Carvin AE185

all mentioned - the bridge is/was my only concern w/ this guitar. Time will tell.

my set up is pretty much stock except for stainless frets, different pups and dunlop strap locks

It is pretty good on both. I got their brightest pups (i forget the name) and they sound pretty good. The acoustic side isn;t that bad at all. Yeah yeah, it's not a full bodied sound - but 90% of the time when I hear acoustics live they sound like *** anyway. At least this way you are playing something comfy. I have a hard time playing acoustics. It's a circulatory issue. My hands go numb when I play an acoustic. They still go numb on this but it's more manageable. I also use this as a back-up for electric gigs.

my first carvin. i was impressed. plays very nice. feels very solid. neck is smoooooth

i will write back in a few years, but it feels solid

I gotta say I've been getting carvin catalogs since I was a kid and pretty much ignored them because buying a guitar you can't play first is like marring a chick you don;t know. (and my life NEVER works out like the movies!!) furthermore, waiting several months to realize if you like something is a drag as well. they should have tester models they ship to you to fidddle w/. I would have paid shipping to check one out. I only went w/ this gtr out of desperation - nothing quite like it on the market (well, there are a few but I hated ALL of them.).
their web site bugs me too. So I can;t play it before I buy it - but this guitar has been around for a long time. the fact they don't have pics of EVERY conceivable set up is COMPLETELY unacceptable. Even a flash thing where you can build/see your guitar. I got a black guitar w/ no fret markers and a black logo thinking it would look cool (c'mon, it's black). it doesn;t. now i'm stuck w/ it. . . and 10 days to see if you like something is WAY too short!!
Ok - now for my gripes w/ personnel. The guy who sold me the guitar was obnoxious, arrogant and pushy. I almost hung up right away. When I received the guitar the pup selector made LOUD pops. so I called and they said they would send me a new one (I would have to install myself - that pissed me off) but 2 e-mails later, it's been several weeks and I have not received the part. Every time I call they are out to lunch or busy. I am VERY disappointed in this.

I think you would really have to want a guitar to go through all this crap. Yeah they offer sorta-custom guitars at a reasonable price, but they are a hassle to get. I am really particular about my instruments. I mod almost everyone I get - I was hoping to really dig this experience so I could get more. I really had my eye on a bolt plus, but i'm skeptical now.

others say they have had a good experience w/ them. fwiw the guitar itself is nice. I have no issues w/ that, but call me old fashioned, I feel like I got screwed in all of this. I may not go back on principal. . . we'll see

Mine is flamed maple top, birdseye maple fretboard, mahogany back and sides with binding. Graphtech nut, Tusq saddle, ebony bridge. Love those Sperzels. Carvin c22 humbuckers, L R Baggs acoustic pick-up. Coil taps, phase switch, blend pot for elec/acoustic, tone and volume controls.

I've waited a year to write this review, so I would know the guitar. Acoustic. No as full sounding as a fullsized acoustic, but nice sounding once you've taken the time to experiment with it. I like to blend a little single coil into the acoustic. One great thing is the lack of feedback. Electric. Nice and bright. Low noise when in humbucker mode, bit noisey in single coil. Very reponsive pick-ups. Not a "metal" guitar, but covers most other types of music well to very well.

The action, as it should be with a true acoustic bridge, is of course higher than most electrics. I have no problem with this, as most astute purchasers I think would see this as a rhythm guitar. Anyone who buys an axe with a true acoustic bridge and acoustic style neck expecting a "shredders" action, hasn't really done their research, have they. The finish is faultless, this is a truly beautiful looking instrument. I always have people asking me about it after gigs.

Gigged with it for a year, still looks like new. No problems thus far.

Bought from the NZ agent, so haven't dealt with Carvin.

While there are better electrics, and better acoustics out there, this will do both jobs very well. It excels in some areas, and is adequate in others. When you take the price into account, I rate it highly. I would buy another one without hesitation.

made in USA, 24 frets, quilt maple top, 3 way toggle switch, dual to single coil switches, phase switch, piezo underneath saddle, active treble boost and cut for acoustic and electric aspects of this guitar, non-adjustable acoustic style bridge, Carvin M22 pickups, mahogany body and neck, neck-thru , sperzel locking tuning pegs, medium frets

The guitar sounds fine with a lot of distortion but then again that can be said about many guitars. The Carvin pickups sound very thin and tinny. The guitar has a lot of sound options but all of them are are too bright and thin and tinny when on a clean setting. I have a $350 Ibanez that sounds way fatter than this $1400 Carvin. I'd rather own a guitar that does a few things really well as opposed to many things half assed.

This guitar is a hybrid which means that it's essentially an electric guitar that can get acoustic sounds as well because of having a piezo underneath the bridge. There are a good number of hybrids on the market these days and to me this one ranks pretty low. I don't know what possessed Carvin to go with an acoustic style non-adjustable bridge on this guitar. The action is way high. Like that of most acoustics. The guitar ends up not being played all that much because my other guitars have adjustable bridges that I can adjust for ease of play. Combine the action with the fact that the guitar has a big, fat neck and it makes for an electric that certainly is not meant for rippin'.

I've had plenty of bad luck with my Carvin gear. I had a mini PA that had a power transformer go after only 2.5 years of very infrequent use. As for my AE185, it doesn't get used all that often and has had several problems. The battery compartment broke when i was changing a battery. The acoustic pickup didn't pick up the high E string for a while so that needed to be fixed. The guitar fell down from my guitar stand at one point and the neck got a very deep crack and needed to be fixed.

When the neck got a deep crack I called them asking them what to do and they told me to throw the guitar into the garbage. $1400 dollar guitar and they tell me to just throw it away and buy another one. Thanks idiots! Plus they never play ball with local repair personnel. They want all the repair work themselves. They expect you to eat shipping to and from CA. They do not send parts to local repair people for repairs. Mention Carvin to a local repair guy and watch them roll their eyes in disgust. When my Mini PA had a power transformer die after only 2.5 years of slight use they only offered a slight discount on a new one. Why would I want a new one when my old one had problems with only occasional use?

It has high action and a really fat neck. It has had a bunch of problems despite only being played once in a while. Miserable guitar. They say they're cheaper than other companies because they're factory direct but their prices are very high. I've had more fun playing a $400 Ibanez than this guitar. The Ibanez has great action, fatter pickups and a much, much faster neck. People create a custom guitar because they want something that's better than what's in their local music store. This guitar is far worse than what you find in the local store and it costs a lot more than most guitars (mine was$1400). I think that even if Carvin wanted to be in the local stores they wouldn't be welcome because of all the problems associated with their lousy products.

AE185. Not what I ordered.

Sounded nice after the chunk of yellow polishing compound fell out of the f-hole.

The guitar would not stay in tune whatsoever. Nice action. They should try a multiple compound radius neck like a Warmoth.

Sent it back for a refund. I'm sure they have some nice stuff but I wouldn't buy from them again.

Hippies

I order a Koa flame top (go to carvinmuseum.com, click on in-stock archive, do a search for a 185 Koa flame, then look at plain Koa. Quite a difference). I actually pick out the wood top that I like at the carvinmuseum.com. Flamed Koa "up and down flames" was written on the order sheet which is supposed to travel with the guitar during construction. What showed up was Figured Koa. The headstock was flamed Koa and the color didn't match the body. Finish was nice except for one flaw on the body. I was going to have them fix the headstock so the body would match, but than I played the guitar. It would not stay in tune. New strings, not in tune. It really reminded me of a 149.00 guitar. This was never going to be acceptable. Advice for Carvin 1) When you use a cardboard case for a bass guitar to ship a six string guitar, pack the empty 10 inches or so of the box with newspaper so the guitar case won't be smacked all over(my guitar case was actually bent when you would open the lid, it would pop over to one side). 2) Hire people that can read more that a three letter word (maybe from "KOA" to "FLAMED KOA". If you didn't have flamed Koa, you should have called me. You had my number. 3) The big picture - I can't believe that out of everyone that saw this guitar go out the door, no one noticed the headstock and the body didn't match and say "hey, that looks like crap". 4)Remove all polishing compound from the inside of your guitars before you ship them. 5) Fix the inherent bridge problem this model has(a higher quality bridge with an adjustable intonation).
6) A nice touch would be to counter sink the string Ferrules flush.

They did refund my money fairly quickly though.

Plenty of tone variation available. Using the "acoustic" pickup and combining with the humbuckers via the round selector you can get a wide range of tone before even adjusting the actual tone controls. Also split coil switches on both humbuckers.

For lighter rock, country, jazzy styles this is a great ax. I use it for praise and worship music and it never fails to amaze with its tonality.

Action is low, but I use a bit heavier strings to make the acoustic sounds more full, this holds it back some on the rock/electric side.

Been used live for 10 years. Always solid, never a problem.

Yes phone support was needed once for a minor issue I could not figure out. They were responsive,and I was able to repair it myself. ( battery plug was the issue)

PLaying 40+ yrs. Own Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Yamaha, Takamine. This is one of the most versatile guitars I have ever owned, and would be seriously missed if it was gone. My favorite feature is the acoustic fishman transducer, which on this thin body still gives a very strong acoutsic guitar sound thru the amp.. I use a Boss GT6 effects unit and set it up for acoustic sounds on two pedals, these add to the sweetness of this Carvin.

My third review for the same guitar, already in the database

I play in a band and the sound is good in some situations. In other situations it can't be heard. It depends on how loud the band is.

set-up was fine. Everything was fine but changed over time. The root cause of the problem is the tweed guitar case that came with the guitar, explained in next section.

Over time my neck warped into an "S" shape and I took it to Wilcutt's in Lexington. The base E string was buzzing real bad. This guitar is two octaves in the clear without bridge adjustment -- hence not a lot to work with.

Bob straightened it up by steaming the neck where it joins the body. He got it perfect. He also put in a bone saddle. This is the best my guitar has ever sounded.

I'm using 9 gage strings. He changed the strings over to something a little stiffer, but I'm still using 9 gage.

He told me my guitar case lacked neck support, and I needed to make adjustments. So I filled in the loose spots with foam rubber and pads.

I think it's a keeper. I still get some miscellaneous static sounds every once in a while from the jack connection.

The neck action is low and even. Carvin should sell a better case for this guitar.

My AE185 guitar has great features. Koa Neck, satin finish on back of the neck, twho humbuckers you can split or set out of phase, a piezo pickup under the bridge. The Sperzel locking tuners are fast when changing strings and helps to keep the guitar in tune.

I bought this when they first came out. At that time I was doing a lot of solo acoustic type gigs and rhthym guitar. Then is was really nice. No, it doesn't sound like a Taylor acoustic but is a pretty, warm tone. For soloing on the electric side, the humbuckers produce zero buzz. However, because it's a hollow body it has very little sustain. I think it a perfect rhythm guitar and it's so light you can play for hours without strain.

This guitars' biggest flaw is that normal strings eat the frets away. The fret wire is like play-doh. B String 2nd fret is totally worn, I can play D chord anymore for the intonation is off. I had it set up when I got it and when you spend a LOT of money on a guitar the fret wire should hold up better than my budget Ibanez.
Another problem I have is I'm not sure the battery powers anything anymore. The shielding is great but I may have some wire issues.
Also, I wish they'd make a 25.5" scale option on this model. This Les Paul scale doesn't do it for me.
The knobs, tuners, wood are seem top shelf.

Having battery issues. Frets are wearing away FAST.

If the frets held up and the battery compartment worked I would give this a high over-all mark. The fret thing is a big deal because the intonation is now off.
Everything else is pretty amazing.

I got it "painted black." There was a miss on the inside of the f-hole, but otherwise, the finish is flawless and beautifully black.

This is the tele semi-hollow body. String through body.
Locking tuners, which I am getting used to.

I got the full electrics set up - two humbuckers with coil taps and a phase switch. The peizo pick up in the bridge. A notched blending knob. All knobs are helpfully notched, so you aren't guessing where you are.

I love the sound this guitar makes. However, it is not a guitar that does everything. Don't dump your ES-335 or SG. While I am told it does not sound exactly like a Telecaster, that is the family where it lives. This means that all sounds are on the trebly side, even when you have dialed in the electric pick ups only and both are set to hum bucking.

However, it is a rich and varied treble voice, ideal for fitting into a band. The option of splitting the sound is wonderful. I am using a Fender Deluxe Reverb, and sent the electric out through a Boss Blues pedal and the acoustic out through a Boss Chorus, each to a different channel. I also sometimes send the acoustic side to my pa. The possibilities, while hardly endless, are extremely varied, and consistently delightful.

As someone told me, the challenge with this guitar is to avoid spending 100% of your time tweaking to get a 5% incremental change in your sound. I found my home setting - neck pick up set as hum bucker, bridge as single coil, with the blend halfway between the peizo and the other pickups. Kick in the phaser when I want a honky sort of sound that has a great rawness to it. Use the pedals when appropriate. This is a phenomenally versatile rhythm, second lead guitar.

I will rate it 9 only because I don't hear this as a real jazz box. It is just too bright. Trot out the 335 (or in my case, the Washburn HB30)

The action and the neck are dizzyingly delightful. I join others in relating that I am playing things inspired by the feel.

The locking tuners are strangely slippery. That is, I have to use the locks to pin down the string, being careful to just barely do so at first, then use the tuner keys to fine tune, then finally fully engage the locks. I still find the tuning wandering a bit. But I think it could be a matter of me learning how to use them well.

I will give this a nine, too, if only for degree of difficulty. Keep in mind it could say as much about my limitations as about the guitar.

I have had this only a month. My impression is that it will be reasonably durable.

No experience as yet.

I have been playing since my pre-teen years, so for four decades. This Carvin joins my 1965 Gibson Melody Maker with its two unique single coil pickups, and my Washburn HB 30 with its humbuckers to round out my family of electrics. While the Gibson has some historical interest, and both are workmanlike guitars, neither compares in quality with this Carvin AE185.

I am looking forward to more time playing with others, because that is when I expect it to shine. It is not the strongest choice for a singer-songwriter solo gig, and as I said before, I will break out the Washburn to accompany jazz or standards, but if the tunes rock or twang, this guitar will certainly be my choice.

Bought my AE185 slightly used 2 years ago. Blue quilted maple body, color matched reverse in-line headstock, abalone dot birdseye maple fretboard, picked up the case with it. Two coiltapped humbuckers with piezo, phase switch, twin outs for amp and PA (acoustic piezo).
Suh-weet looking axe. Not a mark on it.

I play mostly rock and blues. Run it through a Line 6 Flextone II XL right now. I'm trying to save up the small fortune for a Boogie Lonestar Special. The single coil sounds don't strike me as being quite as musical and full as my Mexican Fat Strat, but they have a tone. The humbuckers seem to get crunchy quicker than my Fat Strat, but hey, the Strat is probably a fairly low resistance set of pickups. Generally I'm running drive, distortion and delay on leads and trying to get it to sing. It will. I think part of my problem is my settings got knocked out of whack at a gig last month and I haven't had the time to dial everything back in yet. Back off the dimed volume and the crunch still cleans up. Kind of nice being able to mix the piezo into the tone. Haven't set up to run the piezo through our Mackie PA yet. Just blend and go. Are the pickups "all that"? No. Are they crap? No. actually, they are fairly decent. I have some scratchiness from a dirty volume pot. Yes, I've gotta clean up the pot. My bad for not knocking it down and dealing with it. The hollowbody allows more breathing to the sound which I really like. Definitely a different tone from a Casino or a 335, but probably because it doesn't have the cavity size they have to work with. Great sustain. I can hold a note a lot longer than my partner's USA tele will. I think I'll like it better with a better amp. That's my gameplan.

I gave this guitar a fairly good once over before buying it. Surprisingly, it looked pretty clean. Since then I've noticed something that bugs me. You have to pay attention to the bridge when changing strings. Make sure you tap it back into a completely upright position, because if you don't, you're intonation will get a little screwed up. It seems it wants to sag towards the the nut when I tighten the strings up. Does it bug me? Yeah, but now that I know, it isn't a problem. I stick the .010-.046 Elixers on and repeatedly tap during installation. Practice is ~20 miles away, and during the cold weather this thin still holds tone. My Strat is all over the place until it warms up. This one barely needs to be touched. Other than that, the birdseye maple fretboard seems a little sharp on the edges, but not really too bad. Could they have cleaned it up better? Yeah. Is it that bad? No. Frets are good, no buzz, action is fairly low. I might shave the bridge a little to lower it some more, but really it isn't necessary. Just my preference. Pretty well set up from the get-go.

I had a battery quit on me during a gig. Weirdest thing I ever experienced--I thought the jack was fried the way it was cutting out. I had a battery in my case, but didn't think that was the problem based on the way it was acting. Besides, I didn't think the passive humbuckers would go away if the battery died! You won't get squat out of this guitar without a good battery!! Carry spares, and make sure it's the first thing you swap out in an emergency! Since then I haven't played it live. But I've been practicing with my band more and more with it lately. It's kind of growing on me. I was thinking of selling it to help finance a new amp, but I think I'd miss it. Nope, I'm keepin' it. The strap buttons loosen up all the time. I have to tighten them every time I play. Need to address that as well, but hey, my Strat's buttons loosen up just as much. Good thing I carry a tool set in my gig bag. The bridge likes to fall out, but that's normal for a piezo bridge. Same thing happens with my Takamine A/E.

Never contacted Carvin other than to ask questions about what I had. Never had to deal with them on a guitar-threatening issue. The emailed questions I sent were answered in about three days. Not bad, but if I had a serious problem, maybe not good enough for a response.
I've got no opinion on this, just that Customer Service can make or break a music company. All manufacturers should keep that in mind.

I've been playing (again) for about 5 years after taking a 20 year break to raise children. I've got this guitar, a Mexican Fat Strat, a Yamaha 12 string acoustic with a transducer pickup, and a Takamine A/E. I'm moving back towards analog signal chain when my wife says I can afford it. Something about fixing the house and getting my kids through college seems to keep coming up as an obstacle. The one guitar I wish I had back is my old '63 Gibson SG, complete with the whammy bar. But the AE185 is actually far superior to that guitar.
I love the way it looks. It plays like butter. Plenty of tonal options. 40+ year old axes can't do that.

Left hand, plain white, black headstock, gold hardware, coil splits and phase, otherwise "standard". See carvin.com for stock and options.

It was actually really confusing when I first bought it. Too many knobs and switches, but once you learn what everything does it's fine. Won't play without a battery and a jack in the main outlet. There is a switch on that jack that turns on the preamp.

Note I am in Australia. The price quoted does not include shipping.

I bought the guitar on ebay very second hand just to see what carvins are like. I had intended to move it on and buy a DC127 or similar. Trouble is I seriously like it, so now I am probably going to keep it. It has a really punchy attack, plenty of sustain, lots of high frequency. It lacks harmonics, and other AE185 owners have suggested this to me. I prefer Fender sounds and don't like the typical Les Paul Std sound at all (LP with ebony fretboard I do like). The Carvin does a very good telecaster, plus offers humbucking so you can get a tele deluxe sound. The phase gives a punchy gritty funky sound. Add the accoustic pickup and as everyone else has said it's stupidly versatile. It is no use having 1000 sounds if they all suck. I REALLY like what it offers. I ahven't tried tons of distortion as I usually don't play that way, but the clean sounds are really good. 9 is only for the lack of bell like harmonics...

Bought very secondhand. Paint chips, fretwear and it's taking a while to deal with the shift to ultra high humidity so I have fret buzz. I am confident it will settle. Arguably the best finished and built guitar I have owned in 30 years of playing. Gold is starting to go off as it does. If you bought a new one and looked after it I am sure it'd last as well as any guitar. I have seen Gobsons that retail at 3 times the price of this that are much less well built. Of course IMO gibsons are the worst value for money guitars around so...

100% confident that it'd handle anything short of a Hendrix/Townsend incident.

They don't sell direct overseas and the dealer prices are too high. I have emailed them and got some info.

This is my first Carvin. I am prepared to believe they make the odd bad guitar and mess up customer service, but this instrument is wonderful and I will buy another, maybe several, on ebay etc. If I get a dud I'll just sell it on. In my opinion they are the best value guitars I have ever seen, and even more so secondhand. I think the extra you pay over say a japanese/mex fender, epiphone or no name korean is really well spent. They are unquestionably better than say an American std strat and signifigantly cheaper for a bolt/dc127 etc.

Before you order a custom new Carvin maybe dip your toe with a second hand one, that way you can move it on if you don't like it. Or just go for it. They will take returns and refund your money. I have read that if you talk to them (and be civil) they will extend the 10 day thing sometimes, and also negotiate addressing your issues.