Carvin Bolt-T

Here's the deal: I just received my BOLT - T and I know that I've finally found THE guitar. You know what I mean, we all search for it. Well I'm 47 years old and it's been a long, long search, but it's all over now. What a beautiful instrument. I'm not going to trash any other name brands -- I've had many guitars, mostly good ones, but this is absolutely the finest guitar I've ever owned or played. It is solid maple with the 'tung oil' finish all over. Awesome. No paint or other coating between us. Sweet. 10" radius birdseye maple fretboard with stainless frets and abalone dots. Abalone CARVIN logo on headstock. Spertzel lock tuners, Wilkinson trem. White perloid pickguard. Wish I new how to post pics. My email is georgeseashock@hotmail. I have to go now. She's calling.

Bolt-T - Jet Black with all black chrome and white pearloid guard. Sperzeil locking tuners, tung oiled hard rock maple with an ebony fretboard at 12" radius. Fender style alder body. AP-11 3 single coil pickups with a on/off mini switch for 7 different tones. One volume and tone knob. Wilkinson tremolo fixed bridge string through setup.

I play blues, rock, and alternative rhythm guitar and a little lead. I have various amps and use a Digitech RP200A pedal. The setup is S/S/S AP-11's. These pickups are very HIGH output which I guess means it's very bright. The tone knob works very well unlike most cheap guitars this one has different ranges of sound. The 5-way switch with the on/off toggle works also, but the toggle only makes the sound slightly different with the volume turned up. The guitar is very versatile.

The guitar was an "in-stock" guitar. The setup was ok since there was some slight fret buzz, but, in fairness, the action is extremely low. The back had some slight marks as well as the tremolo plate. However, as with all Carvin's, the neck is PERFECT! It is hard rock maple with an ebony fretboard and it is very comfortable and fun to play. Overall, the entire guitar is well made.

The guitar feels solid and all the parts are well made. I have the locking tuners and the wilkinson tremolo with the bolt-t. No need for a backup unless you want a different sounding guitar perhaps with humbuckers.

Have not used them, but they are very nice when calling them with questions or orders.

I've been playing on and off for 10 years. I have had many guitars and now only own two Carvins. I will probably never buy any other type of guitar except a Carvin. What makes them better than most is the neck. There really is no other way to describe it until you play one. I have had Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Epiphone, Michael Kelly, and Godin. I have played PRS, Schecter, Dean, Richenbacher, and Mizarek guitars and not one of them is as comfortable as the Carvin. They are all great guitars, but the Carvin just seems one notch above the rest when compared with the necks. They may not have the best sounding pickups, but that is easier to replace then a neck.

The guitar was made in 2005 and I bought it in the San Diego store. I live close by so I went to the store rather than order on line. They have a "In Stock" section on the website. That's where I found the guitar. It has 22 frets, S/S/S with a tap switch, Wilkinson tremolo. Blueburst with a black pearloid pickguard. Non-locking tuners but they work well.

I play worship music but I also play an occasional jazz gig. I play through a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue. My pedal set-up is:
Boss DD-6, Boss-Ch-1, Ernie Ball volume pedal (this runs out to a Boss TU-12 tuner), Zoom PD-01, Fulltone Fulldrive. The guitar is not noisy but it is very bright. I can back off of the tone & this darkens the sound a bit. The guitar is pretty versatile. By engaging and disengaging the small toggle switch, the sound get beefier. I've got different stories from several Carvin guys about what this switch actually does. Anyway, it increases the tonal variations available. I love the neck pickup but I'm not sure about the bridge configuration yet. I'm thinking about getting a humbucker but I really haven't gigged with it enough to make an informed choice.

Set-up was get.
Pickups were set perfect.
Pretty finish, no flaws.
The toggle switch seems a little flimsy.

Overall, a beautiful guitar for the money

Seems very solid. I've only gigged with it a couple of times so far. I replaced the strap buttons with strap locks but they were solid.

Yes, I gig with no back up.

I've heard horror stories about Carvin but they've always done right by me. They've been helpful and friendly the 4 or 5 times I've contacted them with a variety of questions.
No input on the warranty.

I've been playing for 40 years. I've got tons of equipment. If it were stolen, I think I would replace it. I love the sound of the guitar and the neck is super playable...very nice.

It isn't really Strat like but I like it better than Strats. Considering how nicely it plays and sounds, I would have had to pay twice as much to get a Strat this good. I've always wanted a Carvin and I think it's a great value. It's a fine instrument and I'm looking forward to playing it for many years.

The guitar that I am reviewing is a Carvin Bolt-T ordered January 10, 2006 and received on March 22, 2006. The guitar was manufactured in San Diego, California. It is a cross between the Super-Strat and conventional Stratocaster styles and has a 22 fret Bolt on 25 ?-scale maple neck topped by an ebony fret board with abalone dot inlays. The neck is mated to a jet-black ash body. The guitar came with a Wilkinson locking tremolo, Sperzel locking tuners, and all of the hardware is black. I ordered the guitar with a black pearloid pick guard and opted for three Twin-blade humbucking pickups. The controls were simple, a five-way switch, one volume, one tone, and a toggle switch that gives some extra pickup combinations. The guitar shipped in a G&G tweed case and came with an allen wrench and a truss rod tool.

I purchased the guitar with the intention of replacing the pickups with a set of EMG pickups. I ordered the Twin-Blades because I wanted to test their sonic quality. After playing them extensively through several amplifiers, I came to my conclusion that they were excellent pickups and I actually thought about leaving them in the guitar. I have played through some of Carvin?s other pickups and I have found that the Twin-blades are my favorite pickups that Carvin produces. They were quiet and the tone was pleasant to the ear. I would not have any problem with using a stock Carvin. The guitar suits my personal style fine. I play country, rock-a-billy, rock, southern rock, jazz and blues.

Setup of the guitar was absolutely fantastic. I have never unpacked a guitar and found it to be that easy to play. The action of this guitar makes it very difficult to put it down. I am neglecting all of my other instruments becasue I love the way this guitar feels. I inspected the guitar thoroughly and found no flaws inside and out.

Carvin guitars are built like an Abrams tank. If you break one, you did it on purpose.

The customer service representatives that I have spoken to were friendly and helpful. If they do not know an answer, they will put you through to someone who does.

I started playing guitar about 15 years ago. I also own a Jackson Soloist, a Fender Mark Knopfler Strat, a Fender Muddy Waters Tele, a Guild GAD-50, my other son is a Robin Savoy and I play all of this stuff through a Mesa Boogie Mark I Reissue, a Carvin Vintage 16, and Carvin Bel Air 212. I use a Vox Wah, Vox Volume, a Budda Phatman, an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, and I keep things in tune with an indispensable Boss TU-12. I use Levy straps, mostly, and Hercules Guitar Stands and Planet Waves custom series cables, only. Over the years, I have owned several Strats, Teles, Ibanez guitars, Epiphones and amps galore from Ampegs and Fenders to Mesa Mark IV's and in fact, there are not many brands of guitar equipment that I have not experienced.

I purchased a Bolt-T because I have always heard about Carvin?s commitment to excellence and about the quality of their instruments. I own several other guitars but I wanted one that I could depend on for a workhorse in the studio and for live performance. I selected an Ash body and maple neck but, from the start, I intended to put EMG Vince Gill Pro Series pickups in the guitar. It was not because I had reservations about Carvin?s pickups; my reason was I wanted a particular sound. I ordered the guitar with the Twin-blade humbuckers in it because I wanted to preview the company?s pickups.

I was impressed with the quality of the guitar as it came out of the package. The Twin-blades were a good match to the instrument and the sound was impeccable. The pickups were not harsh and picked every nuance of my phrasing. Most of all, the guitar was quiet even at the highest volumes.

I liked the extra feature of the toggle switch instead of a second tone control. It gives you the ability to use all three pickups at once and also the bridge and neck, similar to a Telecaster. I have read other reviews where people said that this guitar is not at all like a Strat. A Fender Neck will fit on it, A Carving Bolt-T neck will fit on a Fender body. The forearm and contour cut is shallower on the Carvin. The headstock is angled and the upper cutaway is a bit longer but it is a Strat style guitar. It combines all of the best features of the Super Strat Style and the Vintage Strat Style guitars. In addition, with single coils it does too sound like a Strat. Everything that I ever wanted different about a Strat, Carvin has changed already. I am completely satisfied with it and it is my primary guitar over all of the others that I have.

When I unpacked the guitar, the setup was fantastic and true to reviews, I have not played an instrument that responded better out of the shipping crate. I took so long to review it because I could not put it down long enough to sit down and tell you what I thought about it. If it were stolen, the SNAGG microchip would ensure that someone would at least be arrested for Theft by Receiving and go to jail for having it. I would replace it if I were stupid enough to lose it. (How do you lose a guitar? I think that would definitely be worthy of consideration for a Darwin award)

USA custom made from factory 2005 Bolt-T. This is the bolt on neck with the strat style body. The T refers to the wilkinson floating trem. Mahogany body with flamed maple top in umber stain. H/S/S pick-up config and 5-way selector with separate switch for the humbucker to switch to a single coil. Perloid pick guard. Tone and Volume control. 22 fret neck with ebony fretboard and tung-oil finish. Sperzel locking tuners. Guitar came with SKB case.

The tone out of this guitar and the standard Carvin PU's is well suited for all musical styles. The Hum in the bridge is fairly hot so rock and metal sounds are easy to come by. The two single coils and the Hum when split to a single coil give the tone a more glassy feel. The neck PU is very bluesy and darker while the middle sparkles. A lot of people knock Carvin for being too bright but I have not noticed this and compared to my Yamaha AES620 (Les Paul style) with a SD JB in the bridge the two guitars a really similar in fatness and richness of tone.

My only knock is that the PU are maybe a bit noisier than I would like but not enough to cause me any problems.

Everything came from the factory in A+ shape and quality. This guitar plays like an absolute dream. The neck is fairly thin, thinner than a strat but not as thin as an Ibanez RG or Jem. I have it strung with 9's and it plays so well. Easy to lower the action without fret buzz. The finish is absolutely gorgeous as well and Carvin really takes pride in selcting a good piece of wood for the quilt. I ordered umber stain and the color was a bit lighter than I perceived from the pics on their site but this is not big deal, it's still beautiful as can be. The Wilkinson plays great and with the sperzel locking tuners stays in tune even with the most generous whammy bombs. Finally, the tund oil finish on the nuck is well worth the extra $50 I paid for it. My hand glides so easy up and down the neck and just feels so natural.

Guitar feels well built and put together well. Only time will tell!

The ordering process was great though it did take 10 weeks to receive the guitar when I was quaoted 6-8. But each time I called they gave me an update and were very friendly. I would not hesitate to deal with Carvin again.

I wanted a guitar that could cover a lot of ground stylistically yet was something different from the norm. Carvin offers a lot of great options and fabulous finishes and the Bolt-T seemed the perfect match. I actually patterned the look after a Tom Anderson that I saw and liked and though I am sure the TA kills for less than 1/2 the price this guitar looks nearly a killer and plays and sounds great.

For those who are looking for a custom built USA guitar Carvin offers many selections of styles, elecronics, and options and I am sure that you will not be disappointed for the $$$.

Swamp ash body, Sperzels, 3 single coils and a Wilkonson twang bar. I picked out all the options...you gotta like that luxury.

This is the only whining I can do. It's not a Strat or really even a Strat clone. I didn't buy it expecting it to be a strat, either...I have two "real" strats. I bought this because I love the 3 other Carvins I own.

Soundwise, I think Carvin is much better at humbucking pickups. That said, the neck and middle pickups sound great. The bridge is thin and bright (not in a good way). And it's going to be replaced. Pronto! Noise isn't bad (my strats are worse). Single coil noise isn't much of issue for me anyway-I can ride my volume knob and take care of any buzz or hum like I've done for years.

I can't really think of anything this guitar can't cover tone-wise. I've played it clean as a whistle, distorted to the max, effected...you name it. Vintage amps, new amps-doesn't matter. The bridge pickup is the only area I have compensate for. Requires EQ changes on all my amps and I still don't get what I'm after

I don't know how they do it. Anyone who's played a Carvin knows what I'm talking about. This thing was only a few cents flat right out of the box! Built like a tank, flawless finish on beautiful wood, excellent hardware and setup (I raised the action a tad but I don't fault Carvin for not knowing how I play). This is my first Wilkonson trem and I'm having stupid amounts of fun with it! Fretwork is first rate and I really love ebony on the fretboard.

First off, like many others will tell you, don't gig without a backup!

First live gig the Bolt ever did was 1oo degrees and humid to the max. After 1 hour including twang bar/feedback solo at the end of set...still in tune!

I'm not worried about the finish as I have 20+ year old Carvin that still looks great. It helps to take care of the things we spend hard earned $$ on, too. So I do.

I think a friend put it best..."It feels like you could play baseball with it and still do a gig!"

Great from the point of sale and afterward, they quickly and cheerfully sent out a small hex screw for the Wilkonson-no charge. As I stated, I own 4 Carvins and have not had to deal with them beyond the hex screw. To me that speaks loudly! I've read other complaints but I don't have any.

I've been playing 23 years and owned a LOT of guitars. Still do. Gibsons, Hamers, Godins, Strats, Frankenstrats, Carvins. Amps...Gibson rvt (1965), Ampeg Gemini (1965), Fender Super, Fender Deville, Home made class A, home made Fender Deluxe copy. A zillion pedals. I can cover most anything I feel like doing. I play mostly original rock and I'm always learning something new. This guitar will be on the A Squad for a long time.

As I said, my only niggle is with the bridge pickup and that may be simply a matter of personal taste.

If lost or stolen, I will buy another one just like it! Simple as that.

One thing I must say...Do not buy this if you expect an inexpensive strat clone. It is it's own thing and due to construction, neck technology and body size, doesn't sound or feel like a strat. On the other side of that coin, I haven't played anything by Fender or anyone else that can match it's playabilty or construction. Sound is subjective. All of my guitars sound different, but they all sound like me. The Bot T is, hands down one of the finest playing guitars I've ever owned.

E-mail me if you have other questions about this axe.

Swamp Ash Body -tobacco finish, Sperzler tuners, Wilkinsen Tremola bar, ebony fret board. The Ap11 - replace with Tim Jagmen hand wound single coils.

Original sound was great -very articulate. I wanted a little more bite and bottom end so I had my friend Tim Jagman wind me some hot and saucy pickups. Wow - raw blues power. As received, I give the sound an 8. Now with Tim's pickups, I give it a 10.

Flawless.

after 5 years, still no problems.

Have not had to deal with them over problems, the order itself went great!

Carvin gear is top notch. I'm about to get a new neck, as I've worn my first one out playing blues - lot of string wigglin. I bought the Bolt T because I knew their necks were cheaper than a fret job. Their new necks have a more rounded back shape and easier to play. I look forward to taking it for a spin.

Swamp Ash Body -tobacco finish, Sperzler tuners, Wilkinsen Tremola bar, ebony fret board. The Ap11 - replace with Tim Jagmen hand wound single coils.

Original sound was great -very articulate. I wanted a little more bit and bottom end so I had my friend Tim Jagman wind me some hot and saucy pickups. Wow - raw blues power. As received, I give the sound an 8. Now with Tim's pickups, I give it a 10.

Flawless.

after 5 years, still no problems.

Have not had to deal with them over problems, the order itself went great!

Carvin gear is top notch. I'm about to get a new neck, as I've worn my first one out playing blues - lot of string wigglin. I bought the Bolt T because I new their necks were cheaper than a fret job. Their new necks have a more rounded back shape and easier to play. I look forward to taking it for a spin.

Good features and options

Got a good sound, not very strat-like, which was my biggest disappointment.

great

Like a rock

cocky, arrogant, unprofessional

This guitar sounds nothing like a strat. Any guitar with single coils will have a similar chime, but the modern construction (dual truss, and graphite reinforcements) totally eliminate this as being comparable to a strat, sonically speaking. I was fooled by the looks, and i guess my lack of knowledge about construction/sound. This was an alder maple/maple 3single coil guitar that looked more like a strat than it sounded. You'll never be able to coax a strat sound out of this guitar, but i'm sure it has value as an individual voice. It is well constructed. Just don't be fooled by its looks, its not a vintage soundging guitar.

This is my 4th Carvin and its another great guitar from their San Diego factory. Maple fretboard and neck, alder body, S/S/H pickup configuration (AP11/AP11/C22T), Wilkinson vibrato bridge,Sperzel tuners, pearloid pickguard, and the reason why I bought this guitar the now discontinued Harlaquin Primistique haloflake finish. The base color is between eggplant and peppermint green and it has a lot of red halowflake in the finish. It pretty much transisitions from a green to a purple to a red. I believe Sean at Carvin has a similar guitar with this finish but with an orange base color which was a one off job. It is wonderfully cheesy while not being gaudy like a quilt top or something. I know Tony MacAlpine toured with a DC747 with this finish when he was playing with Steve Vai. That gives you an idea of the cheese factor rockstar type of vibe this has. Its a real conversation piece and not for the faint at heart.

These are the stock pickups that Carvin uses, well now they have actually replaced the C22T with the B model, but this is what use to come standard. I must say I have heard a lot of complaints about the T model but its an edgy sounding bridge humbucker great for rock. The two AP11's impress me. I am not a real single coil kind of guy, but these are fat sounding. They can transistion from that twangy clean sound to a nice EJ style lead sound with distortion. Very little 60 cycle hum and sound great with distortion, what else can you ask for? The wilkinson bridge is in the "down only" position. My other two Wilkies are in the floating position. I think I will keep this guitar as is, because I think this configuration adds sustain. The Bolt's have unbelievable sustain for their construction.

All I have to say is that its a Carvin. Nicely slotted graphite nut with no slippage. Tuners keep the guitar in tune forever, the Wilkinson is so reliable that I have it on 3 guitars, the guitar plays amazingly well, while still being super lightweight and balanced.

Carvin uses a thick Poly Finish which doesnt seem like it will ever wear off. I am going to replace the strap buttons with Dimarzio Cliplocks soon just because those are my preference. It came stock with Dunlop stralocks though which is a nice feature.

A big shout out to Raul, Doc, Sean, Albert C, Charles, Marco, Francis and all the other fine people at Carvin who I have talked to since I started using their products in late 2000. They are a great bunch of folks, and the people at the Carvin BBS board are great to talk with too. Its not only great to have these fine instruments, but its also great to have such a great community that also uses these instruments.

What more can I say? Well I am definetely keeping this guitar, and I might experiment a little bit with it. I don't usually hot rod guitars but I might do it to this one just to make it more out there and crazy. I thought today about a green pickguard, perhaps some aftermarket pickups, and even a sustainiac pickup in the neck. Just some stuff to make it a bit more extreme, because as a stock guitar its already fantastic.

Hello all! I trully love this web site!! I was turned on to Carvin 3 years ago by my friend Angelo Jannotti here in Orlando. I have been playing for more than 20 years now and have gone through tons of gear. One of the things I have been on the hunt for is the perfect quacky strat tone. I went to Fender and tried everything from a $200.00 Japy to a $2500.00 Custom Shop........All of the guitars were great, but lacked the tone I was looking for. Angelo who had turned me on to the AE-185 said "Tri a Carvin Bolt-T, if you don't like it,send it back." I called Carvin and ordered the guitar, right out of the box with stock strings and pickups this guitar SMOKED the Fenders! This was my first Wilkinson bridge and it took some getting use to, but now I love it! The Bolt-T is my main guitar now........still with the stock pickups!

Carvin guitars are blowing my mind............You can find any tone your looking for from WFO Rock & Roll (WFO, wide freak'en open) to smooth Jazz & Blues!

There is no better finish or quality than Carvin! I own Fender, Gibson, PRS, Brian Moore, Steinberger, Gretsch......... You name it, it's hanging in my studio! I would put Carvin quality up against any of them!

I've taken them all over the U.S.A.............They are always ready to roll when the lights come up! One thing I've learned about Carvin guitars the hard way! Do not drop them! They will break what ever they fall on! TUFF AS NAILS!!

Awesome! They trully love what they do!

3 Years and going strong! I WILL be purchasing Carvin guitars for a long time to come! Pro Quality At Pawn Shop Prices! What more could you ask for?!

This review is for a 2002 carvin bolt-t. this is an american guitar with a bolt on maple neck and solid swamp ash body. The fretboard is maple with 22 medium jumbo frets. The pick up configuration is single(ap11), single(apll), and double(c22). There is a 5 position switch and a mini switch that splits the c22. The guitar has sperzel locking tuners and a graphite nut for tuning stability. The tremelo system is a wilkinson. It has a beautiful 3 color sunburst finish with a poly finish. The body style is an offset double cut similar to a strat. The case is a nice high quality tweed.

All the above features are high quality and certainly better than that found on the standard american strat.

I play mostly rock and blues and occasionally jazz. Ive played for about 20 years. This has become one of my favorite guitars (along with the carvin dc 150). This guitar is very versatile. I find it much more versatile than the fender strats I have had over the years. The pickups are hotter with more midrange. This gives the guitar more tonal range. The ash body and maple fretboard in my opinion is the perfect tone wood combination for this type of guitar. I believe that this combination creates good note compression and separation - much more than the ebony fretboard and alder body combo which to my ear produces some midrange mush in the first and fifth position. The first position on this guitar produces some nice lows and midrange great for that stevie ray sound. there is plenty of strat quack in position 2 and four. Position five is nice for heavier distorted tones. Overall sound is much richer than that found on fender counterparts.

I use this guitar with a carvin belair and peavey vintage 30. I have also tried it with a laney vc 30.

this guitar is well shielded with no unwanted noise.

Set up was good. I always reset up my guitars to my liking so this was not as important of an issue to me. There were however no issues on set up.
the quality of all the components is excellent. The wilkinson trem is a feature i especially like. There is unbelievable tuning stability in conjunction with the graphite nut and sperzel tuners. Even with extreme trem use the guitar just does not go out of tune.
The finish was really perfect and clearly done with pride.

I play live with this guitar and would not expect to have any issues. Carvin products seem to last and I would suspect this product will hold up just as well. I trust this guitar and never feel the need to gig with a backup.

I find customer support great. When I bought this guitar I bought the twin blade pick up option. I was unsure if I would like these pickups but I gave it a try. I was told that if I did not like them I could change them for ap11's. I just could not get into the sound of the pickups. I simply called carvin and in 5 days the apll's were in my mail box at no charge. Try to get that customer service from some of the other brands.

This is a great guitar. If you are looking for a strat but like me were annoyed by the quality issues inherent to fender then check out carvin. this is a better guitar and a great value for the money. I own fender and gibson and sure they have there role but the price of these instruments is getting out of hand. The quality of fender is also at times questionable. Carvin makes a great product at a great price.

If lost or stolen I would buy another the first chance I had. there is just nothing I dislike about this guitar.

construction/scale bolt-on neck, 25 1/2" scale
body Alder
neck Hardrock Maple, graphite reinforced
neck width 1.71" wide @ nut, 2.22" wide @ 22nd fret
fingerboard ebony (15" radius)
inlays standard dot
hardware Gold
Wilkinson Tremelo
frets 22 medium jumbo .103" wide X .048" tall
pickups 2 Ap11 single coil C22T bridge Humbucker with coil splitter
electronics master volume and tone, 5 way selector + mini switch
tuners Carvin premium 14:1 ratio
White Pearloid Pickguard
Color is Blueburst
guitar dimensions 38.75" long, 12.5" wide body, 1.75" thick body
weight 7.25 lbs

I own 2 strats and had my eye on a Fender American Standard Fat Strat Texas Special but decided to try the Carvin instead. Boy did I make the right choice. This guitar sounds like a dream. I play Texas Blues and this baby can purr, growl or squeal. This guitar is very resonant. The pickups have much higher output then my Tex-Mex trio in my Cali strat and sound as good as the Texas Specials I played in the Fat strat. Not to mention the coil splitter for the bucker, which I've never seem available from Fender. The single coils aren't as noisy as my Fenders. With the 5-way and coil splitter, the tonal possibilities are endless.

The the guitar can from California all the way to New Hampshire without a flaw. The action was perfect. The Blueburst paint job was better than I expected. The fret and nut work are top of the line. The neck is fitted perfectly and plays fast.

Everthing on this guitar says quality. No loose harware. The neck was installed with precision..no gaps or mis-alignments. This guitar can take a beating and come back for more.

Never had to call them.

I'm just sorry I didn't buy one sooner. I've been a Fender fan for 10 years but since I got my Bolt-T the Fenders have stayed in their cases. $682 with a HSC and all the features I wanted... best bang for the buck.

2002 Carvin "Bolt-T" (Strat copy). Made in USA. 22 frets. "Ferrari red". Basically exactly all the specs of a Fender Strat, except that it doesn't "hug" your body as much as a strat does. Got the "Allan Holdsworth" H22T bridge Humbucker. Alder body. Maple neck. "Wilkinson" Tremolo. Sperzel locking tuners. had to buy the hardcase (half off). Normally around $160 I think.

This thing sounds like GARBAGE. I was EXTREMELY disappointed, after hearing so much good stuff about it, when I finally got it, I almost cried. (Well, not really). It really does sound like trash. Ok, here's a comparison; I bought a $100 "Johnson" strat copy, which was totally trash anyway, so no one expected it to be great. My brand new Carvin Bolt sounds EXACTLY the same as it. Actually worse. The bass on this one (the neck pickup) sounds really muddy. I used it on an oooold "Peavey Stereo Chorus 212" which is a hunk of junk itself too, but I've heard some really nice sounds from other guitars on it, so it cant ALL be the Amp. The Bolt gets kind of a bluesy sound, and that's it. But it's not great. Also, when I strike a hard chord, (like a fast hard power chord) the Humbucker buzzes. Not the sound, but the actual pickup itself. To understand, imagine that it's unplugged. I strike a Power G chord. Now, from deep within the Humbucker, I hear a buzzing, like a piece of resonating tin-foil. Almost like a Bumble bee is inside the pickup trying to get out. This is a really dumb flaw and very annoying. I have no idea what it is, obviously some loose part of the pickup.

SCORE! Set up pretty well, the action was fine, (a little buzzing though). Pickups were all set up fine. The cloth to cover the humbucker (wound around the coils) was coming off though, and showing through the hole in the pickguard. I think this is one of the fastest necks I have ever played. VERY nice finish on the back of the neck. Flaws? Yes, a few, here you go: The "Wilkinson Tremolo" is one of the worst ones I have ever used. It takes VERY little pressure to bend a note, but then when you REALLY want to bend it, the MAX you can go it about 1 or two half nothes. (2 frets of so). So that's a huge pain. Also, when you bend a string UP, (not the tremolo)the other strings go DOWN!!! HUUUUGE FLAW!! I play blues, which requires a LOT of bending, so this is totally unacceptable. Meaning, if I bend the B-string at the 12th fret, then if I have any other strings resonating, like the Low E and A, then they go down in pitch. This is terrible. With this, the only way you can play and use the trem, is if you mute ALL the strings except for the one you are bending, which will never do. This trem doesn't lock, so you are stuck with that. Also, the setup on this trem is terrible, it has way to much slack. Meaning, I can pull the whammy bar up, and get all the strings to bend UP. I hate that. Let's see... What else... Oh, the Color. When I talked on the phone with the guy at Carvin, I told him I wanted a really nice, deep dark red, like Crimson. Except for that the crimson in their catalog, looked absolutely terrrible. So he told me to get "Ferrari Red" instead. I thought it looked fine... a little to bright, but fine. Then I get it, and I am so excited, I open the box, and see the "Vintage Tweed Case". I open the case, and there it is, much to my surprise, IT'S PINK!!! Well, not exaclty pink, but a way to pinkish color for me. I was SOO bummed. Also, the "White Pearloid pickguard" is actually grey. Anyway, I would have to say that the overall quality of the GUITAR itself, is absolutely outstanding. It really was very very nice except for those flaws. But, they were too much for me to bear.

Very durable guitar. Everything was so TIGHT. The volume was great, the 5-way pickup selector was tight, like it should be. It was nice and heavy. Hardware RULED, but that's because I specially ordered everything. Locking tuners, etc... Very nice. Finish was WONDERFUL. Looked like it would withstand just about anything. I couldn't figure out the Dunlop Strap-Loks, until messing with them forever. NO INSTRUCTIONS WHATSOEVER came with this guitar. This is one dependable guitar.

OK. Here's where it really falls apart. I heard it best described as "Carvin people always sound like you're interrupting their four hour lunch". PERFECT description. I talked to Nick Acebedo. His knowledge of guitars was outstanding, but I asked ALOT of questions, (as I should before I spend $700 on a guitar from a mail-order company) and he really sounded like I was bothering him with my questions. Which is totally wrong for a salesman or support guy, like him. He also "accidentaly" charged me for weird things that I had said no to like weird nech finishes and "Bird's eye maple fretboard". When going over the final list of specs, I caught this and fixed it. "Oh we aren't going with bird's eye maple?". That was a pain. So, if you aren't a sucker, or first time buyer, then you could go with Nick. Otherwise, make sure you don't have him.
Helpful? Yeah, sorta. Friendly? No, not really until I got to the part of payment... You have a 10-day trial once you get it. If you don't like anything about it, even if it's your fault and you ordered wrong, then just send it back for refund or replacement. This is a VERY nice deal. Very rare in a Guitar maker. I think there's a 5 year warranty against defects.

Ok. So I ended up sending it back for a complete refund. A happy ending to a sad story. I also have a 1981 Ovation "1651" Legend, which totally rules ALL acoustic guitars. Maybe that's why I'm so fickle. I truly demand THE VERY BEST in a guitar, and Carvin fell short. Then again, I have so far, NEVER played a guitar that I totally truly liked. I don't think I'd ever order another one, just cause they are so different from standard shapes and feels. I loved the neck. I hated the flaws mentioned above. I wish it had a different style haedstock. The one Carvin's have are pretty annoying. So basically, in summary, Carvins are nice. But think twice before you get one and do your homework.

You probably already know all the features if you have a carvin catalog. I got mine with carvin's humbucker in the bridge position.

I think this is a very versatile sounding guitar. It is a little bright for my taste, but it covers everything from funk to metal really well. I'm glad I got the humbucker in the bridge for that extra gain and chunk. I have to adjust the tone control for different pickups, with the neck pickup being a little too bright. That pickup can get a great bluesy tone when adjusted right.

I actually had to adjust my action up a little for perfect intonation and playability. My guitar has a really bad cable input. It always gets loose and when you tighten it, the cable doesn't go in all the way. That seems really cheap. I also had a small problem with the locking tuners not opening when I tried to replace strings. I called carvin and they sent me a whole new set for free.

I have been playing this guitar with no backup for 5 years and it really has stood up. It does alot of styles relatively well, and I have had nothing but compliments about my tone.

Some of the people are really dumb sounding. They sound like you are interrupting their 4 hour lunch when you call them. But I have also talked to one guy who was very nice and helpful.

This is a great medium priced guitar which will kick the mex strats butt. And you can choose exactly how you want it too look. I personally wouldn't waste all the money to put the expensive finishes on this guitar, It is just a medium priced guitar. I probably would save and buy an american strat if this guitar was lost or stolen, but it rocks for the price range.

This is a follow-up to my review from May 29 - A few things to say now that I've had it a while...

1) The single coil P'ups turned out to be VERY noisy - the sounded good, but buzzed like crazy - - The Bridge P'up was a bit weak -- so I replaced them as follows: Duncan Vintage Stack in both the neck / mid positions, and a Duncan Alnico Pro II in the bridge. WHAT A DIFFERENCE. The bridge is much better - much warmer tone, better gain - - and the neck/mid is now dead quite. They sound "single coil" enough for me, still good "quack" but no buzz!

2) If you use 10s or 11s for strings, you will need an additional trem spring - - it came with 2, so that was a bit of a hassle.

3) The locking tuners are tricky - I think I have a couple that are defective (they don't quite pinch the E/B string) - I may take it back to RB to have them fix it, I may not.

4) In my previous review,I had stated that the wood top was NOT book-matched - - I was wrong! I had been looking at it from an angle, and the finish tricked me - - looking at it dead on, it is fully book-matched. My mistake.


So to summarize, I'm still very happy with this guitar - looks, plays and sounds great. I do wish that Carvin offered different neck profiles when ordering, but I can see how that'd drive the price up...

Year 2000 USA Ebony fretboard, maple bolt-on neck to an alder Strat style body. Beautiful translucent Cherry honey burst, black pearloid pickguard, gold hardware, Sperzel locking tuners, 5-way selector and single volume and tone controls. Wilkinson Tremelo bridge that is locked without the tremelo bar. Pickups are Seymour Duncan Texas Specials in the neck / mid positions and Pearly Gates in the bridge. This is an equivalent configuration to the Fender Lone Star Strat. 22 frets neck width is 1.71" (great width for my hands).

Sound is awesome. This guitar is definitely well suited for SRV & ZZTop tones. Yet with the 5-way selector and humbucker splitter, it is a very versatle guitar. It works well for Surf, Classic Rock and some grunge styles of music. My amp is a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and it sounds great. The hot rodded pickups sound great on both the Clean and Overdriven channels. I highly recommend this guitar/amp combination.

I acquired this guitar used and the original owner had it set up by a highly regarded professional shop when the SD pickups were installed. The action is slightly higher than my Epi LP Std. but I am adjusting to it very quickly.
I really like the overall feel Carvin's neck for its satin finish, thickness and width. My hands are fairly large (typically XL glove size due to my long fingers) and the neck is close to perfect for me. The finish on the guitar is outstanding and is very attactive looking.

I know that this guitar was gigged at least once or twice a month for over a year. Carvin's guitars seem very well built and should last a lifetime. This unit has locking strap buttons and has been very well maintained.

I have emailed Carvin with questions about other products (I have Carvin pickups on another guitar) and they were very helpful. That is the extent of my experience with Carvin Support.

I have a total timespan playing experience of about four years. I played electric guitar in my early teens during the 60's, Acoustic off and on in the 70's, and just recently started back up inspired by my son's desire to play bass. It has been a blast and I am determined to never give up playing again.
Overall I am very pleased with this guitar. It sounds great both plugged and even un-plugged! Since guitars are very personal and my exposure to other guitars is somewhat limited. But over the last 6 months I have picked up numerous guitars at various shops. During a recent visit to a Carvin in So. Cal. picked up a Bolt, played a few chords and then grinne and though wow I have got to get one of these. It fit like a glove. Shortly thereafter I was fortunate to run across this guitar for sale owned by a friend of friend. The upgrade to the SD pickups combined with its superb finish and quality hardware makes it a tremendous value and investment. I think I really scored on this find. Carvin obviously does not have the same legacy of Fender branded name in its favor, but I from what I experienced so far with this guitar it deserves to be rated in the same league.

Carvin strat clone w/humbucker in the bridge pos.
The options I ordered were...
Swamp ash body, figured maple top with "blueburst" poly finish, birdseye maple fretboard, sperzel locking tuners, Wilkinson trem.
Gotta say, I had every option available to me except one: Carvin does not give you the option of specifying pickups other than their own - - so I was "stuck" with their pickups. Otherwise, the features offered as great, particularly for a strat clone.
I deduct a point for no P'up options...

This is more or less a strat clone, so let's do it buy P'up position:

Bridge (single) - thin, like a strat. Not much character, but not bad. Like a strat.
Bridge (both coils) - good - basic humbucking tone, but not much... "oomph". I was expecting more, so this P'up may get replaced
Bridge/Middle - Nice. Sounds like a strat, you know - - and with the bridge p'up in humbucking mode, it sounds warmer but still with that funky out-of-phase tone.
Middle: NICE. Real nice. Wide open, pretty thick - - I was shocked.
Middle/Neck: Real REAL nice. That great strat sound but with optimal definition and funk - - good quack!
Neck: Wow. I mean wow. It sound great. Huge, open sound, articulate yet warm. I am WAY shocked how good the single coil p'ups Carvin provided sound. These I will keep, but the bridge may go...
Overall, I'll give it a 9 - - it'd be a 10 if it wasn't for the bridge p'up...

Setup: great - very low, but no buzz.
P'ups adjusted fine - sounds real even.
Top - - The top was NOT bookmatched, but I'm not too bummed - - but the wood is real nice - just a hair less nice than on my Lakland bass. The finish is real nice - that is a Carvin strength, right? It looks to be routed, shaped and finished without flaw. And this axe is LIGHT. Real easy on the back. Since the top wasn't bookmatched, I'll give it a 9 - - but it is a 10 in all other aspects.

hard to say, since I've only had it a little while... but everything looks hardy and well built. But... since I've never had a carvin instrument, I'll opt not to chime in here.

Odd combination of things - first, how much support does one need with a strat clone? That said, they were great when I ordered it (in person in the RB store) - - but when I called to pick it up, they were very lame. The guy how answered the phone sounded loaded, and he transfered me to another kid who sounded equally loaded. Not good. However, after a few transfers and holds, I was told to come get it. So my experience is mixed.

Okay, so I'm mostly a bass player who wanted a decent, good locking axe to knock around. While I really am just a learner on guitar, I have been around good gear, bad gear and everything in between - - and this appears to be good gear. The neck is very even and nice - - though I prefer a bit more of a shallow '70s fender feel... It comes with what appear to be thin frets - which I prefer, and like I said, it sounds great (particularly in the neck, which is KEY on a strat). And... while it isn't the most important thing, it is VERY pretty, particularly with the birdseye fretboard. In my opinion, Carvin could do only a few things to make this a better axe: ONE: offer pickups from some premium makers, like Rio Grande, Aero (right down the street!) or Duncan. TWO: Offer to bookmatch the premium wood for an extra fee (for those who really care) and THREE: Offer different neck shape profiles. I know they C&C all their wood, so that would be way easy to do. Heck, it might ad $10 cost per axe, but if you could choose the neck shape, wouldn't that be cool?

That all said, this is a very cool instrument - and given that a brand new, VERY plain US strat costs about this much, the choice seems clear. In fact, I compared this directly with several new Strats, some used ones, and a few other bolt-on guitars (G&L, Music Man)and Carvin won my business. So, given the price, and all things considered, this really couldn't be much nicer. I'll give it a 9.5 and round up.

See update of my review from 4/2000- Story with a happy ending?

I finally reached the CS Manager to talk about my past experiences- almost a year after e-mailing Carvin with my complaint. He said had he known about the Swamp Ash becoming available just after my trial period, he would've taken back my guitar and built me a new one with the wood of my choice.

As a consolation (and much to my satisfaction) he gave me his direct number and said that anything I order in the future should be done through him and he'll give me a deep discount.

Once I reached someone at Carvin who could help, the customer service was the kind I had come to expect from Carvin. But it seems that 1) they don't have an efficient way of handling e-mail, and 2) it's sometimes hard to get a hold of exactly who you need to rectify a problem.

Thankfully though, Carvin came through in the end, albiet a little late.Raise the CS rating back up a notch....

I have the first all Walnut Bodied Bolt produced by Carvin w/ matching headstock, black hardware, black pearliod pickguard & TWEED Case (great case!). The Options are great! I wish Carvin would offer more in & better blended burst panitjobs! By the way the Wilkinson trems Carvin uses KICKs THE EVER LIVING LIFE OUT OF THE SUPER CRAP fender uses for a trem.!!!!!!! (Take a hint Fender!)

Well, rather high but vesitile enough to have something for almost everyone (guess the Walnut body doesn't help, but it's beautiful!)

High score!!! Carvin is so far past Fender & Gibson! PRS & Carvin are on the same playing field in quality but Carvin Kills them on price! Action fit & finish is EXCELLANT!!!

No problems but mines a june 2000 model, but it all seem top notch!

Little lacking after the sale!

I haven't been playing long but I have several Carvin & they all are excellant! I Love the neck (WARNING: die hard Fender player do not normally like the feel of the Carvin necks!). The only thing I should have gotten that I didn't was the Sperzel locking tuners(my fault) Don't get me wrong it stays in tune extreamly well with the premium Carvin tuners (way better than Fender again!)

** Please ignore incomplete posting below - my spaz **

Your basic (and I do mean basic) US-made Strat clone, a 2000 model. Maple neck w/ tung oil finish, ebony fingerboard w/ mother-of-pearl dot inlays, no binding on the fingerboard, 22 frets, 25-1/2" scale, Carvin sealed tuners, 2-piece alder body w/ transparent satin finish, white pearloid pickguard, Gotoh Wilkinson tremelo, 3 Carvin single-coils with 11 adjustable pole pieces each, one volume knob, one tone knob, 5-way pickup switch, *plus* toggle switch for bridge pickup so you can have neck/bridge or neck/middle/bridge all active at once.

Carvin's pricing no longer includes cases, but they had a "half off" sale on cases at the time. The salesman threw in a truss rod tool and a strap.

It's a Strat clone. Unfortunately I don't have a real Strat to compare it to. The pickups don't seem as bright as the Strats I've heard in person, otherwise it's a reasonable facsimile, lots of twang and quack. The single coils make the obligatory buzzing sounds in the presence of AC magnetic fields, but the middle pickup is reverse wound/reverse polarity so positions 2 and 4 are noiseless. The ability to select the neck and bridge P/Us together adds a neat Tele-like sound to the Strat repertoire. I don't use the tone control much because I like bright sounds with this axe. Turning down the volume cuts some of the highs; I may add a bypass cap.

I aim for all the classic Strat rock sounds from the '60s and '70s, using a hot-rodded Carvin X-60A combo tube amp. The Bolt gets pretty close, but it ain't quite the real thing.

This Bolt is reasonably well made, but has a couple of minor imperfections. As with the other Carvins I have owned, the strings don't quite line up with the pickups. There are some minor cosmetic flaws in the body wood stock, but nothing you'll see from more than 5 feet away. The fingerboard didn't appear to have been oiled or otherwise treated in any way, and when I got around to oiling it recently, the rag came away with a dark color, suggesting that the ebony had been dyed black. The volume and tone pots weren't screwed down all that tightly, and came loose within a couple of weeks (easily fixed, but annoying).

Aside from these minor complaints, the workmanship is pretty good. The frets appear to be evenly dressed and the ends filed, the nut is reasonably well set up, there are no buzzes or rattles, and the finish looks excellent.

The setup appears to have been a rush job. The string heights were uneven when I bought it. I can't comment on the intonation because I changed the strings from the factory .009s to my preferred .010s as soon as I could. The pickup pole pieces weren't balanced to my liking. Again, these complaints are minor, and nothing I can't take care of myself.

This is a well built, solid guitar. I have some minor doubts about the quality of the controls but it's nothing a can of contact cleaner can't fix. Tuners and tremelo are solid. The body finish seems durable. I know I'm going to have to re-oil the neck, but that's part of the game with a tung oil finish. The pickguard hides minor scratches nicely. I'd have no qualms about gigging without a backup.

The jury's still out on this, as I've rarely needed much support from Carvin. I have had some dealings with them, and they were both pleasant to talk to and prompt to ship needed parts.

I've been hacking away on guitar and bass for over 30 years. I own other Carvin gear, and a couple low-buck Ibanez and Peavey axes from the '80s.

I had been thinking about a better Strat clone than my old Ibanez RS440, and walked into the Carvin store to discover they were having an in-store sale on Bolts! I figured even if the stock pickups sucked, I could always get a set of Bill Lawrence or Kinman P/Us, and still have a solid US-made guitar for less than a comparable US Fender.

What do I like about it? The natural alder body and pearloid pickguard, the classic Strat configuration and (approximation of) sound, the value for the buck.

What would I change? The pickups, although the stockers aren't terrible. The Gotoh Wilkinson trem is a minor nuisance at string change time, as the springs tend to fall out.

It isn't perfect, but it's pretty good as Strat clones go, and it was a hell of a deal at the price.

Your basic (and I do mean basic) US-made Strat clone, a 2000 model. Maple neck w/ tung oil finish, ebony fingerboard, 22 frets, 25-1/2" scale, Carvin sealed tuners, 2-piece alder body w/ transparent satin finish, white pearloid pickguard, Gotoh Wilkinson tremelo, 3 Carvin single-coils with 11 adjustable pole pieces each, one volume knob, one tone knob, 5-way pickup switch, *plus* toggle switch for bridge pickup so you can have neck/bridge or neck/middle/bridge all active at once. Carvin's pricing no longer includes cases, but they had a "half off" sale on cases at the time. The salesman threw in a truss rod tool and a strap.

It's a Strat clone. Unfortunately I don't have a real Strat to compare it to. The pickups don't seem as bright as the Strats I've heard in person, otherwise it's a reasonable facsimile, lots of twang and quack. The single coils make the obligatory buzzing sounds in the presence of AC magnetic fields, but the middle pickup is reverse wound/reverse polarity so positions 2 and 4 are noiseless. The ability to select the neck and bridge P/Us together adds a neat Tele-like sound to the Strat repertoire. I don't use the tone control much because I like bright sounds with this axe. Turning down the volume cuts some of the highs; I may add a bypass cap.

I aim for all the classic Strat rock sounds from the '60s and '70s, using a hot-rodded Carvin X-60A combo tube amp. The Bolt gets pretty close, but it ain't quite the real thing.

This Bolt is reasonably well made, but has a couple of minor imperfections. As with the other Carvins I have owned, the strings don't quite line up with the pickups. There are some minor cosmetic flaws in the body wood stock, but nothing you'll see from more than 5 feet away. The fingerboard didn't appear to have been oiled or otherwise treated in any way, and when I got around to oiling it recently, the rag came away with a dark color, suggesting that the ebony had been dyed black. The volume and tone pots weren't screwed down all that tightly, and came loose within a couple of weeks (easily fixed, but annoying).

Aside from these minor complaints, the workmanship is pretty good. The frets appear to be evenly dressed, the nut is reasonably well set up, there are no buzzes or rattles, and the finish looks excellent.

The setup appears to have been a rush job. The string heights were uneven when I bought it. I can't comment on the intonation because I changed the strings from the factory .009s to my preferred .010s as soon as I could. The pickup pole pieces weren't balanced to my liking. Again, these complaints are minor, and nothing I can't take care of myself.

This is a well built, solid guitar. I have some minor doubts about the quality of the controls but it's nothing a can of contact cleaner can't fix. Tuners and tremelo are solid. The body finish seems durable. I know I'm going to have to re-oil the neck, but that's part of the game with a tung oil finish. The pickguard hides minor scratches nicely. I'd have no qualms about gigging without a backup.

The jury's still out on this, as I've rarely needed much support from Carvin. I have had some dealings with them, and they were both pleasant to talk to and prompt to ship needed parts.

I've been hacking away on guitar for over 30 years. I own other Carvin gear, and a couple low-buck Ibanez and Peavey axes from the '80s.

I had been thinking about a better Strat clone than my old Ibanez RS440, and walked into the Carvin store

strat "copy"
maple neck/finger board.alder body
3 ap-11 ,coil tap switch.1 vol 1 tone knob
wilkinson trem
other specs,go to Carvin.com

I have had the bolt for about 5 months now,and after tweaking it Im still not happy with this gtr:(
First and formost the carvin ap-11 pickups plain suck IMHO
Bridge p.u. way bright,thin,while the other positions were adaquate they were thin on strat quack,and had very little definition.
Since then I have tried Dimarzios(thats another story)
I found the VVblues the most Fenderlike out of their line.Had a hs-3 and a solo,both didnt help give this guitar any tone.
The carvins body/neck,is thiner than any Fender amer. strat Ive had my hands on.I feel this is a detrimental to the carvins acoustic as well as electric tone.(no mass no tone in most cases :( It give the bolt a very bright snappy acoustic tone,..not the GOOD tone ala maple tele..but the annoying bright snappyness,am I making sense,I hope so
I have doubts about the qualtity of carvins tone vol pots,I cant prove anything though,till I swap diff electronics
My last ditch effort(literally) is to put dmarzios VV in the neck and mid,that might fix some of the weakest unbell like tones Ive ever heard on a strat.
If the body was approx a 1/2 inch wider,better electronics,pickups this would be a fine strat.

On the positive side,the action,fit finish is superb.
Intonation,fret work is excellent.(thank god)
translucent deepurple paint is firstrate.

I think the guitar will hold up as well as any other strat.

no complaints

be playing a while,teach gig for a living(till I get a real job;)
GTRs Carvin tl-60,fender strats,numerous classical steel gtr so after buying the bolt I was disapponited.
currently invested $200 to make this carvin kick,still no happy,no fussing around next time Ill just get a american Fender strat with all the goodies.
My only likes about this Bolt is the intonation(near perfect, which is better that anystrat Ive played)and the build quality is high.
Tone Is a real letdown on this Bolt-T
Look to see this GTR forsale

you put whatever the hell you want on it. mine has: sperzel locking tuners, wilkinson trem., pickups- s/s/h w/a splitter (ap11 single coils & c22 humbucker, 22 frets, solid top, volume & tone, alder body, maple neck w/ebony fingerboard, strat body style, medium jumbo frets.

great sound (comparable with my gibson), i use a peavey amp and distortion and crybaby, no noise problems, bright sound just like strat, can make any sound you want (as long as you have the ability0

well i shouldn't answer this catagory because i bought all the parts and finished it myself. but i can say that the finishing instructions that came with the guitar were excellent.

excellent in this catagory! i would have a backup just incase, because, amything can happen.

the company was great, i got just what i wanted. infact, recently i lost the screw that holds the tremelo arm in, and i e-mailed the company, and there sending me a new one!

great guitar! i saved a bunch of money (about $200) by buying the kit rather than having the guitar made, the only thing that would have been affected was the looks, but it's still great.

Follow up to 4/10/00 follow up- even snail mailed a letter directly to the company president back in June- STILL no response.

Just a note: Although I absolutely love the guitar I recently bought (see my reviews below) I'm disappointed with Carvin as a company. I originally wanted a swamp ash body and was told it was unavailable. After settling on an alder body and sending it back for sonic problems, I had a mahogany bodied Bolt built. At that time I was told still no swamp ash.
Lo and behold, 2 days past my 10 day trial period (six weeks after my second order), I get catalog in the mail and whaddya know- swamp ash now available!!
I'm still wondering when they were putting their print catalog together six weeks ago, why the salesperson AND tech support (the ones who bulid the guitars) either didn't know or didn't think to ask me to wait a few more weeks so I could get exactly what I wanted.
I waited 15 weeks in total, and now I kind of feel like I've made a compromise. And I can't return it out of principal because it's now past the 10 day trial period. Even if they said they'd take the guitar back, I've waited so long up to this point that I can't afford to send back the guitar I already have and wait yet another 6-8 weeks.
I e-mailed the company about this, and after a week and a half, I'm still waiting for a response. The day I got the mahogany axe, I even wrote to them to ask how to become an endorser and haven't heard back regarding that e-mail either. I'm glad that they employ Internet technology so that they can provide quick responses to customer inquiries. ;-)
I'm very surprised, especially given the great service I'd received up to this point.
So, knock the ol' CS score down a few pegs. Still can't beat the quality tho'.

This is a follow up to my review 2/9/2000. Received this new guitar 3/21/2000. Only difference: Mahogany body. There was a high resonant overtone with the first guitar, and I chose mahogany because it wasn't as bright (hence maybe the tone would go away). Some other players alerted me to other potential reasons for overtones, none of which is a problem with this rebuild totally from scratch.

Just as I had expected, they sent me an absolute winner! The frets are a little thinner/smaller than the last guitar, which suits me fine since I'm heavy handed. The mahogany body makes for a heavier guitar with a smoother, more sustained sound. I don't think I've ever been this happy with a guitar purchase. From the bang for the buck to the quality of the goods to the high level of customer service, these guys are tops. Thanks also to the fellow guitarists that wrote to me about solving the overtone problem.

Bolt on 22 fret neck, strat-style body with traditional sunburst, S/S/H pickup config, coil tap for humbucker, Sperzel locking tuners, Wilkinson trem. Came with molded hardshell case and a tool kit.

This guitar really sounds great. I have found it useful for my main playing style: hard rock/pop. It also has an awsome blues sound. I have found that the humbucking sound is a little muddy though. I plug into a vox wha and Marshall JCM200 DSL 100/4x12 Celestion Vintage 30 rig. I also run an effects loop of trem/pitch shifter/chorus/phaser. In any effect combo, the guitar shines! The "in-between" sounds are really great for funk or open string-voiced chords. The Carvin pickups sound as good if not better than Fender stocks!

This guitar came factory fresh and in perfect tune! From Cally to Baltimore with no action/neck problems either. Speaking of action...WOW! PERFECT is the word! No buzz anywhere! The only flaw was a miniscule scratch on the upper horn near the strap peg. I didn't want to send it back for re'finishing cause' it is now my main guitar.

I got the guitar on a Friday and had 3 gigs for that weekend. I used the Carvin for all 3! I would never play a gig without a backup guitar but I think the BOLT is reliable (no broken strings...). The finish is thin but I don't find that a concern. I have used it exclusively for the past month and 12 gigs. My Fender Floyd Rose has become the backup!

Carvin is a joy to deal with on the phone. I called many times as I was very eager to get the guitar. My technical questions were answered by knowlegable sales agents! It arrived 2 weeks early too(compared to the shipping notice).

In my 15 years of playing I have gone through many guitars. The Carvin is a joy and measures up to anything I have ever owned (including PRS, Gibson, Fender, Ibanez). The playability is fantastic and the sounds are varied and useful. I would like the trem to be a bit tighter but I will add another spring myself. I'd say the guitar is the lightest I've played ( a nice feature for those, like myself, that play out 2-3 times a week for 3 hours each). I would reccomend the BOLT-T to anyone in the market for a Strat-style guitar.

1999-2000 made in San Diego CA; 22 med jumbo frets on a maple fingerboard; Tung oil finish on neck; Wilkinson trem; jet black w/ white pearloid pickguard and black chrome hardware; Alder body; Sperzel locking tuners; S/S/S w/switch for more sounds. Gotta rate a 10 for features since you pick em yourself.

I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between this guitar and a Strat in a blind test. Output seems a little hotter. Blues to Classic Rock to Metal, its covered pretty well. I have perfect pitch, and although the guitar came from the factory dead on intonation wise, there was an overtone that made the guitar sound out of tune to my ears. See Customer Service for the resolution...

I looked at over a dozen Strats in the $700-900 category at different stores, and NONE came close to the overall quality of this instrument. A-hole tight neck pocket, cleanest fret work I've ever seen. Only visual flaw was a very small scratch from whomever adjusted the intonation and a screw missing from the pickguard. Neck is a little wider than I'm used to, but within the first 20 minutes I was settled in. A tung oiled neck is unbelieveably smooth, and your hands don't get caught up on the neck if you perspire.

If the quality is any indicator, YES.

Bob @ Carvin probably thinks of me as 'the thing that wouldn't go away' ;-). He was very cool about my concerns, even though I had trouble articulating what the problem was. He referred me to the Service Dept (Albert?) and the guy helped me figure out that this specific instrument had a resonant frequency that was causing the overtone. We talked about every detail and we settled on a different wood for the body (Mahogany). Not only are they rebuiling me a brand new guitar, Bob even gave me a break on the more expensive wood.
There isn't a mark high enough for these two gentlmen's level of CS. It's almost unheard of these days.
I will be getting the new ax in mid-march, and having played friend's Carvins before deciding to purchase from them, I'm confident the thing will be amazing. I'll keep you posted....

I've been playing since I was 5 (35 yrs) and the only guitars I've seen that are better right out of the box are a handful of custom made guitars. Bang for the buck is big, especially if you don't get wrapped up in asthetic extras. I've owned Carvin amps in the past without a single problem. I only wish they had an East Coast store. (Can I be an endorser?).
I've been wanting a Strat for the longest time, but after the shoddy stuff I saw, I don't think I'll ever look in envy at another Fender again. The closest I came to a Carvin was A Fender Natural Ash American Standard, and only because sonically, it crushed all other Strats. The workmanship was still marginal compared to the Bolt- aka the 'low-end' Carvin!

This is a Carvin strat copy with a S/S/H configuration and a Wilkinson Tremelo. It comes standard with a alder body and maple neck with ebony fretboard. I also upgraded to the Sperzel locking tuners, pearloid pickguard, gold hardware, and the M22SD humbucker with a coil splitter. The thin tung oiled neck is probably this guitars best feature. It's very comparable to an Ibanez or Jackson style neck and it's the best feeling guitar I've ever picked up. Since Carvin lets you customize almost every feature I'll have to give them a 10 in this category.

The guitar sounds like a strat. The SD humbucker in the bridge position really sounds great for any type of hard rock/metal. This is a high gain pickup so the clean sounds are not that great. The coil splitting really doesn't make too much of a difference in this department either because it basically just cuts down the volume and adds a little noise. The neck position does a nice job of pulling off that Hendrix/SRV bluesy tone that only a strat can produce. I'm playing this through a Mesa/Boogie DC-3 combo and a Boss ME-5 that I basically only use for Chorus and Delay. Overall the sound of the guitar is really versital with this setup going from clean blues to scrotching metal although I might try a different bridge pickup later on down the road.

The guitar was setup fine from the shop but I did have to change the strings to 10s because the 9s just had a little more slack than I used to. The finish was outstanding, a nice Blueburst with a matching headstock. The only really flaw I could notice was the ebony on the fretboard had a few brown streaks although you really can't notice unless you look closely. I'm not sure that's even a flaw but I've never noticed that on any other ebony woods. The action is alright but there is a little fret buzz especially on the lower strings. I like low action so I have learned to live with a litte buzz.

I don't anticipate any problems with reliability. I don't play live anywhere at the moment so I don't think it's gonna get much wear here in my spare room.

NA

I've been playing for over 10 years now and this is overall the best guitar I have owned. I have had a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and a Charvel 250. I tryed out various Fender, ESP, Ibanez, and G&L models before I decided on this one. You can't beat this guitar for the price. Fender wishes they made anything this good for under $1000. There are better guitars out there but I don't think anything comes close to Carvin's quality until you hit the $1500-$2000+ range.

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.