Yes Jarrett, thanks for the elaboration. I hope you don't get any stick because of it - I have been on the end of some flack for giving my views on things, and I hope no-one takes it amiss. In fact it's very useful to get an honest opinion, as I find often that dissenters are afraid to voice their views because they know they'll be called to account, and I'm not talking about you Limeman, I just still rember the rage some people get in to if you happen not to like something they've paid good money for!
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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call!
- Thread starter phillm47
- Start date
- Status
Well he says he prefers the oiled necks, so I'm betting it's the high gloss finish on the neck and body of the Sadowsky that gives him the sense of a 'plastic feel'. It's the only thing that would make sense to me anyway. I've owned four Carvin LB70's and two Sadowsky Metro's and the gloss finish did seem to be heavier or thicker on my Sadowsky's than the Carvin's.
Just a thought.
That's what I was thinking too - maybe the gloss finish? I agree that the tung-oiled finish is sweet in comparison to ANY finished neck, and indeed Roger Sadowsky has suggested taking some 320 grit sandpaper to the back of Metro necks as a way to get that sleek "naked" feel. Anyway... back to the SB's which are sweet instruments and top dog for the dollar!
I know I can't please everyone. I just wanted to mention that our necks are finished in matte nitro so I am surprised anyone would find the neck plastic feeling. Many people ask if there is actually finish on the neck. However with nitro, your hand naturally buffs the neck finish to a gloss...but it should still feel much better than a new gloss finish. For those who prefer that flatter feel, I suggest you sand the back of the neck with some 280 grit sandpaper.
Roger
Roger
Thanks Roger. I'll retract my comment on the 320 grit... 280 it is. By the way, I absolutely love my '04 MV4!! Ok... back to the original topic...
Hey all,
I was lucky enough to be visiting LA this week and made a quick run to the Hollywood store yesterday to check out the SB series. I've been really close to pulling the trigger on an sb4000 for a couple of months. I have been a 4 string player my entire life and have always felt like i still have a lot of "work" to do on the 4.. no need for a 5 or 6 for me personally.
When i called the store a few days prior to find out if they had any SBs in stock, they let me know that they had a few 4s but no 5s.. Apparently 5s just fly off the shelves.
Turns out they had pretty much every combo. 4 string passive and active, and one 5 string they had just got in.
I was curious about the 5 because of all the hype around it and how it feels like a 4.
So i hung out and played for a while. I tried all the SBs: they had an ash with oil finish and a rosewood neck that was passive. Man that 4 string was sweet. And yes the passive SBs sound Fantastic!! With both pickups full on nice a full and very defined. Like a really clear clean motown sound. a little neck pick up roll off, really dramatic change.. very much the warm barky jaco sound. A very sweet slap tone with both pickups full on. I'm a tone chaser and very picky about my bass sound - Every tone was totally musical and usable and a delight to my ears.
Tried a black active 4 with birdseye maple neck. The best i could tell, when in active mode but set flat, the bass sounded exactly the same as passive. It seemed to me that when tweaking the bass and treble in active mode, the differences were very subtle over passive. Nice, but subtle. I think this is a good thing, because if you have a bass that you have to eq the crap out of to get the sound you're looking for.. it's got problems. The SB basses sound totally amazing passive and any extra eq is just icing on top of an already amazing cake.
Neck profile... SB4000 is just like a 1973 jazz bass i once played and was shocked by the chunkiness of the neck. i'm pretty much a fender jazz bass guy and there was a semi brief period in the 70's where some jazz basses had a super chunky (front to back) but narrow (top to bottom) contour. Basically like a P bass neck but narrower.
The SB 4000 has that exact neck profile. To me if feels just like that chunky early 70s jazz pbass/jbass combo. a little baseball batish.
Very playable and substantial feeling. Fretwork on all of the basses i tried polished and perfect, a pleasure.
neck on the sb5000: Well... fast, slim, playable... amazing. This might be an exaggeration but it almost felt between 1/8" and 1/4" shallower.
I normally feel a little confounded by the extra string on a 5. not so on the SB5000. Slapping was a breeze, action was amazing, neck access very natural, string spacing super comfortable...
I went back and forth between the 4 and 5 quite a few times...
I put an order in on the spot for a black on black SB5000 with maple neck, and an ICON headstock.. I think that 3+2 headstock will really look fantastic on the 5. I'll post pics in a few weeks.
hey the worst thing that could happen is i return it for a full refund!!
I really hope these basses record well.. they sure sound amazing through an amp.
I was lucky enough to be visiting LA this week and made a quick run to the Hollywood store yesterday to check out the SB series. I've been really close to pulling the trigger on an sb4000 for a couple of months. I have been a 4 string player my entire life and have always felt like i still have a lot of "work" to do on the 4.. no need for a 5 or 6 for me personally.
When i called the store a few days prior to find out if they had any SBs in stock, they let me know that they had a few 4s but no 5s.. Apparently 5s just fly off the shelves.
Turns out they had pretty much every combo. 4 string passive and active, and one 5 string they had just got in.
I was curious about the 5 because of all the hype around it and how it feels like a 4.
So i hung out and played for a while. I tried all the SBs: they had an ash with oil finish and a rosewood neck that was passive. Man that 4 string was sweet. And yes the passive SBs sound Fantastic!! With both pickups full on nice a full and very defined. Like a really clear clean motown sound. a little neck pick up roll off, really dramatic change.. very much the warm barky jaco sound. A very sweet slap tone with both pickups full on. I'm a tone chaser and very picky about my bass sound - Every tone was totally musical and usable and a delight to my ears.
Tried a black active 4 with birdseye maple neck. The best i could tell, when in active mode but set flat, the bass sounded exactly the same as passive. It seemed to me that when tweaking the bass and treble in active mode, the differences were very subtle over passive. Nice, but subtle. I think this is a good thing, because if you have a bass that you have to eq the crap out of to get the sound you're looking for.. it's got problems. The SB basses sound totally amazing passive and any extra eq is just icing on top of an already amazing cake.
Neck profile... SB4000 is just like a 1973 jazz bass i once played and was shocked by the chunkiness of the neck. i'm pretty much a fender jazz bass guy and there was a semi brief period in the 70's where some jazz basses had a super chunky (front to back) but narrow (top to bottom) contour. Basically like a P bass neck but narrower.
The SB 4000 has that exact neck profile. To me if feels just like that chunky early 70s jazz pbass/jbass combo. a little baseball batish.
Very playable and substantial feeling. Fretwork on all of the basses i tried polished and perfect, a pleasure.
neck on the sb5000: Well... fast, slim, playable... amazing. This might be an exaggeration but it almost felt between 1/8" and 1/4" shallower.
I normally feel a little confounded by the extra string on a 5. not so on the SB5000. Slapping was a breeze, action was amazing, neck access very natural, string spacing super comfortable...
I went back and forth between the 4 and 5 quite a few times...
I put an order in on the spot for a black on black SB5000 with maple neck, and an ICON headstock.. I think that 3+2 headstock will really look fantastic on the 5. I'll post pics in a few weeks.
hey the worst thing that could happen is i return it for a full refund!!
I really hope these basses record well.. they sure sound amazing through an amp.
Yeah, the neck on the 5000 impressed the heck out of me. And you are right - the appear to be flying out the door.... (it must be a real puzzler for the folks who keep designing those neck through Carvins...)
And of course you're first obligation upon receipt of this bass is to post pictures. Lots of juicy hi-res pictures... or cell phone pictures... or daguerotypes... or just put the damn thing on a scanner and let it rip.
At any rate: No pics, no bass.
Hehe, I was thinking the same thingAnd of course you're first obligation upon receipt of this bass is to post pictures. Lots of juicy hi-res pictures... or cell phone pictures... or daguerotypes... or just put the damn thing on a scanner and let it rip.
At any rate: No pics, no bass.
as well as me! The only SB i've seen with an icon headstock is the one i made by printing out and SB and an Icon and cutting and pasting them together... A little obsessive i know but, a good visual.
Bad news for all you non-US residents - I spoke to the guy at Carvin yesterday, and the new price structure is correct ie a LARGE price rise.
If you, like me, were hestitating before you made your order, you just lost out big time. My fully loaded with nice woods and finishes SB5000 has gone up in price from around the £1300 mark to around the £1900 mark. B&gg&r! You know what they say about "he who hestitates".
I will still be getting one sometime because even at that price it looks an extremely nice bass. Before the price rise it was an absolute steal. B&gg&r it again!
If you, like me, were hestitating before you made your order, you just lost out big time. My fully loaded with nice woods and finishes SB5000 has gone up in price from around the £1300 mark to around the £1900 mark. B&gg&r! You know what they say about "he who hestitates".
I will still be getting one sometime because even at that price it looks an extremely nice bass. Before the price rise it was an absolute steal. B&gg&r it again!
Hearing that makes me wonder if they've realized what they have in the SB series and whether the US will see an increase as well. I hope not, I'd like to see them stay affordable and accessible to everyone. You're making me glad I put in the order when I did. I still feel like getting a custom built, USA-made 5-string for $1100 is an amazing deal. My olnly fear is that the one I ordered will not have whatever mojo in it that drew me in the first place. I guess that's a chance you take though.
I was told that it was because they weren't doing the volume on overseas sales - good reason to put the prices down in my opinion! - but no hint was given about home sales. I expect they realised that the price was relatively low for a bass of that calibre and are charging what the market will bear. Damn shame though - it really was a fantastic bargain, and still is for you Yanks - as usual! You should see what we have to pay for most of the stuff we buy!
Maybe purchase via the U.S. website/phone number and have it shipped to a pal in the U.S. - then ship overseas? Could be a workaround for the higher prices?
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