Pickups for a Carvin DC135

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

I just bought a new guitar, and in case I need to exchange the pickups, I'd like some pointers on what works well with a guitar like this. I'm gonna assume the sides are poplar, and that the neck-thru is maple.



Thanks in advance for your advice. I prefer low output pickups in general, and my playing style and tonal preference is like if Yngwie Malmsteen met Eric Johnson in a dark alley, and a fight ensued. Shawn Lane arrived and tried to play some '80s metal to cool proceedings, but to no avail. That's me.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Stock woods on those were maple, ebony, and alder. I have a DC127 with that set up and the maple neck really makes itself known regardless of what the wings are made of (my other DC127 is all maple with an ebony board).

I have a JB in the alder/maple guitar and a PATB-1n/-3 combo in the all maple guitar. My initial instinct would be to put a PATB-1b with a pair of Parallel Axis stacks in it.

 

[SAguitar]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Beautiful Carvin you have there! I'm a big Carvin fan myself, and I have a Koa DC 135 like yours. I have tried a lot of pickups in it, and was surprised to not find many of them to be an improvement over Carvin's stock pickups. Currently I have a pair of Lace Sensor Gold pickups in the single size positions and a Seymour JB in the bridge. I have a DC400 with a pair of Jim Wagners in it, a Godwood and a Darkburst. And I have a Bolt-T in HSS configuration that I have returned to its stock Carvin pickups. They are all great players.

 

[Toejam]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Stock woods on those were maple, ebony, and alder.

Older stock woods were maple body and neck, then later came poplar body, then alder body. His actually looks like it's a koa body and neck. You could order pretty much whatever neck/body combo you wanted.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Older stock woods were maple body and neck, then later came poplar body, then alder body. His actually looks like it's a koa body and neck. You could order pretty much whatever neck/body combo you wanted.

I'm aware of that. I ordered one of mine to be all maple. The other I ordered with the stock (for a DC127, perhaps) maple/alder construction.

The OP's looks to be roughly from the same era as mine. I assumed it was stained, but it very well could be koa or mahogany construction.

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Thanks for the replies. I haven't picked it up yet, found it online yesterday and thought $235 seemed like a good price despite some issues (broken neck that's been repaired, backplate replaced, one locking screw missing from a Sperzel tuner). The guy selling it plays bass, and admits that he doesn't really know much about the guitar besides what he wrote in the ad. I asked about playability and sound, and he says there should be no issues there. He already had several bidders, but since he was hesitant to ship it, I got a chance to try it out today and decide. I realized I might be pushing my luck by not just buying the thing, since I'm sure I could easily sell it if it turns out to be a dud, maybe even with a small profit. I mean, it should play at least okay, and if properly set up, who knows.

Regarding the wood, I am honestly in the dark here. Know very little about how to recognize tonewoods, apart from the very basic stuff. I did download this other photo of the body, before the seller took the ad down, dunno if this says more about the type of wood.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Carvin tended to use figured koa wood in their guitars. Upon a closer look, I'd say that that particular DC135 is likely made out of mahogany with a mahogany neck. I say buy it if it plays well and sounds good unplugged.

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Picking it up this afternoon, in fact. I've actually never played a Carvin before, so this is gonna be a totally new experience. Not really sure what to expect, but one of the things I've been looking for in recent years is a "shredder" with a good bridge humbucker, with large frets and a fast action. I tend to prefer singlecoils, but now I want the option of getting some good, chunky tone from a lighter guitar than my mahogany body Tradition MTQ. That one sounds great, but weighs a ton. Pearly Gates in the neck, Custom Custom in the bridge, both CCJ. The one in the bridge is a bit dark, but it's manageable. Pearly Gates is just the best sounding humbucker I've heard, at least in a guitar I own.

Gonna be interesting to compare tones. I hear the Carvin S60 singlecoils are pretty Stratty, so an A/B with my '08 Strat should be fun.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

I'd get to learn the guitar's sound a bit before you decide on pickups, though. It might have some tonal properties that you are not aware of. The 24 frets will change the sound of the neck pickup vs 22 fret guitars, and the single coils aren't the 'keyed' variety, so you have less choices without going for something custom.

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

I know what you mean, and I don't wanna rush to any conclusions before making decisions on pickups. I might be perfectly happy with the stock pickups, you never know.

And yeah, good point regarding the neck pickup position, that tends to have an impact on the sound.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

From that headstock and the 4 screw bridge pickup ring it's a mid 90's likely a 94-96 and the wood is mahogany. I have owned so many Carvin Keisel guitars over the years have lost count but at the least 20 or so. Have 4 now a 2002 DC 400 mahogany neck and body with a Quilt maple top and headstock and a Floyd, a 1992 DC 127 in Koa a Pearl Pink Poplar body maple neck 1990 X220 C with a floyd and a 2017 Kiesel Dc 135 in Red with a maple neck and alder body also with a Floyd.
The singles in yours look to be those single rail in the center Carvin single coils they had in that era and if so I personally find those pickups to be quite harsh and thin sounding. The bridge humbucker appears to be a M22 T or SD which is not bad. In my 17 Kiesel I currently am running a Duncan Perpetual Burn trembucker in the bridge with a pair of the Carvin/Kiesel AP 11's and the combo sounds absolutely fantastic. Mine had the M22SD in the bridge when I got it and sounded great for heavy stuff but was to compressed and did not clean up and open up with the guitar volume like I needed it to so I swapped in the Perpet. The combo of it with the AP 11"s is just fantastic and they match like they were made for each other! On the factory singles in a Carvin the factory rout does not have the cut for the wiring on the bottom of the bobbin so to run say a strat single or some thing like a SSL-1 you will have to rout your guitar. If you don't like those single rail single coils and want a more Strat like tone look HARD at a pair of AP 11's or S60's from Kieisel! Have run a number of different pickup configurations in these guitars over the years so after you have played it a little yell.
Welcome to the Carvinite club and a warning those guitars are ADDICTIVE!! I own a number of different guitars but if I could only own one guitar it would be a CARVIN/ KEISEL!

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

That is great info, thanks! I was gonna take it to a professional and have it set up, but I got impatient and adjusted the trem myself. Still needs some work, and there's a grounding issue that shouldn't be a hard fix.

After adjusting the bridge and lowering the action, I was amazed that it still sounded intonated. It didn't come with a whammy bar, so I need to either order one or see if there's a way of finding one here in Bergen. That being said, I don't think there's any point in getting a whammy bar until I've replaced that one Sperzel knob, enabling me to lock the strings in place. Still, the trem dives like a Floyd, so that is just incredible.

I did some sound tests with it last night, and it sounded okay, aside from the grounding issue. I didn't know what to expect, but the level was very balanced, which I liked. No big volume shifts or anything. I'll need to play around with this for a bit to decide on the whole pickup thing, but I already know that I'm absolutely in love with the feel of the guitar. It plays like a dream, and at $235, I can afford some upgrades if I decide on those. All in all, as far as playability, balance, feel, etc. are concerned, this guitar is a keeper. What comes next is more adjustments, and further sound testing.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

That is great info, thanksIt didn't come with a whammy bar, so I need to either order one or see if there's a way of finding one here in Bergen. That being said, I don't think there's any point in getting a whammy bar until I've replaced that one Sperzel knob, enabling me to lock the strings in place. Still, the trem dives like a Floyd, so that is just incredible.
I'll need to play around with this for a bit to decide on the whole pickup thing, but I already know that I'm absolutely in love with the feel of the guitar. It plays like a dream, and at $235, I can afford some upgrades if I decide on those. All in all, as far as playability, balance, feel, etc. are concerned, this guitar is a keeper. What comes next is more adjustments, and further sound testing.

Grab a Ghoto bar if you can as they are solid and some are hollow makes a difference! Have Wilkersons on several guitars in particular my beloved 94-96 Washburn USA MG's and love them. Here is a link to an amazon listing for the bar I recommend. https://www.amazon.com/Tremolo-Wilk...D=31HrOmUdK0L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Okay, I've talked to the local guitar guy who does this kind of work, and he says he can get it routed for regular singlecoils, giving me more options. So now I'll look for pickups that will work as a balanced, versatile set in a 24-fret mahogany guitar.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Keep in mind, *any* Seymour Duncan singles can be ordered so they fit without routing (non-keyed base). Your dealer can order them. Another question, is there a specific tone you want, or do you just want it to balance with the humbucker's volume?

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Well, I have been looking for something PAF Pro-like, as many guitarists I listen to use that one in the neck of their 24-fret guitars, one of them being a Carvin artist (Jarle H. Olsen, local guy). I have two guitars with singlecoils, both sounds great, so I'd like a bit more variation and have something in that classic humbucker-y style for this Carvin.

As for ordering from a dealer, that's naturally an option, but I also would like the option of purchasing a used pickup, either from my friend who repairs guitars, or from others. And besides, it would give me more options in general.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Well, I have been looking for something PAF Pro-like, as many guitarists I listen to use that one in the neck of their 24-fret guitars, one of them being a Carvin artist (Jarle H. Olsen, local guy). I have two guitars with singlecoils, both sounds great, so I'd like a bit more variation and have something in that classic humbucker-y style for this Carvin.

As for ordering from a dealer, that's naturally an option, but I also would like the option of purchasing a used pickup, either from my friend who repairs guitars, or from others. And besides, it would give me more options in general.

Pro Track in the neck may work for you.

 

[Yngtchie Blacksteen]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

I'll look into that one, thanks. Also seen the Little '59 mentioned as a good neck pickup if you like that PAF-ish sound.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

The Little 59 *is* an excellent pickup in the neck. You can combine it with something like the Classic Stack STK-S4 in the middle for an awesomely versatile guitar, that is also dead silent.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Pickups for a Carvin DC135

Keep in mind, *any* Seymour Duncan singles can be ordered so they fit without routing (non-keyed base).

Good to know thanks!!