NGD: Carvin DC800 Burl/Flame/Birdseye Maple galore!

[FrancescoFiligoi]

Hey guys, here's my new Carvin DC800! There have been numerous DC800s NGDs as of late, but I think this one is pretty special, it really turned out amazing.

Let's start with a video, shall we?



And of course, pics! You can download hi-res versions of these shots here
Download Carvin DC800.zip from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way

Specs are:

- all tung oil finish
- alder wings
- flame neck through
- burl maple top
- birdseye maple fingerboard
- abalone diamond inlays
- jumbo stainless steel frets
- wooden knobs
- ivory graphtec nut
- white pearloid Sperzel buttons
- abalone Carvin logo
- Dunlop straplocks

There's a lot to say about this guitar. I originally ordered this one since I was sick of waiting for my BRJ custom order, and really needed an 8 string, so purchased this one.
My expectations weren't super high, but this instrument has really exceeded all of them, BY FAR.

I really cannot say anything bad about the guitar, the woods are epic and overall build quality is on par with the top gamers imho.
Fret access is unreal and it plays like a breeze. Fretwork is incredibly good, superior to many other high-end guitars I had in the past.
The neck shape is very similar to regular JP7s, only just a bit meatier and of course wider due to the 8th string.
The guitar is not harsh/trebly at all, but rather resonant and meaty. Elixir strings have more tension and I can drop E with a 68 just fine.
It also handles tuning like nothing else, if I pick a string really hard while tuning it, the tuner stays absolutely firm and doesn't oscillate, unbelievable.

Only things I don't like that much are Sperzel's pearloid white buttons (I think I just prefer the black ones aestethically) and the pickups are very weird: these are very high output pickups that are super sensitive to height placement, the voicing is kinda weird but they definitely sound like actives. They're not bad at all, but maybe I'm just used to BKPs. These are so different I had to build a new Axe Fx II preset from the ground, rather than tweaking my existing ones.

If you have an Axe Fx II, you might be interested on the preset I've built specifically for this guitar, which you can download here http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5864881/Chuggah_v2.syx
Bear in mind, it's VERY dry and made for really high output pickups like these, it doesn't work well with my other guitars.

I hoped you liked this NGD, now lemme go back shreddin it!

 

[Razzy]

Soooooooooo sick.

 

[yuureikun]

Freakin' gorgeous!

 

[MacTown09]

So much deliciousness piled into one guitar. How does the tung oil feel? Also were the white tuners an extra option?

 

[VILARIKA]

The wooden knobs look out of place, but in a really good way . Those specs are pretty tasty, and everything spec added together fits perfectly. This might be the best DC800 I have seen yet, Happy NGD!

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

So much deliciousness piled into one guitar. How does the tung oil feel? Also were the white tuners an extra option?

Yes, pearloid Sperzels are a small extra.

The tung oil finish looks so much better and very smooth/3d in person, the guitar also smells like cappuccino, ain't that bad

 

[Valennic]

Hot damn that thing's gorgeous.

Also kudos to the mini-cover, that was sick

 

[guy in latvia]

looks and sounds awesome! congrats! what is the scale lenght?

ive got an RG2228, and a 70 for the low F# or E, and its just too loose, it actually smacks against the frets when i pick, I have no idea how you do it with a 68...could it really be elixirs vs d'addario?

 

[Razzy]

looks and sounds awesome! congrats! what is the scale lenght?

ive got an RG2228, and a 70 for the low F# or E, and its just too loose, it actually smacks against the frets when i pick, I have no idea how you do it with a 68...could it really be elixirs vs d'addario?

The scale length on these is the same as the RG2228's. 27"

 

[FrancescoFiligoi]

looks and sounds awesome! congrats! what is the scale lenght?

ive got an RG2228, and a 70 for the low F# or E, and its just too loose, it actually smacks against the frets when i pick, I have no idea how you do it with a 68...could it really be elixirs vs d'addario?

Elixirs tend to have considerably more tension than D'Addarios.

I once had an 80 in my 28.6 Agile but I think the 68, while looser, isn't too terrible, instead has a more balanced sound rather than a huge low end.

 

[renzoip]

Too awesome!

 

[ImaDjentleman]

yay, you did as i told you haha, nice geetar

 

[otisct20]

Jesus H. Christ that guitar looks amazing. I wish i could afford one of those babies! HNGD

 

[vitor gracie]

I was visiting Southern California last week and made a special trip to the San Diego Carvin store just to try these new 7 & 8 strings out. I had my BFR JPXI 7 with me to compare. I have to say that I bonded with the Carvin 8 string more then I did with the 7. The stuff people say about the necks on the 7 is true,... it's not as skinny (flat) as the JP but not too meaty either. It's in the middle. I was also pleasantly surprised by how easy the 8 was to play though. The neck profile was actually better to me then the 7 (which is weird)

I also agree about the pickups. I am a passive PU guy all the way, and didn't care for the 7's actives, HOWEVER, the 8 string ones on the Carvin where oddly perfect for the tuning and gauge strings. I REALLY liked the sound, and yeah, it's weird...like a very hot passive pick up with some tasteful active qualities to it. It was it's own sound. I played more on the clean then I did the dirty (which was also weird) but it really had a tasty tone to it through out the range of strings. I couldn't put it down. It handled all the complex chording on the clean setting I could throw at it. You could really hear the notes very well. And the dirty didn't loose the high notes either when chording similarly. I played eleven chords and you could hear all the range of notes through out the strings from thick to thin which was impressive to me.

I, too, had to set the amp's clean and dirty in a weird way to accomodate the tone of the 8 but I didn't mind doing that at all. Once I dialed it in I was in heaven and wanted to put down cash for the 8 right away... (but restrained myself)

I used the last 2 channel Carvin Legacy in the store (the first one not the 2nd) It was a match made in heaven. The clean was beautiful and clear, and it's own tone. It was almost made for the 8 string. The dirty was great...though there are more aggressive amps out there, I thought it sounded fine with all three guitars, especially my JP.

Lastly, FLOCK helped me out for like an hour! He is by far the coolest, most refreshing "guitar store guy" on the planet. He was thoughtful, excited and informative and set up all the guitars I tried for me including his own custom Carvin 7 so I could hear the different sounds. He had Dimarzios in his Carvin and said that if you come INSIDE the store and buy your Carvin from him, he could arrange for the builders to open up the passive slots to accept standard passive pickups though they won't install other pickups for you there. (which is what he had them do for his) He also offered to select the woods personally for your guitar as well. SUPER helpful guy! Very respectful and patient and a great ear for tone. He is also a very avid fan of 7 string and 8 string guitars for styles OTHER THEN JUST METAL which was very helpful to me. We mainly focused on the guitar's clean sounds and how different woods effect the tone.

Just wanted to share that with you guys. Flock is the man! and the new 8 strings are affordable and to die for. I think Carvin nailed it with these and am anxiously awaiting the new Legacy 3 to come out.
Cheers on the new, sexy guitar
-Defraim

 

[Danukenator]

Dat Burl! This is probably the most wood porn for a DC800 yet! You just needed some quilted maple to have just about every type Carvin offers!

 

[Prov1dence]

Welp. You've just given me a new desktop background.

 

[Richie666]

It's fucked up how nice that thing is! Congrats!

 

[synrgy]

 

[Goatchrist]

Perfect woods! Look so gorgeous! I'm very jelly!

 

[sevenstringj]