Mr H Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I spotted a listing that looked too good to be true on eBay last week: new user, no previous sales, three small images, short description inc. "only been out of the case about five times," and he couldn't give me a definite model identification. However, it was listed under Everything Else > Other, so nobody looking through the bass guitar listings would have seen it. I was the only bidder, I made the reserve price and won the auction. Then I waited, not expecting too much, until the van pulled up this afternoon. Bloody hell, it's a 1987 Charvel and... looks like it's only been out of the case about five times! I swapped the old strings for a set of Overwaters I got from tayste 2000 in the marketplace, messed with/up the intonation, tightened up a loose pot and it's a little beauty. [attachment=98922:BlackCharvel.jpg] Grubby fingerprints and clumsy photography all mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Pointy headstocked goodness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mep Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Wow, I have one of these which I bought new in 1987. They are awesome and are built like tanks. Mine does not look it's age and stil plays really well. The only thing that is letting it down is the bridge as some of the small screws that adjust the height are not easy to move anymore. It has served me well and has travelled quite a bit with me. At a recent gig a guitarist from a metal band our guitarist knows was very excited that I had the original Charvel model and not the later Jackson model. Mine always seems to get positive responses from musicians. What did you pay for yours? Check mine out in [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/77841-sold-charveljackson-active-bass-80s-model-incl-hard-case/page__view__findpost__p__750253"]http://basschat.co.u...post__p__750253[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/133346-pointy/page__view__findpost__p__1211225"]http://basschat.co.u...ost__p__1211225[/url] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/74654-charvelanyone-know-anything-about-them/page__view__findpost__p__728194"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/74654-charvelanyone-know-anything-about-them/page__view__findpost__p__728194[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) Oh my! I had one of these in the early 90s. My bass got stolen and I needed a bass fast. I went down to see a friend playing in his band and the bassist was playing one of these, which he had on loan from a local musicshop and it sounded fantastic. I marched down to the shop the next day and bought it for £150 secondhand. The pointy headstock didn't fit my 'image' and when I found my old bass in a pawnshop a year later the Charvel (by Jackson) got sold. Best sounding passive bass I've ever heard. Edited February 1, 2012 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr H Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 [quote name='mep' timestamp='1328135172' post='1522617']What did you pay for yours? Check mine out... [/quote] Got it for £180 inc. a nice hard case. I've seen yours in the pointy thread. This one is very similar, but still has the Jackson passive pickups. Come to think of it, I've seen that [i]3B for-sale[/i] thread, too - I had a good look around Basschat for Charvel basses some time ago, after I got a white one from Skezza. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Ah, so that was you! I was sorely tempted, as they are stunning basses and it looked a great price - though I think the seller was tinkering with it throughout the listing, I think what you paid is spot on and a real bargain for how good these are. Mine does the bulk of my live playing. It's soooo light, very comfortable to play, and makes an almighty noise. Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 There's a blue and maple one of these with SDs in a local music shop for £600! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mep Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 [quote name='Mr H' timestamp='1328140498' post='1522698'] Got it for £180 inc. a nice hard case. I've seen yours in the pointy thread. This one is very similar, but still has the Jackson passive pickups. Come to think of it, I've seen that [i]3B for-sale[/i] thread, too - I had a good look around Basschat for Charvel basses some time ago, after I got a white one from Skezza. [/quote] You grabbed a good bargain there, enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1328176994' post='1522941'] There's a blue and maple one of these with SDs in a local music shop for £600! [/quote] I'm assuming that's the one which has loitered on Ebay for well-over a year now? Am unsure of the differences in the line - are they claiming there's is a US model? The ones being discussed in this thread will all be imports... but bloody good ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merello Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Great buy - saw it on eBay but I am rooked yet happy with what I've got - well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr H Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 [quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1328192410' post='1523349']Am unsure of the differences in the line - are they claiming there's is a US model?[/quote] The Fort Worth, Texas neckplate continues to cause confusion, deliberately or otherwise. I only recently found [url="http://audiozone.dk/"]this site[/url] which has lots of old Charvel information. I knew there'd be plenty of Basschatters who'd like my new old bass - thank you all for the comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Thats the one, having played it it is indeed US according to the neck plate which reads San Dimas California (although I thought these were fender built?). It's a nice bass and were it not for the price tag I'd tear their arms off. The tone and build quality/feel is to die for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Yow! Lovely bass. Incredible price, too. Well done. Now clean it up and take some proper pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 BC Rich did much the same over the period - the neck plates were marked "LA California" despite being imports, so you get the odd EBay expert insisting they have a US-built bass from Nagoya, Japan (New Jersey, right?)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocco Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 [quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1328210804' post='1523874'] BC Rich did much the same over the period - the neck plates were marked "LA California" despite being imports, so you get the odd EBay expert insisting they have a US-built bass from Nagoya, Japan (New Jersey, right?)... [/quote] Psssh some people. Although Pointy P/Js FTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Great minds chief, great minds. Though I think I prefer the Charvel over the BC Rich ST... The older ST was more Precision like. I wish I could find a Gunslinger, reverse-pointy PJ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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