Carvin 5 String Bolt Kit

I ORDERED THIS BASS WITH THE SWAMP ASH BODY. THE RAW BODY CAME SANDED NICELY, AND THE WOOD GRAIN WAS BEAUTIFUL. OTHER OPTIONS I GOT WERE THE HB2 HUMBUKER PICKUP AND THE BLACK HARDWARE. THE ELECTRONICS ARE THE ACTIVE/PASSIVE(REQUIRED FOR THIS MODEL). THE NECK WAS MADE VERY WELL: NICE FRET JOB AND FIT INTO BODY PERFECTLY. I GOT THE MAPLE NECK WITH EBONY FINGERBOARD. THIS BASS HAS A PUSH/PULL VOLUME CONTROL FOR THE ACTIVE OR PASSIVE MODE. ALSO A BLEND, BASS, TREBLE AND MIDRANGE. THERE IS ALSO A PHASE SWITCH FOR THE HB2. IT CAME WITH AN ALLEN WRENCH FOR THE BRIDGE AND A TRUSS ROD WRENCH/PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER. THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE OK, EXCEPT FOR THE WIRING. SEEMED VAGUE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE PHASE SWITCH. I PUT A GLOSS COAT ON THE NECK AND STAINED THE BODY IN A LIGHT HONEY COLOR, WITH SEVERAL GLOSS COATS(LOOKS GREAT).

I PLAY BLUES, R&B AND ROCK. MY RIG CONSISTS OF A STEWART WORLD 1.2 HEAD, A TECH 21 SANSAMP RB1 PREAMP AND BEHRINGER AUTOCOM COMPRESSOR. THIS RUNS 2 BAGEND S15-D CABS.
THIS BASS HAS A PUNCHY, ARTICULATE TONE WITH THE BLEND CONTROL SET TOWARD THE HB PICKUP. USING THE PHASE SWITCH, YOU GET A JACO-LIKE TONE. THIS BASS SEEMS TO HAVE MORE MID-RANGE AND HI-END SOUND CHOICES, BUT THE LOW END SOUNDS FINE. SOUNDS NICE ON THE SMALL AMOUNT OF SLAP I DO. THE MID-RANGE CONTROL, JUST OVER HALF WAY, HAS A NICE GROWL. THIS IS A NICE SOUNDING BASS FOR WHAT I PLAY, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR HARD ROCK OR METAL.

THIS KIT AND THE PARTS CAME TO ME IN GOOD CONDITION. FORTUNATELY, I HAD PUT SIMILAR KITS TOGETHER BEFORE, AND HAD LITTLE TROUBLE. TAKE YOUR TIME. IF SOMETHING IS UNCLEAR, CALL CARVIN OR GET ON THE WEB. MAKE SURE YOU DO THE SHIELDING CORRECTLY, AND BE NEAT WITH SOLDERING. DECIDE WHAT FINISH YOU WANT FOR SURE BEFORE YOU START. I'M HAPPY HOW THIS BASS CAME OUT. IT'S AS GOOD OR BETTER AS ANY NEW $500 BASS THAT I'VE TRIED.

I'VE PRACTICED ALOT ON THIS BASS, BUT HAVE'NT PLAYED OUT WITH IT YET. I DON'T EXPECT TO HAVE ANY PROBLEMS. SEEMS SOLID. I INTENDED THIS BASS TO BE A BACKUP.

NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH THIS. CARVIN SEEMS OK WHEN YOU ORDER. THE ORDER IS FILLED RIGHT.

I'VE BEEN PLAYING FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS. THIS BASS IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT I EXPECTED. FOR THE MONEY, BETTER THAN AVERAGE. I LIKE THE LIGHT WEIGHT, AND THE OPTION OF GOING PASSIVE IF THE BATTERY GETS LOW. IT WAS FUN TO BUILD AND PICK THE FINISH I WANTED. IT WILL BE A NICE BACKUP BASS. THE WIRING INSTRUCTIONS SHOULD BE CLEARER. OVERALL, A GOOD DEAL.

This is a build it yourself kit from Carvin. The bass with the options I chose has a swamp ash body, 34" scale maple neck with ebony fingerboard and 22 jumbo frets, Carvin sealed tuners, graphite nut, 2 Carvin active j-style pick-ups in the normal positions, 3 band active electronics, hipshot bridge with strings fed through the body, tung oil finish on the body and neck (which I applied) and a final rubout on the body with finishing wax.

This bass suits me very well. I play mostly fingerstyle rock and funk, occasionally country, and slap funk. It fits the bill well. The swamp ash body and active j-style pickups give this bass a lot of growl. I play with light strings and light touch and it still sounds very colorful. The electronics are very quiet. There is some noise when hard panned to either pickup, because they are single coils, but in the studio, where you're not playing next to a neon sign, the bass is dead quiet. On stage it is wonderful. The electronics are well organized and very versitile.

I set this bass up myself, and it plays very well. I had one high fret that was not fully seated, but after pressing it in I was able to get the neck totally flat and the action very low. The swamp ash body has beautiful grain, and was sanded very well. I sanded out to 400, and then applied 6 coats of tung oil and the wax. The bass is beautiful.

This bass is a rock. I have never had any trouble. It stays in tune very well for a bolt-on neck

The people at Carvin are the best! I have been dealing with them for years, and have never been let down.

I have been playing for 13 years, on stage and in the studio. I would replace this bass with another one just like it. For the money, you can't beat Carvin!!

I built this kit about 6 months ago. It is now my main bass. It has an alder body and a hard rock maple neck. I put a green stain on the body then finished it and the neck with tung oil. It has active/passive electronics. Not as good as some but better than alot. I got the Humbucker option which gives this bass a multitude of usable tones. I use all pickup selections that it offers. Neck is thin, similar to Rickenbacker, but wider. weight is excellent. Frets near perfect. It's a basic bass kit though so you can't expect alot.

I play all types of music. Mostley agressive alternative. I run the bass through an Ampeg SV-P preamp, Alesis 3630, Carvin 1500w pwr amp, then into a Acme Low B-4(Best Cab you can buy). The bass is faily quiet. I have only had problems with a loose input jack. Tone wise, I can get 4 excellent tones out it and 3 good ones. The three I like best are a Musicman, Jazz, and P-bass sound. My favorite is with both pickups and the bridge in humbucker mode. Very punchy! Haven't used it outside practice, but looking forward to showing it off, since I built it myself.

The action on mine is set as low as I could get it without to much fret buzz. I haven't noticed any problems with buzz, but then I actually pluck my strings so that they move towards and away from the neck so I always get morebuzz than other bass players. That's just part of my tone, sloppy and nasty. I haven't weighed it yet. To me it's very light, but I used to play a Rickenbacker solid maple 12 string(heavy). I am very pleased with my finish job.

I beat the hell out of it. I've only adjusted the neck and set the intonation once after I finished building it. To reduce stress on the strap locks, I drilled the holes big enough to set them all the way into the body. Similar to Warwick and other high end basses. I could gig with this bass without a backup, but I always carry a backup because weird this happen in the world of music.

I've bought severaly things from Carvin over the years and have destroyed some of it. Never had a problem with servicing of tecnical help. I did talk with one guy that had a butt for a head, so I can't give them a 10.

I have been playing for 15+ years now, and have played alot of basses(Alembic, Rick, Fender, Modulus, Yamaha, other Carvins, Ibenez, Warwick, and a few other pieces of crap). I would buy this kit before I bought any Fender or low end Warwick(bolt on). The only thing I may change on mine will be the electronics. Bartolini would be a good fit. For the money and the joy of assembling it, I will probably buy another one.