cip 123
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Hey all,
I just received my absolute dream guitar. A Carvin JB200C I've wanted this for years and I got an amazing deal on a crazy spec'd one. Never thought I'd come close to owning one in the UK but it happened.
On to the Pics first, then small review.
These are just pics I snapped after I got it, so I wasn't doing up close shots or anything I might add some more later. The colour is really deep in person and the figuring on the Koa and Maple is really nice in person.
First off, I'm not actually a huge fan of Kiesel or Carvin as of late due to a few issues that have been raised. So it pretty much killed my Gas for one of these and I said, being a UK, customer I would never order from them on the off chance there was something wrong and I had an equally bad experience with their customer service. (Which I've already had when just enquiring, apart from Chris Hong that dude's super friendly)
However this popped up on eBay and I knew I had to have it, I eventually got it for £915 which is a total steal. (Though I was on track to get it for 850 had someone not bid on it
)
So it arrived and good lord. It's everything I want in a guitar and is just a total dream. You could say I'm in the honeymoon phase but honestly I don't think I'll ever be out of it with this thing. The build quality is absolute top notch. I've played a lot of guitars from high end PRS's to Suhr's and Ibanez prestige and this is up there with them. I like it a lot more than my Ibanez RG2550 that I had, and it's up there with the best I've played.
It is used so theres dings, but I can't see any build problems. No drunk side dots, no finish flaws, nothing wrong with the routing or anything like that, no squinty tuners. It is as I said top notch. Not gonna pit it directly against anything but it definetly looks and feels like a proper custom guitar that could go up against any other.
I sadly don't have a complete spec sheets so I just gotta go with what I can see
- Flame Maple neck thru
- Koa wings
- Flame maple top
- Blue top with natural back, top looks really deep could be their triple stain thing?
- Carvin locking tuners
- Original Floyd Rose
- Carvin pickups and electronics (The active passive circuit is great by the way)
- Tung oil neck
- Stainless Steel Frets
-Looks like it might take dunlop straplocks?
All in all, crazy specs for what I paid, I looked on Carvins site and it seems you can't get the Koa wings or Full flame neck on the builder anymore
How it actually feels and sounds - It feels amazing, the tung oil is just the best thing ever. It's the weirdest feeling almost like you can feel ripples of the Flame maple thats the best way I can explain it. The neck feels really rounded a nice C it's thin but not Ibanez thin. It's got a nice chunk to it, you can definetly shred it anyone who likes thin necks even if it's Ibanez thin will like this I know I do. However it is a narrow neck, those who like Ibanez may feel it more as in my experience Ibby's are flatter and wider. This is narrow I find my self slipping off with the high E sometimes, it just takes getting used too.
The gloss on the body does feel really sticky though, I was playing last night and without long sleeves your skin really sticks to it which can make two handed stuff a little laggy. It's also looks like a real thick coat of it on the body.
The tuners - They work, they lock, they tune. They're nice.
Bridge - it's a Floyd Original again it works and does it's thing.
Frets - none stick out and they feel heavenly since they're stainless.
The sound - This thing has loads of tones. One of the reasons I wanted it I honestly don't need another 6 string after this. The coil split (I believe it's split anyway) could sound a little more single coil-y but they pull it off.
Phase switch sounds really nice, Middle position in split or full bucker mode is great, especially when you mess with the tone control.
Full Humbucker, two sounds here I'll try and be as detailed as I can. Passive mode they sound nice a full almost a little too much bass when playing chords, the highs really sing. Really solid and fluid sounding never too much treble never hurting your ears. Though I feel when you play single notes in the lower end they lack a bit of body, and punch.
Active, I really love this as you can use it as a boost but also I can shape the sound with the Bass and Treble Cut. You get that aggressive punchier sound and you can shape it anyway you want. Again the highs just sound good, its got a more pronounced mid-range and the bass isn't as full (Though I do cut it with the controls.)
All in all this thing rules, it's my dream guitar with a crazy spec and I still can't believe I own it. I don't think it's ever gonna leave me. Since I couldn't buy from Carvin I'll probably go donate some money to Jason for his Medical bills once I recover from this buy.
If you want more detail in pics or about the guitar just ask.
I just received my absolute dream guitar. A Carvin JB200C I've wanted this for years and I got an amazing deal on a crazy spec'd one. Never thought I'd come close to owning one in the UK but it happened.
On to the Pics first, then small review.
These are just pics I snapped after I got it, so I wasn't doing up close shots or anything I might add some more later. The colour is really deep in person and the figuring on the Koa and Maple is really nice in person.
First off, I'm not actually a huge fan of Kiesel or Carvin as of late due to a few issues that have been raised. So it pretty much killed my Gas for one of these and I said, being a UK, customer I would never order from them on the off chance there was something wrong and I had an equally bad experience with their customer service. (Which I've already had when just enquiring, apart from Chris Hong that dude's super friendly)
However this popped up on eBay and I knew I had to have it, I eventually got it for £915 which is a total steal. (Though I was on track to get it for 850 had someone not bid on it
)So it arrived and good lord. It's everything I want in a guitar and is just a total dream. You could say I'm in the honeymoon phase but honestly I don't think I'll ever be out of it with this thing. The build quality is absolute top notch. I've played a lot of guitars from high end PRS's to Suhr's and Ibanez prestige and this is up there with them. I like it a lot more than my Ibanez RG2550 that I had, and it's up there with the best I've played.
It is used so theres dings, but I can't see any build problems. No drunk side dots, no finish flaws, nothing wrong with the routing or anything like that, no squinty tuners. It is as I said top notch. Not gonna pit it directly against anything but it definetly looks and feels like a proper custom guitar that could go up against any other.
I sadly don't have a complete spec sheets so I just gotta go with what I can see
- Flame Maple neck thru
- Koa wings
- Flame maple top
- Blue top with natural back, top looks really deep could be their triple stain thing?
- Carvin locking tuners
- Original Floyd Rose
- Carvin pickups and electronics (The active passive circuit is great by the way)
- Tung oil neck
- Stainless Steel Frets
-Looks like it might take dunlop straplocks?
All in all, crazy specs for what I paid, I looked on Carvins site and it seems you can't get the Koa wings or Full flame neck on the builder anymore
How it actually feels and sounds - It feels amazing, the tung oil is just the best thing ever. It's the weirdest feeling almost like you can feel ripples of the Flame maple thats the best way I can explain it. The neck feels really rounded a nice C it's thin but not Ibanez thin. It's got a nice chunk to it, you can definetly shred it anyone who likes thin necks even if it's Ibanez thin will like this I know I do. However it is a narrow neck, those who like Ibanez may feel it more as in my experience Ibby's are flatter and wider. This is narrow I find my self slipping off with the high E sometimes, it just takes getting used too.
The gloss on the body does feel really sticky though, I was playing last night and without long sleeves your skin really sticks to it which can make two handed stuff a little laggy. It's also looks like a real thick coat of it on the body.
The tuners - They work, they lock, they tune. They're nice.
Bridge - it's a Floyd Original again it works and does it's thing.
Frets - none stick out and they feel heavenly since they're stainless.
The sound - This thing has loads of tones. One of the reasons I wanted it I honestly don't need another 6 string after this. The coil split (I believe it's split anyway) could sound a little more single coil-y but they pull it off.
Phase switch sounds really nice, Middle position in split or full bucker mode is great, especially when you mess with the tone control.
Full Humbucker, two sounds here I'll try and be as detailed as I can. Passive mode they sound nice a full almost a little too much bass when playing chords, the highs really sing. Really solid and fluid sounding never too much treble never hurting your ears. Though I feel when you play single notes in the lower end they lack a bit of body, and punch.
Active, I really love this as you can use it as a boost but also I can shape the sound with the Bass and Treble Cut. You get that aggressive punchier sound and you can shape it anyway you want. Again the highs just sound good, its got a more pronounced mid-range and the bass isn't as full (Though I do cut it with the controls.)
All in all this thing rules, it's my dream guitar with a crazy spec and I still can't believe I own it. I don't think it's ever gonna leave me. Since I couldn't buy from Carvin I'll probably go donate some money to Jason for his Medical bills once I recover from this buy.
If you want more detail in pics or about the guitar just ask.
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