To me, the nickel frets and trem kill it for me. Otherwise it's one of the most perfect guitars for my taste that I've ever seen. I wish for stainless steel frets for less frequent (never?) refretting and a fixed bridge for tuning stability.
I have had the electric blue for about a year now. Had the fret ends filed down, put metal knobs on. It's been a good guitar. A true super strat. I may put another hot rail in the neck position and maybe a kill switch. The gotoh trem stays in tune with moderate use. I was impressed. My 2nd favorite behind my Charvel Satchel signature 🙂
Any issues with the Tusq nut? I really wish they offered a fixed bridge version, because this guitar minus the futzing with tuning stability would have me in the store right now.
That Satchel model is freaking awesome. Which color did you get? I thought about the purple a couple years ago. I bought the Purple Sunset Pro Mod instead. I love it. I decided I just didn’t want a signature. But the paint or graphics are just KILLER on the Sach model.
I have the black one and it is a masterful piece, I really liked it when I was playing it at the shop before I bought it but then when I got home and played through my Hughes & Kettner tubemeister deluxe 20 head and trainer dark horse cab I just couldn't put it down n ended up playing for about 3 hours. stayed in tune for me very well considering there is no locking nut. such a simple design but with amazing features. the guitar is now in the top 3 of my arsenal.
Dagan - you are an incredible guitar player ! mostly I watch your reviews to watch your playing. Blows me away every time. That is a pretty amazing guitar I have to admit. I have a sire S7 on order but it’s six months out so seriously considering this one instead. But I am a fan of the black I must tell you!
Great video! I have to clarify something you said though; position 3 on the selector is NOT the middle pickup, it’s the inner coil of the bridge combined with the neck single coil. Like a Tele middle position. Rock on!
I have the DK22 in Electric Blue and it is a great guitar. It really can go from SRV to EVH at the turn of a knob. It’s like a Strat 2.0. My only complaints are the fret sprout and the stock bridge saddles. I had them replaced with GraphTech saddles because the high strings were frequently breaking despite moderate usage. Awesome review and glad these guitars are finally getting more attention.
Have both the shale gray DK24 and the gold DK22. Hated the DK24's bridge pickup and swapped it out for a SD SH5. Except for this, both guitars are original. The necks make a difference, the DK22 feels and sounds very different when compared to the DK24. These were my Christmas presents to myself over a couple of years, and both have turned out to be great buys.
@@SO-bp2uc As I'm a SG owner, this is hard for me to describe - the 22 fret Dinky has a very Stratty / traditional feel and tone, while the the 24 fret is high performance [ Hot Rod ] instrument. Both necks have a compound radius and are one the most comfortable necks I've ever played. I'm keeping both guitars as they have very personalitites and are incredible instruments.
That guitar is almost perfect for me. Only things I wish for: 1. Locking nut for tuning stability 2. Stainless steel frets so I don't have to get it refretted frequently The fret part isn't a big deal. I figure add $175 to the price to have my local shop replace the nickels with steels. But replacing the tusq nut with a locking nut is pretty much impossible without some shockingly invasive neck work. At least it's tusq and not plastic. Damn, though. It looks awesome. The pickup config fills a gap in my set of guitars. Locking tuners rule. And the roasted maple neck looks great. Also I love just how different the neck and bridge pickups sound on this guitar. I own several metal-focused guitars, and the neck:bridge tones are much more similar on them.
If Charvel dares to release DK22 with Floyd Rose that would be the Sand Dimas killer. The contoured heel and the roasted maple neck are serious features. Then those colors are spectacular.
@@Javier-qk7ms probably just personal preference. To me it just "feels" better and I like not having the locking nut. A 510 with locking tuners have always stayed in tune better for me. The quality of guitars I've have with the 510 have always been better than the quality guitars I've played with a Floyd though too so, could have something to do with it.
@@zachmcloud Yep there are lots of low quality FRs out there but I have been very happy with the FR 1000 in my SoCal. If it only had the heel contour it would be perfect.
Dick dale as i understand played a left handed strat strung right handed thus making the pickup pick the strings up the same as reversing the bridge pickupon a right handed strat and Dick Dale was one of jimi hendrex's influances.
I always wanted a Charvel and now I have one...a So Cal I bought off a friend. I love the Jake E Lee color scheme of white with black pickguard and the neck is compound radius maple. That's about all I like about it LOL. It has a floating Floyd and I used to have a Wolf Special with Floyd on the deck that stayed in tune so much nicer. I'm having a devil of a time keeping this thing in tune, which I thought was the point of a Floyd. Then came changing the strings...holy ****! You have to block the trem, then deal with the locking nuts at both ends. I'm just so over dealing with a Floyd! I got a trem stabilizer so now it will only dive, but still a PITA to deal with for as much as I use the trem. Sure I love a good dive bomb every now and then, but the trade-off. If I had a guitar tech, I'd do it. But when YOU are the tech, you get over it really quick. I want string changes to be a breeze and take as little time as possible. Also, splitting a humbucker is not the same as a true single coil...and I love neck single coil tones. So when I saw this guitar...especially with the reverse-slanted bridge bucker...I was like this is it! But I couldn't sell my So Cal to offset the price, so I'm stuck for now. I really want to get this guitar, though. I think if I put in a trem stabilizer and lubed the nut, it would stay in tune just fine. EBMM and PRS make non-locking trems that really stay in tune well. Petrucci guitars are this way. I think I would change out the pups to be a bit more versatile...put some Dimarzios in ...Area 58 neck and a Super Distortion S in the bridge. Once I find a blue one for a nice used price, I"ll see if I can sell my So Cal again.
One of the reasons I am thinking going another way is the lack of criticism for Charvels not just here but everywhere. It may be a great selling point but I still believe in the adage if it’s too good to be true.
This guitar definitely needs a FR version with a term lock! I had the DK24, but I hated the floating 510 trem. It constantly got in a bind at the nut throwing it out of tune. Traded it off and got FR floating locking trem equipped guitars and have been happy ever since.
Loads of forums full of people with the same problem! Makes me apprehensive on purchase of any of these charvels with the 510 Bridge. What FR guitar did you get in the end?
@@Planet9_music I had a Snow White Charvel San Dimas for a little while and it had a Floyd Rose 1000. But, I sold it off and so I just stuck with Ibanez Prestige and Premium guitars that are equipped with the Ibanez Edge bridges. They are superb. And now, I have bought two Jackson SL2 FR guitars and they are excellent! They never go out of tune. Very stable.
@@Planet9_music my Jackson SL2s have FR 1000 bridges and they are fairly decent, I have had no issues. The Charvel just wasn’t what I was looking for. Personal preferences.
Fender has jacked up all the prices on Charvel's by at least $200. Bad move considering Kramer is making one hell of a comeback in the "super Strat" category with really well made and inexpensive guitars.
Charvel has the best design of that bunch imo. And the reinforced roasted necks with the fret work is really top notch. Better than any Fender neck I think.
I'm usually not a fan too but after seeing one of these in person and playing it, i bought it immediately. I think it looks better in person than on video and the quality and durability of the finnish is A1.
Don't care for gold finishes, however, I bought a gold one. The satin gold is easy to live with, and it doesn't smear as the high gloss finishes. Actually, I picked the guitar and tried it. The guitar felt so right on everything except for the finish and played so nicely, I bought it on the spot.
And my only gripe with this guitar is that for the 5 way pickup switch, theres truly only 1 single coil option, which is position 5, which is the single coil neck pickup by itself. Theres no option for single coil middle pickup by itself
It’s not that hard to make that modification. Actually in my strat I use a toggle switch to define wether position 3 is the middle pickup or neck and bridge in parallel. I use a 5-way super switch though
If you wanted to have this guitar re-wired so the 5 way pickup switch resembles that of a typical stratocaster (single bridge pickup/middle and bridge pickup/single middle pickup/middle and neck pickup/single neck pickup) would a guitar tech be able to do so?
There's a part of a song Dagan plays on 11:06 and idk if that was van halen but I remember trying to learn it and forgetting about it but now I can't remember the name of it.... HELP!
