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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call...Part 4!

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#181
I started re-thinking the whole fingerboard wood idea...now thinking of rosewood/pearl blocks.....mmmmmmm

ASH - Maple Neck/Swamp Ash Body $40.00
-CG - Clear Gloss Finish (Standard) $0.00
FTL - Blueburst Flame $160.00
5MM - 5-Piece All-Maple Neck $90.00
-TN - Tung Oil Finish Back Of Neck (Standard) $0.00
-SBH - SB-Style Headstock (Standard) $0.00
FPH - Flamed Maple Headstock Matches Body Color $40.00
RWF - Rosewood Fingerboard $0.00
MP - Mother Of Pearl Block Inlays $60.00
6100 - Jumbo Frets .055" H .110" W $15.00
-R14 - 14in Fretboard Radius (Standard) $0.00
-J9A - J99A Alnico Single Coil Pickups (Standard) $0.00
409 - Cream H50A or J9A Pickup(s) $5.00
-CH - Chrome Hardware (Standard) $0.00
-5011 - Nickel Roundwound .040 .060 .080 .100 .128 $0.00
WL - White Logo $0.00
WP - White Pearloid Pickguard $15.00
HC8WS - Black Tolex Wide Hardshell Bass Case FREE $0.00
Custom Shop Total: $1,374.00
 
#184
Darkstrike said:
It's a wonder they don't offer maple with blocks.
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This was asjed of Carvin; something about sanding maple with a large pearl block inlay poses some problems....something about the hardness of the inlay compared to the hardness of maple, the wood will sand out quicker and the pearl inlay...
 
#185
ThumbyAche said:
Well, I need to set it up and put some new strings on it but I can see what a fantastic deal these are. The neck is very slim with the flatter profile. Bass balances well and sounds pretty good. It needs new strings/setup so hard to judge right now to see if I can capture everything I want from it. Gets a good fundamental tone though and the low "B" is really good. I do like the Carvin single coil pups for sure. Playability is pretty DANG good, these are sooo worth the money.

..I also like the Icon Headstock more than I thought I would.
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Ok, I am kind of bummed...The playability is good in the lower registers but not the higher registers. I took the bass to my local luthier and he said there is a "twist" in the neck and he could not get the action set consistently from bass to treble side. This was not noticeable to me when I first picked it up and played it as I just thought it needed to be setup. I am not covered by the Carvin warranty as I bought it used and I made the seller an offer on this bass after the item ended on ebay... Paypal won't protect me because I did not buy it on Ebay (well techically). Any ideas or thoughts on Carvin Customer service as I am told the neck has a defect. I played it and although the action is better, it is not at all where I like it in the high registers. Worried I will have to buy a new neck. Not trying to bass the seller at all as I don't believe he knew or thought there was an issue with it when I bought it... Shame if there is a defect as I have a very nice piece of birdseye maple..
 
#187
Carvin SB5001
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I played this one out for the first time today and all that I can say is WOW!

I already knew that it played great and that the sound of it in my music room was great but l was off last weekend so I hadn't played it in a live mix yet. Nothing's quite as revealing as gigging a bass out.
Great cutting tone through the mix. I'm just totally knocked out by the tone of this bass. I just love the burpy tone of that bridge P/U! Definitely a bit darker than the Carvin SB with the J99 P/U's but all for the good to my ears. Thick and juicy! If you've been wondering if the tone of the SB would be good with the H50's then wonder no more. An absolute winner!
And it can still get the great slap tone. I really love the VTC control. Roll it down for a nice warm tone or roll it up for some clean cutting high end.

Yeah! I'm pumped! :bassist:
 
#190
bongomania said:
How do you order that headstock shape? I have been playing around with the "Bass Builder" pagelet and it only offers the SB headstock option.
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The bass builder does not have all the options, and by calling in there are things you can do like order the headstock of your choice, or even to have it reversed. When calling, you can also discuss things like a request for a lighter or darker colored piece of wood, a unique burst color combination, one white and one black pickup, and a zillion other things that they may be able to do for you. Naturally, there is a limit to the options, but you get the idea. :)
 
#191
BigOldHarry said:
I like the idea of flat black on the walnut. The tort is okay, but it's just more "busy" on top of the already "busy" wood...
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Vic said:
Hate to be boring, but I still like black the best. Ties in nicely with the control plate, black hardware, and pickups.
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Dave Siff said:
I gotta go with black as well. The tort does look better than I would have thought, but it just doesn't go with the black control plate. No pickguard shows off the wood grain nicely, but those screw holes are killin' me.
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Darkstrike said:
Gotta agree with these guys, black is the nicest, tort is too busy, and IMHO, the whole thing just looks *off* without any guard.
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OK. You guys win. I just couldn't totally get use to the red tort. It was just too busy! The nice walnut figuring stands out much better with the solid black.
For now I put the gloss black guard back on and I'm ordering a custom flat black guard tomorrow.
 
#192
A friend had asked for a sound clip of the slap tone of the SB5000/5001 with the H50 P/U's so I recorded one last night.
It was recorded with a 3/4 boost on the treble, VTC full & bass flat. The recording console was flat with a slight compression.

I'm not much of a slapper these days but I still remember a few slap licks. :)
It'll at least give you an idea of the slap sound of the H50's. IMO it can get quite close the sound of the J99's.

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#194
JOME77 said:
A friend had asked for a sound clip of the slap tone of the SB5000/5001 with the H50 P/U's so I recorded one last night.
It was recorded with a 3/4 boost on the treble, VTC full & bass flat. The recording console was flat with a slight compression.

I'm not much of a slapper these days but I still remember a few slap licks. :)
It'll at least give you an idea of the slap sound of the H50's. IMO it can get quite close the sound of the J99's.

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Honestly I would have thought they were J99's had you not said they were H50s. Great tone!
 
#196
phillipkregg said:
Honestly I would have thought they were J99's had you not said they were H50s. Great tone!
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Yeah. I compared them to a SB5000 with the J99's at a GTG a couple weeks ago and I was surprised at how close we could get the H50's to the J99's.

The H50's do have a nicer midrange tone though (IMO). I really found myself favoring the bridge P/U when gigging out the other day. I found that if I backed off of the neck P/U even just a 1/8th turn, the bass tone just growled very nicely.
 
#197
I know the topic has been broached many times, but...

I'm really GAS'n for an SB4000 - what bass could I compare the neck to if I dropped into a Guitar Center and tried a few (Schecter, Fender P, Fender 70's RI Jazz, etc...)?

I know - pay for a Carvin, try it and return it if I do not like it - a tad bit of a hassle that can be avoided if I had an idea of what I'm getting into first and I'd probably feel compelled to try and 'accomodate' myself to the neck.

Thanks!
 
#198
Maybe I'm wrong, but the neck on my SB5000 reminds me of some Laklands I have tried.

A side note about the tone. I realized yesterday that I am tending to favor the neck pickup, where I always favored the bridge pickup on other Jazz-type basses. Maybe it's because it's a 70's spacing? In any case, with the blend about 75% to the neck and the midrange boosted a bit at the default frequency I get a tone that sounds a lot like a precision in its midrange grunt, but has the airy highs of a jazz. Very nice!
 
#199
tlr1293 said:
I know the topic has been broached many times, but...

I'm really GAS'n for an SB4000 - what bass could I compare the neck to if I dropped into a Guitar Center and tried a few (Schecter, Fender P, Fender 70's RI Jazz, etc...)?

I know - pay for a Carvin, try it and return it if I do not like it - a tad bit of a hassle that can be avoided if I had an idea of what I'm getting into first and I'd probably feel compelled to try and 'accomodate' myself to the neck.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

A MIA J bass. But a bit nicer.

Order one, if you don't like it send it back. Heck, order a bare-bones one and it's only ~$900
 
#200
I wish I was more help on the necks. I just categorize them by like and don't like :) I picked up a 5 string Mike Lull a week or so back and it seemed similar. I liked that neck. I picked up an American Jazz Deluxe the other day and didn't like it as much. Not sure the diff.
 
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