16 November 2015

Charvel Model 3B



This was a cheap acquisition by a client of mine but oddly I was as excited about it as much as he was.I think because its old and lately I've come to appreciate old innovation and quality.Looking at old catalog scans made me realized I'd miss a lot of yesteryear gear glory.I would've work after school if I'd known about them.Don't mind being a child labor for any one of those Yamaha's,Ibanez's,Jackson's,Charvel's etc.. Unfortunately the 80's through 90's were my schooling days and I was more interested at chasing girls studies than reading about guitars.










But look on the bright side,at least I'm now on the receiving end when those old stuff broke down.Come to think about it,this is even better.I don't have to buy them but get to fix them,understood the technology and play them all.Way better than looking at catalog scans.











This Charvel had a two big issues.The electronics looked mess up and twisted neck.I've no worries about the electronics but were more so about the latter.I had attempted twisted neck refret in the past which resulted the neck being bowed permanently after.The truss rod had stuck tight un adjustable.It was a free work offered by me to gain knowledge on this symptom.That owner was okay about it.He's thankful that I'd gave a try.This Charvel gave quiet a good scare for me to work on.But I gave the obvious two liner wisdom to my client "No Guarantee!"

The thing about twisted neck is when sanding a fingerboard that has high spots at cross opposite ends.You have to shave the high spots before doing the leveling.This Charvel has it high on the treble at the nut and the other on the end at the bass side(see pictures after repairs).There was another thing,the serial was stamped on the after the last fret on the fingerboard.I can't guarantee its safety especially when there's much more serious issues to face now.I tried tapping it it seem to be very much in the way of reading the fingerboard.So its gone!

















There's some more,the dot inlay at the third fret came off while the fingerboard nearing the straightness sanding.Polymer clay and the oven was used to make a new one.It did look odd compared to the rest being pearl.I'd say it'll do.










The frets were installed,the neck were adjustable and the bass plays well good.The electronics needs a little reworking to sound as it was suppose to.This is one twisted neck refret that I managed to fix. Syukur Alhamdulillah!















                                                                                                               







Doable and got away
yustech  



                                              

3 comments:

Abdul Aziz Sanford said...

"The thing about twisted neck is when sanding a fingerboard that has high spots at cross opposite ends.You have to shave the high spots before doing the leveling." What a useful tip. Thanks for sharing.

YusTech said...

I think what I wanted to write was. "The thing about twisted neck is there's high spot on each crossing ends.Shaving/sanding the high spot first before truing the fingerboard end to end is recommended."

Oh my grammar.Hehe

Abdul Aziz Sanford said...

Grammar is a pain in the ass, if you ask me. What's most important is that readers understand the message, and this you have done in all your posts. I am thankful that you are kind enough to share this important tip with your readers. Salute!