There has been enough discussion of the Carvin B40/B50 basses on other threads that I believe it deserves it's own. It appears that not many of these basses are in circulation yet, and it's no wonder with the huge amount of attention that Carvin has given to the SB line of basses.
However, the B40/B50 line may well fill a need for some bassists. The SB is a larger, heavier bass, and it's design is too non-traditional for some tastes.
I've had the chance to spend time with both models, and I'll start this thread by trying to provide some comparison. Hope it helps.
In mid-January, I received a Carvin SB5000 bass from the factory after a wait of about eight week. During the trial period, I found the tone and playability of the bass to be excellent. The weight and body size, however, created problems for me and I returned to instrument, opting instead for a B50 model. I've now been in possession of the B50 for about five days, and want to post a review of this instrument. At the same time, I am starting this thread dedicated to the B40/B50 models, which have received relatively little attention on the online forums.
My B50 is equipped with the vol-vol active circuit, J99A single-coil pickups, maple/maple neck, an ash body with honeyburst finish, and chrome hardware. The specs are identical to the SB5000 that I owned other than the change from an alder to ash body.
First impressions:
The bass arrived by UPS in excellent shape. The appearance of the instrument seems flawless, with ultra-clean fretwork and setup at the nut. The truss-rod needed a half-turn to bring the neck into the relatively flat relief that I prefer, as I have a relatively light touch. I must say that Carvin has vastly improved their truss-rod system compared with the one they were still using about four years ago. Very smooth and solid feeling.
As far as I can tell, the neck is identical to the SB5000 neck. After getting the neck right, I set the action set the intonation, which wasn't too hard with the new bridge. However, it took a couple of tries on a couple of strings, as the lockdown screw changes the setting just slightly.
The weight:
The SB5000 has a large body, and in fact requires a different, wider case to accommodate it's size. My SB5000 weighed in at 10.2 pounds, and I was pleased to find that I'd dropped a half-pound with the B50. This is roughly in line with the weight difference shown on Carvin's web site. I was a little surprised that the ash didn't save me some more poundage, as the salesman suggested it should.
The B50's body feels very much in line with the size and weight of my Fender American Deluxe P V, and the Valenti #23 that I once owned before it started it's world tour.
The tone:
Most everyone interested in the SB4000/5000 have checked out Sekou's clips on the Carvin web site. My SB5000 duplicated those sounds pretty darned well, and my B50 sounds pretty darned close. The differences that I hear fall right in line with my experience with ash versus alder bodies.
On the gig:
Buying a bass with single-coil pickups is like buying the Baconator at Wendy's. You know it's going to taste good 'n fat 'n greasy, but you also know there's a price for all of that lard in your veins.
Sekou says this bass picks up everything, and he's 100% correct. The pickups are punchy, wet, and sweet sounding. They also pick up a lot of noise. In order to play this bass out live, I'll need to add a noise gate pedal or rack unit in the future, as the amount of buzz between songs is unacceptable for my gigs.
This bass doesn't have quite the low-mid punch of the alder version, but I would say it has plenty to cut through any situation. I received comments very similar to those when auditioning the SB .very clear and punchy.
Oh, and no problems for my back and neck with this one. It's a keeper, but I'm shopping for a noise gate this week!
However, the B40/B50 line may well fill a need for some bassists. The SB is a larger, heavier bass, and it's design is too non-traditional for some tastes.
I've had the chance to spend time with both models, and I'll start this thread by trying to provide some comparison. Hope it helps.
In mid-January, I received a Carvin SB5000 bass from the factory after a wait of about eight week. During the trial period, I found the tone and playability of the bass to be excellent. The weight and body size, however, created problems for me and I returned to instrument, opting instead for a B50 model. I've now been in possession of the B50 for about five days, and want to post a review of this instrument. At the same time, I am starting this thread dedicated to the B40/B50 models, which have received relatively little attention on the online forums.
My B50 is equipped with the vol-vol active circuit, J99A single-coil pickups, maple/maple neck, an ash body with honeyburst finish, and chrome hardware. The specs are identical to the SB5000 that I owned other than the change from an alder to ash body.
First impressions:
The bass arrived by UPS in excellent shape. The appearance of the instrument seems flawless, with ultra-clean fretwork and setup at the nut. The truss-rod needed a half-turn to bring the neck into the relatively flat relief that I prefer, as I have a relatively light touch. I must say that Carvin has vastly improved their truss-rod system compared with the one they were still using about four years ago. Very smooth and solid feeling.
As far as I can tell, the neck is identical to the SB5000 neck. After getting the neck right, I set the action set the intonation, which wasn't too hard with the new bridge. However, it took a couple of tries on a couple of strings, as the lockdown screw changes the setting just slightly.
The weight:
The SB5000 has a large body, and in fact requires a different, wider case to accommodate it's size. My SB5000 weighed in at 10.2 pounds, and I was pleased to find that I'd dropped a half-pound with the B50. This is roughly in line with the weight difference shown on Carvin's web site. I was a little surprised that the ash didn't save me some more poundage, as the salesman suggested it should.
The B50's body feels very much in line with the size and weight of my Fender American Deluxe P V, and the Valenti #23 that I once owned before it started it's world tour.
The tone:
Most everyone interested in the SB4000/5000 have checked out Sekou's clips on the Carvin web site. My SB5000 duplicated those sounds pretty darned well, and my B50 sounds pretty darned close. The differences that I hear fall right in line with my experience with ash versus alder bodies.
On the gig:
Buying a bass with single-coil pickups is like buying the Baconator at Wendy's. You know it's going to taste good 'n fat 'n greasy, but you also know there's a price for all of that lard in your veins.
Sekou says this bass picks up everything, and he's 100% correct. The pickups are punchy, wet, and sweet sounding. They also pick up a lot of noise. In order to play this bass out live, I'll need to add a noise gate pedal or rack unit in the future, as the amount of buzz between songs is unacceptable for my gigs.
This bass doesn't have quite the low-mid punch of the alder version, but I would say it has plenty to cut through any situation. I received comments very similar to those when auditioning the SB .very clear and punchy.
Oh, and no problems for my back and neck with this one. It's a keeper, but I'm shopping for a noise gate this week!
