Carvin LB 75 Bass

carvin LB75, i believe it was made in mid 1998. 24 fretted ebony fingerboard,one piece 34" scale maple neck thru,alder body with blue burst finish.Carvin J/J pick up,3 band eq with push/pull volume control knob to bypass the Active to passive mode, rounded body, string thought body bridge.. Head stock matched the body color.

LB75 have a decent tone,not exactly the best bass guitar out there.the sustain a little unstable and quite frankly i'm a little disappointed, the pick up simply too noise,the active pre-amp doesn't really do much for me.most of the time put it in passive mode. possessed a very bright tone,but not really punchy.

when i got the bass,it was horribly set up, the bridge is too high causing really bad intonation,i have to carved the nuts just to get the right set up.after using the best for little over 2 years,the jack start to fall apart,the control knobs start to fall off one by one and soon the pre-amp completely dead supposedly because of bad wiring.i love the fret job,there are no flaws on the finish,nicely done,tolerable woods quality and very good hardware

the hardware last really long, I've toured from coast to coast,play it during winter, there are no sign of rusting, made a lot of buzzing noises, but it's done allright for live show.

never call them before,i didn't buy the warranty, and most of the time i fix everything by myself.

i've been playing over 10 years, i own couples of high end basses(kinal,modulus and spector),overall the bass is decent,the look is allright.

Not sure of the year of this LB75, I purchased it from Guitar Network via E-bay. 24 fretted ebony fingerboard, one piece maple neck thru with walnut body wings, blue sunburst finish on body and neck, J style neck PU, HB2 (MM style) bridge PU w/ coil splitter switch.
Active or passive mode, Hipshot bridge, through body stringing. Active controls for bass, mid, treble, PU blend control, volume controls. Head stock matched the body color. All-in-all, an absolutely gorgeous axe!

I'm a freelance bassist doing oldies, country, R & B, jazz, blues and this instrument meets my needs nicely! With the pickup combination I have and the preamp I can get Fender Jazz bass or Music Man Sting Ray sounds easily. My favorite tone, however, is both pickups on and bridge pickup in humbucking mode. This gives me a slap sound that has a Ken Smith kind of "sting" to it. I've not found the output to be noisy at all, and I do a lot of practicing through a Line 6 pedalboard with headphones. My stage rig is usually an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro and a 4x10 Hartke cabinet, and I've gotten very good comments from the bands I work with about the sound of this bass! My major problem with this bass is that for slap-and-pop, there's not as much open area as on a Music Man due to the neck pickup; just a matter of getting used to, for me. Carvin's preamp has a lot of top end, so I find myself cutting the treble control back when I play.

I had to adjust the truss rod and intonation immediately; apparently the previous owner of this bass just stuck it under his bed and never played it. Once I adjusted it for a fairly low action, it felt like part of my hand. No flaws evident in the finish or the electronics.

This has been my main bass since August 2005, and I've not had any problems with using it live at all. I replaced the standard strap buttons with Strap-Locks, which I do on all my basses. No complaints about the finish, though I WOULD prefer a satin finish on the neck; easier in humid weather. I don't carry a backup bass on gigs, just an extra string set and batteries, and I don't feel the need to with this one. On break, my bass goes in its case, out of harm's way.

Haven't dealt with Carvin yet except to download a manual for the bass from their web page. One thing I like on their web page is, they give sound bites for several of their bass models, which is VERY helpful. It's how I fell in love with the slap tone!

I've been playing bass for roughly 17 years and have owned Fender and ESP Jazz Basses (I don't like the P-bass at all, too one-dimensional). I also own a 5-string Ernie Ball Music Man Sting Ray which I love to play and has that one-of-a-kind slap tone but is just VERY HEAVY on my shoulder compared to the Carvin. The only "boutique" bass I've tried is an Alembic, but it just doesn't get the slap tone I get from my Carvin. Did I mention I love the slap tone from the J-bass neck/humbucker bridge combination?

2004 LB75P with quilted maple top, Koa wings, matching headstock, gold hardware, 5-piece maple/koa neck through body. Clear finish and tung-oil neck. 18V active electronics with humbucker (bridge position), jazz pickup (neck) and piezo pick-up and controls to blend them all. Looks real pretty.

Hardshell Tweed case

Sound is bright but not much punch. Really not a tremendous difference in sounds considering all the picj-up variations and active electronics. Actually, quite a disappointment.

Finish came with one small bubble that is an annoyance but otherwise it looks great.

Set-up sucked when I got it so I had it professionally set-up (twice). It still sucks. Cousin be buzzin no matter what I do. A true failure. Going from room to room seems to make the buzzing worse and it does not stay in tune very well

Don't like the buzzing which, while ok for live, makes it virtually unusable for studio

Very friendly but with a short return policy (coupled with their direction for me to wait a month before setting it up) caused me to keep a bass I would have returned

Been playing 25 years and numerous high-end basses. I love the looks but hate the buzz.

My LB75 appears to be a 2003 model. 24 fretted ebony fingerboard, one piece maple neck thru with walnut body wings, tung oil finish on body and neck (love the neck!), J style neck PU, HB2 (MM style) bridge PU w/ coil splitter
Active w/ passive mode, Carvin PU's, rounded edges, Hipshot bridge, through body stringing. Active controls for bass, mid, treble, PU blend control, volume controls. Head stock matched the body color. All-in-all, an absolutely gorgeous axe!

I play gospel, contemporary Christian, and jazz. This puppy has not only the sound I've been looking for in a sub $1000 bass, but the neck!! This bass handles all of the tones I want. I haven't found the noise some reviewers referred to when they have some of the pots up full (but then, why would you? hmm..). This bass has a nice rich full tone. If you want to brighten it up without moving the treble, slap on a fresh set of steel (not nickle plated)strings. I did, and it added to the bass's versatily. I haven't used it in the studio, but live, my drummer took notice as soon as we started playing! I play thru a Hartke 3500 with a Peavey 410TX cab. Did I mention the neck's action is to die for? I would have liked the 5 pc neck, but when you buy used, you get what's on the rack.

Since it was a used bass, I can't speak to the factory set-up. When I tried it in the store, the action was nice and low for my light touch. The strings where shot, so I had them change them so I could feel good about what I was about to do (trade in my Schecter Elite 5)
Everything felt good about the bass. The finish was in such great shape (no nicks; just a very, very slite wear mark on the body near the G string..problably from the prior owners slapping technique. I used a fine line walnut furniture pencil, and viola!!). All the pots and tuner keys where solid. Other than the dead strings, It felt like this axe had never been used

Yes, this bass will withstand live playing. It's not like I'm going to be smashing it on the floor of the church pulpit platform!! I think it would hold up no matter what style or venue you play (if you are a rocker, you might want to opt for a harder, gloss finsh or a claro walnut finish. The hardwar is solidly built. As a practice, I will put some straplocks on this baby. I haven't had it long enough to see how the neck "moves" from winter to summer. As far as a backup, I don't have one. My "backup" money goes to kid's college tuition payments!!!

Haven't had to, and hope I don't have to, given some of the things I've read about their post-sale customer service

I've been playing off and on since high school. (I do have a kid who's a junior in college, so now you can guess my age!). I don't have any other musical gear, but I have a home studio (Pro Tools LE).
I really hesitated before I bought this bass, not that I didn't already know how Carvins sound, but was it that much better than what I had (the Schecter). The answer was a resounding YES!! Makes me wonder why I didn't order from Carvin before I bought the Schecter a year ago. Compared to other basses I've owned or tried in the sub $1k market, this is by far the best I've owned (I've owned the aforementioned Schecter, Ibanez BTB405, Yamaha RBX67 and I've looked at Warwick Rockbasses, Spector Legends, etc). I choose this one because it had the look and neck I have been searching for. At first I had a doubt about the B string on a 34" scale neck, but that was quickly removed from any gripe I may have had. It's the best, tightest B out there. You WILL be satisfied!

Aprox 1992 Carvin LB75. Emerald green with black hardware. Maple neck thru body with alder wings & flame maple top. Wilkenson bridge, Shaller locking tuners. Carvin JJ pups. 24 frets. 2 band active eq, easy access batery compartment. Got it used with hard case at local music store for $599. Bass itself in excellent condition, case in good condition. Comfy neck for a fiver. Had to get truss rod adj tool with it since it uses the same kind as Jacksons & Gibsons but dif size.

Gets best low B for a 34" scale that I've tried. The pups could use a bit more top end but the maple to makes up for that. Down side there is it would be lacking treble responce without a maple top. Gets very good solid sound. pups and electronics work well with heavy overdrive. Unlike most jazz pups imo. I use a Zoom Player 3000B proccessor & Peavey amps. 45-125T & gauge Ken Smith and alt 45-130 GHS strings with. Though I favor the GHS strings.

No idea bout factory stock set up. Reset up the bass for my preferances. Though I can get very good low action on it, it wont do the ultra low action I get with my amer BC Rich warlock & NJ Beast basses. Tuning is a bit oversensitive but ok. I suspect the bridge's the culprit rater then the tuners. On its wilkenson bridge you have to slide the hole of the ball end onto a post. So the string doesnt have that little bit of rotate room like on regular bridges (aka badass2) and other fast top load ones. The Schaller locking tuners seem as nice as most qaulity tuners. Dunno that the locking aspect gives any real advantage. Takes off two points for action could allow for tad bit lower for those who like ultra low, and wilkenson bridge would beneifit from regular fast load design imo. Minor gripe, but not enough to warrant not getting the bass for the $599 paid.

Is well made. Im mainly a four string player so isnt primary bass. Like most makers straplocks (BC Rich is only exception I know of) they are too narrow at top to work well. Replaced them with wide too ones. Its held up very well in the 12 or so yrs that its been around. Sees no reason for that to change.

Have tried contacting Carvin with emails before about uid times for a bass, and never got a reply back. Resulting i em not gettig an order from me. Contacted them by phone last year to ask date of mfg for a doubleneck a onlne store had. They said their serial numbers are randomly assigned and dont indicate a yr of mfg. Which imo is stupid. Poor customer service in experience with.

Been playing for more then 20 yrs. Plays BC Rich basses too. Besides being best sounding 34" scale B string I've played, the emerald green finish and overall qaulity is fave thing. Not sure what would replace it with if lost or stolen. Since I have no reason to have faith in Carvins customer support from my experience with. So would probably replace it with a 35" scale 5 string BC Rich Warlock or Innovator bass if had too. For price ($599 used with case) is a fantastic bass.

My instrument was made in the USA with 24 frets. While it functioned just fine as a five string bass, I replaced the original strings with Labella strings one octave higher than stand standard tunning. The pickups are Carvin stock with active electronics. Clear coat finish with a five piece maple/ walnut neck through contruction with alder body wings. I opted for the tweed case which is actual made by G&C Quality Case. They make cases for a number of high end instrument companies look them up on there website for details. The tweed case is made from plywood so it is noticeably heavier than the standard plastic case, but solid and grand.

I guess you would call my LB75 a five string piccolo bass. I love to play solos with it the instruemnt sounds great. Even when I pluck the strings and place my ear on the horn of this guitar unplugged the sound is full and bright. Great for chords as well.

Before I puchased this guitar I read several reviews from Bass Player, etc. I even asked several guitar repair shops locally which guitar they felt were well made and the Carvin name can up time and again as an exceptionally well made guitar. I received may instrument on-time as promised and was well pleased at how well the instruement was made. I advised anyone that purchases a giutar to have it set up before you start playing. Most guitars are made with pretty generic setups you must setup the guitar for type and style of music you play. It really makes a great difference.

I have not had this instrument long enough to tell, but I suspect it will last with proper care.

OK not as bad as some of the horror stories I have read, but they certain won't get a J. D. Powers customer service award neither.

I have been playing for serval years and not just the guitar. I believe this instrument is extremlly well made. I love the fell of the neck. My only limitations will only be my own talents and desires to excell with this instrument. I doubt I will purchase another guitar and if I have to replace this one I will purchase another Carvin without reservation.

2003 Carvin LB75 w/bridge HB and Neck Jazz Pickup (you can have a choice of combinations). 24 Fret neck through w/tung oil finish on the back of the neck. 5 string. Cavin stack pickups. Switchable Active Passive Elec. 3 band eq, pickup balance pot, volume pot, Phase switch. Ruby Red Alder bodie w/curly maple top. Sting-thru (great sustain). Neck is unique- not round like fender and G&L, but not to flat either (best necks i've played). Stock ebony neck (nice feature I've always liked ebony fretboards). Comes with choice of case and tools (nice case).

It does everything any of my other basses have done and more. I do allot of cover gigs and it handles all the music just fine (it's the only one I use right now). Its mean when it needs to be, and soft and smooth for others. I thought I would be stuck with just a warm dark sound with the neck-thru, but I can get some good high end out of it. Considering they're just stock pickups (I think made by Carvin) I can't complain at all (much better than other stock pickups I've heard). I would like it if the offered Bartolini Pickups as an option.

Put it this way, it was still in tune after being shipped UPS ground from California, to Boston in the middle of the winter. The action is the best I've tried. Fit and finish, even the curly maple top was picked out special to look like one of the pictures. I wanted it to go in vertical lines and not spread out like most curly tops. The sales person went down to the floor and picked out the top for me. Absolutely Perfect!

The bass is solid. I think the color and finish I chose will probably show any marks a little more, but that's not Carvins fault. My old G&L was bullet proof but it was also a light color. The only problem I have is (but I have this with most vendors) that the electronics are a little scary. I was a electro-mechanical-optics tech for over ten years. I had to be certified in soldering every year for mil-spec soldering, so I'm probably more critical than I should be. The carvin look like the guy was having a bad day. I always rewire and re-solder everything anyway. I haven't had to adjust the neck at all. I've only had to adjust the B string height because the windings on the type of strings I use start before the bridge. I've been using it without a backup. I know I need one, but I'm a lazy f'er and don't feel like shopping. Maybe another Carvin, but I would like to try the new Fender deluxe 5 string first.

They would not let me go away unhappy. Support at Carvin is above and beyond. If I called them now they would say send it right in.

I've been playing for 27 years. I just use a simple Hartke 3500 w/transporter 4x10 cab.
I wish I asked for double humbuckers. I really miss that from my old G&L.
I would buy again (if stolen it has an identity chip, so if I see it somewhere, I can probably get it back).
I love the way it plays. I could not find anything close that is in its price range. I still go to music stores just to see if I can find a different one that plays as well. My favorite feature has to be the neck, it's perfect.
The thing's I don't like are that you can't get third party pickups. Also, I think there is somthing about Carvin that most payers don't find them cool, or something. I think that's why you don't see more of them.

My LB75 has a koa body with maple neck, gold hardware (very worn down) 5 knobs for active/passive with master volume, tone (or pan), 3 eq (high, mid, low), HB2 Humbuckers with J99 neck pickup, Mid cut switch, ebony fretboard and headstock to match the body.

Obvously, i got a good deal on this baby. Factory price woulda been 1000 but i was lucky. All it was missing was the 5 piece lamented neck and the drop B, but thats ok.

It has a natural tung oil finish so no need for gloss maitnance, and the good old dunlop straplocks that everyone loves... hehe

My style happens to be more of the gospel and contemp christian style, so i like my range to be pretty wide... this bass has it all. I could switch to the HB2 and get a good slap on, switch to the j99 and get a nice soft sound, or i could mix to get anything in between. The mid cut comes in handy for slapping and the eqs... i barely touch.

This bass is pretty bright, but new strings could change that and i hook it up the a carvin half stack enclosure with a carvin head, so that sounds cool.

Only one thing i dislike was that... it was sometimes a bit too bright, but its a good thing i have this thing called a bass boost on the carvin head.

Well, since i bought it from a friend, it wouldnt matter too much how it came. I'll leave no opinion here.

This thing is really a rock.. hahaha. how many times have you heard that? Its been used for roughly 3 years and it's as good as new (except the fretboard.. lots sweat marks) Since there is no finish, i dont have to worry about it so its cool.

I've had this for 1 week, so im not sure how the electronics are, but im sure they're really durable.

So far, this thing hasn't gone down yet

Bought from friend.. hehe

This thing is the best thing that happened to me since this computer. I used to own a Squire P-bass and now, this!!!! wowowowow im happy. IM sure i'll be using this for the next 10 years, so yea.

You wont regret buying this baby

2003 model, brand-spankin' new, and made in San Diego. This one's a 5-string with 24 frets. The body materials that I selected, (study your woods before you buy), were a mahogany body with a figured walnut top. I got the basic active Carvin three-band eq (bass, treble, and midrange w/ volume and pickup controls), along with the standard Carvin J99 single coils. I really like the acitve bypass feature, so I can practice by myself in passive mode, and not drain the battery. The neck is a 5-piece, made of three pieces of Eastern Hard maple, and two pieces of walnut, along with a birdseye maple fingerboard. The construction is neck-through-body. I selected a high-gloss finish for the whole instrument. The body style is very contemporary, with regular body sides, and not rounded. You get a different kind of jack plate with this style, as opposed to the barrel style on the rounded ones. I think the football-shaped ones like on here are much better. The bridge is a Hipshot string-through or top-load style bridge, so you can go for more sustain, or more bite-nice. The tuners are premium Carvin, and are standard chrome, along with the eq knobs and bridge saddles, and the strap buttons. This bass has a 34" scale, slong with the wider, assymetrical neck option that I chose. Here, the string spacing is a full 3" at the 24th fret, instead of a tighter 2.75". The accessories I got with the bass, were two tools-a combo trussrod wrench/screwdriver, and an Allen Wrench key. I also got two medium gauge picks, and a nice hardshell case.

I have played many style of music in different bands, and now currently play in a "melodic thrash" outfit, called Walloflesh-gruesome name-solid music. Anyway, my LB75 nails all my styles-it's beautifully sinful! This bass is so alive, and barks like absolutley nothing I've had before-volume AND clarity. I use no effects, using a rig consisting of an SWR Bass 750 head, going into an SWR Goliath Senior 6x10 cabinet. The only noticeable noise, is when you choose to make either jazz pickup favored more than the other. But, this is totally natural from a single coil. So, nothing wrong, and I use both pickups on full anyways, unless I want to get shimmering harmonincs, and the bridge pickup REALLY delivers them. This thing is wonderfully bright, as well as having a string bottom end, and midrange. Regardless of what people may say, the body wood DOES matter-even the top. I've owned a Carvin in the past, with everything the same, except the woods-totally different sound. Do study your woods, so you can get the exact sound you want-http://www.warmoth.com is a good reference to look at. The stage or studio are both equally fitting for the LB75. There's nothing about the sound that I don't like.

The set-up that they did at the factory, believe it or not, was actually near-perfect, and I'm EXTREMELY critical. I only had to raise the B-string a bit, but other than that, nice low action with no buzzing-FINALLY! Plus, this is the first time I have had this quality, with a PERFECTLY flat neck! You can't imagine how many basses I've tried and owned that couldn't achieve this. The pickup heights were perfect as well. Everything, concerning playability, is far beyond what I expected. The string response, intonation, action, and neck profile and shape are superb. The wider neck I got is much better than the regular smaller, and chunkier one-much more comfortable. There's no interference here, whether I'm delicately tapping, and really digging-I'm very happy. Oh yeah, and I'm also not getting paid, or anything, to say all this. Anyway, there are no flaws on my bass at all.

This bass would definitely withstand live gigs-very solid bass. The hardware will last, and I chose regular chrome, since it doesn't chip like black, or oxidize like gold. The gloss finish is super-tough. My dumbass-self has already, in a little over a week of ownership, clumsily "banged" this instrument on certain surfaces, and NOTHING. I highly recommend gloss over a satin finish, or the ultra cheap, undurable, and crappy tung oil finish. Tung oil finishes dent SO easily, and besides, the gloss finish on here is beautiful. The Dunlop straplocks are my favorite-enough said there. I'm sure this bass will be very dependable, and the truss rod probably won't need much tweaking, since the 5-piece is very rigid. The only reason I'd use a backup on a gig, is so nothing gets thrown at Marvin! Marvin is what I named my bass-Marvin the Carvin-hehe.

Well, I've read the bad customer support reviews, but I've haven't had to deal with them, since ordering, which was very stress-free, friendly, and comfortable. I probably won't ever have to deal with them-I haven't in the past.

I have been playing since Christmas of '95. This is by far, the best bass I will EVER own-I'm done searching. I am getting Players Union insurance for this baby-I'd be crying like a little girl if this thing vanished. I love everything about my LB75. One very important note-study before you shop. I'm talking about knowing what features provide what, what woods yield what sounds-everything. My salesperson was very helpful, yes, but everything will go much smoother, and predictably better, if you read a lot before a purchase. I've played the best of the best, and this bass trounces. I did my homework, and it was worth all of it.

This is LB75A the aniversary model with the quilted maple top. Real nice looking. It has a jass single coil at the neck and the big ole music man bucker on the bridge. Active passive electronics. Coil spliter switch. Blend, bass, treble, mids, rounded body sides. Walnut stingers in the neck. Alder body.

This is an angry bass with the bucker going. It sounds like a realy angry music man. Great for slap bass and detuned metal. Sounds a bit tiny if the treble is boosted, so I don't do that. All in all it sounds good.

This is the best looking bass I have ever owned bar none. It plays great for a 5 ( I realy don't like 5 strings). Nearly flawless finish.

I have never had a bass that stays in tune this well. It needs set up very infrequently. If this was a 4 I would worshop it.

I own 3 Carvins and have never had a problem.

Overall rating of this bass is a 9. If it was a 4 string I would realy have to consider this a 10. If this bass was stolen I would cry like a little girl because I couldn't afford to replace it. If you like 5 strings only a Ken Smith I've played can beat it.