Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call...Part 2!

[Vic]

You're certainly right of course. All I hear about the SB's is nothing but praise... it just seems like a bit "basic" of an issue to have, you know? It doesn't really influence me wanting one.

5sg.

Yeah, and you're right too, but this doesn't really get into concern over manufacturing/process problems... more of a minor QC glitch with smaller components they get in large quantities... you know, like getting a bad lot of mismarked caps or something like that. They'll probably do some sort of internal audit to figure out which ones to fix/replace, and it'll probably never happen again.

Just MHO/FWIW of course.

 

[bassclef04]

Right on Vic! I am not even stressing it, I am probably going to have Carvin send me a new set of pickups.

It's also a VERY minor issue that is quickly resolved with a pickup swap by any guitar tech (or even basically skilled customer with a soldering iron). As I'm sure Carvin is being made aware, it'll get resolved. I would be far more concerned if we started hearing reports of problems with the bass's construction itself, like neck or fret problems. So let's not spin this up too much.

 

[mglabrie]

mglabrie,

Thanks man! The mockup of that purple one made me realize that it's not quite what I'm looking for, but I'm glad it helped you! Like yourself, I'm still weighing options and colors and such, so being able to do them helps me narrow my focus. I want to make sure I get it right, you know?
.

Just ordered mine based on your mockup... Only difference is I added the icon headstock and abalone inlaid control knobs. Will post pics in "5 to 7 weeks". Thanks again!!!!

 

[BobWestbrook]

Got my walnut SB4000 Monday.

Sharp! Personally, I'd take a black pickguard, but if that's what you like, great! It's a fine looking bass!

 

[phillipkregg]

My SB5000:

Link Removed

Got my walnut SB4000 Monday.

Man! I was almost certain that I wanted either a solid color or burst SB500, but now I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't got with some type of natural finish.

Those look as good or better than a lot of upper end Warwicks!

 

[spankdaplank]

I just got my SB5000 and was a bit let down by Carvin's quality control. I'm not that picky of a customer but I just dropped $1700+ on this bass and I was sadly surprised that when I took the bass out of the case two things were immediately and obviously wrong.

First, the neck had such an extreme back bow that the strings were stretched flat against the frets. Now I realize this bass traveled from California to the east coast, but I refuse to believe that environmental conditions caused that extreme bowing of the neck.
That being said, it is to Carvin's credit that with the two way truss rod I was able to dial in a correct relief accurately although it took almost two full turns to do it.
Secondly, the gold neck plate had a stripe about 1/4" wide that was missing the gold plating, exposing the base metal. Once again to Carvin's credit they immediately shipped a new neck plate which I installed without incident.
As far as I'm concerned, Carvin should have never shipped a bass with such obvious and easily correctable flaws. I guess their final inspection person was up the proverbial hog's a$$ hunting a ham sandwich when my bass came down the line.

BUT after this little temper tantrum I must say the bass is awesome. It has a spalted maple top, honeyburst, birdseye fingerboard, abalone diamond markers, 5 piece neck neck, gold hardware, and cream pickups. Full pimpage!

I just hope Carvin doesn't screw up because of the pressure of their recent successes.

 

[Lackey]

I just got my SB5000 and was a bit let down by Carvin's quality control. I'm not that picky of a customer but I just dropped $1700+ on this bass and I was sadly surprised that when I took the bass out of the case two things were immediately and obviously wrong.

First, the neck had such an extreme back bow that the strings were stretched flat against the frets. Now I realize this bass traveled from California to the east coast, but I refuse to believe that environmental conditions caused that extreme bowing of the neck.
That being said, it is to Carvin's credit that with the two way truss rod I was able to dial in a correct relief accurately although it took almost two full turns to do it.
Secondly, the gold neck plate had a stripe about 1/4" wide that was missing the gold plating, exposing the base metal. Once again to Carvin's credit they immediately shipped a new neck plate which I installed without incident.
As far as I'm concerned, Carvin should have never shipped a bass with such obvious and easily correctable flaws. I guess their final inspection person was up the proverbial hog's a$$ hunting a ham sandwich when my bass came down the line.

BUT after this little temper tantrum I must say the bass is awesome. It has a spalted maple top, honeyburst, birdseye fingerboard, abalone diamond markers, 5 piece neck neck, gold hardware, and cream pickups. Full pimpage!

I just hope Carvin doesn't screw up because of the pressure of their recent successes.

Hmm, well the issues you describe are worthwhile. Although, considering all the SB's shipped out thus far have been in quite nice condition, it's about time somebody was less than satisfied initially.

Still, sounds like the bass is actually pretty awesome all and all. Glad Carvin is taking care of you.

 

[Vic]

First, the neck had such an extreme back bow that the strings were stretched flat against the frets. Now I realize this bass traveled from California to the east coast, but I refuse to believe that environmental conditions caused that extreme bowing of the neck.

Actually, this isn't so implausible... especially if they set the action fairly low at the factory, which I think they might.

Secondly, the gold neck plate had a stripe about 1/4" wide that was missing the gold plating, exposing the base metal.

Yeah, this shouldn't happen.

As far as I'm concerned, Carvin should have never shipped a bass with such obvious and easily correctable flaws. I guess their final inspection person was up the proverbial hog's a$$ hunting a ham sandwich when my bass came down the line.

Yeah, that plate actually shoulda' been pulled from the bin and tossed in the returns box. It shoulda' never gotten to the final inspector. High volume manufacturing always introduces risk of having a few bad parts show up in the bins from time to time, and as such, they typically have a process set up with the OEM that they can return a box of defects and have it replaced with a box of new parts... but the assembler should've at least known better than to put that part on, with such a visible flaw. Not really a huge issue since it's so easily resolved but yeah, shouldn't have shipped that way for sure.

I just hope Carvin doesn't screw up because of the pressure of their recent successes.

Absolutely no reason to assume they would. This isn't their first rodeo with a hit product.

 

[vibhas_2310]

Anyone here have a SB5001 ? Thinking of finally pulling the trigger on the 5001. I'm probably going to get Alder Body, Maple Neck and Maple board, 5 Piece Neck and The Master Volume and Blend control with a standard burst finish and a tortoise shell pickguard. How does that sound ?

 

[kraigg007]

Anyone here have a SB5001 ? Thinking of finally pulling the trigger on the 5001. I'm probably going to get Alder Body, Maple Neck and Maple board, 5 Piece Neck and The Master Volume and Blend control with a standard burst finish and a tortoise shell pickguard. How does that sound ?

I don't have a 5001 but I do have a 5000 in the Alder Maple Maple Combo and I love it. I feel the Alder is the best choice for multiple styles. It sounds sweet regardless of what style you are playing (slap, finger, muted, etc). I chose the rare flamed maple fingerboard option and it looks great and sounds killer.

Carvin's SB series is the best value going. My Platinum Gold Metallic Finish is no longer offered, but a standard burst is a cool choice too. Go with what fits your style and taste and you won't regret it. My shoreline gold bass isn't over the top. It looks as great and sounds even better.

You can't go wrong with the Carvin SB series.

 

[spankdaplank]

I just want to say that despite my previous rant, the fit and finish on my SB5000 is stunning. I am especially happy with the way the electronics work on this bass. I found it impossible to get a "bad" (read unusable) tone out of this bass I know that the tone and playability of this bass will make it my go to bass from now on.

 

[vibhas_2310]

I don't have a 5001 but I do have a 5000 in the Alder Maple Maple Combo and I love it. I feel the Alder is the best choice for multiple styles. It sounds sweet regardless of what style you are playing (slap, finger, muted, etc). I chose the rare flamed maple fingerboard option and it looks great and sounds killer.

Carvin's SB series is the best value going. My Platinum Gold Metallic Finish is no longer offered, but a standard burst is a cool choice too. Go with what fits your style and taste and you won't regret it. My shoreline gold bass isn't over the top. It looks as great and sounds even better.

You can't go wrong with the Carvin SB series.

Your bass looks great. And Alder it is !! And I will go for the chambered one, SB5001. My only complaint is that the chambers are slightly big, not as big as those fancy Telecaster style hollowed out guitars, but considerably bigger than the small chambers Sadowsky or Warmoth does.

Anyway, I still think its an amazing deal to get an instrument of this quality for as little as $ 1400. And the pro's outweigh the cons by a million pounds.

 

[Jarrett]

Anyone here have a SB5001 ? Thinking of finally pulling the trigger on the 5001. I'm probably going to get Alder Body, Maple Neck and Maple board, 5 Piece Neck and The Master Volume and Blend control with a standard burst finish and a tortoise shell pickguard. How does that sound ?

I just received an SB5001 similar to the one you describe and it is beautiful, very pretty to look at. It's 1.5 lbs lighter than my SB5000 too and has a nicer fit and finish.

That said it didn't fair well in the live mix test yesterday. I took it to band practice with my and interchanged my SB5000 and SB5001 throughout the day and about 3/4's of the way through the day I put the SB5001 back in the case and didn't get it out again. It just didn't sit as well in the mix as my heavier, non chambered SB5000 does. Granted it does have a minor pickup issue and is not strung with my favorite strings, but I just don't think that was what made the difference.

My Alder SB5000 is fuller in the low end and with the maple board has this nice cutting high to it that makes it sit perfectly in the mix. The frequencies that it accentuates really find a spot in the mix nicely. My SB5001 was not the same.

My SB5001 didn't have that deep low end presence like the SB5000. It was sort of more present in the low mids to mids. I could boost the low to bring it in, but then it lost clarity that I liked about the SB5000. Also, the high end was softer making the higher runs less present when played. Overall, it didn't get buried, but it certainly didn't jump out in the mix like the SB5000 did. It's sound of reminded me of an old Ken Smith I had that had J pickups in it. Nice, but not the sound I am looking for right now.

Now I'm torn between sending the SB5001 back now or waiting for the new pickups and strings. I have a feeling that the sonic qualities aren't going to be changed that much by a corrected polarity pickup and a new set of strings though.

 

[vibhas_2310]

Thats interesting Jarrett. I wonder how much of the change in the tone is due to the kind of chambering done. I hope carvin starts routing those small thin chambers like Sadowsky or Warmoth. I think that kind of chambering has minimal impact on tone.

 

[Wilbyman]

Jarrett- Tough to go from a bass you really like to one that is very very similar with a few differences. That said, I have played some light weight chambered alder Sadowskys and I couldn't get with them. I am not sure I would hear the 5001 the same way, but there was a weird boomy quality with the Dowskies (two of them) that I couldn't get with at all. I would like to check a 5001 to see if I hear what you hear with low-mids and highs, but as it stands I don't think the 1lb-1.5lb difference would be worth replacing my 5000 over, at least for me, at least right now.

 

[vibhas_2310]

Interesting to hear that Wilbyman.

This whole issue regarding chambered bodies is convincing me to go with a 5000.

 

[Lackey]

Question: Are there any others out there who would stand in solidarity with me asking for Carvin to offer bridge pickup placement options? That is, add the 60's placement in addition to the current 70's option?

I'm thinking signatures... but maybe I'm just a young radical. Perhaps a simple "please" would suffice.

 

[Vic]

My Alder SB5000 is fuller in the low end and with the maple board has this nice cutting high to it that makes it sit perfectly in the mix. The frequencies that it accentuates really find a spot in the mix nicely. My SB5001 was not the same.

Sorry if this was already posted and I missed it... what was the body wood on your 5001?

 

[Jarrett]

My SB5000 and 5001 have the same base woods. Alder body and maple neck/board. The 5001 has a flamed maple cap and is chambered.

 

[GroovyBaby]

Hey Jarrett, just out of curiosity, what the weights of your two SBs? You say they are 1.5 lbs different but I'm curious as to the weight of each. Thanks.