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Don't laugh...anyone have a CARLOS acoustic?


centuryhouse

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Don't laugh - not an expensive or reputable brand. As a matter of fact there are NO CARLOS guitars on ebay OR listed at Harmony Central in the reivew database - not one.

 

Now bear in mind I have owned nearly 150 guitars (maybe more) in the last 15 years, including many Gibsons, Taylor, Ibanez, Washburn, etc. I know my guitars pretty well. That said, I bought a CARLOS II model 240K acoustic 6 string at lunch today from a pawnshop for $50.

 

It's Korean made, probably late 70s I'm guessing. It has what appears to be *original* brass nut, brass bridge/saddle and instead of pearloid dot inlays it has actual brass studs inlayed. Despite needing some serious work on the action and a truss rod adjustment, and the strings being ancient, the guitar actually had a good sound and feel. I'll be working on it tonight when I get off work and then can give a real assesment. But initially, I think it's going to be a great guitar.

 

A web search revealed that several recording studios have CARLOS acoustics on hand for recording, but other than that I found nothing online. Can anyone tell me anything? If you have one how old is it, and does it suck? Is it just oK? Is is good?

 

Thanks,

Daniel

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Never head of one. The closest sounding thing I've every heard of is Carlo Robelli, a house brand for Sam Ash. Not sure how you can tell when it was made. Is there a sticker inside? It should list the country of origin. If it is in fact late 70's it's probably Japanese. From what you're saying about the high action it may need a neck reset. Put a ruler on across the fretboard pointing down to the bridge. If it points into the top the neck needs to be reset. If it's pointing right to the saddle, then you should be able to fix it with the truss rod and sanding down the saddle. Frank Ford has great pictures. His site is a wealth of information.

 

http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/Guitar/Setup/NeckAngle/neckangle.html

 

I have never seen a guitar with a brass saddle, nut and inlays, Very odd, indeed. Obvioiusly changing the nut and particularly the saddle will improve the sound. I doubt whether it's worth a whole lot more than what you paid for it but with some work it may turn out to be a damn good beater.

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One thing - the neck doesn't appear to be warped or need a reset... The action is just VERY low, like the bridge/saddle piece needs a little something under it to give it about an eighth of an inch more clearance off the neck. Also - I love the brass nut and saddle, it gives it a great sound, much better than the plastic used on most guitars.

 

Daniel

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Got it home last night - loosed the truss rod a turn, put a thin shim under the saddle, cleaned it and restrung it with Elixers. It actually sounds really decent - not amazing or anything, but pretty good. One impressive thing is that the intonation is PERFECT all up the neck! I have played many expensive acoustics that can't boast that, including Taylors and Guilds.

 

It'l be a good 2nd guitar to take out and about when I might want to jam a bit but don't want to risk bringing the expensive acoustic out.

 

Daniel

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  • 3 years later...
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carlos guitars are a dirty little secret..most of the korea made ones are hand crafted and are known to have the sound of a 3,000 dollar acoustic.i have a old 240 hand made carlos that i researched a bit..just cause it sounded so good..such a deep rich bass...well i found out some carlos guitars are worthless..has to be the early korea made ones....i have all so seen in guitar mags were few guitar dealers wanting to buy old korean carlos guitars...but they wont tell you what they are worth!!

 

i really had to dig deep for what i found out...i have found a few forums were some one is asking..what is a old carlos worth? and a few people pop in there and say they been offerd 1,200 for the right model of carlos from a guitar dealer...but then again..you cant find carlos in a price guide..and its not cause they are worthless. but just cause of there limited numbers and non popular name they never gained any popularity.. i tell you what thou...if i found a early korea made one for 50 bucks i wouldnt hesitate. they sounds great and some day mite be worth a insaine amount of money just cause they are being kept on the low down from collectors...dont abuse that guitar!! you mite regret it down the road:)

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Just wanted to add that the Daion guitars made in Japan in the 80s' had many models with brass saddles. They were great sounding guitars wih solid cedar tops. I wouldn't discount the brass but I think I need to A/B them to bone sometime. I found my next experiment thanks.:wave:

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  • 6 months later...
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I've got a Carlos Acoustic. I'm in the middle of restoring it. It sounds awesome!! The Model number has faded away. It's a really bassy instrument. One of the nicest guitars I've heard in a while!

 

I think it was built in Korea in the early 80s. It's got a lovely Cedar-top. I understand why colledtors are after them. I could be wrong, but I think that the back and sides are Brazilian Rosewood~ could it be true?!

 

Anybody else have info on them?

 

Cheers!

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  • 3 months later...
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I have a Carlos mod. 226 given to me around 1975 at a time when I thought I would take it up. but it never happened. Today I took it out of the box for the first time since I received it. I'm not trying to sell it or anything like that , I'm just doing a little research and it would be nice to find out that it was a good guitar. The sticker inside has Carlos in large letters, mod. 226, and Quality product of Korea. So what do you think ? Russl

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Carlos called. He wants to know who took his guitar.

 

:badump:;)

 

Nice joke Hudman

 

:D

 

I was given a Carlos back in the early 80's from a family member. From what I remember it was nice looking guitar, but had high action. It was broken a couple of years later by a friend in college (party foul). It was replaced w/a Washburn.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I have a Carlos model 238 that was given to me by a friend when he moved out of town. The action is high / hard, but as a previous poster said, the intonation is great through the full reach of the instrument. Mine does NOT have a brass saddle, and certain parts of it do appear to be pretty cheap, but it does play well.

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I definitely wouldn't laugh at a cheap guitar. Especially if it actually plays well.

 

My first guitar was a "Crescent" acoustic.

 

Horrible. High action (even when the saddle was sanded down to a nub). No truss rod. Balsawood top, back, and sides (or something very similar).

 

But I learned on it, and it wasn't bad enough to make me quit, so I guess it served its purpose. :p

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  • 2 months later...
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hey centuryhouse and all others in the blog.... i actually have a carlos model 240fk acoustic. i really agree with everyone on the sound of it. it has a nice bass sound and i just love it. it also has the brass nubs which look orig. on it. i didnt kno really anything on it so i tried to look up info about it and i found this blog. i dont really know how much it is worth tho. its not mint cond, but not bad. my dad bought it in the 80's i believe, but do u have any idea abouit it? im not an amazing player but i have been playin for awhile and i just wanted some info :]

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  • 6 months later...
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My grandfather gave me a "vintage" Carlos guitar that is in excellent shape and the sound is incredible. Apparently they were hand made in Korea and this one likely the 1960's. The model number that is "hand typed" is 438. If anyone knows what it's worth, I would love to find out. It is a family heirloom and will never leave my house.:thu:

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Say - was that the carlos guitar listed on Houston Craigslist for $20?

 

The ad said it needed work. I was half-way interested, but Christmas decimated me so I figured "pass". I'm really more interested in a fingerstyle friendly git right now anyways.

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Interesting story really. About 20 years ago my father found a guitar in a dumpster in Camden NJ. Besides having a few scratches, and missing strings, the guitar was in good shape. So he brought it home, polished it up and put new strings on and was shocked at how good this guitar sounded. It's a Carlos. If you peak inside it says "Carlos" in big letters on the top label, "Model No." which is blank, and "Quality Product of Korea" lastly. I still play it today - it's really remarkable how beautiful this thing sounds for being a no-name brand.

 

Cheers carlosbe5.jpg

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Interesting story really. About 20 years ago my father found a guitar in a dumpster in Camden NJ. Besides having a few scratches, and missing strings, the guitar was in good shape. So he brought it home, polished it up and put new strings on and was shocked at how good this guitar sounded. It's a Carlos. If you peak inside it says "Carlos" in big letters on the top label, "Model No." which is blank, and "Quality Product of Korea" lastly. I still play it today - it's really remarkable how beautiful this thing sounds for being a no-name brand.


Cheers
carlosbe5.jpg

 

 

Looks like a clone of a Guild D25.

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