The Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH FR M nabbed a trifecta of accolades from Total Guitar in its May issue including a 5-star review, the UK magazine’s “Best Buy” and “Best On Test” awards.

In an in-depth feature, the magazine pitted four killer guitars that play host to the iconic Floyd Rose double-locking vibrato head-to-head. While all four earned extremely high praise, it was our Charvel axe that took top honors.

“It’s the Charvel that took most of our attention,” noted TG. “The first Floyd-loaded metal machines were like hot rods: you take a lovely ’50s motor, strip it of all unnecessary clutter and weight, bolt on high performance parts, then paint the thing a cool colour. That’s the Charvel. The Seymour JB/’59 humbucker pairing, rolled fingerboard edges, effortless playability, perfectly set-up Floyd; it’s a dream machine.”

Playability was of course a big factor in the head to head competition and the Charvel definitely stood out from Ibanez, Schecter and Jackson guitars.

“The Charvel is slightly chubbier at the first fret, and the profile is pretty much the same as you travel up to the body end,” wrote TG. “We love the rolled fingerboard edges and the way the neck gently flattens out on the back. It’s supremely comfortable, and a good choice for those that don’t do the super-slim stuff.”

Directly mounting the Seymour Duncan JB and ’59 humbucking pickups to the body of this Pro Mod San Dimas boosts tonal resonance, and TG was definitely digging its old-school tonal range.

“The classic Seymour JB offers plenty of grunt and punch in the bridge position, but you get some excellent clarity even when the extreme dirt is dished,” wrote TG. “The neck pickup offers warm bluesy tones to complete a versatile package. Anybody who reckons Floyd guitars don’t do tone needs to try this.”

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