right. but how often will you have to refret your bass??? with nickel frets that's going to happen.
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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call...Part 4!
- Thread starter smperry
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right. but how often will you have to refret your bass??? with nickel frets that's going to happen.
Dr Funk
"If you ain't appearing then you be disappearing"
True, but more difficult to dress. My SB5001 neck is perfect so not an issue.
I've had a couple hours to play with my new SB5000, and its a keeper for sure. It sounds great, the construction is beautiful, and at 9.8lbs, feels incredibly light compared to my 12.5lb L2500.
My only complaint is that it needed tuning when I took it out of the box.
Here are some pictures. Sorry for my lousiness as a photographer.
My only complaint is that it needed tuning when I took it out of the box.
Here are some pictures. Sorry for my lousiness as a photographer.
That's sunset burst. It fades to a reddish brown at the edges instead of black.
Handyman, congrats! That is a beauty. I hope the birdseye on mine looks that nice when I get it.
HOLY CRAP! 12.5 pounds?? Wow. Man, my 7.5 pound J5 (another brand) would probably feel like it was floating out of your hands!
Seriously tho, I generally like the lighter basses for my lower back on the usual 4 set gig, but there's something about that 9-10 pound range for a 70's style bass that really works well. Most of my stuff is just under 8 up to 9 pounds, with the exception of my SB and my Geddy (also a 70's style of course). That bass is pretty much right at 10 pounds tho, and that's definitely my hard ceiling. If I play that bass all night (haven't in a long while), I can feel it at the end of the night... and I refuse to stand still or especially sit on a stool. I gotta' move, so even a one pound diff in a bass is really noticeable to me.
HOLY CRAP! 12.5 pounds?? Wow. Man, my 7.5 pound J5 (another brand) would probably feel like it was floating out of your hands!
Seriously tho, I generally like the lighter basses for my lower back on the usual 4 set gig, but there's something about that 9-10 pound range for a 70's style bass that really works well. Most of my stuff is just under 8 up to 9 pounds, with the exception of my SB and my Geddy (also a 70's style of course). That bass is pretty much right at 10 pounds tho, and that's definitely my hard ceiling. If I play that bass all night (haven't in a long while), I can feel it at the end of the night... and I refuse to stand still or especially sit on a stool. I gotta' move, so even a one pound diff in a bass is really noticeable to me.
vic, at one point i two stingray 5's. one weighed 13 pounds and the other weighed 14. i bought one really expensive padded leather strap and i would alternate the usage of the basses with that one strap. the strap was leather though, so when playing a hot gig i would have a 4 inch sweat path going down/across my shirt!
i think weight affects tone, but there's got to be a balance. 8-11 pounds is where i normally like to be.
It absolutely does... everything about an instrument does, and my range is 7.5-10, and pretty strongly preferrably 7.5-9 depending on what kind of bass it is.
Back in the day, before I had back issues, I had a late 70's J that weighed 12 pounds if it weighed anything. And I was the idiot that loaded it up with a heavy DiMarzio brass bridge, brass pickguard, brass nut, brass knobs, brass control plate, and even brass strap buttons. The tuners were gold. It had to weigh at least 13 pounds all said and done... maybe more. Even when I had no back issues at all that was too much, so I sold it. It did sound good tho, and sustained for days.
Handy, that bass looks good man. My new SB5000 is somewhere between 9-9.5lbs. and feels noticeably lighter than my older SB5000. I'd love to find a lighter bass but there seems to be a weight to tone ratio I keep running into. For now my ears are winning over my back, but that might change as time goes on.
HOLY CRAP! 12.5 pounds?? Wow. Man, my 7.5 pound J5 (another brand) would probably feel like it was floating out of your hands!
My L2500 sounds awesome, but she sure is heavy. Leo's later day creations are not for the weak of shoulder. G&L obviously filled it full of high density awesomeness at the factory. Thankfully Carvin opted for a more modern, lower weight make of awesome.
A couple observations:
Carvin did a REALLY good job shielding this thing. I've been trying to hear how much electrical noise the J99As will pick up, but haven't been able to get any audible amount of noise from the pickups or preamp. Very nice. When I have my L2500 in single coil mode, or with the preamp on, it gets VERY noisy if I stand next to my computer monitor. Silence from the SB. I know that these are single coil pickups, but they've done a good job shielding these things.
The stock strings are REALLY bright. I'm partial to well on their way to dead rounds, so hopefully these will mellow out after a bit. I'm tempted to slap on some LaBella flats on this baby, at least to try it out.
The inside of the (quite nice) case smells like Play Doh. I have no idea what that means, but there it is.
I noticed that too!The inside of the (quite nice) case smells like Play Doh. I have no idea what that means, but there it is.
Well, compared to the 12.5lb behemoth that's been my #1 for a while, a shade under 10lbs feels great.
I noticed that too!
That bass-nip is sure intoxicating!
Imagine the high one could get standing in the Carvin case stock room?
Handy, the bass is a classic beauty! I love that sunset burst. My main bass for the last few years was a 10.8 lb jazz V. My SB5000 is noticeably lighter at 10 even. The B50A kit that I just put together is 8 even and I'm in love with the weight! Perhaps I'm the biggest weight weenie on this list but 3-4 hour gigs/practices in an asymmetric posture has been tweaking the hell out of my neck/shoulder area. For me, the SB is my home player because the tone is more even (more pronounced mids) and it balances better on my leg but the B50 is absolutely my gig/practice bass because I'll sacrifice a little tone for a lot of comfort.
Looking on Carvin's in stock page, I'm not sure why the 5er B50 is so much lighter than the 5er SB. The B50s there now weight 8.0 and 8.5. The SB5000 there is 9.5 and that seems to be on the light end of the SB5000. The SB5001 are comparable to the B50 for weight.
I noticed one other difference between these basses. The neck pu on the B50 is 1/8" closer to the neck than on the SB. That could account for some of the increased low end I'm hearing on my B50.
Looking on Carvin's in stock page, I'm not sure why the 5er B50 is so much lighter than the 5er SB. The B50s there now weight 8.0 and 8.5. The SB5000 there is 9.5 and that seems to be on the light end of the SB5000. The SB5001 are comparable to the B50 for weight.
I noticed one other difference between these basses. The neck pu on the B50 is 1/8" closer to the neck than on the SB. That could account for some of the increased low end I'm hearing on my B50.
I think the SB body shape just makes for more wood in a body. You see the same thing in the weight of Fender Js compared to Ps, despite Js typically having a skinnier neck.
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