very blue Carvin 6 string
 

I found this bass for sale on my local craigslist, Im wondering if anyone could identify the model name of this bass, or other information regarding the components, ect, would be appreciated. Its going for a low price so i dont want to buy it on impulse ,but i do love my 6 strings.

Thanks, Spencer

That's an LB76. The shape of the horns make it look like a less recent model, but I can't be too sure. It's hard to discern what bridge is on it, But it doesn't look like a Hipshot type A, which is standard on recent models. This link will give you all kinds of relevant info:
http://www.carvinmuseum.com/basses.html

WOW, that is a lot of blue. Can't get much bluer then that. Nice score.

Thanks a lot man, i scanned over the database and found this pic from 2001 which has the same knob arrangement and maybe bridge.

http://www.carvinmuseum.com/decade/images/01-lb76.html

Heres a link to the same picture ,but much larger

The carvin museum link up above there will help you nail down the year. That is an older bridge, older horn shape and also another giveaway is that it's only a 9v active. Stock has been 18v for some time now.

LB76 for sure.

Others on here have the timelines of features memorized and could give you a few years for the build. Sorry I can't do that.

Oh, as to pickups, the museum will help you with identification. Carvin has used small colored dots on the face of the J style pickup covers. The dot color identifies the type of pu.

My guess is that you have stock J99's, which are a ceramic single coil. They now have upgraded to an alnico J99A providing higher output.

The other Carvin pu that is in that shape cover is the H50 stacked humbucker. I seriously doubt that's what you have. I don't know if they were even offered back then, but the museum will let you know.

Definitely earlier 2000's. They used the Hipshot B bridge before switching to the Hipshot A bridge..both came after the crappy, crappy Wilkinson bridge which mine had, which I got in the 90's.

Do you guys think this bass is a good deal for 350-400? It is damaged obviously (guy said he dropped it), so i would have to put some work into it, maybe even refinish it.

I'd do 350. I'm the kind of guy that would just live with the finish chips tho. Intending to refinish may affect your assessment of the value.

I was thinking of maybe taking the finish off and just giving it a lacquer or smthn. I know how much of a bitch that is tho ,and how expensive haha.

Gotta love those blue Carvin basses! Mine's a BB76, BTW

Quit rubbing it in! You know I'm GASsing for one of those...

Dude, your BB is the bomb! :) BB's are the big secret in the bass world :)


This one is nice enough, but I would do a lot of tapping on it to see if the 'drop' caused any cracks. That would really be my one AND ONLY worry, ignore the chips in the paint. It's an older one with the 9v pre, but should be an excellent bass if it isn't cracked. I would also guess it has the H50 humbuckers and not the J99 singles, but the H50's sound great so no issues there. For $350, if it is structurally sound...well, you really can't get a better bass for that price.

If you get it and like it, you may decide a different pre (like an East) might be a better investment than a refinish, so don't sweat the finish up front. But DEFINITELY play it and hold it first, the drop that caused the finish issues could have put hairline cracks in the headstock, behind the nut, and elsewhere. That's a bigger issue than the finish.

I think I like the blue?