The Carvin / Kiesel thread

[soliloquy]

i'm sure some of you saw this coming

talk about carvins here. had/have one? liked one? hated one?
favorite finishes?

pickups? necks?

etc etc....




i'm currently saving up for a Carvin CT24 of some sort. i'm leaning towards CT3 and CT4, but i may change my mind if post graduation i believe i'm worth it and self indulge a bit...

only problem...if its a CT424 or CT324, the colors would be similar and fairly conservative, ie: basic default finishes and features. if its a CT6, then colors and options would be a bit different, maybe opt out for option 50 finishes, and even different woods and all.

and, aside from the CT, i'm also planning on getting a BOLT kit of some sort.

 

[technomancer]

Congrats on finally starting a thread instead of continuing to try to hijack other people's

I've owned two Carvins:
Holdsworth H2 - all walnut, sounded and played amazingly well but I sent it back because it was a new purchase and there were some cosmetic issues with glue overruns on the neck. Nothing major, but enough given the massive drop in value used Carvins experience for me to not want to keep it.
Bolt - fixed bridge, HSS, maple top, birdseye board. Bought it used and it looked fantastic but was pretty meh tonally and didn't play terribly well either

 

[vampiregenocide]

I've played one, loved it, unfortunately now they're fucking expensive to get here in the UK. :/ One day.

 

[Curt]

Bought a C66 and dug the neck and the way it sounded after putting some dimarzio's in. but my tastes changed so I sold it.

my new kick is single-cuts, so I may pick up a CS6 at some point.

 

[gunch]

I like the Holdsworth and C66.

 

[soliloquy]

i like how some of the C66/bolt plus guitars look kinda similar to Suhr and anderson guitars. they have the same vibe to em.

one thing i'm kinda worried about is that i'd have to buy one sight unseen.
and if i get a CT6, it would most likely void the 10 day return policy due to option 50s. what if i dont dig the guitar/neck or something? :S

 

[gunch]

i like how some of the C66/bolt plus guitars look kinda similar to Suhr and anderson guitars. they have the same vibe to em.

one thing i'm kinda worried about is that i'd have to buy one sight unseen.
and if i get a CT6, it would most likely void the 10 day return policy due to option 50s. what if i dont dig the guitar/neck or something? :S

Well it's just like Agile, albeit more expensive. Would Kurt take back full customs? I don't remember.

Also, Is Frank Gambale getting a signature model or is he just a new endorsee?

Edit: Cleaned it up, sorry Mods.

 

[ShadyDavey]

Frank's got a new sig. model out - the FG1:

Carvin Introduces the Frank Gambale FG1 Signature Guitar - Premier Guitar

Owned a couple of Carvins myself in the early 90's:

Reverse headstock DC135 with a Floyd H/S/H config, standard tone/splitter setup. I do believe it was Alder+Ebony board, standard dot inlays.....played beautifully but had problems with the locking nuts stripping so I replaced them with a quick release model a la Marty Friedman's V220. Original pickups were quite dull as I recall....solid but unspectacular.

DC200 with the same wood combination, abalone block inlays, Floyd rose + Active EQ section this time. Played amazingly, sounded incredible (if perhaps a little processed) and I do believe that it's still played regularly by a friend's brother. There was an incident about 8 years back where the bridge saddles popped out but that was repaired with a sheet of brass which lent it a little bit of increased middle and other than that it's been a much-loved and solidly reliable piece. I should have kept hold of it I guess

 

[Hybrid138]

Here are some Carvin pics from users here for reference.
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/standard-guitars/157491-carvin-carved-top-club.html

 

[Thrashmanzac]

i've a carvin dc125 and it is the best guitar i have ever owned/played by a fair margin.
that being said, i have never played a prs, caparison, framus, shur, anderson, fender masterbuilt, kxk, brj and probably a few others.
yeah, my opinion is pretty much invalid

 

[FACTORY]

Can't wait til I can afford a DC.

Sneak preview of my possible future Carvin.


All natural tung oil. Mahogany body with 5-piece mahogany neck with two maple stripes. Stainless steel Jumbo Frets. Me need!

I call it the Carvin DC Face Eraser.

 

[soliloquy]

Can't wait til I can afford a DC.

Sneak preview of my possible future Carvin.


All natural tung oil. Mahogany body with 5-piece mahogany neck with two maple stripes. Stainless steel Jumbo Frets. Me need!

I call it the Carvin DC Face Eraser.

a guitar like that, or very similarly speced is sitting int he instock at the moment:
http://www.carvinguitars.com/images/guitars-in-stock/large/68675b.jpg

Carvin.com - Guitars In Stock :: Serial Number 68675

 

[orakle]

am i the only who thinks that 2+ knobs ruins the looks of a guitar?

 

[ShadyDavey]

am i the only who thinks that 2+ knobs ruins the looks of a guitar?

You're certainly not alone but in this case I do have to say that the active EQ section from Carvin is completely killer - certainly worth the addition of a couple of extra knobs

The extra output, tone shaping active/passive switching, and phase switching add a ton of versatility and let me be frank, huge balls to the guitar......to the point where switching out those somewhat lackluster Carvin pickups becomes redundant, and if you do decide to switch them out you can tweak an even wider array of tones. I would certainly love to hear it coupled with a nice set of Dimazrio's or BKP's.....

 

[soliloquy]

am i the only who thinks that 2+ knobs ruins the looks of a guitar?

nope, you're not alone. im more minimalistic, so to me, less is more.

however, if more knobs are providing me with a peizo system and bunch of other stuff that is a tonal variety, then i'm all for it. i would rather have those knobs as push/pulls or have one slide toggle that does a few different things just to minimize the switches...

but with 4 knobs, i still dont understand why the CS doesn't offer peizo. maybe something to do with the carved tops?

 

[FACTORY]

a guitar like that, or very similarly speced is sitting int he instock at the moment:http://www.carvinguitars.com/images/guitars-in-stock/large/68675b.jpg

Carvin.com - Guitars In Stock :: Serial Number 68675

Thanks man, she looks great. If I get the Carvin Face Eraser built I think I may have her built with only a volume and a selector switch as an off the books custom request (which you can do I'm told). Can't wait to get her built, I'll probably get the DC127 built over the DC400 simply because its the same but a few hundred $$$ cheaper. I may even get the words "Face Eraser" put on the truss rod cover for kicks!

 

[soliloquy]

Thanks man, she looks great. If I get the Carvin Face Eraser built I think I may have her built with only a volume and a selector switch as an off the books custom request (which you can do I'm told). Can't wait to get her built, I'll probably get the DC127 built over the DC400 simply because its the same but a few hundred $$$ cheaper. I may even get the words "Face Eraser" put on the truss rod cover for kicks!

from what i understand, the DC400 is exactly the same thing as the DC127. the only difference is that the DC400 is slightly more expensive as it has the peizo/active electric system coming as standard. but you can opt that out, so getting yourself a DC127 for a bit more money.

but from the specs and the picture, its bound to be a kick ass guitar!

 

[soliloquy]

carvin is now doing a "guitar of the week" kinda thing:

 

[SirMyghin]

Had a DC135M, had a few not nice spots on the ebony board, one looked almost like a drop of bleach got on it, and a very minor finish defect (like it was poked with a nail) when it arrived new. I shrugged them off and gave it 2 years hard play, no fretwear. Never bonded with the bridge pickup (m22sd) or the ToM. The twinblades were alright. Didn't like how light it was, or how the neck intersected with the body. It was not comfortable for me to play.

LB75 - a good solid bass, no noticable defects, plays extremely well, and I really like the MM style pickups. They forgot to install the second coil switch, and refunded me the 10$ or told me to return it. Given the top I was not going to let them drill anymore however. It has since had a waranty repair on the headstock as finish lifted on the tension side of the tuners... The truss rod also turns like a rusty gate which gets me weary/.paranoid occasionally if I need to make bigger adjustments. Never had a rod near that stuff, ever.

C66C - Still have this one also, a very good guitar, but nothing exceptional. I upgraded the sustain block, pickups to bareknuckle, gutted and rewired it real special at Christmas, also installed a wrench holder. The neck is a bit thinner than I like but very playable. Fit and finish was excellent, needs a recessed trem cover... The inside routing on the floyd is also a touch sloppy, it looks like they went at it from both sides to route, and there is a slight lip you can see that was never sanded down in the finish process, this should have been addressed, I didn't notice until much later however it is minor. They also wired a bridge add switch completely wrong at the factory.

My overall is - Good guitars, but the attention to detail is not what it needs to be to make them great or amazing guitars. There are a lot of improvements, most of which are not large that could be made. These improvements however are typically what separate the boutique from the 'regular' production shops. These are the kind of things that set guys like G&L, PRS,Suhr ahead of Carvin.

As I have said before, Carvin is very appearance/aesthetically oriented to a fault almost. Their finishes rarely have issues, but everything else slips in consequence. The same can be seen with their option and model introduction in the last while (perloid buttons, white TRCs, another slightly different carved top shape, etc).

As far as Piezo, they don't offer it on their solid bodies as far as I know.

 

[SnowfaLL]

surprised to hear that from SirMyghin, since I believe you came from the Carvin boards?

I've always been super satisfied with my Carvins. The only concerns, are lacking of some specs that certain players may want (especially in the metal genre, such as lack of scale length options, etc)

I personally can't stand 25" scale guitars.. yes, that extra .5" makes a huge difference to me not only in feel but in tone. If they made a 25.5" CT624, i'd definitely order another. Considering a holdsworth but dunno if I really like that shape. I plan on trying out a Suhr soon once my friend gets his, and compare it to my Carvins.. I doubt they are $2000 better (as the price is) as I still would take a fully decked Carvin over other high-enders I've played before, but i'll see how substantial of a difference it is and decide.

For bass though, Carvin has all the options I'd ever want and best playing basses ive ever had.. I dont see myself going anywhere else for bass anytime, unless I look into graphite/carbon fibre options.