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Carvin Basses

#21
BassoP said:
I've seen basically 3 gripes.

1. The pickups are weak. Not in my experience
2. The preamp is weak- again, not in my experience, both of mine sound great.
3. They have a higher than average rate of trussrod failure. I know there are a couple guys on here who have had trussrod problems with carvins, but I'm not at all convinced that the rate is any higher than in any other brand.

My only gripe is that I don't like the wilkinson bridges they used to come with (both of my early/mid 90s ones have them). I get a little bit of saddle rattle on one of mine with super light strings. Unfortunately, the plate is so big that you can't easily upgrade them.
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I usually don't commment on my experience with Carvin basses because there's alot of Carvin fans here. But I'll be as constructive as I can be.

I owned a LB 76 and a LB75 adn a 4 stringer for a short time. I sent the 4 string back after 1 day because it soudned totally dead. I was shocked.

The LB76 was a walnut body with 5 piece mahogony and maple neck. It needed about 1 full turn on the truss rod to acheive normal relief. And basically the neck kept bowing to the point where I ran out of truss rod room.I properly humidify and dehumidify my studio and own about 12 different guitars and basses.Not one of my other instruments has ever bowed like my Carvins.

My LB75 was a maple body with maple neck and birdseye finger board. This bass also had a neck that kept on bowing and bowing til the truss rod finally ran out of room. With both basses, it only took about 3 months before I ran out of truss rod adjustment. My feeling is that the lumber was green and not properly racked/ seasoned.

In both cases, the basses played well with the exception of the necks going boomerang on me. I also have had 2 carvin guitars.1 of them (7 string)was quite stable and the other one (6 string) has a neck that likes to wander.You'd think the 7 string would be less stable.

As for the sound, I think the Carvin pickups were only average. Not horrible but not on par with Bartolini, Lane P's and such. I did however prefer the tone of both Carvin basses passive instead of active. I felt that the weakest link on both of my Carvin basses was the on board preamp. Once activated, there was an instant mid scoop which muddied out the low end. The bass had more clarity and punch in passive mode provided it was plugged into a good amp and cabinet. So I never used the Carvins in active mode. I think a good preamp will enhance a bass's sound and the Carvin preamp seems to be voiced to sound very bassy.

Having owned 2 Carvin guitars as well and trying their various pickups, I can say that their guitar pickups are way below average. Many of them have a piercing high end and below average midrange definition.

Lastly, I live right near two veyr cool bass retailers and have ben able to try dozens of high end basses as well as mid and low priced basses. And I have run across 3 or 4 Carvins in these stores and 2 of them had neck issues. So a that point, I gave up on Carvin basses adn bought a Spector usa bolt on. Moved onto a Roscoe SKB 6 and then onto a MTD USA 6 and also own 2 Zon Sonus 5 strings. Never had any issues with any of those basses atleast as far as neck stability goes.
 
#23
L-1329 said:
. I've had it with these Carvin neck problems, and will never buy another Carvin bass because of that alone. Shame too, because I really like the tone and feel.

and that would have the exact same problems since Carvin will not acknowledge their design flaws. Sorry to the Carvin lovers, but I can't and won't ever recommend a Carvin bass without a real solution to this issue.
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I have had two other Carvin basses over the years that I ultimately sold and traded up. I never had a problem with the necks at all, this is a first. Based on the condition of the bass when received it (the neck was very worn from roundwound strings and while it looked pretty nice, you could tell it has been used a WHOLE lot) I felt it was probably more due to the environment and maintenance or normal wear and tear than anything else. In other words, I don't think its a design problem.

Actually my Warwick Buzzard truss rod won't adjust either... and that's the first Warwick I have ever owned and it cost a whole lot more (about 5 times what I paid for the used Carvin). I don't know if its the truss rod or the truss rod tool. I contacted Warwick (Dana B Goods) to get another truss rod tool from them and they totally blew me off... I'm not impressed with the customer service there at all. Sure we;ll send one as soon as possible, just give me your address... that was 4 months ago.
 
#24
My LB70 with J99s is a great sounding bass with fantastic playability. It's my favortie bass, and as a bonus, it looks really nice, too.

My AC40 is also a great sounding bass, and while I can't quite get the action as sweet on this bass as my LB70, it plays very nicely.

I had a B5 that I recently sold. The neck was extemely solid and I only adjusted the truss rod once in the 2 years I had it. I had the new soapbar pickups installed in it, and they just weren't my sound.

All in all, I think Carvins are well above average. The electronics all depend on your point of view. I've yet to hear a Bart pickup that I like as well as the J99s in my Carvin. NO WAY would I say that Barts are bad pickups, they are great. I just happen to really like the Carvin J99s.

Just my 2 cents.

BTW, Carvin's B800 and B1500 bass amps are really nice, too.
 
#26
Dr. Eagle said:
I have had two other Carvin basses over the years that I ultimately sold and traded up. I never had a problem with the necks at all, this is a first. Based on the condition of the bass when received it (the neck was very worn from roundwound strings and while it looked pretty nice, you could tell it has been used a WHOLE lot) I felt it was probably more due to the environment and maintenance or normal wear and tear than anything else. In other words, I don't think its a design problem.
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There's too many stories about it to dismiss it as a design flaw. The rods are too weak, and are prone to stripping the cap. The ratio of this problem per bass is higher with Carvins unfortunately. And I'd love to love this bass, but I am considering trying to sell it cheap to be rid of it, or start back into it with Carvin CS to see if they will offer up a solution. And it's not mistreated, poorly maintained or other misuse. All my other basses live in the exact same conditions year round and none have ever shown any issue like the Carvin, especially so quickly. Sorry, but that's my Carvin experience, and it is not an isolated incident. For whatever reason, the necks aren't stable and the rods are barely up to the job. Outside of that, I agree that they are some very nice instruments.
 
#27
L-1329 said:
There's too many stories about it to dismiss it as a design flaw. The rods are too weak, and are prone to stripping the cap. The ratio of this problem per bass is higher with Carvins unfortunately. And I'd love to love this bass, but I am considering trying to sell it cheap to be rid of it, or start back into it with Carvin CS to see if they will offer up a solution. And it's not mistreated, poorly maintained or other misuse. All my other basses live in the exact same conditions year round and none have ever shown any issue like the Carvin, especially so quickly. Sorry, but that's my Carvin experience, and it is not an isolated incident. For whatever reason, the necks aren't stable and the rods are barely up to the job. Outside of that, I agree that they are some very nice instruments.
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IMHO if there is a major flaw in the rod, it is the welded hex head on the end. The necks are thin enough and especially on the 5 and 6 strings wide enough that they could probably stand to have 2 rods rather than 1.
That being said, I'm sorry about your experience with the Carvin product. I am quite happy with mine but I have heard some stories like yours... and I do think Carvin could do a better job dealing with them.
 
#28
L-1329 said:
There's too many stories about it to dismiss it as a design flaw. The rods are too weak, and are prone to stripping the cap. The ratio of this problem per bass is higher with Carvins unfortunately. And I'd love to love this bass, but I am considering trying to sell it cheap to be rid of it, or start back into it with Carvin CS to see if they will offer up a solution. And it's not mistreated, poorly maintained or other misuse. All my other basses live in the exact same conditions year round and none have ever shown any issue like the Carvin, especially so quickly. Sorry, but that's my Carvin experience, and it is not an isolated incident. For whatever reason, the necks aren't stable and the rods are barely up to the job. Outside of that, I agree that they are some very nice instruments.
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When were these basses from, out of curiosity? My LB76 has needed 2 trussrod tweaks in 13 years, and is as stable as anything I've played (and better than many. I encountered a Geddy lee the other day that had more flex in it than any bass neck I've ever seen. Easily 3x as movable by hand as my carvin). Perhaps something changed for the worse along the way.
 
#29
BassoP said:
When were these basses from, out of curiosity? My LB76 has needed 2 trussrod tweaks in 13 years, and is as stable as anything I've played (and better than many. I encountered a Geddy lee the other day that had more flex in it than any bass neck I've ever seen. Easily 3x as movable by hand as my carvin). Perhaps something changed for the worse along the way.
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The original one was built in '97, and over time the rod seemed to get 'fused', and the cap finally snapped. The rebuild was done just shy of two years ago now, and though it turns there is not enough effectiveness to hold the neck flat. The rebuilt bass even has graphite reinforcement bars, but still the rod is ineffective. The frustrating part is that it works as advertised, but it simply doesn't "work". There is no twisting, only too much uncontrollable bowing. By hand it doesn't move much at all either, but there is not enough rod strength to adjust to the string pull.
 
#30
L-1329 said:
The original one was built in '97, and over time the rod seemed to get 'fused', and the cap finally snapped. The rebuild was done just shy of two years ago now, and though it turns there is not enough effectiveness to hold the neck flat. The rebuilt bass even has graphite reinforcement bars, but still the rod is ineffective. The frustrating part is that it works as advertised, but it simply doesn't "work". There is no twisting, only too much uncontrollable bowing. By hand it doesn't move much at all either, but there is not enough rod strength to adjust to the string pull.
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Sounds kind of like the rod isn't pulling tight against the bearing surface in the headstock. I've not heard that issue before.
 
#31
Dr. Eagle said:
Sounds kind of like the rod isn't pulling tight against the bearing surface in the headstock. I've not heard that issue before.
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Well, I'm not sure that's it. With the strings loose it moves the neck just fine and I can easily get it to flatten out. It's when you bring the strings back up to tune that the neck just gets pulled into a bow, and you can even see it happen. Anyway, enough derailing this thread with my issue. Carvins are unique that's for sure. I used to be the biggest fan of them myself, and am really torn over this bass regarding Carvin's in general. Glad you guys have had a different experience than me, and are enjoying your basses.:cool:
 
#33
My old LB76 from 1994 exhibited similar neck-wandering problems in the 11 years I owned it; I had to regularly tighten the truss rod more and more over the years to counteract the growing bow.

With the 4-string I built from a Carvin kit a couple years ago, on the other hand, I haven't had to adjust the rod even once yet, after I initially set it up. That neck is really stable.
 

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