Members cacheek Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 I'm saving for a Carvin-built guitar, but I'm concerned about the electronics. I was reading on another forum that the guitars are great but electronics they put in them aren't. That' s a big concern for me. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 I like mine...don't really know what they put in it but it sounds good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa/Kramer Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Haven't heard that before.I would'nt be concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lonnie99 Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 I've heard that for years but I've never upgraded any of the half dozen Carvins I've had, and I've actually used 3-4 of their loaded AP-11 loaded Strat guards on other partscasters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 They use dime sized pots but they work the same. The passive stuff on the Bolts work fine. I don't care for the active tone or the neck thrus for that matter. Is that what they are referring to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members realtree71 Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Mine sounds as good as any other high end guitar. No worries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members esphil Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Most of mine sound good, I've only bought one of my Carvin's new, and some of the others electronics have been switched out so I can't comment on those. But the guitar I did buy new(Strat) has very good tone to it, its a HSS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tedmich Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 compared to what? Gibson or Fender? LOL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jerry_L Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 There's no quality issue, but some people don't like the tone of Carvin stock pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Smedley Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 I'm not sure about now, but in '02 they used those cheap enclosed box type les paul 3way switches. That and their small pots seem to be the biggest complaints. I replaced my pickup selector with a true gibson switch and no problems for ten years. The pots are still fine too.Their mini switches are goodNext is the active units shorting out or not functioning.Carvin pickups are love/hate with most. I like the h22s the best.Let's compare to gibson.300k pots?Stock (490 and 500 series) get more hate than love.Not much different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theAntihero Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Their pickups are pretty meh but most of the time its the customer service that gets slammed, i know my bass player didnt have much luck with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 I've owned two Carvins and the electronics in both of them worked just fine. I have heard reports of the active modules on the DC models having problems though. My CT4 is a pretty traditional setup. If something goes south, I can fix it easily, just like with any other guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alecto Posted December 17, 2012 Members Share Posted December 17, 2012 I bought my Carvin H2 used: it's a great guitar but the pickups did nothing for me (it was the baseball bat neck that got my interest. That and the cheap price). Once I installed Rio Grandes, the guitar really woke up. It's one of my favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tommyld Posted December 17, 2012 Members Share Posted December 17, 2012 Carvin's come a ways on pickups...the older ones weren't bad, but they've redesigned pickups and released new standard pickups over the last 5-8 years. It might be a matter of taste, but I definitely wouldn't expect them to be bad.And all of the Carvins I've seen have seen/owned had fantastic fit and finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hurtzher Posted December 17, 2012 Members Share Posted December 17, 2012 I think their pickups are awesome. But...Im not huge fan of their pots and switches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steve_man Posted December 18, 2012 Members Share Posted December 18, 2012 I've owned a few Carvins. There is nothing wrong with their pickups, or their wiring. The only issue I've ever had is with their pots. Those are pretty junky, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BushmasterM4 Posted December 18, 2012 Members Share Posted December 18, 2012 Own three and all sound fine. Copper shielding in the cavities and brass inserts for the cover screws. Who else does that ? Dont believe anything you read on the internet !!! Oh wait !! Scratch that... Dont believe anything negative about Carvin you read online Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members omni Posted December 18, 2012 Members Share Posted December 18, 2012 I hate their pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted December 18, 2012 Members Share Posted December 18, 2012 I had the Fishman Active bridge and it gave me all kinds of grief. When it worked I thought it sounded good though. I had an all mahogany body which may have mellowed it over some of the other choices, but I didn't feel the need to change the pickups. Reliability on the other hand, was terrible. I sent it back and the ended up replacing all the electronics, including the volume knobs and pickup switch where were very scratchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BushmasterM4 Posted December 18, 2012 Members Share Posted December 18, 2012 Originally Posted by omni I hate their pickups. It is a love hate relationship with the pickups. I like them. I tried an EMG 81 and a D'Marzio Evo in one of my Carvins (not at the same time) and hated them both. I put the stock one back in. Its all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SDshirtman Posted December 18, 2012 Members Share Posted December 18, 2012 Th electronics are fine. I'm not a big fan of their pickups though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rock-lobster Posted December 18, 2012 Members Share Posted December 18, 2012 I think my switch can make a little noise when I switch all the way from position 1 to 5 quickly. Other than that no issues at all. Really smooth tone pot in particular, I find myself using the tone knob a lot. And I love the C22 pickups. They're super responsive, almost like single coils but with the output and bass of a humbucker. I play jazz, funk, fusion and some rock and they're perfect for that kind of stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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