carvin users?

[mattd]

i found this place through a link from the carvin BBS so i don't think i'm the only one here. right now i usually play a DC127M with H22 humbuckers through a valvemaster 100 half stack. i also have a TL60T that i bought in september of 2003, my first carvin ever, bought unplayed and unheard before. i guess you can kinda take one look at my gear and see what i thought of that first carvin. :lol:





http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v26/Matthewd/guitars/newguitar009.jpg


i also have a good amount of carvin bass gear, but i don't suppose you guys want to hear about that do you? :lol:

[mattd]

while i'm on the subject here i'll mention my two newest carvin acquisitions. from ebay i won a XP-2 effects unit. it included a chorus, flange, reverb, echo and rotating speaker effect. the other is a brand new cobalt 750 that i ordered yesterday, expecting that to show up by next friday. i'll shut up and let you guys talk about your stuff now. :-)

[SAguitar]

Carvins Rule, dude! My Number One right now is my Carvin Bolt-T! I own around 20 great guitars, but most weekends it's Sapphire who's hangin' around my neck when I'm praisin' God. She's just got the tone, the neck, the feel and the attitude for the job.

http://www.geekoasis.com/members/SAguitar/CarvinBoltT.jpg

Sapphire's latest addition is a set of Kinman Woodstock Plus pickups I put in her. Her tone was wonderful before, but now she's just one notch better. Serious, I have guitars I've paid 4 times what I've got in this axe, but Sapphire can praise better than most of them most of the time. Sing to the Lord! :cool:

[jazzrat]

I'm totin' Carvin's (as well as an awesome Heritage 575) as well.
Nice to see you over here Matt.
Nice folks, in here

[Micter]

Ah Matt. I can't go anywhere! :lol: Good to see ya! :banghead

We have the Bash tomorrow. Lots of Carvin gear!

My Carvin gear as follows;

Bolt Kit
Bolt Plus Kit (Koa)
Ultra V
DC200
CT3
Valvemaster head
Quad X
T100
MTS 3212
4x12 slant
4x12 straight
C844 mixer
4x H40M (head phones)
headphone amp

[SAguitar]

Did I mention I have Carvin bass gear too?
The one on the left is fretless, with just inlaid fret lines.

http://home.comcast.net/~saguitar/CarvinLB75F.jpghttp://home.comcast.net/~saguitar/CarvinBB75.jpg

Carvins are incredible basses!

[mattd]

Ah Matt. I can't go anywhere! :lol: Good to see ya! :banghead

We have the Bash tomorrow. Lots of Carvin gear!

My Carvin gear as follows;

Bolt Kit
Bolt Plus Kit (Koa)
Ultra V
DC200
CT3
Valvemaster head
Quad X
T100
MTS 3212
4x12 slant
4x12 straight
C844 mixer
4x H40M (head phones)
headphone amp



are you following me around or something? :lol:

[Micter]

Ah Matt. I can't go anywhere! :lol: Good to see ya! :banghead

We have the Bash tomorrow. Lots of Carvin gear!

My Carvin gear as follows;

Bolt Kit
Bolt Plus Kit (Koa)
Ultra V
DC200
CT3
Valvemaster head
Quad X
T100
MTS 3212
4x12 slant
4x12 straight
C844 mixer
4x H40M (head phones)
headphone amp



are you following me around or something? :lol:

LMBO!

[mattd]

Did I mention I have Carvin bass gear too?
The one on the left is fretless, with just inlaid fret lines.

http://home.comcast.net/~saguitar/CarvinLB75F.jpghttp://home.comcast.net/~saguitar/CarvinBB75.jpg

Carvins are incredible basses!


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v26/Matthewd/guitars/carvinbass.jpg


there's my LB20. been using that since last febuary(wow, i didn't realize i've had it for a year now). i also have a R1000 head and BRX cab. amazing gear. i've been thinking about getting rid of that stuff and concentrating on guitar. i don't think there's going to be any way i can really excel at both of them and i have more fun playing guitar. but we'll see what happens with that.

[SAguitar]

Nice lookin' LB20, Matt!
I used to have those pickups and that bridge on my fretted BB75. But everytime Carvin came out with an update to their basses, I had to have it. I installed them myself, even the routing came out pretty nice, and I love that big humbucker in the bridge position. Oh yeah, and I put in their three band onboard eq when it came out, too.

I'd like to give up bass, but the Lord seems to want me on both guitar and bass. Every once in a while we still have a need on the low end, and I get to fill it. Way back when, I was a guitar player who couldn't get into a gigging band, until I bought a bass. Most of my professional career was on bass, and solid, simple-playing bass players are hard to find, so I was always in demand. Eventually, I was able to get back big time to my first love, electric guitar, and that is still my main passion in music. :cool:

[mattd]

i've been thinking about getting another carvin bass with a MM style pickup in the bridge. i have a OLP with that configuration and i love it. alot more bass in there, and it seems easier to get a good slapping tone with it too.

[SAguitar]

'Sho got that right! I really liked my Carvin until I slapped that giant humbucker in it, and now I love it. When I bought the fretless, it already had the big bucker in the bridge. Very cool. :cool:

[refin]

I just pulled my old Carvin X-100B head out of mothballs to try out...I'm using a 1-12" Marshall cab instead of the 4-12 Carvin.
Some serious wattage!

[SAguitar]

Serious. Dust that puppy off! :cool:

[Crunchyriff]

I used two of those X-100B's for about 6 or seven years!

[Brad]

I just finished putting together a Carvin bass kit for the bass player in our worship team. First class quality all the way through. The body, neck and all routes are cut with much precision. He's been playing it non-stop since completion and leaving his music-man stingray all alone.

[Teleguy]

I just pulled my old Carvin X-100B head out of mothballs to try out...I'm using a 1-12" Marshall cab instead of the 4-12 Carvin.
Some serious wattage!

Weren't those the Mesa Boogie lawsuit models?
Think I had one.
Good amps as I recall, if they're tubes.

[SAguitar]

:cool: :cool: :cool:

If you have to spend your own hard-earned money for it, Carvin Rules!

[mattd]

i got the cobalt tonight, and let me say it was everything i hoped it would be. very low action, the construction on this thing is great. definately not something you'd think would come from overseas.

[refin]

I just pulled my old Carvin X-100B head out of mothballs to try out...I'm using a 1-12" Marshall cab instead of the 4-12 Carvin.
Some serious wattage!

Weren't those the Mesa Boogie lawsuit models?
Think I had one.
Good amps as I recall, if they're tubes.


I know that Carvin once had a 1-12" Combo that was a Boogie in sheep's clothing----this is an all tube head that weighs like a pregnant mule,and gets very "Brit" if you speak to her nicely.

[MrMike]

I have to confess that I've been very seriously coveting the online pix of the CT6M.

[SAguitar]

Just do it. I won't blame ya! :cool:

[Crunchyriff]

I know that Carvin once had a 1-12" Combo that was a Boogie in sheep's clothing----this is an all tube head that weighs like a pregnant mule,and gets very "Brit" if you speak to her nicely.

Acoustic had an amp like that in the 70's...Boogie sued the pants off Acoustic...not too much later they close their doors. I dunno if the suit had any bearing on that or not...

[SAguitar]

I wasn't aware that Acoustic made any tube amps. I had several of their amps over the years, and still own one with 2-12's and their famous eq section. It works well with my Les Paul, but doesn't like single coils too much. :cool:

[Micter]

I have to confess that I've been very seriously coveting the online pix of the CT6M.

I have a super nice CT3 with a one off paint sceme. The only thing I don't like is the pup in the bridge sounds a bit thin. They are as good as they look.

[SAguitar]

High praise from a guy with a Gibson logo for his Avatar. What bridge pup are you runnin' that rig? I had a C22T in the bridge of my Carvin Bolt-T (before I put Kinman pickups in it), and it had a great lead tone. IMHO, Carvins play as well as any guitar out there. They make incredible necks! :cool:

[TheViking]

.... I never ever played anything by Carvin, but from the looks of this thread I seriously need to check their stuff out.

[SAguitar]

Truly serious, Mr. Viking, sir. Carvin is one of those nearly well-kept secrets of the industry. They make their own guitars and amps. They are small enough to offer custom built guitars (well, you get to choose from a wide variety of designs, materials, options, and finishes), and large enough to offer low prices. One reason why they can sell lower than other manufacturers is they have no middle men. You can buy them straight from the factory.

One great side effect (for a buyer) of their small fame in the industry is that they don't have a great resell value on the open market. Check them out on Ebay sometime. Of course, this is a detriment if you own one and want to sell it. Only Carvin users really understand their value. But if you're not worried about what stupid gear snobs think, and you're looking for a great playing, great sounding guitar, Carvins are great!

For example, My Carvin Bolt-T (Sapphire) is one of their lower models. It is a Strat-like guitar, and comes with an ebony fingerboard and a Wilkinson tremelo. Honestly, I consider it equal to any of Fender's Custom Shop models. Wonderful tone spectrum, rings like a bell, and she stays in tune for weeks under hard playing. I got this wonderful instrument barely used off Ebay for under $400 American. What more can you ask for?

Another little interesting item... I have received their catalogs for over twenty years and on the inside front cover of each of them there has been a Bible verse, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all of the earth; make a loud noise and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing to the Lord with the harp, and the voice of the psalm." -Psalm 98:4-5

How many instrument manufacturers quote the Bible in all (or any) of their catalogs? :cool:

And don't get me started on their basses, and PA systems. I have two five-string Carvin basses (one fretted, one fretless) that are great basses, and most of my PA system is made from Carvin gear.

Sorry I went on so long with this post. I am not on Carvin's payroll, just a great fan of their products.

[Crunchyriff]

I've owned a number of Carvin products over the years. The workmanship is top-notch. I haven't played any of their guitars in awhile, but there are a few things that DO turn me off about Carvin:

1. I don't like the "shredder neck profile" they generally offer.

2. I don't like their penchant for ebony fretboards and 24-fret necks (both of which I hear they now give options for)

3. The quality of their pots are cheap. (think late 80's early 90s) Crap, teeny import volume pots that were good for one soldering session..then they'd self-destruct. Perhaps they've changed this by now.

4. Anytime a pro buys anything from Carvin, they get plastered on the Carvin "users list", it doesn't matter if the player hasn't used their stuff in two decades, they still remain on the users list. (boogie is just as bad..)

5. they used to schlep on tons of polyurethane- which kills the tone of the guitar.

Gripes aside, I still am somewhat of a Carvin fan. I usually always root for the underdog...

I love that bible verse, and the fact that they still use it.

[Micter]

High praise from a guy with a Gibson logo for his Avatar. What bridge pup are you runnin' that rig? I had a C22T in the bridge of my Carvin Bolt-T (before I put Kinman pickups in it), and it had a great lead tone. IMHO, Carvins play as well as any guitar out there. They make incredible necks! :cool:

First off I play Gibson V's most of the time! BUT I own quite a few Carvin's. I have the C22B in the bridge of the CT3. It seems to be a great pickup for bolt on neck equipped guitars. For some reason it just doesn't do anything for the CT3. I might slap a SD 59 in there instead. I just have too many projects going on to mess with it right now.

[Crunchyriff]

One more niggle:

Neck-through guitars are not my bag. I don't care for the sound this contruction method imparts.

Ok, I'm done. :mrgreen:

[Micter]

One more niggle:

Neck-through guitars are not my bag. I don't care for the sound this contruction method imparts.

Ok, I'm done. :mrgreen:

LOL! :-) The CT series are set necks.

[Crunchyriff]

The CT series are set necks.

Yes! That I am aware of, along with the newer options like rosewood fingerboards and 22-fret necks on certain models.

The changes will do them good..

[SAguitar]

Hmmm... now that's interesting. But pickups do sound different in different guitars. I had the same Seymour '59 neck w/ JB bridge combo in two different Les Pauls and they sounded quite different. Of course, one of them is a solid walnut "The Paul" from 1981, and the other Paul is a '70 Les Paul Deluxe, mahogany with a maple cap. The walnut Paul sounded much denser without enough highs in it, so I pulled those out and put in a pair of Seymour's Phat Cats, his P90 style pup but it's the same size as a regular humbucker. Now it's got some bite! :cool:

[refin]

I know that Carvin once had a 1-12" Combo that was a Boogie in sheep's clothing----this is an all tube head that weighs like a pregnant mule,and gets very "Brit" if you speak to her nicely.

Acoustic had an amp like that in the 70's...Boogie sued the pants off Acoustic...not too much later they close their doors. I dunno if the suit had any bearing on that or not...

I remember that one....she was a beaut.

[Crunchyriff]

Yep, that was circa '77

[ProTonePedals]

I had the Holdsworth... traded it away for an Ampeg Reverb Rocket... at the time I loved the amp, but looking back I really regret the trade. I dont have the amp anymore or the axe... :banghead

Dennis

[SAguitar]

I have been interested in the Holdsworth model, but I have heard that they have really large necks. I don't really like big ol' necks. Was yours a fatneck?

[ProTonePedals]

Yeah it was pretty thick and chunky. But it was perfect for the driving rock that I did.

[SAguitar]

Well, if it works perfect, then it must be perfect! :cool:

[Ascension]

Wow how did I miss this thread :dunno .Carvins are ok I guess :innocent I "just" own 11 Carvin Guitars and 4 Carvin amps :crazy :biggrin: :biggrin: .Here`s a few of um :popcorn http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000140.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000166.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000117.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000185.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000178.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000061.jpg

[SAguitar]

Rut! Suddenly, I have a whole new respect for you! Nice lookin' collection. :cool:

[kewlpack]

Rutl...

I would hate to have a case of GAS that bad! :shock

Of course, you could do as Reverbbb does and host your own open jam without having anyone bring their own guitars/amps! ;)

[ProTonePedals]

AWESOME collection!

Does anyone find humor in the last photo? How often do you see a guy playing a pointy guitar like that one sight reading?!?!? :ROFL

Just an observation- but I love the collection.

Dennis

[seagullplayer]

I get a Carvin catalog in the mail all the time, some very nice stuff. I have often considered an amp from them. But I have heard they won't sell parts to the amps? In order to get one fixed you have to send it back to them? Has anyone found this to be true? Old wife's tail, what?

I understand this would not be an issue with the guitar as much as it would an amp.

[prscustom24]

. . . But I have heard they won't sell parts to the amps? In order to get one fixed you have to send it back to them?

Printed circuit boards and trim pieces / logos, and maybe transformers, should be the only proprietary bits in any late-model standard amp. All else (pots, resistors, tube sockets, standard ICs, transistors & diodes, etc., should be obtainable from the merchant market.

The modeling amps otoh could have ASICs (custom chips). The average repair guy could handle replacement if the package is a socketed PGA. Not many folks equipped outside the factory to replace ball-grid arrays, however. Then there's the issue of protecting the intellectual property (why they might be reluctant to sell the parts as replacements).

[Crunchyriff]

I'm not so sure they won't sell replacement parts- besides, you get a schematic of the amp when you buy it new. Tells you all you need to know. (resistors, caps, etc)

[Ascension]

First off the Carvin amps I have owned have been extremely reliable.On my Valvemaster Clubmaster I hit the bias switch by mistake on the back overheating and dead shorting one of the 6L6`s .The amp politely shut down and blew the fuse I replaced the tubes and the fuse and she fired right up with NO DAMAGE try that with a Boogie or Marshall or Fender ect sometime :innocent ! Double sided military grade PC boards`s neat wiring with ties these are high quality rigs .That`s why I sold my Marshalls and Boogies and the Fender Blues Deluxe ( looked inside the Fender and :shock couldn`t DUMP the cheaply made POS quick enough ) I had been playing through . SAguitar thanks for the comments and to see the full collection (the 87 red V220T and my Silver Bolt haven`t been added as of now but should be soon) hit my Carvin Musieum page here http://www.carvinmuseum.com/collections/rutledri.html . Does anyone find humor in the last photo? How often do you see a guy playing a pointy guitar like that one sight reading?!?!?

Dennis get this a couple of weeks ago I fronted a 150 member black gospel choir playing lead guitar for the re-enactment of the Selma incidents 40th anniversity .What did I use pray tell :dunno ?This rig http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000134.jpg (and yes the MTS is Deep Purple and was a factory prototype I it got from a former Tec Support Carvin employee ):innocent :angel :angel

[ProTonePedals]

Does anyone find humor in the last photo? How often do you see a guy playing a pointy guitar like that one sight reading?!?!?

Dennis get this a couple of weeks ago I fronted a 150 member black gospel choir playing lead guitar for the re-enactment of the Selma incidents 40th anniversity .What did I use pray tell :dunno ?This rig http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000134.jpg

That is so cool! Rock on my friend.

Dennis

[SAguitar]

It's really great to meet some actual Carvin fans! I've been stokin' them for so long around here, people get tired of hearin' me rattle on about how great they are. Oh well, I'll just enjoy mine and keep on playin' and praisin' the Lord! :dunno

Beautiful collection, dude! :cool:

[Crunchyriff]

I can tell you this much that my 75 Marshall doesn't qualify as a POS!!

[Ascension]

Crunchriff I wasn`t talking about the Marshalls I have owned but the Fender Blues Deluxe I had.When I had a power tube failure and opened it up I saw the thin chassis ribbon cable for wiring and cheap cheesy components.I did the repair buttoned it up and dropped it out on consignment as quickly as I could get it to the shop. It just was NOT a well built amp nor was it reliable or roadworthy.I do prefer the Carvin MTS tones to any of the Marshalls I have owned and they are very well made reliable amps. Not to mention they are less than HALF the price :cool: of a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 .

[Crunchyriff]

That's ok, rutledri, my '83 JCM800/Lee Jackson 'tis no slouch, either!! :angel :popcorn

[Micter]

I get a Carvin catalog in the mail all the time, some very nice stuff. I have often considered an amp from them. But I have heard they won't sell parts to the amps? In order to get one fixed you have to send it back to them? Has anyone found this to be true? Old wife's tail, what?

I understand this would not be an issue with the guitar as much as it would an amp.

They are very helpful if you have a problem with their equipment but the policy is they work on the amp or the warranty is void. You will deal with the same thing with just about any amp manufacturer.

[kewlpack]

If I ever DO get a tube amp - I'm pretty sure it will be an MTS 2x12. For the money, it's hard to beat.

[seagullplayer]

I get a Carvin catalog in the mail all the time, some very nice stuff. I have often considered an amp from them. But I have heard they won't sell parts to the amps? In order to get one fixed you have to send it back to them? Has anyone found this to be true? Old wife's tail, what?

I understand this would not be an issue with the guitar as much as it would an amp.

They are very helpful if you have a problem with their equipment but the policy is they work on the amp or the warranty is void. You will deal with the same thing with just about any amp manufacturer.

I get what your saying. But most manufacturers have alot of dealers that can do repair jobs local. I think with Carvin they don't have dealers, you have to ship the amp to them for all repair? And you are out shipping both ways, and for a heavy amp that could be kind of high. I may be all wet on this, I'm not sure right now where I even got that info.
Really nice looking stuff though!
Some really nice pic's in this thread.

[Crunchyriff]

Seagull- years agao when I was using two X100B stacks, I had one of them quit on me poof. Being as it was still under warranty,yeah, I had to send it in. (either that or take the drive)

Mind you, this was before they had other shops setup in the LA area, and you HAD to go to Escondido. Anyway, the downtime was minimum, and it never ever quit on me again.

[Ascension]

Here is a new photo of the current Carvin POINTY inventory :innocent http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v27/rutledri/IM000197.jpg

[mattd]

don't you think that 3 V220's are a bit too much for one person? :crazy

[Ascension]

Actually it`s "only two V220`s as one is a X220C :innocent .Honestly they are vastly different guitars the one on the far left is a 85 hardtail and has a narower string spacing like a older Gibson has a vintage vibe and puts the infinate in infinate sustain.On the other hand the other red V220 on the far right is 87 and is a trem guitar with a Kahler Pro and Floyd style lock nut with a Jackson Soloist style thin wide shreadder neck and it`s a real shreading monster.The Black X220C is one of only a very small number 1993 X220`s ever built with the 25 scale neck (my best guess is less than 10 were ever produced with the 25 scale and only 1 other 25 scale X has surfaced so far according to Kevo at the Carvin Musieum :innocent ) this is one of the rairest of all Carvins and is pretty clean and as such is the only one of the pointys I have that rairly comes out to play(a shame as it one of the most fun guitars I have to play as she is well ballanced on a strap is SUPER light and has one of the fastest necks out of the 11 Carvins I now have ).

[SAguitar]

Pointy Guitars Rock! That's quite an interesting collection, buddy! I love Carvins, but I'm just not a pointy guitar nut. I like the smooth curves, so I'm into their more natural looking Koa tung oiled axes. That's my thing, but I respect yours, too. I still can't see why Carvin hasn't become one of the largest sellers in the States. They are such an incredible bargain. :cool:

[Crunchyriff]

One pointy guitar as requested:

http://www.lilypix.com/photos/data/069d3bb002acd8d7dd095917f9efe4cb/2079_p34004.jpg

'95 HamerUSA Standard Custom

[SAguitar]

Oooh, sweet! Now that's kinda roundy pointy! I like it. I like it a lot. :cool:

[Crunchyriff]

My beautiful bride bought this for me a few years ago. (sorry it's not a carvin)

The top has got that vintage vibe and "action" to it. None of those "grain enhancers" here. View it from one direction and it almost looks as exciting as a root canal. But turn it a bit to and fro, and it shimmers, lights up and reveals its true nature. Out of all the guitars I've owned over the years (TA, PRS, GIBSON, Carvin, you name it), this particular top has the best slice o' maple by far- from a legit, vintage-look standpoint.

[MrMike]

Mikey likes it!!!! :cheer:

[TheViking]

.... I need to go buy som carvins now and you're all to blame. :banghead :banghead :banghead

[Micter]

.... I need to go buy som carvins now and you're all to blame. :banghead :banghead :banghead

http://home.socal.rr.com/vlicausi/bolt.jpg

http://home.socal.rr.com/vlicausi/ct3%20pearl%20purple.jpg

http://home.socal.rr.com/vlicausi/dc200.jpg

http://home.socal.rr.com/vlicausi/ultrav.jpg

http://home.socal.rr.com/vlicausi/koa2.jpg

Maybe this will help?

[SAguitar]

Give in to the GAS... In the end, you will be a better Viking, and you will thank us for this intervention.

http://www.acertaincharm.net/carvin2.jpg

http://i17.ebayimg.com/01/i/03/aa/e2/1b_3.JPG

The above two guitars are currently up for auction on Ebay.

[Pearly Gator]

A guy gave me a Carvin X-100 head (http://www.carvinmuseum.com/decade/images/81-x100head.html) that didn't work. It needed a tube! I fired it up last weekend and it's a hip little amp. Lots of different tones available. It has 4 tone controls and a 5 band graphic equalizer.

Kinda reminds me of a Mesa Boogie MkIII. No way am I gonna spend $300+ to get a 4X12 cab to play a free head through. Nope. Really I'm not..... :angel

Hey, crunchyriff, did your Carvin X100B's have EL34's or 6L6's? Did they sound like Marshalls or Mesa's?

PG