Charvel’s 2022 has already been huge. The high-performance electric guitar brand has released signature guitars for Sean Long, Guthrie Govan, Henrik Danhage, and Satchel. But as announced at the top of the year, there was more coming.
And it might even be the best of the lot – the Jake E Lee Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1, a Pearl White Superstrat based on the former Ozzy guitarist’s original 1975 model, which is officially released today.
Also now available to buy are the Pro-Mod DK24 HH HT E in Desert Sand and the Pro-Mod DK24 HSS FR E in Infinity Blue. Let’s take a look at the Jake E Lee model first.Or, to give this guitar its full name, the Jake E Lee Signature Pro-Mod So-Cal Style 1 HSS HT RW.
Like the others in the Charvel lineup, there are more letters after its name than a tenured academic at an Ivy League university, but these offer some clue about the spec.
The HSS tells us that Mr Lee’s chosen pickup configuration is an evergreen Seymour Duncan JB SH-4 ‘bucker joined by slanted DiMarzio SDS-1™ DP111 single-coils. The HT tells us it is a hard-tail, with a no-fuss six-saddle bridge like Sean Long’s signature model. No, we’re not sure what the RW means but it sure looks the part with that black ‘guard and white pearl tuning buttons.
We have seen signature Jake E Lee Charvel USA models before, but this is the first time that the model has been priced for the jobbing shredder at £1,369 / $1,299.
Like most of the contemporary Charvel range, Lee’s alder-bodied signature whip has a 12-16” compound radius fingerboard with rolled edges, a bolt-on maple neck, jumbo frets and a heel-mounted truss rod adjuster.
The rosewood fingerboard completes the look. There is no demo video but that is as good an excuse as any to post this solo from a 1984 performance of Suicide Solution, in which Jake E Lee truly splits the atom.
Now for the Pro-Mod DK24s. Here we have the bolt-on format once more, 24 jumbo frets. The Desert Sand model has a poplar burl-topped mahogany body and a Seymour Duncan Full Shred SH-10B bridge humbucker with a Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro APH-1N ‘bucker at the neck. There's some sculpting at the heel for easy upper fret access and everything is geared for performance.
The Infinity Blue model is a first for the DK24, in that it is has a Floyd Rose Series 1000 double-locking vibrato. Charvel has never done that for an HSS DK24 before.
Like the Jake E Lee model, the HSS setup here offers a lot of tone options, with a Seymour Duncan Full Shred humbucker complemented by a pair of Seymour Duncan Flat Strat single-coils in the middle and neck positions.
For the money, this is a lot of spec. There are Luminlay side dot markers, 500k low-friction EVH Bourns pots from, and the satin poly finish on these necks make them play like butter.
The Desert Sand model will cost you £1,029 / $1,099, the Infinity Blue is a hair more pricey at £1,199 / $1,099.
Now, speaking of hair, that charismatic rascal Satchel from the unashamedly ‘80s metal Steel Panther has been speaking about his new signature model that came out earlier in the week.
You can check that out below. It’s proof, if needed, that in the market for the high-performance electric guitar there is always room for an animal print finish. Zebra or bengal tiger, you decide.
Either way, it’s a pretty fun guitar, and Satchel reveals some fun insights behind his relationship with the Charvel brand, and one fun memory from back when Steel Panther were a covers band.
For more information on these and its 2022 lineup, head over to Charvel. Or to our interview with While She Sleeps’ Sean Long, who tells us all about the pragmatic design of his new model, and his thinking behind it.
