Charvel has refreshed Angel Vivaldi’s signature 7-string guitar, unveiling a tricked-out Dinky-bodied shred machine with gold hardware, a natural finish, and a classy figured maple top on a caramelised basswood body.
The New Jersey shred virtuoso says this Nova-7 has been eight years in the making, seven of which was presumably spent typing out its full name. Seriously, pity the poor telesales operator who handles your call asking for the [deep breath] Angel Vivaldi Signature Pro-Mod DK24 GT7 HH Nova-7 NAT.
But as per Charvel’s naming convention, this tells us everything about the essential specs. It is a Pro-Mod instrument. Made in Mexico, we can expect an on-point build, fit and finish. It is a DK24, so you have the compact and curved Stratocaster-inspired Dinky body shape, a bolt-on caramelised maple neck, maple fingerboard too, and 24 jumbo frets to work with.
The GT7 speaks to the hardware. At first blush, this looks like a Floyd, but Vivaldi has gone for a Gotoh GE1996T-7 recessed double-locking tremolo. The “HH” denotes a dual-humbucker configuration and you will find a DiMarzio Tone Zone at the bridge position and a DiMarzio Air Norton at the neck, which if memory serves us is a classic Paul Gilbert combo.
It’s certainly a classic combo, and you get five-way switching to eek out every bit of tone from it.
Vivaldi’s Nova-7 works that balance well between high-end shred classics of yore and contemporary high-performance instruments. It has that hot-rodded electric guitar vibe.
Charvel has licensed the Stratocaster headstock shape from parent company Fender, reversed it, and that is a power move for a 7-string guitar. It looks the business, too. How many shred guitars do you see on the market with 3-ply body binding on top? It’s a nice touch.
This is geared for performance. Look at the extra contouring in that lower cutaway. There is a sculpted heel too. Together, that should ease your passage up to the hero frets. Vivaldi promises that nothing will get in your way. If you want your guitar to fight back, look elsewhere.
“This Nova is eight years in the making and sports some pretty considerable upgrades that will really take things up a notch,” says Vivaldi. “The natural finish really reminds me that it just isn’t a piece of gear, it’s like this living breathing part of the creative process for me… It just feels free, no resistance, no restrictions.”
The neck, reinforced with graphite, will be super-tough, resistant to the slings and arrows of outrageous temperature and humidity changes, and is topped by a 12” to 16” radius maple fingerboard. The offset dots inlays remind us of Charvel sibling company Jackson and that signature Juggernaut of Misha Mansoor’s.
All the Pro-Mod leitmotifs are present and correct. There are Luminlay side-markers that glow in the dark, Charvel-branded die-cast tuners, and the price – £1,499 / $1,999 – includes a padded gig bag.
The Angel Vivaldi Signature Pro-Mod Nova-7 NAT is available now, see Charvel for more details.
