Charvel Pro-Mod So-Cal St.2 HH 2PT BKA

Nach einer kurzen und exakt angegebenen Wartezeit kam die Gitarre sicher verpackt bei mir an. Eine Tasche o.ä. ist nicht mitgeliefert.
Der erste Eindruck: tolles Finish, die Gitarre ist sehr leicht, das beste ist der wohlgeformte sehr glatt eund angenehme Hals. Bei genauerer Betrachtung fielen mir ein paar Dings und Dongs auf, die es bei anderen Herstellern in der um die 1000 Euro Kategorie ganz sicher nicht geben würde, z.B. bei Ibanez. Fand ich etwas underwhelming wie man so schön sagt. Auch die Saitenlage musste angepasst werden. Alle modernen Details der Gitarre sind wiederum super: Truss Rod Wheel zur Halseinstellung, die Locking tuner, die Brücke, die Leucht-Dots. Das Highlight sind klar die Fishman Fluence PUs, da ist von zarten sphärischen, über sehr klassischen PAF Sounds bis hin zu grobem Metal alles drin und sie klingen in jeder Einstellung hervorragend. Alles in allem bin ich sehr zufrieden. Die Gitarre wird bleiben und mich wohl sehr lange begleiten.

I had to admit, 1st time i played this Guitar straight out of the box, i was NOT really happy...
Not with the whole Guitar, but specifically with the frets, it had really sharp edges & fret sprouts all over the place,
& the Jumbo frets really felt like a freaking Railroad with speed bumps when doing slides...& the action was way too high,
funny, i was charged with a Thomann Guitar Set-up Service that i feel did not even happen,
coz it's was really painful & and unbarable to play, that i put it down right away..
Don't know why, but THAT'S really the truth.
(& I just can't really help to look up & ask the Heavens, "CHARVEL, wHY???!!!"..)

Good thing Thomann CS Gave Me a fair amount of discount as a resolve, after I Brought-up this issues to them,
& that's what I used to pay for a proper set-up, fret dressing & fret edge treatment to a very good Guitar Luther
here in our city & He really did a good job.

After that,,, MIRACLE,!!! The Guitar just transformed into a Shred little monster, it's now very easy to play fast, with quick slides
& backward slide licks, & I can't even feel the jumbo frets anymore.it is now very nice to play, the Fishman pickups sound versatility amazing.!,
love the feel & comfort of the compound radius caramelized neck,, so yeah, this is now My Favorite Guitar
& i'm Really happy with it now, I can't Put it down... & that's the story of My 1st Charvel...

One quick advise though...(based on what i learned from this experience)...
when you order, Never pay for a Thomann Guitar Set-up Service, coz it's Really not worth it...
they will never do what you instructed or request them to do, or won't even do anything to your guitar at all,
& You'll just end up disappointed when the Guitar arrives ,,, it's better you just do the setup yourself or
bring it to your trusted local Guitar shop for a proper setup, it's better that way,,, Take it from Me.!!!

(A Proper setup really needed to make it a shred monster...)


Thankz & CHEERS.!!!

Incredible how much the quality/hype of Charvel instruments has increased significantly in recent times, and the Pro-Mod So-Cal St.2 series is the absolute proof of this.
I was incredibly surprised how light is this instrument, although it is still very well built, a sign that it is well distributed over the entire surface of the guitar. The guitar is aesthetically beautiful, with beautiful wood grains poppin out throug matt finish. The feeling is amazing, fluid and "thin" fret, perfect for lead performances as well as for rhythm parts. Baked maple neck/fretboard is a beautiful wood of excellent quality, you can hear tele spank through the entire fretboard. Locking charvel stock tuners are a really good quality and tunning stays in place.
Pickups and coils split options are endless so it is a guitar that can be preferred even by professionals for any purpose!

PRO:
- Well built instrument with great ergonomic shape;
- Variety of sounds, from extreme metal to funky (possibility of splitting the pickups or changing the sound paste of the same from Modern to Vintage);
- Modern options in clasicc shape
- Great pickups - giant sound, well defined and powerful.

CONS:
- Nothing else to report, time will decide.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Beside its beauty, this guitar is packed with great hardware! It is very playable, and Fishmans sound great for any type of music. This is the second one I ordered, because the first one that came was poorly finished. I guess that QC in Mexico isn't what it used to be. The second guitar came great (fret could use a bit of maintenance, but it's not a big issue), but the first had the bridge pickup placed a few millimeters off, pickguard was also not aligned as it should have been, one of the bridge posts was also poorly assembled - so, yes... QC is bad. Thankfully, Thomann is here to step in and to relieve us of any stress caused by the lousy workmanship ;)