Calling all Carvin players...I need some advice!

[tlchase68]

I am interested in ordering a Carvin guitar; however, I'm not sure which model/options will best suit my needs. More specifically, I do not know how the various components influence overall tonal qualities. I want a guitar that is similar to Gibson or PRS in terms of tonal character, but I'd like to keep cost down if possible! Please provide information on relevant parts (e.g., neck & body woods, nut, bolt-on or thru body neck, etc.) and models I should consider utilizing as my basic platform (Bolt Plus, DC 127, etc.) for this project.

 

I'm considering the following features:

 

Mahogany or possibly Koa body

Rosewood fretboard

Sperzel locking tuners

No tremolo

Dual humbuckers (my own L500 Bill Lawrence p'ups)

Separate tone and volume knob for each p'up w/ 3-way switch (similar to Gibson LP or SG)

Gibson style bridge

 

BTW, I enjoy all types of music and currently play a Fender Deluxe Strat Plus with BL replacement p'ups. I am more than pleased with the tones that emanate from this guitar/p'up combination, and I'm eager to utilize the BL humbuckers in a secondary guitar. My main objective is to design an instrument that will provide me with more versatility for giging and recording!

[ratkent]

I bought a Carvin CT4 hoping it would have the characteristics of my Les Pauls. After installing Seymour Duncan pickups I got the tone close enough that I don't have to change the settings on my amp when switching between my Gibsons and the Carvin. Mine has a Floyd Rose so it may be even closer to a Gibson tone with a fixed bridge. The controls on the CT aren't what you are looking for but it is a really nice guitar.

[tlchase68]

Thanks for the info! I should also mention that I'm not trying to totally recreate the Gison or PRS tonal experience, because I don't think that will happen with another brand of guitar. However, I'm looking for that "type" of sound and think I can get close with a Carvin. I have also thought about buying a Hamer or some other USA made guitar with a solid build and similar features (to Gibson/PRS)...Then, I can swap p'ups and add Sperzel tuners. I have heard some mixed reviews for Carvins, but most have been pretty favorable endorsements. Plus, they seem to be resonably priced guitars...It would be awesome to keep this project under $1,000.

Thanks again!

[GCDEF]

Why not just buy a used SG. You can even find some of the PRS models used for $1000.

[tlchase68]

That's good advice, but I see very few used guitars that are worth a damn in this area...And, I'm leary of buying a used guitar on EBay! Have you had much luck with the used market or tried buying online? Unfortunately, I have a major issue with preowned gear, because I never know what may have happened to it in the past...I'm kind of weird that way!

[GCDEF]

Originally posted by tlchase68 That's good advice, but I see very few used guitars that are worth a damn in this area...And, I'm leary of buying a used guitar on EBay! Have you had much luck with the used market or tried buying online? Unfortunately, I have a major issue with preowned gear, because I never know what may have happened to it in the past...I'm kind of weird that way!

I buy almost all my gear used and online. Never had any problems. www.Gbase.com has used gear from dealers. You may feel better buying from them than ebay. I've had two Carvins that both blew chunks. A used SG would be a much better guitar and you should easily be able to find one for $1,000.

[RaVenCAD]

I'm the same way, not a used fan at ALL..

I'm also not a Carvin fan, for a few reasons..

1 - The company reps. The few I've spoken with have been rather rude and condescending. They talk down to you, like YOU don't know what YOU want.

2 - Limited options. They claim "custom" guitars, but when you want to deviate from their cookie cutter CNC programs, they get testy.

3 - Resale value. Look on Ebay, you'll find Carvins don't hold their value very well at all.

But, all that said, the guitars themselves are pretty great. I've played several over the years and they've been wonderful. I don't like their pickups, but that's an easy fix. Wish they offered SD's, so you don't have to waste the $ on their crap.

However, for what you are asking, I would make a different suggestion. Have you ever considered an Ibanez SZ? It matches what you are asking for very closely:

Mahogany or possibly Koa body - My SZ520QM has a mahogany body and a maple cap.

Rosewood fretboard - got it.

Sperzel locking tuners - Don't got it, but I strongly advise against them. A good nut and good non-locking tuners on a non-trem guitar work fine. My SZ never goes out, ever.

No tremolo - got it.

Dual humbuckers (my own L500 Bill Lawrence p'ups) - got it.

Separate tone and volume knob for each p'up w/ 3-way switch (similar to Gibson LP or SG) - got it, I love the blending option. So sweet.

Gibson style bridge - The SZ uses a bridge that is far more comfortable than any Gibson tune-o-matic I've played on. The Gibraltor has no sharp edges at all, and is wonderful for a palm muter like myself. DIfferent SZ's have difference bridges, but all the ones I've played have felt amazing.

I realize part of the draw of a Carvin is that it is American made, and I respect that. My paticular SZ is made in Korea, and that worried me at first. But, after owning it for a year now, I have no hesitation in buying a Korean made Ibanez. The fit and finish is flawless and the setup outof the box was very good. The pickups are decent, wonderful for cleans, but a bit lacking for crunch. Since I play clean probably 75% of the time, I've hesitated on replacing them. For metal or rock, I'd pull em. You seem to already have a plan for pickups anyway, so that's a wash.

So, in closing, Carvin is a good choice if you can deal with them. I couldn't get beyond the attitude of their sales people, so Carvin wasn't for me. The SZ did everything I wanted out of the CT, for way less than half the price and none of the hassle. Try one, ya might dig it.

[tlchase68]

Hey RaVen CAD,

Thanks for the awesome post regarding Carvin/Ibanez...I appreciate you taking time to respond in such great detail. I'll definitely put the SZ in the mix and take a good look at it based on your input! I'm still leaning toward something built in the USA, but You made a great case for that particular Korean made guitar!

[1001gear]

Just a general impression I have. Forget the neck thrus.
I believe that leaves the various California carvetops and Holdsworths. I think the Holdsworth models are Fender scale so that leaves the California. Joe Walsh used his in the latest absolutely the actual final farewell for this season II tv special and it sounded terrific.

Mahogany body.
Rosewood sounds good.
Look into stainless frets - this might be a tone issue but Carvin doesn't do refrets.
Forget Sperzels. They lack the resolution for fine tuning on the fly.
The BLs should smooth over any tonal weaknesses.


EDIT:
.02 more about neck throughs.
I've tried two DC400s and an SC90. This was in the 90s and things may be different now BUT the warmest tone I could get out of those three was something akin to a Ric on jangle. Appologies to the posters below who love the sculptured neck heel. +1 there.

[RaVenCAD]

They also have some MIJ Prestige models in the SZ line. Pricey, but then so is a Carvin..

[tlchase68]

Right on...Thanks for all the awesome replies!

[Tshields14]

I have a carvin CT,
and I sold my Gibson to buy it.
For what you want the CT is the best guitar carvin offers.
its more of a classic rock machine compared to the DC's which just scream 80's hair metal IMO.
The only problem some people have with them is the pickups, but if your swapping those, problem solved.
you can get all your options except seperate volume and tone for each pickup, but thats really not such a big deal because you also get a coil tap.
oh and get SS frets. great investment and feel real smooth on bends.

[RaVenCAD]

oh and FYI, the single most convincing aspect of the SZ that made me completely forget the CT, aside from the cost difference, was the neck heel. The Carvin has an obnoxious stair step looking thing, while the SZ has a very smool, very neck-thru-like heel.



vs.



The heel on a guitar is very important to me. Not because I hang at the 22nd fret all the time, but because it shows a touch of class andjust gives me a good vibe about a guitar. The heel is part of the reason I hate a Les Paul.

[guitarcapo]

My favorite carvins are the neck-through koa ones with the ebony board, multiradius fretboard and locking tuners.


Bad resale value=BUY ONE USED

[willy4pres]

You can get an all Mahogany SC90 with Stainless Steel Jumbo Frets, Cream PU's with Black Bezzels, Dunlop Strap Locks, Rosewood Fingerboard, and Tobacco Sunburst (I picked that because it's popular). The electronics on the SC90 are set up the way you described as well, and it has a tuno-o-matic bridge. I got one of these in 1996, it was my main guitar forever.

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[Speed_Racer71]

Originally posted by RaVenCAD oh and FYI, the single most convincing aspect of the SZ that made me completely forget the CT, aside from the cost difference, was the neck heel. The Carvin has an obnoxious stair step looking thing, while the SZ has a very smool, very neck-thru-like heel. vs. The heel on a guitar is very important to me. Not because I hang at the 22nd fret all the time, but because it shows a touch of class andjust gives me a good vibe about a guitar. The heel is part of the reason I hate a Les Paul.

i agree 100% with the neck heel statement...i have two SZ now ..but owned 3 all together..and the neck heel is the best i have seen on a set neck guitar thus far..and this is coming from a past les paul and PRS McCarty owner..if PRS has a neck heel like the SZ's..it would be the perfect guitar "for me" and i could then justify the money..the Carvin has a neck heel like the "older" PRS guitar pre 1995 so its an improvement over the larger neck heel used from 95-current..my McCarty was an '05 and i hated that neck heel ..i mean why make a neck heel so big you feel like your playing a bolt on/strat type..defeats the purpose of the "easy access" if you still have a big thick neck heel..ok im done..in short id buy a Carvin CT series over a PRS/Gibson unless PRS goes back to the '85 style heel

[guitarmook]

One thing about Carvins that has prevented me from ever owning one... their neck profile is quite thin. Similar to Ibanez necks, I believe, so that may or may not be an issue - but if you like the neck on your strat, you may not like the Carvins...

[starsnuffer]

I'd go with a CT3M if you want a Carvin. Mahogany neck and body. The CT4's and CT6's are just fancier versions of the same guitar. Carvin uses very thick tops, so if you get a CT6 with a flamed or quilted maple top, it will brighten the tone signifigantly. If you want that dark (muddy even) les paul sound, get the CT3 and save some cash. The CT4 is bound with a plain top I think.

A few of my opinions follow:

I own a Carvin and a few Ibbys (and a few fenders and such).

My experience with Carvin is pretty good. I ordered a 747 from them which had some issues, I found that dealing with their techs and lead tech was pleasing and they managed to solve all my problems, now I have a beautiful guitar that plays perfect and is exactly what I wanted (and doesn't have steve vai's personality all over it).

Carvin necks are thicker now then they were in the 80's 90's. The CT's in partuciular have more of a "vintage" neck profile then the DC models. (my 747 has a thicker neck then my RG7620, and to me it's more comfortable).

The SZ guitars from Ibanez are very nice. I plan on buying one myself for my next 6 string. The SZ's are made more cheaply though, and the top is just a veneer, so keep that in mind. It's a great bang for the buck though.

-W

[Pontius Pilate]

Hey there
I own a Carvin AE185 (that's the semi-hollow acoustic/electric blend)....I don't know why people have had such terrible experiences with the Carvin sales reps. I called, placed an order, and got off the phone within 10 minutes. No rudeness, no weird issues, nothing. Simple, easy phone call. A month later, one of my Sperzel tuners jammed up on me, and I called back. Simple 2 minute phonecall, the Carvin rep offered to overnight me a new Sperzel. Friendly, decent service. Does that mean every sales rep is going to be nice? No. Just like at the bank, at McDonald's, at the hospital, car wash, laundermat, you name it. Oh, and that includes at Fender and at Gibson as well. So don't let the sales rep dissuade you. Once you buy your guitar, you'll probably never have to speak to them ever again. And for the record, the sales reps at Sam Ash are all {censored}ing assholes too, so I don't see how this is a serious issue.

Mahogany or possibly Koa body- I got Koa and {censored}ing love it! It's a beautiful wood, very rich harmonically.

Sperzel locking tuners- I suggest these, even though I did have one jam up on me. For the record, my guitar was shipped to me from California all the way to NYC, and arrived just about in perfect tune (I think the B string was a little flat). Also I play the {censored} out of my guitar, and it hardly ever goes out. And it's summer time right now, with the AC on all the time, going from hot to cold, hot to cold...and still she holds her tuning. Oh, and if I break a string, I can switch strings in like 2 minutes. So I recommend these.

I love my Carvin. Seriously, I haven't played a million different guitars, but I can't imagine anything else blowing away my guitar. People are always impressed by it, and I've converted two of my Fender loving friends who have played it. Not by me talking it up, or telling them how little I paid, or anything else. They saw it, they played it, they switched to Carvin. You should try it out. Worst case scenario, you send it back.

Hope this helps, and sorry to be such a Carvin fanboy. It really is due to experience though :-)

[chiro972]

Well it's always the same few people badmouthing Carvin. I don't doubt their experiences, but they are not typical. I got to play my brother's carvins a couple of weeks ago and re-affirmed all my positive feelings about Carvin.

He has an AC175 and a Cobalt 850 or something like that. They were both beautiful and played like butter. The AC175 is many years old and just keeps getting better. I still have two Carvin's on my wish list. Money permitting I will have them.

[ibanezhater]

Originally posted by GCDEF Why not just buy a used SG. You can even find some of the PRS models used for $1000.

 

 

Hey flogger,

 

You are not a Carvin user. Go away.

 

Somehow I just KNEW you'd throw in your worthless opinion. I swear, you must search for all Carvin threads just to piss on them. Nobody takes what you say seriously. Haven't you realized this by now?

[GCDEF]

Originally posted by ibanezhater Hey flogger, You are not a Carvin user. Go away. Somehow I just KNEW you'd throw in your worthless opinion. I swear, you must search for all Carvin threads just to piss on them. Nobody takes what you say seriously. Haven't you realized this by now?

 

 

They should, I owned two of them for over a year each. It's kind of ironic, somebody with the moniker "IbanezHater" berating me for relating my actual Carvin experiences. My experience is considerably more valid than people who simply use their catalogs to masturbate.

 

FWIW, I just ordered a new Carvin mixer today.

[jjpistols]

Originally posted by ibanezhater Hey flogger, You are not a Carvin user. Go away. Somehow I just KNEW you'd throw in your worthless opinion. I swear, you must search for all Carvin threads just to piss on them. Nobody takes what you say seriously. Haven't you realized this by now?

 

 

 

it's called "word of mouth," and it goes both ways

[guitar-fish]

chase - I had a Carvin DC400 for a while which was magnificent. I sold it for a plain ole Strat. That's because it was really overkill for me, too fancy, and I'm not a modern metal/shred type.

In any case, it seems every time there's a thread with the word Carvin in it the same few bashers come out with their message that their Carvin's stunk and they got mistreated, so no one should ever buy from Carvin again ever because they are all garbage.

I'd recommend you check out the Carvin Museum if you haven't already, there's a board over there and the people are very knowledgeable.

I like Carvin, I think they make some beautiful, great sounding stuff.

[GCDEF]

Originally posted by guitar-fish chase - I had a Carvin DC400 for a while which was magnificent. I sold it for a plain ole Strat. That's because it was really overkill for me, too fancy, and I'm not a modern metal/shred type. In any case, it seems every time there's a thread with the word Carvin in it the same few bashers come out with their message that their Carvin's stunk and they got mistreated, so no one should ever buy from Carvin again ever because they are all garbage. I'd recommend you check out the Carvin Museum if you haven't already, there's a board over there and the people are very knowledgeable. I like Carvin, I think they make some beautiful, great sounding stuff.

I never said nobody should buy Carvin and I never said they all stink, only the two that I had did. I'll relay my experiences, others can relay theirs and the readers can decide whether they want to take the chance or not. What's funny to me is how upset it seems to make people that I relay honest, yet negative experiences. I'm not a Carvin basher. I spent $1,000 with them today - just not on a guitar.