How come we all don't play Carvin instruments & amps/cabs?

[Jarrett]

And more Carvin owners would only drive up the used prices LOL but I sure love them myself.

That is one good byproduct of irrational Carvin hate, better prices for us!

 

[morgansterne]

think of all those legendary bass players who have played Carvins through the years . . .
sting, marcus miller, jaco, roger waters, geddy lee. Or maybe they played a different brand and I'm misremembering . . .

 

[ggvicviper]

think of all those legendary bass players who have played Carvins through the years . . .
sting, marcus miller, jaco, roger waters, geddy lee. Or maybe they played a different brand and I'm misremembering . . .

Were you just reading the current Fender Artist Series bass list?

 

[Handyman]

Were you just reading the current Fender Artist Series bass list?

Very curious. I'm pretty sure that Jaco plays Carvins just as frequently as Fenders these days.

 

[Jarrett]

Reason #53 for hating Carvins:

My idol didn't play one therefore they must be crapola

 

[ggvicviper]

Reason #53 for hating Carvins:

My idol didn't play one therefore they must be crapola

Not if your idol is Rocco Prestia!

...he did play a Fender back in the day though.

 

[edpal]

That is one good byproduct of irrational Carvin hate, better prices for us!

You mean when you are selling a lower price is a good thing?

 

[Jarrett]

You mean when you are selling a lower price is a good thing?

No habla whatever this is.

 

[Personatech]

Because I care about resale value and actually being able to sell it in the event I don't like it.

+1 Also, I prefer traditional styling and that's not Carvin.

 

[Gorn]

Very curious. I'm pretty sure that Jaco plays Carvins just as frequently as Fenders these days.

I hear he exclusively plays Carlo Robelli's nowadays.

 

[Boomer777]

y having owned
Carvin basses are great - I do not own one but would pull the trigger w/o hesitation. I do own a B2000 head and pair it with an SWR 610 Goliath and absolutely take a backseat to nobody when it comes to : tone, phat, and quality - nobody!

 

[Showdown]

think of all those legendary bass players who have played Carvins through the years . . .
sting, marcus miller, jaco, roger waters, geddy lee. Or maybe they played a different brand and I'm misremembering . . .

There is a picture in the biography of Jaco of him playing an unlined Carvin. Sorry to ruin your sarcasm.

 

[georgiagoodie]

"How can you mend a broken heart?"
"How can you stop the rain from falling down"
"How can you stop, the sun from shining?"
"What makes the world go 'round?"
"How can you mend this broken man?"
"How can a loser ever win?"
"ah-ah-ah-ah"

 

[ggvicviper]

There is a picture in the biography of Jaco of him playing an unlined Carvin. Sorry to ruin your sarcasm.

This the one?

 

[micgtr71]

They've obviously changed the design since then, adding first steel reinforcement bars and then graphite. Sounds like you got some bad customer service-sorry about that. In 1992 (20 years ago) they had just brought the LB76 basses out, so there were some design flaws that they later corrected. There are things you can do with these earlier instruments when the neck bows. The first thing to do is to go back to the Carvin strings (they've been either made by Labella, Vinci and now they're made by Labella again). I've had students put D'Addario 6 string sets on the older basses and they add a significant amount of tension. The Carvin strings have a bit lower tension. A good repairman can add a washer or two to the trussrod and get a bit more adjustment. Finally, you can use a heat press to rewarp the neck. I would recommend a good repair shop (here in Nashville perhaps Joe Glaser or Classic Ax) do this-not a DIY strategy at all.
This can happen on any brand, BTW. My Series I Alembic had a hump in the neck at the last 5 frets after about a year. I think it was the change in weather from San Francisco to LD Heater's facility in Oregon to dry, arid Texas. After fussing with it for about 2 years my repairman removed the top few frets, replaned the fingerboard, and refretted the neck. That was in 1979 and it's been well-behaved ever since.

Thank you for this information-I wish someone would have been able to tell me this back then...I'd probably still have the bass. There were a lot of things that I really liked about the bass.

First off, the neck had a great feel before it went out of whack. I really like the satin feel on the neck and body.

The electronics in mine were passive and they sounded great. They were jazz pickups and they had a great growl through my SWR SM400 and Goliath II.

The balance was better than any other bass I owned other than my Steinberger. The Carvin sounded better to me than the Steinberger as well.

It's a shame really. The Brunel, Bromberg, and Icon models have really caught my eye and I like neck through with ebony boards.

I'm sure that their customer service is great for most people. Unfortunately, they left me high and dry when I was very young. I didn't try to get anything free out of them, I just wanted advice. For that, I just can't return to them.

 

[zachoff]

This the one?

I can hear it right now from beyond... "Ah, mah... I was high when I said that."

 

[edpal]

It says nothing about him playing a Carvin instrument, only a Carvin amp. I have no reason to believe that is a Carvin bass.

Are you arguing the point that in the right hands even a Carvin can sound good?

 

[lfbassguy]

I turn 50 in June. My 13 year old thinks a great gift for me would be a family ski trip to Aspen. I'm more inclined to lobby for an SB5000, which is far less likely to bankrupt us.

I just got back from Aspen, I would agree with your 13 year old. I have been going there since I was 4. Nothing like it, I'll take it any day over a bass.

Bankrupt you? Well, yes probably. I would have more basses if I could just stop skiing......
.....and a new house.

 

[zachoff]

I just got back from Aspen, I would agree with your 13 year old. I have been going there since I was 4. Nothing like it, I'll take it any day over a bass.

Bankrupt you? Well, yes probably. I would have more basses if I could just stop skiing......
.....and a new house.

You could "slum it" in Vail or Beaver Creek too.

 

[deeptubes]

I don't own any Carvin gear. However, I receive their catalogs and would certainly consider Carvin for future purchases. Right now, my gear is set. I think many people don't even learn of Carvin until they have already gotten what they know they like. I've been playing for 26 years. I'd heard of Carvin, but was completely unfamiliar with them until they started sending me catalogs a couple of years ago. If you asked people to name 10 guitar brands, how many people would say Carvin? Word of mouth is great advertising, unless it's essentially your only advertising. I think they just need to work on their marketing.