Westone Spectrum II (4112 pp) vs Charvel Model 6

I recently got my hands (for all of 5 minutes) on a genuine 80's Charvel model 6 and what struck me about it was how it was ALMOST EXACTLY the same as my 4112 pp (even the colour).
The differences were in finish quality. The Charvel had active pickups, a Kahler trem and a better switchgear...
Now I know the 4112 etc were Korean, and I'm given to believe that the Model 6 was also an import....
Does anyone know if the two guitars were actually the same, but finished differently?
i.e. made in the same factory by the same people?

honestly.. I closed my eyes and couldn't tell the difference.
Point of fact : my now heavily modified 4112 is better than the madly collectable Charvel
that didn't stop me thinking about mugging the guy though

He also had a model 2 charvel with an strat style maple neck, anyone want to guess what the colour scheme was?

Not sure where the Model 6 were made but they were also neck through and were Charvel's top of the line pointy headstock at the time. Leaps and bounds better than the spectrum II's in my humble opinion. Charvel was not associated with any of the factories as Westone as far as I know (could be wrong). I think Mid eighties, Charvel split from Jackson to do their own thing and just didn;t keep the market that Jackson controlled at the time. But the #6 was a very good guitar. Sold my in '90 and at the time it really to get my first custom PRS - so a good move at the time, but wouldn;t mind still having it around today.

I have a 1986 Model 5. I had a Model 6 a few years ago but sold it stupidly. The only difference between the two is the pickup configuration - HH for the 5 and HSS for the 6. My current Model 5 and previous Model 6 were both 1986 models, so both had Kahler Pro tremolos.

I'm not a big fan of active pickups. But recently I have found their niche: they sound pretty good clean. When you roll the volume down on the guitar, most humbuckers get muddy. But with active humbuckers, they don't get muddy when you roll the volume down. Listen to Metallica and you'll hear it. Live, they seem to only use active pickups on songs that require a clean part. But if you do the treble bleed mod then passive humbuckers sound even better when you roll the volume down.

Anyway...the Charvels have an EXTREMELY thin neck profile and Dunlop 6100 size fret wire. So they're FAST. But I get a cramp after a few minutes of playing on really thin necks.

My Model 5 is heavy and sounds really good. I wish I could remember what pickups I have in it - I think they're DiMarzio Tone Zones.

These guitars were made in Japan.

I also used to have a Jackson SL3 soloist. It was very similar in feel and shape to the Model 5/6 except that it had a beautiful flame maple top and a Floyd Rose tremolo, whereas the Charvels were solid colors with the Kahler Deluxe. What a great guitar. Shouldn't have sold that one. The SL3 is made in Japan and could have well been made in the same plant as the Charvels.

The newer Charvel San Dimas and SoCal guitars are KILLER too and made in the USA. But they're bolt-on necks. They're basically Strats with Floyds and humbuckers. When they first came out, they were $999 retail, which is really a bargain in an American made guitar. You can't buy a Warmoth neck and body and build one for $999. They had a price jump a year or so ago, to $1199 I believe. And now they're made in Japan but the price came down a bit. But being made in Japan, they might be even better than the USA models - not sure. The USA models have an unfinished quartersawn maple neck but the Japanese models seem to have a poly finish on the neck.