Carvin - Great for the money?

[kherman]

Re: Carvin - Great for the money?

Actually that's one thing I'll admit I don't like about Carvins - I never saw the need to put so damn many extra toggle switches on them... =) looks like it's got antennas....

You can get the basic volume, tone, toggle setup if you want.
That was the basic for the DC127 for years. But, many guys would get the
Coil split switchs option. So, Carvin just made it part of the standard setup. No longer an upcharge.
The one above I believe also has a phase switch added.

Kent

 

[VanStone2]

Re: Carvin - Great for the money?

Regarding brightness: Really the series that suffers most from the complaints of brightness are the DC models. The reason is they come standard with a neck-thru hard maple neck that runs the length of the guitar. You can alleviate this with some warmer sounding pickups. The S/D Alnico II Pro neck / Custom Custom combination did wonders for one of my DC127s with the maple neck. 250K pots are also an option. However, the best thing to do is choose a different wood. My other DC127 is mahogany neck, mahogany body, and walnut top. It’s warm as can be.

Regarding the pickup rings: The DC’s I own all had rings with two screws on one side, and one on the other to suspend the pups rather than one on each side as is standard. You can order replacement rings from music123 or allparts of the standard variety for a few dollars and no modification is necessary. With the hardtail and tunomatic string thru models you’ll need two sets of rings, however, because the bridge is so low (you’ll need two of the short rings and the tall rings will be of no use to you).

Regarding the routing: I haven’t had any problems and I have used Duncans, Bill Lawrence, Rio Grande, and Lace pups in my Carvins with no problems. It’s probably just an EMG thing as mentioned by kherman.

 

[Guitarist]

Re: Carvin - Great for the money?

Just some more info here for you... Something I started a while back.

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=21017&highlight=Carvin

 

[B2D]

Re: Carvin - Great for the money?

Carvins are awesome! I have been to the Carvin shop a few times and everything I played was excellent (I also own an 80s DC200).

On a side note, the reason they sell so low on eBay is because everything sells low on eBay. Nobody knows how to take pictures. For example, you have this, which has no bids, not even 100 dollars, and a Buy It Now price of 600. Then you have this, which I just sold for a Buy It Now price of 1,200

Holy crap dude that's the best comparison of good vs/ bad photos I've ever seen! LOL



As far as Carvin's equipment goes, I've used their power amps, speakers and mixers for various gigs ever since i started gigging and they've always come through niceley. I actually would prefer the mixers to mackie's at points (Mackies have something in the EQ I don't like that much) and their power amps are pretty bulletproof.

I'm not too interested in the guitars (although maybe I need to take a second look) but I'm more interested in the AMPS. I tried their Tone Navigator preamp at NAMM and was impressed... I need to go down to their shop and try the MTS amps as well.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Carvin - Great for the money?

Carvin 7-stringers actually go for pretty high on eBay with good presentation. I saw one go for 1000 just recently.

A dude has been posting to CraigsList in Boston for a few weeks now with a Cravin 7 string. It started at $800 and he's down to about $500 last I checked. Eery day it drops a little lower.

Any chance that eBay sell was taped to a Fender 52 Reissue or it came with a Bogner head?

 

[Marty Horne]

Re: Carvin - Great for the money?

Carvin guitars are nice axes for the money though I personally don't care for the neck shapes. Comparing them to a PRS is like comparing a Volkswagon to a Ferrari however. The amps are a major headache. I had one that spent more time in the repair shop than on stage. The only other 2 people I know with Carvin amps had the same problems I did. The components made Radio Shack look like a Boutique shop.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Carvin - Great for the money?

Some comments on Carvins:

First, alot of people want to order a Carvin that sounds like a this or that.. Even on Carvins own site, people ask what Carvin sounds most like a Les, or Strat.. Then, they get it and are mad that it doesnt sound like a LP or what ever and then post trashing reviews. Carvin is its own company and they have thier own sound. Want an LP, get an LP. By having the ability to choose woods and such, you can tweak the tone more to your personal taste, just like we do pickups. Thats a great thing!

Next, the toggles. You can get a Carvin with or without toggles. It isnt a given that a carvin will have em.. But if you like versatility, you can get all the switches you want. Myself, I prefer push pulls.

Carvins have a rep as being bright. So do any other guitars made of maple or what ever.. I LOVE my mahogany Carvin and there is NO brightness.

People trash the stock pickups. Well, taylor the pickups to match the wood. Also, no matter what brand of guitar we buy, we use Duncans anyhow right?
At least with Carvin, you get a choice. Buy a Gibson LP studio and you get the pups that come with that. Explorer you get the 500t bridge etc..
They pups that came in mine actually sounded pretty darn good. I made it perfect now tho!! Plus, I hear their new C22b is actually a very good pickup.

And yes, they have 3 holes on the pups. But I have had guitars where the one side of the humbucker hangs low in the ring or vice versa and i had to put foam behind it to raise it. 3 holes would have let me bring that side up to a good balance.

Its a matter of taste ya'll. For the price, they cant be beat. Its just a stigma they are inferior that gets them low resale, not bad product. It may not be for you, or you may need that certain brand name, but dont rule them out. And in fairness, dont expect them to be like another guitar. I sure wouldnt expect a strat to sound like a LP.

Thanks for tuning in..