# Carvin Guitars



## cptheman (Oct 15, 2009)

Recently I've been looking into some Carin guitars but I had some questions and thought I'd come here. 

1. Anyone here have carvins? Your thoughts?

2. The two that Im primarily looking into are the CS6 and the SH550. Anyone have exerience with either or both of these? Which one would you recommend?

3. Which of the stock pickup options would you recommend? (I was leaning towards the s22's)

4. For the SH550, do you think the bigsby option is worth the $150?

5. Any little features or options you would highly recommend.

6. How do they compare to their bigger brand name equivalents?

7. If you choose to return it after the 10 day period, do you pay for the shipping both ways or just to ship it back?

Don't feel obligated to answer all the questions, I just wanna hear everyones two cents. Thanks


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## starjag (Jan 30, 2008)

1. Anyone here have carvins? Your thoughts?

Great guitars. I miss the AE185 I had.

2. The two that Im primarily looking into are the CS6 and the SH550. Anyone have exerience with either or both of these? Which one would you recommend?

These are two very flexible guitars. The SH models are carved with thick maple caps, so they do not feedback like other semi-hollow guitars.

3. Which of the stock pickup options would you recommend? (I was leaning towards the s22's)

I had the H22 pickups. The S22 pickups seem to be the most popular offering. Many people say that Carvin pickups are not great. You might like them, but hard to tell in advance.

4. For the SH550, do you think the bigsby option is worth the $150?

Yes, but I like Bigsbys  I am sure that that Bigsby will stay in tune with locking tuners and a graphtech nut (which I think come standard).

5. Any little features or options you would highly recommend.

Lots of people like stainless steel frets and ebony fretboards.

6. How do they compare to their bigger brand name equivalents?

Carvins are their own animals. With the possible exception of the pickups, top-notch quality wood and components.

7. If you choose to return it after the 10 day period, do you pay for the shipping both ways or just to ship it back?

Unless there is something wrong with the guitar, it is very likely that you will keep it. You already paid for shipping to have it here. You have to pay as well to ship it back.









kksjur


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## cptheman (Oct 15, 2009)

Thats a beautiful guitar, and thanks for the info


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

Play the guitars, stay away from the Carvin Cool-Aid. The carvin community is absolutely loopy in their devotion to Carvin....big time blinders with their hardcore fans.


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## rockinbluesfan (Mar 3, 2008)

I personally love carvins. Locking sperzels, threaded inserts for back cover instead of just screws into wood. One of the best necks going - I have tl60 which is my go to guitar and isn't going anywhere - it's mine! (also have tokai, fender strat and an N.B. custom). Resale sucks so make sure you know what you want for options and you will be happy or keep your eyes open for a deal. Dunno why people don't want a used one - stuck on "brand names I guess" but mine was used (400 u.s.) and a keeper.


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

I have a couple of Carvins. While they arent as good as the top tier brands, they offer a great guitar for a quarter of the price of a custom shop model. Everything is standardized, so while you get custom options, you cant choose a specific neck shape or body style, just what they offer. They are well worth buying just on price alone as they offer a product which is superior to the imports at an import price.......


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## NB-SK (Jul 28, 2007)

Check the used ones on Ebay. Carvins don't have a good resale value, so there are some good bargains to be had on used ones. 

There was this year old CS6 that I was checking out a few weeks back, 800$ and the guy had upgraded the pickups (I think it was the Dimarzio Steve Vai ones). 

Instead, I scored an Orville by Gibson LPC-57 for 400$ (650$ if you count shipping, brokerage fee, and the 20% highway robbery customs duty we have on this side of the pond). It's in the mail. One of Gibson pickups doesn't work, but it's probably a faulty pot or a broken connection at the jack...But, I kinda don't want the pickup to work. It would give me an excuse to order a Dimarzio Air Norton (I've been wanting to try these out).


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## Accept2 (Jan 1, 2006)

Archer said:


> Play the guitars, stay away from the Carvin Cool-Aid. The carvin community is absolutely loopy in their devotion to Carvin....big time blinders with their hardcore fans.


Sounds like every brand out there. Fender, Gibson, PRS, ESP, Jackson, Ibanez, they all have their devotees who question your sanity because you dont play what they play.........


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## starjag (Jan 30, 2008)

Archer said:


> Play the guitars, stay away from the Carvin Cool-Aid. The carvin community is absolutely loopy in their devotion to Carvin....big time blinders with their hardcore fans.


I still have not met the loopy Carvin hardcore fans in this forum. It seems however that we do have a Carvin hardcore hater.


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2009)

I'm sitting here with my Carvin CS6S in my lap as I type this. I am loopy about it, as I am my Taylors and Fenders as well. Different tools for different applications.

I have a review of my Carvin CS6S here: http://www.guitarscanada.com/Board/showthread.php?t=27910 You will find all of the specs, several pictures, and some Youtube links of me playing it.

All I can say is I am more than pleased. To me it looks awesome, it sounds great, and the construction is amazing. It is very hard to find everything I got out of this purchase in another brand for this price point, unless it was made overseas.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

I've played a couple of Carvins one owned by a friend years and years ago. They are awesome! My only gripe is that the action is so low that I can't "feel" the strings and that is a personal preference. It is easy to raise the action, really hard to find a guitar with a neck that good that the action can get that low. Like, if it were any lower, the strings would be behind the frets.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I would like to point out that if you call Carvin directly, you can get finishes or features that aren't listed on the website - for an upcharge, of course.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

starjag said:


>


Starjag...That is one sweet lookin' guitar !!

Cheers

Dave


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Fit and finish on this one would be pretty hard to beat.



















Details here.

http://www.carvinmuseum.com/playersgallery/contour.html


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

Accept2 said:


> Sounds like every brand out there. Fender, Gibson, PRS, ESP, Jackson, Ibanez, they all have their devotees who question your sanity because you dont play what they play.........




Carvin guys are far worse. They seem to think that they know something nobody else does and consider any dissension to be a direct challenge to their world view.


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

starjag said:


> I still have not met the loopy Carvin hardcore fans in this forum. It seems however that we do have a Carvin hardcore hater.


Not at all, the guitars are a great bang for the buck and the amps are excellent and VERY durable.

Carvin makes really good stuff.


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## Jimi D (Oct 27, 2008)

starjag said:


> I still have not met the loopy Carvin hardcore fans in this forum. It seems however that *we do have a Carvin hardcore hater*.


That's me! That's me!! hwopv

...or maybe not... though I will say I am not a fan of thier cookie-cutter construction, all the Carvins I ever played (maybe five or six) or owned (two) were from the '90s, and they were all - at best - mediocre instruments, imho... Biggest hates: flat, square-shouldered neck carve; thin, strident pickups with a stupid number of pole pieces; some of the cheapest pots and plastic cover hardware I've ever, ever seen on any guitar, ever! As always, ymmv, etc...


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