NGS/Review: Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 HH 2PT (Satin Burgundy Mist)

[LunatiqueRob]

I got this as a gamble/experiment, because I like my Charvel Guthrie Govan Signature so much, I wanted to see what Charvel's mid-range offerings are like, since it has a similar feature set but less costly and a bit different. The nice satin burgundy mist doesn't hurt either.

So, for a its price-point, you get a lot--caramelized Maple neck with rolled fingerboard edges (but no stainless steel frets), 5-position switch with a toggle switch for serial and parallel wiring, giving you a total of 10 available tones. I prefer the neck-heel joint of this model over the Guthrie Govan because it's more sculpted and more comfortable, and the portion of the neck where the rounded profile starts flatten out also is much shorter, so your thumb won't rest on that sharp corner like on the Guthrie Govan model.

Overall I still prefer the Guthrie Govan Signature, but this one is so slouch, especially for its price point.

 

[LunatiqueRob]

I forgot to mention this guitar doesn't stay in tune as well as I had hoped. Not sure if it's the nut or the trem or something else. I've had Gotoh 510 on other guitars and they were very stable. I'll continue to troubleshoot it and if I can't, I'll just return the guitar. Although I like this guitar, it's not a must-have compared to my other guitars.

 

[14Fishes]

I have the same guitar, but bought a second-hand one super cheap for a project. I had the same tuning issue. While researching, I found plenty out there about tuning issues with these guitars, a lot of which seemed to be caused by the string tree on the D and G strings, but notice yours only has one on the B and high E, mine has two string trees. So it may be a nut issue? I've had a Musikraft neck with a beak-shaped headstock built for mine as I wanted more of a Suhr/Anderson look (without the price tag), but the Charvel necks are really nice, so ordered their "Pro Mod" spec neck. It will be interesting to see if the different neck resolves the issue, but I've also bought some new hardware in black - Gotoh 510 trem and some better Schaller staggered locking tuners, and won't be installing any string trees.

How do you find the pickups? I liked the neck pickup, but the bridge was horribly thin and shrill and a little too hot for my taste, so have bought a warmer, lower output Suhr pickup to replace it. So I basically bought the DK24 and replaced everything but the body and the wiring :-D

 

[Shawn]

Very nice. Great pics, too. congrats!

 

[ikarus]

HNGD!

Can you tell me about the neck? Whats the thickness and profile like?
Is it thinner than on a Fender American Strat?

 

[LunatiqueRob]

I have the same guitar, but bought a second-hand one super cheap for a project. I had the same tuning issue. While researching, I found plenty out there about tuning issues with these guitars, a lot of which seemed to be caused by the string tree on the D and G strings, but notice yours only has one on the B and high E, mine has two string trees. So it may be a nut issue? I've had a Musikraft neck with a beak-shaped headstock built for mine as I wanted more of a Suhr/Anderson look (without the price tag), but the Charvel necks are really nice, so ordered their "Pro Mod" spec neck. It will be interesting to see if the different neck resolves the issue, but I've also bought some new hardware in black - Gotoh 510 trem and some better Schaller staggered locking tuners, and won't be installing any string trees.

How do you find the pickups? I liked the neck pickup, but the bridge was horribly thin and shrill and a little too hot for my taste, so have bought a warmer, lower output Suhr pickup to replace it. So I basically bought the DK24 and replaced everything but the body and the wiring :-D

Def let me know how your mod works out. I'm kinda surprised at the tuning issue, since Gotoh 510s are kinda legendary for being stable (as long as you don't abuse the trem too much, but some even say you can dive-bomb and it'll stay in tune). I'm going to try and file the nut slots a bit and see if that helps. I also moved the two strings out of the tree and we'll see if that helps too.

The bridge pickup is def on the brighter/thinner side, kinda like a Tele bridge pickup, so if you're not into that Tele bridge sound, then it's not gonna be for you. I don't mind it too much since I can just dial up the bass frequency in the amp or with EQ. The neck pickup is similar sounding to the Guthrie Govan one, which is nice and articulate but still have enough body and don't get too thin.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Ditch the string tree as an added friction point. replace the nut (if needed) with a Tusq XL, and if you have to slot it deeper, use good fret files and polish the slots to reduce further friction.

As long as there is enough break angle over the nut to seat the string in the nut slot, there's no need for a string tree. These locking tuners should have enough of a low profile to get you to the post efficiently. Since these guitars are designed with a straight string path to the tuning post, the only friction point should be the nut slot, and if well prepped, can have that friction reduced greatly. In fact, I have a Squier Strat with a Mann Made USA PRS style bridge that still has the stock nut on it that I've personally prepped. Once I did that and added locking tuners, I can't knock this guitar out of tune.

I've worked on those Charvels for customers (pickup replacements by preference) and the first thing I've suggested, with success to all of the owners is to ditch that string tree.

 

[USMarine75]

Who needs a string tree? That’s what the cigarette is for.

 

[LunatiqueRob]

Who needs a string tree? That’s what the cigarette is for.

View attachment 135449

It used to be so common to see guitarists smoke while playing on stage. Now I can't remember when was the last time I saw anyone do that.

 

[NoodleFace]

Almost bought one of these, not my typical guitar but it spoke to me.

For tuning issues, I use nutsauce on my les paul with its shitass headstock design and it works pretty well. Can also try some graphite in the nut.

 

[LunatiqueRob]

Almost bought one of these, not my typical guitar but it spoke to me.

For tuning issues, I use nutsauce on my les paul with its shitass headstock design and it works pretty well. Can also try some graphite in the nut.

I use the MusicNomad Tune-It lube on the nut slots, the saddle contact points, and string trees (although for the most part I just remove the strings from the trees as they don't seem necessary most of the time). I've also done the graphite thing--sometimes both. I can't say I've ever seen these remedies perform miracles that turned a guitar that won't stay in tune into one that would--and that's even after smoothing out the nut slots with files. Maybe the problems I have on my guitars are usually due to the trem bridge itself--maybe the knife edges, the springs, or strings catching in non-locking saddles. It's also kind of random, since on some days, a guitar would be perfectly in tune even after string bends and dive-bomb, and just a day later it would not stay in tune, and nothing's changed with the guitar, the temperature, and humidity in the studio environment, and then the next time it'll be in tune again.

 

[Marked Man]

Who needs a string tree? That’s what the cigarette is for.

View attachment 135449

Any time I see EVH with a cig now, I think of how he died...

 

[chinnybob]

Agree on ditching the string tree. I bought one of these a few years ago and had similar issues with tuning stability, I removed the string trees and put on some staggered tuners to help the break angle a bit. That got me 90% of the way there; I recently changed the saddles for some graphtech ones and now I can divebomb to my heart's content with no problems at all.

 

[14Fishes]

I wanted to order one of the Wilkinson trems with locking saddles and the shorter trem block designed specially for these guitars (https://wilkinsondirect.com/product/wvs1302pc/), but they are NEVER in stock. I emailed them in the summer and was told they'd be in stock the following month, but gave up waiting - and they're still not in stock.

 

[Sir_Shreddington]

I forgot to mention this guitar doesn't stay in tune as well as I had hoped. Not sure if it's the nut or the trem or something else. I've had Gotoh 510 on other guitars and they were very stable. I'll continue to troubleshoot it and if I can't, I'll just return the guitar. Although I like this guitar, it's not a must-have compared to my other guitars.

Nice score dude! I have the blue one of this model and I love it. Charvel neck profiles are the best for my hands.

Regarding the tuning issues, I agree with removing the string tree. I did that and the tuning issues went away. I suppose you could also try big bends nut sauce on the contact points to see if it helps (I didn't try it, I just ditched the tree). Without a locking trem system you won't really be able to go too crazy with the bar but you should still be able to do some nice vibrato with it. It's a stable enough bridge even with the occasional dive bomb.

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Sharp knife edges are a crucial component also. To prevent these from wear, don’t adjust post height while strung up under tension. This is the leading cause of wear to the knife edges. Slack the strings, pull a spring or two, then make the adjustments, then re string. Lather, rinse, repeat until you reach the desired height.
I was able to milk the playability of my Gotoh 1996 for close to 25 years by adhering to this, but it took me ruining a couple of OFR’s in years prior to learn this valued tip from someone else.

 

[LunatiqueRob]

It's probably not the knife edge since the guitar's pretty new, but I might check it just in case. Another possible fix I've been looking at is the NutBuster, which a lot of people said works miracles. https://www.guitarnutbuster.com/ I don't know how much it'll help since I already did my best to make sure the nut slots are filed nice and smooth with no snags and then lubed them. I also don't see the locking tuners rotate when I use the trem or bend the strings. Also, if I'm going to go the great lengths to achieve superior tuning stability, maybe I should just do it to my Guthrie Govan Signature instead and return this one, since one of the main reason I even bought this one was hoping the Gotoh 510 on it will be more stable to the trem on the GG.

 

[AkiraSpectrum]

Hopefully ditching the string tree, filing the nut , and setting up the bridge will remove your tubing issues.

Otherwise these guitars are really great. Probably the best Fender Corp guitar (Fender, Jackson, Charvel…) in this price range by a mile. Every dk24 I have played has been great.

 

[Robslalaina]

@LunatiqueRob
How's the forearm contour on this one? Looks broader than the Govan's but still not as extended as the AZ's.

 

[LunatiqueRob]

@LunatiqueRob
How's the forearm contour on this one? Looks broader than the Govan's but still not as extended as the AZ's.

You're exactly right. The angle is a little bit more steep than the AZ, but the width of the contour is slightly narrower. I would say they are very close and chances are if you find one comfortable, you'll find the other one comfortable too.