Charvel 750XL guitar
by Henrik Hjortnaes
CHARVEL 750XL
From the 1989 Charvel catalog:
750XL - Mahogany set neck construction with arched tops make the 750XL a sonic knockout. Capable of the traditional sustaining roars associated with set neck mahogany instruments, this guitar also offers today's brighter tones. Inverse Jackson inlays and bound rosewood fingerboard and matching headstock accent the 750XL's appearance.
Finish options:
Snow White, Pearl Blue, Turqoise, Magenta, Platinum, Desert Crackle, Metallic Black.
Finish options for flamed tops:
Cherry Sunburst, Transparent Red, Transparent Amber, Transparent Purple.
List price:
$1169.95 - 1395.00 (figured wood)
Neck:
24.750" Gibson short scale, maple set neck, 24 frets, bound rosewood compound radius fingerboard, inverse Mother of Pearl Jackson inlays (sharkfins).
Body:
Advertised as Mahogany body with maple arched top. Reports from several users that have stripped the paint off of their 750XL bodies, strongly indicates that solid colored models did not have mahogany bodies, but basswood or alder instead. Having a basswood or alder body is not necessarily a bad thing, but the misadvertising is.
Bridge:
Either String-Thru JT-390 or Tremolo: JT-590 non-recessed (Schaller), stamped "Jackson" or "Charvel".
Pickups:
2 humbuckers, it seems that multiple pickup-pairs were used through the production run (all Jackson pickups):
J-80C bridge / J-80C neck
J-80C bridge / J50B neck
J50C bridge / J50B neck
Control layout:
1 vol, 1 tone, Jackson 5-way super switch.
Hardware:
Black.
One of the finest Charvel import guitars ever made by the Japanese Chushin Gakki factory, has got to be the Charvel 750XL Professional.
Featuring a mahogany body capped with an arched maple top, short scale neck and set neck construction, it carries highly unusual features for a Charvel import. In fact it has a lot of the same construction features found on a Gibson Les Paul. No wonder it was nicknamed The Les Paul Killer back then.
The Charvel 750XL ended up being a very rare and sought after guitar. Not only because of the high build quality and the Charvel name, but also because it was built in limited numbers...
The Charvel 750XL was only produced for 1 year:
late 1988 » 1989
In 1990 it was renamed the Jackson Professional Soloist Archtop and had the specifications changed - most noticeable was the slimmed down body. Read more below.
Charvel 750XL Trans Amber finish. A beauty. Photo by Stephen.
Most of the sparse info on these guitars comes from owners around the world and the following is mostly that; comments from 750XL owners. Trying to make this article complete, I have been digging through lots of old posts on Internet forums and looking deep in my personal archives for saved info on this guitar. Furthermore, forum users Greg Crowe and dg let me add their words in the following, which makes this piece of information of great value. Thanks for sharing.
Charvel 750XL Serials
Finally, I have been collecting serial numbers and pictures from several sources and digging up old info from my archives, to be able to present here, a concise Charvel 750XL Serial List. The list also holds info on most of the features showing the evolution of this model. You are very welcome to Email me, if you would like your 750XL included.
A Charvel 750XL refinished in Pearl White with EMG pickups. Deep horn bevels and 360° knob recesses nicely visible here. Serial C903977. See more photos and info on this particular 750XL.
Text kindly supplied by Greg Crowe
Archtop evolution
As we all know, the Charvel 750XL was made for one "production" year only, 1989. In 1990, the model was slimmed down and renamed the "Jackson Professional Soloist Archtop". The original Charvel 750XL's have super thick bodies, basically a standard Soloist with a very thick carved maple cap added on top. The Jackson Professional Soloist Archtops were slimmed down so that the added maple cap brought the guitar up to the thickness of a regular Soloist. As you can imagine, being made out of mahogany, a 750XL is a fairly heavy guitar.
Serials [C8xxxxx = 1988] • [C9xxxxx = 1989] • [750XL serial chart]
The earliest 750XL found so far is my serial number C806131 which was actually built at the end of 1988 and so far the only one the JCF has found with an 88 serial number*. I just received 750XL serial number C906332 from fellow JCF'er Bodawgone which is the latest 750XL serial number found by the JCF so far. There are quite a few differences in the 2 750XL's. It looks like the 750XL was continually modified by Charvel Japan all throughout its single production year.
* Several earlier examples have since been reported and added to the 750XL Serial Chart.
PRODUCTION DIFFERENCES
Trem route recess / pull-up route
The very early 750XL's had a trem route cutout however, the trem was not recessed into that route. It looks like the trem route was done away with quite early, between C900579 and C901549.
Horn bevels
Early 750XL's had much smaller cut access areas into the flame maple in the two horn areas (referring to the cut like on a Fusion). Later models had larger cuts, more like on the 1990 Jackson Professional Archtops.
Knob recesses 180° or 360°
The carved out area for the 2 knobs varies with early models having only like 50% of the circle around each knob carved into while later models have the area carved around 100% of each knob.
Pickup covers
The earlier 750XL's had plastic "Jackson" pickup covers and completely different (larger) pickup rings. Later models did not have the covers and used smaller pickup rings. This appears to have changed later, between C904112 and C905091.
Tremolo brand
Early 750XL's had Charvel stamped Schaller Floyds while later versions had Jackson stamped Schaller Floyds.
Model Evolution
BODY THICKNESS
other notes
eye candy
Photo by Jakki
Personal observations
I'm sure they vary but my earlier 750XL is heavier than the later one. Mahogany tends to vary wildly in weight depending on the density (place from the tree) of the wood.
Pickup covers
Pickup Covers vs. No Pickup Covers: If the pickups are positioned correctly, there really isn't much of a difference in the sound. I think people have overblown this. The height of the pickup is HUGELY!!! influential to the sound, about 1000% more influential than the covers. When I received the new 750XL, the bridge pickup was set very high, about as high as you could get it without it touching the stings. The sound was quite muddy with poor high end definition. Lowering the pickup dramatically changed the sound and brought everything back into balance and clarity. I can now hardly tell any difference between the 2, one with covers and one without.
Neck feel
I wouldn't call them "chunky". I have 2 Model 5A's and 1 model 5FX. Both 750XL's have the same feeling neck, pretty close to all the Model 5's I have. They just feel a bit differently shaped than an SL-1, a little more rounded and not as flat. I actually find the current SL-1 to have thicker necks than the mid 80's to mid 90's models.
/Greg Crowe
Text kindly supplied by dg
Neck dimensions
I noticed that there have been some questions about 750XL necks, so while I was doing some routine maintenance on my guitars yesterday I broke out the calipers and took some neck measurements. I measured my Model 6 for comparison. As far as thickness goes, they are extremely similar up to the 12th fret or so, with the Model 6 just a hair thinner. Above that point, the 750XL neck thickens more as it tapers to meet the body.
When people refer to the neck as thick or "chunky", I think they're probably thinking about the upper-fret region. Even so, I consider this to be about the most playable set-neck I've ever tried. In terms of width, they are basically the same, with a slight difference probably more due to the binding than the wood. The fretboards have about the same radius. Pretty flat, but not quite as flat as newer Soloists I've played. As far as backshape, the 750XL neck is a bit more round, without the noticeable flat spot that the Model 6 has. I think this may explain why the Model 6 neck feels thinner to me even though the actual measurements say it really isn't by much. As always, your results may differ since these guitars tended to vary.
Neck comparison, 750XL vs Model 6
FRET #
THICKNESS
750XL
750XL
THICKNESS
Model 6
Model 6
WIDTH
750XL
750XL
WIDTH
Model 6
Model 6
01
3/4 (.750)
3/4 (.750)
1.75
1.75
03
25/32 (.781)*
49/64 (.766)*
1.75
1.75
05
13/16 (.813)
51/64 (.797)
1.88
1.91
07
27/32 (.843)
27/32 (.843)
1.88
1.91
09
27/32 (.843)
27/32 (.843)
2.00
2.03
12
29/32 (.906)*
7/8 (.875)*
2.06
2.09
15
15/16 (.938)
29/32 (.906)
2.06
2.09
16
1 1/32 (1.03)
15/16 (.938)
2.06
2.09
17
1 1/4 (1.25)
1 1/32 (1.03)
2.19
2.22
19
2 1/8 (2.125)
1 1/2 (1.5)
2.19
2.22
21
2 1/2 (2.5)
2 1/8 (2.125)
2.25
2.28
* For comparison, the 2003 catalog shows the SL1 neck to be .790 at the 3rd and .850 at the 12th.
/dg
Article published November 2007
