I was wondering if anyone out there has put together a Carvin B5 kit, i have a lot of people praise these kits and others say bad things about the electronics. I have only played one carvin put i loved it but don't have enough money right now to buy one from the custom shop, so i was wondering about these kits. please give your reviews of the kit and pics if you have them would be great, thanks so much Derrick
If it were me, I would buy a neck and body from the Warmoth Thrift Shop, and buy the electronics from Bass Central or Bass NW.
That would be a good way to go, but it would probably cost at least twice as much. (I'm assuming budget is one reason for considering a kit in the first place.) And the construction with your option would be no better IMO (having seen and owned multiple examples of both companies's stuff), though the electronics could be if you spent enough. Though the basic Carvin electronics are IMO actually dang good for the price, it's possible to do better. But you'd have to pay for it. Just my $0.02.
I've never put together the kit, but I've played completed B5s, and I think they're great value. I can't think of anything in that price range that I'd prefer, new anyway. But don't rule out going used--you might be able to find a great deal on a used 5 (Carvin or non-Carvin) for that money.
you can always buy a body and neck from carvin and get the electronics elsewhere. I think a body from carvin's only $100 and the neck $159.
True, but only Cavin pickups will fit in a Carvin body. They use only one size pup for all their basses.
arent they just standard j style pickups that they use? If not for a little extra money, maybe theyd route out the slots to you're specs? I still think thatd be a cheaper way to go over a warmoth or carvin kit in the long run.
i'm not really in to warmoth right now. i can't afford their gecho basses, although i think they are awesome. and besides that they pretty much only have fender style basses which is the style i want to stay away from right now, i want something a little more unique. I know carvin arent a crazy design but you can tell its not a fender, thats what i want. i'm not saying i'm set on carvin either though, i'm just looking for any suggestions you guys could give me, thanks for the help so far
I was wondering about the kit also, so i contacted a girl who use one,it's a fretless. I thought her answer was great, so I will copy it here.
I've considered building a B5 kit myself, but opted to go the Warmouth route. However, if you've never built a bass before, the B5 does have some things going for it. In the first place, I believe the nut is already slotted/cut which eliminates one of the most tricky and expensive aspects of building your own (expensive because good nut files are not cheap!). I beleive the neck/body holes are also pre-drilled so you don't have to risk screwing up on locating and drilling the neck holes. As far as finishing is concerned, do it yourself. If you are worried, use a simple tung oil finish. If you are slightly more ambitious, but still concerned, you could get some color-tone stain and Master-Gel --a very easy to use, wipe-on urethane gel. StewMac has both --as well as some decent free sheets on how to finish a guitar.
If you watch the thrift shop at Warmoth, you can build a Warmoth for not much more. I saw a finished sunburst alder body for $189, and I have seen maple/maple necks for $159.
True, and an excellent point. Having played and owned both, though, I still don't believe Warmoth would *necessarily* give you better quality than Carvin as regards the basic body and neck. It might or it might not, depending on the individual pieces.
