NGD: limba limba limba limba limba limba limbaaaaa

[Mike]

HNGD man, welcome to team Carvin. Like you, I've had and played some pretty high end guitars and I'm always astonished at how my Carvin feels as nice as, if not better than guitars twice its price.

I agree with you on the pickups. I pulled mine out right away lol. They're so high output, recording was a near impossible challenge. The pickups call for a complete readjustment of any current settings you may use for playing/recording to sound good.

Make sure you record a before and after pickup comparison since we all love those so much here.

Enjoy the new axe.

 

[Splinterhead]

Freakin' sweet! limba indeed!

 

[mr_ormus777]

OUTSTANDING!!! HNGD, absolutely stunning, I too agree about the pickups, I'll be changing them out on my three, but hey, LIMBAAAAAAA!!!

 

[littledoc]

First: day-umm. Beautiful guitar. I'm strongly considering an all-limba build myself. My only hesitation is that the wood varies so much. I've seen some that are jaw dropping, and others that look like plain mahogany.

But, being a big Carvin fanatic I wanted to offer you some humble advice:

I like high output pickups, but I think the phrase "burning diarrhea" is a more appropriate descriptor for these things.

For what it's worth, Carvin gained a lot of fanfare when Tosin Abasi used a prototype DC800 live, with the stock pickups, and was getting all the creamy sexy tones he's known for. They might be very different from what you're used to, but if you compensate EQs accordingly there is an abundance of beautiful tone.

Their regular neck thickness and shape is akin to a Schecter Hellraiser 8..

It's actually more akin to the SLS line. The slimmer neck option is very subtle... less than 1mm thinner.

 

[Rev2010]

It's actually more akin to the SLS line. The slimmer neck option is very subtle... less than 1mm thinner.

I measured my first DC800 neck with my digital caliper and it matched the exact measurements of the neck thickness specs for the Hellraiser 8 listed on Schecter's site I also owned the Schecter Riot 8 which had an SLS slim neck and it was definitely thinner than my DC800. So no, it's not closer to the SLS line.


Rev.

 

[Avogadr0]

I measured my DC800 neck and from what I gathered it seemed to be close to 19-20 mm all the way through and was very comfortable. Everyone I've let play it says it's extremely comfortable (if maybe massive, goes with the territory being an 8 string.)

 

[Rev2010]

I measured my DC800 neck and from what I gathered it seemed to be close to 19-20 mm all the way through and was very comfortable. Everyone I've let play it says it's extremely comfortable (if maybe massive, goes with the territory being an 8 string.)

Yep, I got 20mm at the 1st fret and 22mm at the 12th which is the same as Hellraiser specs. SLS is 19mm at 1st and 20mm at 12th I believe. And regardless, the Carvin neck IS very comfortable, not saying it's not. .


Rev.

 

[Avogadr0]

Yep, I got 20mm at the 1st fret and 22mm at the 12th which is the same as Hellraiser specs. SLS is 19mm at 1st and 20mm at 12th I believe. And regardless, the Carvin neck IS very comfortable, not saying it's not. .


Rev.

Yeah, the thing that gets me though is when I read about people having owned Carvins but getting rid of them because they weren't comfortable to play. everyone's got an opinion, but I mean really? What about an Ibanez neck is so much more amazing? I believe the carvin fretboard is actually slightly narrower too. The only neck I think I've played recently where I immediately said "no" and put the guitar away was a Fender Strat. Playing THAT is like playing a baseball bat. It's so thick and round, very uncomfortable.

 

[jephjacques]

For what it's worth, Carvin gained a lot of fanfare when Tosin Abasi used a prototype DC800 live, with the stock pickups, and was getting all the creamy sexy tones he's known for. They might be very different from what you're used to, but if you compensate EQs accordingly there is an abundance of beautiful tone.

I'd love some pointers in this regard- I've been messing around with my AxeFX and haven't been able to dial in any patches I'm happy with.

 

[jephjacques]

Yeah, the thing that gets me though is when I read about people having owned Carvins but getting rid of them because they weren't comfortable to play. everyone's got an opinion, but I mean really?

If you don't find the DC800's neck comfortable, you're a babyhanded wuss

For serious though, I understand not keeping a guitar if it's not exactly what you want, but the obsession with ultra-thin necks has always seemed ridiculous to me. In my opinion it's more about the profile than the thickness- I've owned a couple Andersons that had their "fat 60s" carve and they were hands down the most comfortable 6 strings I've ever played.

 

[Avogadr0]

I'd love some pointers in this regard- I've been messing around with my AxeFX and haven't been able to dial in any patches I'm happy with.

I don't have an axefx, but here are the settings I use on my V3M for a great metal distortion tone. Maybe it can give you some suggestions for the AxeFx.

Presence: 7.5
Volume: 4
Drive: 3 (you don't need a ton of gain for these pickups)
Bass: 4
Mid: 5
Treble: 9

Because the pickups can be a bit muddy in the low end, I find having the presence/treble higher and backing off on the bass and mids gives me a much clearer tone. I've also lowered the pickups as far as they would go down.

Edit:

But with all that said, again, I have a set of Seymour Duncan Pegasus/Sentient Pickups which I'm going to be installing when my new pots get here.... I'm excited, but I really doubt they're going to be $300 better than the Carvin pups

 

[teamSKDM]

my only gripe with the dc800 and dc700x is how nubby the lower horn is comparison to the top, however that still wont stop me from owning them one day cause carvins are always always phenomenal!! and thats the first limba carvin ive seen since they offered it, and im glad theyre using some beautiful pieces! hngd!

also, i know they have preamps and stuff that make pickups hotter, but do they have any sort of control that can do the opposite? thatd be really cool and could add to diversity in tones amongst a guitar, from hi gain crushing to low gain shimmering cleans, all in one pickup. SOMEONE GET ON THIS! I think they do the for the alexi laiho emg, but someone should make a universal one for all pickups haha.

 

[Avogadr0]

also, i know they have preamps and stuff that make pickups hotter, but do they have any sort of control that can do the opposite? thatd be really cool and could add to diversity in tones amongst a guitar, from hi gain crushing to low gain shimmering cleans, all in one pickup. SOMEONE GET ON THIS! I think they do the for the alexi laiho emg, but someone should make a universal one for all pickups haha.

Honestly, the Carvin A80 pickups get better clean tones than most guitars I've ever played. It's where I think they sound their best. They also sound really good on high gain stuff (depending on your amp settings of course.)

And I actually don't understand what looms weird about the horns on the carvins.

 

[LordCashew]

my only gripe with the dc800 and dc700x is how nubby the lower horn is comparison to the top...

Better upper fret access?

 

[jephjacques]

The proportions of the horns look a lot better in real life than in photos, for whatever reason. Same way those Jackson B7/B8s look super derpy in photos but really nice in person!

 

[Devyn Eclipse Nav]

I saw the title, then saw it was you that posted it, and now all I can picture is Pintsize walking through a conversation just repeating "limba" over and over again.

HNGD though, man, hopefully you do gel with the EMGs, I haven't heard anything bad about the 57/66 set yet

 

[jephjacques]

Tone comparison is done! Swapped out the stock pickups for a 57/66 set and am quite pleased.

https://soundcloud.com/jephjacques/carvin-dc800-stock-pickups-vs

I really like the EMGs, they sound a lot tighter than the stock pickups, whose low end tends to overwhelm everything else.

 

[Rev2010]

Tone comparison is done! Swapped out the stock pickups for a 57/66 set and am quite pleased.

The Carvin's are way bassier in your clip. I agree, I like the EMG sound better in that audio clip.


Rev.

 

[Hexatticus]

Is pickup hight adjustable on that Guitar? By your review and others it seems to me they may be a touch too close to the strings.

 

[Rev2010]

Is pickup hight adjustable on that Guitar? By your review and others it seems to me they may be a touch too close to the strings.

Of course pickup height is adjustable. It is on every guitar I've ever seen with pickups.


Rev.