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Carvin or Warwick - your opinion please.

Carvin JB5 or Warwick Rockbass Corvette $$ 5

  • Carvin JB5

    Votes: 87 82.9%

  • Warwick Rockbass Corvette $$ 5

    Votes: 18 17.1%
  • Total voters
    105
  • Poll closed .
#64
Liam Wald said:
For not being pro instruments it's amazing how many pro players use them.
I wonder how that works?
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Yeah, but Liam, you have to understand that Gizmot has written here before about how he doesn't consider Carvin to be professional gear. I mean, he's stated it in the past, so that means it's law, don't you know? :roflmao:

On a side note, a few weeks ago, I happened to catch Steve Vai in concert; in addition to his Carvin Legacy signature amp, there were also some Carvin wedge monitors of some sort at the edge of the stage. You gotta give it to Vai and his band for embarking on a world tour with non-professional equipment like that; they're really taking their chances...:laugh::smug::bassist:
 
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#66
Gizmot said:
I've written here before that I don't consider Carvin to be professional equipment - and I never will.

Look at the number of Carvin instruments that are for sale on TB, CL, EBay and other sites. Its my observation that their ibstruments don't deliver much long term satisfaction. All my friends that have bought Carvin turned right around and sold them fairly quickly.
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Thats ok, youre intitled to your opinion. ROTFLMAO...
 
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#67
Toptube said:
that was the XB75 and 76. They discontinued those.

Their first multiscale bass is coming very soon. Based on the Icon.
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That explains it, thanks!
Do you mean multiscale as in fanned fret? Definitely something they should do, but seems even more niche than having a 35" scale option. Especially these days where more and more folks are wanting 35" on their 5 stringers.
 
#68
I have a German $$ and love the bass, absolutely hate the satin finish. Not very durable. I take very good care of my instruments but as an active working bass player if i look at the finish wrong on this one it seems to scratch and wear. That being said some people dig the relic look. I dont have a Carvin but get GAS everytime I see a Vanquish.drool
 
#69
HubbardsFate said:
Steve Vai, Frank Gambale, Allan Holdsworth, Brian Bromberg, and several other professionals would probably beg to differ.


Just out of curiosity, I popped over to Reverb for a look. There were 33 Carvin guitars for sale - and almost 4000 listings for Fenders. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that you consider at least American-made Fenders to be professional quality instruments. So to go by your logic, Fenders not only aren't pro-quality instruments, but that applies to them even more so than Carvins?

I also perused about the first ten pages of the basses for sale here on TB. I think I saw something like 3 Carvins. I'm almost certain I saw more Sadowskys, Dingwalls and Foderas listed than Carvins. Just sayin'.
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If you like Carvin -so be it.

I gave my honest response and i'm entitled to my opinion. I'm not interested in anything Carvin has - and just so you know, I'm not interested in any Fender basses either.
 
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#74
Gizmot said:
If you like Carvin -so be it.

I gave my honest response and i'm entitled to my opinion. I'm not interested in anything Carvin has - and just so you know, I'm not interested in any Fender basses either.
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Is it really just giving your opinion when you come on a forum and state that a company that has been in business since the 1930s, and whose equipment actually has been used by countless professionals over the years, doesn't make professional equipment?

I don't really have a dog in this race. I am neither personally nor professionally affiliated with Carvin/Kiesel in any way. Hell, it's not even a patriotic thing for me, as I am Canadian...although in the interest of full disclosure, I do own a Carvin guitar (TL-60) and guitar amplifier (V3 212 combo.) And yeah, I'd put those pieces of gear out there against pretty much anything on the market. But even if I didn't own those items, again, Carvin has not just been in business for over eighty years, but they even went their own route in the form of doing the mail-order (and nowadays online), factory-direct thing, and are still going strong, when on paper, they probably should have failed. So what that says to me, and I think says to most people on this thread, is that they definitely make QUALITY equipment that, again, has been used by many professionals over the years.

Seriously, if you're going to make a statement like that, at least quantify it a bit. Tell us what you consider to be 'professional' equipment beyond just the name on the headstock - and why, in your view, Carvin/Kiesel doesn't meet your criteria. Congrats, by the way, on owning two German Warwicks, a Ric, and a G & L. I used to own a Ric, but sold it because the neck profile was such that if I had kept playing it, my left hand would be a tendinitis-afflicted wreck now (but I certainly don't consider Rickenbacker to be non-professional gear because of that.)
 
#75
Need a good laugh? I've never played a Carvin or even looked at any except in ads they placed in magazines. As I said in my original post, I've always considered Carvin beginner's level products and no one who I respect as a musician or like their sound plays one.

I have several friends (a couple of them with gold and platinum records on their walls) that bought Carvins and they've all told me they didn't like them and never bought them again. I base a lot of my feelings about Carvin on my friends who are very knowledgeable and who I trust.

To be really honest, I have to confess that I'm a brand snob and admit that Carvin doesn't have what I call "the cool guy factor".

Again - if you like Carvin instruments and they play and sound good to you, that's cool. I'm just not interested in them.
 
#76
Gizmot said:
To be really honest, I have to confess that I'm a brand snob and admit that Carvin doesn't have what I call "the cool guy factor".

Again - if you like Carvin instruments and they play and sound good to you, that's cool. I'm just not interested in them.
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Cool, you just admitted what I figured was at the crux of your, er, "argument" from the beginning. Thanks for clarifying! :D:thumbsup:
 
#77
Gizmot said:
I've written here before that I don't consider Carvin to be professional equipment - and I never will.

Look at the number of Carvin instruments that are for sale on TB, CL, EBay and other sites. Its my observation that their ibstruments don't deliver much long term satisfaction. All my friends that have bought Carvin turned right around and sold them fairly quickly.
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By that logic, Fender, G&L, Alembic, Music Man, MTD etc dont' seem to deliver long term satisfaction either.

FWIW, I have a couple carvins (older) and I'd put the fit and finish as dramatically ahead of most of what else is available at the price point, though i find the tone a tad generic.
 
#79
When I read "I wish 'xyz' would come out with a Warwick clone and market it" I wonder. Ovangkol necks - neck thru - Bubinga bodies - MM pups with EMG electronics - wenge fingerboard. That's a typical Custom Shop Warwick. Could anyone copy that and keep the price below $3,000? Hand made? Don't think so. Possibly . . . Warwicks are priced very well.
 
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