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Anyone own a Carvin?

#41
DiabolusInMusic said:
I did a lot of research before getting my Carvin, you have to dig pretty hard to find complaints, and you won't find any about anything remotely recent. As Roy said the 90s had some neck problems.

I will say though, the electronics are the weak point. I have the BB radiused humbuckers, they are good and very clear, but they are not great. The hipshot piezo bridge is amazing though. Absolutely amazing quality for the price.
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Thanks and yeah I'm looking into the electronics to get the sound I need. That's the whole idea in customizing :)
 
#43
I owned a Carvin Icon Walnut 4 string for a couple of years.
I feel that it was a great playing bass that was built pretty much flawlessly...Mine had a 5 piece neck, which was extremely stable.

Ultimately, I sold the bass because the sound was not right for me...It had a very "modern", "HIFI" sort of sound (mine had the soapbar pickups), and I'm more of a fan of a classic, passive kind of sound.

Although the sound of the bass didn't really work for me, I still think it was a very well made bass and it would be difficult to find anything with similar specs and build quality for anywhere near the price.

Carvin customer service was also great!
 
#45
WaskoDS said:
In response to neck instability issues, it's definitely worthwhile to get a multi-ply neck. $90+ is worth that extra guarantee of stability. That raises the question of why they don't just have multi-ply necks standard, but they've probably gotten more and more confident in their necks' stability to believe it's not necessary, but still useful enough to provide as an option.
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Both of my LB70s have one-piece maple neck-throughs, and they're reasonably stable. Unfortunately, each one also has a dead zone in the usual place - frets 5-7, on the D & G strings. I'm not sure whether a multi-laminate neck would have prevented that problem, though it's of course too late to find out now. At least the FatFinger on each headstock helps in the resonance & sustain functions. :hmm:

As for a five-string or six-string Carvin bass guitar, I wouldn't dream of ordering the instrument without the five-piece laminated neck-through. I have them on all of my new five-string Carvin bass guitars, and as far as I'm concerned, they really make all the difference: through the changing of the seasons here in the mercurial Northeast, those necks have barely even budged - they're stable as can be. And they're resonant and balanced as well: not a single dead spot on any instrument, so far as I can tell... :cool:

MM
 
#47
maruct85 said:
Thnks for the suggestion. Actually Bomberg's sound is what got me interested in Carvin in the first place. Guess it would only make sense to try out his signature model.
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I have only played the Bromberg for a short trial, but even in that twenty minutes it was clear that the preamp gave a ton of tonal variety. I like the SB preamp, too, and especially like the passive tone roll off. My favorite bass of all time, though, has the older LB preamp that many people here on TB seem to think is "unworthy." So, what do I know? ;) Have fun in your search!
 
#48
Thought you guys should know... I finally got my Carvin, and took my time getting to know him (yeah it's a he) and its absolutely more that I expected! Incredible bass! So thanks for all the useful insight :)

ImageUploadedByTalkBass1367621233.088205.jpg

And here are my two loves
ImageUploadedByTalkBass1367621294.622170.jpg
 

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