How come we all don't play Carvin instruments & amps/cabs?

[MonkeyBass]

I have a Carvin I bought back in 1992. It never had that... what's the word... mojo? Juju? I dunno, it's an ok instrument but it lacks character I guess. It also has a bridge that rattles and pickups that crackle and could never be fixed.

[georgestrings]

For the most part, I play MIA Fenders, Music Man, and Gibson basses - and amps/cabs by Mesa and Genz-Benz... *to me*, Carvin's amps, cabs, and basses are pretty mediocre when compared to what I currently have... I look at Carvin like I do Peavey - pretty good stuff that's US made, and a decent price - except Peavey smokes Carvin when it comes to customer service...

In short - I don't play Carvin because it would definitely be a step backwards... I generally don't make a habit of slamming the gear choices of others, but since you asked, OP...


- georgestrings

[Modern Growl]

Why doesn't everyone drive a Toyota ?

[N.F.A.]

I'm no Carvin fanboy, but my X100B amp and custom made cabinets were the shizzel back in the 70's/80's, when I was still a guitar player. The head is now reissued, but I had two of them that sold for a pretty penny during the time they were still out of production. Never played their instruments but loved their amp/cabs back in the day.
I sure miss the days when you could still play loud live!

[tdub0199]

How come we don't all wear Nike, Levis, Polo, Aeropostle, American Eagle etc? Because we have other choices.....

[Direct Box Rox]

Originally Posted by mjac28

I heard the basses are really nice sounding and nicely made but I really don't think they are up to par with Sadowsky,Fodera,F Bass because if they were more folks would buy them. I think only selling direct has something to do with it also and if you want work done on your Carvin amp it's going back to California for work and in your profile I don't see a Carvin bass?.

I only own a Carvin 1x10 combo. I was going to get a Carvin but my desire for a Modulus neck got the best of me. Putting a Modulus j neck on a jazz body.

[ggvicviper]

Originally Posted by Direct Box Rox AKA The OP who started this

I was going to get a Carvin but my desire for a Modulus neck got the best of me.

Then what are you even talking about?

This thread is very silly and pointless.

[dalkowski]

Originally Posted by ggvicviper

This thread is very silly and pointless.

This.

[fisticuffs]

This thread is very silly and pointless.

Anything with that many "How come's" in it is bound to be.

[SteveC]

To be serious, I'd say electronics and looks. I had a fretless 6 string years ago. It was nice, but sounded WAY better when I replaced the electronics with all Bartolini. Many "boutique" builders give you pickup/preamp options these days. I think if you could get a Carvin with a Bartolini preamp and pups that would help.

I am not a fan of the headstock. Hard to come up with something not already done and/or copy written.

[hsech]

I have a Carvin Icon 5 String and a Carvin LB70 4 string. All my bass amps are Carvin. What's not to like? Built like a tank, reasonable price and made in the USA.

[john m]

It was nice---but---

My Modulus's were a different animal and far superior.

I now own two Elricks that I got a great deal on used.

They are far superior to any Carvin I have ever played.

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by DWBass

I think a better question would be 'why don't more folks play Carvins?

Absolutely. Carvin is a US based company who gives tons of options and consistently high quality instruments who also cuts out the middle man which means lower prices for the consumer. If you like their tone and playability, they are a great bargain.

But that IF is what makes all the difference. Personally I think they play well and the ergonomics (on the models I've owned or tried) have been very good. But of course what works for me doesn't work for everyone. And the in-house electronics (pickups & preamp) have long been viewed as the weakpoint of their basses. Personally I find them perfectly functional but not having a lot of character or "excitement" to their tone.

But if you take the lack of a signature tone and add in the low resale value and the inability for most to try before they buy and you can see why Carvin basses aren't bigger sellers than they are.

Originally Posted by DWBass

I think there's a stigma attached to them. I do believe they make fine instruments. I know in the past their electronics left much to be desired but I think that has been solved now. I plan to own a SB4000 or SB5000 one of these days.

I think the new single coils in the SB models are quite good. I also think the "bland" tag Carvins get is more a function of the preamp than the pickups. I swapped out the stock pre for an Aguilar OBP-3 and it opened the bass (with a pair of Carvin's MM pickups) up quite a bit.

Originally Posted by johnson79

They may have a lot of cosmetic options, but you are limited to just a handful of pickups/preamps. Plus, I think they are kind of ugly. Not a fan of the bodies or headstock shapes.

Again, the aesthetics are a personal choice. But I agree that if Carvin were to ever offer outside electronics they'd sell a lot more instruments. I'd certainly strongly consider another one if Nordstrand, Bartolini, etc were options.

I think Carvin builds a quality bass and I've considered buying one to mod but I never want to bother with the extra cost or hassle. But if it were available from the factory with my choice of pickups and preamp I'm pretty sure I would.

[fisticuffs]

who also cuts out the middle man which means lower prices for the consumer.

That also means I can;t walk into a store and try one out and I can't shop around for the best price. I'm stuck buying sight unseen from Carvin. I know they get a ton of love around here but to me they are just a slightly better Peavey. They make everything pretty well but nothing fantastic. They aren't focused enough on any particular product to excel like other companies.

[Jarrett]

I don't think everyone should play Carvin. I personally like their products and use them. After years of playing Warwicks, Alembics, Modulus, etc. I've switched to playing Carvins.

My current bass rig consists of:

Carvin SB5000 (fretted)
Carvin SB5001 (fretless)
Carvin BRX10.2 Neo cab
GK MB800

And I have a Carvin BX500 that is due in on Monday. The GK might stay, but if I can coax the tones I want out of the BX500, I may be running 100% (US) Carvin products soon. Then again if it doesn't, all Carvin products come with a 10 day trial and back to Carvin it goes.

By the way, I have a 1993 Warwick Streamer Stage I 5-string, Trace Elliot AH350SMX head and a pair of SWR Golight 2x10's collecting dust in my music room. I think the Carvin stuff plays and sounds every bit as good as any of that. Play a Carvin SB5000 back to back with a Sadowsky Metro. You might be surprised, I certainly was when I did. Have I played newer basses that I like better than my Carvins? Sure, I played a couple of Elrichs and Mike Lulls that I thought were better, but they were also 3 times the price and the quality versus price difference was not worth it to me personally.

[sondich]

I don't think everyone should own Carvins but I do understand what the OP is saying.

US-made Carvins seem to sell at unusually low pricepoints when compared to other US builds using similar materials. I've seen threads like this before and I'm always interested to hear the replies. I'm guessing the main reason is that they push more volume than smaller boutique shops. Maybe if Carvin did 3-5 instruments/month, they could sell them for $4000.

Sometimes I wonder if the generally low Carvin price points facilitate the "lack of mojo" knock that tends to come up alot.

[JMimbs]

Originally Posted by two fingers

First off, there' s no such thing as a Carvin P bass.

Right there. Done.

[BobaFret]

Because I don't have to?

[bmc]

Two months ago, I contacted the Swiss distributor for Carvin to inquire about pricing for an AG100 Acoustic guitar/ multichannel amp. My Monday night gigging partner uses one and I have plugged guitars, bass and volcals in t. It's a great product.

The Carvin website will not allow me to see US prices, but from what I've picked up from other forums, they do not sell for the equivalent in USD 970.00, as quoted by the Swiss distributor.

As much as I liked the Carvin, it was on a par with Peavey gear, IMO. I found, and bought another amp made in Italy of far better quality (SR Technology) for less money.

As for their basses, They failed to ring my bell, regardless of perceived value. Plus, owners seem to take a bath when they sell them on.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by bassteban

The same reason some like the color red and some don't

That's where you are wrong..., everybody likes red.

In any case, I have never bought a new Carvin bass as the resale is atrocious. Also, I tried to buy a poweramp from Carvin a few months ago and the customer service was absolutely terrible so I bought something else for more money. I DID buy a new Carvin combo amp a few years back and it sounded terrible and I lost my shirt when I resold it.

Gotta run.... Gonna cancel my Fodera order thanks to the OPs enlightening post.