I've been playing and gigging for 40 years, and in all of that time I've met exactly one person who owned a Carvin bass. I've never even seen a single used one in a music store.
As a typical New York City/Boston elitist, I've always assumed that Carvins were for hicks from other, less sophisticated, parts of the country.
Sorry.
I've also only seen one or two Carvin basses (other than mine) at gigs -- but my Carvin gets compliments about its looks and sound literally almost every time I play it live, audition for a band, bring it into a gear or repair shop, etc. And that is largely in metal/hard rock situations, which are not known for celebrating the bass...
