Charvel Guthrie Govan Signature To Be Released at NAMM, Then?

Guitar store website inadvertently announces new guitar   10-Jan-14

If you've got a spare quid in your pocket, you might want to place a bet that we'll see the Guthrie Govan signature Charvel guitar announced at Namm.

Guthrie Govan has been rocking a Charvel prototype S-type guitar for nearly a year now, and it now seems that fans of the virtuoso guitarist will be able to purchase their own version of his Charvel axe.

Online guitar store GearHounds.com is advertising a signature Charvel Guthrie Govan model for the price of $3,652, but there is no image of the guitar and it appears that the web page has been published too early, as the guitar has not yet been announced officially by Charvel.

So it looks likely we'll see the guitar officially released at the NAMM convention in Anaheim later this month.

While there is no photograph (we know what it looks like anyway as Guthrie has been playing one for months), the spec for the Charvel San Dimas Guthrie Govan signature has been published:

• Series: Artist
• Body: Basswood with Bird's-Eye Maple Top
• Body Shape: San Dimas
• Neck: Graphite Reinforced Caramelized 2-Piece Quartersawn Flame Maple
• Fingerboard: Maple, 12" to 16" Compound Radius (304.8mm to 406.4mm)
• Frets: 24, Extra Jumbo Stainless Steel
• Scale Length: 25.5" (648mm)
• String Nut: Bone, 1.6875" (43mm)
• Hardware: Chrome
• Tuning Machines: Sperzel® Locking
• Bridge: Recessed Original-Style NOS Floyd Rose® Tremolo Bridge with Tremol-No™ Unit and Oversized Brass Block
• Pickups: Charvel Custom MFB Humbucking (Bridge) Charvel Custom MFB Single-Coil (Middle) Charvel Custom MFB Humbucking (Neck)
• Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Middle Pickup, Position 3. Middle Pickup, Position 4. Middle and Neck Pickup, Position 5. Neck Pickup
• Controls: Master Volume and Tone
• Other Features: Heel-Mounted Spoke-Wheel Truss Rod Adjustment, Contoured Body Heel with Recessed Neck Attachment Ferrules (No Neck Plate), Maple (with Ebony Border), Face Dot Position Inlays and Black Side Dots, Gotoh® Strap Buttons, Knurled Chrome Dome Control Knobs, Brass Control Position Marker Inlays in the Body, Side-Mounted Oval Output Jack, Low-Friction Potentiometers

Here's a grab from the website:

Guthrie Govan spoke to Guitarist magazine about his switch from Suhr Guitars to Charvel Guitars back in April 2013:

"I just told him I want a certain kind of honesty in the pickups.

"I want them to reflect all the different ways you can hit a note, which is the opposite of the flattering pickup. I want the pickup to hear every subtlety, even if it's a mistake, and also transmit the natural sound of the wood. They're not ultra-high output."

Click here to read Sonic State's recent interview with Guthrie Govan, on the subject of gear, practice and the future of guitar.