[NBD] Custom Carvin Bass

[moshspeggeti]

Just acquired this sweet custom Carvin... something locally off Facebook marketplace for $400. I've always wanted a neck through bass like this, and honestly I've always been a fan of Carvin instruments (I however, am not much of a fan of their amps these days...) The action is set low enough to my liking, the neck is straight, and it plays and sounds nice. A guitar tech most recently owned it before me. Has the signature Carvin Pickups/Electronics, and everything seems to point to it being a Carvin, however, it was listed as a B4K on Facebook, and from what I can tell, this isn't a B4 kit. The kits typically came with bolt on necks, and this one clearly is not that. Also, the headstock was clearly modified, so although the electronics and pickups are clearly Carvin in origin, and the body style appears to match Carvins from this era, I'm not quite sure exactly what I have here. From what I can find online, it seems to most closely resemble an LB 70. In any case, I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

 

[DJ Bebop]

The headstock and the transition from neck to body does not appear to be Carvin to me. Plus the name on the headstock.

 

[moshspeggeti]

The headstock and the transition from neck to body does not appear to be Carvin to me. Plus the name on the headstock.

The headstock doesn't appear to be Carvin, however the electronics, pickups, bridge, and body style all appear to be Carvin, I found an LB 70 for sale on Chicago Music Exchange that is very similar in appearance aside from the headstock, maybe it was a custom order or modified after being purchased? I'm not sure... Carvin LB-70 Black

 

[Core Creek]

Even the shape of the body is off for that to be a Carvin. Looks like someone too Carvin electronics and put them in something else.

 

[JC BASS 91]

As a Carvin owner, I'm saying that's not a Carvin. Might be their pickups, bridge and electronics, and maybe the body wings, but the neck is definitely not. For comparison:




Now, since I got mine, I saw more than a few times where people would break off the truss rod head. This may be one of those. The body wings could be from an LB-70, but a replacement neck was used and the Carvin body wings and remaining hardware used for it. But...that neck is NOT a Carvin.

 

[ardgedee]

The wings are not right. The upper horn joins the neck at the 17th fret, whereas on the blue LB-70 it joins the neck at the 20th fret. On the back the transition from neck to body is completely different. There's a peak along the back of the neck between the two horns while on the blue LB-70 there's a relatively straight slope between the upper and lower horns.

The horns are shaped differently, the upper horn is blockier with a squared-off end, while the blue LB-70 the horn has a smoother taper to the strap peg.

It looks to me like somebody liked the LB-70 design and built their own tribute to it, but I don't think it's a Carvin product.

 

[moshspeggeti]

As a Carvin owner, I'm saying that's not a Carvin. Might be their pickups, bridge and electronics, and maybe the body wings, but the neck is definitely not. For comparison:


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Now, since I got mine, I saw more than a few times where people would break off the truss rod head. This may be one of those. The body wings could be from an LB-70, but a replacement neck was used and the Carvin body wings and remaining hardware used for it. But...that neck is NOT a Carvin.

That's a nice bass! Thanks for the clarification. I knew it was a custom instrument to some extent, but upon hearing the combined input here, I think your deduction is correct. In any case, it's still a nice player and looks pretty darn good in my opinion, and that's the important thing.

 

[DJ Bebop]

The headstock doesn't appear to be Carvin, however the electronics, pickups, bridge, and body style all appear to be Carvin, I found an LB 70 for sale on Chicago Music Exchange that is very similar in appearance aside from the headstock, maybe it was a custom order or modified after being purchased? I'm not sure... Carvin LB-70 Black

Or a custom/home build using Carvin parts. The bridge is not technical a Carvin product, it's a Hipshot B-style bridge Carvin was using at the time. The body is similar but that transition from neck to body or the neck heal is not Carvin, as seen from your post of the LB-70 or this one:

Whatever it is, it looks like a nice bass

 

[Lackey]

Hey it looks interesting regardless! 400 is a deal for decent gear.

 

[RBC64]

Truly a nice bass regardless. I have a carvin 5 string if want pics to compare

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

Nice bass, I’ve played it. It’s solid for sure.

Congrats on the new bass.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

The bridge on the Carvin is further forward on the body and the upper horn on OP's bass goes up to about the 11th fret, rather than 13th on the Carvin.

BBB

 

[BigJohnAZ]

Carvin-Schmarvin. If it plays and sounds great, who cares for that price?

 

[maturanesa]

The OP said a custom carvin, he/she meant a custom bass based on a Carvin.

 

[lowendrv]

Carvin used to sell bass building kits and parts. Even neck thru necks 4-6 strings. Full bodies for bolt on and wings for neck thru's. Headstocks could be ordered as just a paddle or with typical Carvin headstock designs of that era. Mostly pointy.

Kiesel Guitar Museum: 1996

kieselmuseum.com

 

[ardgedee]

Carvin used to sell bass building kits and parts. Even neck thru necks 4-6 strings. Full bodies for bolt on and wings for neck thru's. Headstocks could be ordered as just a paddle or with typical Carvin headstock designs of that era. Mostly pointy.

Kiesel Guitar Museum: 1996

kieselmuseum.com

It's a shame they stopped selling the neck-through blanks.

 

[MCS4]

My intuition is that it is either a custom/homemade bass modeled heavily on a Carvin LB70 without rounded body sides, or it is a kit/parts bass using a Carvin neck-though neck with a paddle headstock. It definitely looks like someone was trying to make an LB70 outside of the headstock but, as a lifetime LB70 player there are too many little differences IMO.

 

[lug]

I bought a Carvin neckthru neck for my home built and they did sell them with padel heads you could shape, But I don't remember them ever selling as anything other than single piece maple.