The Charvel Guthrie Govan Review
A massive thanks to Andrew at Cosmo Music for arranging for the review of this signature instrument.
I am not even in the same galaxy as Mr. Guthrie Govan, but when the opportunity to review his signature Charvel happened, I leapt at it.
Initial Observations
This is a high end instrument and the team at Charvel have ensured that you are getting a top flight build. The first thing I noted was the satin finish, which admittedly is a downer for me, but you quickly see the flame in the top and the neck. Charvel calls it Caramelized, and the best allusion I can make is that this is yet another way of saying roasted. The flame maple choices are beautiful, and the similarly caramelized basswood body both looks good and keeps the guitar nice and light.
I thought that the bridge was a Floyd Rose but it is in fact Charvel’s own design and personally I like it better. Instead of a locking nut and the then required tools, the guitar has a beautifully cut bone nut and Gotoh locking tuners. From a player usability index, I think that what they have done is just so much better for the regular guitarist.
I liked that while the neck is a bolt on, there is no neck plate and the mounting bolts are recessed and don’t get in the way. The chamfer on the body makes access to the upper frets easy. The neck is a rubbed satin urethane and while I personally prefer an oiled neck, this one never got sticky. Through the access plate on the back you can see the included Tremel-No which I think is a useful option for players.
I am very picky about strap buttons and these are deep enough to accept a saddle leather strap and the upper dome is large enough that strap locking gewgaws are unnecessary. For the duration of my review, I had a Walker and Williams copper saddle leather strap on the guitar and it hangs and balances perfectly. The five way switch is smooth and positive, but the switch tip like most FMIC tips still has a molding ridge in it. It’s a little thing, but it bugs me. The microswitch to flip from humbucker to single coil simulation is a bit small for me, but works a charm once you build the muscle memory to find it. I have to confess that I was unable to determine what single coil simulation means in the real world. It does not sound like a true coil split to me and the switching chart included later on does not indicate a coil split either.
I really liked the dome control knobs with actual numeric rings on them and discovering before reading the specs that the number rings are Luminlay. Volume rolloff is smooth and all the treble doesn’t vanish into the void right away when you roll off the volume or the tone. I do not dissassemble review units so I cannot tell you pot or capacitor values.
The pickups sound very nice, a bit on the hot side, and I am a fan of the HSH layout. I did not get the Strat squonk in either positions 2 or 4 and I believe that has to do with the humbuckers having single coil simulation and not actual coil splitting. The brown bobbins contribute a lot to the overall Woody look of the guitar.
The case included is a hardshell shorter case that has TSA ready locks and is really nicely done. I have one that is identical for one of my Strats and it offers good protection and light weight. The factory strings are .010 - .046 and were fine, although I would likely go to my own custom set of Curt Mangan 9.5-44s myself.
The 24 jumbo frets are stainless steel as I would expect and there was no issue with the top of the fret being too wide. The action out of the case was just fine and as I have committed to those who arrange these review instruments did not make, nor need to make any adjustments to anything.
I found the location of the output jack both interesting and annoying simultaneously. It is well placed to plug into when you have the guitar on a strap, but don’t set the guitar down on its butt because it will either tip or you run risk of damaging the jack. As I use Hercules stands that grab at the headstock it was not an issue for me, but I found it a change that added no value to me.
Specifications
Pickups and Switch Options
Example Sounds
For the short examples selection, I used Neural DSPs superb Tone King Imperial Mk II plugin. I own the real amp, and this plugin is like the real thing. Recording was done with the guitar plugged directly into a UA Apollo HiZ input. No preamp was loaded into the Unison slot and I used no channel strips either, although I would have used one or the other for a serious recording. The signal went straight into Logic Pro. I used the same example in different tracks with different treatments for consistency for you folks.
#1 - Tone King Clean for each pickup switch selection, starting at bridge and going to neck, toggle off
#2 - Tone King Lead for each pickup switch selection, starting at bridge and going to neck, toggle off
#3 - Tone King Clean, position 1, toggle off
#4 - Tone King Lead position 1, toggle off
#5 - Tone King Clean, position 3 with effects toggle off
#6 - Tone King Lead, position 5 with compressor and dual overdrives toggle off
#7 - Tone King Clean position 1, toggle on
#8 - Tone King Lead position 1, toggle on
#9 - Tone King Clean position 5, toggle on
#10 - Tone King Lead position 5, toggle on
Good To Go Kit
When getting started or even upgrading, there is often more to the success than just the guitar, so I have decided to include a Good To Go recommendation kit. For this guitar, here’s my kit list.
Charvel Guthrie Govan
A guitar of this quality deserves a great amplifier. I would suggest a Tone King, either an Imperial Mk II or a Royalist.
High quality guitar cable - 20ft or less. Good cables last and are quiet. Cheap cables are a horror show. Consult your sales professional for their recommendation but I like cables from Pig Hog, Ernie Ball, Digiflex and D’Addario. Avoid coiled cables, they look cool to some but are noise factories.
Gig Bag - This guitar comes with a terrific hard case, and it is both compact and lightweight.
Guitar Stand - Hercules make the best stands but you can often get a house brand that will hold the guitar when it is not in its case and you are not holding it. Note that for this guitar, the stand MUST be one of the headstock cradle type.
Guitar Strap - Every guitar needs a strap and every player, even sitting should use a strap. Gravity always works and a strap will save your guitar at some point. Lots of choices. Avoid fabric straps where the edges are sharp which hurts, Seat belt material is cheap, but the edges can be rough. I recommend real leather that has suede on the inside, which helps rein in instruments that are neck heavy. My favourite straps come from Walker and Williams.
Tuner - No guitar is complete without a tuner that goes with it all the time. Pedal tuners are great, but every player needs an in case tuner, and the Snark tuners are hard to beat. I prefer the cheaper models that take clock batteries as for the difference in price to the rechargeable unit, you can order a sheet of batteries from Amazon, or you may find a card of them in the shop from D’Addario priced very low.
String Changing Tool - The D’Addario tools are great. One tool has a string winder, a string cutter and a bridge pin puller. Every guitarist needs this as every guitarist should learn to change his or her own strings. It’s not hard, and that quality guitar shop might even offer a free session on how to do string changes efficiently that you can attend live. Also, there will be about a zillion YouTube videos on the subject.
Wrap Up
This is a fabulous instrument. While I am no fan of satin finishes, the great wood gets me past that. It is easy to play, and while Charvel went all in house for everything, I don’t see any deficiencies. As I mentioned, I find the output jack position only viable for when you are playing and for use with a guitar stand you must use one of the headstock cradle kind. You can get one for yourself by clicking this link to Cosmo Music if you are in Canada. The MAP here in Canada is $5099.99.
I really liked this guitar, although I did not find that for me, it was sufficiently different from the MIJ San Dimas that I recently reviewed, to warrant the cost difference. Please consider becoming a channel member and supporting me on Patreon. Do send in questions or comments, I read and respond to all. For That Guitar Lover, I’m Ross Chevalier. I wish you all the best and look forward to sharing with you again soon.
