Just the Facts
This is a 1991 Surf Green Charvel Surfcaster. It was made in Japan by the Charvel Jackson company and is sort of a cross between a Danelectro, a Rickenbacker and a Fender Telecaster Thinline. It has a semi-hollow basswood body with one real F hole, maple neck and rosewood finger board. The pickups are Chandler lipstick pickups. There is a three position selector switch, and master volume and tone controls. The tone control has a push pull switch that combines the two singles into one hum bucker reducing noise and increasing the punchiness of the tone. There is a very nice non locking tremolo which works great.
This guitar was targeted at country players who wanted a great clean tone, and for retro players who might want an alternative to a Fender Jaguar or Jazzmaster. It really is a good surf guitar and is great for all these applications. It is a lot like a telecaster, only different, and has quite a bit of appeal for a tele player. The Surfcaster model in various incarnations was marketed by Jackson until about 2005.
Where and When
I got this guitar at Guitar Crazy in Portland on New Year’s Eve, 1991. I had recently read an article in one of the Portland papers talking about Jim Mesi’s Surfcaster. Jim Mesi is one of Portland’s premier blues and rock performers. He is an amazing musician, and a local legend.
At the time I had two Peavey T-60’s, one with a maple finger board and one with a rosewood fingerboard. I liked the rosewood one better and decided to see if I could trade the other one.
I asked Bob at Guitar Crazy about the Surfcaster and he said that this particular guitar was actually the one that had belonged to Jim Mesi. Jim had used it for a while and then had traded it for a Strat. We made a deal and I traded the Peavey and some cash for Mesi’s Surfcaster. Later I was in a band that was playing on the same bill as Mesi’s band. Jim and I had a discussion about guitars and he told me he wished he had it back.
Why it’s Cool
It is a great sounding and easy playing guitar. At various times I have played this instrument at surf rock and fifties gigs and have enjoyed it very much. Plus it is neat to have a guitar that was owned by Jim Mesi who is one of my favorite players of all time.
On the Other Hand
The tremolo needs to be tightened with an allen wrench if you want it to stay in one position, and that sometimes seems like too much trouble.
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