Charvel Pro Mod So Cal Style1 HH FR SW

Straight to the local luthier.

Don' t get me wrong, this guitar is great, but ...

Good stuff:

It is a thing of beauty. Well made in general, looks more expensive then it actually is. Pickups are cool, body is finished beautifully, intonation and action set pretty good too, the neck is magic ....

The bad (annoying) stuff:

... until you use that neck more then five times. The damned thing doesn't have any finish. Any. I consider myself a very clean person, i cannot touch a guitar without washing my hands first, but the neck fretboard and back started to turn black after just a two gigs.

I am all in for the vintage feel and look, but i got the feeling, that if this was not fixed, the guitars neck would look 40 years old in a year. Neglected for 40 years neck, rather then worn, nice vintage use look. The neck was also absorbing all the oils possible from the palm and cleaning attempts.

I looked everywhere for the solution and found out that no amount of 000 steel wool cannot fix the problem permanently. Whatever you do, don't believe the lemon (or any other) oil nonsense advice found online. I am so glad I didn't apply any of it, because it would ruin the neck forever.

Anyway, I invested in a proper finish and now the guitar is awesome.

Just take that 150 - 300 eur extra in account when you buy it.

1100 is still a bargain for a piece like this.

If you want a hot strat this is it

Really love the pickups and the split sounds .

The neck is awesome and everything works and feels great !