Carvin Basses?

[bajistapromedio]

I played a gig last week where I was called in to sub for the regular bassist in the 11th hour. When I got there and tried to follow along with their music, I found out that they tune their guitars and transpose the keys a half step down, and since I had never heard most of those songs before, I had to follow the charts. I could not tune my bass down since I have the action set very low, and tuning down makes it buzz. So (getting to the point) I played their bassist's Carvin B4. It was a passive bass with Jazz pickups. I must say, for a bass that was set up with very high action and old-ish strings, it played and sounded very good. I was able to get a Tower of Power feel and sound out of it (which is what most of their songs called for), and I was quite comfortable playing it. The neck seemed like it would be very fast with a rod adjustment and lowering of the strings. It was quite light as well. If I didn’t have a very talented and reasonably priced luthier five minutes from my house, I would probably get my next bass from Carvin. The quality of instrument that you get for the price seems very reasonable (IMO, some of their guitars seem too close in price to Gibson and other more well known makes).

 

[Jared Lash]

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.

I believe Carvin's resistance to this idea stems from their beginnings as primarily pickup manufacturers. It's a point of pride and part of their history. Still, I agree that if they simply had an upcharge for different after market electronics packages they would eliminate one of the biggest perceived knocks on their basses and get a lot more business as a result.

 

[Masher88]

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.

Yeah...Sorry. It just drives me nuts when people nit pick on very good instruments. And seeing that It's extremely difficult to actually go and try out a Carvin for yourself, these kind of reviews are the best way for someone to decide if they wanna try one out or not.

I like Salt...especially on those big soft pretzels! mmmmm

 

[nonconformist]

+10 on being able to choose a variety of pups/pres...

I HAVE played a few carvins, and the feel, build, etc were all TOP notch, but sound was most definitely lacking in character. Everyone always speaks of adding no color to their sound; buy a Carvin.

Having the option for a few different passive/active pup/pre arrangements would be stellar, and definitely would make me re-think it.


Someone from Carvin should frequent this thread...

 

[Baryonyx]

Hmm, I always thought Beaver Felton got quite a nice tone from his Carvin!

 

[LP75]

My experience with my Carvin LB75 has been excellent. I have heard others make less flattering comments, with most citing the electronics as a weak spot. But mine has suffered NONE of those troubles. After 12 years, many hundreds of gigs, and thousands of hours of playing and practice time, it's better than ever. Nothing has ever broken on it, and all it's ever had was a fret levelling or two, and a pro setup by Mike Lull.
And for the price I paid for it delivered to my door in a hardshell case ($804) it could not be matched.

I played my 1996 Carvin LB75 (Tung-oiled Mahogany) with the old stacked J-style HBs and the standard Carvin electronics (of that time, which had been recently upgraded) for a decade or more of gigs with 4 different bands, dozens of studio recording sessions and many sit-ins. I used no pedals or effects, just a quality head (Trace tube pre, and Stewart SS power, with DBX compressor) and good cabinets.

Everyone I played with, audience members, sound and recording engineers had nothing but good things to say about the sound I got from that bass. I still have it, although I have been mostly using my newer Modulus Q5 lately. Maybe I just got one of those good ones that come off the line every so often - but it has always felt balanced, with a fast and smooth neck, and punchy output. I paired it with a system that was right for it, although it sounded great through any system or recording board.

If you are curious, have them send you one the way you want it, and try it for the 10 days they give you. If you don't like it, you can send it back.
I knew after the first day I would not be returning mine.

 

[NEUROT]

I have owned an LB-70 w/ actives since 2001. I love the way it plays and sounds, and at a great price. Although I noticed recently in their catalogs that prices are up a bit.

 

[pjwalsh]

I have been playing an mid 90's LB70 for a couple of years. I love the instrument. Carvin's quality is excellent in terms of wood selection, finish and fretwork. I like the H50N pickups but the (9v 2 band) preamp is noisy when highs are boosted - its ok because I don't generally go for a trebly sound. The neck is thin and so is sensitive to changes in humidity but the truss rod does the job just fine. Buy a used one - great value.

 

[IconBasser]

say, thanks for the replies about my fretboard question, guys.

for the record, I know that wood makes a big difference on tone, I just always thought that tone fundamentally depended on the neck and body woods. I had no idea that fretboard material made any difference.

and mccartjm, the description about ebony fretboards rings true with my Icon: the low end is very growly, but get past the first octave E, and it becomes very weak and shrill. Thanks for the info.

 

[mccartjm]

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.

Yes i see where you're coming from on this one. Their electronics are not even close to the quality of the wood that they use, the profile of the neck, or the fret work (when you get a good one). But with all of the preamp configs available today, just go to best bass gear (best service ever btw) and take a look at how many options you have for the preamp layouts. I am having a b4 built right now, and decided to just get it with passive electronics with the intent of removing them as soon as the bass passes my "send it back or keep it" inspection. That would leave me with 3 pot holes and a jack hole. I already have on OBP-1 sitting here wired volume/volume stack, treble, bass. All i will haveto do is reem the 6mm diameter pot holes a little larger and the preamp will go in in about 20-40 minutes. The carvin preamp is $100, and you can get a OBP-1 for a little more than that($110 i think). So if you are experienced with installations, this is the way to go. You get all the good things about carvin, plus a superior preamp, all for the same price and maybe an hours work. I have found that the carvin pups sound quite nice once you replace the electronics btw.

 

[tkozal]

A Carvin Ebony Fretboard, put on a too green neck, Carvins biggest weakness, IMHO...Fixed by Matt at 30th st. Plays great, sounds great...but they do use wood before its time...

 

[Flintc]

Some of these comments make me wonder if we're talking about the same outfit. The Carvin I see on my screen has a Chinese menu on steroids, as a few here have noted - lots of woods, 4,5, or 6 strings, different kinds of necks, many choices of mix-and-match pickups of very different characteristics, multiple body styles, finishes, you name it.

So asking (or describing) how a "Carvin" sounds is like asking (or describing) what it's like to drive a "General Motors Vehicle." The guy with the dump truck will complain about the lack of sporty handling; the guy with the Solstice will bitch about the cargo capacity, the guy with the Malibu (presuming he's a happy customer) will rave about how GM vehcles are just great. No two people on the same page.

I own a really attractive Modulus 6-string that produces a sound that makes me catch my breath. Last week, I saw a mouth-watering Modulus 6-string at GC, and started to play it. Dull, bland, indifferent. Blah.

What's different? Well, mine has EMGs and this one has Barts. Mine has phenolic fingerboard, this one has chechen. Mine is fretless, this one is fretted. Maybe other differences also contributed (like the amp, ya think?). So should I say that Modulus basses are spectacular, or should I say that they're overpriced and lack character?

I've played a total of ONE Carvin in my life, a used red 5-string Sam Ash wanted $400 for. It sounded excellent. I won't speak for more than that one bass; Carvin's line, like Modulus, is much too varied to generalize about meaningfully.

 

[mccartjm]

A Carvin Ebony Fretboard, put on a too green neck, Carvins biggest weakness, IMHO...Fixed by Matt at 30th st. Plays great, sounds great...but they do use wood before its time...

Carvin recently(within the last 10 months or so) began taking extra steps to dry their neck wood more thoroughly. But that right there is pathetic, you know they do have a five year warranty on that right?

 

[Lobster11]

A lot of people have commented on how Carvins tend to have a tone that is nondistinctive, or lacking character, or just plain "meh." Sure enough, but the glass that is half-empty is also half-full. The thing that always surprises me about mine is that this "neutral" kind of tone works for everything. A Precision's distinct tone is particulary good for some things, a Jazz's for others, a Stingray's for yet others, but the Carvin sounds good in all those contexts. In some sense this gives them remarkable versatility: You could bring the same bass to a wide variety of different gigs.

Sometimes I think the "Carvin sound" is kinda like an "average" of the various distinct tones provided by other instruments, which would explain why on the one hand it sounds nondistinct, but on the other hand never sounds out of place.

 

[mccartjm]

Some of these comments make me wonder if we're talking about the same outfit. The Carvin I see on my screen has a Chinese menu on steroids, as a few here have noted - lots of woods, 4,5, or 6 strings, different kinds of necks, many choices of mix-and-match pickups of very different characteristics, multiple body styles, finishes, you name it.

So asking (or describing) how a "Carvin" sounds is like asking (or describing) what it's like to drive a "General Motors Vehicle." The guy with the dump truck will complain about the lack of sporty handling; the guy with the Solstice will bitch about the cargo capacity, the guy with the Malibu (presuming he's a happy customer) will rave about how GM vehcles are just great. No two people on the same page.

I own a really attractive Modulus 6-string that produces a sound that makes me catch my breath. Last week, I saw a mouth-watering Modulus 6-string at GC, and started to play it. Dull, bland, indifferent. Blah.

What's different? Well, mine has EMGs and this one has Barts. Mine has phenolic fingerboard, this one has chechen. Mine is fretless, this one is fretted. Maybe other differences also contributed (like the amp, ya think?). So should I say that Modulus basses are spectacular, or should I say that they're overpriced and lack character?

I've played a total of ONE Carvin in my life, a used red 5-string Sam Ash wanted $400 for. It sounded excellent. I won't speak for more than that one bass; Carvin's line, like Modulus, is much too varied to generalize about meaningfully.

good point

 

[tkozal]

Carvin recently(within the last 10 months or so) began taking extra steps to dry their neck wood more thoroughly. But that right there is pathetic, you know they do have a five year warranty on that right?

Yes, I called them. But that would require Shipping the damn thing to them. I was all ready to, then I mentioned it to Matt at 30th, who says he does this for a lot of Les Pauls. Matt fixed it for $10. ( I live in Manhattan, and would have to haul a box to a Fed Ex place, a major f-ing pain.)

 

[eastcoasteddie]

If I hade a couple grand, I'd buy 2 identical Icon 6's. 1 fretted, 1 fretless. both with figured walnut tops & maple necks.

 

[FF Petro]

I'm sure that some of you remember me from the old Carvin BBS as I remember some of you.

As I had stated several times on that bbs, a long, long time ago, my beef with Carvin is that all the product development goes into their guitars.

What is an XB? It is the same bass as the LB except a longer scale. What is a BB? It is an LB with a longer upper horn.

The elite is the first 'new' design from Carvin in years and they make it look WAY too much like the LB models.

They have designed several new, and admittedly really cool, guitar models and just left bass behind. Heck, Carvin even brought back the V220 for guitar, and all us low end guys just get to sit and watch.

I guess I'm done ranting now.

 

[dragon5363]

The last time I was in Hollywood, I stopped by the Carvin store. Only been there once. My impressions of their basses was that they are very solidly built. You can say what you want about tone, but don't bash the craftsmanship. The tone varied from configuration to configuration, but i really liked the icon series with the 18v pre and the soapbar pickups. The ones with the MM pups don't sound as good as stingrays, but with the mm and a jazz its good tone. They feel nice and the neck profile is awesome. I really like Carvin, despite limited experience playing them. If i had cash floating around, I would definitely pick one up.

 

[peterbright]

My second ICON will be here in about two weeks. Just love the workmanship, necks & soapbar pups. Have had no problem with the 18v active system or piezo bridge. Of course it would be even better if you could choose additional preamps & pups, but how much is that going to add to the price?