CHARVEL PRO-MOD DK22 SSS 2PT CM

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CHARVEL PRO-MOD DK22 SSS 2PT CM
14
GUITARIST AUGUST 2020
CHARVEL PRO-MOD
DK22 SSS 2PT CM
PRICE: £949
ORIGIN: Mexico
TYPE: Double-cutaway solidbody electric guitar
BODY: Alder
NECK: 2-piece caramelised maple with hand-
rubbed urethane finish, graphite reinforcement
and Luminlay side dots, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
NUT/WIDTH: Graph Tech Tusq XL/42.86mm
FINGERBOARD: Caramelised maple with
rolled edges and small dot inlays, 305-406mm
(12-16”) radius
FRETS: 22, jumbo
HARDWARE: Chrome recessed Gotoh Custom
510 six-saddle floating bridge with screw-in arm,
Charvel die-cast locking tuners
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53mm
ELECTRICS: Seymour Duncan SHR-1B Custom
Hot Rails humbucker (bridge), SSL-6 Flat Strat
single coil (middle), SSL-6 RWRP Flat Strap single
coil (neck), master volume, No-Load master tone,
five-way pickup selector lever switch
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.4/7.5
OPTIONS: Hard case (£108); padded gigbag
(£43)
RANGE OPTIONS: The Floyd Rose-equipped Pro
Mod DK24 HH FR twin humbucker with Floyd Rose
vibrato and alder or okoume body starts at £899;
a hardtail version is available at the same price
LEFT-HANDERS: No
FINISHES: Pharaoh’s Gold (as reviewed),
Gloss Black, Electric Blue
Fender Musical Instruments EMEA
01342 331700
www.charvel.com
PROS Combining bang-up-to-date performance
with classic tones in a beautifully simple
package – well played, Charvel
CONS A gigbag would be nice; no lefties
9
SHR-1B Custom Hot Rails humbucker,
both coils engaged. The second click on the
switch coil splits the bridge pup to offer the
inner coil in partnership with the middle
SSL-6 Flat Strat. Number three is the outer
coil of the bridge pickup in cahoots with the
neck position SSL-6. Four finds the middle
and neck single coils also working together.
The last position is the neck SSL-6 Flat Strat
doing its own thing.
Plugging in, you quickly realise that the
DK22 is not some bovver-booted yob with
too much to say for itself and absolutely
no table manners. Yes, we’d wager direct
mounting the bridge pickup has given it a
touch more tonal girth than a traditional
Strat single coil usually possesses, even in
the split modes. Reverse angling it Jimi-
style also helps to emphasise the low-end
and soften the top E treble, and yet you’ll
find classic ‘glassy’ Fender tones here, too.
Positions two and four on the switch dial
in the much-loved Hendrix ‘in-between’
tones. Position three comes over like the
middle setting on a Telecaster, with a wash
of additional warmth.
Adding overdrive naturally ups the
aggression of the bridge pickup, but it’s
definitely more focused sounding than a
full size ’bucker. Clarity and note separation
are exceptional. Of course, in all positions
dialling the No-Load tone control to its
highest notched setting reveals some
additional presence.
Verdict
You typecast electric guitars at your peril.
We all know that Gretsch guitars cut plenty
of mustard outside of their supposed
comfort zones. That goes for Rickenbacker,
too. Similarly, the Pro-Mod DK22 SSS 2PT
CM can’t be pigeonholed as just another
shredding machine, even if that’s Charvel’s
target market.
Yes, we reckon the customer base for this
guitar is potentially wider than that. Blues,
country, classic rock – whatever turns you
a coin, the DK22 has got your back. If this
were a Fender American Ultra or a Suhr
Classic we wouldn’t have to persuade you
to relax your prejudices and preconceived
notions. Yet this guitar has that same
combination of vintage and contemporary
appeal – and for much less money.
Bottom line time. The Charvel Pro-Mod
DK22 SSS 2PT CM is an exceptionally
well-built guitar with fantastic playability
and a tonal range that runs from vintage to
modern. If ever there was an example of a
guitar that should be judged on its tone and
feel first, with its looks a distant third, this
is definitely it.
It can’t be pigeon-
holed as just another
shredding machine,
even if that’s Charvel’s
target market
There’s no shred-friendly double-locking
Floyd Rose vibrato here. Instead, you get
a recessed Gotoh Custom 510 unit. This
vibrato comes paired with a set of locking
machineheads and a slippery Graph Tech top
nut. The result is faultless tuning stability
GIT461.rev_charvel.indd 14 11/06/2020 09:42