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

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#441
Grateful said:
You can order all kinds of stuff with the kit. 5 piece necks, different body woods, pickups, etc... Pretty much anything except all the finish options.
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I just noticed that. I guess I never checked out the bass builder through the kit. Pretty cool. There's a guy on the Carvin site that ordered a B40 and only had the bridge pickup routed b/c he wants to add a P bass pickup to it. I didn't know Carvin was so open to changes in the order. Pretty cool and now it's got me thinking about another build but with a P bass pickup to make it a P/J.
 
#442
Yea, they even picked an extra light body at my request and skipped drilling the strap locks so I could install them differently. With the light body, I wanted to mount the bottom strap lock high to keep the bass balanced. I also installed ultralight tuners. My back loves the 8lb 5 string!
 
#444
We did a photo shoot for one of my bands recently (which I hate doing because of the posing :D) but here is one of the shots with my SB:

maddie-tweak2.jpg
 
#445
drdunwoody said:
I've had my two for a while but I'm happy to whip it out and show it any time! The pair are a B50A kit that weights in at 8 lbs and (of course) an SB5000 (10lbs). I still love 'em!
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Good stuff thank you. I love me some Carvin. Never thought about doing the kit, considering my general lack of handyman know how, the thing would probably come out looking more like a harp.
 
#448
drdunwoody said:
Finger spacing on the currentl line of SB and B basses is 19mm which is FULL width...same as most 4 strings. I'm not sure of the Fender specs but I had an American Fender V and it had smaller spacing (maybe 18mm?). The 19mm spacing was one of the things I liked about these bases. I don't like 5 strings that feel cramped to me.
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Me neither. I am about 1 month away from putting in my order. It will be a B50, but with the icon headstock and SB electronics. This will be my second carvin. I am actually hoping I can trade in my LB76 towards the total cost. The 6 string is a remarkable bass...but the string width is too narrow for me.
 
#449
lucas vigor said:
Me neither. I am about 1 month away from putting in my order. It will be a B50, but with the icon headstock and SB electronics. This will be my second carvin. I am actually hoping I can trade in my LB76 towards the total cost. The 6 string is a remarkable bass...but the string width is too narrow for me.
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Awesome!

IMHO, you might be better off trying to sell the LB76 as opposed to trying to trade it in. Trade-in value always seems to be awful in general....
 
#452
Freddels said:
How is the access to the upper frets on the B50 as compared to the SB? The flared out lower horn really makes it easy to get to those frets. Just wondering how tight the B50 is.
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The current B50 and SB5000 are identicle except for the body shape. Same neck cut away at the base of the neck, it just finishes off different so I don't notice any difference in access.

The kit saved me about $300-350 from the prebuilt and allowed me to custamize a few small things. Soldering, sanding, and oiling are the only real skills needed. It is really hard to screw up tung oil!
 

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#453
just got my first SB5000..I must say, it sounds and plays great. However, is anyone else finding that a shim is needed in the neck pocket to get the action low on there bass? I had the saddles completely bottomed out and it still wouldn't get quite low enough for my tastes. Just wondering if this was a common thing on these or not.
 
#454
zachbass02 said:
just got my first SB5000..I must say, it sounds and plays great. However, is anyone else finding that a shim is needed in the neck pocket to get the action low on there bass? I had the saddles completely bottomed out and it still wouldn't get quite low enough for my tastes. Just wondering if this was a common thing on these or not.
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I have read many threads, nothing about this has surfaced, and mine doesn't have any problems either.
You gonna make with some pics?
 
#455
zachbass02 said:
just got my first SB5000..I must say, it sounds and plays great. However, is anyone else finding that a shim is needed in the neck pocket to get the action low on there bass? I had the saddles completely bottomed out and it still wouldn't get quite low enough for my tastes. Just wondering if this was a common thing on these or not.
Click to expand...

I have the SB4000 but I have the action set so low that many can't play it. It's the lowest action I've ever been able to achieve on any of my basses. Check the relief in the neck.
 
#456
zachbass02 said:
just got my first SB5000..I must say, it sounds and plays great. However, is anyone else finding that a shim is needed in the neck pocket to get the action low on there bass? I had the saddles completely bottomed out and it still wouldn't get quite low enough for my tastes. Just wondering if this was a common thing on these or not.
Click to expand...

Both my B50 and SB5000 have low action, but I would actually like it to be a hair lower. I play with a very soft touch and keep my action lower than most. I could get the action on my American Fender V (the lowest action I've gotten on any bass) a bit lower than I can on my Carvins. When I try and lower the action any more I get a buzz. So, yea I have a similar issue. That said, I have the action pretty low now. I haven't taken them to an expert to see if they can do better.
 
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