Grover Jackson and staff tell the story of Charvel guitars and launch the Legacy series 2008
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Grover Jackson, Mike Eldred, and Todd Krause talk about the old days at Charvel MFG and show samples of the then new Legacy series guitars.
In 1992 I walked into a guitar shop in Cotati California,there was a blue guitar in a plexiglass glass case hanging up behind the counter. I told my self “That’s going to be mine”. I put some money down on it and payments every paycheck. I went into make a payment one day and my best friend and his girlfriend were with me. My friends girlfriend asked me if I wanted to take it home today,she paid it off and I took it home. I played till 1999 and sold it to another friend for gas money as I was moving back to San Diego and needed gas money.always wish I never sold it. 21 years later I get a text from the friend I sold it to,he said the package is on the way. So I’ve had my blue Charvel Avenger with EMG pickups back in my hands after 2 decades. As a matter of fact, the friend that bought it never touched it in 21 years. He’s a bass player. God bless them,I’ll never part with it again.
Thats a great story, great friend too
Awesome Story!!!!
Best part of story is the friend and his gf..
I remember working in the wood shop in '85-'86. I did inlaying and fretting with another guy who showed me how to fret "their way." We were just kids. I left before they moved to Ontario. Life took me down another road and after nearly 40 years, I found my way back to guitar building, but now as a hobby. The one man who left an impression was Mike Shannon. He was a great teacher/worker/supervisor. Lots of great guys worked there. They really did give young kids a chance to get into the guitar building business. Really great memories.
I worked there as warrantee repair in 86-87. I worked at both shops. Musta just missed you
@@shasba It was Ontario, California. I only was never in the assembly area except to clock in and clock out. I stayed in the wood shop the whole time.
Did it for cheap labor that's why
Top to bottom, every last Jackson I've ever played from the cheapest to the top end USA Custom Shops, was just great. I love Jacksons.
WOW! Your employer comes over for Thanksgiving dinner, EPIC!!! You are so blessed!
I remember I found a Jackson Randy Rhoads V lying on the floor in a case covered with all kinds of boxes etc at a small shop in White Settlement Texas and I called Jackson guitars to find out more about it and Grover himself answered the phone..it was really neat to be able to talk to him then and several times after that..prior to that I had purchased a brand new Charvel Model 5 in 1987 or 88' but on the headstock it had the Made in Japan I believe under the Charvel name..it was an awesome guitar as well.
Jackson Soloist Eerie U00933 . Buy in 1991 at Montreal (steve music) . I never play a such perfect guitar in my life. There's surely another good guitars but never played as much nice as mine. Bravo to the young team back in time
i remember in the early to mid 80s in central florida most of us thought only rock stars had jacksons, and if anyone did somehow get a jackson everyone would hear about it and whoever got it became rockstar status, and automatically the best guitarist around. , Jackson is killing it still!
I grew up in Connecticut. We had to travel to New Haven or Danbury to even potentially see one. I remember asking to be called to let me know when one came in used, and was informed that not only was it uncommon for a used one to show up, the wait for a new order was so long that the demand for used was strong enough to where the savings wouldn't be enough to sit around and wait for. It took several years before I encountered my first used one on a rack. It was extremely exclusive. I saw guys trading vintage Fender's and Gibson's plus cash for them.
That's cool stuff. I'm from those years and its neat to hear how that all happened.
i bought an acoustic back in 1994 , i still have it today. I never had a problem with it and people are always saying MAN , THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL GUITAR. The headstock reads CHARVEL , I believe it was made in KOREA. Anyway, it does everything I want as an acoustic, no problem here.
I am an independent Luthier and you only learn from mistakes! That's what makes you better!
It’s mind blowing to think Karl Sandoval and Eddie Van Halen took a picture right out in front of that bay door holding the finished Bumblebee ! Wish ed was still around 🙏 Karl you did a awesome job on the Bumblebee ⚡️space ace Ron ⚡️
Grover is a good guy.
I have 2 Charvel a 87 model 2 and an 88 model 4 .and 1 Jackson a 89 RR3 ALL MIJ . Great guitars . Id lke an early Charvel USA ..Some day
We didn’t drink coffee but we were awake 😂
Im curious why he never mentions ryan cranston hes was there before eldrin. Hes not pictured because mike staggs didn't wake up. Him and ryan car pooled groover sent him back to pick him up . Ryan worked on Randy's guitar. He redid the the jack. Ryan initials are on the guitar. He may not mention him because groover acused him of being late and was going to dock his pay and told ryan leave if you dont like it. Ryan packed his tools and left.leo Fender hired him at g&l eldrin called him and said grover wanted him back. He asked if grover would give him 2 dollars more to match fenders pay he said no. Theres photos with ryan and he was even contacted by randys sister and Dolores. Randy broke his guitar while recording the first album he played Gary's Moores charvel . Sharon called Jackson and talked to ryan and told him they needed a guitar built. When they came home for Christmas randy went to the shop.
Delicious insight!!! Thank you.
I love my Jackson Guitars, and the Charvels. 🤣🤣🤣
If a Charvel has a fender stratocaster headstock it just doesn't have the effect on me as a pointed peg head. I hate the fender is producing these now.
another group of people who owe everything they've got to Randy Rhoads....he single handedly put Jackson guitars on the map...where it remains to this day.
While I agree he put the brand "on the map", he didn't introduce these folks to success. Charvel was the most in demand new brand on the market when Randy walked in the door.
@@guitarcheology just stop it....nobody cared about a company that mostly did repairs. Jackson himself said the company was on its last legs. Rhoads burst on the scene...everybody sees hes playing something called a Jackson, the way he played, his look, the look of the guitar was all stunning, cutting edge stuff at that time,,,and over night, EVERYBODY was suddenly playing Jacksons. Its wasn't the name on the headstock, it was WHO WAS PLAYING THAT GUITAR. Man, just be honest, geez. Id like to know how rich those guitars made Grover Jackson....btw, last week, at the MTV Music Awards....2023, 41 years after his death, SHAKIRA was playing a Jackson RR....not a Charvel. Case Closed...P.S....quit being silly about this....
@@randallrhoads3271 @randallrhoads3271 You obviously don't understand the history. Wayne's days of the repair shop cobbling guitars together out of parts ended November 11, 1978. Grover was producing Charvel guitars in house by mid 1979, and was building them in volume by 1980. Jackson experimentation began when Charvel's were in full production and there was a 6 month waiting list. Jackson wasn't even its own brand until 1983, after thousands of Charvel's had been made. The reality is: The Jackson brand was launched after the major success of the Charvel line.
@@guitarcheology correct me if I'm wrong but weren't the RR guitars the first to have the Jackson name, because Grover was afraid it was too far out there and didn't want to do any potential damage to the Charcel name?
@@mikeglazier5993 it isn’t a clear cut answer. The first Jackson branded guitar was Randy’s Concorde, but it was technically a Charvel instrument, as Jackson did not exist as a brand yet. Randy even called his Jackson’s “Charvel’s”.
Shortly after Randy’s guitar was made, a set neck Dinky was made with a Jackson logo for Spacy T. There is another set neck Dinky like Spacy’s out there. Then there was Randy’s second V and a bunch of other guitars made (like Vinnie Vincent’s). I would guesstimate before the Jackson brand became official in 1983, they made around a dozen to twenty Jackson branded guitars. All with hand painted logos, technically Charvel’s. So while he may have wanted to test the waters, he certainly was selling them to anyone that asked. I think Randy’s death just drove up demand to the point where he couldn’t plan a full line. He had to get the V’s out and work on the rest later.
The gist of what I am saying is: they were making Jackson branded guitars 2 solid years before they launched it as an official brand. Any indecision was very short lived. A couple months tops. By the summer of 1981, they were really working hard on dialing in manufacturing techniques and the final specs, which appeared upon launch
I still have my San Dimas Jackson, it’s got a left handed maple on maple neck. 5 color bullet hole paint, two single coils in neck and middle, double coil at the bridge. Completely bone stock except for the Duncan JB double coil. I’m not certain of the year, it’s an early one for sure, 4 digit serial numbers.
Yeah, that era can be tough to date as serial number plates were dumped in a large bin and picked at random. Sometimes you can get lucky and find a date inside. Other times you are looking at subtle specs and try to guesstimate its age.
I still have mine too. 85 white soloist with a kahler and ssh pick-up configuration with the 3 toggle switches.
Mike Shannon or anyone who worked at Charvel back then. I know you guys worked at the US factory,but do you know much information on the Model Series Charvel by Jackson imports ? Specifically the Model 5A/ 5Fx?
I am focused on the Charvel/Jackson factory. The closest I get to the outsourced guitars is I have a few of the mid production (never completed) USA Soloists they sent Chushin in the very beginning as guides to make the neck through model series models. Chushin used them to copy the shapes of the heels, neck carves, and such.
@@guitarcheology Thank you. That's pretty awesome. I have a 1988 Model 5Fx and it's near mint. It was my H.S. graduation present from my parents in 1990, so it was 2 years old when I got it,but I've taken amazing care of it as I do all my gear. I just want to know more about it. I know it was originally a Model 5A, that got sent to the TX factory to get a slanted single coil put in the neck position. Some got a tone knob as well. So mine has the slanted single coil neck pickup, the tone knob, and 3way toggle switch. One of my favorite guitars in my pretty decent collection
Grover is the whole reason there even is a CHARVEL guitar! All the old originals are really Jackson made guitars
under the "Charvel" name. Wayne Charvel was long gone when the great guitars were being made and sold. Grover and his employee's
made all the great guitars! Wayne Charvel had ZERO to do with those guitars!
Fast forward to the present and Grover did it again with the LEGACY series! This is the Charvel for those that want
to experience what a old original was like if you bought it new. I have a original San Dimas strat that was made in 1981
and also have a Legacy bloodsplatter. They play and feel the same! That is probably why they are over $5K used on Ebay
when they show up for sale!!🤣
That is so true. In 1985, if it was a neck-thru, it was a Jackson. If it was bolt-on, it was a Charvel. I'm sure there might have been exceptions as the decal was put on after the woos shop.
I contacted these guys around 1990 to order a guitar, no response. As I have zero tolerance for being ignored I eventually contacted a luthier to make me a guitar, which was even better than I expected so I ordered three more. In consequence I have never touched Jackson since and have no interest in that brand. Who lost here, me or the company..?
I really wish fender would have not taken Jackson, Charvel and remaind on their own.
I understand, its business.
@@epasternak4206 well, the reality is it probably would have been out of business by now. I can tell you on the employment side employees at least feel some sense of stability under Fender. Under the prior ownership most expected to show up and find the doors chained and out of business signs in the window since the mid 90’s. This is a tough business with low profit margin. This is why fewer and fewer truly small companies are left.
Here’s a story….build a quality guitar..2800-3200 for a USA soloist…in this day and age….with sharp fret ends and dings is a joke.
Great story.
Fender taking over Jackson is the biggest tragedy in guitar history, completely ruined the brand. Those guitars are not Jackson anymore. No quality control, inferior instruments. Sad...
@@jaqueartistry5493 The reality is the brand would have died had it went anywhere else. The pre Fender company was never really profitable. It never generated enough money to pay everyone plus enough extra to keep it modern. You can mark previous major updates to times the company was exchanged to new owners. The factory as it stood in 2003 was almost 20 years behind. Not only did it need the update, but it needed to not be relied upon to bring in money right away. It took many years for the brand to get to a point where new models were in demand. Had anyone bought it in 2003 with expectations of it being self sufficient would have been in for a rude awakening. The used market was its own worst enemy. The values were so low most had no reason to buy a new one.
Could Gibson have saved it? Yes. But outside of that, not too many others could have done it and not just made it strictly a label.
You can point the finger at the slip in QC with the modern selling model. Buyers shop by price, most modern discount dealers do whatever it takes to keep expenses low. The dealer was always the last step of QC. Now, they just act as a drop shipper. And all of the issues that previously were tended to before going in to the customers hands are being passed on to the buyer. FMIC needs to adjust this modern mindset, even if it means they have to charge extra.
@guitarcheology Thank you for the insightful reply, I totally agree with you. I think the fact the Grover Jackson bought Charvel in late 70s was a great move but that overextended already suffering production. The drop shipping analogy is accurate however what I was referring to is US 2.5k+ models being shipped out with factory faults, warped necks, cracked ebony fretboards and sprouting frets (and that's just one visit to 3 guitar centres in Colorado), Fender high end instruments are no better though. The quantity over quality has become a norm for Fender and all its subsidiaries.
@@jaqueartistry5493 The dealer is supposed to deal with those before you the customer ever see them. I worked at music stores back before the internet, and that was part of how we earned our money. Each guitar came out, was inspected, and those with manufacturing flaws went back for exchange. The customer never saw them. A shop hanging them as is is not doing their job. I can recall times in the early 90's rejecting entire shipments of Gibson guitars. Usually warped necks. Now people consider that to be a good era, better woods. Or the dozens of messed up G&L's. Not even on most peoples radar now because only a few slipped by lazy dealers. Now, they just get hung up or shipped out. The dealers are not being the final stage of QC like they are supposed to be.
MAN IF I AM GOING TO FORK OVER BIG CASH FOR A GUITAR I WANT THE ONE MADE IN SAN DIMAS NO CNC CRAP....CRAFTSMANSHIP IS DYING A PAINFUL DEATH...WHAT A TRAVESTY.
So that's the shop my white Jake E Lee custom shop was made?
Grover Jackson also screwed over Edward Vanhalen by taking his superstrat Frankenstein after Ed told him no but he puts out a slanted humbucker, 1 volume, and a Floyd rose and wanted to use EVH's name to sell them. That's just foul man. I think Charvel, and Jackson were great guitars back in the early days. So, Ed was sponsored by Kramer, which were just awesome in my book! I had a 1984 with single pup, single volume, non floating genuine Floyd Rose trem. That guitar was a tank man, id like to find another vintage 80s Kramer. I'd get a black one, some white, and red bicycle paint and make my own 5150!
At the end of the day, Eddie’s guitars were all just pre CBS partscaster clones, & so it’s fitting that Fender now owns both the EvH & Jackson/Charvel brands. Grover didn’t rip off Eddie anymore then it ripped off the mother of invention Leo Fender out of necessity. Charvel provided EVH his early guitars in the late 70’s & so it’s real a shame that Eddie had no loyalty to the Charvel brand, like him had just been a small US manufacturer struggling to survive in California, that helped Eddie in the late 70’s. Surely Charvel would have blown up bigger & created many jobs in the U.S. with Eddie as a parter, like Kramer did for a bit in the mid 80’s with its cheaper foreign manufactured guitars. With Eddie’s endorsement Charvel might have grown into a bigger dominant force that was abled to remain in San Dimas as a U.S. manufacturer of guitars, if Eddie had any sort of vision or business sense, he could have eventually bought Charvel, when his money finally started rolling in during the 80’s. Eddie must have been mad when his rival Randy Rhoads helped grow Jackson guitars into a thriving company, while Kramer collapsed in the early 1990’s, & then Eddie jumped over to Music Man before developing the EvH brand, when he could have dominated the guitar market for decades with Charvel, had he stayed loyal to their brand, with a vision on the long game & had never played the victim, & turning his coat so quickly, in retreat from what he’d previously championed, while jumping ship, after Charvel had initially assisted him. Loyalty is a virtue, that has its own rewards…🎸
Grover is the whole reason there even is a CHARVEL guitar! All the old originals are really Jackson made guitars
under the "Charvel" name. Wayne Charvel was long gone when the great guitars were being made and sold.
Grover and his employee's made all the great guitars! Wayne Charvel had ZERO to do with those guitars!
Fast forward to the present and Grover did it again with the LEGACY series! This is the Charvel for those that want
to experience what a old original was like if you bought it new. I have a original San Dimas strat that was made in 1981
and also have a Legacy bloodsplatter. They play and feel the same! That is probably why they are over $5K used on Ebay
when they show up for sale!!🤣