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

[Showdown]

I have two Carvin basses, so I'm doing my part...

[Kenzy]

Originally Posted by Direct Box Rox

Unless we are all wealthy (I am not), how come all of do not play Carvin?

Simple: Carvin doesn't sell basses with a JetGlo finish. Nor do they make the best bass for metal.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Direct Box Rox

Unless we are all wealthy (I am not), how come all of do not play Carvin? It would seem to make sense if you are willing to pay $3000 for a Sadowsky (or fill in "Sadowsky" with any other boutique co.) that we would be willing to pay half of that for something that is arguably equal or better.

I once wasted the better part of an entire weekend "virtual building" their basses. Whenever the final price appeared on the screen my jaw would drop because I couldn't believe how low the price is. Then I go thinking, if thats the case, how come all of us dont have one (or more).

And in other scenario's, it's even more obvious. If you are willing to pay say $1200 for a Korean made Zon, than you would be willing to pay $950 for a US made Carvin with better options, right?

Just a thought.

I guess not every middle school in the country has started up again yet.

[superdick2112]

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

Because they don't offer basses with a hand-carved arched body...

Or EMG pickups....

Or pau ferro fret boards....

Or hand made Haz Labs preamps....

Or 2-lb. solid brass bridges with locking saddles....

Or most importantly, the feel & tone I'm looking for.

If only I could own a bass with all of these features..

Oh wait - I do!

[Rapisme]

+1

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I don't know why. I just don't know.

[JamesGoodall]

It's simple: I dont enjoy their body shapes, limited options, or from what I could tell, general lack of any in depth understanding of the woods and their tonal characteristics that most if not all "boutique" custom luthiers understand very well.

Plus I enjoy extra frets, excessive scale lengths, and mostly picking the top on my bass and many other personal touches that carvin does not offer.They aren't a custom shop. It's been said before, they just make a wide variety of stock instruments.

[Means2nEnd]

Have you seriously spent any time with any of these basses you can “arguably” promote Carvin as on par or better than? There is nothing absolutely nothing wrong with digging a Carvin and letting everyone know you see a huge value in. I had one for a minute was nice, frets and fretboard were great but overall nowhere near a Sadowsky in just about every department. I can see your point in asking why more of us don’t own them or play them but cast out the other builders even the import Zon is off.

I have played and spent a little time with one of those Zons at Bass Specialties in Bensalem PA it was killer and the electronics package was great. If you can’t understand why maybe because you don’t know as much about these other basses? Maybe it’s time to test the waters and check them out just to see what the deal is all about. I agree spending more money for the sake of it doesn’t mean you’re going to have a better value for you that is sure. There are legendary bassists who have made history in music with crazy high end stuff and Fenders that look like they went through a war. It is the wizard not the wand and I know for me I’m not a fan of flat plank body basses at all my tummy requires special attention.

[jeff7bass]

I read posts here complaining that Carvin just doesn't offer enough options? Are you kidding me? Besides pickup, wood, colors, neck type, inlays, and hardware choices, you can even choose different sized frets.

Build your own and see for yourself.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/cart/bu...del=sb4000#top

[jeff7bass]

Originally Posted by superdick2112

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

Because they don't offer basses with a hand-carved arched body...

Or EMG pickups....

Or pau ferro fret boards....

Or hand made Haz Labs preamps....

Or 2-lb. solid brass bridges with locking saddles....

Or most importantly, the feel & tone I'm looking for.

If only I could own a bass with all of these features..

Oh wait - I do!

I have a green + gold Euro but that looks American. About 3.5K?

[Mike Sorr]

Originally Posted by RAMUSIC

Because I find that Carvins are very limited and that they offer a very limited range of options. It's like asking why everyone doesn't just play a Fender PJ because it's obviously the most versatile and offers all of the "Real" bass tonezz. Not everyone is so traditional, and there are so many different flavors of bass it would be a shame if everyone played the same thing.

Why don't we all play with flatwounds and use our fingers all the time and only use Monster cables and always plug straight into the amplifier...

Boring indeed.

Geez, that describes me to a "T". P/J, fingers, monster cable direct into the amp...yeah, that's me alright. Here's to boring!

[cybersnyder]

IMHO, the reason that they don't sell more comes down to:

1) You can't find them in stores unless they are used and then they tend to be the dogs, not the ones people want to keep.
2) Lots of options for cosmetics, but they insist on Carvin preamps and pickups.
3) Nonstandard features - the J99 pickup is the same size for both bridge and neck so that greatly limits the aftermarket choices.
4) Too many options for cosmetics. I think that's one of the main reasons that resale value is so low. Do I buy your used bass at 70% or build a new one exactly the way I want it. If I'm going to buy your used bass, it had better be at a low enough price where I don't care that it's not exactly what I want. That ends up being around 50% or even less.
5) No P bass pickups.
6) History of being not so great. They've really upped their game lately, but that stigma remains.

All IMHO.

[Slackerprince]

Send me some Carvin.
I'll try it out.
PM me for details.
Thanks.

s

[rust_preacher]

Just my answer to the topic question of the thread.

I don't play Carvin because the one I had, I believe it was a 1980s LB-60 or something like that, had a very skinny 24-fret neck. Although it was a neck-through design, I needed to tweak the truss rod all the time to be able to play. It was very sensitive to the weather conditions. I let it go and so far have not had the desire to buy another.

[SactoBass]

I don't play Carvin basses because I don't care for the tone, the feel, or the looks of their basses.

[vishuddha]

Honestly, man, Carvin makes great gear. But I just don't like their headstocks. Same reason I never bought an Ibanez. Not a huge fan of the standard bass body shapes, but those headstocks are just so ugly to me!

[Showdown]

Originally Posted by rust_preacher

Just my answer to the topic question of the thread.

I don't play Carvin because the one I had, I believe it was a 1980s LB-60 or something like that, had a very skinny 24-fret neck. Although it was a neck-through design, I needed to tweak the truss rod all the time to be able to play. It was very sensitive to the weather conditions. I let it go and so far have not had the desire to buy another.

They are very different today. I have two, and never need to tweak the truss rod on either unless I am putting on radically different strings. I had one in the case in storage for several years, and when I took it out all of the strings except one were still in tune - and that one was barely off. Very stable.

[Showdown]

Originally Posted by vishuddha

Honestly, man, Carvin makes great gear. But I just don't like their headstocks. Same reason I never bought an Ibanez. Not a huge fan of the standard bass body shapes, but those headstocks are just so ugly to me!

Which one? They have 4 different ones right now that I can think of.

I really like the Icon headstock, not crazy about the SB headstock. The other two are just ok.

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

I don't play Carvin basses because I don't care for the tone, the feel, or the looks of their basses.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the number one reason people don't play Carvin basses: Because they are not FENDER basses!

Actually I do play a Carvin bass, an AC50 fretless and it's great. But for their usual fare (not SB) I'm with SactoBass. I've also bought Carvin pickups in the past and was NOT impressed with their tone (sold the bass). AND while I'm at it I've also got a pair of Carvin BX500 light weight amps. They work nice and have EXACTLY the controls I'd like to see on an amp! BUT, I've compared it to what I REALLY wanted which was a pair of Galien Krueger MB800 heads and for some reason the Carvin just doesn't have that tone and clarity! I'm really surprised that an amp would sound that different. However, a sale at Carvin is what made me forgo tone for something left in my wallet.

[jazzgalore]

Our first PA was a Carvin power mixer way back in highschool. Worked great and probably is still around somewhere doing its duty. Now, I have 2 3-way PA boxes and a power amp from them. I'm a satisfied customer. Never cared much for their bass amps, though - or bass guitars. I'm all Ampeg and Fender when it comes to that stuff.

[mr.mow]

Never seen a carvin
Never played a carvin
Up until now.. Never heard of carvin