Charvel has expanded its Artist Signature Series for 2022, introducing new signature guitars for Slipknot's Jim Root, James LaBrie collaborator/Icefish lead man Marco Sfogli, and Anthrax bassist Frank Bello.
The long-teased Strat-style Jim Root Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH FR arrives alongside Root's existing Fender signature models – a Stratocaster, Telecaster and two Jazzmasters – while the drop marks both Sfogli and Bello's first Charvel signature models.
There's plenty of specs to digest, so let's dive in below.
Charvel Jim Root Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH FR
First up, Jim Root's new signature guitar is based on Charvel's Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 blueprint, and features a mahogany body – contoured and with a scalloped lower back bout comfortable upper-fret access – and a bolt-on maple neck with graphite reinforcement designed to withstand “extreme climate changes”. Perfect for a guitarist who routinely stands close to pyrotechnics onstage.
The guitar also sports a 12"-16" compound-radius fingerboard with rolled edges and 22 jumbo frets, as well as a heel-mount truss rod adjustment wheel for “pain-free neck relief tweaks on the fly”. Elsewhere, Luminlay side dots provide fingerboard guidance in low-light settings.
In terms of electronics, the guitar is loaded with a pair of Root's signature EMG Daemonum humbuckers – which aim to combine the power of active pickups with the sensitive touch of passives – with a streamlined control layout consisting of a three-way blade switch and a singular skirted Strat-style volume knob.
Other features include a Floyd Rose 1500 Series double-locking tremolo, Charvel-designed locking tuners and black hardware.
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Two aesthetics are available: one finished in Satin Black with a maple fingerboard and one in Satin White with an ebony fingerboard. Both come with a Charvel multi-fit hardshell gig bag.
The Jim Root Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH FR is priced at $1,499.
Charvel Marco Sfogli Signature Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 HSS FR CM QM
Icefish guitarist and James LaBrie's six-string sidekick gets a new signature in the form of a stylishly appointed Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 model.
It features a resonant alder body with a rippling quilted maple top, with a scalloped lower back bout and sculpted shredder's cut heel for “comfortable and unencumbered upper-fret access”. It also sports a bolt-on caramelized maple neck and fingerboard with, like Jim Root's new signature, graphite reinforcement.
In terms of electronics, the model is fitted with a versatile pickup configuration, with a EMG 89 active humbucker in the bridge position and a pair of EMG SA single coils in the middle and neck positions, the latter offering Strat-style tones, too.
The pickup layout, Charvel explains, reflects Sfogli's “propensity to cut across genres ranging from progressive metal to jazz”.
Controls include a five-way blade pickup selector switch, and single skirted Strat-style volume and tone knobs with push/pull functionality for coil splitting the bridge pickup.
Other features include rolled fingerboard edges, 22 jumbo frets, Luminlay side dots, a heel-mount truss rod adjustment wheel, Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking tremolo bridge, black pickguard and chrome hardware.
Available in a Transparent Purple Burst finish, the Marco Sfogli Signature Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 HSS FR CM QM is priced at $1,599.
Charvel Frank Bello Signature Pro-Mod So-Cal Bass PJ IV
And last but by no means last, Anthrax bass player Frank Bello has expanded his signature arsenal with a Pro-Mod So-Cal Bass PJ IV model.
Featuring a poplar body paired with a bolt-on maple neck – with graphite reinforcement for withstanding “extreme climate changes” – the Frank Bello Signature Pro-Mod So-Cal Bass PJ IV is “primed to thrash”.
Engineered for “unrivaled playability”, the bass also sports a 12"-16" compound-radius fingerboard with rolled edges, 20 jumbo frets and black block inlays.
It's also loaded with a set of Bello's signature EMG P/J pickups – which serve “warmth and low-end punch, along with tight mids and dynamic high end”. These are controlled by singular volume knobs for each pickup.
Other features include a Charvel HiMass bridge, Graph Tech TUSQ XL nut, open-gear tuners, a Gloss Black finish, mirror pickguard and chrome hardware.
The Frank Bello Signature Pro-Mod So-Cal Bass PJ IV is available for $1,299.
For more information on any of the new Artist Signature Series models, head to Charvel.
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Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.