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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call...Part 8!
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
- Start date
Lower action and also you get less of that clack clack if you slide up the string.
I got my SB5000 a month ago, and even though it's had the same set of DR Sunbeams on and seen a lot of playing, including some pretty sweaty gigs, I still have to roll the tone control off when slapping to tame the brightness. Those J99a pickups are hot! 
Highly recommend the stainless steel frets as well...can still get the action crazy low, and they stay looking all nice and shiny.
Highly recommend the stainless steel frets as well...can still get the action crazy low, and they stay looking all nice and shiny.I'm kind of confused by how low wide frets can get you lower action. Wouldn't higher frets mean being able to get low action without lowering the saddles as much?
Uh oh! I'll have to look at the box all day at work (or at least from when the Dude in Brown shows up), but I know what I'll be doing tonight!
5sg.
UPS said:
5sg.
Cool stuff on a hot day in Colorado. (But not as hot as yesterday!) Looking forward to your impressions.
It's going to be a long day of waiting, glad I have plenty to keep me busy today. I'll post pics as soon as I can of course! Mine's a bit different than most of the SB's posted in these threads.
Is it sad that I already have my next one planned/spec'd out? Lol
5sg.
EDIT: Sure is a pretty box I get to look at all day....
lolAttachments
I think I read some place that it has to do with how the note will not be sharper when fretted.
Well, my much anticipated first ever Carvin got here today, and I was nervous about whether it would live up to my expectations or not.
She didn't let me down.
With the limited time I've had with her so far, she plays great and sounds just like I was hoping for... Big beefy Fretless Jazz Bass.
The pickups sound fantastic, very much the sound I had in my head. They do hum a bit, but that's to be expected from single coils. I normally favor both pickups on full with my Jazz bass, but with this since it's fretless, I'm sure I'll be favoring the neck pickup a bit.
After the initial impression, I'm thinking I don't like the factory flats all that much, and am going to experiment with different strings. We'll see where I end up with that.
She's definitely a beauty as well... also very much what I was hoping for. I haven't found any flaws so far... finish is super clean, tight neck joint, the satin on the back of the neck plays smooth as silk, the ebony fingerboard is beautiful, the control knobs turn smoothly and firmly... The ONLY thing I was able to find wrong was that the treble knob was too tight against the bass knob and it turned both knobs a bit. Simple adjustment with an allen wrench solved the problem. Even the case is nicer than I thought, with the bolted on logo and locking briefcase style latches on the outside (standard flippy latch in the middle).
Bottom line, this is an immaculate bass.
Full specs:
- Maple neck/alder body
- Satin matte finish
- DTS black stain
- Painted stain finish back of neck
- Gloss black headstock
(note: this was intentional after seeing the Lakland P that Dan Basica at Premier Bass in Superior, CO put together with a Legacy neck... the headstock matches the black hardware)
- Ebony fingerboard, standard radius
- Standard controls (vol/vol/tone/bass/treb)
- J99A pickups
- Abalone logo
- Dunlop straplocks
Pictures momentarily....
5sg.
She didn't let me down.
With the limited time I've had with her so far, she plays great and sounds just like I was hoping for... Big beefy Fretless Jazz Bass.
The pickups sound fantastic, very much the sound I had in my head. They do hum a bit, but that's to be expected from single coils. I normally favor both pickups on full with my Jazz bass, but with this since it's fretless, I'm sure I'll be favoring the neck pickup a bit.
After the initial impression, I'm thinking I don't like the factory flats all that much, and am going to experiment with different strings. We'll see where I end up with that.
She's definitely a beauty as well... also very much what I was hoping for. I haven't found any flaws so far... finish is super clean, tight neck joint, the satin on the back of the neck plays smooth as silk, the ebony fingerboard is beautiful, the control knobs turn smoothly and firmly... The ONLY thing I was able to find wrong was that the treble knob was too tight against the bass knob and it turned both knobs a bit. Simple adjustment with an allen wrench solved the problem. Even the case is nicer than I thought, with the bolted on logo and locking briefcase style latches on the outside (standard flippy latch in the middle).
Bottom line, this is an immaculate bass.
Full specs:
- Maple neck/alder body
- Satin matte finish
- DTS black stain
- Painted stain finish back of neck
- Gloss black headstock
(note: this was intentional after seeing the Lakland P that Dan Basica at Premier Bass in Superior, CO put together with a Legacy neck... the headstock matches the black hardware)
- Ebony fingerboard, standard radius
- Standard controls (vol/vol/tone/bass/treb)
- J99A pickups
- Abalone logo
- Dunlop straplocks
Pictures momentarily....
5sg.
Woop, I love it! Gorgeous, sexy bass. I would love to play a fretless that looked like that. Well put-together, 5sg!
Oh yeah... I talked with Tony at Pickguardian... I'm thinking about getting a single layer black guard to get rid of the white stripe around it. He said when he did yours, he didn't get a chance to make a template since it was a quick turnaround. I'm going to let the stock guard sink in a bit and see, but I told him if I send it his way, he can take time with it to make a template. I'll need to practice practice practice with a tuner tuner tuner since it's my first unlined fretless. lol Won't be playing it out in public any time soon!
5sg.
Everyone... Meet Onyx.
More pix when I can get better light.
5sg.
That certainly is one of the most distinctive SB5000s I've ever seen. Don't know what "DTS" black stain is, but it sure looks interesting. You even have a beautiful strap to go with it!
You have good taste in instrument detailing, sir...
MM
That certainly is one of the most distinctive SB5000s I've ever seen. Don't know what "DTS" black stain is, but it sure looks interesting. You even have a beautiful strap to go with it!
You have good taste in instrument detailing, sir...
MM
Thanks! It really turned out even better than I could've imagined. I went through build after build after build, and then the inspiration for an unlined fretless struck.
"DTS" is their Deep Triple Stain process. They put down a layer of black, sand the bass down slightly before putting another color on top. They leave enough of the first layer of black to bring out the texture of the wood a little more. In my case, since it's black on black, it makes the finish a little darker, which is what I wanted. The quilt is gorgeous, but still subtle.
I picked up the strap before I even had the bass. I knew generally what my SB would look like, so I knew I had to have the strap. It's an LM Strap, and I want to think it's a limited edition of some sort, because they don't have the version with the crackly look on their site.
5sg.
