Charvel guitars have a long standing reputation as the guitar for choice for modern players looking for a fast playing feature laden instrument. The new DK24 HH 2PT model from the Pro-Mod series boasts a feature set and playability that will rival instruments double the price.
The first thing you may notice is the lovely roasted maple neck. In addition to the rich visual aesthetic the process of roasting the maple and taking out moisture makes for a more stable neck that won’t shift as much during seasonal and humidity changes. If you do need to adjust the neck there is a heel mounted truss rod adjustment wheel which makes small changes a breeze.
The playability of this neck is outstanding for players of all types but particularly for technical players that move all the way up the neck and require upper fret access. The satin hand rubber urethane finish on the back of the neck is silky smooth and it seems as your hand never sticks when sliding into different positions. The 12-16” compound radius on the fretboard makes bends on the upper frets that much smoother and the 24 jumbo frets along with the shredders neck heel and sculpted cutaway are so comfortable that you will be reaching for those high notes much more often. Two more subtle but very cool neck features are the rolled fretboard edges and the Luminlay glow in the dark side dots. The rolled edges provide extra comfort and an already broken in feel to the neck so your hand and fingers never feel like they are catching on a hard edge. The glow in the dark side dots sure make a difference on a darkly lit stage but just remember to charge them with standard light before the gig as they won’t light up if they have been in a gig bag all day.
The Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 double cutaway alder body is very comfortable and provides well balanced playability and tone. The bridge is a Gotoh Custom 510 recessed two point trem. It has a very smooth travel and stays in tune well in conjunction with the locking tuners for subtle whammy bar work and medium aggressive dive bombs.
The two humbucker configuration consists of a Seymour Duncan Full Shred bridge pickup and Alnico 2 Pro neck pickup. The bridge pickup is fairly hot and drives an amp well with a crisp top end and tight articulate low end. The neck pickup pairs nicely with some variety in the form of smooth highs and silky low end. The five way blade pickup selector gives you the option of paired inside and outside tapped single coils sounds to round out the more thick and aggressive humbucker sounds. Top it off with a two position mini toggle switch for series or parallel pickup operation and you have tonal palette that should satisfy most players.
The high end features, excellent craftsmanship and accessible price point make the Charvel Pro-Mod DK24 HH 2PT a guitar you should definitely check out.
Mike Gray for The Twelfth Fret
