Hi,

I know this probably the last place to ask for advice regarding Carvin guitars. I already own two starts.. an Eric Johnson and an Aztec Gold '59 (relic) .... I'm not that keen on the tele or jaguar sound and prefer to keep my dollars in the USA.

I don't want a Gibson ... bitten 3 times and although I'm a slow learner .... not today thanks.

Any thoughts on Carvin? Models, Sound and Quality?

I have to say Carvinites are pretty loyal. (disclaimer I am one) The company goes out of their way to make a good product and make the customer happy. I have a CS6 (LP style) and I think it is a great guitar. A bit brighter than an LP, but I couldnt tell you why that is. The action fit and finish are great. Look for independent reviews, Inquire on the Carvin Community forums to see if there is an owner near you willing to let you play theirs. Most Carvinites are pretty proud and willing to show off their creations. I am in the central valley of california. ( I didnt look at your profile to see where you are)

Carvin makes extremely expensive instruments and unlike many American guitar & bass manufacturers, doesn't have an affordable secondary brand for a budget.

They also make Fender-inspired guitars and basses such as the Strat-style Bolt and Jazz Bass-like SB models.

My other guitar is a Carvin CT4. Mahogany with a maple top and a pair of humbuckers. Made in the USA.

I was able to choose color, fingerboard material, fret material, fret size, body material, inlay style, bridge type, etc. Awesome guitar for $1250.00.

Good quality guitar...2 piece mahagony body, 2 piece maple top, excellent workmanship.

I disagree with the statement that they are extremely expensive. If you're in the market for an American made guitar with mahogany and humbuckers, you're looking at Gibson, Carvin, and PRS. Do the math. It's impossible to compare apples to apples when comparing guitar brands, and ALL of them have their problems. The Carvin, if it suits your needs, is a great value.

Carvin's quality is amazing, custom built the way YOU want it. Downside - resale value. They are not an investment but again their quality is just incredible. Absolute Godsend for us lefthanders, as is Fender to a degree. You have 10 days from receipt to try it out, if you don't like it all you're out is shipping, maybe $25. Cannot say enough good things about Carvin!!

If you want a great American made instrument, why not get a Heritage guitar? Custom shop made guitars at the old Gibson guitar factory in Kalamazoo, MI by old Gibson employees. Imagine a Gibson Les Paul Custom shop at the price of a Les Paul Studio. Headstock is slightly shaped differently, but the guitars quality is much better than any guitar on the market for that price.

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Thanks for the advice ... will take a long hard look at Heritage and Roman for that matter. Resale values are poor for the Carvin ... but I'm not "investing/lining Gibson's pockets". PRS are way too expensive ... a custom guitar for Standard strat money is what I'm after but without getting my hands on one to play ... it's a bit like driving a car with your eyes closed .... someone's bound to get hurt.

Carvin's aren't bad, but I haven't ever played one that wowed me.

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for a good place to find used Heritages, they have an owners forum that has a buy/sell section. I've heard way too many things about Ed Roman. Won't find a lot of love for him anywhere. He's a guy that believes guitarists revolve around his world....

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I'm pretty sure that you get a 14-day trial on a new Carvin so if you don't care for it you can send it back - regardless of the custom options/specs you might pick out.

Aside from Heritage there is also Hamer - not many new ones around these days since Fender bought them and converted them to a "custom order" only shop (from what I've heard they are only working on actual Hamer orders one day per week; the other 4 days they are working on Guild, Gretsch and other brands in the Fender family). At any rate USA Hamers are steals on the used market. Check out the Hamer Fan Club for good deals on used USA Hamers. You can find both Heritage and Hamer guitars used on The Gear Page as well.

I would stay away from Ed Roman as well - besides the other issues you can look up on the web his models have a terrible resale. Somebody here in my town got one of Ed's Quicksilver guitars and took forever to sell it at a huge loss - it was probably a $1,600-$1,800 guitar new that sold for about $800. They had it consigned at the local used/vintage store for quite a while so I got to try it out while it was hanging on the wall. I would say it was decent it wasn't anything to write home about; it played like a typcial MIM Fender Deluxe/Classic Player level guitar - certainly not what you expect from a custom guitar.

I think what sets Carvin apart from everybody else is their price and they are made to order. I have a friend who is a top shelf luthier who was flat amazed at my Carvin LP clone ( the "CS" or California Single cut - the Joe Walsh guitar you see in ads) in terms of quality and materials. This guitar was $1,350 and made the way I wanted - gold top, lefty, inlays, medium jumbo SS frets. Again, resale value blows but I have no interest in resale value. If I was right handed would I own a Carvin - very very doubtful which would be too bad. So if you want a true custom built guitar (they do have limits to what they'll do) you can't go wrong.

That really sounds like a great deal if resale wasn't a factor. Heritage is somewhat like that two. Rarely do any dealers have any in stock, usually you have to order one. A friend is having one made to his exact specs which are way beyond the norm. Kind of a Les Paul Custom design with three mini humbuckers and hand picked woods. Really cool.

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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Well... if you're mentioning "a custom guitar for Standard strat money is what I'm after" I'd be remiss not to mention Warmoth. Because nobody does truly 'custom' better for the price.

I don't have a Carvin, and have never played one - but from what I've heard from many people who have - they make a quality instrument, especially if you want or need a neck-through.

Definitely check out Carvin, and if they have what you want - great. If not, I'd highly recommend Warmoth.com as your next port of call...

EDIT: +1000 about your feelings on Gibson!

My $.02

ORCRiST

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Well I got to play a couple of Carvins and a Heritage last night ... the heritage looks the business but has that dead woody mid-range so familiar to Gibby's I tired in the past.

The Carvins are very nice guitars fit and finish is better than most I've .... seen and used.

Couldn't make a decision between them ... each had their own issues. No real character .... nicely made gear but when you are using someone else rig, I ended up listening to the amp and trying t get a reference point.

I'm going to keep looking

Been told by the boss - she needs to a vacation ... crap that's my toy buying done for this year.

My 1996 Carvin Bolt-T sounded fantastic, and featured what Carvin once called their "speed" neck. Ibanez players would feel right at home on it (but it was too thin for my hand), the 12-inch radius made it easy to get around on, the ebony finger board allowed the notes to jump right off and the alder body yielded that funky quack. I have no problems recommending one as easily as I'd recommend a Strat. Carvin has re-done the neck so that it's a little thicker and I think it has a curvier 10-inch radius on the fret board now.