Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar Flat Black

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

I recently purchased this guitar as a backup because I wanted a guitar easier to switch tunings than my main guitar with a floyd rose (Dean Razorback Explosion) My main reason for choosing this guitar was the Charvel name. I have owned an acoustic Charvel for over 10 years that is just as solid as the day I bought it. I purchased the DS-2 with the flat black finish and it looks amazing. The other finishes are nice as well but I like the way the hardware and abalone binding and inlays stand out against the flat black. I've owned it for 3 weeks and as far as i can tell the construction is solid! The action and feel are amazing. The neck is very thin and unfinished which makes it really fast even if your palms get a little sweaty while playing. My only cons with this guitar would be in the electronics, The stock pickups were great for a guitar in this price range but a swap with an EMG 81 85 combo made a big difference and it was an easy swap since the original pickups had the same quick connect outputs that EMG uses. The volume knobs could be better. It's almost all or none which makes it difficult to do volume swells or other gradual effects using the volume knobs. Overall for the price this guitar has more than met my expectations and even though I have made some modifications to suit my own prefference I don't think you could find a guitar with active pickups and a set neck of this quality in the same price range! This guitar is solid, has good sustain and very easy to play. My Dimebag Dean (which cost 3X the price) may get jealous for me saying this but it may be my new primary guitar!

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

I was looking for a new electric guitar. I have a basic epi LP which I dislike a lot given the continuous fret buzz and tiny sound. I was about to buy an Agile Les Paul on online when I went to a local store and found this guitar. I tried the Ibanez and Epiphones LP there as well as a Godin. The Godin surpassed all the guitars that I tried there but it was way out of my tight budget. Then I went for this Charvel for less than half the Godin price. The instant I played it I knew this was the one. Love the feel of the neck, the sound, looks and overall comfortability. It sounds powerful thru my Vox amp. I will never regret buying this guitar and I think is really a steal for the price. I got the trans red one. Will recommend this one to everyone. I wish they have an acoustic line of guitars.

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

I have had this guitar for a year and a half now and it is one of the best guitars i have played. for the price you cant go wrong with this! Great action, no fret buzz, great active pickups, looks great, and plays and sounds absolutely awesome!

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

Bought this guitar from musician's friend. Never bought a guitar online b4 and was pleasantly surprised. I haven't played my own 87 Charvel model since! Love the unfinished neck... Just keep a getting better!

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

Great tone.
Great pickups
Great looks.
Great action and sustain.
I mean really its an inexpensive guitar that has the quality of a 1200 dollar guitar. I have have seen no flaws with this guitar.
You will never beat the price or quality of this intrument.

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

Overall you can't beat this guitar for this price. Don't let the price fool you, this is much better than an entry level guitar.
The features on this guitar are ones that you would find on guitars twice the price. The two active pickups are clear on clean channels and heavy aggressive on lead or rhythm channels. When combined with my Peavey Valveking and my Metal Muff w/Top Boost it's enough to satisfy almost any metal player.
Only problem I had was some burr on the edge of a few frets, but with ultra-light sandpaper and meticulous attention this problem was easily rectified. Fretboard was smooth and the neck and heel were seemless. Stays in tune and the compound radius makes chording easier.
You would be hard pressed to find these features for this price on competitors models.

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

I have been playing for 25 plus years and I'm totally addicted to Ibanez. I love the flat fretboards and thin necks. I wanted a Les Paul type guitar for that heavy metal rythym playing. I researched this guitar and loved everything about it except the "compound radius fetboard". After much deliberation, I purchased the Smear Blue. Wow, I was pleasantly surprised. The curve in the fretboard is barely noticable but really helps with chording. Neck is fast and the action was set nice and low right out of the box. Great tone and sustain. The active pickups sound great!! Solo's and fluid and easy to play while rythym playing is tight with not being overly aggressive. Made beautifully and sounds and plays great. My Ibanez RG Prestige has been fighting for playing time!!
The only reason I give it a nine is for the fact that scalloped neck heal and the body joint dont meet perfectly. Well, they do, its just not a seemless seem, I guess you would say. Very minor and is not noticeable when playing but worth noting.

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

Overall I give this guitar a 9. Upgrade the pups and it is every bit as good as the DS-1 models. I have been playing for 20+ years. I highly recommend this guitar if you are looking for something that will grow with you!
I rate the features a 9 out of 10. Set Neck is straight and the frets are very good. Decent tuners, stop tail bridge. Inlays are even and look quite nice. 2 - Active Charvel humbuckers, standard 3-way switch, 2 volume and 2 tone pots. Finish is outstanding! Overall a very well done guitar for the price.
I give the quality an 8. I downgraded it slightly for 1 reason only. The Active pups are good but not great. They do have good sustain, mids and highs are clear and strong. Where they lack is in the low end. They just do not have the crunch of other active pups like the Blackouts or EMGs. I have a Hughes and Kettner 100 watt head on a 4 x 12 cab filled with 2 Celestion V-30s and 2 Celestion G12-65s...It took quite a bit of tweaking to get a decent metal tone and I still was not satisfied. I am a tone chaser so I had to change out the pups for an EMG 81/60 set. There are no wiring diagrams out so here is some info for anyone else wanting to do this. The Charvel wiring is not compatible with the EMGs. You will have to do a full rewire. The 3-way switch is oddly installed and has 6 leads insted of the usual 4. I rewired with the EMG solderless kit for 2 humbuckers and resoldered the switch back to standard 4 lead config (Les Paul style). Works like a champ and sounds really mean! I highly recommend the upgrade if you can! Had to turn the batter box around so the battery connector would fit. Minor issue but wanted to note it.
I give the value an 8 out of 10. This is an excellent beginner to intermediate guitar stock. Upgrade the pups and you have a professional axe on your hands. Overall this is a great value. Charvel did a really good job with these.

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

pickups sound great and action is nice,had a couple tweeks i needed to resolve but overall it was a good buy.....

Comments about Charvel Desolation Single Cutaway 2 Electric Guitar:

The fit and finish are amazing, the mahogany body and neck are beautiful and she plays like a dream. I can't wait to gig out with this guitar next month. It is definitely worth every penny - a wonderful addition to my collection!
This guitar was under the Christmas tree waiting for me and I'm in love with it. It's my first guitar with active pickups and I am really enjoying the sounds, especially lightly overdriven.
It had a bent knob when I got it, though the packaging showed no damage whatsoever, and the knob did a little damage to the finish in the recessed hole around the knob. Nothing too serious, but it kept the guitar from being perfect.

Other than the above, one sweet guitar. The trans-red finish is stunning, the binding is awesome, the set neck and body scalloping make it very comfortable. The unfinished neck is a little weird at first, but the guitar is very playable.
I got this guitar at a slight discount through MF, but I would have bought it anyway. Once I saw the pictures and read a couple of magazine reviews, I knew I had to have it.