Here's a custom heritage that was just finished this week...



This one is mine...

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


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Carvin has been around as long as Fender, I certainly would not accuse them of copying Fender, they do their own thing, but they are in the same region as Fender, thus the marketplace is going to demand a similar style of product.
I still have a set of their pickups which I bought 20 years ago. An MS22 HB with single to dual coil switching and two single coils. great set of pups. I have played their guitars and have always been amazed at the quality level. Cheap or rather inexpensive, they are not but neither should a pro quality instrument be expected to be bought at WalMart price's.

This brings me to a semi-rant. That is this obsession of value, investment return on investment which is so prevalent in most of the threads when considering to buy a guitar.
Buy a guitar because of it's instrumental qualities that fits one's personal criteria.
Guitars in general are not good investment vehicles. Sure a 56 sunburst strat or a two pickup 59 Les Paul Custom fretless wonder would have been a great investment in today's market. If it was bought at least 30 years ago and held long term to the present.
But a $1,200 to $2,500 let alone a $500 to $700 is not an investment sure to return dividends. Investments are held long term and you will get a better return with that $2000 if invested in the financial markets, but the Caveat is that here also much homework is required to gain in the Long Term.
I do not see anyone mentioning time in these equations of buying guitars. If one buy's a 2001 standard strat for $650, spends $200 on pup upgrade, another $150 on bridge upgrade, perhaps $100 on tuners, $65 on pickguard, pup covers and knobs.
This brings up the cost of $650 plus $515 to $1165.
$1165 ( an average for the sake of argument ) does not include time spent assembling, researching and acquiring the upgrades. If one adds up those equally important other cost variables and puts a monetary value of say what your per hour income ( use own employment compensation as a figure ) is, then the actual cost of that Strat is far above what the market will pay.
To me it is irrational to base instrument purchase on investment returns. NA unless one is dealing with truly custom one offs or immaculate vintage pieces...Sorry
I do remember that it is about playing an instrument... Correct...

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

My Heritage (the amber one above) was about 1/4 the price of a new one. I'll never buy a new guitar unless its something I want and will never sell. I had an epiphone les paul a few years ago that I put Gibson BB Pro pups in it, vintage bone nut, strap locks, and a HSC with it. Total spent was around $900. I sold it for $260. Talk about feeling like I was ripped off! But lesson learned, a guitar is better off being bought used and left alone rather than upgraded. Its the only way to minimize your losses...

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


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I agree with you that you should (unless you are in the position to buy something that has become "investment grade" like a '50s Fender or Gibson) always buy a guitar because it speaks to you. However, the reality is that a lot of us, myself included, are "serial flippers" on that guitar journey. I've never bought a guitar that I didn't think was a "keeper" the day I bought it, yet out of all the ones over the years when I look in my office/music room only two remain - and one of them was a gift from my folks from almost 32 years ago.

I've taken huge hits on several guitars - I tend to like ones out of the mainstream and they often have higher depreciation than the common brands. Also, custom orders will always take a large hit - specifically on a guitar like a Suhr, Anderson or Grosh where you are responsible for developing the specs simply because what you think is the "ideal guitar" may only be ideal to you at the time you ordered it. Sometimes you just can't tell if a guitar is going to work within a 24 to 48 hour approval period - sometimes it takes a few months to make that determination. I will say that while I was doing this I had a specific goal in mind when I made the purchases and therefore wouldn't trade the journey I was on for having the cash back.

That being said, I do feel that is potential loss is something that you should know when you get into a specific guitar - if it turns out to not be the "the one" then you're might be out more with "brand A" than you would be with "brand B". It's part of the equation, particularly if you don't have access to a lot of brands in your area and you're looking into something based on reviews, specs, or whatever source that causes you to be interested in the specific guitar.

If you watch all of Steve Oliver's demos...they are what they are...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlUXq19NbHg

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I've never played a Carvin but from what I've read in reviews and comments from regular players I'd have no qualms about ordering one sight unseen.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I have a Carvin instrument I built years ago before they came out with "The Bolt". It was also before they started the kit. It's a quality guitar and plays great. More of a shredder than what I like now, but my 21 year old nephew loves it. He says he can do stuff on the Carvin that he hasn't been able to do on other guitars he has owned. (Gibson SG, Epi, etc.) It will probably be given to him soon, I hate to see a guitar go to waste. I've also upgraded several guitars with Carvin parts. Quality stuff.

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The design of each element should be thought out in order to be easy to make and easy to repair.
Leo Fender

Thanks for all the comments and advice people - going to have to put any thought of buying a new guitar on hold ... new tires for the car will set me back $1200 ... and the fracking check engine light has come on again....

What are you driving..

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

In the twenty plus years of guitar & amp "horse trading" I've done, I've only seen one used Carvin for sale. That goes to show that people obviously keep them, so they must be doing something right.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

Well, as a Carvin owner i have to say that it is the one guitar in the stable I would not sell, not because of the resale, but because as a custom order it is uniquely mine, and is an amazingly well crafted, undervalued guitar.

An '03 Z4 .... 106K on the clock - bridgestone potenza run-flats Tire Rack has them at $258 a pop, plus shipping, fitting etc, etc.... been needing 4 new boots for a bit.

Must admit I would rather sell the car than spend any more money on the damn thing and it's been too hot the last couple of days to enjoy the roof down.... that Heritage is so pretty but won't get me to work in the morning.

Ah Yes..the minute cost of shoeing German wagen's. I am due for a fitting for the A4.
Hartman Wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport 3's or PS 2's.

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Mike thanks for that link, really liked what I heard. I'll have to check out more off his music.
filerj