Charvel DK22 Clean and Overdrive Sounds | 2020 

Thanks! Congrats on your new guitar!

Thank you! I appreciate that! This guitar does everything an HSS Strat can, except the tones are clearer and the pickups maintain clarity even on high gain. The neck feels slightly rounder than an Ibanez Wizard neck. For your case (chord playing), the neck is comfortable to hold and easy to fret throughout the board. Many tones to choose from including sounds suitable for chord playing such as Tele middle position, Strat Positions 2 and 4, and Strat middle position. My only disappointment with this guitar is the quality control. Mine came with fret sprout and a sharp high E bridge saddle which kept breaking strings.The satin finish also scratches easily. I suggest you try this guitar in person before committing to it. Hope that helps!

Idk, Martins have always been 16" and people never mention how it's hard to chord, and that's with 12-54 strings. These are 12" down low and come with 9-42 strings. With the beveled neck and all the carves these are extremely easy to play.

Thank you! I appreciate that! I find the bridge pickup a bit darker compared to my Ibanez SV5470F, but very usable in a variety of different situations such as straight ahead rock, fusion, or blues. The tones are balanced. No drastic volume drops when switching positions are all tones are usable including the bonus isolated middle pickup which you can access by notching in between either 2 and 3 or 4 and 5 (I can't recall correctly). Overall, a great workhorse instrument packed with features for its price.

Thank you! I didn’t have any issues with volume drops when switching between pickups. Mine was pretty balanced.