When someone claims that a product is perfect for experts and beginners alike, odds are you are either purchasing a basic necessity (like underwear) or you need to stop watching tv into the wee hours of the morning. But when we say that Carvin guitars are suited for both the seasoned musician and the Mcultima noob we mean something completely different. We mean… um… well, we mean it’s true… What we really mean is that Carvin guitars are master crafted instruments with superb sound and enough customization options to satiate even the most component crazed of long time players, while simultaneously offering a high quality instrument to newcomers looking for a more serious sound than a Walmart six string, effectively making your non-expertise a well-kept secret. If you’ve weilded an axe long enough to see more than a few component switches on your baby, give us a scroll-down for a breakdown by our resident guitar expert (and Carvin owner), Josh Rooks, and if your a beginner we will bottom line it for you… (you know, at the end…).
For the Seasoned Musician:
Hello out there all you crazy BlipFlingers!(Flingers of the Blip?…moving on then). In this article we are going to explore the different aspects, features, and general deliciousness surrounding Carvin’s bolt on model year 2011: Bolt+ Tremolo.
For those of you just joining the guitar world, this is an electric guitar made in the USA by an excellent company that has been around for 65+ years. Carvin is renowned for their craftsmanship and quality. Everyone has their personal tastes, but Carvin makes a great instrument. That much can be said. In addition to that, they are direct sellers. In other words, they dont sell through Guitar Center and Sam Ash. Why is the important? Well, first of all, it makes it a little more challenging to try one. That’s why Carvin institutes the 10-day money back guarantee. If you receive your product (instrument, amp, etc.) and you decide its simply not for you for WHATEVER reason, they will take it back and refund your money. Basically, if you feel you just didnt bond with the color, they will take it back and either build you a new one, or refund your money. Mind you, this is within the 10 day trial period.
Second, this means that you will NOT get stuck with the retail up charge! Thats right, you pay direct pricing. Why is this awesome? Because it saves you money! Not only that, but Carvin is considered a semi-custom shop company. This means that within their hundreds and thousands of different combinations of options, you get an almost entirely custom instrument. They are definitely worth checking out!
The goal of getting my guitar was to replace my old Stratocaster. I went a slightly different route as my guitar has 2 humbuckers and does not have a pickguard, thereby placing the pickups mounted on the wood instead of on the pickguard itself. I like the looks of both, so no comment there. But what I WILL say is this guitar is beautiful. Allow me to lay out the specs:
-Swamp Ash body(particularly light)
-Maple neck/maple fretboard
-12” straight radius
-25.5” scale
-Stainless steel medium-jumbo frets
-3+3 headstock design with Sperzel locking tuners(fantastic tuners)
-Tung-oil finish back of neck
-Stratocaster body shape
-Classic Sunburst finish
-High Gloss body finish
-Wilkinson Bridge
-Carvin C22b/j pickups. Bridge/Neck respectively
-5-way switch that taps humbucker coils in positions 2 and 4
-Graph-Tech Tusq nut
-Headstock matches body color
-Chrome hardware
-1 Volume, 1 Tone
Im not going to go terribly in depth here. Just gonna hit some highlights and things I like. Then some things I dont care for.
PROS:
Lots to be found in this column. First of all, this guitar, with my personal specs and it being American made, was under $1000. Actually, it was just over $900 WITH a very nice hard case. Very much like the pickups. They are surprisingly high quality and sound very good split. Again, quite impressed with the quality of the sound when split. No quack here. So dont expect to get a quacky strat sound of of this. BUT, you CAN get a good Stratty positions 1 and 5 sound out of the Bolt+ 2 humbucker configuration.
The Graphtech nut. Excellent in tuning stability if not using the tremolo(more on this later). Keeps things from binding at the nut. As eluded to, the pickups by Carvin are excellent. C22J/B bridge and neck humbuckers. They split nicely and they take no gain, low, gain, and high gain settings very well. The Stainless Steel frets! Honestly, cant say enough about these. Normal frets are nickel. They are fine. But the nickel frets tend to wear quickly for someone who tends to really dig into the frets when he plays(me). The SS fret stay bright, shiny and slick as a whistle when bending. If you have the means to add this to your custom build, I highly recommend it. It is so choice(Ferris Beuler humor for ya there!). The angle of the headstock is excellent. Helps the notes ring freely and also helps prevent neck breakage in the event of a fall(unlike Gibson).
Lets talk about the neck. Very much like the neck. I personally have realized I like a slightly thicker neck. NOT a Gibson baseball bat. Rather, A Fender USA strat neck thickness. The Carvin neck and neck carve is VERY fast. In fact, it is a cozy balance between a USA Fender neck and an Ibanez wizard neck. That said, my hand still cramps a bit after long periods of play. I put this in the plus column because I got the tung-oil finish neck. This very well could have shaved a mm or two off the size. And in addition to that, if you want a fast neck, almost like a USA Jackson Soloist or Japanese Dinky, this is pretty much it. Minus the compound radius(which I personally loathe). Neck stays nice and straight and its not even their premium 5 piece. It has headstock truss rod adjustment. LOVE this. HATE the neck pocket truss rod positioning.
Comes with Sperzel locking tuners. Fantastic brand. I rarely have tuning stability issues. If I do, its not the tuners. Honestly. Its usually the nut or the bridge. These tuners do the job every time. This model comes in an Excellent case ($69 extra but worth it. Only sells with case purchased). I really like it. Its a quality molded SKB style case. Good for airplanes. NOT in the cargo hold. But surely carry on.
The guitar has excellent balance. I particularly liked this. However, I will say this guitar is a bit smaller than the standard strat. Its also a bit lighter. This could, however, be due to the fact that I got a Swamp Ash body. So take that into consideration. All the hardware is solid and the body cavities come shielded from the factory. A+ in my book on that one. Advice: Get the dunlop strap locks. They are well worth the $10 I believe it is for them when you order them as part of the package.
A reminder: All of this for just over $900 at the time of my purchase. Insane if you ask me. You always have the 10 day free trial If you decide you dont like it and send it back. You will get a full refund, so use a credit card. You know, unless you LIKE waiting on checks In the mail…
CONS:
And now to the cons. Admittedly this will be a significantly shorter list and it will have more opinion based criticism and minor criticisms at that.
The Tremolo. Carvin uses Wilkinson tremolos and while some models are absolutely fantastic, others fall woefully short of fulfilling their task. Is it to much to ask for a tremolo that stays in tune often while sustaining light, but regular tremolo use??? I mean come one! I shouldnt have to pull teeth to get this to happen folks. But alas, it does. Carvin uses what some thing are the VS-50 and others swear is the VS-100. Others still say its a between model, the VS-50/100(original, I know). Either way, it doesnt matter. The tremolo I received on my Carvin should be used as a fishing weight, not a guitar tremolo. if you’re going to go tremolo on your Carvin, my PERSONAL opinion is to avoid the Wilkinson altogether and go with a vintage style Fender 2 point trem that they now offer, or a Floyd Rose. The third option is buying a direct replacement Tremolo drop-in and swapping out the standard Wilkinson for either an upgraded Wilkinson model or a different Tremolo. BUT DO YOUR RESEARCH! You dont want to end up purchasing a different tremolo only to find out it wont go into your guitar. Or will, but needs major surgery on the guitar for it to work.
Next, the neck. I LOVE the fact that someone has finally made a crossbreed Ibanez/Fender neck. This is great news for most folks. However, I will say that the more I play, the more I love the USA Standard Fender Stratocaster necks. They just “feel good”. They are comfortable and my hands dont cramp up as often as they do with smaller necks. And I have average to smaller sized hands…no comments peanut gallery. Regardless, I would like to get an exact replica of a USA Strat neck on my guitars from Carvin but I dont think they can do that. They’re semi-custom shop. Just not THAT custom shop. Carvin also makes a thicker neck profile but some say its to thick. More towards the Gibson side of things and I simply cannot abide by that. But for now I am very happy with the neck. So Im gonna keep it like it is.
Finally, the weight. The guitar is a tad light for a super strat copy. I feel it needs either some added size or added density/weight. Now, understandably, mine is Swamp Ash body wood, and that tends to lighten things up. But still, the more wood you have with great solid joint connections, the better the tone and the better the guitar will resonate and sustain. Again, it has great sustain and tone as it is, so this is more of a “what if” because “if its already this good, think of how extra good it could be!” kind of thing. So take that for what its worth. Its a personal preference more than a criticism.
The Beginner’s Bottom Line:
-Incredible and diverse sound
-Direct purchase (no added retail cost)
-10 day no questions asked return policy
-More customization options than any new player would realistically need
-Long term and versatile play-life (you will still be playing this guitar even after you’ve figured out what makes it such a great instrument!)
Flingin the Blip for ya, this is JW!
Love,
blipfling 