one pickup combination that covered everything. With $400 off this Charvel San Dimas, this is the HSS guitar I’d be picking up this Prime Day

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This top-spec San Dimas in Aqua Flake is built to thrill – and it’s a steal for covers band guitarists

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR M
(Image credit: Charvel)

I spent well over a decade gigging on the wedding band circuit, and I did it all with one guitar – a Cort G290 Superstrat. Its HSS – humbucker, single coil, single coil – pickup configuration gave me the versatility to handle anything that might come up in the set, from Nile Rodgers funk to EVH leads. But if I did it all again, I’d get something a little more classic. And maybe a little more… glam.

And that’s why I think this Charvel San Dimas is an absolute steal, with $400 shredded off its price tag at Sweetwater for Prime Day.

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR M
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Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR M: was $1,399.99 now $999.99 at Sweetwater Sound

Charvel has never been one to give its guitars snappy names, but don’t hold that against the Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR M. It’s rocking a trio of Seymour Duncan pickups in my beloved HSS configuration. In the bridge is the industry-standard JB humbucker, while a pair of SSL-6 pickups will handle all your Strattier moments.

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Crucially, it’s also got a coil-split for the bridge ’bucker, plus a Reverse Wound, Reverse Polarity neck pickup to reduce hum.

Naturally, the neck is built for speed, with a hand-rubbed urethane finish, plus a compound-radius fingerboard with rolled edges – and trust me, you’ll want that to prevent hand cramp during Message in a Bottle.

There’s a Floyd Rose locking tremolo as well, which will keep your divebombs in tune, while the whole thing is wrapped up in an Aqua Flake finish that screams ‘partaaaay’. A licensed Fender Strat headstock, meanwhile, classes up the package.

Trust me, that pickup configuration can tackle anything you can throw at it. But if hair-metal is more your thing, this will do that, too. Maybe even some Turnstile hardcore.

Basically, it’s a top-spec Superstrat for under $1,000 – Sweetwater’s $400 discount takes it to $999, which is a bargain. I’ve yet to play a Charvel I didn’t like, so I would not hesitate in recommending this speed machine before it sells out.

For more deals that are actually worth your time and money this year, head over to our Prime Day guitar deals hub page, where my GW colleagues have rounded up the offers that actually count. (And seriously, that Electro-Harmonix Lizard Queen deal is nuts.)

Shop more Prime Day deals

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Michael Astley-Brown
Michael Astley-Brown
Editor-in-Chief, GuitarWorld.com

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.

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