When choosing between two different guitar brands, it can be confusing, especially for beginner guitarists, to pick the right brand as every brand has specific quality standards and patented technologies and features.
Charvel and Kramer are two extremely popular guitar brands, but there’re some key differences in their designs and quality that you should be aware of before making a decision.
Charvel
Charvel’s electric guitars are well known and were launched by Wayne Charvel in the 1970s. Their first guitar was launched back in 1974 and they make some of the best metal guitars in the market with their thin necks, punchy pickups, and jumbo frets.
It’s for this reason, Charvel has become a preferred brand among professional metal musicians.
Originally, the company used unfinished maple necks and creative graphics on their guitars, although that trend only lasted for a few years.
Now, their guitar designs are cleaner and typically made from alder, mahogany, and ash wood. In addition, some of their guitars also use poplar and basswood.
Design
Charvel’s guitars are known for their contoured bodies and thin necks, making them popular among guitarists who like shredding along with metal music. These thin necks allow for better music action to the guitars, resulting in faster playability.
Charvel guitars also have jumbo frets, so guitarists don’t feel much of the fretboard.
The frets also help ease the string-bending so you’ll have more room to maneuver the riffs. Charvel guitars have humbucker pickups designed into the guitars, so guitarists can increase the gain and volume without any buzz.
The contoured body of Charvel guitars makes the tones more resonant and allows easier access to the guitar’s upper frets.
Common Features
Their guitars are designed with a speedy neck profile which really helps when shredding. In addition, the punchy humbucker pickups not only help suppress background noise but also helps to produce a warm yet loud sound.
If you use a Charvel guitar that has single coils, then these pickups will help create a bright and snappy sound, making them a lot better for heavy metal and jazz guitarists.
Popular Charvel Guitar Models
Charvel has hundreds of guitars available, but some of them have become extremely popular among rock and heavy metal guitarists.
Charvel Pro-Mod DK24
The DK24 was launched as a part of the Pro-Mod series. It’s made with a caramelized mahogany fingerboard which produces an amazing sound, while also making it look very natural.
The Pro-Mod DK24 is suitable for heavy metal and rock music, as it has been designed with a tremolo bridge and HSH Seymour Duncan pickup.
The pickup design gives more of a natural sound by providing more headroom and distortion-free saddle pickup.
Along with this pickup, you can mix in the middle single coil, which is why it’s good for shredding.
Charvel SoCal SC1-2H
Charvel SC1-2H is from the SoCal series and is an affordable option with valuable features. It’s usually compared to Fender’s Stratocaster, although it’s more aggressive.
Charvel’s SC1-2H has a pair of Seymour Duncan humbuckers, giving the guitar faster response and processing. There’s a Floyd Rose tremolo that makes the guitar more stable and playable.
It’s for that reason that this guitar is suitable if you like to play fast solos and heavy riffs.
The guitar is integrated with quarter-sawn maple wood along with a C shape, that improves shredding and provides better control. The SC1-2H is made from a highly balanced alder body and twenty-two larger frets for better bending of the notes.
Kramer
The Kramer company dates back to the 70s when they mainly specialised in aluminium neck bass guitars. It was a chance encounter between co-founder Dennis Berardi and Eddie Van Halen’s management on a flight in 1981 that eventually led to them teaming up with Kramer.
It’s rumoured that Eddie Van Halen promised to make them the biggest name in the trade – if he didn’t succeed, then he certainly came close. The following decade led to some fruitful partnerships along with a host of high-quality guitars renowned for uncompromising playability.
Common Features
Like Charvel, Kramer guitars are made for shredding. Kramer guitars have slim, fast necks that offer good comfort while playing super fast guitar solos.
Kramer SM-1 H
Unlike many traditional S-style guitars, Kramer’s SM-1 H features a Mahogany body and neck; much like an LP guitar. The Mahogany tonewood offers a deep, rich and resonant sound, giving the guitar plenty of low-end breadth and warmth. The SM-1 H’s neck is carved into a comfortable K-Speed SlimTaper C, along with a smooth finish that ensures a slippery feel when you’re performing fast-scale runs. It has a sleek Ebony fingerboard, which helps to deliver a more focused mid-range; giving notes an immediate response.
Kramer SM-1
Kramer’s SM-1 introduces the Kramer name to a new generation with a double cutaway Mahogany body, Ebony fingerboard, and JBTM humbucker pickups, a Floyd RoseTM 1000 Series Tremolo, and a Floyd RoseTM R2 Lock Nut.
The SM-1 features a Floyd RoseTM 1000 Series Tremolo with an R2 Lock Nut providing better tuning and intonation. For easy adjustments, 2 hex wrenches are fastened to the back of the headstock.
Kramer Assault Plus
If you’re looking for an ultimate modern Les Paul alternative, then Kramer’s Assault Plus should definitely be on your list of contenders. Fitted with a Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo and a pair of powerful Seymour Duncan humbuckers. Its aggressive-looking, reversed-headstock rock machine will satisfy many shred fans.
Kramer Charlie Parra Vanguard
Kramer‘s Charlie Parra Vanguard has a Slim C maple neck, allowing the player to be in full control all the way across its ebony fretboard. The LockTone TOM bridge, in combination with a Graph tech nut, makes sure the strings stay firmly in tune and completely stable.
Kramer Jersey Star
Kramer’s Jersey Star reminds us of how much cooler the ‘80s were, the born-again Kramer Guitars Jersey Star turns classic vibes from the days of old into something you can hold, play and cherish. Strikingly opulent, its alder body comes coated in Alpine White and decked out with gilded hardware. The pearloid star inlays of the maple fretboard add to the eighties vibe some more.
Kramer NightSwan
The Kramer Nightswan model is a re-imagined version of a classic signature model used by Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard.
The NightSwan has a mahogany body and a hard maple neck with a comfortable C-shaped profile with a 16” radius that was designed to be played fast and is topped with a durable ebony fretboard along with its 24 medium jumbo-sized frets. This guitar also has the gold standard for tremolos – the Floyd Rose 1000 Series Tremolo with a Floyd Rose R2 Locking Nut, providing great tuning stability, even for extreme pitch bending and dive-bombing.
Conclusion
These two brands are great for metal and heavy rock musicians and the quality standards of both Charvel and Kramer are impeccable.