The new Charvel Pro-Mod DK22 SSS 2PT CM scored top marks from Guitar Player magazine’s James Rotondi, who enjoyed the axe’s modern approach to throwback sound and style.

“The Pro-Mod guitars pair hot-rod performance features with classy, stripped-down aesthetics that make them as suitable for grown-up ‘dress gigs’ as for high-flying fusion and metal jams,” wrote Rotondi in a review appearing in the November issue. “Younger players, too, may well find them a refreshing break from the deluge or more literal-minded vintage-style guitars, touching on an ‘80s vibe but feeling more newly minted.”

The DK22 is packed with a trio of single-coil pickups consisting of a mini-humbucking bridge Seymour Duncan Custom Hot Rails Strat SHR-1B pickup, Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 middle pickup and Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 RWRP neck pickup.

“The DK22’s bridge pickup delivered immediate Eddie-approved growl,” said Rotondi. “Once paired with the middle pickup, the wind starts crying Mary, producing a graining, warm, rounded-mid rhythm scoop that’s perfect for Mayfield and Hendrix territory. The reverse-wound/reverse-polarity neck pickup on its own delivers syrupy, beady, vacuum-lifted SRV tone in spades.”

Meanwhile, the DK22’s neck and sculpted shredder’s cut heel paved the way for comfy riffing at any spot along the neck.

“Not only is the compound 12”-16” neck radius heaven sent for larger hands and sweeping arpeggios, but the sculpted shredder’s cut heel, with its scalloped lower back bout, gives your hands an unimpeded since of space and control,” he noted.

All in all, Rotondi found that the DK22 was built to step up your speed game

“If you thought your speed days were behind you, the DK22 may help you rediscover the joys of sprinting,” wrote Rotondi. “Even if your top velocity isn’t quite what it was in your 20s, the DK22 is poised to speak with equal authority to the seasoned and understated player in you.”

Grab the November issue of Guitar Player magazine for Rotondi’s DK22 review.