The first original Charvel guitars came with either strat or tele headstock designs. A 24 fret 'Charvel' has yet to surface but anything is possible. Charvel guitars came with 21 fret necks originally and than 22 in later years. Jackson headstock necks have larger 2.5' logos, gold mostly. The neck should have a correct logo : Strat headstock natural necks have 'medium sized' 2' black logos with MADE IN USA printed on the bottom.
Later production neckplates were seated on a plastic bezel. NOTE: In this case I recommend installing a generic plate and safeguarding the original! Charvels use standard Fender neck bolt spacing and almost any kind of plate will work.
This was the case into the early 2000 serial range. It is common to find severely warped neckplates with the neck screws causing damage. Many of the early plates were made of very weak alloy. If you find a 5 digit San Dimas serial plate, it could part of the series mentioned above. The majority of these plates were unstamped with no number and could easily be forged.
As has been noted over the years, any serial number 5492 and above would not be an authentic Charvel as an unknown number of plates escaped the factory after manufacturing of USA Charvels ceased. The serial number will either be or fall between 10. The four screw neckplate will be Gold plated over black and have a 4 digit serial number with the San Dimas factory address. The Jackson Pro Series is designed for the professional working musician who requires a superior caliber instrument to match his or her superior talents. These guitars are made to the same exacting Jackson standards and with he same hardware, woods and electronics that have made Jackson the most sought-after guitars and basses in the world.
No serial numbers are known except ones leading with a 6, so it is likely production of Jackson guitars in Taiwan started and ended in 1996. Serial numbers for the MIT JS20s are 8 digits long and the first digit probably denotes the year. The JS20 was initially made in Taiwan (MIT), India (MII), Korea (MIK) and Japan (MIJ). A black JS20 (serial number 65002013) was my first electric guitar and my first Jackson, purchased new in 1996. The S元 features the traditional Soloist setup of two single-coil slots for the neck and middle positions and a hot humbucker in the bridge position.
The body is made of alder and includes a flamed maple veneer on transparent finish models. The S元 belongs to Jackson's Pro Series guitars. They can only verify Jacksons made after 2002 or 2003 because Jackson was bought by Fender. Call the number on the warranty and select option 1 then give the serial number to the representative.
Well, I just found out how to verify Jackson serial numbers. The first three things to look for: a) neckplate b) neck with correct logo and c) body It is best to use information on this website, collectors and players, and original Charvel employees (when you can get a hold of them) to verify guitars. In collector circles, allegiance to this book varies widely. The book has many serial numbers with black entries and has been known to be inconsistent. The serial numbers were not necessarily released in perfect order as guitars were built. However, in the early days things were apparently not that organized. The factory kept a detailed logbook of every guitar that left the factory. Ideally the specifications of the guitar should match the factory logbook. An all original guitar should have no added controls, switches, or modifications. The cream of this crop are Charvels that have original hardware, finish, neck, body, factory bridge, pickup(s), strap buttons, cavity plates, and serialized neckplate. Once the four digit serial number series was launched in late 1981, we began to see more standardization in components and features.