Carvin Bass Strings?

madbassplaya · #1 12-16-2010, 08:12 AM

Anyone use these? What are your opinion of them?

Art Araya · #2 12-16-2010, 08:15 AM

tried them once several years ago and disliked them immensely. i like bright sounding, growly strings that retain this character for as long as possible. the Carvin's didn't sound good brand new and didn't age well.

Floyd Eye · #3 12-16-2010, 08:18 AM

I am a Carvin guy and my opinion is their strings are extremely mediocre.

You want a great set of rounds, get you some Blue Steels.

Flats, T.I. or Chromes.

J. Montgomery · #4 12-16-2010, 08:19 AM

I've used their 6-string flatwound sets for years and have been happy with them. I have a Carvin 6 string fretless bass. There aren't too many options for 6 string flats though, and the Carvins are affordable.

I've played their roundwound strings on other basses and haven't been crazy about them. My personal preference for roundwound strings is GHS Boomers (light).

tink9975 · #5 12-16-2010, 08:23 AM

I actually like Carvin's strings, much more than the Dunlops I have on now. on my LB75 they had a nice full sound and the B was tighter than I had expected. Carvin's strings are made by LaBella.

DR Fatbeams are my favorite, but for the price, its hard to beat the carvin.

madbassplaya · #6 12-16-2010, 08:32 AM

i agree about the price.

i also like that they offer .40-.100 gauge strings.

i am skeptical after hearing the first few remarks though...

carbonfold · #7 12-16-2010, 08:40 AM

I recently bought 6 sets, and currently on my last two (both basses).

They are just "ok". They could be better but at the set price, it is hard to beat. I am usually replacing my string once a month on both basses regardless, but I feel these lose their bright sound rather quick.

I'm currently waging buying a lot of these again and I might. They do get the job done

Jayhawk · #8 12-16-2010, 08:56 AM

I have not had issues with them and you can't beat the price. You do have to order more than one set at a time to offset the shipping cost, but I've been using the 5011 nickel plated medium gauge round wounds (.040, .060, .080, .100, .128) since I bought the bass from KayCee and plan to continue doing so.

If you want to hear what they sound like on my bass (at least when played by KayCee on the bass I bought from him) check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FgXC...eature=related

FunkMetalBass · #9 12-16-2010, 09:10 AM

I might order a set of their 6-string flats just to try them out. I'm worried they wont fit my 35" Spector, though.

DavePlaysBass · #10 12-16-2010, 09:06 PM

I love the B string and the price. They are an adequate nickel string. They don't hold the new sound all that long but they sound descent for quite a while. I went thru 4 sets of the 5511s and just ordered five more.

Watch using a credit card on their site. I did and within 12 hours someone was using the same card online. I called Carvin and they told me they have had some trouble with this. Next time I will call them and order over the phone.

KPJ · #11 12-17-2010, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkMetalBass

I might order a set of their 6-string flats just to try them out. I'm worried they wont fit my 35" Spector, though.

I use the Carvin 5-string flatwounds exclusively on my 35" scale Spector. The only issue is sometimes a bit of silk on the B string doesn't clear the nut. Nothing a razor blade can' fix.

FunkMetalBass · #12 12-17-2010, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KPJ

I use the Carvin 5-string flatwounds exclusively on my 35" scale Spector. The only issue is sometimes a bit of silk on the B string doesn't clear the nut. Nothing a razor blade can' fix.

Good to know. How do they compare, tonally, to something like TI's? I've never been a big flatwound guy, and I wasn't happy with Chromes (tried them twice), but I'm willing to give them a shot.

KPJ · #13 12-17-2010, 05:37 PM

I've never used TI's so I can't tell you. My bass is a fretless Spectorcore with a Fishman Powerbridge piezo bridge. I would describe the strings as having "normal" tension, they do not seem tight and the definitely don't flop. The tone is pretty full; lots of warm mids overall and very zingy when using the piezo with the tone up, lots of finger noise. They hold their tone and playability a long time.

J. Montgomery · #14 12-17-2010, 05:50 PM

I switched to using flatwound strings on my fretless Carvin b/c roundwound strings were digging into the fretboard

Sylar · #15 12-18-2010, 08:36 AM

I recently found, and ordered, a set of tape wound LaBella strings from Carvin (5 string) for my Spectorcore. I wanted to point this out as the price direct from Carvin is about half what the set sells for elsewhere.

KPJ · #16 12-18-2010, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sylar

I recently found, and ordered, a set of tape wound LaBella strings from Carvin (5 string) for my Spectorcore. I wanted to point this out as the price direct from Carvin is about half what the set sells for elsewhere.

The tapewounds won't work with the Powerbridge. You need to have metal strings for the bridge to work right.

39-Bassist · #17 12-18-2010, 03:38 PM

Used Carvin strings for years and had no problems with them, no bright but moderate in tone. They sounded fine on their basses. I changed to GHS Boomers and they are slightly brighter and have a bit more smoothness to my tone. But for the money I could not complain about the Carvins.

K-man · #18 12-18-2010, 04:37 PM

I have carvin nickel roundwounds on my XB76. I like them. The price is nice too.

bottomzone · #19 12-18-2010, 04:52 PM

I tried some Carvin stainles steel roundwounds and am disappointed with them. While they sound good initially and are inexpensive, they don't last long and seem to have a higher tension than other strings I've tried. In addition, the first pair that I opened had a dead low B. When I informed Carvin of this, they sent me (2) extra sets-great customer service!!!

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

Ric5 · #20 12-18-2010, 04:53 PM

I have tried the nickel and steel rounds, both are good.