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Brian Bromberg Carvin Model Part 2

#881
I don't see why we can't have any or all of those options. This is Carvin we are talking about, right?!

I personally have been waiting for a neck through p/j... Would love a B24 but would settle for any (LB70).

Thanks for hook'n it up Brian, we more than appreciate it!
 
#882
Hey guys, new member here with a few quick questions about speccing out a B25, will try to keep it as brief as possible.

I've been playing guitar for about 15 years now, fairly proficient, but far from a virtuoso or anything. Wanting to get into bass because it seems really fun and i love the sound and dynamics of the fretless especially.

I enjoy all sorts of music, but i'd be especially interested in playing progressive metal, blues, and jazz. Mainly a bit of everything so i'm trying to find a nice flexible set-up that could handle anything i threw at it.

Here's what i've spec'd out at the moment:
B5q2ZMD.png


Biggest questions i have are about wood and pickups. Has anyone tried Korina(Limba) on the B25? I'm worried it might be a bit too warm leading to muddiness, but everything i've read about it seems to suggest it's a great wood. I figure the maple neck and top will be a nice counterpoint to it. As for pickups i just kind of assumed i wanted humbuckers because that's what i've always played in guitars 95% of the time, but things seem a bit less cut and dry with bass so maybe it's not so simple. Any advice would be great. Super excited about getting this started.
 
#883
Hey NathanC, thanks for your post. I promise you that you will love your bass! Carvin is doing a great job with them and their workmanship is really astounding for an American made bass at that price point.

I think the big decision here about the pick-ups is more about the sound you want and the style of music that you play. Single coil pick-ups have a very specific sound that there really is only one way to get, and that is with single coil pick-ups. EQ, Pre amps, etc... with humbuckers cannot replicate the type of sound that single coils get. If you slap a lot, play funky, or want that kind of sound that made the Jazz Bass so popular on records because of how the bass sits in the track then you will want the single coils. If you like to use only the neck or bridge pick-up then you will of course get some noise that single coils make.

The humbuckers don't make any noise at all and sound great. They are maybe a little warmer and rounder sounding in a way, and they don't have that "hollow" type of sound that the single coils have. Truly apples and oranges as they both sound great for what they do. If you play more with both pick-ups on and evenly balanced then the single coils might be more versatile for different styles of music? If you like to mess around with using different blends of the pick up volumes and favor just one pick-up then the humbuckers might be for you as they are dead quiet.

Don't know if I helped or made your decision worse but there you have it! thanks man, post pics of the bass when you get it! all the best...........B2
 
#884
Brian Bromberg said:
Hey NathanC, thanks for your post. I promise you that you will love your bass! Carvin is doing a great job with them and their workmanship is really astounding for an American made bass at that price point.

I think the big decision here about the pick-ups is more about the sound you want and the style of music that you play. Single coil pick-ups have a very specific sound that there really is only one way to get, and that is with single coil pick-ups. EQ, Pre amps, etc... with humbuckers cannot replicate the type of sound that single coils get. If you slap a lot, play funky, or want that kind of sound that made the Jazz Bass so popular on records because of how the bass sits in the track then you will want the single coils. If you like to use only the neck or bridge pick-up then you will of course get some noise that single coils make.

The humbuckers don't make any noise at all and sound great. They are maybe a little warmer and rounder sounding in a way, and they don't have that "hollow" type of sound that the single coils have. Truly apples and oranges as they both sound great for what they do. If you play more with both pick-ups on and evenly balanced then the single coils might be more versatile for different styles of music? If you like to mess around with using different blends of the pick up volumes and favor just one pick-up then the humbuckers might be for you as they are dead quiet.

Don't know if I helped or made your decision worse but there you have it! thanks man, post pics of the bass when you get it! all the best...........B2
Click to expand...

Wow the man himself, thank you so much! I'd actually gone ahead and ordered my B25 the night before your post, so i was nervous reading it that it'd make me second-guess my decisions, but i think i feel ok!

Here's what i decided on:

Custom Shop Instrument Details:
Base Price: $ 1,329.00
B25 - Brian Bromberg Series 5-String Bass
Right Handed
$ 180.00 - QDQ4 - Deep Aqua Burst Quilt (Includes DTS Finish)
$ 0.00 - F - Fretless Ebony Fingerboard
$ 30.00 - EFB - Ebony Fingerboard Black (No Streaking)
$ 0.00 - -CG - Clear Gloss Finish (Standard)
$ 100.00 - LMW - Maple Neck/WhiteLimba Body
$ 60.00 - TN - Tung Oil Finish Back Of Neck (Natural Wood)
$ 40.00 - NS - Neck Covered By Optional Top Wood
$ 0.00 - QPH4 - Quilted Maple Headstock Matches Body Finish
$ 0.00 - -BBH - Bromberg-Style Headstock (Standard)
$ 0.00 - -FR - Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W (Standard)
$ 0.00 - -R14 - 14in Fretboard Radius (Standard)
$ 30.00 - BC - Black Hardware
$ 20.00 - RH2 - 2 Radiused Humbucker Pickups
$ 0.00 - -BLK - Black Pickups
$ 0.00 - ABL - Abalone Logo
$ 0.00 - -5011 - Nickel Roundwound .040 .060 .080 .100 .128
$ 10.00 - AK - Metal Knobs w/ Abalone Inlays
$ 10.00 - SL - Dunlop Straplocks
$ 59.00 - SC8 - Black Ultimate Soft Bass Case

Super excited!
 
#886
Today I officially pulled the trigger on my B25p. I knew I wanted one, but there was some issue with making sure I was going to get the exact color that I want. I thought it was just me being difficult, but turns out, I am not the only one...

When I go to the galleries on the Carvin page, the purple finish option is all over the board as far as how it looks. I knew I wanted it to look like an example I saw on the Carvin Facebook page, so I inquired about that. As I knew, to "match" an exact instrument, it is an additional $100 upcharge. What I did not know is that it also takes away the 10 day return option. I found this risky, and frustrating. So, I wrote to my sales tech, and even to Mr. Bromberg himself. My sales tech Steve was great in trying to accommodate me, and Brian took the time to write back on Facebook as well. Couple days later, I saw another example on Facebook of the finish I want, so I tagged Jeff Kiesel on Facebook in the picture, and asked about the consistency. Customer service wrote back and explained that the galleries have not been representative lately, and they are working on fixing it, but that the colors seen on Facebook are very consistent, so mine will look very much like what I am seeing. This made me feel much better, so I got it ordered. While on the phone with Steve, he confirmed that this has been a frustrating issue for some time, for customers and sales people alike, and that the sales manager just assigned a project to one of them to update the galleries over the next couple weeks to be better representative. He said the galleries for the purple and blue were the worst, with even the green being across the board as well. So hopefully in the near future the Carvin webpage galleries will start to show what they are really producing.

I just thought I would share that here if anyone was concerned wanting a specific color and being a little apprehensive as to what they may get, based on the website galleries. I feel pretty confident now that I will get what I am wanting, and cannot wait for it to be done! :hyper:

My specs will be:


B25 – Right Handed
MA – Maple Neck / Alder Body (Standard)
CG – Clear Gloss Finish (Standard)
QDP4 – Deep Purple Quilt (Includes DTS Finish)
5MW – 5-Piece Maple Neck w/ 2 Walnut Stripes
GNB – Clear Gloss Finish Back of Neck (Standard)
BBH – Bromberg-Style Headstock (Standard)
QPH4 – Quilted Maple Headstock Matches Body Finish
EFB – Ebony Fingerboard No Streaking
BAI – Bromberg 12th Fret Abalone Inlay (Standard)
FR – Med-Jumbo Frets .048” H .103” W (Standard)
BLK – Black Pickups
P – Piezo Bass Bridge with Blend Control
BC – Black Hardware
5011 – Nickel Roundwond .040 .060 .080 .100 .128
ABL – Abalone Logo
SL – Dunlop Straplocks
HC8W – Black Tolex Wide Hardshell Bass Case


I'll post pics as soon as it arrives!
 
#887
Hey bassmanmicah, thanks for all that info!

The issue of official photos not matching the actual instruments is, IMO, a big problem in the guitar/bass industry. It is really great to see that Carvin is working to better represent their products.

I have certainly noticed that in the past week or two, several of the instrument galleries have been significantly paired down or even rendered completely inactive. Now we know why----and it's for a very good reason!
 
#889
Ahh the pink/purple monster! I played this bass at NAMM and it's awesome. I always love to play new basses UNPLUGGED at first to see how much resonance and body mojo there is. This bass knocked me out with the mojo factor, really a lot of sound and neck/body vibration and transfer. As I said before, don't let the pink/purple fool you, this bass is excellent and will look amazing on stage............
 
#893
Greg Jones said:
Wow! That is dead sexy.

You know what I wish? I wish when you 'built' one at the Carvin site it would show you a picture of the completed bass, at least a close facsimile would be awesome. I remember Peavey had this on their website at one point.
Click to expand...

Carvin once had a very simple online facsimile of what your guitar/bass might look years ago. G&L guitars have something like it online right now, come to think of it. The old Carvin one was pretty simple and not well suited for see-thru or natural finishes. It looked very fake but it was better than nothing. Then they got rid of it. Bummer because with the technology available now, I bet a team of geeks could really whip together something that might look reasonably realistic. It’d really help us consumers visualize a little better.
 
#895
Greg Jones said:
at least a close facsimile would be awesome. I remember Peavey had this on their website at one point.
Click to expand...

I think Carvin is currently pushing to show "reality" of what their basses and guitars actually look like. In Recent months, they have greatly increased the amount of photos they post of actual products recently made or still in progress. and the official website is currently re-doing the photo sections, emphasizing photos that more accurately show what the paint colors actually look like.

I guess they had dealt with a lot of correspondence questioning what their stuff actually looked like. Because colors and finishes would often look very different, from photo to photo. Even on the same model with same/similar woods. So they are making an effort to show reality; to hopefully lessen inquiries specifically about that and likely, some complaints and/or returns based on that.

While a mockup of what a bass or guitar could sort of look like from the "builder" might be cool for some people; in general it would further cause some dissonance with the actual final product. Every official mockup tool I have ever used, whether it was for guitar/basses, mountain bikes, cars-------none of them have really looked like "reality".
 
#899
Have serious gas for B24, trying to get a friend to place an order in the US. The price in USD was $1650 approx and £1650 approx if ordered here. After shipping and customs it is still not worth ordering through a UK dealer .
 
#900
Update:

Since I joined a working cover band, I haven't been doing the projects on which I used my B25P strung with nickels for that active/jam-band type tone that I needed. But the 'new' band has asked me to start using my B25 'stealth' fretless more and more. They absolutely love the look and tone, so I am using it on our ballads, slower songs and a couple that are just fun to rock on a fretless. Based on some tone tests with Chromes and D'Addario tape wounds, the fretless is strung full-time now with the tapes.

But I missed playing the B25P, so I took it out of the closet with the intention of stringing it up with some flats. I had tried a few brands of flats before, including Chromes, Carvins and LaBella DTF's and even an older set of Medium gauge Sadowsky flats. IMHO, they all tended to limit the flexibility of tones I could get from the bass. They were fine but not 'amazing', and I'm used to 'amazing' with this bass. Sitting around in my string bag was a lightly broken in, spare set of my much beloved Light gauge Sadowsky flats that I use on my PJ5 (which is a tone monster!). So on they went.

Holy cow! They sound absolutely great on this bass! The 'Bromberg-Pre' goes really well with these. They sound great with effects and even when I have to 'slap' o_O on 'Brick House'. We're starting to do a few more 'newer/modern' songs that seem to use more drop D and the more-frequent low B and the pre helps keep it tight. I don't get as much of the wooly, 'P-growl' that I dig so much on my PJ, but in addition to the more modern needs, it definitely cops an old-school tone that fits in well with what I'm doing now and what I will need to do going forward.

So if anyone out there is looking to try some flats with one of these, I just wanted to pass along my experiences with these Sadowksy lights!
 

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