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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call!

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#401
Ok, I think I've got my specs all lined up:

ash/maple / birdseye maple
white/white with tortoiseshell scratchplate
bell cover
chrome hardware
abalone dots / logo

The only thing I'm undecided on is whether or not to get a matching headstock. Thoughts? Oh, maybe a matching icon style headstock?
 
#402
G said:
Ok, I think I've got my specs all lined up:

ash/maple / birdseye maple
white/white with tortoiseshell scratchplate
bell cover
chrome hardware
abalone dots / logo

The only thing I'm undecided on is whether or not to get a matching headstock. Thoughts? Oh, maybe a matching icon style headstock?
Click to expand...

Hello G,
I don't know if you remember but we designed a few bass that are very similar.
and today again, If I had to buy an SB5000 it would be exactly like yours. With an unmatched headstock.
 
#403
G said:
Ok, I think I've got my specs all lined up:

ash/maple / birdseye maple
white/white with tortoiseshell scratchplate
bell cover
chrome hardware
abalone dots / logo

The only thing I'm undecided on is whether or not to get a matching headstock. Thoughts? Oh, maybe a matching icon style headstock?
Click to expand...

I think a matching birdseye maple headstock with that abalone logo to match those dots would be killer.

BTW, if you're getting your bass in white, why select an ash body? No one will see the grain. Or is it that you're just concerned about the weight? Maybe the ash may sound a bit brighter but I don't know how radically different it would be tonally.
 
#404
Yvon said:
Hello G,
I don't know if you remember but we designed a few bass that are very similar.
and today again, If I had to buy an SB5000 it would be exactly like yours. With an unmatched headstock.
Click to expand...

Yvon, of course I remember! I've been through some ups and downs, and my "life" as a bassist had to be put on hold.


But I'm back! (And I actually got my bubinga/ash Skjold back too!)

I was looking at Sadowsky Metros, but I figured I might be better off with one of these new Carvins and a new amp instead, especially after all of the good things I've been hearing.

And dgce, I think a birdseye headstock is definitely in order. I'm going with the ash body for the tone, I have a gig where they requirement is very simple: Larry Graham without all the effects. My alder J bass (through an MXR preamp pedal) just isn't cutting it.
 
#407
It so happens that I was tracking bass parts for my next CD at the time that I had an SB5000 on 10-day trial from Carvin.

Here's a tune I just posted recorded on that bass. Both the bass line and the solo parts were recorded on the same bass.



Like I've mentioned, the bass played and sounded great. It was really tough to send it back!

Hope you like.
 
#408
KayCee said:
It so happens that I was tracking bass parts for my next CD at the time that I had an SB5000 on 10-day trial from Carvin.

Here's a tune I just posted recorded on that bass. Both the bass line and the solo parts were recorded on the same bass.



Like I've mentioned, the bass played and sounded great. It was really tough to send it back!

Hope you like.
Click to expand...



I like! Great job. Love that growl. Was that bridge pickup soloed through out the whole tune? I almost thought I was listening to a fretless. Pity you had to let that SB go though I think you did quite well with your B50.
 
#409
dgce said:
I like! Great job. Love that growl. Was that bridge pickup soloed through out the whole tune? I almost thought I was listening to a fretless. Pity you had to let that SB go though I think you did quite well with your B50.
Click to expand...

Thanks dgce! I don't remember exactly, but I would tend to have the bridge on 10, the neck pup at maybe 4, with a little treble rolled off.
In mixing, I brought back the low mids (100-200) a bit, as that bass had a whole lot of energy in that frequency range. That's pretty common in my experience with alder bodies. But, always better to subtract than add when mixing, IMO.
 
#410
Dr. Cheese said:
Remember, if you want a super light bass, be prepared to pay true boutique money. In order to consistently produce 7-8.5 lb. basses, Carvin would either have to become very selective about wood, or start chambering bodies. Neither one of those options would be cheap. My guess is that consistently super light basses would add at least another $200-$400 to the cost, and then SB4000/5000s would not look like such a great deal to everyone.
Click to expand...

And then they'd have all kinda neck dive...

No thanks. I'm a bassist, in part, because I *do* have a strong back!
 
#412
KayCee said:
It so happens that I was tracking bass parts for my next CD at the time that I had an SB5000 on 10-day trial from Carvin.

Here's a tune I just posted recorded on that bass. Both the bass line and the solo parts were recorded on the same bass.



Like I've mentioned, the bass played and sounded great. It was really tough to send it back!

Hope you like.
Click to expand...


That is one great sounding track!! The bass tone is off the hook!!!!


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste! :cool:
 
#414
Hehe, I've got the SB5000 fever bad. When I placed my order for my new SB5000 a week ago, I couldn't find any pictures that looked like it, so I was trying to imagine what my ordered bass would look like. While lurking around the Carvin site just now I found an in stock left handed SB5000 that looked fairly similar. I saved the picture to my computer and then inverted using MS Paint making it appear right handed. It was pretty close, but the logo was backwards and it had an Ebony board. Then I remembered the SB5000 gallery pics, so I copied one of those down and cropped out the fretboard and headstock and superimposed them over the top of the inverse SB5000 I had just worked on. Here is the result:
FrankenSB50002.jpg

This is about as close as I can find to the bass I have on order. The differences between this and the one I have on order are there are no fret markers and the whole pickguard is white pearloid. I think that will make for a slick looking bass. I guess I can always swap the pickguard out if I end up not liking that color. Part of me wishes I would have done one of those translucent blues, but just wasn't sure how it would look with the Alder grain.
 
#415
Jarrett said:
Hehe, I've got the SB5000 fever bad. When I placed my order for my new SB5000 a week ago, I couldn't find any pictures that looked like it, so I was trying to imagine what my ordered bass would look like. While lurking around the Carvin site just now I found an in stock left handed SB5000 that looked fairly similar. I saved the picture to my computer and then inverted using MS Paint making it appear right handed. It was pretty close, but the logo was backwards and it had an Ebony board. Then I remembered the SB5000 gallery pics, so I copied one of those down and cropped out the fretboard and headstock and superimposed them over the top of the inverse SB5000 I had just worked on. Here is the result:
FrankenSB50002.jpg

This is about as close as I can find to the bass I have on order. The differences between this and the one I have on order are there are no fret markers and the whole pickguard is white pearloid. I think that will make for a slick looking bass. I guess I can always swap the pickguard out if I end up not liking that color. Part of me wishes I would have done one of those translucent blues, but just wasn't sure how it would look with the Alder grain.
Click to expand...


Man,

I'm laughing my butt off over here.. I thought I was the only one on this forum obsessed enough to do the cut and paste.. except you're way more sophisticated than me! I basically have pages of SB4000s and sb5000s printed out with different color pick guards cut out and even 4 and 5 string ICON head stocks. I've been mixing and matching and oddly enough, my SB5000 build is almost identical to yours! Like you i think jet black against that maple is soooo cool and funky - brings to mind a '75 fender jazz. Before i finally ordered my bass i drove my kids and wife nuts saying "ok, this headstock and this pickguard or ... " you get the picture.

This forum is really a hoot. People are so into this new bass.
 
#420
larryelwood said:
Hey there Wilbyman,

I was wondering if you could comment on how the SB5000 holds up against some of the other high end basses you have owned and gigged with? Tone, quality, ability to cut through the mix in a live situation, recording?

Thanks so much!
Click to expand...

Larry....I have been very very pleased with the sound of the SB5000. I have the midrange option on mine and no passive tone. I run it flat with some midrange boost, as I like the meaty sound of an even J pickup blend but like to add some "point" to the sound with the mid knob. As I have said before, the sound is somewhat like my old Lakland 44-94 Classic (alder/rosewood) when I solo'd the back bridge coil.

As far as cutting through, I would say it does this as well as any similarly spec'd j-bass...the alder/ebony combination is very clear and the pickups are pretty aggressive. I do think the mid knob gives it an extra something in the mids.

I will try and get some recorded clips up. I have a bunch of live stuff up with the SB5000 on Youtube "The Head Changers" channel but alot of that is with the V-Bass so it's tough to get a feel for the actual naked sound of the SB...I use a bunch of effects and such with that group.
 
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