Designed greater than 30 years in the past, the newest incarnation of Charvel’s Professional-Mod So-Cal retains the “tremendous” in superstrat.

An attention grabbing, ergonomic guitar with alder physique bolted to a U-shaped, oiled-maple neck with 12″ to 16″ radius, 25.5″ scale, compound-radius fretboard, and 22 jumbo frets, it additionally has an ebony fretboard with dot inlays, and different touches embody die-cast tuning machines, single Quantity and Tone controls, and a Floyd Rose 1000 Sequence vibrato.

The Model 1 FR E HSS makes use of Seymour Duncan Customized Flat Strat single-coil pickups on the neck and center positions, and a Duncan Distortion TB-6 humbucker within the bridge. The neck pickup is overwound, center is pristine (reverse wind/reverse polarity for hum canceling), and the humbucker roars. A five-position selector yields humbucker sounds in Place 1, bridge internal single-coil and center pickup in 2, outer bridge single-coil and neck in 3, center and neck pickup in 4, and full neck pickup in 5. Any and all sounds could be mixed (the single-coils emit reasonable 60-cycle hum).

Plugged right into a Marshall combo or Deluxe Reverb, the Model 1 FR E HSS proved snug, with even weight distribution and providing extra girth than typical shred-style guitars. The Floyd Rose endured sadistic abuse and – impressively – held tune.

The only-coils yielded rugged sparkle and a shiny Alnico V chime, whereas the Distortion humbucker supplied extra vary than its title suggests – tight bass, mushy mids, and clear highs made it fairly versatile. This axe can shred alongside ’80s-era George Lynch, bop with Mike Stern, or funk together with Nile Rodgers. It shines by means of a clear amp for funky chord work, works nicely for gut-wrenching blues solos, and roars when high-gain mayhem is required.

Total, the Model 1 FR E HSS delivers quite a lot of vibrant Strat sounds, hot-rod muscle, and easy playability.

This text initially appeared in VG’s September 2023 challenge. All copyrights are by the creator and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.