Can't Make Up My Mind

[Mechanical]

Yea, for sale for. Go to ebay where you can click "completed listings" and youll see what these actually wind up going for and/or how long they sit

So...another old fart...looking a Ebay of all places. It's true! Some Carvin/Kiesels sell for less because they are truly custom instruments. If you get Vader bass with the lizardburst on flamed maple, that's not to everyone's taste. But if you get a tobaccoburst finish on a P or J style bass, you will get good money.

I honestly don't understand the hate for an American company who makes custom instruments of the highest quality for ridiculously low prices. They don't resale well! Who cares? I can get a P bass with better tolerances than the Fender Custom shop in any color I want, with any fretboard material I want, made with any tonewood that I want, (plus I can send them any pickup or preamp I want) but folks don't like them because they used to send them catalogs through the mail?

SMDH.

But YMMV.

 

[Snakeman1066]

opinions are like backsides...everybody has one...Having owned a couple of Carvin guitars and basses in the past...they would not be high on my list of choices if I had $2500.00 to spend...

Who cares about resale value? Really? well your wife or kids might once your gone and buried...or you might if you end up in some sort of financial situation down the road.

for me personally I don't like ANY of their body styles, nor do I really care for their neck profile

the OP asked for opinions and that's what he is getting...

In the End he will be the one to make the decision not us...

I have always said play what you like and like what you play

and In my case if I had $2500.00 to spend I would be shopping for a Lakland

and again if someone were to give me a Carvin/Kiesel it would have to be the ICON

 

[countrybass5]

opinions are like backsides...everybody has one...Having owned a couple of Carvin guitars and basses in the past...they would not be high on my list of choices if I had 2500 to spend...

Who cares about resale value? Really? well your wife or kids might once your gone and buried...or you might if you end up in some sort of financial situation down the road.

for me personally I don't like ANY of their body styles nor do I really care for their neck profile

the OP asked for opinions and that's what he is getting...

In the End he will be the one to make the decision not us...

I have always said play what you like and like what you play

and In my case if I had $2500.00 to spend I would be shopping for a Lakland

and again if someone were to give me a Carvin/Kiesel it would have to be the ICON

opinions are like backsides...everybody has one...Having owned a couple of Carvin guitars and basses in the past...they would not be high on my list of choices if I had 2500 to spend...

Who cares about resale value? Really? well your wife or kids might once your gone and buried...or you might if you end up in some sort of financial situation down the road.

for me personally I don't like ANY of their body styles nor do I really care for their neck profile

the OP asked for opinions and that's what he is getting...

In the End he will be the one to make the decision not us...

I have always said play what you like and like what you play

and In my case if I had $2500.00 to spend I would be shopping for a Lakland

and again if someone were to give me a Carvin/Kiesel it would have to be the ICON

Thanks, I appreciate your remarks...that's why I posted I wanted to know what people like/dislike about Carvin.

 

[MordBass]

So...another old fart...looking a Ebay of all places. It's true! Some Carvin/Kiesels sell for less because they are truly custom instruments. If you get Vader bass with the lizardburst on flamed maple, that's not to everyone's taste. But if you get a tobaccoburst finish on a P or J style bass, you will get good money.

I honestly don't understand the hate for an American company who makes custom instruments of the highest quality for ridiculously low prices. They don't resale well! Who cares? I can get a P bass with better tolerances than the Fender Custom shop in any color I want, with any fretboard material I want, made with any tonewood that I want, (plus I can send them any pickup or preamp I want) but folks don't like them because they used to send them catalogs through the mail?

SMDH.

But YMMV.

First off, im not old at all. Secondly, there is no hate... just reality. Take off your fanboi goggles and see it for what it is. Ive been on ebay for 14 years with well over 1000 transactions, Ive been on reverb for about 3 years now with two dozen transactions, and I worked for GC for 3 years where I bought in and sold hundreds of pieces of gear. Aside from that, I have been playing, buying, and shopping instruments for about 2 decades. Carvin products have always had an issue with resale value as well as having spotty craftsmanship at different points throughout their history. Do I hate them? Absolutely not.. they are fine for what they are but I have never played a single one that was worth the asking price or the best option at its price point. Nobody is hating on them, we're just realistic with the values that are out there.
And you asked who cares about resale value? The majority of us, which is exactly why carv/kiesel make up such a small percentage of the market.

 

[MordBass]

Carvin/Kiesel makes great basses. Talkbass is only obsessed with resale value, though. Basses are not financial investments!

I am saving up for one, a 6-string Zeus.
View attachment 3100412

I have been extremely impressed with every Carvin/Kiesel I've ever gotten my hands on!

Remember that you are buying the bass for yourself. You should buy the bass that you like the most.

You won't be able to get an Xcelerator because they were discontinued! That narrows it down to the Icon or the PB5. One's a modern 24-fret neck through and the other is an old-school P! Obviously the Icon costs quite a bit more while the P is the lowest-priced bass they've got. You could check out the Kiesel forums for more info on your choices

Something doesnt need to be a "financial investment" in order for one to practice smart finances.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

Something doesnt need to be a "financial investment" in order for one to practice smart finances.

The amount is so negligible that it's insignificant. Correct me if I'm wrong. For example, if I buy a brand new Fender or Ibanez bass for $1400, and I buy a brand new Kiesel bass for $1400. After a decade of heavy gigging, how much will they sell for? I doubt the difference is more than a couple hundred $$$

 

[MordBass]

The amount is so negligible that it's insignificant. Correct me if I'm wrong. For example, if I buy a brand new Fender or Ibanez bass for $1400, and I buy a brand new Kiesel bass for $1400. After a decade of heavy gigging, how much will they sell for? I doubt the difference is more than a couple hundred $$$

Im not really disagreeing with you in that scenario but I am going to offer the idea that "heavy gigging" and keeping a bass for a decade are two things that many will never do on this site lol.
Here's the way I see it......
You can spend $2500 on a kiesel or $2500 on a used higher end bass that is already at the bottom of its resale value for the current market..... like a Roscoe. Well, 3 years from now lets say that you are using a different bass as your main instrument but you've been wanting a fretless for quite some time. You pop into your local shop and they have a stunning fretless that just came in with barely any wear on it. You MUST have this bass so you think... well... i could sell one of my fretted basses that I'm not using as much these days. So do you go home and sell off the Roscoe for what you paid? Or the Kiesel for like a third of what you paid?
Take this scenario and multiply it by 6 or 8 basses and the differences are pretty huge to most people. If I only buy my basses used and when I can get a stellar deal... it pads my investment. This lets me get out of them at no loss so that I can get into something else. I mentioned that I got my Zon for about $1800. I paid for it with the money that I got from selling two of my taylors. I paid $900 for each taylor, used, because I was patient and shopped smart. About 5 years later, I saw the Zon and knew I couldnt pass it up so I sold the Taylors at $1100 for one and $1200 for the other. Thats $2300. Subtract $1800 for the Zon and I had $500 left over. This means that from my initial investment for the pair of acoustics... I have $1300 into my Zon that was $5045 brand new when the original owner ordered it. If times get rough... or if i need different gear... or whatever... I can now sell that bass for 2+times what I paid.

I'm just cautious of current carvin/kiesel values because it seems to mostly be a very specific group of people buying them at the moment and those people seem to be constantly in and out of the latest and greatest.
If I had to guess, I'd say that in another year or two we'll be seeing all of these custom orders up on the usual sites for sale... just like the orange 4x12s these guys had to have... just like the 2x12s they traded em in for, just like the ibanez rg styles they traded in for the musicman petruccis just like the orange tube heads that they traded in for the axefx that they traded in for the kempers.... Great basses and guitars... they play well... they look fantastic.... I just dont see them as a sound investment and the OP asked for opinions.

 

[Frank77]

Some people don't flip gear constantly, though. I ordered a custom G&L fully aware of their not-so-stellar resale value, because it'll never be for sale. I bought a grand total of 3 basses in 22 years of playing, and only sold one (my starter bass). Maybe OP is in the same category - looking for a "forever bass", but not necessarily an investment...

 

[MordBass]

Some people don't flip gear constantly, though. I ordered a custom G&L fully aware of their not-so-stellar resale value, because it'll never be for sale. I bought a grand total of 3 basses in 22 years of playing, and only sold one (my starter bass). Maybe OP is in the same category - looking for a "forever bass", but not necessarily an investment...

Totally agreed but 3 basses in 22 years puts you in the minority here although it is definitely possible that the OP is doing what you said and looking for that forever bass. If thats the case, then you are spot on.

 

[Slater]

Thanks, I appreciate your remarks...that's why I posted I wanted to know what people like/dislike about Carvin.

I don't dislike Carvin/Kiesel, but your $2,500 budget opens the door to some really nice upper tier instruments. Since you're in an area where it's difficult to try these instruments, the conservative thing to do is "go with what you know".

 

[countrybass5]

Some people don't flip gear constantly, though. I ordered a custom G&L fully aware of their not-so-stellar resale value, because it'll never be for sale. I bought a grand total of 3 basses in 22 years of playing, and only sold one (my starter bass). Maybe OP is in the same category - looking for a "forever bass", but not necessarily an investment...

You hit the nail on the head here...I'm looking for a bass I can enjoy and one that will go to my grandson when I'm gone. I hope he doesn't sell it on a whim...I hope he plays it and enjoys it the way I will. Thanks for the comments. You are most helpful.