• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call!

Status
Not open for further replies.
#101
fykozonisz said:
Received mine a few weeks ago. These are really a steal. Outstanding build quality and tone. I just posted a Pat Metheny solo exceprt(a little less than a minute) up on Youtube with this bass...you can sort of hear the tone but it was done with a cheap digital camera propped up on some books on my desk and my amp is sitting in the corner..........
Click to expand...


great playing man....oh and can you post the specs of your bass and what amp you are playing through?
 
#102
Thanks! I was playing through a Mesa M9 Carbine and a Glockenklang Quattro 410. I'm going to try and post some more stuff tonight. The specs are:

Ash Body in white
maple neck w/birdseye board
single coils
2 band pre w/tone control
chrome hardware
tort guard

shipped total w/ case was around $1100.00 which is an unbelievable price for such a high quality, great sounding and playing bass.
 
#103
LanEvo- Having owned many basses, this SB-5000 w/flamed Koa top/ash body is a real tone monster!! She is a bit heavy, but I'm a big guy! I am using DR Nickel Low Riders, have the action set really low... This bass has plenty of "BURP" in the back pup, and blending the neck pup, gives plenty of MMMWWWHHAAA! the bass sits great in the mix... I was playing behind a singer song writer playing Joni Mitchell covers, and people came up afterwords, remarking on the singing quality of the bass... Also, used it on a fusion gig last night, and it cut right through... Tone wise, you and I are on the same page as far as darker and woody... The Korina is going to darken things up a lot, and you might want to consider alder or ash for the body.... Kevin, the sales person I dealt with at Carvin gets 5 stars!! HE was great to work with, he even went down and picked out the top wood!! As far as craftsmanship, these basses will stand up to just about anything on the boutique market for sure! I am now going to sell my LEJ 5 and build an SB-5000 fretted! Good luck my friend!
 
#105
svtb15 said:
I would order one just like that but with Black Pickup covers..

That looks sweet
Click to expand...

It's a nice bass. I just don't have any complains about it at all...everything is quality and has a nice solid supportive modern J-bass sound. It plays as low and fast as anything I've ever had and the body design is actually really comfortable (kind of keeps the nut at a short reach, which I like). I think it is awesome how good these basses are, how reasonable they are cost-wise and how fast they make them to order.

W
 
#107
This thread is giving me some severe G.A.S.
I got the Carvin catalog in the mail last week, and usually I take a quick look and it's in the recycle bin within 10 minutes. I kept this one for five days, sitting open on the SB-4000/5000 page. There's just something about these basses. They look so cool, and from what I gather reading this thread, they play and sound great, too.
Black/tort/rosewood SB-4000.. maybe someday.
 
#108
Dr. Cheese said:
Wilbyman, as a man who has experience with Foderas, I guess that really stands out!:D
Click to expand...

Well, I can't complain about the Fodera wait...I got my Monarch in 2 weeks!!!! (it was about done for the NAMM show when I bought it, they changed some small things about the build for me at the last minute but it was more or less "in the can").

My SB5000 was done is about 5 start-to-finish though.
 
#110
I spec'd out an SB-4000 yesterday and plan on ordering one in a couple of months, after I get my bonus from work. I love that the tung-oil neck finish is standard. The only extras I tacked on are a tort guard and creme pickup covers. I wish they offered a gig bag instead of a hard case I won't use for $69, but, oh well..
Anyway, can I get an opinion or two on ebony vs. rosewood for the fretboard on a passive instrument with an alder body? I think ebony would look cooler because the bass is gonna be black, but would it make the sound more "modern"? Or do passive electronics make that a moot point?
 
#111
Dave Siff said:
I spec'd out an SB-4000 yesterday and plan on ordering one in a couple of months, after I get my bonus from work. I love that the tung-oil neck finish is standard. The only extras I tacked on are a tort guard and creme pickup covers. I wish they offered a gig bag instead of a hard case I won't use for $69, but, oh well..
Anyway, can I get an opinion or two on ebony vs. rosewood for the fretboard on a passive instrument with an alder body? I think ebony would look cooler because the bass is gonna be black, but would it make the sound more "modern"? Or do passive electronics make that a moot point?
Click to expand...

You probably won't have trouble finding a gigbag for the SB4000, the SB5000 is a little wider it seems and it was tricky finding a bag to put it in. My Incases and LowEnd bag were too narrow for the top horn. The Undercover bags are fine. I luckily had an old Undercover double bag laying around.
 
#112
Dave Siff said:
I spec'd out an SB-4000 yesterday and plan on ordering one in a couple of months, after I get my bonus from work. I love that the tung-oil neck finish is standard. The only extras I tacked on are a tort guard and creme pickup covers. I wish they offered a gig bag instead of a hard case I won't use for $69, but, oh well..
Anyway, can I get an opinion or two on ebony vs. rosewood for the fretboard on a passive instrument with an alder body? I think ebony would look cooler because the bass is gonna be black, but would it make the sound more "modern"? Or do passive electronics make that a moot point?
Click to expand...
Well, so much for all that. I just bought a 5-string Fender P-bass. Oops.
 
#113
placed my order for an sb5000 yesterday. Went pretty basic. Jet black w/ black pickguard, birdseye maple fingerboard and headstock. For some reason its the combo that always jumps out at me first. I've never had to wait for a bass, but it about 5 weeks, it should be here!
 
#115
Dave Siff said:
I spec'd out an SB-4000 yesterday and plan on ordering one in a couple of months, after I get my bonus from work. I love that the tung-oil neck finish is standard. The only extras I tacked on are a tort guard and creme pickup covers. I wish they offered a gig bag instead of a hard case I won't use for $69, but, oh well..
Anyway, can I get an opinion or two on ebony vs. rosewood for the fretboard on a passive instrument with an alder body? I think ebony would look cooler because the bass is gonna be black, but would it make the sound more "modern"? Or do passive electronics make that a moot point?
Click to expand...

Either way you go, be it ebony or rosewood, you'll have a very nice bass. My preference would be rosewood - sometimes ebony boards sound clanky to me in the highs...I don't dig it.

And Carvin now makes a really nicely padded gig bag, though they will not ship their basses in them. I would suggest buying one along with the bass and then selling the hard case after the bass arrives.
 
#116
bassplayer7770 said:
Does anybody own or has anybody played an SB with the HB in the bridge position? How does it compare to the dual J99A setup?

Also, are the preamps in the SB basses the same as the other models? I know SBs can be passive or just have a 2-band pre, but are the frequency centers the same, etc.?
Click to expand...

The SC's are the best pickups that Carvin has right now. I am not a fan of the HB pickup...and the pre is different from the other Carvin models and again, in my opinion, the best pre Carvin has.
 
#117
The new J99 single coils are great pickups. They are the pickup that was engineered for the SB4000/5000 with Seikou and maybe others. I wouldn't deviate from the J99 setup. I did my jam band gig on Saturday night and my jazz quartet gig on Monday with it, sounded great on both.

That said, if you want a few more sounds...

photo5.jpg
 
#118
Wilbyman said:
The new J99 single coils are great pickups. They are the pickup that was engineered for the SB4000/5000 with Seikou and maybe others. I wouldn't deviate from the J99 setup. I did my jam band gig on Saturday night and my jazz quartet gig on Monday with it, sounded great on both.

That said, if you want a few more sounds...

photo5.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot, guys. The J99A pickups do sound good, and I could get the creme covers! :D That would look pretty awesome with the scheme I have in mind. :help:

I'm sure that Roland thingamabob is real cheap, too... ;)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back