NAMM 2020: Charvel has announced a cornucopia of new shred-ready electric guitars, with pretty darn jaw-dropping new Pro-Mod DK22, DK24, So-Cal and San Dimas models, each resplendent with a hot-rodded vibe.
There are also three signature models in the launch. Satchel of Steel Panther gets a Pro-Mod DK in a choice of Satin Purple Bengal or Satin Slime Green tiger stripe finishes. Gojira's Joe Duplantier has a new mahogany-on-mahogany Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 2, which surely promises to be a riff-monster. While Angel Vivaldi sees his DK24-7 Novo updated in Satin Black.
The Satchel Signature Pro-Mod DK has a solid alder Dinky body – as adopted from the Jackson Dinky – that has a seen some custom contouring. The neck is a bolt-on maple, graphite-reinforced, and treated with satin urethane, and there is a compound radius 12"-16" maple fingerboard and 22 jumbo frets for your shredding pleasure.
Satchel has plumped for two open-coil Fishman Fluence Classic humbuckers, each with a push-pull function to select between late-'50s PAF tone and a hotter, more contemporary hot-rod tone. It is priced at $1,399.99 (£1,099, €1,255 approx).
Joe Duplantier's Signature Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 2 is a hot-rodded T-style, with a mahogany body and mahogany bolt-on neck, ebony fingerboard. There is a Joe Duplantier Signature DiMarzio Fortitude humbucker in the bridge and a DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary 'bucker in the neck. It is priced $899.99 (£699, €809 approx).
Angel Vivaldi's Signature DK24-7 Nova, meanwhile, is much as we have seen before on his Satin Sage Green model. You've got a seven-string basswood Dinky body and custom-profile bolt-on maple neck. It has DiMarzio The Tone Zone 7 in the bridge and an Air Norton in the neck, plus a Gotoh Custom 7-String 510 tremolo. Price $1,299.99 (£999, €1,169) approx.
The DK series sees a number of updates, with each sharing the S-style Dinky body shape, a compound 12"-16" radius fingerboard, jumbo frets throughout, and so forth.
The Pro-Mod DK22 SSS 2PT CM boasts a trio of singlecoil-sized pickups and has a two-point tremolo, caramelized maple neck and fretboard. But arguably it's an HSS configuration, with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails stacked humbucker in the bridge, and Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat pickups in the middle and neck positions. It has received a scalloped lower back bout and a newly sculpted heel for more a more ergonomic playing experience.
Other nice touches include Luminlay glow-in-the-dark side markers and a 500K EVH Bourns low-friction potentiometer for super-smooth volume swells. The DK22 SSS is available in three finishes, each priced £1,009.00 ($1,049.99, €1,149).
Other additions to the DK series include the DK24, a top-selling model for Charvel that, as the name suggests, offers a 24-fret version of the Dinky S-style and while it retains much of the feel and premium hot-rod vibe of the DK22, there are more tonewood, hardware and pickup options. Here we've got hardtail, two-point tremolo and Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking tremolo models.
Of the latter you've got the likes of the Pro-Mod DK24 HSS FR M, an alder bodied S-style finished in Specific Ocean. It has a Seymour Duncan Full Shred SH-10B humbucker in the bridge, with two Flat Strat singlecoils in neck and middle positions. Price £1099.99 ($1,049.99, €1,159).
The Pro-Mod DK24 HSS FR M Poplar is all but identical but features a poplar burl top in Purple Sunset.
The dual-humbucker Pro-Mod DK24 models come with a choice between a mahogany body and figured walnut top in Natural finish, with hardtail bridge and gold hardware, and a quilt maple topped version in Dark Amber, which is fitted with a Floyd Rose 1000 Series tremolo. You'll find a Seymour Duncan Full Shred SH-10B in the bridge position and a direct-mount, vintage-voiced Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APH-1N in the neck. £1,019 ($999.99, €1,159.99) will get you the quilt maple, £959.99 ($949.99, €1089.99) the figured walnut.
Or might you for for the open-grain Red Ash option. Which sees a solid ash Dinky body appointed with a two-point tremolo and the HSS Full Shred/Flat Strat/Flat Strat pickup configuration. Price £1,009 ($1,199.99, €1,149).
The Pro-Mod So-Cal 1 calls to mind the original Charvel Superstrats. As with the DK Series, this share much of the same DNA, such as alder bodies and bolt-on maple necks, 12"-16" compound fingerboard radius, and dual Seymour Duncan Distortion humbuckers pickup configurations, three-way selectors, volume and tone controls with push-pull coil-splits.
Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking tremolos are equipped on all models. These are all priced £909 ($899.99, €1,039).
The Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 2 applies these design principals to a T-style body and reversed licensed Telecaster headstock.
Options include a hardtail bridge (£909, $899.99, €1,039) or a two-point tremolo (£959, $999.99, €1,089). You'll find 24 jumbo frets, a 12”-16” compound radius, a caramelized maple fingerboard, an ash body, and multi-voiced Fishman Fluence Open Core PRF-COC pickups that offer PAF and or a hotter modern tone.
Finally, the Pro-Mod San Dimas Style I. It's an S-style with dual humbuckers and a Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking tremolo.
Pickup options include a Seymour Duncan JB-1 in the bridge and '59 in the neck for the alder-bodied models, or the Full Shred in the bridge and Custom Alnico II in the neck on the ash-bodied San Dimas.
Again, fingerboards have a 12"-16" compound radius, with choices of maple or ebony. All are priced £909 ($899.99, €1,039).
For more gear news check out our NAMM 2020 hub.
See Charvel for more details.
