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Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR
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Playability
72
Sound
79
Build
64
Value
77
Score
72
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Playability
70
Sound
81
Build
70
Value
64
Score
74
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Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M vs USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR Specs Comparison
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR
General
Brand: Charvel Charvel
Year: 2022 2017
Configuration: HSS HSS
Strings: 6 6
Made in: Mexico United States
Series: Pro-Mod USA Select
Colors: White Black, Red, White Satin, Purple Satin
Left-Handed Version: No No
Body
Type: Solid Body Solid Body
Body Material: Alder Alder
Bridge: Charvel HT6 String-Through-Body Hardtail Floyd Rose Original Double-Locking 2-Point Tremolo
Neck
Neck Joint: Bolt-On Bolt-On
Tuners: Charvel-Branded Die-Cast Locking Charvel-Branded Die-Cast
Fretboard: Maple Maple
Neck Material: Maple Quartersawn Maple
Decoration: Black Dot Black Dot
Scale Size: 25.5" 25.5"
Shape: Charvel Speed Charvel Speed
Thickness: 1st Fret: 0.77'' (19.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.83'' (21.1mm) 1st Fret: 0.77'' (19.6mm) - 12th Fret: 0.83'' (21.1mm)
Frets: 22 Jumbo Nickel Silver 22 Jumbo Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" to 16" 12" to 16"
Nut: Ivory Tusq Locking
Nut Width: 42.9mm (1.688'') 42.9mm (1.688'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickups: Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 (Humbucker / Passive) DiMarzio Super Distortion DP100 (Humbucker / Passive)
Middle Pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 (Single Coil / Passive) DiMarzio HS-2 DP116 (Single Coil / Passive)
Neck Pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 RWRP (Single Coil / Passive) DiMarzio HS-2 DP116 (Single Coil / Passive)
Switch: 5 Way 5 Way
Knobs: Dome Dome
Pickup Mods: None None
Volume Controls: 1 1
Tone Controls: 1 0
Hardware
Strap Lock: No No
Hardware Color: Chrome Black
Show Diagrams Comparison
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M's switch options
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR pickups switch selector and push knobs diagram
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR's switch options

Reasons to Get
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M over USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR

Release Year
2022 vs 2017
From a more recent year
Tone Knobs
1 vs 0
More tone control
Locking Tuners
Yes vs None
Easier to change strings
Bridge
Fixed vs Floyd Rose
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Value Score
77 vs 64
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR over Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M

Country of Manufacturing
United States vs Mexico
Built with higher quality standards
Bridge
Floyd Rose vs Fixed
Allows intense vibratos and techniques like Dive Bombs

Other Key Differences
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M vs USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR

Bridge Pickup
Seymour Duncan JB TB-4 vs DiMarzio Super Distortion DP100
Different Bridge Pickup
Middle Pickup
Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 vs DiMarzio HS-2 DP116
Different Middle Pickup
Neck Pickup
Seymour Duncan Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 RWRP vs DiMarzio HS-2 DP116
Different Neck Pickup
Nut Material
Ivory Tusq vs Locking
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M vs USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR

Body Wood
Alder
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Maple
Same Neck Wood
Fretboard Wood
Maple
Same Fretboard Wood
Headstock
6
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Solid Body
Feedback free
Switch Positions
5
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
1
Same volume control
Pickups
HSS
High output with beautiful cleans and tone versatility
Number of Frets
22
Same maximum octave
Neck Thickness at 1st Fret
0.77'' (19.6mm)
Same neck comfortability
Neck Thickness at 12th Fret
0.83'' (21.1mm)
Same neck comfortability
Nut Width
1.688'' (42.9mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Scale Length
25.5'' (647.7mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Pickups Power
Passive
Cleaner sound and no battery needed
Compound Radius
12" to 16"
Balanced playability for chords and single-notes
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Neck Joint
Bolt-On
Allows you to detach and swap the neck
Type of Frets
Jumbo
You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • High-Quality Nut
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Top Pickup Brand

Common Weaknesses

  • Neck-Through Build
  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Weight Relief
  • Stays in Tune (Evertune)
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • Expensive Wood
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Price History Comparison

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M Prices

SET PRICE ALERT

Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR Prices

SET PRICE ALERT

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Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both favor small hands .

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Beginner Friendliness

The Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M meets 6 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR meets only 4. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.

New Player Friendliness

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M
  • Comfortable shape
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Locking tuners
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale

New Player Friendliness

Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Locking tuners
  • Easy-to-use bridge

Sound Quality Comparison

The wood used in an electric guitar or bass is not as important to determine the final tone. However, some people prefer specific wood types, so we'll take a look at those first. Then, we'll take a look at the electronics to determine the versatility and sound quality of each instrument.

Woods Used in Both

Maple wood pattern used for guitar building
Maple
Alder wood pattern used for guitar building
Alder

Maple is one of the most popular necks for good reasons. It is a strong wood that is relatively cheap to make and looks beautiful. The highest quality maple is the hardest that comes from North America. Find out more about Maple.

Alder is the most popular wood that Fender uses in most of their guitars nowadays. Even though they say it's because of its balanced tone with an emphasis in the upper midrange, it probably is because it isn't too expensive, and it's also pretty lightweight—more than Mahogany. Find out more about Alder.

Winner: Tie.

Pickup Configuration

Both pickup configurations are HSS. HSS provides a great balance if you like to play with a lot of distortion, but also love to use clean tones. You'll get a lot of output at the bridge position, but you'll be able to play bright clean tones at the other positions.

Pickups Quality

Both come with very good pickups from at least one of the specialized brands in the market. With pickups like these, you probably won't need an upgrade anytime soon.

You can purchase similar pickups to the Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M's and use them on any guitar:

We found the same or similar pickups to the Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR's online:

Both use Passive pickups. This is what's used for most music genres. They have a regular output and will serve you for both high-gain and clean tones. The alternative (Active pickups) offer a higher output that is mostly used for heavy music.

Winner: Tie.

Versatility Comparison

Some instruments offer you more ways to explore your creativity than others. Below you'll find how both compare when it comes to versatility.

Switch Options

Both are equal when it comes to the pickup switching option.

Neither of them come with some kind of coil split or pickup mod option. This makes both lacking in terms of versatility.

When evaluating versatility, we also take into consideration bridge and neck joint type, number of frets, switch options, amount of pickups and more.

Winner: Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M
Pickups 90
Sustain 85
Versatility 60
Tuning Stability 80
Sound 79
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR
Pickups 90
Sustain 80
Versatility 68
Tuning Stability 85
Sound 81

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M compares to the Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. The Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M is built in Mexico while the Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR is made in United States.

Mexico has been for a long time where Fender has built their semi-premium series. If you don't want to overpay for a wellp-built instrument, a guitar built in this country by a good brand always offers good value for the money.

The United States is considered one of the best electric guitar manufacturers in the world. A guitar made in this country is supposed to have world-class quality control. Nowadays, guitars made in other countries can beat some of the ones made in the US, but most of the time, this country offers the best you can get. Of course, that comes at a price.

Winner: Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

The Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M has a Ivory Tusq nut. Ivory used to be considered the best material for guitar nuts due to its beauty, durability, and the rich harmonics and sustain you could get from a guitar with it. However, the way to obtain it is simply unethical. Enter TUSQ ivory nuts, which are made synthetically to imitate ivory. Technically, it's better than ivory because it is consistent piece-to-piece, while natural materials can vary a lot, even if they're made from the same.

On the other hand, the Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR comes with a Locking nut. Instead of a regular nut, this guitar has a locking system that will lock down the strings at the nut, preventing it from getting out of tune. It removes one of the disadvantages of tremolo bridges, tune stability.

Winner: Tie.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Bridge

The perfect bridge for you will depend on your playstyle because they all have advantages and disadvantages. However, some bridges are more expensive—like Floyd Roses and Evertunes—and thus add more value to a guitar.

The Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M's brige is a Fixed. It's a simple bridge that is very beginner-friendly since it doesn't require any set-up. You can swap strings easily. It might also give more sustain since it doesn't have complex moving parts that make the strings lose vibration. However, it doesn't have the same versatility as a tremolo bridge.

On the other hand, the Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR's is a Floyd Rose. This is a double-locking bridge system that allows you to perform techniques like dive bombs and pinch harmonics. The locking nut allows your guitar to stay in tune even after the most intense tremolo usage. The disadvantage is that it takes more work to change the strings and set up everything correctly.

Since we need to be objective, the most expensive type of bridge will be the winner of this section. In the end, this doesn't matter if you're not going to use the bridge for its original purpose, so choose the bridge that fits your playing style better.

Winner: Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR.

Tuners

The Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M has the best tuners of the two because they are locking tuners. They'll help to keep your guitar in tune because they allow you to tune it without wrapping the strings around the posts. This avoids variations in the tuning due to the strings changing position at the post after a bend. They come at the disadvantage of being slightly heavier than regular tuners. Also, it makes it a lot easier to restring.

Nevertheless, the Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR has a locking nut, so it should have even better tune stability and doesn't need locking tuners.

Winner: Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M.

Neck Joint

Contrary to popular belief, the difference in sustain and tone that some neck joints give to a guitar is simply unperceivable—if they're all well built. However, some of them do have advantages over the others.

Both have a Bolt-On neck joint. This neck is joined to the body by 4 bolts that you can simply unscrew. This allows you to replace the neck or take it off for travel. It's the most common and cheapest way to build a guitar.

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M
  • Locking Tuners
  • Ivory Tusq Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • Made in Mexico
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No Tremolo
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR
  • Made in United States
  • Locking Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Tremolo
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • Retainer Bar
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • No Expensive Woods
  • No Neck-Through Build
  • No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
  • No Weight Relief
  • No Luminescent Inlay
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M
Quality of materials 51
Features 70
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 64
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR
Quality of materials 41
Features 75
Quality Control 95
Build Quality 70

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 42.9mm (1.688'').

This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Scale Length

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M and Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR's Scale Length
Both have the same scale length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

In this case, both have a scale length of 25.5".

This is the scale used in most Stratocasters. It's slightly longer than the typical 24.75'' size found in Les Pauls, and it's one of the main reasons why Stratocasters have such a bright sound in general. A longer scale also means that the strings will have higher tension. This will help you get lower action without suffering fret buzz, which will also be helpful when playing in lower tunings without having to increase your string gauge.

However, this also means that there will be more separation between frets, which can make it more difficult to play. Also, bending the strings will require more strengths due to the increased tension, but remember that a tremolo guitar will offset this difficulty.

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M Neck Profile
Both guitars have the same neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M and the Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M Fretboard Compound Radius
Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M's Compound Fretboard Radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

Both have a compound radius. This means both offer you the best craftsmanship when it comes to fretboard design. You'll have an arc to help you play chords close to the nut, while also having a flat design at the higher frets for faster soloing and easier bends.

Fret Size

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M and Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR Frets Size
Both have a similar Jumbo fret size

Both have a Jumbo fret size. This is one of the tallest frets you can get. You won't feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings. It will give you the best sustain and all types of chords will be easier to play. However, you can end up changing the pitch of your notes if you press too hard, which is something people used to feeling the fretboard do when trying Jumbo frets for the first time.

Final Playability Scores

Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HSS HT M
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 80
Playability 72
Charvel USA Select San Dimas Style 1 HSS FR
Bending & Vibrato Ease 70
Chord Playability 60
Solo Playability 80
Playability 70