One of these. I was in a shop where they had a second hand example and I couldn't resist picking it up and giving it a go.
Here's my findings.
- It looks Retro sixties garage, but the feel is totally “Eighties Shredder” very flat neck and smooth whammy bar, it was so much more Eddie Van Halen than it was Dick Dale.
- Likewise, those pickups, I was expecting Danelectro chime, but they had too much output to get anywhere near that tone. It DOES make the guitar more versatile, though, there was little that that thing could not do.
So, my verdict?
It's a Charvel alright, it has everything that I associate with that brand in terms of playability, feel and sound, but a retro guitar it is only in looks. I guess the guys at Charvel at the time had no idea on how to make the Surfcaster to be the kind of guitar they envisioned.
It's the right guitar from the wrong brand, really. Charvel is known for producing shredder guitars, and although the Surfcaster popped up several times over the years in their production, it was very much a cult instrument, which looks like one thing but is very much something else entirely.
