Has anyone seen either an sb4000 or sb5000 with a different headstock? I'm thinking about doing the Icon headstock... any pics out there?
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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call!
- Thread starter phillm47
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thanks for the props! Sorry I haven't logged on in so long, its been a busy few weeks.
I have just been using active mode all the time. I am running it through a diamond bass compressor, which has some eq on it, so I'm not bumping the bass' preamp too much. When I was using just the bass I would tweak it a little bit more. The pre is BIG! One of my bands is a hip hop band, and it needs bigger lows, which it has.
I have messed around a few times with the passive mode, mainly when I am practicing at home (through a korg pandora) and just don't feel like running the batteries down. Still has a great tone, but I always have a preamp for it (the spare on my board is a sadowsky outboard.) Hope that helps, and isn't too confusing, Im just sitting down with my coffee.
I also think, IMO, that the pre is pretty transparent. It still sounds like the bass when its either on or off.
Do you get much noise when either of the pickups are solo'd? Does the pre-amp have any impact on the single coil buzz?
Thanks!
Yes there is some noise when the pickups are soloed, but not any worse than other single coils. Just the nature of the beast I guess. I'll have to check and see if its any different without the preamp on.
Uuugghh...I was just looking though this months Carvin catalog and have developed the worst case of G.A.S. for the spalted maple SB4000 on pages 24/25.
This happened to me today as well. I've been on a quasi-Jbass hunt for several months now. I've played all the different Fenders and any other Jazz type bass I could find along the way, with nothing that really grabbed me. Finally I broke down and ordered a Sadowsky Metro thinking that would be the ender, but was actually disappointed with it for the price and sent it back during the trial period. At that point I just sort of mentally concluded the search thinking there wasn't one out there for me.
So today I'm walking around the Dallas Guitar Show and spot the Carvin booth. Having never played a Carvin in my life, I had to stop. They had a couple SB4/5000s there. I picked up a white alder body/maple neck SB5000 and was impressed playing it acoustically. Felt good, felt right. The neck is very nice, my fave I think I've played in a long while. The salesguy plugged it and when the sound came on, I was literally stunned. It sounded absolutely great. I wanted to buy it on the spot.
I made myself walk off and for the next hour my head was spinning, thinking it over. The only reason I didn't buy it on the spot was it was white with creme pickups and that's just not my taste. I *almost* bought it anyway. The only thing that stopped me was knowing that I could custom order one exactly to my specs for maybe $150 more.
So now I've got the fever
I had been reading the buzz on these basses prior to playing and had gone through the online site doing a few mock ups already. I had much more expensive options chosen, like translucent finishes over Ash with alternative electronics and such; but based on the one I played today, I want to keep it as close as possible to hopefully get that sound again.I'm thinking about ordering one like this:
Maple Neck/Alder Body
Jet Black - Clear Gloss Finish
White Pearloid Pickguard
Birdseye Maple Fingerboard (Tung-Oiled)
Tung Oil Finish Back Of Neck
No Top Inlays - Side Dots Only
Birdseye Maple Natural Clear Headstock (Non-Painted)
SB-Style Bass Headstock
Stainless Jumbo Frets .055" H .110" W
J9A Alnico Single Coil Black Pickups
Chrome Hardware
Black Logo
Dunlop Straplocks
Engraved Truss Rod Cover saying "SB5000" (the blank truss rod cover bothers me for some reason)
Total: $1,098.00
I really just have one question at this point:
What difference does the fret size make? The options are:
Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W (Standard)
6100 - Jumbo Frets .055" H .110" W
6130 - Low-Wide Frets .036" H .106" W
Stainless Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W
STJF - Stainless Jumbo Frets .055" H .110" W
I forgot to check what was on the bass.
Any other input/suggestions before placing an SB5000 order?
This happened to me today as well. I've been on a quasi-Jbass hunt for several months now. I've played all the different Fenders and any other Jazz type bass I could find along the way, with nothing that really grabbed me. Finally I broke down and ordered a Sadowsky Metro thinking that would be the ender, but was actually disappointed with it for the price and sent it back during the trial period. At that point I just sort of mentally concluded the search thinking there wasn't one out there for me.
So today I'm walking around the Dallas Guitar Show and spot the Carvin booth. Having never played a Carvin in my life, I had to stop. They had a couple SB4/5000s there. I picked up a white alder body/maple neck SB5000 and was impressed playing it acoustically. Felt good, felt right. The neck is very nice, my fave I think I've played in a long while. The salesguy plugged it and when the sound came on, I was literally stunned. It sounded absolutely great. I wanted to buy it on the spot.
I made myself walk off and for the next hour my head was spinning, thinking it over. The only reason I didn't buy it on the spot was it was white with creme pickups and that's just not my taste. I *almost* bought it anyway. The only thing that stopped me was knowing that I could custom order one exactly to my specs for maybe $150 more.
So now I've got the fever
I'm thinking about ordering one like this:
Maple Neck/Alder Body
Jet Black - Clear Gloss Finish
White Pearloid Pickguard
Birdseye Maple Fingerboard (Tung-Oiled)
Tung Oil Finish Back Of Neck
No Top Inlays - Side Dots Only
Birdseye Maple Natural Clear Headstock (Non-Painted)
SB-Style Bass Headstock
Stainless Jumbo Frets .055" H .110" W
J9A Alnico Single Coil Black Pickups
Chrome Hardware
Black Logo
Dunlop Straplocks
Engraved Truss Rod Cover saying "SB5000" (the blank truss rod cover bothers me for some reason)
Total: $1,098.00
I really just have one question at this point:
What difference does the fret size make? The options are:
Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W (Standard)
6100 - Jumbo Frets .055" H .110" W
6130 - Low-Wide Frets .036" H .106" W
Stainless Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W
STJF - Stainless Jumbo Frets .055" H .110" W
I forgot to check what was on the bass.
Any other input/suggestions before placing an SB5000 order?
I think a Black Pickguard would look better on it, I actually think someone has one a lot like what your describing, and it looks super sexy
Here you go. This axe has a "reverse" Icon headstock, so its 2/3 instead of 3/2. It. Looks. Amazing.
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Jarret - i'm really interested in your experience with the Metro - I'd decided that if the apparent price rise to overseas customers was in fact real, and not a miscalculation of some sort, I'd get a Metro instead because the price of a SB5000 is now about the same in the UK, but I've always wondered if they (the Metros) are really as good as all that.
Do you really think the SB5000 beats it in terms of playability and sound? I may just have to bite the bullet and go for a SB500 despite the 40-50% price hike anyway, but I'd be interested in your views on the Metro. Was it just, well blah?, or was it the fretwork or something else?
Do you really think the SB5000 beats it in terms of playability and sound? I may just have to bite the bullet and go for a SB500 despite the 40-50% price hike anyway, but I'd be interested in your views on the Metro. Was it just, well blah?, or was it the fretwork or something else?
Here is the Metro I tried:
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I think its just a matter of personal taste for me. I like oiled necks that have a bit of a real wood, handcrafted feel to them. To me the Metro is not like that at all, where the SB5000 is. The Metro had a very "production line" feel to it I thought. The maple on it looked almost simulated up close and the whole thing sort of had a plastic feel to me that I wasn't expecting. Sound wise, they are in the same general ballpark, but I liked the J99A sounds more than the Sadowsky humbuckers which again sounded a bit more generic to me where the Carvin stuff sounded really organic and powerful.
I think a lot of it had to do with preconceived notions for me. I bought the Metro thinking I would find the absolute top of the line J Bass experience, and came away with a generic/plastic sort of vibe from it. On the other hand, I'd heard where the Carvin stuff had a little lower quality than some other players in the market and had consistently heard the electronics sounded weak and thin. So when I felt that really natural feeling, oil finished neck and then plugged it in and heard great punchy organic tone, I was floored. Expectations far exceeded.
Personally I think the Metro's are crazy over priced at around $2850-3000 and the Carvin's are under priced at around $1000-$1400. So for me its an absolute no brainer on which to choose. I really think $1100 for the custom bass I just spec'ed out on their site is a steal compared to all the other bass I've played in stores lately. I really don't need to spend the money, but that is a really, really hard bass to pass up for me.
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I think its just a matter of personal taste for me. I like oiled necks that have a bit of a real wood, handcrafted feel to them. To me the Metro is not like that at all, where the SB5000 is. The Metro had a very "production line" feel to it I thought. The maple on it looked almost simulated up close and the whole thing sort of had a plastic feel to me that I wasn't expecting. Sound wise, they are in the same general ballpark, but I liked the J99A sounds more than the Sadowsky humbuckers which again sounded a bit more generic to me where the Carvin stuff sounded really organic and powerful.
I think a lot of it had to do with preconceived notions for me. I bought the Metro thinking I would find the absolute top of the line J Bass experience, and came away with a generic/plastic sort of vibe from it. On the other hand, I'd heard where the Carvin stuff had a little lower quality than some other players in the market and had consistently heard the electronics sounded weak and thin. So when I felt that really natural feeling, oil finished neck and then plugged it in and heard great punchy organic tone, I was floored. Expectations far exceeded.
Personally I think the Metro's are crazy over priced at around $2850-3000 and the Carvin's are under priced at around $1000-$1400. So for me its an absolute no brainer on which to choose. I really think $1100 for the custom bass I just spec'ed out on their site is a steal compared to all the other bass I've played in stores lately. I really don't need to spend the money, but that is a really, really hard bass to pass up for me.
Thanks for taking the time to pass that on. I felt the same way about the Sad - I've already got a really nice J with Aero's, but I thought the Metro would be a big step up - almost to the pinnacle - a NYC Sad. I've been having more doubts about that lately, as a lot of buyers say they don't sound that special, and I know "it's all in the mix", but my J sounds great in the mix now.
The SB500 looks a little odd to me, but I could get used to it, and I know what it CAN sound like (Sekou's site) and it was a fantastic bargain at the old price, because it was much cheaper than a Sad and that was with any options you wanted (that's what I don't like about Metro's - you've got very little choice eg no black hardware, and I feel that it's just to differentiate them from the NYC models further) - it would be like buying the ultimate car, but you didn't get aircon or many other decent options with it, so you'd never be satisfied.
They changed the site recently, and I hope by mistake, the prices have gone up hugely to non-US buyers, which makes them a lot more expensive, but I might just still get one instead of a Metro - at this stage of my life I just want to buy one more %^$&&* nice bass, and not feel that I could have spent the money better.
The SB500 looks a little odd to me, but I could get used to it, and I know what it CAN sound like (Sekou's site) and it was a fantastic bargain at the old price, because it was much cheaper than a Sad and that was with any options you wanted (that's what I don't like about Metro's - you've got very little choice eg no black hardware, and I feel that it's just to differentiate them from the NYC models further) - it would be like buying the ultimate car, but you didn't get aircon or many other decent options with it, so you'd never be satisfied.
They changed the site recently, and I hope by mistake, the prices have gone up hugely to non-US buyers, which makes them a lot more expensive, but I might just still get one instead of a Metro - at this stage of my life I just want to buy one more %^$&&* nice bass, and not feel that I could have spent the money better.
Just placed an order for this:
Maple Neck/Alder Body
Jet Black - Clear Gloss Finish
White Pearloid Pickguard
Birdseye Maple Fingerboard (Tung-Oiled)
Tung Oil Finish Back Of Neck
No Top Inlays - Side Dots Only
Birdseye Maple Natural Clear Headstock (Tung-Oiled)
SB-Style Bass Headstock
Stainless Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W
J9A Alnico Single Coil Black Pickups
Chrome Hardware
Black Logo
Dunlop Straplocks
Engraved Truss Rod Cover saying "SB5000"
Everyone I talked to said to go for the Stainless Med-Jumbo Frets. Now comes the 9 week wait. Ugh
Maple Neck/Alder Body
Jet Black - Clear Gloss Finish
White Pearloid Pickguard
Birdseye Maple Fingerboard (Tung-Oiled)
Tung Oil Finish Back Of Neck
No Top Inlays - Side Dots Only
Birdseye Maple Natural Clear Headstock (Tung-Oiled)
SB-Style Bass Headstock
Stainless Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W
J9A Alnico Single Coil Black Pickups
Chrome Hardware
Black Logo
Dunlop Straplocks
Engraved Truss Rod Cover saying "SB5000"
Everyone I talked to said to go for the Stainless Med-Jumbo Frets. Now comes the 9 week wait. Ugh
I just ran your spec through on the uk portal, and it came to $2169, which by my reckoning is about 45% up on the pre-web-site change price. I know it includes post and tax, but I'm allowing for that.
You've made my mind up for me - I will go for the SB5000 when the time comes, price-hike or no price-hike - if the Metro is going to feel like another mass-produced J, then I don't need another.
Good luck with your purchase - it sounds nice.
You've made my mind up for me - I will go for the SB5000 when the time comes, price-hike or no price-hike - if the Metro is going to feel like another mass-produced J, then I don't need another.
Good luck with your purchase - it sounds nice.
Don't get me wrong, I think the Carvin SB4000/5000s are very nice instruments (especially the 5000) and offer considerable "bang for the buck", but I have NEVER heard anyone say that ANY Sadowsky has a "plastic feel". Can you be more specific as to what "plastic feel" means, because I have played on both instruments (SBs and Metros) and wouldn't describe either as being cheap or made of oil-based products. Oh - The "simulated" maple you refer to is the way Sadowsky cuts across the grain of the maple for the fingerboard - different but not unusual and hardly cheap in any way.
I was hesitant to post my opinion of the Sadowsky as I know they have a very loyal and vocal following here. And usually loyal and vocal followers like to go after those that don't see things in the same perspective. But since dj5 asked specifically, I obliged.
That said, I think I was fairly clear in giving my opinion on the basses in my previous post. And its just that, an opinion. I'm not interested in getting drawn into a debate on my preferences. And I'm sure the SB4000/5000 owners probably don't want to see several posts unrelated to the basses in their thread as well.
That said, I think I was fairly clear in giving my opinion on the basses in my previous post. And its just that, an opinion. I'm not interested in getting drawn into a debate on my preferences. And I'm sure the SB4000/5000 owners probably don't want to see several posts unrelated to the basses in their thread as well.
Sorry for the hijack. Was just asking for a definition as to "plastic feel", since for the life of me I can't seem to find that attribute in either the Carvin SB's or Sadowsky Metros.
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