Summer of 2013, a visual concept for a new Charvel guitar design popped into my brain. I imagined a white guitar with colored racing stripes like a Mustang car. And then I thought, “what if those racing stripes were done in stained quilted maple?! A Photoshop mock-up was created, and instantly, everyone involved realized something special had just been created. I started working to create a guitar that deserved such a great design. I tweaked every possible spec and feature to create a Metal guitar, with the highest caliber of tone and playability, that would be worthy of the design concept. And, triumphantly, the Charvel San Dimas GT was born.

Let’s look under the hood and see what powers this muscle axe. The neck shape is pure Charvel, but we’ve given it an extra horsepower boost in the form of tall skinny 6105 frets. 6105 fretwire gives the fingerboard a slightly scalloped feel. The fretwire’s taller profile lets your fingers fit more easily between the frets in the higher registers. These frets also make hammer-ons, pulling-off, and tapping of notes effortless and more pronounced. The neck’s heel has been scalloped to allow easier access to higher notes, and the neckplate has been recessed into the wood for added comfort. The trem is non-recessed and floats high enough off the body to allow for plenty of “pull back”, and “flutters” like a dream.

Pickup selection is an often overlooked process of guitar design, but something I take very seriously. I didn’t know if I should go with “1 hum 1 single” or “2 hums”, so after consulting with our Pickup Guru Armando, we came up with a unique solution. In the bridge, we went with one of our favorites, the Dimarzio Tone Zone, and in the neck, a Dimarzio Humbucker From Hell. The Humbucker From Hell is a full sized humbucker that sounds just like a single coil, giving you the best of both worlds – a “1 hum 1 single” sound in a “2 hum” route. Tone connoisseurs (who normally swap out pickups) can rejoice with endless pickup changing possibilities, but we think you’re really going to love the ones we’ve selected. The Maple neck compliments the Tone Zone with a tight, aggressive attack that reminds me of early VH, and the neck pickup is pure single coil bliss in a hum cancelling format. Switching between these two pickups is instantly audible and a breeze to do with the custom control layout. The pickup selector has been placed where your right hand rests naturally, and the volume knob has been moved out of the way.

It’s been very hard to keep this project a secret, and I’m so glad the guitars have finally arrived. I am elated with the killer results of my “Labor of Love.” - Scott