Identify Carvin Bass Attributes (year, wood. etc)

[Techlight]

Hello,

Newbie to the forum so go easy on me

Just acquired what I was told was a Carvin LB76 from 1994 but don't know much else about it. From looking at Carvin muesum it looks like its probably a later 95 version when comparing to the headstock/tuner photos. Can anyone comment on what year and wood they think it may be made out of? Trying to determine what the fretboard wood is.

I'd also love to know what each knob does. There are five of them. It seems like there is a volume for each pick up, a blend knob, and then bass and treble boost/cut. I'm used to one volume, blend, and then bass/treble cuts along with a mid or frequency.

I haven't spent too much time messing with it because the electronics are messed up. Volume output is extremely low compared to my other basses to the point I can tell there's something wrong with it. Previous owner said he had it for only 6 months and that it used to be all 'staticy" on the knobs. He sent it to someone who changed all the knobs out and no static but still very quiet. I'm going to have to send it to someone to look at the electronics.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

Looks like it’s painted solid White? If so, body should be Alder with maple neck. They usually reserve nicer-looking woods for transparent colors or clear-coat. Fretboard is probably their default ebony.
Electronics should be Volume, Blend, and 3-band eq. If someone messed with it (and put the knobs on in the wrong configuration it looks like) who knows what is in there now…there should never be 2 volumes and a blend…

 

[Lo-E]

Carvin’s models, even the “standard” models weren’t really standard. They had a whole bunch of options so, to some extent, every bass was a custom order. That makes it very difficult to determine the specs on used examples (which is part of the reason Carvins, albeit excellent quality instruments, are often very inexpensive on the used market).

The fingerboard is ebony. That much I can tell you for certain. The neck and body woods could be any number of things under a solid finish. They’re whatever the original owner ordered.

The body and headstock shapes look consistent with mid/late 90s instruments but I don’t know how to date them precisely. There’s a good chance you could find out more info about it if you call Keisel and ask if they kept records of their orders. They might have the serial number logged, in which case they can answer all of your questions.

Carvin preamps, to the best of my recollection, were volume, blend and EQ. Sometimes they had a piezo bridge and there would be a knob for that. I think passive tone was an option, too. If the electronics are sketchy you might just want to replace them. The originals weren’t bad but they weren’t great, either. I think the instruments themselves were better than their pickups and electronics.

 

[wvbass]

Carvins can be pretty hard to tie to a specific year. With yours, the clues are that is is post-Sperzel, post-Wilkinson. I think that means 95-ish or later. The headstock is also of the “less pointy” variety and that points to newer.

Having the serial number on the fretboard just means that your bass has the “rounded body sides” option. You can also tell that by looking at the rounded body sides.

As far as woods go, good luck! I’m pretty sure they’d paint a buckeye burl top in a solid color if that’s what I wanted.

I do think the big and little knobs may not all be in their original locations on your bass, but I’m not certain about that.

EDIT: Looking through the old catalogs, your bass might be from 1998 or newer.
Kiesel Guitar Museum

 

[Techlight]

Thanks for the replies...I was thinking 98 or newer as well. I did end up taking it in to have someone look at it. The knobs in the wrong place turned out to be a simple thing. Someone only switched the knob handle and not the pot. However, something is wrong with the preamp. Pickups and the boards that run the "blend knobs" are still good as best they can tell, but they can't figure out why the output is so low. I may try another tech/shop or just decide to replace everything.

Just the long process of figuring out what pre-amp and controls to stick in it I guess. And decide if I want to change the pickups at the same time.

Thanks again.

 

[Lo-E]

I may try another tech/shop or just decide to replace everything.

Just the long process of figuring out what pre-amp and controls to stick in it I guess. And decide if I want to change the pickups at the same time.

Thanks again.

It can’t hurt to ask another tech if you know someone you trust. Bass preamps aren’t super complicated circuits, typically. It shouldn’t be too hard for an experienced tech to troubleshoot it.

If the preamp truly is shot I wouldn’t spend a lot to repair it. As I said earlier, Carvin preamps aren’t bad but there’s better out there, especially nowadays. There are so many options now the world is your oyster. Decide what kind of sound you’re after and choose a preamp accordingly.

For now I would just try replacing the preamp and see how it sounds with the existing pickups. If you like the way it sounds then there’s no reason to pour more money into the instrument. If you don’t like it you can always replace the p’ups after the fact.

 

[Techlight]

Thanks again for all the help...it's appreciated.

So techs in my area are far and few between...Installs, sure, but troubleshooting strange stuff not so much. The pickups are still good in it, but I'm one of those people if I'm going to change anything I might as well address everything at the same time. I suppose too I could sell the old ones for a few bucks too.

I do know an older cat that works out of his house that has set up a few instruments for me. His work isn't bad, but not "top notch" either. Just don't have enough experience with him to know how he does on wiring and such. I suppose it wouldn't hurt me to drop it off to him and see if he can hunt the issue down.

I think too that I've landed on just replacing everything after reading a bunch of reviews and such. I'm considering an Audere Pro Z preamp and some Nordstrand NJ6-S pick ups. This will be the first time I've considered changing "stock" components on a bass. I will also have someone else do all the wiring and such. Mostly because I have to drill some new holes in the bass, but I may consider doing it myself. Need to watch some "how to" vids before I make that decision. Of course the replacing everything factor creates a few questions:

1. I know that pickups are different from neck or bridge but Carvin uses the same for both? Not sure if this is a real thing but figured I'd ask. My plan was to buy a "set" from NJ6S Hum-Cancelling

Does it matter if i buy the set or do I need to buy two "bridge" or two "neck"? The dimensions are the same on the Nords so i figure if they fit I'm probably good. Please correct my thinking.

2. Will these drop in or do I need to start measuring things? This is probably a dumb question, lol, I'm sure I'll get out my caliper.

3. Anyone have an idea of string spacing, or should I measure? Options are 18mm (standard), 18.5mm, 19.5mm, 17.5mm.

4. If anything of the above screams I'm going down the wrong road, please chime in with opinions I've played bass on and off for years, but again never really messed with most of this kind of thing

 

[TomJ4Eden]

Hey, late to the game here. I have a 96 or 97 LB76A, The anniversary model which has the Wilkinson bridge. So if you have something else, that makes it a newer model than I have. newer ones also have wider string spacing, the wilkinson is about 16mm. Also, they were using two pickups the same length for some time and I think that changed to the Fender measurements where the neck is slightly shorter than the bridge. I'm not a fan of the preamp, I don't think it's all that flexible and I'm thinking of changing over to a Nordstrand 3 band.

 

[Techlight]

I ended up replacing the pre-amp and couldn't be happier. Transformed the bass, even with the stock pickups it sounds pretty amazing. I went with an Audere Pro Z 4 band. Was kinda scary drilling holes in the body and was my first time soldering for the most part. Went pretty well all considered. At some point I may change the pick ups but the Nords I was looking at wouldn't fit and at the moment I'm happy with it so I decided to leave well enough alone.

 

[bluarcher]

I'm just looking for a simple Carvin serial number lookup for basses. I have a 5-string that was gifted to me several years ago that starts with 109*** on the jack plate. I'm wanting to find a model number and average price for it. It's immaculate, very flat maple neck, playes like a dream// any info appreciated. Thanks, Michael

 

[Clark W]

I'm just looking for a simple Carvin serial number lookup for basses. I have a 5-string that was gifted to me several years ago that starts with 109*** on the jack plate. I'm wanting to find a model number and average price for it. It's immaculate, very flat maple neck, playes like a dream// any info appreciated. Thanks, Michael

Probably better off asking that question in the thread for the Carvin & Kiesel club. Lot more activity in there.

 

[bluarcher]

Probably better off asking that question in the thread for the Carvin & Kiesel club. Lot more activity in there.

alright...thanks.