Carvin Bolt-T

The Carvin Bolt-T is a Strat-style guitar, with 3 single-coil pickups (Carvin AP-11's), 22-fret bolt-on neck with an ebony fretboard, Sperzel locking tuners ($30 option), an "always-on" switch for the lead pickup, translucent cherry sunburst finish over the standard (not flamed or quilted) wood ($40 option), white pearloid pickguard ($20 option), Straplocks installed ($10 option), standard tung-oiled neck, wilkinson tremolo, and a hardshell tweed case ($30 option). Instead of the voulme/tone/tone of a strat, the Bolt uses a single volume and a single tone control, and places the "always-on" lead switch where the other tone knob would be. The body is thicker and more resonant than a normal strat, and is heavier as well, with a bit less contouring. I have to give this guitar a 10 on features, because Carvin basically makes the guitar to your specs, so if it doesn't have what you want, it's your own damned fault.

I could not be happier with the sound of this guitar. My other guitar is an Epiphone Sheraton, a semi-hollowbody jazz guitar with a nice full tone, that has absolutely no hope of ever simulating a strat sound (nor was it meant to). So I was looking to get the signature strat sound, for blues, rock, and jazz, and this covers them all. The AP-11 pickups provide a full warm tone, especially with the tone and volume rolled down to about 4, but when you crank both knobs and flip the 5-way switch to lead, this thing screams. sizzling lead solos are a cinch, although a little more output from the lead single would be helpful. But Carvin does have the option of ordering a humbucker for lead, so that was my choice. With the always-on switch for the lead pickup, you have a total of 7 unique sounds, 2 more than any other Fender Strat....the extra two, with all three pickups on at the same time or lead and rhythm at the same time, add another couple funky tones much like the standard 2 and 4 positions on the switch, but with their own unique sound. Overall, this guitar does everything i could possibly want it to, and playing through a Carvin Bel-Air 212 amp, sounds absolutely incredible, especially clean.

This is where the guitar really shines. When i received the guitar, after being shipped all the way from California to my college in Pennsylvania, approximately 5 days in transit, the guitar was PERFECTLY in tune when i took it out of the case. The Sperzels and Wilkinson trem combine to keep this thing in almost perfect tune no matter what you do to it.....just to see what i could do, i played hard, i mean HARD, for about an hour after i got it, repeatedly taking the trem from lock to lock, and when i was done, it was still in perfect tune. The finish on the guitar....wow. I spent days just taking pride in showing this guitar to all my friends in my dorm, just because it is so beautiful....a true work of art. The action is very low, and very fast, yet i have no buzzing at any point on the fretboard, and intonation is perfect from frets 1-22. With the cheery sunburst finish and the pearloid pickguard, i got the classic strat look i was going for, and the hardshell tweed case is a tough piece, with the ends covered in leather (maybe vinyl, but leather looking) and the inside very secure and well done. Overall, blows away the Fender American Deluxe Strat I was considering....could not be happier.

I've only had the guitar for three months now, but everything on the guitar feels very solid. I ordered Straplocks on the guitar, and they are solid, and i would play this guitar live without a backup. i'm looking forward to spending many years with this guitar, and i'm sure it will hold up for all of those years. If something were to go wrong, Carvin provides a five year warranty against defects on their guitars.

The only time i've had to deal with Carvin is when i ordered the guitar and my amp itself. My salesman was Sean....I strongly recommend him - as I was ordering the guitar, he gave me pointers on colors, what looked good, what was popular, what would give me a more "classic" look, and also suggested options that could make the guitar better (i.e. sperzels). i also got a $50 total discount on the guitar and amp for ordering both together, so I got $25 dollars off the price of the guitar. As i have had no problems with the guitar, I haven't had to deal with other customer support, but I trust that my experience in the future will be similar to what I have experienced thus far.

Overall, i can truthfully say that this is my favorite guitar of any, yes, ANY, guitar i have ever played. A friend of mine bought a PRS Custom 22 a little while ago, and while that is a great guitar, i can honestly say that my $650 Carvin plays just as well, if not better than, the PRS. His guitar also cost $2200 (on sale!), and he is pretty peeved that i got what i got for so little. I've been playing for about five years, and I seriously think i have found the guitar i'm going to stick with for the long haul. Of all the features I love on the guitar, i have to say the neck and ebony fretboard are probably my favorites....the playability is insane, and the fretboard is incredibly smooth, almost glass-like in its smoothness. The standard tung-oiled neck is also great. If this guitar were stolen, I would immediately pool my poor-college-student savings and get another one. Only thing I wish was better about Carvins is their resale value, but hell, I'm hoping to keep this guitar forever, so I don't think that will be a problem. If all goes well, my next guitar will be a Carvin SC90.....bravo Carvin, this is what a strat should have been all along.

You all know this is a strat knock-off: alder body, 3 single coils, wilkinson trem, tung oiled maple neck w/ ebony fretboard, 25" scale, 22 frets, sperzels, translucent blueburst finish w/ black pearloid pickguard and black hardware, 1 volume, 1 tone, 1 5-position switch, 1 on/off toggle to add the bridge pickup to other, hard case. I rate features slightly above average strat due to the somewhat more flexible pickup configuration.

Sound is excellent. The AP11 pickups have a nice strong output. Sound of bridge pickup is warm and round yet still retains a bit of the strat shimmer. It makes a really nice jazz sound. The middle pickup is similar with a slightly brighter sound. Bridge pickup is crisp as you'd expect. The 2 and 5 positions give you that strat "quack", 4 being brighter than 2. The surprise is the toggle for the bridge pickup. It changes the 1 and 3 positions into "quack" tones too. I've only had this guitar for a week but it appears it has 3 normal tones and 4 quack tones. I play through a black panel Fender Princeton and a Boss ME30 multieffects pedal. One other thing, without an amp this guitar is really resonant. I suppose that stems from the alder wood and the nice tight neck joint.

Setup was perfect from the factory. As I logged some playing hours and the guitar started getting used to my east coast climate I had to re-adjust the truss rod as the bow in the neck increased slightly. The translucent blueburst finish is gorgeous. The piece of alder they used for the body has a nice tight, straight grain. Same with the maple neck. You already know that Carvin necks are legendary for their superb fretwork. The body shape doesn't have the deep contouring that strats have, rather is has a slight forearm contour and back contour. This might take a little getting used to for avid strat players. One nice touch is that they really round off the edges of the neck heel. This makes playing in the upper registers much more comfortable than a square heel. The only problems I've encountered are that the nuts securing the volume and tone pots worked loose after 3 hours of playing and had to be re-tighted. Minor stuff.

I don't anticipate having any problems with this guitar. Carvin finishes are thin, they admit as much in their catalog. Their positionis that thicker finish equals less tone. The finish on this guitar is nowhere close to as thick as that on a strat but the tone is terrific!

I've ordered 2 guitars and some accessories from Carvin. Never had a problem getting my stuff. Never had a problem that had to be resolved.

I've been playing for 25 years and am a Berklee grad. One of the things I've noticed about the Carvin reviews posted here is that many of them are from very experienced players. That carries a lot of weight with me. These guys have played a lot of guitars and know a good one when they find it. I already own a Carvin AE185 and was impressed enough with that axe to go with the Bolt without any reservations. Considering the quality and that the basic price of a Bolt-T is $549 the value is incredible.

Alder strat body with a sunburst finish and black pearloid pickguard(sweet looking). Bolt on maple neck with a tung oil finish and ebony board. S/S/H pickup onfig. Master volume, master tone and a coil tap for the bucker. Wilkinson Trem with Sperzel Locking tuners.

I play mostly rock and this guitar is pretty good at that. The sounds are pretty good overall. The single coils have good clarity, but plenty of meat on em. No real screachy tones. The bucker is a vintage type, good clarity and fairly full. Though I wish it had a bit more guts in the midrange. Overall this guitar holds up pretty well in most situations.

This guitar was ready to go right out of the box. No flaws at all. No complaints at all other than one of the tuners occasonally won't let me change a string. But it can be coaxed.

This guitar is a brick. It holds tune forever. And has given me zero probs. If I gigged alot I'd carry a backup just because its the smart thing to do. Not because I lack faith in the Carvin.

Never really dealt with em. So I'll hold off on an opinion.

Overall I love this guitar. I've been playing for about 3 years and this is my first serious guiter. I'm very pleased with it. Other than the bridge bucker is a lil wimpy and they won't let you put a hotter one in when you order. I like my Carvin way better than most of the Fenders out there. Its really a mid priced boutique guitar IMODO.

The biggest and I think most obvious feature of this guitar is the neck. I've owned and played just about every guitar u can think of, and this neck...especially the board is perfect. The fit of the components was flawless. The electronics was very good. (Carvin could wise up and use higher impedance pots and add a volume pot cap to hold up the highs as the volume is rolled down). The stock tuners are superb in form and function.
I can't say enough about the board!

I used 2 stacked hums..1 in the bridge and one in the neck. And a single in the mid position. The #2 and #4 positions are outstandingly punchy and bright but not washed out and "chicken-Picky" like Teles get.
I did a lot of wood work on this guitar. The front and back are capped with Cocobolo. I added multi-lam binding around the whole body also. Then covered with Nitrocel lacquer. Between the wood and the lacquer, this guitar is EXTREMELY bright and punchy.
I generally run thru an old Twin or a Roland BC60 with a mod'd TS-9 and Morely wah at the input. Very VERY sweet blues tone in pos #1 and #3. Pos #4 and especially #5 give a very under-control feedback when higher levels of distortion are used.
The guitar has the best ring harmonics I've ever seen on a bolt-on neck guitar. I can repeatedly get clean rings from the 2 1/2 fret!

I generally use 9's and have strung this with 10's. This guitar has the best action among ANY of my other axes. The set-up was easy and the board is like a rock.
The Gotoh trem is exceptional. I thought when i bought it that it would be the compromising point. It's not, believe me. I have Floyds and Fenders and other junk trems on my other axes, but this is truly the most solid performer i have.
The parts fit perfectly. Like I said, I redid the entire body. No pick guard on front, and I opened the cavities under the Cocobolo cap. Now it has a rear electronics cavity cover. The neck joint is the only original element. It is an exceptional fit compared to Jacksons or Fenders or even a PRS.

The only thing I can say regarding Reliability is in regards to the trem. I'm not much of a trem diver, but I do use it a lot for vibe. It is solid! Even if I do get out of hand and bury the lever, it truly comes right back in tune.
I ALWAYS bring a back-up guitar. But this one I would have no worry about bringing alone.

I've bought a few Carvin products and they are Very easy to deal with...even up front in dealing about price. I even talked them into throwing in a more costly pickup for no charge.
One of the Sperzels on the AE 185 I have had a piece of string get stuck inside and rendered it useless. I called Carvin and said I had a gig in 3 days. They air'd a replacement to me!

I've played since 1964. We play every weekend. This is now my gig guitar. Period. I DO have a bised opinion because I did so much extra work on this guitar, but, I've let others play this thing and I hear the same thing from them about it. It is an excellent guitar...even without any custom stuff!
(Too bad it's only 1-10...I'd give this an 11!

SPECS: 1. Maple bolt on 22 fret wide thin neck, duel carbon rod reinforced with steel truss, medium jumbo frets on an ebony board. graphite nut. spurzel tuners 2. strat alder body 3. two singles and a humbucker -passive 4. Wilkinson tremelo 5. vol., tone, 5 way, splitter toggle

I wish I could find some fault with this guitar so I would feel better about about all the money I've wasted on two PRS's and a multitude of other "fine" U.S. made guitars. The simpliest way to state it is... Carvins' electronics sound as good as and are built better than either one of my PRS's. The vol. and tone pot action are silky smooth with just the right amount of resistance. I plug it to a Carvin 150 W 2 -12s. ( My Crate G40c sounds like absolute crap compared to the Carvin). You may not print this because I'm so upbeat about Carvin, but I'm gonna tell it like it is. I've owned 6 Fender electrics,(3 US and 3 Japs.. the Japs were the best) 3 Gibson electrics, 2 PRS's and over a dozen other guitars. The Carvin is the best Guitar I've ever played in every catagory. And who am I to judge? I'm a nit picking perfectionist pressure equipment inspector with heavy background in welding, machining, pipe fitting, & woodworking. Every time I look at my $3,000 10 top, gold plated, bird inlayed PRS... It pisses me off that my $460 dollar Carvin Bolt T kit guitar is a much better guitar in every respect.. except looks. The PRS lacewood sunburst is prettier than the Carvin tung oiled Alder. And every time I turn those piece of crap PRS tuners, I get even angrier.

The Carvin had the finest craftsmanship in every detail. It is a kit guitar and every piece is a machine fit and of the highest quality of any guitar I've worked on. I set up every guitar I've owned and also set up many of my friends guitars. I now know why I've heard that once a guitarist plays a tung oiled neck he will prefer it to all other finishes.

I upgaded to the Spurzel tuners and Wilkinson tremelo, which I can't say enough good about. The Wilkinson is especially well engineered and built. Fender and Gibson hardware is poorly engineered junk compared to the Carvin hardware.

The original orders for my DC -127, Bolt T kit, and the 200 SX amp went very smooth. As far as repairs go, I don't think that will ever be necessary.

I wish I could get directions on how to install the phase micro switch I bought for it. I've gradually sold all my other guitars except the PRS, the DC-127, and a Takemane box. If all the guitars I've owned over the years were layed out for my choice to play, I would automatically strap on the Carvin Bolt T. The Carvin DC-127 is even for sale because I don't play it anymore.