New Carvin 35.25" scale XB75 and XB76

Wow!!
What a great adition to the Carvin Line..
Good move, but I dont get why they went 22 Frets instead of 24.

Carvin didnt notify us yet, but Im expecting all the info on those new products soon. (Im a Carvin Dealer/Distributor)

 

The website lists the overall dimensions of the XB-76 and LB-76 as almost exactly the same (45.8" vs. 45.6"), but in the photos it appears as though the bridge has simply moved closer to the butt end of the body to lengthen the strings. To their credit, it also looks like they moved the pickup positions too, to maintain the relative positions of the pu's along the string length -- in the photos, the neck PU appears to be further from the end of the fingerboard on the XB than on the LB.

I'm guessing the length of neck free of the body, the actual length of the fingerboard, and the entire outline of the neck/body, are the same on both models, avoiding a big redesign and allowing them to use all of the same production pieces up until drilling for the bridge and routing for pickups. Going 24 frets would have required redesigning the entire body, neck, and fingerboard, which would have been a much bigger job than just moving the bridge and the pickup routs, and also would have extended (pun intended) delivery times.

Yet another example of Carvin listening to the marketplace and reacting to what they hear. They found a way to do it quickly and at a low customer cost. I continue to be impressed with this bunch and the way they do business.

 

I'll be. Not living in S. Cal, I haven't received a catalog with those yet.

They sure didn't need the longer scale because their B's weren't fine. They prove a 34" B can be solid if the maker has the right design.

 

Is it possible to convert a 34" scale (say a Fender Jazz V) to a 35" scale by simply replacing the neck with a 35" scale (say a Warmoth)?

 

I have never seen a conversion neck available. If you find one let me know, I'd love to do the same.

 

It would have to have been designed specifically to do just that. Such a neck would have to be designed to fit the existing neck pocket, but put the 12th fret 17-1/2" from the bridge. That would add overall length to the instrument, possibly rendering the stock Fender case useless -- unless the headstock design were changed. All surmountable issues. I know there is a site (name escapes me at the moment) where they sell replacement necks to convert a Tele into a baritone 6-string (B to B or A to A tuning) with a 29-1/2" scale. So the math is doable -- I merely have yet to see one. But I bet whoever figures it out first will make more than a few bucks -- I'm sure there's a market!

EDIT: Warmoth (though that wasn't the little shop I was thinking about) does make a Strat-->baritone conversion neck, with a 28-1/2" or so scale. But I did not see anything about bass scale conversion necks. Will report back if/when I find something...

 

A recent issue of Bass Player had extended length necks in the New Products section. They were designed to retrofit onto a Fender type bass, but the headstock had been made smaller to allow the proper neck length and fret positioning. I can't remember what month I saw that in. I'll look for it when I have time.

 

Moses Graphite sells a 35" neck that goes into the standard Warmoth heel. Since the Warmoth heel is identical to the American Deluxe Jazz Bass V heel, if you have an AmDeluxe J-V you can use a Moses neck.

My Dean Edge Custom 5 demonstrates that a 35" scale length is vastly overrated in terms of B string feel. Neck stiffness is much more important--a thin neck using somewhat-less-than-top-grade maple (such as my Dean's) is going to have a floppy B whether it's 34" or 44" scale. Because of this, I think that the Moses 34" Fender 5-string replacement neck would give you just as good of a B and would be easier to play.

 

Agreed.

 

Thanks for the help. I recently bought a Yamaha TRB II 5 string with a 35" neck and the B-string sounds great. It does have a (I think) 5-piece neck which may add to the stiffness factor. Since I've made the Yamaha my main bass I was going to put a fretless neck on the Fender. I was looking at the Warmoth's because they aren't too expensive, I believe about half that of the Moses. Does anybody have experience with either of these?

 

Can anyone tell me if carvin would have had to re position the frets for the 35 inch scale? I would ass-u-me that they would have to in order for the 12th to split the distance between the nut and the bridge.

 

As stated above, this seems the most likely. It would make the manufacturing process much ofr cost effective for Carvin. They would use all the same tooling and blanks up until the fingerboard is attached. The 22 frets seem to be the tell-tale evidence of this practice. Great idea though, I wish they would have thought of it earlier. I have had an LB75 and didn't much care for it. I may give it another go.

Chas

 

I agree that neck stiffness affects tone drastically. I have a Kubicki x-factor bass (32" scale on the a,d,& g strings with a 36" scale on the lowest string, which is tuned to d, with a clamp holding at low e, making the e 32'" scale as well) and it sounds equal to any 34" scale bass - then when you add in the active electronics, it sounds almost alembic-like....

 

Heck, it's up on the website... can't imagine much more of an "official announcement" than that!

 

$100 difference for less than 2 extra inches? no thankyou... i understand that it could be better, but for the same price of an extra string, all they do is make the neck a little longer and reposition the bridge.... maybe i'm being irrational, but it seems like too much to me.

 

$100 is about right for the companies who offer an option on the scale length. Not many do.