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Anybody besides me miss Carvin?
- Thread starter countrybass5
- Start date
I seriously miss knowing they could repair my BX1500 if it ever needed it.
Was planning to get a 4 channel power amp for PA monitors.
They folded just as I had the money together.
I have a DCM1204 and a DCM2004L for my monitor feeds.
Only reason I miss Carvin is because they had the best price on La Bella Tapewounds.
Never warmed to the sound of either their guitars or basses. They played well and looked nice enough. But there was nothing there that made me want to get one when it came to tone. Kinda bland sounding to my ears. And although they seemed to go for really good prices, once you started adding “extras” (which seemed to be anything you’d expect to already find in an instrument) they got pricey pretty fast.
The few amps I ran into (my cousin was a Carvin fan) seemed to be ok. But again no unique signature sound that I could hear. And while I’ve heard horror stories about them sometimes blowing up on stage, I never saw one die during a gig.
Can’t say I actually miss Carvin. But it’s never a good thing when another choice disappears. So I’m certainly not happy they’re gone either.
The few amps I ran into (my cousin was a Carvin fan) seemed to be ok. But again no unique signature sound that I could hear. And while I’ve heard horror stories about them sometimes blowing up on stage, I never saw one die during a gig.
Can’t say I actually miss Carvin. But it’s never a good thing when another choice disappears. So I’m certainly not happy they’re gone either.
Uh, yes. Kiesel Guitars is the guitars side of Carvin, with a change to the family name of Lowell Kiesel. The original founder, who originally used the Kiesel name. Jeff's grandfather.
Hi guys
Carvin is!!!
Kiesel does fine.
The whole story (and a lot of comments) on
Carvin Liquidating
greetings
Wise(b)ass
It's all the same people working there. Same website, same products, etc. And their revenue has expanded every year, since the split.
And they moved to a larger, nicer facility.
Carvin isn't doing amps anymore/yet. Just Some accessories. (Wireless etc,,,) Keisel, yep... That half of the family did a better job and is still doing pretty much the same in the world of guitars and basses..
I do, somewhat. Their basses, to my taste, were quite good though not my ultimate. And their B1500 was my favorite bass amp ever--just way overkill for where I'm at right now, and heavier than I currently prefer. And I have a couple of Carvin guitars that I like a lot.
Of course the instrument side is still alive, as Kiesel, and by all appearances flourishing. As I say, I'll miss the amp side to a degree ... but I'll live. Nothing I'll really spend a lot of time mourning TBH. But then, I wouldn't spend much time mourning any maker of inanimate objects. Just hope the employees landed on their feet with decent jobs somewhere.
Of course the instrument side is still alive, as Kiesel, and by all appearances flourishing. As I say, I'll miss the amp side to a degree ... but I'll live. Nothing I'll really spend a lot of time mourning TBH. But then, I wouldn't spend much time mourning any maker of inanimate objects. Just hope the employees landed on their feet with decent jobs somewhere.
I've got racks of gear from carvin. Unfortunately. If it dies... it's now a disposable item. I've got a couple bass amps that I really like, and one bass. I like the concept of buying direct and buying American made. Unfortunately this generation ran the electronic side into the ground.
I too bid you welcome Eric. Please take the time to fill out your profile as it helps us answer your questions better.
Donald Duck’s trade tariffs are not really yet a challenge. I guess give him time!
I miss Carvin, partly due to nostalgia. The second bass I ever bought was a custom fretless LB76 in Koa. It was probably 1992 and I was a Les Claypool freak so it looked close enough like his 6 string Carl Thompson
Also bought a PB500 stack, maybe even at the same time. Later bought an R600 stack. Bought lots of used stuff over the years. Basically, I've always had Carvin gear. Currently I have a Bunny Brunel 4 string and my backup amp is a BX500. Miss their catalogs also.
Also bought a PB500 stack, maybe even at the same time. Later bought an R600 stack. Bought lots of used stuff over the years. Basically, I've always had Carvin gear. Currently I have a Bunny Brunel 4 string and my backup amp is a BX500. Miss their catalogs also.
Playing originals music and sharing the stage with countless other bands over the years I’ve seen my share of carvin gear. Was never really blown away. The v3 guitar amps were decent. Was never impressed by any of their bass amps. Some of their instruments are nice. I think what made them popular was cheap pa gear and being able to somewhat custom order an instrument. But these days there are a lot of companies that do that sort of thing with little to no upcharge. I ordered a musicman bongo 5 once. Took a couple months to get, picked the finish, hardware, and electronics configuration and it was still less than $2k. If you want a personalized fender style bass there’s stuff like Warmoth. Which sure they don’t have the best resale value. But carvin never really had great resale value either.
I'm still gigging and digging my MB10. I like it so much that I bought two, to have one as a backup. I had an absolutely terrible customer service / repair / warranty experience with them once, but the amp itself is awesome.
Never bought any new, but have bought a variety of it used and have no issues.
Not sure why they went under but I would say bass players and bands are worse off because of their closing.
Still hoping they reconstitute in some manner.
I have owned quite a bit of Carvin equipment through the years. I had a LB 70 bass that was my main player for over 10 years (wish I had never sold it !). I have also owned a Pro Bass 200 1x12 bass combo amp, a BX-500 head, a BX-1500 head, and I currently own a BX-1600 head. I also purchased several raw 12" and 15" speakers from them. I did have problems with the Pro Bass combo, but this was after 10+ years of usage. I used their trade-in offer to obtain the BX-500. It sat mainly unused for a couple of years, and when I started to use it I had problems with it. It sounded great when it worked ! As it was out of warranty, I traded again for the BX-1500 head, which I used for several years. I sold it to downsize to a TC Electronics BH250 head (which was a big mistake), and found a ridiculous deal on a cosmetically-damaged BX-1600 head, which I still use today. It is a shame that they went out of business, they were a viable option in a very cluttered market (my opinion !)
I have used their cabinets for years with no issues at all. mostly 4 x 10 but a few 1 x 15 and even a 1 x 18 cab. All worked great.
I suspect that probably someone just bought the name, and the old Carvin corp has been dissolved...
I hope Kiesel is still awesome... I'm ordering a bass from them in October.
They are.
I just got my new Kiesel a few weeks ago, and I'm thrilled with it.I use 2 MB15s with my rig and I've never had a bit of trouble with them... hope you find some.
Glad to hear it...I'm really excited about ordering...I like what I've heard about them.They are.
