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Has anyone played/owned a carvin Icon 5?

B

ByahBass

Feb 18, 2009
69
0
Montreal, Qc
#1
Im definitely interested in the Icon5 from Carvin. I am really considering buying a fretless one with the piezo pickups. Has anyone played one? Resale is not an issue, im looking for a solid bass that will last and, more importantly that i will enjoy.
 
#2
Although I have tried a lot of Carvins (live in San Diego) - I just need a wider nut width. Of the current crop of basses, the one I like the best is the jazz style - I like those pickups better than the soapbars on the Icons. Just my $0.00000000000002.

Dan K.
 
#3
I have an Icon 6-it sounds great and plays great. The piezos aren't too fretless-friendly, IMO ( I have them on my fretless Claro Walnut 6 and barely use them if at all). The new electronics allow you to really dial the mids in which is really a good thing for fretless. I have two fretless Carvins and the ebony fingerboards make for a great tone.
There are good recordings of both Carvins on my MySpace page.
Link Removed
Look for Flyte (my original '92 LB76)
and Weatherman (my Claro Walnut LB76W with piezos)
 
#4
I've had my Icon5 for about 10 months or so. Excellent playability and craftmanship. Get the wide assymetrical neck if you want similar spacing to the four string (19mm). As for sound, since you are looking at fretless, my comments on the sound may not apply. I will say that the soaps are very smooth but not very aggressive (ie not much bite/punch/growl/etc). They are not at all bad, but just keep that in mind so you won't be disappointed- depends on what you're looking for. I've heard the piezos are a waste but can't confirm as I did not order them.

I really wish Carvin would take the time to give a brief sound sample of most popular pickup combinations. Nothing too fancy- just maybe a 15-20 sec bit of the same line through the same amp/settings. It'd be nice to hear the J99A, H50A, Soaps, and HBs for comparison.
 
#7
An asymmetrical neck is cut a little slimmer on the G string side than on the B string side. Michael Tobias was the first builder I was aware of who did this, with Carvin first using this on their Bunny Brunel 5 Strings. It makes for a comfortable neck.
I have piezos on 3 of my Carvin basses-2 fretted and one fretless. They are not to my taste by themselves but they add a nice "sizzle" to the high end on fretted. Check out a Brian Bromberg CD to get an idea of that sound. A little goes a long way. Personally, I find them a little "clanky" on the fretless, since I want a bit warmer sound from fretless basses. YMMV.
BTW, the piezos only work in Active mode. You can individually adjust the volumes for the individual pickups on each string-it's kinda cool :)
 
#9
I'd bet the soaps would sound pretty damn good for fretless now that I think about it.

Vinxbass- since you have a Jazz how would you compare the sound to the Icon 5 with soaps? Maybe you've already covered this but I'd be interested to hear your comments. Soaps are definitely more hi-fi than a typical single coil Jazz but it's clear you like the sound of your Icon.
 
#10
Icon5 said:
I'd bet the soaps would sound pretty damn good for fretless now that I think about it.

Vinxbass- since you have a Jazz how would you compare the sound to the Icon 5 with soaps? Maybe you've already covered this but I'd be interested to hear your comments. Soaps are definitely more hi-fi than a typical single coil Jazz but it's clear you like the sound of your Icon.
Click to expand...

I don't play the Icon in passive mode at all, so the active mode is where the soapbars really shine for me.

The sound of the Fender is very deep, powerful, and thick. The Icon isn't quite as deep, but are very powerful and still sound quite thick. The soapbars also have a nasally type of sound to them, which some players may not like. It doesn't bother me. The main reason I bought the Icon was because I wanted a bass with soapbar pups that was active and I have played an Icon at NAMM '09 and thought it was an outstanding bass.
 
#11
vinxbass said:
I don't play the Icon in passive mode at all, so the active mode is where the soapbars really shine for me.

The sound of the Fender is very deep, powerful, and thick. The Icon isn't quite as deep, but are very powerful and still sound quite thick. The soapbars also have a nasally type of sound to them, which some players may not like. It doesn't bother me. The main reason I bought the Icon was because I wanted a bass with soapbar pups that was active and I have played an Icon at NAMM '09 and thought it was an outstanding bass.
Click to expand...

I agree- that nasally sound is definitely their trademark. No arguments there and I agree- it's a powerful bass. The midrange sweep is your friend (or enemy if you don't know how to use it). I love mine very much but i'm gonna order the H50As for comparison- money is tight now though.
 
#13
Icon5 said:
As for sound, since you are looking at fretless, my comments on the sound may not apply. I will say that the soaps are very smooth but not very aggressive (ie not much bite/punch/growl/etc). They are not at all bad, but just keep that in mind so you won't be disappointed- depends on what you're looking for. I've heard the piezos are a waste but can't confirm as I did not order them.
Click to expand...

Fortunately, pickups and onboard preamps can be easily swapped out and upgraded. It isn't necessarily inexpensive, but for an instrument that is otherwise top-notch in terms of construction quality and materials - as Carvins are routinely regarded - it can be very much worth the investment.

I've owned three Carvin bass guitars, currently own two, and plan to purchase at least a couple more. My approach is simply to plan to invest $400-$500 in electronics upgrades in addition to the original sale price of the instrument. If the new total price is still competitive with any other make/model costing as much or much more - as is typically the case with Carvins - then I've still gotten a great deal on an excellent instrument. :cool:

MM
 
#14
Just to update this thread with my own reply, some two and a half years since my last post, I can report that I now own two (2) Icon 5s - one fretted, the other fretless - and they are every bit as nice as I'd hoped. :cool:

FYI, the stock Icon pickups & preamp, however, are long gone. Soon as I could, I upgraded each Icon with a set of SGD wide-aperture N3 Neo humbuckers, along with an Audere 4-band onboard preamp with "Z" switch.

Wow. What a match made in heaven! No "nasal" quality or "honkiness" to the tone anymore, that's for sure! Nothing but deep, phat, hi-fi smoothness! :smug:

Side note: I've finally played the GraphTech Ghost onboard piezo system that Roy mentioned...though I had it installed into my new Bromberg 5 fretless instead. Only difference with the stock Carvin configuration is that mine has a separate piezo volume control - rather than the pan pot that comes standard.

I rather like it - though as Roy said, a little goes a long way. I use it mostly to mix in a little extra high frequency - to add a bit more hi-fi clarity to the magnetic pickups on certain lines. I haven't yet found an application for a 100% piezo signal, though I'm not ruling that out. For me, it still sounds best when blended - sparingly - with the pickups.

MM
 

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