Carvin AE185

Mine is one of the early AE185s made. I got it back in the 90s. I mine is bright white, Spruce top and a koa neck and ebony finger board. Carvin Humbuckers. Fishman piezo(which I had to replace after 10 years).
24 Frets, 25" scale.

Electric sound:
No noise from the humbuckers but a little to harsh. When split there is just a little buzz. Lots of good combos. I find engaging the phase switch makes it sound lo-fi.

Acoustic sound:
It's a nice sound but definitely doesn't sound like a big acoustic.
Blending the electric & piezo gives you great rhythm guitar sound.

The action was horrible when it arrived. Since this was the most expensive item I had ever bought at the time I took it to Roger Sadowsky's shop in NYC and they got the intonation to be as perfect as perfect can be, they reshaped the bridge bone where it almost looks like an custom Earvana nut. I think strings may eat the fret wire.

The koa neck feels outstanding and the smooth neck/heal transition is truly amazing.

I went for bright white. It's a beautiful guitar to look at.

The circuit board and/or the piezo died. I had to take it to a shop. I know the guy didn't enjoy working on it --it's a complex set-up and I'm not sure calling Carvin for help was a fun experience. :-) Carvin charged me for the replacement piezo.

I have gigged with no issues accept you don't to ding up an expensive guitar. I've played without a back-up because I live dangerously. This is a pretty delicate gutiar so if you treat it gently it should be fine.
But do expect circuit board issues.

I was shocked by their attitude. I guess cause I wasn't expecting them not to give a ****. I guess it also depends who answers the phone.
Basically, I think they know building a great custom guitar yourself will cost you a little more so they'll have business. They shouldn't take this for granted in this economy. IMHO, they should kiss their customer's asses. It all about the customer.

I've been playing about 21 years. This guitar is a fantastic rhythm guitar for singers. I wanted something light that I could play for 3 hours if need be. It's outstanding in that regard. Locking tuners are a must for me now. I also enjoy being able to play this thing unplugged to noodle around on the couch. I also love that IT'S SO LIGHT.

I greatly dislike the scale. I'm a Strat guy. 25.5" should be an option. Also, why have 24 frets on a hybrid??? My fingers are too fat to play way high on this. Its almost like mandolin frets up there.

I should note that you can rock out on this. It may not have the sustain and it's hard to bend on but it does sound like an electric, perhaps a little E335-esque.

Like Joe Walsh Says" I don't know anywhere you can order a Guitar the way you want it for a fair price and receive it in less than 7 weeks!I ordered my Carvin guitar after several weeks of research and listening to the demo cd.I ordered the AE185 with an umber stain on a flamed maple top with body binding, stainless medium jumbo frets,an ebony fretboard with Abalone dots and cream benzels with black & cream pickup covers!!I requested that the mahogany for the neck & body be the same tone as the umber stained top!Kudos, it looks killer!I also ordered the california carved top headstock which adds a modern look to this singlecut layout.Gold hardware adds a bit of class to this package and the gold carvin logo looks good on the headstock!

This is were the AE185 really shines.I have been playing 25+ years and am not easily impressed, there is no honeymoon period, the guitar either inspires me or "Not". Within the first hour , I can tell if I'm going to sell or keep a new guitar and I plan on keeping the AE185 for a very long time!I have been floored everytime I pick this guitar up.I have been running the guitar into a Carbon Copy pedal and then into a Fender G-Dec 30 and into an Avatar 2/12" "special" cabinet, the sounds are incredable.

The Carvin AE185 had absolutly no flaws in either the finish or setup and my playing has gone up another level because of the setup and action.

I have had 3 other Carvins over the last 10 years and have had "No" issues with any of them.

I read several negative reviews regarding the customer service staff.I had absolutly no problems and actually received the guitar 1& 1/2 weeks early!

8 years ago I ordered a "Custom" guitar from a well known builder in Louisiana.I paid almost the same price as the Carvin and the guitar had about 1/3 of the options.Carvin is truly amazing,outstanding quality and playability for an unheard of price.I will buy again!

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.

I already gave this guitar a review two years ago,the description is there:

My AE-185 was custom made in 2005 in the San Diego custom shop.
I paid $1134.
24 frets, standard neck and body construction.
Spruce top, pearl white finish.
All electronics options included.
I opted for black Holdsworth pick-ups (the Janotti set-up).
Standard baggs ribbon under the saddle.
Gold hardware.
Stainless medium jumbo frets.
Tung oil finish on back of neck, abalone dot inlays on ebony fretboard.
Thinline body style (standard) with tortoise body binding.
Dunlop strap locks.

It suits my sound just fine. Think "telecaster +". Sweet tone, good sustain, and a decent amount of punch when the coil taps are set right and phase reverse is on. I didn't go with the standard pickups. I used the Holdsworths instead.

I've been playing in a band with a Marshall DSL 400 super lead valve amp. Nice combo. Puts out a nice vibe. Looks are pretty flashy too -- gold, pearl, and black on both amp and guitar.

I have a few extraneous static sounds on start-up, hence I rate it 9 for not being perfectly clean. It smooths out in a few seconds. I don't know if the amp is part of the problem.

Otherwise the guitar creates the sound I want - a telecaster that's suited for rock, country, blues, and jazz. Without the miscellaneous sounds I rate it a 9+. I got better cables and that helped soem.

Set-up was about perfect from the factory, but I was getting a very small amount of fret buzz on the base E string. Over time this got worse.

Recently (after 2 years of use)I took it to a local luthier (one of the best in our state). The frets were high where the neck joins the guitar. Carvin claims they stabalize the neck wood before putting it in a guitar.

The luthier fixed it up. The action is a little higher now but the sound got better. The luthier said the neck was squirrely to work with, but it's good now. Some of the Nashville artists let her do their work.

It's still easy to play, but not like when I first got it.

I can depend on it in a gig, but I've always had a few electronics annoyances. I don't know if the amp is part of the problem.

They helped back when I bought the guitar new.

I haven't made my final decision on whether this guitar is a keeper for life because of reliability issues. I really like the sound. It plays easy. It looks good.

Will it stay that way?

Transparent Flamed Maple top on mahogany, ebony fretboard with no inlays, black hardware, C-22 pickups, Active electronics with coil taps and phase reverse, locking tuners. It's got a boost/cut on both the pickups and the piezo and the standard dual-output which is very handy. This is thing went into the oven with tons of awesome ingredients and came out looking like a ferrari. The quality of the materials and components is exceptional.

I play everything from classical guitar to Helloween and this thing can do it all. The trick is you have to be a little adaptive and willing to get to know it. Honestly, when I first got this guitar, I thought maybe I'd shoulda spent the money elsewhere... I had a hard time finding its mojo. I have a Custom Strat, a Rickenbacker 360, a goldtop Les Paul, a hotrodded Tele and a Bluesbird and a few others... and I, like a lot of people, was expecting this guitar to fill their shoes. At first I was disappointed because it certainly didn't. And then I spent more time with it. With the exception of the bell-tone of a strat neck pickup, this guitar and these hands (now) can pretty much do anything I'd want to do on any of my other guitars. It's got loads of sustain, a very musical and expressive voice, and thanks to the blending pot, can produce tons of NEW tones!! The piezo alone is worth the money since you get a great acoustic sound (through an A/E amp or PA) and there's zero feedback.

This guitar was absolutely flawless. Of the 30+ guitars that I've owned in my time, this one was absolutely built the best. If you consider the selection of materials and components as ingredients in a recipe, regardless of the opinion of the final product (sound), the execution was superb.

The entire axe is premium quality, built very solid and roadworthy.

Never had to call 'em.

I've been playing for 17 years and I'm down to 13 guitars... I've gotten rid of over 20 guitars, some of which I regret. This guitar will never leave me. It's my do-everything guitar that fits right, hangs right, feels right, and sounds right. If this guitar had a magical tremolo that would enable it to maintain it's sustain, tuning (this guitar never goes out of tune!) and unique voicing, it would be perfect. If you consider what you're getting, the price is a pittance to pay. You can't touch this kind of craftsmanship for less than double the price elsewhere. I hope to God Carvin continues to do business without the expensive middle-man, since I'm buying all of my future guitars from them!!

Options custom......cedar top, birdseye maple fretboard, sunset burst, tortoise binding, tuxedo look (cream bezel, cream and black pickups), standard pups plus LR BAggs piezo, phase and coil taps, locking Sperzels,

gonna be a long time discovering all the sound possibilities..... acoustic sound is OK, electric is the better of the two (duh!).....cool sound when dual outputing (electric to amp, acoustic to PA)...some switch noise on the phase shift selector

no visible flaws, period.

some question about switches, have to cycle the phase switch some times, with crackle until cycled.....pickup toggle switch seems flimsy

no idea

owned gear for 35 years, serious player last five years....own Taylor and Goodall acoustics, Fender Strat HT, 1973 Hagstrom double F-hole semi hollow body. neck playability is excellent, the sunset burst color is darker than my mental image, but it's very good looking

2006 semi-hollowbody. Neck through construction. 24 medium jumbo frets. LR Baggs ribbon transducer along with a C22N humbucker in the neck position and a C22B humbucker in the bridge position. Active electronics with master volume, 3-way selector, seperate active tones, blend potentiometer and duel outputs. Sperzel locking tuners. Ebony TUSC acoustic bridge. Blue quilted AAAA maple with gloss finish. The guitar came with a tweed hard-shell case.

I play rock, blues, country, classical, praise & worship, and anything else that catches my ear. I am currently plugging directly into a Carvin AG100D with no other effects.

The sound is the best I have come across in some time, especially in this price range. The electric tone is warm and full. The acoustic side is actually very good - better than I expected it to be. The blend pot allows for mixing the electric and acoustic sounds, which is really cool!

The Guitar arrived with the setup & intonation dead on. From what I can see the construction is perfect. (Believe me, I went over it with a magnifying glass) The paint job is great but not perfect - I found a small blemish on the back, about the size of a small pea. It wasn't a big enough problem to send it back. For that small blemish I'll rate this section a 9.

The guitar has a very solid feel to it. The glossy finish seems like it could withstand heavy use. I don't gig anywhere so I can't say anything about that. I would be willing to leave this guitar sitting out of the case around my 4 year-old son. (That's a tougher scenario than you might think.) It's a hollow guitar, so I'll give it a 9 for this section.

I called Carvin's customer support when the guitar first arrived because I was having trouble getting sound out of the acoustic side (my fault, not the guitar's). The customer support guy was less than completely helpful. In fact, he actually gave me some incorrect information about the guitar. (He told me the blend pot would only work with two cables connected to the guitar, which isn't true at all).

I have called Carvin's customer support several times over the years and for the most part they are pretty good. I guess no company is perfect these days...

I have played guitar for over 30 years. In that time I have owned more guitars, amps, and effects than I care to admit. If this guitar was stolen I would hunt the thieves down like vermin, then I would either get this guitar back or buy another one. I didn't compare the guitar to any others because I live too far away from a Carvin store.

The bottom line is that the AE185 is a sweet guitar with tons of features and an incredibly versatile sound. The guitar is a super value for the money.

2005 hollowbody. 24 frets and a 3 way selector switch. Double Carvin C-22 humbuckers with active electronics, pretty sure its an all maple body with rosewood fingerboard (mother-of-pearl block inlays). Regular all black finish and SPERZEL LOCKING TUNERS, which were a big plus. Came with a nice Carvin hard-shell case. Would have been perfect if I had bought it new.

I play almost all rock of all different kinds with some Eric Clapton style blues-rock and the occasional harder songs and very little punk. I play straight through a Carvin SX-100 amp(man it is great) and sometimes with a Line6 distortion pedal. I was doubtful if a hollowbody could give me the kind of rock sound I wanted, though knowing Carvin I was sure it would have many other benefits, and the price was low so I could resell if not satisfied.

BUT IT BLEW MY MIND. This thing has this wonderful tough overdrive, slightly brassy on the low notes (which I love) but gritty hard and strong. Its extremely quiet and can really nail both rock lead and rythm riffs. It sounds really good on the lower frets. That said, it is also VERY versatile and can get some really sweet blues/Dire Straits type rock going on with a flip of a switch. Also a beautiful, full, acoustic sound.

Carvin is famous for its fit/finish but I found this guitar lacking. The construction was great, very solid and well intonated, but I thought that the black paint job left alot to be desired. Though solid, its not glossy, kinda dull, and seems to not really show what Carvin guitars can be. The neck inlays are sweet though, and all the hardware is top-notch.

Oh I am certain it can withstand hard live playing for a long time. Everything on it is very solid, and the strap-locks are great. Its very dependable. I gig with a back-up though, just in case. Finish is strong, if dull. I give it a 9 because hollow-bodies in general aren't your pure durability guitars. It probably wouldnt be able to take a heavy blow, but hey, who expects that?

I got it used.

I have been playing for about 3 years now, am gigging actively and love the improv solos I can get on this thing. I also own a Gibson SG for a little while (borrowed) and an Schecter Omen 6. If it were stolen, I would buy another, then steal the thief's car. I am planning on buying a new one from Carvin soon, with a cooler looking and more impressive finish (maybe red or sunburst), but everything else stays EXACTLY the same. I compared this guitar's sweet overdrive to a LP Special, and though the LP was great in its own way, I really liked the AE's better. The LP can't really get gritty, it's almost always pure without screwing with the amp too much. Plus this guitar is more versatile and has more features.

I have an AE 185 that I ordered back in 1996, made in the factory U.S.A. It has 24 frets, it's a semi hollow body (like Tele), 2 Carvin buckers (I had the "hot" pick up M22SD? installed at the bridge position), and it has the Piezo? under the saddle. Active electronics, never can remember what they all do just leave them all up. Has master volume, tone for both pick ups, and a knob for the Piezo accoustic pick up, really let's you dial in and mix the sounds. You have to order the case with it, it's a sturdy plywood job nicely lined inside, tweed outside.

This guitar has worked very well for me. I play rock, blues, country, and spent many years playing with a latin group that was into all sorts of eclectic sounds. I use the Carvin Bel Air 212 amplifier. The guitar is not prone to noise (unlike my MIM Strat). It has a bright sound, thin sometimes, but with the right effects you can dial in a whole lot of sounds. In the hands of a virtuoso (which I am not) I am sure it would be capable of a full range of sounds and work well with many styles-probably not METAL though. I always use regular slinkys classic nickel 46-10.

Carvin brags about their fit and finish in their ads, and I have to say for this guitar it has been true. It came set up perfectly, intonation, action, etc. However, there were small flaws finish wise-they left a piece of masking tape inside the body, slight overspray on the f hole binding, an almost imperceptible run of clear finish on the back of the neck near the nut. Other than that it is absolutely gorgeous. Carvin makes their guitars to your specs, and it is an absolute thrill to open the case for the first time and see your custom guitar! Ala Tom Petty "The waiting is, the hardest part" because it takes eight or ten weeks to be built.

I played in more honky tonks and absolute hole in the wall bars than I can remember, outdoor festivals, hundreds of rehearsals, trucked it around in the back of the equipment van, in the heat and the cold, rain or shine, and it has held up better than I could have dreamed of. Don't get me wrong, I take care of it-never let it get too much heat or cold and I watch the humidity-but I don't baby it and it has held up remarkably well. The gold hardware plating on the gnurled knobs has worn off, but what do you want after ten years? I am proud that I played enough to wear that plating away! The finish is holding up very well, I have knocked it up a bit but any finish flaws now are because of my carelesness, not from poor workmanship. I replaced the strap buttons with the locking type, the pick up selector switch wore out and I replaced it, the battery needs to be replaced several times a year depending on use. I gigged all the time without a back up and never had a problem. That is usually a matter of checking your axe out before the show-which all us players do right? By the way the neck is great with it's ebony fingerboard, great action and straight! I usually adjust it twice a year, in summer when the humidity increases, and again in the winter as it gets drier.

I have to agree with most of the reviews on Carvin customer service within these pages, some folks are helpful and some are not. Depends on who you talk to and how you talk to them. Have only dealt with them a few times and it was about amplifier questions not about the guitar.

I have been playing forty years! I have had Les Paul, Strat, etc. This is one of my favorite guitars. It is a very light guitar so I think that is why it sometimes sounds "thin", but I remember the Paul was so heavy it hurt my neck. My favorite feature is the through the body solid neck-probably why it doesn't warp or go out of tune. Sperzel tuners are cool too. I would most definitely replace it, of course it has great sentimental value now and you can't replace that. Death to tyrants and guitar thieves! Carvin sort of touts that this guitar goes from electric to acoustic sounding, and that is true, However, keep in mind that it sounds like an acoustic electric guitar i.e hollow body electric or Tele type sounds when you go to the acoustic pick up. It will not sound like a jumbo body steel string acoustic. If you are an intermediate or professional player this is a great guitar for the money and you can have it built and finished to your specs with a money back gaurantee.

This Guitar was made April 2005 in Carvins San Diego factory. It has a perfect KOA top and tung oiled neck. It has a master vol. and a tone control for each of the acoustic & elec. set-ups & a blend pot. It has active pickups & a ribbon transducer under the bridge. It came with sperzel locking tuners, which is a first for me, this is a super set-up. THe only drawback is a non-adjustable bridge due to the acoustic set-up BUT the intonation is dead-on. Guitar came with .010 Elixer strings & carvins tech guy said as long as I keep the same guage strings I should have no problem. It has 2 out puts 1 each for acoustic or elec. or they can be blended or isolated. It came with med. jumbo frets & they agreed w/ me in about 8 seconds.

This guy is now my main axe in my praise & worship team, & it does more than I could ask due to it's versatility. I am the only guitar in this group & our style runs from very acoustic ballads to heavy christion ROCK. I use a MESA Lone Star special on the elec. side & a Fender acoustasonic II on the acoustic side. I use several pedals. a Boss GE7 eq a Boss Phaser a Boss tremolo and Boss Chorus & Delay & a vol. pedal through the efx. loop. on the acoustic side I use a Boss AD 8 processor & I put a micro sw. on the vol. pedal to turn the acoustic side on & off. So now I can go from any mode to any mode instantly.This guitar is as quiet as they come in most venues, except in 1 of churches but that is due to the lighting. My Boss NS 1 Fixes it there. It has a bright sound when I eq it up but I can get an almost Les Paul sound from it. Keep in mind that the amp I use is a tough act to follow. It has great sustain plays as clean as you can get but is articulate as well with any amount of distortion.

The factory set up was perfect. it needed no adjustment whatsoever. the finish is bookmatched as good as any wood I have ever seen & I have had some expensive guitars. there are no flaws that I can find at all. The action is as low as you can go with no buzz (which is what I like) It might not be the fastest guitar, but I'm not good enough to make a judgement on "fast".

I have been playing out with this guitar since april & have had my Les Paul as my back-up till august. I started a Christian Rock Band with the intention of going all electric & using my Paul only. Well I been using this one & am glad of it. It is light as a feather but built real well. It looks like it will stand up to any use. I have been using it without back-up some time now. It has dunlop straplocks which came in the case, I installed them myself. The screws were long enough to secure a battleship to dock!!

I bought this from in stock & wanted the custom nameplate option. No Problemo. Shipping was quick & any questions I had were answered with respect & in a timely fashion. There is someone who knocked the serv. dept. & quite honestly I think that's B.S. in the few dealings that I have had with Carvin. I have not needed any repair just a few questions & am very happy with the way they handled al issues.

I love this guy. I would buy another if anything at all happened to it.I love everything about this guitar & find it hard to believe a lot more people don't have one. The only thing I wish it had was an adjustable bridge but the current set up works fine so it's just that I am used to having all my elec. guitars w/ an adjustable bridge.

Built in 2005 in Carvin's San Diego factory
Flamed Koa top, mahogany back and sides. Matching Koa overlay on the headstock. Ebody fretboard. Dual truss rod mahogany thru-body neck. Tung oil finish. Two standard Carvin active humbucking pickups and an acoustic transducer pickup in the bridge. 2 coil tap switches and a phase switch. Single volumn control, one tone control for the humbuckers, one tone control for the transducer, one pan control, with center detent, that allows mixing of electric and acoustic output. Dual outputs. Sperzel locking tuners.

The guitar is a semi-hollow body with an f-hole and it has a look that is somewhat similar to the '71 Fender Telecaster Thin-Line.

Functions as both an acoustic and an electric guitar and does a great of job of meeting the requirements of both.

Carvin is not a true custom shop because they don't offer their customer the ability to control every sinlge little thing. But they do offer a ton of options on each model. Carvin uses CNC equipment to carve their guitars. The tolerances are very tight and everything is finished off by hand. The customer has a choice of wood, color, finish, type and color of pickups, headstock design, inlays, and hardware. There are plenty of options to choose from so, in the end, the customer ends up with as close to a one-of-a-kind guitar as is possible without spending thousands of dollars.

I play in a classic rock band that covers music from the 50's into the 80's. This includes an occasional country song.

This guitar has extraordinary flexibility. Played as an electric there is a full range of sounds due to the fact that the coil taps allow you to play with either humbuckers or single coil pickups active. The fact that there are two coil tap switches means you can mix the humbucker and signal coil output (neck-single coil, bridge-humbucker or reverse). The pickups are very high quality and have good output. It appears that you can get or get close to any sound you want.

Played as an acoustic the AE185 sounds as good as any electric acoustic I've ever heard. There is no onboard EQ so I suggest getting a good EQ unit. It will just make something that sounds good to begin with sound better.

To get the best sounds possible, use a good guitar amplifier for the electric sounds and a PA or good acoustic guitar amp for the acoustic sounds.

Using the mix pot to blend the electric and acoustic sounds gives this guitar the ability to create sounds no other guitar can match.

One note of caution; this guitar has two output jacks. The main jack carries both signals?the electric and acoustic to an amp. The acoustic jack carries just the acoustic signal to a PA or acoustic amp (this is the preferred hookup and allows for the best sound both ways). When it's being used it shuts off the acoustic output through the main jack. Because it's necessary to use two amplification devices to get the best sounds there is a distinct possibility of a ground loop which will cause a buzz in the guitar amp and a hum in the PA. I use a passive direct box with a ground lift switch between the guitar and the PA?this remvoes the ground from the signal and solves the problem.

This guitar plays like a dream. First it has a Carvin neck. And everything everyone has ever said about Carvin necks is true. They are the best I've ever seen. The medium jumbo frets may take some getting used to if you are used to using a "death grip" on your guitar in order to push the strings down to the fretboard. This is a very high quality instrument and takes a light touch.

The humbuckers won't make this guitar sound like a Les Paul and the coil taps won't make it sound like a Strat. In fact this guitar doesn't sound EXACTLY like any othe guitar. You can come close to other sounds and you can make your owns sounds. All I can say is this is one sweet sounding guitar. Great tone and super playability. What more could one ask?

What can I say. The bookmatched flamed Koa top is nothing short of spetacular. The tung oil finish has a great feel and doesn't show fingerprints.

I've looked everywhere and can't find a single cosmetic flaw. This is an exceptionally well made instrument. I also can't say enough about the set-up. It's perfect! I imagine that has something to do with the fact that the guitar is set-up at the factory by the same people, all the time. Other manufacturers pull the guitars off the line and then send them to the dealer where they are supposed to be set-up before they are sold. For that reason, set-up quality is often very uneven.

I've had the guitar for a week and a half. I don't abuse my guitars so I have never had a problem with durability. I play a lot and gig a lot and I don't see that I'm going to have anything to worry about. I can't imagine that something this well made isn't going to hold up.

One thing I have observed is that the hardware is top notch. Carvin doesn't put cheap stuff on it's guitars. Everything about this instrument says "quality".

I've done two gigs with this thing now and I wouldn't hesitate to use it without a back-up?in fact I have.

I bought the guitar out of stock instead of making a custom order. Carvin was going through a computer upgrade at the time and that caused some snafus. But the customer service rep I talked to was always pleasant and cooperative. I talked with their guitar tech twice. He's a guy who is actually out on the shop floor making guitars. So he knows what's going on. He's not a suit in an office somewhere.

I've been playing professionally for 38 years. I own an American Fender Strat, a limited edition Takamine acoustic/electric, a Guild D-25 acousic guitar, a Guild F-412 12 string acoustic guitar, a Fender Precision Bass and a Vega 5-string banjo. I play through a Fender Hot Rod DeVille amp and the acoustic sounds go through a Yamaha PA. I also use a Digitech multi-effects pedal for electric and an Alesis effects pedal for acoustic. I have an Alesis rack effects unit that I use with the Yamaha PA.

I was reluctant to order this guitar. I've never ordered a guitar and never thought I would because a good one is unique. Each one sounds and feels just a little different?even the same model. And the neck can vary significantly from guitar to guitar. But after a year of research I finally decided to take the plunge. Now I wish I hadn't waited.

Quite simply, I am crazy about the way this guitar plays and sounds. For me that's the beginning and the end.

While I was researching I looked at the Shecter version of an electric/acoustic. There was no comparison. The Shecter electric has a great sound but the acoustic side did not measure up to what I wanted.

In my opinion Carvin guitars represent the best value around. They make honest-to-goodness professional instruments at a fraction of the cost of the big guys like Fender and Gibson. If I had been looking for just an electric I would have considered the AE185. If I had only wanted an acoustic I would have stayed with my Takamine.

For years I've played everthing the music stores have in stock?just like everyone else does. And I saw a lot of stuff I thought I would like to have. I always went home and picked up my Strat and wondered why in the world I would have considered anything else. This is the first guitar I've played that I liked better than my Strat.

2004, flame koa top, the rest is standard for the ae185

great sound for blues,early rock, jazz. accoustic isn't that great. I've tried other makes that were better.

Recieved guitar and couldn't play it. Extreme fret buzz on all strings. pickups needed adjustmen. Bookmatched koa top isn't. One half is 5 times darker than the othe. Couriouly that did not show up in the picture on their website,

Had the guitar 4 months and the bridge started lifting as well as the finish on the front, I would not trust this guitar in a live gig. play it at home or in a studio.
note: I have a les paul, a rickenbacker, and a 1962 strat. I know high end guitars and how to take care of them.

HERE'S THE BIGGY. When I contacted carvin re: warranty work for the brige and finish, I was asked not to ship it until after the NAMM show. That was 1 1/2 months away. I waited though, then shipped. After 5 weeks I phoned carvin to inquire the status of my guitar. After1 1/2 weeks the only thing I gotwhen I phoned was jokes about where my guitar was but no info. Emails went unanswered. When I finally got it back, I took it out of the case and the battery box fell out, all the screws had been stripped.

I have been playing and gigging professionally for 35 years. I also collect guitars.Considering all the B.S. I've had to put up with carvin, I would rather have a vasectomy performed with a spoon and no anesthetic, than ever own another carvin product of any kind. I've tried to sell this piece of sh-t, and my best offer so far is 200.oo.
The rest of you can rave about carvin if you like. I'll stick to reputable makers like gibson, or rickenbacker.

My AE-185 was custom made in 2005 in the San Diego custom shop.
I paid $1134.
24 frets, standard neck and body construction.
Spruce top, pearl white finish.
All electronics options included.
I opted for black Holdsworth pick-ups (the Janotti set-up).
Standard baggs ribbon under the saddle.
Gold hardware.
Stainless medium jumbo frets.
Tung oil finish on back of neck, abalone dot inlays on ebony fretboard.
Thinline body style (standard) with tortoise body binding.
Dunlop strap locks.

The guitar comes standard with an electric/acoustic combined output and acoustic only output.

I carefully studied my options before I made my decision. I debated the wood and finish for the top, but in the end I recommend going for the look you want -- the sound can be adjusted to about anything.

My music style emphasizes rich tonal quality. I also play a guild acoustic guitar. I like country, blues, jazz, soft rock, and contemporary christian.

I am using a Carvin AG-100D solid state PA. I've been playing this guitar for about 3 months.

I'm using 9 gage elixer strings.

The sound is clear, full toned, and smooth (but not as rich as a Les Paul). I have owned two custom telecasters and I tried strats and Les Pauls before I made my decision.

This guitar sounds like a custom telecaster "+". When I play the electric pickups with reverb or stereo chorus, the guitar emulates a smooth telecaster sound in my opinion. I am still experimenting on the acoustic pick-up -- it adds a whole diminsion to tone possibilities.

the instrument has good sustain but not like a Les Paul. I prefer a Les Paul over a strat for my playing style.

I don't like this guitar with heavy distortion. Though I think it could be played that way with a different set-up on the pick-ups. They'd have to be hotter in my opinion. Maybe the right distortion pedals could do it with this set-up -- I don't know because I'm not looking for distortion.

The action is great. The tung oil finish is smooth as silk. The jumbo frets take some getting used to -- I don't have as much reach down the neck, but there is a lot more room to squeeze in fingers -- I like the tradeoff, especially when I get above the 12th fret.

This is definately a professional set-up, and I'm getting used to it. I went for medium height on the frets. Higher frets are something for a real pro to consider -- all you have to do is touch the string to the fret wire.

There was a small amount of irregularity around the sound hole. I think the router was a little dull. I chipped off a splinter from inside the sound hole - no big deal.

The finish is pearl white and it is more like a bone color - there is no pink or lavender hue (I am glad).

The gold hardware and black pick-ups complement this guitar color very well.

This guitar is light as a feather (less than 6 pounds). Compare that to a Les Paul! I have played my acoustic in a band but I have not gone live with this guitar.

The sperzol tuners are strong.

There is no pick guard, but that hasn't been a problem for me.

The dunlop strap buttons are a good idea -- you can just pop the strap loose with some quick disconnects.

I haven't had a problem with this guitar, but I don't anticipate one. It does have a battery and a shielded cable.

No Problems so-far.

I had to make a change order on my hardware from chrome to gold (glad I did). We were able to work through it without an additional processing fee.

At first I wasn't liking the guitar all that much. It was such a change. Some of the pros told me to hang in there with it, and I'm glad I did.

I think this is a fine guitar and it is taking me to a whole new level of guitar playing. I am intermediate in my skill level. I am very pleased with the tone quality (this is what I wanted in the first place). The holdsworth pick-ups are perfect for this guitar. Study up on alan's music --- if you like it I think you will love this instrument. I like it better than my two teles I had before.

If I could change anything I would have gone with the in-line head stock (mainly for looks). This is a beautiful guitar, and it has a classic look with the pearl white finish, gold hardware, and body binding. I thought the abalone dots would shimmer a little more, and I wonder about the mother of pearl dots in retrospect. My wife watches me play, and she says the abalone looks better than pearl. They give off a greenish irredescence.

Whe I first got this guitar I would have rated it an 8. I am up to a 9 now, and I am more impressed with it the more I play it. It's grown on me.

CArvin ae185 features active electronics, two humbuckers, a piezo bridge, optional coil taps and phase switch, and 24 frets.

the spertzal lockin tuners are much better than any tuners ihave used. they keed it in tune no matter the weather. for all those that have floyds this should be what ya get. lockin nuts are a pain in the but due to them being lockin. sure you get a set tuning but it takes so long to tune.

te semi hollow body makes me wonder due to it being thin if it will break due to weather or abuse.

i play metal - grunge. my only beef is that the pickups that carvin make are mainly jazz pickups. i play jazz for jazz ensemble in college but personally i dont like them due to the tones i get. on distortion i cant get the right punch in he bridge pickup and the neck sounds to muddy in the low ends. of course after puttin in the tone zone pick up in this baby shined.

the acoustic is bright as all get out. not a bad thing cause you get a tone pot that does the trick. i personally turn down the highs and then this thing shines. but the eq on my acoustic amp helps out tremdesly.

at high volumes this baby feedbacks due to the hollowbody construction. you can get some pretty good versatillity to this thing but it doesnt sound like a gibson or a strat. but if you wanna explore your own sounds this is a great guitar to get.

the action is set to high for my taste. also the acoustic bridge is a pain in the but due to if the bridge is slightly bent then acoustic distortion will occur. it may look nice to have the acoustic bridge but in real world id rather have a tune-o-matic bridge with a piezo than what this has to offer.

the pickups dont have to be adjusted when you recive if from carvin. its set perfeclty. but unless all you do is clean then you are gonna switch the pickups.

the volume knob over time becomes scratchy and kinda noisy if ya do volume swells. of course a little contact cleaner and all is well for a while. but until you do that its a bit due to the noise.

my acoustic sounds dont always work and thats due to the bridge not being perfeclty 90 degess with the body. its rediculus. carvin has a manual tellin you how to fix this but its hardly worth the trouble. i had just about given up on the acoustic till i glued it in. now its perfect.

i gig with a back up cause of it bein a semi hollow. it feels that if smacked hard enough it will split. my back up is a johnson modded out the wazoo with a carvin neck and a semour duncan hotrails in the bridge and cool rails in neck with a martin acoustic pickup in the middle. i did the wiring and it sounds so cool but thats a nother story.

the strap locks are awesome if you buy the option. at all my shows i whip my guitar around and it has never broken or shown any sort of wear from swingin it around. this thing is also lightweight so when you whip it it takes a lot less effort to get it around.

i had ordered it online but they had misplaced my order but after calin them they were very kind and had given me a strap strings and free case so that they wouldnt loose the buy. i was gonna buy it anyway cause this was my first not used custom guitar but they treat the consumer with respect and they can answer all your questions. these guys are awesome when it comes to customer support. you also get to speak to a real person who will try everything in their power to get things setteled. i wish all companys had a support team like this.

ive been playin for 5 years and ama music engineer on guitar at ecsu. i know my guitar junx. if this thing was stolen id kill them for takin it cause it plays so wonderfully. of course id probably go with a countour 66 from carvin just cause i can get te fishman piezo and it would be a solid body. but as for custom sound this is the best at what it does. compared to my johnson this thing is a beast. you just have to buy good pickups and then all the rest is in your hands not your equipment. thats where you get your sound.

2003 model, two humbuckers, bridge piezo, coil taps & phase switch, sperzel tuners, flamed maple top, 25 inch scale, and active pre-amp. The newer models have a trim pot to adjust the balance between the piezo & the mags that this one doesn't have but I wouldn't have missed it if I didn't know the newer ones had it. Very lightweight so it is comfortable to play for long periods.
a huge variety of great sounds are right there

electric side goes through a Peavey Delta Blues with some stomp boxes and the acoustic side through a Raven PMB-1 into the PA.
As I said, a HUGE variety of sounds are right there.
I'm playing it in a funk/R&B band and at church. It does everything I need from a decent approximation of a full size acoustic to dirty leads through the amp. Plus, it plays great! No it doesn't sound exactly like a Lowden jumbo or a Les Paul or a Strat but it does sound great and covers all of those bases in a reasonable way.

When I got it (used) there were some buzzes because the neck needed adjustment. A tweak of the truss rod and it was great. The finish is suburb except for a few funny discolorations at the fret ends. The newer models have a trim pot to adjust the balance between the piezo & the mags that this one doesn't have. The quilted maple is gorgeous.
I give it a 9 because of the marks at the fret ends... even though they may have resulted from humidity changes that caused the frets to move. My guess is that new, it would have gotten a 10.

I take a backup to gigs - a Carvin Bolt kit which is an incredible buy - in case I break a string. It is a semi-hollow though so it is more fragile than a solid body guitar. In general, Carvin stuff seems pretty reliable.

? haven't ever used it

I prefer single coils and a 25.5 scale to humbuckers and a 25 but nobody makes that with an acoustic bridge on a semi-hollow body so until then... this is the guitar that will be my primary guitar. I would buy another in a second.

This guitar has a beautiful flamed koa top on a mohagony body. The neck is "neck-through" mohagony with an ebony fretboard with abolone inlays. The headstock is capped with falmed koa. The body is semi-hollow, with a single thinline type f-hole on the top.
As far as hardware is concerned, it has locking Sperzel tuners (which are more to my prepference tan a locking nut) and hot bridge and neck active humbuckers with coil taps. It also has a piezo under the bridge saddle with a separate jack.
The piezo has a separate tone knob, and the guitar has a knob that switches bertween, or even blends, the piezo and humbuckers. There is also a phase switch.

The tone is outstanding. The piezo comes in handy because the humbuckers are rather hot. When the piezo is set up through a separate amp, I can play the bridge humbucker with plenty of distortion and still have a soft, round edge to the tone.
The humbucking pickups scream. The highs are pristine and the lows are dry and solid, not muddy and sloppy. The important thing about them is that I really don't like hot pickups. I'm not a shredder. However, I like these because they have plenty of character and tone. I don't know to what degreee the koa, mohagony and neck-through construction have to do with this.
I have a few guitars with coil taps, and with most of them, you end up with an option between mediocre humbuckers and mediocre single coils. I try to acvoid coil taps. With this guitar, the humbuckers don't suffer at all from the coil taps, and the single coils are above average, as well. That's pretty impressive.
I play blues and classic rock. This guitar works pretty well for both. Though the tone is bright--not at all like a Les Paul. It is hot, strong and stinging. It gives you plenty of tone and sustain to work with, so there's no chop you can't play on this guitar. The tone is somewhere between a vintage Firebird with minihumbuckers and an SG. It's wonderful if you like that searing, violin type sound.
Once you bring the piezo into play, the tone is difficult to describe. There's lot you can do with it to embellish your tone, but within limits. I think the piezo is decent on its own for brief acoustic parts or for spirited acoustic rock, but it's not like you'll be tempted to leave your Martin, Taylor or Tacoma at home.

The neck is shallow, but not too narrow in width. The action is low and fast. This thing plays very, very well.
The top is perfectly bookmatched. The stain, finish and multi-layered tortoise shell binding are beautiful and flawless. the abalone blocks are shiny and very colorful--way more attractive than the MOP inlays in my Gibsons.
The bridge is fantast--intonation is easy and the saddles are gentle on strings. The nut slots are cut a little deeper than I would prefer, but the srtrings don't seem to hang up in the nut and it doesn't interfere with tone.
The switches are quiet and easy to reach. I really appreciate the "click" at the halfway point in the knobs. I don't know why more guitar makers don't do this with their knobs. All of the knobs and switches are located in places that are easy to reach, but don't get bumped during spirited playing.
Finally, the guitar is fairly light. I haven't weighed it, but it's nothing like a 9+ pound Les Paul, or even a heavier Strat. It really is great to have a light guitar that doesn't leave a knot in your shoulder but also doesn't sacrifice tone or sustain.

This guitar stands up to live playing. It has blocks beneath the F hole to support the body. It stays in tune. I've had no problems with it.

I've only talked to Carvin once. They answered the phone and responded to my questions. More than I can say of Gibson.

Perhaps nothing's a 10, but if you love it, you can't rate it less than an 11. I love this guitar and it splits playing time pretty evenly with my other favorite, an old Zion. While it won't give you the low end beef of a Les Paul, it will make you not miss it. I own more than 20 guitars. Most of them range somewhere between pretty good and very good. Only a couple are great. This one is great. I would replace it in a second if it were stolen or lost. It's not hard to do, because Carvin, God Bless their hearts, sells these things for a lot less than the 3,500 to 5,000 PRS asks for their 10 Top McCartys. While I might trade this guitar for a McCarty, I would play the McCarty less than I play this guitar, so I would probably turn around and sell the McCarty and buy three more of these.