I know that many folks on line don't get a chance to play / hear Carvin gear before they consider buying, so since I was up at the Poway store Saturday, I thought I'd share my 1st hand view of what I played / heard.
Now, in case you don't know, the Poway store is the one that is part of the factory. Knowing this, I am going to assume that I will only see the best of what they have on the walls - this would be their showcase location, so one would only see the best of the best... right? Safe assumption?
I played several basses through a few amps. I was mainly curious about three things: The SB4000 / 5000, the BX500 lightweight amp... and if I'd like their best-o-best bass, the Icon - - specifically, a 5 (or 6) string fretless.
I'll make this easy and get to the newest gear first...
SB5000
The one I played was sunburst top, rosewood fretboard, swamp ash body - nothing particularly fancy. Fit/finish was excellent, setup was good. I played it through both a BX500 2x10 and 1x15 combo.
The neck was thinner than I had expected (I had read on line to expect chunkyness). It had what felt like a bit of neck dive - not the easiest bass to play sitting down... But once I started playing, I was impressed. It was as nice as *any* 5 string J I have ever played, and *much* nicer than any Fender 5 I've tried. Nice even action, nice warm tone - and it slaps all day. I was *impressed*. This bass isn't hype - it's legit. After noodling on it for a while, I decided to try its 4 string cousin...
SB4000
Sunburst over flame maple / swamp ash, Birdseye freatboard.
Okay, THIS is the bass with the chunky neck. Not nearly as comfortable (to me, at least) as the SB5000. Again, a bit of neck dive (not as bad as the 5000) and not set up as well... Sounded good, just like a J should, but didn't *speak* to me like the 5000 did. Fit and finish were again excellent (okay, ALL the basses I played were well made and gorgeous, so I won't keep repeating myself!). This is a sold J bass but lacked the *something* that the 5000 (with the less fancy woods) had. Go figure.
Icon 6 Fretless.
Dark red clear over what looked like flame maple... SW Ash body (I think), maple neck with walnut stringers (I think!).
I wanted to like this bass. I *really* wanted to, because I just can't afford the fretless that I have been longing for... And this bass was selling for $1600... Alas. It sounded awful - tinny, thin, gutless (all EQs set flat). I went passive and it was no better. At first I thought I had a bad bass... But it was the only fretless 6 on the wall, so I played to get a sense of the action/feel... And it just didn't work for me. It was almost as if the fingerboard were too flat - not enough radius to allow comfortable play. I noodled on it a bit, marveled about how beautiful it was... and put it back on the wall.
Icon 5 Fretted:
Another real looker: Flat clear-black over flame maple, black hardware - a real sexy bass. Plugged it in... and there it was again - ICK. Same tone. And the neck - I had thought that a 5 would feel better than a 6, that perhaps it was just me... nope. It felt odd - too flat. It didn't help that it wasn't set up very well, and the strings were dead. So much for the "Showcase" theory...
Icon 4 fretted:
Another lovely looking bass - Really, the Icon's are the first Carvin basses they have made that I thought were pleasing to the eye... Anyway, the bass played better, but still sounded gutless. I don't know what it was. I was running through the same BX500 combo that I ran the SB5000 through, the there was no comparison. The SB5000 sounded *pro* - these sounded... well, not very good.
Lastly, the amp:
BX500:
I have read a fair amount of buzz on this head, so I had to really take a good look.
First thing - it is better than I thought. Given that we now have EA, GK, BG making these tiny class D heads, It thought this was the same beast - nope. It is just a bit smaller than my old GK400RB backup head... But LIGHT. Like, strangely light.
I played flat, with no EQ, not compressor, and with the "drive" turned all the way down. It sounded okay - serviceable, nothing special - but good enough. I tried it this way through both the 2x10 and the 1x15.
Now, I had gathered that the "Drive" knob was much like my Ashdown's blend knob - it cuts in more of the 12AX7 tube into the circuit. I turn it up to about 25% and that made a BIG difference. Suddenly, this little amp sounded warm and big. I turned it up to about 50% and it started sounded a bit *too* warm for my tastes - a bit overdriven (which I suppose is the point) - but with the knob at about 9 or 10 o'clock, it sounded GOOD. I played with the contour knob a bit - it did what you'd expect (let you scoop the mid however much you like - sort of a mid-cut knob). I generally left it all the way out. I ended up playing this head for quite a while and left feeling like I'd own it if I had a need.
So, to sum up: Really liked the SB5000 - more so than any Carvin bass I've ever played before. Quite liked the BX500 head - again, better than any Carvin amp I've played through before... But was disappointed by the Icon basses. Perhaps I was expected too much - - the day before I visited Bass San Diego and played a few Zons, Sadowsky's and a Dingwall (Lee Sklar signature model) that was the absolute *bomb* - - so perhaps my ears / hands weren't ready to go down a notch...
Nah - I played the cheapest 5 on the wall - the SB5000 - and I DUG IT. Either that SB5000 was freakishly nice or they have work to do on their other basses. I'd put that thing up with any J style 5 I've ever played. *Any*.
That's it. I guess my quest for the Perfect Fretless will go unresolved for another day...
Now, in case you don't know, the Poway store is the one that is part of the factory. Knowing this, I am going to assume that I will only see the best of what they have on the walls - this would be their showcase location, so one would only see the best of the best... right? Safe assumption?
I played several basses through a few amps. I was mainly curious about three things: The SB4000 / 5000, the BX500 lightweight amp... and if I'd like their best-o-best bass, the Icon - - specifically, a 5 (or 6) string fretless.
I'll make this easy and get to the newest gear first...
SB5000
The one I played was sunburst top, rosewood fretboard, swamp ash body - nothing particularly fancy. Fit/finish was excellent, setup was good. I played it through both a BX500 2x10 and 1x15 combo.
The neck was thinner than I had expected (I had read on line to expect chunkyness). It had what felt like a bit of neck dive - not the easiest bass to play sitting down... But once I started playing, I was impressed. It was as nice as *any* 5 string J I have ever played, and *much* nicer than any Fender 5 I've tried. Nice even action, nice warm tone - and it slaps all day. I was *impressed*. This bass isn't hype - it's legit. After noodling on it for a while, I decided to try its 4 string cousin...
SB4000
Sunburst over flame maple / swamp ash, Birdseye freatboard.
Okay, THIS is the bass with the chunky neck. Not nearly as comfortable (to me, at least) as the SB5000. Again, a bit of neck dive (not as bad as the 5000) and not set up as well... Sounded good, just like a J should, but didn't *speak* to me like the 5000 did. Fit and finish were again excellent (okay, ALL the basses I played were well made and gorgeous, so I won't keep repeating myself!). This is a sold J bass but lacked the *something* that the 5000 (with the less fancy woods) had. Go figure.
Icon 6 Fretless.
Dark red clear over what looked like flame maple... SW Ash body (I think), maple neck with walnut stringers (I think!).
I wanted to like this bass. I *really* wanted to, because I just can't afford the fretless that I have been longing for... And this bass was selling for $1600... Alas. It sounded awful - tinny, thin, gutless (all EQs set flat). I went passive and it was no better. At first I thought I had a bad bass... But it was the only fretless 6 on the wall, so I played to get a sense of the action/feel... And it just didn't work for me. It was almost as if the fingerboard were too flat - not enough radius to allow comfortable play. I noodled on it a bit, marveled about how beautiful it was... and put it back on the wall.
Icon 5 Fretted:
Another real looker: Flat clear-black over flame maple, black hardware - a real sexy bass. Plugged it in... and there it was again - ICK. Same tone. And the neck - I had thought that a 5 would feel better than a 6, that perhaps it was just me... nope. It felt odd - too flat. It didn't help that it wasn't set up very well, and the strings were dead. So much for the "Showcase" theory...
Icon 4 fretted:
Another lovely looking bass - Really, the Icon's are the first Carvin basses they have made that I thought were pleasing to the eye... Anyway, the bass played better, but still sounded gutless. I don't know what it was. I was running through the same BX500 combo that I ran the SB5000 through, the there was no comparison. The SB5000 sounded *pro* - these sounded... well, not very good.
Lastly, the amp:
BX500:
I have read a fair amount of buzz on this head, so I had to really take a good look.
First thing - it is better than I thought. Given that we now have EA, GK, BG making these tiny class D heads, It thought this was the same beast - nope. It is just a bit smaller than my old GK400RB backup head... But LIGHT. Like, strangely light.
I played flat, with no EQ, not compressor, and with the "drive" turned all the way down. It sounded okay - serviceable, nothing special - but good enough. I tried it this way through both the 2x10 and the 1x15.
Now, I had gathered that the "Drive" knob was much like my Ashdown's blend knob - it cuts in more of the 12AX7 tube into the circuit. I turn it up to about 25% and that made a BIG difference. Suddenly, this little amp sounded warm and big. I turned it up to about 50% and it started sounded a bit *too* warm for my tastes - a bit overdriven (which I suppose is the point) - but with the knob at about 9 or 10 o'clock, it sounded GOOD. I played with the contour knob a bit - it did what you'd expect (let you scoop the mid however much you like - sort of a mid-cut knob). I generally left it all the way out. I ended up playing this head for quite a while and left feeling like I'd own it if I had a need.
So, to sum up: Really liked the SB5000 - more so than any Carvin bass I've ever played before. Quite liked the BX500 head - again, better than any Carvin amp I've played through before... But was disappointed by the Icon basses. Perhaps I was expected too much - - the day before I visited Bass San Diego and played a few Zons, Sadowsky's and a Dingwall (Lee Sklar signature model) that was the absolute *bomb* - - so perhaps my ears / hands weren't ready to go down a notch...
Nah - I played the cheapest 5 on the wall - the SB5000 - and I DUG IT. Either that SB5000 was freakishly nice or they have work to do on their other basses. I'd put that thing up with any J style 5 I've ever played. *Any*.
That's it. I guess my quest for the Perfect Fretless will go unresolved for another day...
