D(issappointing)NGD

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

Just one thing to consider - how much will you pay for a high end Fender?

FWIW the board is actually really nice. Unless you've ordered (and paid the upcharge) for 5A then you can't pick them up on that one.

Can't comment on the other issues, but the board isn't one.

I get that now, but just out of curiosity, if you have any knowledge or experience, how much would a 5A fretboard cost?
The guy (Carvin guitar specialist) I talked to on the phone did not mention any wood grade, he just said I'd pay $40 so that they pick an 'active' piece of birdseye maple.

 

[Vicious7]

An "active" piece? What's that mean, it's a sentient lifeform and grows birdseye here and there randomly on the fretboard?! Heck yes!!!

I like that guitar though!! And the fretboard.

 

[MatrixClaw]

Fretboard looks pretty nice to me, but maybe it's just the pictures that bring out the birdseye. Sucks that you're not happy with a custom build... but hopefully they can remedy the issues?

 

[xxvicarious]

Dude that's a birdseye board. I've NEVER seen a burled fretboard lol. That one is AAA at least, and is really nice dude... for frame of reference, evh's are AA, and only a few ebmm/peaveys make it as nice as yours!

BUT you paid for something, if its not to your standards, return that shit!


That said, that thing is AWESOME!

Yeaaa, I'd have to agree. That fretboard is fuckin' spectacular

 

[GuitaristOfHell]

I love that look. You should totally take more pictures so I can envy you more. That board is fucking killer!

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

Thanks guys. The guitar definitely grew on me and it's a keeper. I'll indulge myself with rounded edges on my next build. I called Carvin yesterday and the person I usually communicate with indeed confirmed that the straight edges are now the default on the DC700 and that Carvin did update the catalog to reflect that but not the web site. To which he said that he'll address the issue and get in touch w/ people responsible for updating it.
The rounded (beveled) body edges is still available as an option (IIRC it's RB) on the DC700 for a mere $30.

As for the guitar, the construction is immaculate. The wood is very resonant and the tone is full and balanced. That takes me to the pickups, while clean they are great, but a bit of distortion and they lose the clarity & definition. They don't compare to my 81x/60x, not even close. So, a pickup upgrade is in preparation, I'm thinking 81-7X/707TWX, so stay tuned for more on that.

I will take more pics in different lighting situations, the fretboard looks just as it looks in the pics, so I guess I was confused on that (thinking it was burl). I'll post more pics later this evening.

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

I can't edit the 1st post, so here are some more pics, all are in sunlight, some are with sunlight + fill flash. Some pics have been edited to blur the ugly wires that I was too lazy to unplug.

 

[Discoqueen]

^I just died.

 

[littledoc]

I updated the OP w/ pics. Just as a silly question, how come beveled edges is option 50 and you see them all the time as returned items? Something doesn't add up

I'll call Carvin when I get home there, I'm ahead of them by 2 hrs so I will have the time.

I think the answer, and the cause of some confusion, is that Carvin no longer does the beveled edges on the DC700. The DC800 and DC600 don't have them, so it may have been a choice to keep the aesthetic consistent across the line. You may still be able to get beveled edges as an option 50.

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

I think the answer, and the cause of some confusion, is that Carvin no longer does the beveled edges on the DC700. The DC800 and DC600 don't have them, so it may have been a choice to keep the aesthetic consistent across the line. You may still be able to get beveled edges as an option 50.

I already posted what the Carvin rep told me over the phone. Here it is again. Straight edges are now the default for DC700, beveled edges are available (not option 50) for $30 more.

 

[banenis]

I plan on buying a DC700, a DC600, and a DC800 all looking exactly the same. Does anyone know if the beveled edges that are available on the DC700 for $30 are also available on the DC600/800?

I really like the beveled edges but it's more important to me that all 3 guitars match and look the same whether the edges are straight or beveled. And they'll all be option 50 anyway due to a custom paint job.

 

[banenis]

I talked to carvin about this again. As of now, beveled edges are no longer available on the DC600/700/800 at all. Not even for the up charge.

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

That is really sad. Why not? Are you sure you talked to the right person?

 

[xenophobe]

I meant confused...ive seen people refer to birdseye as burl

Birdseye is generally wood cut from the trunk of the tree. Burl is usually cut from the root mass/stump. Burl can have birdsye and birdseye can have some burl, but birdseye and burl are not the same.

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

I talked to carvin about this again. As of now, beveled edges are no longer available on the DC600/700/800 at all. Not even for the up charge.

The really sad and frustrating part is that they dis not update the DC700 web page with any of this info. In fact, they still have the ones with the RB option as default.

 

[engage757]

ENDLESS convo is endless.

Call Carvin if not happy. Always. I have had over 100 Carvins over the years(ordered and in-stock as well as used). Everytime they have fixed any issue or little want I had at the drop of a hat. Carvin's CS is top notch. Mark runs a great crew. My buddy had a carvin have a glass lampshade SHATTER on it and they took care of him.

Oh yeah, and there is a shit ton of birdseye in that board! How much more you think you can have before it looks too busy ya know?

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

ENDLESS convo is endless.

Call Carvin if not happy. Always. I have had over 100 Carvins over the years(ordered and in-stock as well as used). Everytime they have fixed any issue or little want I had at the drop of a hat. Carvin's CS is top notch. Mark runs a great crew. My buddy had a carvin have a glass lampshade SHATTER on it and they took care of him.

Oh yeah, and there is a shit ton of birdseye in that board! How much more you think you can have before it looks too busy ya know?

Next time, as a personal advice, just read the whole darn thread (not just the 1st post) before replying.

As per your vote of confidence for Carvin, I actually (if you read any of my posts in this thread or otherwise) happen to agree with you. But you can't be a great company and have an online system that sucks, what's the point of having it if it is far from being accurate. Maybe that was fine long ago, but at this day and age people just submit orders online if it's an option, I did that and did not get what I wanted but the guitar grew on me and I love it now.

It just doesn't have to be this way, Carvin could hire a high school or college kid to do this stuff for them. This is not rocket science web programming or anything. They just need to update the pics they have and MAKE IT CLEAR on the web site what are the DEFAULT options for each model. Seriously it can be fixed in a couple of days.

 

[engage757]

Next time, as a personal advice, just read the whole darn thread (not just the 1st post) before replying.

As per your vote of confidence for Carvin, I actually (if you read any of my posts in this thread or otherwise) happen to agree with you. But you can't be a great company and have an online system that sucks, what's the point of having it if it is far from being accurate. Maybe that was fine long ago, but at this day and age people just submit orders online if it's an option, I did that and did not get what I wanted but the guitar grew on me and I love it now.

It just doesn't have to be this way, Carvin could hire a high school or college kid to do this stuff for them. This is not rocket science web programming or anything. They just need to update the pics they have and MAKE IT CLEAR on the web site what are the DEFAULT options for each model. Seriously it can be fixed in a couple of days.

Thanks,
I did. All of it.

And I would imagine that if a certain option was no longer available, that a customer service rep or sales guy would call and inform you. Same as Bart has done to me with every issue in the past, instant phone call to see how to proceed and any issue dealt with instantly. Maybe some lines were crossed, maybe you misunderstood or ordered the wrong thing inadvertently or maybe Carvin didn't pull an option fast enough. Either way, My point remains that Carvin would fix it instantly no matter what. This thread can hem and haw for days and weeks about how Carvin needs to fix their web ordering process or how things need to be more clear about standard features, and that may very well be, or maybe a simple mistake was made. Again, over 100 and any issue rectified perfectly. My buddy Rob ordered almost 200 Carvins when he was in his heyday. Any issue dealt with. And never had a poor guitar shipped to me once.

End of story? whether or not it is your mistake or Carvin's, or both, it needs to be made DEFINITELY clear that Carvin will fix or redo anything within ten days. One of the easiest and best Custom Shops ever to work with. Almost like a Guitar Custom Shop for Dummies if you were!

Just love that there is no bullshit. You like it or you don't Carvin has you covered.

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

Thanks,
I did. All of it.

And I would imagine that if a certain option was no longer available, that a customer service rep or sales guy would call and inform you. Same as Bart has done to me with every issue in the past, instant phone call to see how to proceed and any issue dealt with instantly. Maybe some lines were crossed, maybe you misunderstood or ordered the wrong thing inadvertently or maybe Carvin didn't pull an option fast enough. Either way, My point remains that Carvin would fix it instantly no matter what. This thread can hem and haw for days and weeks about how Carvin needs to fix their web ordering process or how things need to be more clear about standard features, and that may very well be, or maybe a simple mistake was made. Again, over 100 and any issue rectified perfectly. My buddy Rob ordered almost 200 Carvins when he was in his heyday. Any issue dealt with. And never had a poor guitar shipped to me once.

End of story? whether or not it is your mistake or Carvin's, or both, it needs to be made DEFINITELY clear that Carvin will fix or redo anything within ten days. One of the easiest and best Custom Shops ever to work with. Almost like a Guitar Custom Shop for Dummies if you were!

Just love that there is no bullshit. You like it or you don't Carvin has you covered.

Dear engage757,
You make it sound like it's a crime to criticize Carvin. Well, I obviously am not one of the highly regarded customers as yourself (it was my first order), so I got ZERO phone calls. Since you have read the thread, and as was suggested by another member, Carvin changed the default body routing option on the DC700 to make straight instead of round. They may have updated that on the new issue of the catalog, but they never updated their web page, even till now, while the change was apparently done last May/June.

If you're saying that a company X is the best, but a customer is a dummy if he completely trusts their ordering web page which has misleading information, then I think this is a fairly biased argument you have there. It's not fair. And in my case, what would have been the solution? Send it back?!!!! What if I don't want to send it back and be without a 7-string guitar for another 8 weeks, don't you think that avoiding mistakes at first place is the way to go? Specially if they are really simple to correct on their part?

 

[Knyas]

If you're saying that a company X is the best, but a customer is a dummy if he completely trusts their ordering web page which has misleading information, then I think this is a fairly biased argument you have there. It's not fair.

It wasn't misleading, you just didn't get exactly what you wanted.

And in my case, what would have been the solution? Send it back?!!!!

Yes. That's exactly what you should have done in the first place instead of constantly complaining about it. You should have been chasing the result that was more than easily attainable, which is what Engage is partially saying.