Carvin C450TS Cobalt Series Acoustic Bass

Made in 2005 in Korea as per Carvin specs. Four string jumbo bass body with AA Spruce top, Mahogany sides, back, and neck. Abalone purfling around soundhole. Nice, solid tuners with brushed silver finish. Fishman Matrix pickup system with Fishman Prefix Plus-T on-board EQ and preamp with tuner. Active system. Beautiful satin finish. Long scale neck with Rosewood fretboard and medium frets. Hard case cost an additional $69.00, (required for shipment). Decent
case, at first look almost looks like leather, but on further examination is actually plastic.

I play in a Christian Praise Band. Great for this style of music. Also do some Jazz and Blues, works well with almost an upright sound. (A fretless neck would be cool!) Can be used acoustically, but lacks projection when accompanying more than one acoustic guitar or other acoustic instrument. Comes alive when plugged in. Built-in notch filter, phase switch, and contour fader switch to eliminate feedback, but I would still recommend a soundhole feedback buster. I use a Lutehole soundhole cover, heavy style. My amp is a Fender Rumble 100 with 15" speaker and tweeter. A good fit with this bass. Gives a good deep, full sound, but yet brings out good highs and mid-range when you experiment with on-board EQ and amp EQ.

This bass arrived in superb condition. Quality workmanship. Haven't found any flaws. Intonation and action were perfect. No fret buzz as is usually the case with most acoustic basses. Little manual provided
for pre-amp and EQ is a little too simplistic, but the system is pretty easy to master. The only drawback I see is that no strap button is provided at the heel of the neck. I tried a long strap attached to the headstock. Ackward and not very comfortable. Finally got brave and installed a brushed silver finish button on heel of neck. Strap is very comfortable now and gives guitar a balanced feel.
Frets are nicely fitted and finished, very smmoth. Overall look of guitar is gorgeous!

Bass seems to be built like a tank! Looks like it will stand up to regular gigging. Hardware is top-notch and looks as though it will last as long as the guitar. (Probably longer than me!) Finish is solid and even. Haven't had to adjust the truss rod at all. I never gig without a backup! (Seems to always be a clumsy drummer around!)

I've read quite a few bad reviews about Carvin's support staff. I have had nothing but good experiences with these folks. Each time I have called or emailed, they have responded right away and have been extremely helpful and professional. It took three weeks to get the guitar. The factory ran out of cases and as previously stated, they won't ship without the guitar being in a case. (Good common sense!) They could have been a little better in communicating with me about the shortage of cases. The only way I found out was when I called them. One other small thing, don't depend on their website to update you on your order. Mine still shows to be "received". They did however, email order confirmation and when the guitar was shipped.

I have been playing guitar for about forty years. Have messed around with bass guitar for several of those years, but began serious playing about four years ago when our bass player quit. I also have a Peavey Grind NTB five string that I dearly love, a Yamaha RBX 170 four string with customized electronics, and a very old Sunn bass amp. I have tried out many "big-name" acoustic basses over the years and can honestly say, this one blows away all the others! Before ordering, I went through my usual routine of checking for reviews. There were none! The only comments I saw about the C450TS were Bunny Brunel's on the Carvin website. He was very faltering about this bass, saying, "It's the best acoustic bass I've ever played!" I decided to take Bunny's word, and he was right! If it were lost or stolen, I would probably sit down and cry like a baby! But as soon as the tears dried, I would order another one! I would not hesitate to recommend this bass.