Carvin Basses?

[Jared Lash]

I have had a number of Carvins through the years and just sold two that I liked primarily because, for me, having more than about four or five basses is hard to justify. Especially when I just put down a deposit for a second Stambaugh.

But I kept my favorite, this B4:
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It's got a walnut body (with sunsetburst edges) a tung oiled mahogany neck, a rosewood fingerboard, the CT headstock and the active electronics package with two HB4 MM pickups which isn't on their options list but they did for me anyway.

In my opinion, Carvins are great basses, especially considering the price tag. I'm not a huge fan of their soapbars or the H50 pickups, but their single coils are pretty good and I like their HB4s a good deal.

In one of my bands (formerly a wide ranging cover band) we've changed our approach to be a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band. On Link Removed you can hear my Carvin on our recording of Dani California. This was done before we changed direction so I wasn't going for a note for note reproduction, but it gives you an idea of the tone.

 

[Darkstrike]

I have had a number of Carvins through the years and just sold two that I liked primarily because me, having more than about four or five basses is hard to justify. Especially when I just put down a deposit for a new Stambaugh.

But I kept my favorite, this B4:
Link Removed
Link Removed
It's got a walnut body (with sunsetburst edges) a tung oiled mahogany neck, a rosewood fingerboard, the CT headstock and the active electronics package with two HB4 MM pickups which isn't on their options list but they did for me anyway.

In my opinion, Carvins are great basses, especially considering the price tag. I'm not a huge fan of their soapbars or the H50 pickups, but their single coils are pretty good and I like their HB4s a good deal.

In one of my bands (formerly a wide ranging cover band) we've changed our approach to be a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band. On Link Removed you can hear my Carvin on our recording of Dani California. This was done before we changed direction so I wasn't going for a note for note reproduction, but it gives you an idea of the tone.

Great sound on that recording!

 

[KENT ROSS]

+ on the 35 1/2' neck.....That helps A LOT on the B-string. Also, mine has an asymetrical neck...that,too is NICE. I don't record...( I'm not THAT talented ) but for the music we do, my B4 and XB75PF cover anything we do. Many times I've had to just go with one, and the fretless is my choice under those circumstances...( it's VERY versitile.) I've only owned a couple other basses, so I don't have any experience with "expensive" basses...but when someone is asking about a GOOD bass for a GOOD price....Carvin comes to my mind, because I've ALWAYS had good experiences with my equipment,and also dealing with the company. Many times I've told about their service dept. I find it VERY comforting to know I can ship my bass from Utah to California,and know it will return PROMPTLY with whatever I need done on it. As far as neck problems...I've NEVER experienced them with my 2 basses. Carvin is GREAT quality at a GREAT price...with NO middleman...You can't ask for much more than that....(IMHO.)
Kent

 

[fivestringgecko]

I've been thinking about ordering a Carvin XB76 and am curious:

Do the neck problems I've been reading about happen more frequently on one type of neck? (like, more on one-piece vs. five-piece or vice versa) Aren't five-piece necks are a little stronger? Or is it just the way Carvin builds they're basses? I've got a Peavey Cirrus USA 6 (the redwood top) and haven't ever had any problems with the neck.

5sg

 

[Dincrest]

I'm looking to save up for a solid, but lightweight, workhorse 5-string that I can customize (or semi-customize) to my specs and won't break the bank. I've had good experience with a Carvin PA I own, and the XB75 looks like something up my alley, what with all those options and the 35.25" scale length and the optional 5W asymmetrical neck. (I may either go with Carvin or JJ Helms.)

It's funny, would one person's "flat" sounding electronics be someone else's "organic/pure/transparent" sounding electronics? I mean, to be honest, I'd rather the character of my tone come from me rather than my instrument. Any bass I play winds up sounding like me anyway.

I've seen local bands play with Carvin guitars and basses and I've always found the sound to be quite good. And I have to love the easy access battery compartment.

I saw mention of depreciation, but doesn't almost every bass take a hit on the 2ndhand market? Especially customs. I'd never buy a bass as an investment but as a tool.

 

[Masher88]

wow...hey...just because 2 people have had issues with a Carvin bass does not mean ALL Carvins are bad. When you sell 8000 instruments a year...I'm sure a few are going to be lemons. It's how the company deals with the issue that counts. How many Fenders do you hear people complaining about? Tons! doesn't mean they make crap.

It seems that to offset 1 bad review you need 1000 good ones.

You won't be disappointed if you buy a Carvin. Unless it just isn't the right choice for you.

My carvin has NO neck issues

 

[Baryonyx]

I quite like Carvins. I know they get a bit of flak, but who doesn't?

Both times I've seen Steve Vai live Tony MacAlpine was playing Carvin guitars and he just sounded ridiculously good!

 

[IconBasser]

I have a Carvin IC5.

it plays absolutely splendidly. Best neck I've ever handled.

It's not "floppy" in any way. I haven't adjusted the truss rod in over 6 months, and it still has superb action.



I have to agree with the objections to the sound, however. I've never been impressed with it. It lacks any "oomph" in the low register, and has always sounded somewhat lifeless and dull, even after a pickup change. This one has the 18v preamp BTW.

I'm not making generalizations about Carvin's sound, the last Carvin I had (I had to return it because of a neck defect ) sounded INCREDIBLE. I just don't like my current one.

 

[Marcus]

wow...hey...just because 2 people have had issues with a Carvin bass does not mean ALL Carvins are bad. When you sell 8000 instruments a year...I'm sure a few are going to be lemons. It's how the company deals with the issue that counts. How many Fenders do you hear people complaining about? Tons! doesn't mean they make crap.

It seems that to offset 1 bad review you need 1000 good ones.

You won't be disappointed if you buy a Carvin. Unless it just isn't the right choice for you.

My carvin has NO neck issues

You seem to be a little overzealous and defensive. Carvin makes some nice stuff, but more than 2 people have had issues with their equipment, hence why there is more than 1 bad review... same deal with Fender.

Take everything with a grain of salt, or however the cliché goes.

 

[mccartjm]

I have a theory that most people who do not like carvins have this opinion because they are neck throughs, and they have ebony fret boards. These two things affect the sound in a huge way, it is what produces the carvin sound, a foreign sound to someone who has played bolt on jazz basses with rosewood fretboards their whole lives. Now if you order a bolt on and get a maple fret board or rosewood board for example it will sound ALLOT more familiar, and allot more like a fender. I recently replaced the ebony boarded neck on my b4 with a maple board and the improvement IMO was just immeasurably HUGE. It sounds like a jazz bass now.

Carvin precision grinds their fretboards, so when they do the fret work it is some of the most level in the industry. I recently sold my sadowsky to fund a new carvin (which should be here any day) because i think carvins are more resonant and have lower action than any bass i have played under $3000, and if you get a bad piece of wood send it back for a free rebuild. You do have to file the nut yourself on the bolt on carvins though to get that action really low, because they leave the slots stupid high. On the neck thrus i think they do file them for you, and im sure if you requested for them to do it they might on a bolt on. Carvin recently changed their truss rod. It is no longer fragile and it is bigger and offers more stability, although i never had any probs with my older carvins with the other truss rods.

All i can say is, i have played and owned everything from sadowksy to pedulla to fender to yamaha, and after spending $12000 in a quest for tone last year, carvin bolt ons came out on top mainly because of feel, playability and the tone of the wood they use, mine have been super crazy resonant. They use phenomenal wood, they have great action and they sound as good as anything if you throw an aguilar OBP in there. One thing though...their customer service after the sale is HORRIBLE, be prepared for delays and mistakes. They will fix them though. And if you dont like the bass, send it back within the trial period and all you lose is the shipping cost.

 

[mccartjm]

You seem to be a little overzealous and defensive. Carvin makes some nice stuff, but more than 2 people have had issues with their equipment, hence why there is more than 1 bad review... same deal with Fender.

Take everything with a grain of salt, or however the cliché goes.

I am on my third carvin neck, and have never had an issue. I recently sent 2 necks back to allparts because they were warped right out of the box. My jazz bass neck is also twisted and the truss is maxed out. I am not saying people havent had probs with carvin necks though, i never have and i dont think i ever will.

 

[Marcus]

Thats really great. I still think Carvin does some great stuff for the money, but I've had experience with the fragility of their necks and their sound. That said, I love the BB series design and I am glad that they are improving on their construction methods. Maybe in the future I will check out their stuff again.

 

[shirky]

I have been playing an LB75 for about 10 years as my go-to bass (I also have a Fender P-bass special that I consider my backup bass...however when I have enough $ to get another Carvin the Fender will be sold).

Anyway, I am happy with my Carvin - here are some Pros and Cons:

Pros:
-Sounds amazing (using j99s) - nice punchy sound
-Variety of sounds capable with pups and onboard eq
-24 frets

Cons:
-dead spot on E string around 4th fret. I should have returned it during the grace period. However, no one else has ever actually been able to detect this dead spot. It could be my imagination.
-paint job is decent, but doesn't quite match up due to neck-through design (I have a blueburst finish)

Only time I ever had to adjust neck was after carrying it around in a gig bag...If I keep it in the case, no problems.

I also don't care about resale value.

 

[IconBasser]

I have a theory that most people who do not like carvins have this opinion because they are neck throughs, and they have ebony fret boards. These two things affect the sound in a huge way, it is what produces the carvin sound, a foreign sound to someone who has played bolt on jazz basses with rosewood fretboards their whole lives. Now if you order a bolt on and get a maple fret board or rosewood board for example it will sound ALLOT more familiar, and allot more like a fender. I recently replaced the ebony boarded neck on my b4 with a maple board and the improvement IMO was just immeasurably HUGE. It sounds like a jazz bass now.

Carvin precision grinds their fretboards, so when they do the fret work it is some of the most level in the industry. I recently sold my sadowsky to fund a new carvin (which should be here any day) because i think carvins are more resonant and have lower action than any bass i have played under $3000, and if you get a bad piece of wood send it back for a free rebuild. You do have to file the nut yourself on the bolt on carvins though to get that action really low, because they leave the slots stupid high. On the neck thrus i think they do file them for you, and im sure if you requested for them to do it they might on a bolt on. Carvin recently changed their truss rod. It is no longer fragile and it is bigger and offers more stability, although i never had any probs with my older carvins with the other truss rods.

All i can say is, i have played and owned everything from sadowksy to pedulla to fender to yamaha, and after spending $12000 in a quest for tone last year, carvin bolt ons came out on top mainly because of feel, playability and the tone of the wood they use, mine have been super crazy resonant. They use phenomenal wood, they have great action and they sound as good as anything if you throw an aguilar OBP in there. One thing though...their customer service after the sale is HORRIBLE, be prepared for delays and mistakes. They will fix them though. And if you dont like the bass, send it back within the trial period and all you lose is the shipping cost.

funny, I've never heard that fretboard material makes that much difference at all...

any other claims to back this one up?

 

[fivestringgecko]

funny, I've never heard that fretboard material makes that much difference at all...

any other claims to back this one up?

Absolutely. That's the point of having multiple basses... to have different sounds.

Setting aside things like decorative tops, if fretboard woods(and neck or body woods for that matter) didn't make a difference in sound, ALL basses would be made out of the SAME woods and none of us would need more than one bass. *gasp!!!* lol

Take a trip to your local music shop to play some basses made with different kinds of wood and listen to the difference in sound.

Also, check out the links below. The Warmoth ones in particular give great wood descriptions and include a Tone-O-Meter.

5sg

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[Bass Viking]

Not too many people hate Carvin stuff- they just find it... meh. It may be part of Carvin's marketing plan to avoid giving their instruments too much "personality" in their sound, because you can replace the electronics with no problem, even the new soaps (P2 size, IIRC).

I saw a discussion on the old Carvin board where someone theorized that Carvin pickups are designed to sound decent with all the different wood combinations. Kind of a jack-of-all trades/master-of-none pickup. I don't know if it's true or not but its food for thought.

Again, sound is subjective.

 

[Mr.Phil]

...their customer service after the sale is HORRIBLE, be prepared for delays and mistakes.

Yeah, as much as I love my bass, I can agree. They never sent me an invoice with my bass, or my order. I needed some kind of invoice/recipet for insurance purposes. After contacting them about 5 times I gave up... That was a year ago.

 

[mccartjm]

funny, I've never heard that fretboard material makes that much difference at all...

any other claims to back this one up?

Well, i have owned dozens of basses and i can tell you that all of the ones with maple boards have a very similar sound, all of the ones with rosewood have a similar sound and all of the ones with ebony HAD a similar sound (i sold all of the ebony).

Maple has a bright/woody/fast attack with the initial attack being woody and warm and then tranistioning almost instantaneously to a brighter snappier decay. It sounds great and even all over the fret board. I can slap an open D and it sounds great and i can slap a C at the 10th fret of the D string and it sounds great...very even.

Rosewood has an even brighter initial attack than maple, some would call this projection. Most people do not notice this brash attack based on what i have read and heard. The common consensus is that rosewood is straight warm. Pop a D on the seventh fret of the G string and it will be very bright for a split second then it will almost immediatly fade to a warm/complex decay. Most think maple is brighter, which it is, after the initial attack. But I am not saying rosewood is brighter than maple, i am saying the attack of rosewood is birghter than the attack of maple, only for a split second. I thought i was crazy for thinking that rosewood has a brighter attack than maple, then i read on the Suhr website that he will not pair rosewood boards with ash bodies because he thinks that it is too bright...he favors maple with ash. You will constantly see well known luthiers referring to wood as the most important aspect of the instruments sound. You will also see other luthiers calling tone wood a 'myth'.

Ebony, which has the lowest velocity of sound of all finger board woods commonly used, has very nice low end, but i find it a bit uneven and thin sounding even shrill in the upper register. Say i slap an open D on an ebony board, it sounds like growls from the depths of hell. But if i slap a C on the 10th fret of the D string it sounds thin and lifeless. This is the aspect of the carvin sound that people hate IMO. I also feel that ebony accentuautes undesirable frequency ranges...i.e. the frequency where fret rattle lives. I can rattle all day on maple and it sounds good, on ebony...bleh. That said, ebony is great for fretless. My favorite upright has an ebony board.

There are of course variations amongst species. Some maple, like the maple on my aforementioned sadowsky was VERY hard and it had a super bright attack like rosewood and a bright decay with allot of "english" on the notes. Esspecially amongst rosewoods there is a large amount of variation. Mainly because there are so many types, and some woods that arent even rosewood are called rosewood (pau ferro for instance). The fingerboard wood also interacts with the body wood so you need to take that into account. If you want to start making more reliable assumptions about finger board wood, keep the manufacturer in mind...its easier to say Carvin's ebony boards are dull and lifeless, not all ebony boards in general.

As far as having proof, this is just my opinion based on experience and you are entitled to think that it is complete BS, esspeically the remarks about rosewood, thats cool. As you own more basses though, you will most likely find that there are generalities that can be accepted as being true when it comes to finger board woods, but there are always exceptions. So, after owning 4 carvins, i would suggest to get a bolt on model with a maple or rosewood board if you do not like the "carvin sound", if you like your icon thats cool too, but you did say it sounded thin and lifeless, so next time maybe opt for a non ebony board, it will more likely than not fix that problem.

 

[Oreomeister365]

I haven't gotten it yet, but I just made a change to my order in lieu of an option that I really wanted but apparently wasn't available, but was, and all I can say is they are a little more customizable and more flexible than they let on.

I ordered an icon, IC4. One option I wanted that they only had on the limited edition models of a different type was facings on both the front and back of the body. It wasn't much of a big deal, but I really would of liked to have that option. So I asked one customer service rep about getting that and he said it was no longer an option. I talked to someone else and he said it was entirely possible to get that option. So even though the body was in construction already, they let me make the change for no more of a fee that the option would cost right off the bat.

So that was well beyond my expectations. If the pre-amp isn't so hot then that can easily be changed, but as for every other option this bass is durn near perfect. If there's something you would like on the bass that they don't explicitly state they offer, ask about it, you might be surprised.

 

[Eric Moesle]

I used to own an LB76 bass, loaded with options, quilt top, satin neck, had the J pickups.

It was an OK bass overall, nothing stellar. The electronics didn't do the wood justice at all. Played like a dream, sounded average at best. I eventually sold it because the string spacing was way too close. I know you can order a "wide 5", but you can't order a "wide 6", which is a shame.

Still, the biggest problem with Carvin "customs" is that you can't specify any other electronics whatsoever - pickups or preamps. Hardly what I'd call "custom".

Imagine being able to choose between different models of Duncans, Nordstrands, Fralins, Bartolini's etc. and a choice of Aguilar, Bartolini and Audere preamps, without having to do a re-route of the finished bodies after receipt. If that were the case, I'd try again.