... got bass ?

I got my Carvin this week and things are good. It's a 5 string fretless Bunny Brunel model with 2 HB2 pickups, the piezo bridge and the "jaco" fretboard coating (my name for it).

The good
Very well made instrument, it's light, very well balanced, looks really nice. The EQ has a very noticible boost and cut. Easy to play but I might get it adjusted soon (I'm in Ohio). The piezo sounds pretty good, but it picks up everything, so be careful. Price was very reasonable.

The OK
I still have the strings that came with it. They are stainless and the combination of the string and the fretboard coating is a little metal on metal sounding. And the b string is OK (it's 34" scale). The pickups by themselves are OK, you need the EQ on to really make them sound good. Can't get a good "mwha" yet. It's in there but it maybe a string issue.

The bad
Not any fault with the bass. I have no band, and I just bought the Diablo II battle chest and it has taken away some playing time.

So if anything, I need to adjust the neck and have an option of putting in better pickups/preamp, but that's far in the futre. I have some Fodera strings coming my way so hopefully they should make a difference. This is going to the blues jam on Sunday and Monday, so we'll see.

My question for all you fretless Pedulla owners.. What kind of strings to you use? Because I've had a much easier time with the "mwha" on them and my bass should have the same fretboard coating.

 

On the 2 HB2s. I just wanted a bigger sound, and thought it would be different. I got the basic wood options, and I have a blueburst finish. I'm supprised you didn't ask about the "Jaco" coating...

The pickups are the only thing I not very happy with. They sound much better than what I had before, but it's a little hard to explain, but something is missing. I have a really good starting poing, and i can always change the pickups. It's a really fine bass, but it's not "oh my god, this is awsome" good.

Be careful with the piezo, there can be a lot of noise there and you might have to mute the other strings because you will hear them.

I got my Fodera strings (the "diamond series") and it sounds much better.

 

I agree abou the piezo bridge. It brings out the sound of the strings more but the magnetic pickups are much quieter.

OK.. The "Jaco" coating is a little know option Carvin provides. It's a special order item and it's very time consuming so it's a little secret. I found out about it becasue I saw Bunny on the CAB tour and his bass had a really shiny coating. I asked him about it later and he said it was the "special Bunny Brunel coating". I asked a question via the carvin web page and yes it did exist and it would cost X amount. I called a product specialist and he confirmed the option. It's a polyurathane (and epoxy ?) finish.

When I ordered, the guy didn't know what the hell I was talking about and wasn't going to give it to me. So after a couple of days they finally hooked me up with the guy that told me about it on the web page and we were set up. So it's little know inside the company.

So if you want the option, go to the web page and ask a product specialist what the "bunny Brunel coating" is anbd tell them you saw him play and noticed the shiny fretboard. They'll tell you if they can do it or not (this is a special order item), then you want to talk to the guy that sent you the e-mail.
And it's called the "Hard as Nails" coating, but I like the "Jaco" name better. It does add 3 weeks to your build time though.

 

They could provide a list on the web page. But you know how expensive bits/ bandwidth is..