Carvin BK4 Bass Kit

Made in 2008 in the USA. It is a 22 fret, 4 string, 34" scale Bass. Features include premium grade Alder body, Hardrock Maple neck with Ebony finger board, tilt back Icon style headstock, dual action truss rod, graphite nut with Teflon, Hipshot B style bridge, Carvin premium tuning key, two H50S stacked Hmbucking pickups, B4 passive electronics (2 vol. 1 tone), and Chrome hardware.

This is simple no nonsense Bass. It has a clean sound with no noise.

This is a Kit. So, it was I who set it up. To Carvins credit the kit comes with some very clear and complete installation and set-up instructions.

There is jut not alot to go wrong with this Bass. So, I'd say its pretty dependable.

Here is the "fly in the ointment". When I ordered it they stated in the ordering process that it would 1-4 weeks for delivery. It took 6 weeks to get and that is with me calling every week after the first 4 weeks were up. Then it was incomplete; the bridge had to be shipped seperatly.

If I weren't put off by the wait I'd give the BK4 a stellar report. If you are ok with waiting for over a month and a half for something after they already took your money, then this is a great kit to buy. Once done it it a very good value.
There is also an unexpected surprise when ordering; the kit comes with alternative options. Example: For an additional $20.00 I got the Icon head stock rather the inline as shown in the Kit picture.

This is a 2003 model, with unlined fretless neck, passive electronics, 2 J-bass pickups and swamp ash body. (Since the buyer specs all the features with a Carvin, rating the features is not really meaningful.)

I'd been looking for a nice fretless- all I had was a cheesy Rogue fretless bass- to compliment my Fender P-Bass, but I didn't like the new Fenders and everything I really liked was terribly expensive. The cheapest bass I considered was a Lakland Skyline, and the import models don't come with unlined necks. I bought this kit based on the comments of one friend who raves about his Carvin guitar, and another, who favors $2500 basses and who told me that he thought Carvins were a pretty good value.

I play rock, jazz, country and folk on bass, both upright and electric, and I favor a more traditional sound. I don't slap, and I don't pop, and I don't play speed metal bass. The Carvin delivers all the tones I need. It's a bit boomy on the low E, but that may be due to the strings I'm using right now; I'm planning on trying some Thomasik Jazz Flats later. I love the light weight of the swamp ash body, and I'm told it contributes to the depth of sound. Those who want more twang and pop would probably prefer the active electronics version.

Machining of the body and neck is first rate- all that's needed is a bit of final sanding with 320 grit paper. The rest oif the fit and finish is mine, of course; I used a dark walnut stain t emphasize the grain, a half dozen coats of tung oil wet sanded to push sanding dust into the pores, a top coat of WaterLox and a coat of wax over that. All I really needed to do was file the nut slots slightly larger (beter than trying to narrow ones that are too wide), raise the bridge a bit and relieve the neck tension to fit the strings I use- LaBella nylon wrapped.

Wood and hardware wise this bass is pretty solid. The volume and tone pots could be better; I'd like to see some large, heavy duty units in place of those minis, and maybe heavier gauge wiring, but that's about it. And those pikups "springs"- the instructions describe springs being included, but my pickups came with short lengths of surgical tubing, which seems tacky to me. The rubber used is easily attacked by solvents in finish and waxes, and will probably eventually crumble. NOt a good choice.

I ordered on-line, and had no problems. Then I called to change the order (I'd added string ferrules initially as I wasn't sure if the kit came with them) and the guy I talked to was very friendly... but the ferrules still came :-(

Given the quality of this bass compared to what's out there on the market, it's a bargain. Even if you bought the parts from other suppliers you couldn't build something this nice as cheaply. But much depends of the care of the builder. If you take your time on the body, sanding and filling over the course of a week, you'll end up with a gorgeous instrument. Ditto for the neck. Take your time on the wiring and you'll have a very reliable axe as well. You'll really need to spend another $30-40 minimum on finishing supplies, and you'd better have some quality screwdrivers, a small hammer for driving in screw inserts and a large no-mar hammer for installing the ferrules.

If I lost this bass I'd be very tempted to build another. About the only thing I'd do different is the stain of the wood, maybe adding a little dark red this time. And I'd change the pickup "springs" to actual springs.

Bought in 2003, 4 string, fretted, electric bass guitar. 22 frets I believe. Great two-piece swamp ash body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard. Passive electronics, two Carvin pickups, two volume, one tone control. I did the finish myself in Velvit oil. Bridge is a string-thru. Body style is Carvin's own, essentially a modified P-bass. Generic Carvin tuners that work fine. I bought the plastic case with it (great case).

This is my first bass, I've been playing guitar mainly. I don't think my ear is good enough to really distinguish between the sound of most basses. I like how it sounds, I found it comparable to a Fender P-bass. It roars and pops just as well as my friend's two ibanez basses with active electronics. I actually found no advantage to the actives on the Ibanez basses...my Carvin sounded just as good, and I don't need to tweak my EQ that badly.

Well I can take all the credit here, I built the thing myself. Everything was pre-drilled so it went together great. As I mentioned I used Velvit oil (similar to tung oil) for the body and neck and it turned out fabulously. Assembling and setting up the bass was simple. All you need to do is adjust the bridge height, pickup height, truss rod, and intonation. After an hour or two of quick adjustments it plays great.

The neck and fretwork are excellent. I couldn't find a dead spot. I was easily able to get the action very low with virtually no buzzing. The Velvit oil is fantastic on the neck, very smooth, woody feel. The ebony fingerboard is fairly flat and feels great.

Only had this a few weeks, so I really cannot say. Carvin's reputation is spotty, with some people praising and some people insulting. I'll have to wait and see. The only thing I am worried about is the stability of the neck etc. I did the finish, soldering etc myself so if there are problems with that it's my fault. As of now, everything seems essentially perfect.

The tone pentometer and volume pentometer were bad out of the box, but Carvin swifty sent me a replacement with no hassles. Not bad.

I've been playing guitar for 15 years and I have just gotten interested in bass. I bought the kit entirely based on what I had read online. I had the skills the assemble the thing correctly so I liked the idea of doing it myself, and saving some cash. I really like the excellent materials, particularly the beautiful body and neck. To be rather vain, the pickguard on Fender basses really bothers me. I'll probably never use a pick on this bass, so why cover up the whole top with that cheesy plastic guard? Is it because Fender's bodies are skanked out 14-piece bodies? I also played a bunch of Ibanez, Peavey, and G&L basses. G&L was way out of my price range. I almost bought a Godin bass, as I'm a big fan of Godin, but for some reason I got the Carvin instead. It was quite a gamble, building it myself, not playing it beforehand, strange company i had no experience with. It turned out great and I really liked doing it all myself.