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

[SoVeryTired]

Originally Posted by mr.mow

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

+1, except the last bit - but I've only heard of them via this site. They're definitely just a US thing - the pricing for overseas is not very attractive.

[micgtr71]

I'm going to be completely honest. I thought that they were a great deal and I bought an early LB76. This was before the reinforcement bars were put in the neck and it bowed ridiculously. Unfortunately, I bought it second hand and carvin would have nothing to do with it. They agreed that it was doomed to fail and offered to sell me a new one. That was as far as they would go. When I asked what I should do to try to get it fixed (I told them I was willing to pay), they said they did not have any suggestions. That was 20 years ago...

Because of that, I won't buy a strap from them.

[Roy Vogt]

Originally Posted by micgtr71

I'm going to be completely honest. I thought that they were a great deal and I bought an early LB76. This was before the reinforcement bars were put in the neck and it bowed ridiculously. Unfortunately, I bought it second hand and carvin would have nothing to do with it. They agreed that it was doomed to fail and offered to sell me a new one. That was as far as they would go. When I asked what I should do to try to get it fixed (I told them I was willing to pay), they said they did not have any suggestions. That was 20 years ago...

Because of that, I won't buy a strap from them.

They've obviously changed the design since then, adding first steel reinforcement bars and then graphite. Sounds like you got some bad customer service-sorry about that. In 1992 (20 years ago) they had just brought the LB76 basses out, so there were some design flaws that they later corrected. There are things you can do with these earlier instruments when the neck bows. The first thing to do is to go back to the Carvin strings (they've been either made by Labella, Vinci and now they're made by Labella again). I've had students put D'Addario 6 string sets on the older basses and they add a significant amount of tension. The Carvin strings have a bit lower tension. A good repairman can add a washer or two to the trussrod and get a bit more adjustment. Finally, you can use a heat press to rewarp the neck. I would recommend a good repair shop (here in Nashville perhaps Joe Glaser or Classic Ax) do this-not a DIY strategy at all.
This can happen on any brand, BTW. My Series I Alembic had a hump in the neck at the last 5 frets after about a year. I think it was the change in weather from San Francisco to LD Heater's facility in Oregon to dry, arid Texas. After fussing with it for about 2 years my repairman removed the top few frets, replaned the fingerboard, and refretted the neck. That was in 1979 and it's been well-behaved ever since.

[3234718]

My only basses at the moment are my LB90, my AC40F, and my ubass. So my two "real" basses are Carvins.

[Jarrett]

Can we rename this thread, "Bash All Carvins?" I'm not sure if the OP meant to start a Carvin bash thread, but certainly accomplished it.

There are a lot of factors going on in this thread it seems. The biggest one being:

Carvin doesn't make the model of bass that I want

That's a completely fair statement. But the ones like:

I saw a picture of a Carvin in 1983 and I didn't like it
I've heard they are cheaply made
They cost less so they can't be on par with instruments that cost more
The one model I saw, I didn't like it
The one headstock I saw, I didn't like it
I heard they have generic sounding electronics
I smelled that they don't have a signature sound of their own

Are all pretty silly. I think the biggest underlying factor I am detecting in this thread so far is:

I don't think having Carvin on my headstock makes me look as cool as a more prestigious name would.

[foq1978]

Originally Posted by Jarrett

Are all pretty silly. I think the biggest underlying factor I am detecting in this thread so far is:

I don't think having Carvin on my headstock makes me look as cool as a more prestigious name would.

Add one to your list:

Carvin is actually quite expensive and/or fancy for my budget and/or taste.

[Jarrett]

Originally Posted by foq1978

Add one to your list:

Carvin is actually quite expensive and/or fancy for my budget and/or taste.

That's viable reason as well, especially if you are outside the US I understand.

[kreider204]

Originally Posted by Jarrett

I smelled that they don't have a signature sound of their own

Ah, I've heard of "listening with your eyes," but never "listening with your nose"!

I love my Carvin, but it's certainly never occurred to me that it's odd that not everyone else has one. Strange thread ...

[Direct Box Rox]

I was simply implying why we don't see more artists using Carvins? I don't expect to see every last player with one, but I also don't expect them to be non-existent.

Somebody once said that Carvin is the Huffy of bass guitars.

[Handyman]

Originally Posted by kreider204

Ah, I've heard of "listening with your eyes," but never "listening with your nose"!

I love my Carvin, but it's certainly never occurred to me that it's odd that not everyone else has one. Strange thread ...

The only basses I've encountered that assaulted my sense of smell were previously owned by heavy smokers, or regularly gigged in front of the same.

Ick.

Straight-out-of-the-factory Carvins smell pretty typical for a bass, in my experience.

[Joedog]

They (like many others) make some fine instruments. However, if we ALL owned only Carvin (or Fender, or whatever) I would find the world more boring. What is wrong with diversity? Would we be better off if all women were blondes, and there were no redheads or brunettes?

BTW, I'll put my less expensive Schecter Studio 5 up against a Carvin all day long.

[Itzayana]

Same reason we don't all drive the same kind of car, wear the same color shirt, or drink the same kind of beer!

[eddododo]

I definetly would rather a carvin over almost any made-in-cheapland bass

Carvin is nott my thing so much but they are very nice instruments... I would take a carvin over a schecter anyday, just to fan flames.

[iriegnome]

Props to Carvin, but IMHO, I just don't like them. Never played one that I like, never played one that made me want to own it. But this is just my opinion. I realize that there are many many people who love them, use them happily, and would argue that they are the best out there and I can understand. Just not for me..

[WCHIII]

I just bought a new bass rig. I looked at Carvin, talked to them on the phone.
For me what changed my mind was the old saying
"If it sounds to good to be true,it probably is.
Reminds me of a friend who was trying to sell
some pure breed, registered chow puppies quick
at a low price and couldn't get a bite. Someone suggested
the price was so low no one believed they
were for real. He tripled the price and sold them
all in a couple weeks. You never know.

[saustindavis]

Originally Posted by Direct Box Rox

Somebody once said that Carvin is the Huffy of bass guitars.

People's ignorance can be pretty funny sometimes. Whoever said that had probably never played one, and just wanted to sound 'cool'. I've seen a few guitars and a couple of basses in person and didn't really care for the style. I decided to stop by their site after reading through this thread and have fallen in love with the SB4000. I watched a few videos and have major GAS!

[edpal]

Originally Posted by DiabolusInMusic

Carvin are a world class value, that does not make them a world class bass. This is coming from a guy who owns and loves his Carvin.

This!

I've had Carvin's also, still have one of their 5 string acoustic/piezo basses(fretless, my handiwork). It plays nice, the neck feels decent. But still, Carvin's have always felt and sounded a bit "suspect" to me without a lot of work. I'd agree you lose your tail on resale. I don't care where it's made - Indonesians need to live too....so I really prefer my Ibanez ATK805E over any Carvin I've ever played. BY a long shot.


SO forget it OP - I'ma not gonna Cav-in or Carv-in!

[mjac28]

"I'm sorry officer what was the question again?"

[mjac28]

Originally Posted by edpal

SO forget it OP - I'ma not gonna Cav-in or Carv-in!

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

[Pbass4003]

Well, we all know looks aren't everything, but I firmly believe they LOOK like generic Chinese crap. Some of the ugliest headstocks and body shapes in the industry IMHO. Not looking to start a war here, just letting you know why I will never play Carvin.

...do love their PA systems though.