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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call...Part 5!

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#307
So after a month of playing my SB5000 flame Koa Fiver, I had to take it in due to this intermittent screeching problem. It' back now, they replaced the active pickup electronics, and now the volume is really low, both passive, and active. Either it's really low or the first set of pickups were just different. Opinions anyone?
 
#308
mcglyph said:
So after a month of playing my SB5000 flame Koa Fiver, I had to take it in due to this intermittent screeching problem. It' back now, they replaced the active pickup electronics, and now the volume is really low, both passive, and active. Either it's really low or the first set of pickups were just different. Opinions anyone?
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Is it really actually "low", or just low compared to what it was before? I mean, how does it compare to other basses? Maybe part of what was wrong before was also affecting the output somehow?
 
#309
Part of this may be my ignorance of ALL the aspects concerning electric guitar sound, volume, etc. Plus I'm a little worried about this brand new bass not being right. After playing it today things seemed normal. Thank you.
 
#310
jazzdad said:
Just got my second SB yesterday, a 4001 fretless. Spalted maple top, no fretlines, got the mid-sweep concentric knob to replace the tone knob option. This is one beautifully crafted, fine bass. The tone is great, pickups ridiculously powerful and deep (as loud as my Sadowsky NY), and the neck plays fantastic--even better than my SB 4000.

I'm too tech challenged to post pics, but it looks very similar to a spalted SB 4000 in the Carvin Gallery--the middle one, not the crazy looking spalted or the dark brown spalted. In fact, that was the model--I paid a small upcharge for Carvin to pick out a piece of spalted maple that would look similar, and they did a great job. Mine is lighter in color than the one in the gallery, and I think that one is probably lighter, too--it is maple.

The big question was chambered vs. non-chambered tone. The 4001 sounds great. At first it seemed not as resonant as the 4000, but after playing for several hours and learning the mid sweep controls it's absolutely as rich & deep as you'd want, with lots of mwah. Played through both a Genz Benz 6.0 12t, and my Eden WT 400 with Eden 210.

And, most important for us old guys--it is LIGHT. Haven't weighed it yet, but definitely under 9 lbs, way lighter than the 4000. About the same as my Sadowsky, which is also chambered.
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Hey there... Any pictures of this beauty yet??
 
#311
I'm totally itching for a fretted SB5000 since I grabbed up Jarrett's fretless one. It's a great bass, and the only reason I'm not playing it pretty much all the time is the lack of frets. I like having a fretless, especially one this good, but I just don't see it becoming my main thing anytime soon. But...I'm totally in love with this neck! After playing it for a couple hours everything else I pick up feels wrong. I also kind of wish this bass was active, like most SB5000's, though it does still sound huge passively. The B string sounds very strong. If anything it seems like the E is the weak string, particularly in low positions, but I may try putting a hair more relief in the neck to get some more wallop down there. I'm used to that range having more power, and I play pretty hard.

I'm CRAZY about that neck! It really makes me want to play.
 
#312
Rueben, glad you are digging it. You can always order a custom neck for it via Carvin if you like:

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They start at $199 and go up depending on options.

I just put one together via their builder and got this price:

TN - Tung Oil Finish Back Of Neck (Natural Wood) $60.00
SBH - SB-Style Headstock $20.00
MF - Maple Fingerboard (Tung-Oiled) $0.00
ABD - Abalone Dot Inlays $20.00
STF - Stainless Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W $40.00
IVN - Ivory Graph Tech TUSQ Nut $5.00
Custom Shop Total: $344.00

Would just need to swap necks and tuners and it would be a fretted bass. That configuration is the setup I have on my current SB5000 and it looks good with a red tort pickguard.
 
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