Thinking of ordering a Carvin from the UK... am I crazy?

[mnemonic]

Hey guys, long story short, I'm in the UK and Left handed, so that limits my options alot. I've wanted a Carvin since I was in university (I used to live in California, not far from a Carvin store) and I got one of my roommates to order a DC727 (dragonburst ) and it was an amazing guitar. I've just recently got back into playing guitar (I moved to the UK about 3 years ago, I was busy with work and whatnot, had no amp, long story) and I've realized I can finally get one... but its pricey.

At the moment, I have no 7 string, just an old cheap dean 6 string thats tuned down to Bb (bolt on neck, I fit it in my luggage when I moved here), my 7 string back home isn't that great either, Schecter 007 elite, all mahogany, but I think it was made of some low-grade wood, since it is very light, dull sounding (even with a 707 in it) and the wood is very light in color (I noticed that when I routed out the pickup cavity to fit the 707).

Ok, numbers time, bare with me... for my spec'd out guitar (pretty basic, DC700 all mahogany with spalted maple top, ebony board) on the US site it comes out to about $1,500. (I remember them being cheaper 3 years ago, haha)

If I were to have a friend ship it to me;

$1,500 for guitar in the US
$200 assumed shipping rate including insurance
$1,700 guitar cost

conver to gbp, $1,700 = £1,100

£1,100 guitar cost
£260 VAT @20% and import duty @ 3.70% (import duty according to HMRC website)
£1,360 total cost

Of the dealers I contacted (contact them all, you'll get a different price from each one), the cheapest quoted price is £1,400 (not sure if this includes shipping, I haven't had a response yet).

So cost-wise I think its worth just ordering from within the UK rather than taking the risk of having a friend/family ship from the US.

Now that you have my life story MY QUESTION IS; are there any better options for me out there? Is there any European version of Carvin I've never heard of? I know Carvin is great from experience, and I'm in the market for a guitar now, so I'd rather not wait 10-100 months for a custom builder to make one.


tl;dr, Carvin in the UK, or are there better options for a lefty under £1,500?



p.s. this is my inspiration, I can't remember where I got the picture from, but I think it probably belongs to someone here.

 

[hairychris]

Try Siggery, maybe?

The Carvin reps in the UK are these people: http://www.rockstarguitar.co.uk/new/

Price does go up a bit compared to the US. Sadly.

 

[Tom 1.0]

Have anybody you trust in the States?

Thats how I ordered mine a few years ago, if you want I can get you in touch with some guys who could help you out.

 

[mnemonic]

Have anybody you trust in the States?

Thats how I ordered mine a few years ago, if you want I can get you in touch with some guys who could help you out.

I have plenty of friends and family still in the states actually. The things is, if I get hit by customs it will only end up being about £40 cheaper than just ordering from within the UK.

Do you guys think a carvin guitar with a nice maple top is worth £1,400 new? (~$2,100) It would be about $500 markup from direct US price.

Damn inflated prices of everything in the UK

Try Siggery, maybe?

The Carvin reps in the UK are these people: RockstarGuitar.co.uk

Price does go up a bit compared to the US. Sadly.

theres about 5 in the UK now according to carvin's site. I emailed all of them and got vastly different prices from each one. one of them wanted £2,500

Isn't there a long wait list for siggery? I could have sworn i read the thread and it was like 8 months or something.

I'm sure once I get a taste of semi-custom I'll start ordering siggery's and Ran's... if my paycheck can keep up.

 

[InfinityAndThree]

Check out Blackat for semi custom, or Skervesen for full custom with a short wait time. Never had any personal experience, but they both seem to be well respected around here.

 

[nicktao]

Try to stay away from siggery, check out the forum for more info. Blackat and skervesen seem like better bets. Similar price ~2000, but better quality and quicker lead times.

 

[Dommak89]

Try to stay away from siggery, check out the forum for more info. Blackat and skervesen seem like better bets. Similar price ~2000, but better quality and quicker lead times.

I haven't heard anything bad recently about Siggery besides the turnaround time. What do you mean qualitywise? And btw Siggery is a lot less than a Skervesen for example with the same specs.

 

[SkullCrusher]

Mayones setius. £1300 depending on pickups.

I have a 6 string variant, and guitars done get much better.

Edit::: yes or blackat. I have one on order should be with me at the end of he month.

 

[mnemonic]

Mayones setius. £1300 depending on pickups.

I have a 6 string variant, and guitars done get much better.

Edit::: yes or blackat. I have one on order should be with me at the end of he month.

shit, I forgot about Mayones. I don't really know anything about them, I guess I'll have to do some reading today. How do you like the setius? Any complaints?


edit; ok mayones looks pretty legit. Also I like the idea of having mayo written on my guitar. Probably a much better deal than the carvin too... already loaded with good pickups, actually a few pounds cheaper... I'll sleep on it.


does anyone know how thick the maple top is on the Mayones? It doesn't appear to be written anywhere.

 

[jay7string]

Hi I live in the uk I just received my order, a ct7 its amazing. Rockstar guitars are amazing Damon is awesome, great service, really helpful with my order. He has a long standing history with carvin. My guitar is stunning, very reasonable price for uk. was just in at about 7weeks. Give him a call tell him James with the black flame ct7 recommended him. All the best.

I'll try and attach some pics

 

[jephjacques]

Mayones ....ing rule, get one

 

[mnemonic]

ok i may have just thrown out my plans and decided to get a Mayones Setius 7 instead.

its kind of weird, I can't find any negative reviews from people who have played them, there must be some. Nothing is perfect.

 

[JosephAOI]

Mayones are pretty damn good, but I gotta say, man, if you wanted a Carvin, get a Carvin. You could lower the shipping cost by having whomever in the Us ship it separately, body & neck. That'd probably help quite a bit.

 

[Wesbanez]

I haven't heard anything bad recently about Siggery besides the turnaround time. What do you mean qualitywise? And btw Siggery is a lot less than a Skervesen for example with the same specs.

I've owned my Siggery for around 7 months now, and what I would say is that yes, there are probably better guitars around for the same sort of money, but the whole point of Martys work is that you're getting something truly custom without the custom pricetag.

He'll build you exactly what you want for silly money. This is where he shines. The quality and finish will be around comparable to a good medium/high end run-of-the-mill axe.

If you want that extra something, then yes, splash out on a Blackmachine (if you can a) afford it and b) wait 2 years) or similar properly high end custom.

 

[mpsk]

about order try contact european Carvins dealers-http://http://www.carvinworld.com/select_country.php

I had two Mayones Setius 7 and now I have Carvin and I'm sure that mayo are great but in this moment I like my carvin better- ebony board, sustain, neck thru and playbality (and carvin is few euros cheaper).

 

[Adrian-XI]

Mayones are pretty damn good, but I gotta say, man, if you wanted a Carvin, get a Carvin. You could lower the shipping cost by having whomever in the Us ship it separately, body & neck. That'd probably help quite a bit.

I've owned my Siggery for around 7 months now, and what I would say is that yes, there are probably better guitars around for the same sort of money, but the whole point of Martys work is that you're getting something truly custom without the custom pricetag.

He'll build you exactly what you want for silly money. This is where he shines. The quality and finish will be around comparable to a good medium/high end run-of-the-mill axe.

If you want that extra something, then yes, splash out on a Blackmachine (if you can a) afford it and b) wait 2 years) or similar properly high end custom.

The dude asks for recommendations under £1,500 and you suggest BM. Wat.

OP, I'd go the Carvin (from your dealer) or you'll never be happy. It's only money!

 

[Dommak89]

I've owned my Siggery for around 7 months now, and what I would say is that yes, there are probably better guitars around for the same sort of money, but the whole point of Martys work is that you're getting something truly custom without the custom pricetag.

He'll build you exactly what you want for silly money. This is where he shines. The quality and finish will be around comparable to a good medium/high end run-of-the-mill axe.

If you want that extra something, then yes, splash out on a Blackmachine (if you can a) afford it and b) wait 2 years) or similar properly high end custom.

Thanks for the info, I'll keep that in mind.

The dude asks for recommendations under £1,500 and you suggest BM. Wat.

OP, I'd go the Carvin (from your dealer) or you'll never be happy. It's only money!

He answered to me, and I'm not the OP. He was merely comparing Siggery to other Custom guitars, which was my initial question.

 

[Wesbanez]

He answered to me, and I'm not the OP. He was merely comparing Siggery to other Custom guitars, which was my initial question.

Glad you got that. Adrian-XI, ?

 

[Adrian-XI]

Whoops, must have skimmed over that bit. My bad.

 

[SkullCrusher]

shit, I forgot about Mayones. I don't really know anything about them, I guess I'll have to do some reading today. How do you like the setius? Any complaints?


edit; ok mayones looks pretty legit. Also I like the idea of having mayo written on my guitar. Probably a much better deal than the carvin too... already loaded with good pickups, actually a few pounds cheaper... I'll sleep on it.


does anyone know how thick the maple top is on the Mayones? It doesn't appear to be written anywhere.

Hi mate.

Yeah the mayo is shit hot.

They are fully customisable, for little to no cost.

Regarding the the maple cap, it's hard to say because of the binding. But I'd say its about 1/2 to 3/4 inch.

Contact guitarguitar in Epsom as they are the up dealers for them.

It's by far the best guitar I've ever owned