I have always liked Charvel's and finally pulled the trigger on this one. Very comfortable neck profile, the pickups sound great. Having the Seymour Duncan in the bridge paired with 2 Dimarzio single coils works very well. It seemed odd not having a tone knob, but I realized that I rarely if ever used mine on my other guitars. The Pearl White finish is beautiful. The pearloid tuning keys look fantastic. I did have Sweetwater install a Tusq nut. The tuning stability has been excellent. Cannot wait to gig with it. I have owned 6 different Charvel guitars over the years, and this one is already one of my favorites. I do wish it came with a bag or case at this price point, but that seems uncommon with most brands these days.

Love this guitar! I play in a band that is primarily southern rock and blues based rock and the 5 way switch set to humbucker and middle single coil is just what the Dr ordered. The Dimarzio single coil pickups on this guitar are AMAZING! My band mates who have custom shop Fenders keep asking what they are. I also love 80s metal and the Duncan Humbucker delivers! I agree with other reviews that for the price point a gig bag would have been the least that could come with it but it is an exceptional guitar. The neck is just as good as my USA San Dimas 2. The nut on the low E does appear to be cut for 10s but I immediately switch to 10s on all my guitars anyway.

the neck feels amazing, super easy to play
And sounds great. I had Sweetwater install a tusq nut and do a setup, great job. Thanks

Great axe and definitely a keeper.
Plastic nut and all!
Very unique sounding and the more I play it the better it gets.

Outstanding guitar, very versatile , sounds great , feels amazing, Charvel should standardize this guitar and keep in its line up indefinitely. I'm considering purchasing a second one because of the potential hazards of gigging ,
It's become my number one go to guitar that does it all and well. If you love hardtail strats like I do , you'll absolutely love this Jake E Lee hardtail strat .
Just buy it , you won't regret it.

As in the title. Geez.

I was initially hesitant because of the mixed reviews online. Well I got a good one. Sounds great, plays like a dream, and interestingly enough…plays better than the USA model I once had. I will only order from Sweetwater because of their 55 point inspection, which gives me extra security. I've done business with Sweetwater for years and everything they've sent has been perfect.

I want to start off by saying I'm a huge Jake fan. It is no secret, I use Jake E Lee USA Charvels and custom built Jake style guitars, live. I bought this guitar because I am a huge fanboy. The guitar has a Street price that is 300 higher than a Charvel Pro Mod So Cal Platinum HSS hardtail. The platinum comes with a tusq nut, locking tuners, and better bridge, and is arguably a more difficult build due to a direct mounted pickup array vs the pick guard mounted controls and pickups on the Jake.

Pickups are identical to the USA. Fretboard wood and neck wood are the same. Body wood is different than the USA. Now if we are making a signature we probably want it to be "like the real one" right? This one is also a different color.

I have one of these and owned one that I returned. The nuts on both were improperly cut. The set up and playability out of the box wasn't very good. The string trees on both mine weren't installed properly. The problems with the first caused me to return it. My second, I decided to keep, and to replace the nut (tusq 5000-00 is a great replacement).

I've been playing Jake's for years. While this guitar is good when it gets a new nut, and is properly set up, I've got a few issues here. Especially at the price point. There are CHEAPER guitars from the same manufacturer with more features. No case. No gig bag. Just here's your guitar and have a nice day.

I don't want to just rag on the guitar- if it had the same size frets as the USA and you closed your eyes, you wouldn't feel a difference. My Mexican made Charvel is very good now, but my complaints are at the price point, you shouldn't get 2 bad examples that both need work. Additionally the same manufacturer charges less for guitars with more difficult construction and more features.

Who should buy this guitar? Anyone who is a Jake fan and doesn't want to pay 2+x for a USA or go through the headache of building their own.

Just make sure to buy a tusq-5000-00 to go with it and set up an appt with your tech to have it changed.

Guitar 5 stars. Price point and QC/features at that price point, 3 stars.

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Ive been waiting for an affordable version of a Jake E Lee forever. Impossible to find close to this price anywhere. BUT,would it be comparable to the USA model? Sweetwater 55 point inspection made it so! Out of the box it played spot on. Sounds even better! Not a weak point in site! So glad I pulled the trigger! Thank you Khaleed and the inspection staff!!! Well done!!