Have not had one of these since 2003. new XB75
Sweet! one of the few times I've seen a painted headstock with a maple board that I've liked. Good score!
BnB
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Sweet! one of the few times I've seen a painted headstock with a maple board that I've liked. Good score!
BnB
So I got the call from the Carvin store today. Apparently I have a new solid Walnut Icon 5P fretless waiting there for me. It was due the 14th.
If all goes as planned, this should be it for me for a while...Report/pics/specs to follow...
If all goes as planned, this should be it for me for a while...Report/pics/specs to follow...
So I got the call from the Carvin store today. Apparently I have a new solid Walnut Icon 5P fretless waiting there for me. It was due the 14th.
If all goes as planned, this should be it for me for a while...Report/pics/specs to follow...
Good for you! We'll see how that goes with the "done for a while" bit
Also, I'm insanely jealous. My postcard date is Monday and I haven't heard anything yet, certainly no 2-weeks-early noise!
Congrats, Grateful!
To those requesting numbers, I'll get them out in a couple of days when I'm back home from vacation.
To those requesting numbers, I'll get them out in a couple of days when I'm back home from vacation.
It does. It's super comfy. Icons are another great, overlooked model from Carvin.
Thx.
Forgot to mention this:
I'm at the Carvin store today. I see a sign by one of the little amp demo rooms offering lessons w/Bunny Brunel. I kinda do a double take and ask one of the Carvin guys about it. Before he could even answer, the back door swings open and who walks in? Bunny frikkin' Brunel! He came over and chatted with me and my daughter and was just the nicest guy you could possibly imagine. We spoke briefly about lessons, and exchanged phone cell phone numbers. He said to just give him a call or text if I wanted a lesson. Which I do, and I will.
Un-freakin-real.
sometimes a true genius and one so accomplished is confident, knows the price, and is centered...
Very cool meeting! Wish I was accomplished enough to take lessons from someone like him.
Wow, Grateful! Sounds like you had one awesome day! I'm super interested to hear more about your Icon.
You'd be amazed at the newby-ness some of the students that some of these guys take on...
It was indeed a great day. Here's the NBD thread w/specs: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/nbd-carvin-icon-5-p-fretless-973826/
Hey Greatful, did you get an asymmetric neck on your Icon? How does it compare to a B25 and B50/SB5000 necks?
I did get the asymmetrical neck, since I like wide spacing.
To borrow some neck-profile letters, if C is shallower than D's, then the SB is like a thin C shape, and the B25 is more a C that feels, at least to me, a tiny bit wider on the fretboard shallower front to back than the B/SB series. Though I imagine they are similar and it is the 24 fret thing that throws me.
The asymmetrical neck feels literally like a thin bass clef. with the 'thicker' part on the B string side. It seems to help promote proper left thumb placement on the back of the neck, without crooking your thumb over the B string side. That proper placement seems helpful when using positions playing fretless.
All 3 necks are brilliant in their own way, they're all just a little different. It's not as if I'm wishing for one neck to be on all 3, nor would I mind.
I suppose I could measure everything, but I would really get some odd looks around the house if I got caught....
So I've had some time with the 5P. I've been playing it extensively since I got it and I have to say that Carvin really offers an awesome electronics package for fretless.
I don't even have to say how good the RAD-H humbuckers are on their own, but it's a different critter with the Piezo.
Just by rolling the Piezo blend knob around, you can get such a huge variation of tones. With the Piezo off, there are the obvious tones to be had, like the killer mwah of a soloed bridge pickup (yes, even with these tapewounds). With the neck pickup soloed you have a thump that can be played in those cases where the mwah is not ideal. Rolling on the Piezo halfway gives it a little sizzle. Using the Piezo by itself is yet another sound where it seems really woody and nice. Since Carvin runs the Piezo though the preamp, you have all kinds of control so it doesn't just sound snappy-sizzly like in some other Piezo equipped basses.
But what's great is that this is how Carvin does all their Piezos for all the basses available with it. For anyone thinking fretless, I highly recommend spending the extra $100 on the Piezo.
I also recommend the tapewounds....
I don't even have to say how good the RAD-H humbuckers are on their own, but it's a different critter with the Piezo.
Just by rolling the Piezo blend knob around, you can get such a huge variation of tones. With the Piezo off, there are the obvious tones to be had, like the killer mwah of a soloed bridge pickup (yes, even with these tapewounds). With the neck pickup soloed you have a thump that can be played in those cases where the mwah is not ideal. Rolling on the Piezo halfway gives it a little sizzle. Using the Piezo by itself is yet another sound where it seems really woody and nice. Since Carvin runs the Piezo though the preamp, you have all kinds of control so it doesn't just sound snappy-sizzly like in some other Piezo equipped basses.
But what's great is that this is how Carvin does all their Piezos for all the basses available with it. For anyone thinking fretless, I highly recommend spending the extra $100 on the Piezo.
I also recommend the tapewounds....
I'm so glad to hear your fretless review. I've read a lot here on TB and seen several YouTube vids, but I was still a little nervous when I ordered mine, not having a chance to play one. It's scheduled to be done the end of the month (what's the emoticon for antsy pee-pee dance?). I probably should have gotten the piezo, but didn't. Instead I splurged a little by getting custom maple fretlines, instead of white.
I will be posting pics for official membership as soon as I can.
Awesome. What did you get?
The more I play them, the more I really start to believe that a Carvin fretless is THE fretless. At least for me I know it is.
LB75 with the wide neck. I went with the bridge MM style humbucker and neck stacked humbucker, like the Bunnies.
Deep blue flame maple finish.
I'm hoping that with the neck pup soloed, or almost soloed, I can get a sort-of upright tone similar to what you might get from the piezos. Maybe not, we'll see.
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