Carvin AC40F Acoustic Bass

My AC40F was, of course, made in the USA, and built to my specifications in the summer of 2005. It's unlined, and has a AAA Engleman Spruce top. Active electronics are standard The body and neck are mahogany. It looks gorgeous.

I use this bass mainly for playing jazz. It's gotten plenty of compliments from other musicians, and in listening to recordings, I've fooled people into thinking that I'm playing an upright. But it goes beyond that sound ... for example, if I boost my mids and raise the treble a touch, I get these wonderfully warm harmonics paired with a deep low-end, perfect for solo playing viz. "Portrait of Tracy," etc. I play mine through a Hartke Kickback 12, and it sounds great - from jazz to funk to rock, etc. I don't use a lot of slap in my playing, but it works for accentuating various notes. Tapping sounds cool on this bass.

Carvin does an excellent job at creating consistent instruments. I like my string action rather low, so I adjust the neck to suit my tastes, sometimes sacrificing tone a bit. As an acoustic, the bridge is not adjustable. I wonder if the bridge was set slightly lower what the final product would be. I'm not sure if the same tone would be achieved. I'm not willing to go in for custom work to find out, either; I like the sound so much.

As finish goes, the bass is flawless.

The bass is sturdy. I'm not of the opinion that it is fragile ... only part of the body is hollowed out. The hardware and finish are great, and seem like they will last. The neck/truss rod seem to require more adjustment than other basses I've owned, but I'm a bit picky. I would, and do use this bass on a gig without a backup.

Carvin is great to work with. They are easy to contact, and consistently helpful. I honestly don't remember what the warranty is, but I don't plan to use it.

I've been playing for about twelve years. My other main bass is a '96 Hamer Cruisebass 5, with a 2-Tek bridge. I would definitely have purchased this bass, in hindsight. I love the look of the instrument, as well as its versatility. I'm a bit leary about the neck adjustments required to achieve the right action, but like I said earlier, I think that lowering the bridge would sacrifice tone ... we're not talking about an electric fretless here. The price is fantastic.

Ordered brand-new in july 99 in France. Made in USA (San Jose factory)
semi-hollow acoustic basse - 4 strings acoustic fretless model, with black nylon strings - controls : volume, treble, bass - pick up : piezo - active electronic - ebony fingerboard - Traditional headstock 2+2 tuners - Mahogany body and neck - natural spruce top - graphit reinforced neck, runing through the body - 34'' scale - straps lock system - Excellent presentation and finition but perhaps a little too "natural" and "folk" in this finition.

From my point of view, you can obtain two classes of sound :

1/ very rich low medium, with very deep and warm fretless acoustic sound : it sound like a little doublebass... and I usually don't use effect with this.

2/ With high compression and treble boost, it il possible to obtain a very impressive sound ! It sound like a powerfull acoustic slap, with the piezo amplification of the "boom" sound of your finger on the string.

Both kind of sound are great and powerful. Perfect for jazz rock, world music and playing with acoustic instruments. Deep and velvet fretless sound is perfect, even for "powerful" rock... (I was tented to write "enven for hard rock... but it's my own opinion...)

I like low action so I bowed a little the neck (very easily) a little more than Carvin recommmandation. Instrument is sold with black nylon string. Honestly, at the begining, I found the nylon string contact very strange, but the first sound was great. This instrument NEEDS this kind of string... Instrument send from the factory in a perfect and nice hardcase. No problem.

As a semi hollow instrument... it is certainly very fragile ! Dont drop it on stage ! But its weight is so light... Sometimes, you loose the impression of power given by heavier basses. But it's so comfortable... With graphit reinforced neck, you'll only have to touch the truss rod 2 or 3 times a year (in France, autumns are rainy and humid). As a conclusion, you must be careful with this instrument. In this case, it will be a very long lived bass guitar.

2 years garanty - No problem at this time.

It's my principal instrument since 2 years. I would have just prefer a shiny and most colored finition, certainly better looking than the standard "natural yellow spruce table". But anyway... I'm a fan ! :-)