Charvel Guthrie Govan Signature MJ San Dimas £2,299
That’s a serious-looking instrument!
Indeed. Serious technical ability requires an instrument to match, and this Charvel is the latest signature model for one of the scariest players on the planet, Mr Guthrie Govan. This time it comes out of Charvel’s Japanese facility, cutting the price of a Guthrie signature model by hundreds, while still offering the features we’ve come to know and love from GG’s collaborations. But before we start throwing the ‘affordable’ word around, it’s still a pro-level instrument with a far-from-cheap price tag.
Where does this sit with the US-made models?
Let’s take a look next to the full-fat version. Basswood body? Tick. Caramelised maple neck? Present (sans flame). HSH pickup configuration with oodles of switching options? Yes, siree!
All the ingredients are here with only seemingly minor tweaks to the spec along the way, and production costs being kept down by its country of origin – which, if you’re anything like us, you stopped being concerned about at least one pandemic ago…
What else does it have?
Starting at the top, you get Guthrie’s preference of headstock shape: a licensed Fender Strat headstock. That’s loaded with six Gotoh locking tuners, and there’s a Graph Tech Tusq nut sitting just below. The compound radius fingerboard (304.8 to 406.4mm/12 to 16 inches) is maple, but it’s been heated and dried, producing a caramelised look, before being fitted with 24 stainlesssteel, extra-jumbo frets.
The front-facing dots are a classy creme, while the side markers are stage-friendly Luminlay dots, as are the volume and tone control knobs. That maple neck is of the Speed Neck variety, comes in a satin finish and is home to graphite truss rod, which is conveniently adjusted at the body end. Further down, you’ll have spotted the Charvel locking vibrato unit, which has been recessed, just like Guthrie’s other signature models.
Tell us about the finish…
While 80s shred was full of hot fluorescent finishes, you may have noticed contemporary face-melters have long been leaning toward a more discerning – some would
say mature – palette. Guthrie is no exception, and both of his US models come to the party showing grain.
Here, that basswood body is topped with the unmistakable pattern of ash, which has been sprayed in a three-tone sunburst to give it a refined look and allow that grain to pop through.
You mentioned switching – what’s the deal?
There’s a pair of Charvel Custom humbuckers bookending a Charvel single coil, and five-way blade switch to jump between positions. There’s also a full bridge humbucker; bridge inner coil and middle; bridge outer coil and neck outer coil; middle pickup and neck outer coil; and neck humbucker. Plus the mini-toggle that’s present on Guthrie’s other signature models. With this engaged, selecting positions 1 and 5 gives us a ‘single-coil simulation’. The only option not present is engaging the middle-position single coil on its own.
Anything else?
It’s currently right-handed only. Expect to see these filling racks around October, priced at £2,299.