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"Official" Carvin Club - Part 2

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#381
jefff100 said:
Bassman

welcome and nice stick! Question for you...how much do you find that you use the piezo bridge pickup? I'm thinking of buying a hipshot piezo for the B4 (photos above). Yestarday I ordered a new fretless neck from Carvin for it, the 5 piece maple laminate with 2 Koa strips. The neck will take 4-5 weeks to arrive though. I've had the Carvin less than a week, but love it already.

Jeff
Click to expand...


For fretless I use it more than fretted. I have a Zon fretted, and I only use it when I want to get an acoustic sound. The piezo on the fretless though is a nice option. You can dial in a nice blend, or use the piezo alone, and depending on the eq, get a nice upright tone. It is worth the extra bucks.


As for the Koa, it is my favorite for a fretless as well. I had a Carvin AC50 that had beautiful flame to it, but I sold it when I got my Pedulla. This one not quite as much horizontal flame, but the vertical wood grain gives it character. I was pleased with it. :)
 
#382
I've been considering having a Carvin built for me. I'm about 99% sure it's gonna be an Icon and I'm just trying to clean up the fine print so to speak. Which is why I'm reaching out to Icon owners and Carvin guys in general. My question for is generally about the electronics on the Icon. I am looking for a bass that's versatile, for blues, rock, whatever. Now I'm also not going to kid myself and realize my heroes are Geezer Butler, Steve Harris, Geddy Lee, Alex Webster, Les Claypool, among many others of different genres. My point is I like playing and being g able to sound like these guys, and while all heavy..they all do have their own particular tone. Regarding the versatility...I had one Icon owner tell me the soapbars on the Icon are completely versatile for anything and can securely dial in Geddy Lee or Steve Harris at a couple knob turns. But I had someone else familiar with Carvin tell me when I order the bass I should leave the soapbar at the neck but put a MusicMan style humbucker at the bridge to be able to cover the heavy stuff better. I was curious to year from those with experience what they think about that idea, good, bad, indifferent. How will it effect the overall sound and versatility? Thanks in advance for your thoughts guys.
 
#383
I cannot speak for the Icon, because I have never played one, or really looked at the soapbars to know the specifics, but normally soapbars are dual coil. I have a number of soapbar basses (Modulus, MTD, and even my Carvin Fretless). While there is plenty of tone shaping, they have a distinct sound. I find that the single coil jazz pickups are more versatile, and if you get a MM style pickup, go with a coil selector. I am currently waiting on my Carvin SB5000 to be a good jazz style bass, but I've also thought about ordering a Carvin with a MM bridge pickup and a J-style neck pickup. With coil selector, like on my Lakland, it is an incredibly versatile setup. Push your jazz pickups hard, and you get Geddy and a lot of Claypool (He plays his old jazz a lot in addition to his famed Carl Thompson basses). Dial to the front coil of a musicman pickup, and you can get a good p-bass tone like Steve Harris, though you need flats to really nail that tone. Depending on pickup options that are available for the Icon, I would suggest the MM-J if it is an option. The Icons have a great look to them, and this pickup option is the most versatile IMHO. Best of luck in your search, and post pics of that puppy when you get it! Cheers~

Micah
 
#386
Tugboat said:
The question is.....how do they sound in the Icon?
Click to expand...

Great! Very J like, especially in passive mode. Of course being neck through with different woods it won't sound exactly like a J, but it has the J vibe. Mine is maple neck, ebony fingerboard, alder body wings with a flame maple top. It sounds great.

Icon6web.jpg


Icon6Backweb.jpg
 
#387
I have an Icon5W with soapbars that I love. I've always liked soapbar pickups though. The active electronics in this bass provide a huge variety of tones. There's also a trim pot inside to adjust the output of the active setting. I cranked it and the tone controls really came alive. The output is really hot though... But anyway - I can get any sound I want from this bass.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dm2zvnxm9rd4lrf/shjNG1ehxY
 
#388
My 4-string has a J99 at the neck and the MM style humbucker at the bridge with a piezo. My 5 has the soapbars. They are both very versatile, but two completely different sounds.

The 5 is warmer and the 4 has more bite. The 5 is all walnut so I'm not really sure how much that contributes to it's warmer sound.

I think you'll be happy with either set up. I know I love them both.
 
#389
Carvin owners! Some questions:

I'm thinking about ordering a Carvin XB 5-string bass.
I love neck through basses... but my one concern is that I love gloss body finishes and hate gloss neck finishes. I love satin neck finishes and hate satin body finishes.
If I order one, will there be a visible "line" or "seam" where the finish goes from gloss to satin from the body up to the neck?
And would tung oil on the neck be a good alternative? While satin is my preference, tung oil probably still feels "faster" than gloss and I imagine the line between tung oil and gloss would not be as noticeable as the line between satin and gloss. (given that tung oil is...shinier?)
Please advise.

As far as necks, I like about 18 to 18.5 mm string spacing. I know you dont have this but will an asymmetrical wide neck "feel" narrower? I don't like Carvin's standard 5 string necks as they are too narrow at the bridge (17 mm string spacing I think?) but I've heard good things about the asymmetrical wide necks which I believe are 19 mm but feel more like 18... yes ? ...no...?
 
#390
TimBosby said:
Carvin owners! Some questions:

I'm thinking about ordering a Carvin XB 5-string bass.
I love neck through basses... but my one concern is that I love gloss body finishes and hate gloss neck finishes. I love satin neck finishes and hate satin body finishes.
If I order one, will there be a visible "line" or "seam" where the finish goes from gloss to satin from the body up to the neck?
And would tung oil on the neck be a good alternative? While satin is my preference, tung oil probably still feels "faster" than gloss and I imagine the line between tung oil and gloss would not be as noticeable as the line between satin and gloss. (given that tung oil is...shinier?)
Please advise.

As far as necks, I like about 18 to 18.5 mm string spacing. I know you dont have this but will an asymmetrical wide neck "feel" narrower? I don't like Carvin's standard 5 string necks as they are too narrow at the bridge (17 mm string spacing I think?) but I've heard good things about the asymmetrical wide necks which I believe are 19 mm but feel more like 18... yes ? ...no...?
Click to expand...

Order it glossy. Swing by a hardware store and pick up soe '00' steel wool. Spend 10-15 rubbing the back of the neck with it. Voila! Instant, super smooth satin finished neck. Every gloss neck I have ended up with receives that treatment day 1. I did it on my B25 and it feels amazing.....

IMHO, the ASW necks are really comfortable, as are the (19mm) B50/SB5000 necks, with the B25 neck to me being most confortable of all. The 17mm LB's are too tight for me.
 
#391
Yeah, I do the same treatment with a green kitchen scrubby pad and it works well.

My only concern (besides doing that on a brand new bass) is that I won't be able to "blend" the glossy part to the satin part...


Grateful said:
Order it glossy. Swing by a hardware store and pick up soe '00' steel wool. Spend 10-15 rubbing the back of the neck with it. Voila! Instant, super smooth satin finished neck. Every gloss neck I have ended up with receives that treatment day 1. I did it on my B25 and it feels amazing.....

IMHO, the ASW necks are really comfortable, as are the (19mm) B50/SB5000 necks, with the B25 neck to me being most confortable of all. The 17mm LB's are too tight for me.
Click to expand...
 
#393
Heh. Do green scrubbies take more off than 00 steel wool?

I had good results on my Modulus Genesis neck which was heavily glossed but now smooth satiny butter. Takes a little while to get all the shiny spots but it works.
 
#394
Carvin-Heads:

Another dumb question.
If I order dual humbuckers - HB2N and HB2H I believe is what they are called - how do I get coil splitting switches for BOTH pickups. I don't see an option on the website in the bass builder - but apparently there is one from what I read online..option 31 or 32 or something??
 
#397
I will likely call if I decide to order.

So you can, in theory, engage both coil splits and have 4 "single coils" at once?

Or one humbucker + 2 "single coils".... or 2 humbuckers.

Correct?
 
#400
My SB5000 finally came! Very excited about it. Tone for days. Very bright, with an amazing slap sound. Neck plays super smooth, and I really like how the satin painted neck turned out. I wanted all white, kind of like the Yamaha Nathan East, and it turned out perfect. Takes some adjustment slapping with the old school pickup cover, but hey, Marcus has done it for years. I am easily as impressed with this bass as I am my fretless. Yet again, Carvin does not disappoint. :hyper:

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