Overall Rating: This guitar only cost me about a grand. Like I said, I took advantage of the half-price off options promotion. Couple that with the fact that Carvin sells directly to the customer - no mark up - and you get some scary savings going on...
Overall Rating: This guitar only cost me about a grand. Like I said, I took advantage of the half-price off options promotion. Couple that with the fact that Carvin sells directly to the customer - no mark up - and you get some scary savings going on! No guitar out there can touch this for the price. Hell, no PRS costing THREE TIMES as much can touch this. Best bang for the buck. If you believe otherwise, that's your problem.
Can you believe that a Gibson low level SG costs more than this? My Carvin will smoke just about any boutique guitar out there. Also, it looks like a Les Paul, but that's where the similarities end. If you want a great Les Paul, buy a Heritage. If you want a poor man's Warrior, but a Carvin!
Features: This Custom Shop Masterpiece was constructed in 2001 in the U.S.A.! It took advantage of the 50% off options promotion, and went crazy. It is a neck through body guitar, koa neck with 2 maple stripes, and solid koa body sides. It also features a highly figured Claro walnut top. It has 24 jumbo frets, an ebony fingerboard with some busy abalone inlays, Les Paul-like controls, gold hardware, 2 Holdsworth humbuckers which are probably the only Carvin pickups worth owning (sorry!), a high gloss finish, Tune-O-Matic bridge, Sperzel locking tuners, Dunlop strap locks, matching walnut headstock, 25" scale, and a nice tweed case! This guitar is a work of art...and it's mine!
Sound Quality: First of all, I was suprised by the lightness in weight of this guitar. It is very comfortable to play, and the combination of woods, pickups, and neck through construction give ample sustain. The Holdsworth pickups are vintage sounding, and give quality tones up and down the sound spectrum. It's not your typical "bright sounding" Carvin, and I am assuming the Holdsworth pickups have much to do with that. Overall, it sounds damn good, even played through a Crate practice amp. It sounds even better through my Tech 21 Series Ten, and freakin' amazing through my local music store's 5150 and Rivera Chubster.
Reliability/Durability: I see no reason why this Carvin could not withstand live playing. Carvin does not make junk. I also own an ash Bolt and a mahogany DC127, and both of these guitars are of tremendous quality. I never owned a guitar with gold hardware before, but I heard stories that gold hardware can get funky over time. Stap locks are the best in the business, and no, I would never gig without a backup.
Customer Support: If you want to buy a Carvin, call and ask for Sean in guitar sales. He's polite, knowledgeable, and he's been with Carvin for a long time. He won't bullshit you, and is patient with his clients. Yes, there are some assholes working for Carvin sales. Sean is not one of them. The next time (gasp!) I buy another Carvin, I am asking for Sean!
Purchased From: Carvin Custom Shop
Price: $1018.00 USD
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