So imagine my reaction upon walking into a pawn shop and seeing this pointy headstock Charvel hanging on the wall. From six feet away I couldn’t immediately identify what it was. My first thought was that it might be a vintage 80s instrument in amazingly preserved condition. My second thought was that it was a one-off custom that some Charvel fanatic had assembled. A close up, hands on inspection, along with some Google foo, revealed that is was a 2018 Limited Edition Charvel Super Stock Model 1888.
It was in mint condition, with the exception of a very small ding on the front of the body with some strange green residue adhering around the point of impact. Looking at the blemish under magnification revealed that something pointy, hard enough to leave an indention in the finish, and apparantly green, had impacted the guitar.
Both the frets and strings were tarnished and showing slight signs of rust, though they were otherwise pristine, by which I mean no divits or wear. My impression was that the guitar may have been carelessly stored, and not that it had been played hard or abused. A further clue was offered in that some of the plectrums stored in the case were from the Sam Ash store in Glendale, Arizona. Apparently this guitar had traveled across the country, and perhaps in the course of that journey had been exposed to the conditions contributing to it’s present state. While I do enjoy amusing myself with these Sherlock Holmes hypothesis, the truth regarding the backstory of these pawn shop instruments almost always remains a mystery.
A GFM hard case was included, with a Snark tuner, a dozen picks, new pack of 09 Ernie Ball strings, and a Fender microfiber polishing cloth stowed in the storage compartment.
I could not walk away from this deal at $340, especially considering that this guitar was being offered on Reverb for nearly triple that price.
So I get the guitar home, polish the frets, set it up in E flat tuning, and proceed to put it though the paces. It plays and sounds incredible. It has a darker tonality, with loads of mid range bark. This is not surprising, given the mahogany body. The single coil sized Dimarzio Super Distortion in the neck position sounds like a P90 on steroids.
In the course of my research I discover that the 1888 is an homage to the Charvel Model 88 that was manufactured in Japan between 88-89. 1000 examples of the 88 were made, with only 500 produced for the US market. Though the 1888 is not an exact copy of the 88, there’s no mistaking that is served as inspiration.
What the 1888 shares in common with the 88:
Mahogany body.
Jackson shark fin inlays.
Reverse pointed Charvel/Jackson headstock.
Black hardware.
Slanted bridge humbucker.
Non-recessed Floyd.
The notable differences between the two models:
88 is MIJ and 1888 is MIM.
88 has a pickup ring, while 1888 has its bridge humbucker direct mounted.
1888 has a neck pickup (single coil sized Dimarzio Super Distortion S).
1888 has a tone knob.
88 has a rosewood fretboard, while 1888 has an ebony fretboard.
88 has a Jackson branded Floyd, 1888 has a Floyd 1000.
