Carvin Bolt

1999 model, made in USA, 22 frets, alder body, vol & tone (500K), 5-way, H/S/S, AP-11 single coils and C22 Humbucker w/ tap, string-thru bridge. Options: translucent blue finish, pearl pickguard, gold hardware, sperzels, & maple neck. Came with hardshell case. Neck has larger radius than strat - sort of a cross between an Ibanez shred-type neck & a strat - I find it very comfortable. Tung oil finish is nice too. What ever features you want on a Carvin you can pretty much get. This had all I wanted, no more & no less. Way to go Carvin! The only way they could improve here is to offer some more non-carvin options (duncans might be cool!)

This guitar is traditional and versatile. I can do anything with it except for maybe extreme thrash. Perfect for Blues, Jazz, Rock... I use it with a Fender Hot Rod DeVille & I love this pair!! The AP-11 are very nice and I really like the C22 as well. I can see wanting to replace the humbucker someday but it really is a good pickup - hard to replace it when a Duncan would only be a slight improvement IMHO. The tapped setting is less than awesome alone, but in combination with the middle pickup it does the out-of-phase thing very well. Of course the single coils buzz some but are very tolerable. Sounds like a decidedly warm strat... I really couldn't be happier. This is a versatile workhorse guitar. The tone & sustain are incredible on this thing. The string-thru design is cool. I swear it resonates like a piano! I'll give a 9 only cause I don't know what a 10 would be...a PRS maybe?

This guitar is quality stuff! Action is super low and no buzzes anywhere on the neck. Pickups are adjusted fine. The neck & frets are amazing, and the neck joint is tight. The finish is beautiful and almost all the hardware is top-notch. I say almost because the 5-way switch is a piece of junk. I think it will need replacing someday in the not too distant future, but mine works fine for now and replacing it is will be no big deal. I've heard complaints about the 500k pots - this would be unusual for a guitar with 3 single coils but with my humbucker this is a fine setup. The 500k's would tend to make some guitars too bright but that isn't the case here. This thing is AWESOME. Again, except for the switch, way to go Carvin!

This guitar will last for a long, long time. I think the finish will probably not last as well as the finish on some other guitars, but hey, you've got to put tone first. Would I use it without a backup? I dunno, but if I had to go without a backup I'd depend on this guitar as much as any other I've seen. Especially once I get the switch replaced with a Fender! I'll give a 10 here because "Rock Solid" is not an understatement.

I enjoyed ordering my guitar. Scott at Carvin was very cool and took his time with me. I think that if I need to deal with Carvin they'll be helpful...

I've been playing for 12 years. I own a HR Deville (my only amp right now), a few other inexpensive guitars, and several stompboxes. I love this guitar for it's looks, sounds, versatility and overall top notch quality. I didn't really compare it to anything else 'cause you don't get to see your guitar until it arives at your front door, but I shopped for Strats & Strat type guitars before buying this. Man, I did the right thing! My only complaint is the switch. With all the other quality stuff here, this is a real puzzle to me. I know people give out "10"'s all the time, but seriously, this is one of them! I can't imagine you could improve a whole lot on this axe for what it is. Once you start moving into more expensive territory the price/quality ratio takes a serious dive. My future electric guitars will most likely be all Carvins!

Made in USA. It has 22 medium jumbo frets. Strat style. Solid one piece tung oiled mahogany body with bolt on satin finish maple neck with ebony fingerboard. Five way switch, coil tap for humbucker and s/s/h conifguration. Also has bridge pickup "always on" switch, which gives lots of tonal possibilities. Carvin ap11 single coils and bridge c22 humbucker on a passive system. Fixed bridge with through the body string arrangement. Sperzel tuners, the best. Red tortoise shell 5 ply pickguard. Came with really nice SKB form fitting case at "no charge".

I play blues and rock, played through Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 40 and Blues Jr. amps. With this guitar the only effect used is a Digitec rp7 to add some chorus when I want it. This guitar is not noisy at all. Sound is very round and tone is really balanced. The mahogany body and maple neck give the quality of sound found on Les Paul guitars, lots of depth but a bit of snap too. This guitar beats any Strat I have ever played, hands down. I have a Clapton Strat (please see review), which is not really a Strat due to the TBX, Lace Sensors and the 25db boost. Makes a Fender Lone Star Strat look and sound like cheap toy (sorry folks, it's true). Reviews of the ap11 and c22 pickups have been mixed, let there be no doubt that these pickups are awesome. Fully balanced tonal palette, complex harmonics and sensitive to pick attack. Can do SRV sounds with ease, think Fralins or Van Zandts and you're close. No comparison to Fender Texas specials. Lots of sustain. For rock and blues the sounds are wonderful. Jazz and country (Charlie Crowe uses a guitar like this) it would be ok too. Mahogany body does the right trick. Shredders would be unhappy here.

Carvin guitars are well made and their quality control is fanatic and legendary. I usually always tweak my guitars; this guitar came ready to play. Carvin necks are awesome, and this one was no exception. Slight truss rod adjustment, I played with the pickups a bit. I have another Carvin, a tl60, which I am sending back for warranty repair due to some minor neck problems (I expect perfection). Neck joint tolerance on this one probably within 1/500 of an inch. The 5 way switch was too high and looked too tall compared to the controls, so I cut it back and it looks fine. I have never seen a piece of wood like this guitar is made of, it's gorgeous.

A rock. I am sure it will stand the test of time. Finish is tung oil, so it will last forever as long as it's lemon oiled once in a while. I will use it without backup.

Carvin is superb in this regard. The salesperson Sean, whom I bought my tl60 from 2 years ago, remembered me. Yeah, he is busy, but he took the time to help out with questions and options. I will be sending my tl60 back in the next week and I have no doubt it will get repaired well.

Ive been playing since 1971. I have owned many guitars and currently own 8 electrics of all Kinds. These include several Teles, a Clapton Strat, a Godin, a Gibson, an Epiphone and so on. They have all been modified in some way. This guitar is very well made, and plays as well if not better than any Anderson, Moore, Schecter and the like. No Fender Strat compares, and unless you order a custom shop guitar you cannot get a mahogany body. If you order a Fender with these options it would cost you over $2000, and it would not be a better guitar. For the money I spent on this guitar I am enormously pleased.

1998 made in the USA. 22 frets, solid adler wood body, maple neck, with ebony fret board. One volume and one tone control. Pickup configuration is S/S/H, with a coil spliter switch on the humbucker. The pickup are Carvin's AP11s and M22T. They sound GREAT! The body style is strat. Wilkinson tremolo and and Sperzel locaking tuners. The frets are medium jumbo. Included was a really nice hardshell case. I ordered the guitar with a blue burst painted body and headstock. For the money this is an execllent guitar it easily competes with guitars costing 2-3X more.

I play blues, classic rock, and jazz. I've been playing for about 30 years. This guitar sounds great, I have no plans to change the stock pickups, they're very versatile. The guitar has excellent sustain and resonance.

The build quaility of this guitar is fabulous. I've compared it to many fender stratocasters and it's safe to say it's built much better than an american made Fender strat.
I have this guitar strung with 11-49 gauge strings and was able to set the action very low with no fret buzz, very impressive. The ebony fret board combined with the low action make this neck very fast and comfortable to play.

The componets on this guitar seem to be of very high quaility.

I purchased two guitars and an amplifier from Carvin and always felt the company provides excellent customer service. When I ordered this guitar I received it three days earlier than promised.

I've been playing for about 30 years and have purchased from Carvin several times. I believe they offer their customers excellent value for the money. They sell direct and bypass all the middlement.
I'm very happy with this guitar and would repurchase it, if it were ever stolen.
If you are comparing this to a Fender Statocaster, I would say there is no comparison, Carvin's guitars are superior in build quality and value.

1997 Strat-style, bolt on, 22frets. USA made. Alder body, maple neck. H/S/S Fixed bridge, black finish. Non-locking tuners on a 25 1/2 inch scale neck. Pickups are Carvin's. I had them put in a M22SD pickup in the bridge in place of their PAF style, as I wanted a bit more output from the bridge PU. Fairly Jumbo frets, ebony board. I replaced the neck single coil with an old Carvin PAF-style Hooked to the split switch (the pickup is one I bought years ago and swear by...Every time I get a new guitar it goes into that new guitar-The sound is awesome, neck or bridge). . Everything is tight and well made.

This guitar is very versatile...I use it for everything. I play thru a Peavey Classic thirty-watt tube amp, and with or without effects it sounds awesome...After putting the humbucker in the neck with a split, I can get very convincing LP-type sounds as well as the standard Strat tones. Very little hum.

Everything on this guitar screams quality....I had to replace a switch on the guitar as a result of someone knocking it off the stand, and I have had to tighten pot nuts, and output jack...finish was beautiful...I wanted a "Hot Rod"..Black finish, black headstock, black hardware, perloid black pickguard, no inlays on a dark ebony board....This thing is sweet....

Excellent guitar...I have used it live many times w/ no backup..It always comes thru

Carvin is fairly good to its customers. Anytime I have had a problem they have been quick to solve it.

If this guitar were to go away, I would scream, yell, and buy Carvin again and again...I dig their gear

This is a 1998 Carvin Bolt Guitar Kit. I built it myself right here in the states from parts made in the states. Yee-hah.
Since these guys are direct, you get much more than you pay for (according to retail prices).
Alder body/maple neck/ebony board, 22 tall/narrow frets, 2 SC/1HB with coil tap, 500 K pots (!?), hard tail, sperzel lock tuners, and my own dumpy finish. Neck is wide and thin.
I am, for the purposes of this review, comparing it to my 93 Fender Strat Plus. This Carvin was bought as an economical gig guitar so I could stop beating my Fender at live shows.

Sounds decent, but I expected more. I guess I had my expectations built up from some of the great reviews of this product earlier, although lately they haven't been so great. It's not a bad sound by any means, just not great either. The single coils deliver, even though i am going to replace one or both (lace sensors, which are ideal for clean SC sounds but hold up full, clear and punchy high gain playing). The humbucker is a muddy and undefined, especially in the low registers, but still crunches on the distort sounds (I am used to SC's though).
I used it with a 66 bandmaster head and with my Mesa Boogie Studio Pre amp into a Boogie 50/50, into a 4/12.
Sounds are various, it has some versatility. Fairly rich, but not real full. Good for clean playing.
One problem I haven't gotten to checking into is a phase problem on the mid + lead pu when used together (position # 4 on switch). This combination sucks--its either wired wrong or shorting somewhere. I'll check it out soon. It results in almost no output, sounding like that nasally Garcia tone. You know what I mean. Hopefully it's just a short, not someother problem with the pu's.
The switch sucks. Flimsy junk. Going to replace with a fender.
Pots suck. 500K? No tone/volume alteration between 3 and 10. Then at 3 it cuts very quickly to nothing by 1. Going to replace with finder 250 K pots.
Pickups: not what I am looking for; although they are sweeter than my Lace Sensors, I will replace the neck position (about the only pu I use live) with a Gold sensor for that full, clear, punchy, loud, articulate sound that they afford both clean and under high gain. If I can find a cheap/used Duncan hb I'll throw that in too.
This guitar has a jangly, snappy, responsive tone and feel to it. It pops, but the sustain could be better. It is bright, emphasizing the highs to be almost tinny unplugged. It's a nice change from my Strat plus, which is full and dark, but flat. Part of this is the Carvin neck joint: tight!
Bridge: rock solid. All the other stuff is solid too.
One thing: What the hell was sperzel thinking when they designed the dials for tightening the locking keys? They are sharp! You've got to squeeze those things hard in order to tighten them. It's like trying to turn a door knob that is lined on the perimeter with razor blades, and you've got to do it six times.

Action:
Carvin brags about their guitars having the lowest action. I haven't gotten it yet. Still making adjustments though. Still a good action and easy to set up.
Don't like the frets--too tall and narrow. Ebony board kicks ass though. Neck is too wide for my tastes, and not quite thick enough. however, any thicker on this wide a neck would be like playing a classical.
Play is decent. But nothing will compare to my Strat. I am trying to tweak the CArvin into playing more like my Fender. It's the first thing I demand over all others: it must play well, then I'll worry about the sound.
Fit:
Superb. The neck pocket is an unreal fit to the neck (i mean it's excellent). The parts on this guitar are excellent. High quality wood/milling/parts. heavy duty bridge/jack/etc. Pots and switches are the exception. I feel the pu's are ok quality wise, just not what I want this guitar to do sound wise.
Finish:
Well, I did it since it's a kit. I could have paid 80 extra dollars to have the finish done in factory, any color they offer. It also takes a few extra weeks. Let me tell you: If you get this guitar kit, make sure you get Carvin to do the finish. It took me over 2 months to complete my finish, which sucks (I'll put pics up soon at http://eagle.cc.ukans.edu/~rmconner/carvin.htm, so you can laugh at me). Every review here will tell you this, and every guy here reads it and thinks "nah, those guys just didn't know what they were doing. I can do a kick ass finish". And every guy regrets this when he blows it. Just spend the $80. Trust me.

Excellent. It is a sturdy and lightweight guitar. Think of it as a leaner but more muscled strat.
Despite my seemingly disparaging remarks, I feel this was an excellent value. I do recommend it. I bought it as a guitar to take the place of my STrat plus during live shows. I bought it knowing I would need to replace the pots/pu's/switch soon. Other than that it's great guitar. Nothing will ever take the place of my strat, so everything is doomed to be less than it. I bought it to (1) stay in tune, (2) play well, (3) sound full, and (4) be able to take a beating without breaking and without breaking my heart (that's the stumbling block for my strat). This little guitar does these things and will do them better after I change out the pots and a pu or two. And this is actually a lot more than you can expect for 90% of the electric guitars in the world right now (especially staying in tune?!). This guitar does the job well, and will take the beating it's going to get jumping around on stage with 7 other dudes on three person stage weilding horns/stringed instruments.
My only concern is that these guitars have almost no re sale value, and since they are home built have no serial number and hence can not legally be sold in a Pawn shop/used music store. Bummer.

Carvin sales guy was fine. Other than that ???

I said it all already...

1998 the only option I got was a humbucker. The problem with the carvin customshop is that every option is a carvin option so you don't get the same choices at a real custom shop. But you pay a down to earth price. I have to agree with Peter Parker when he says it is like a childs toy. Compared to my fender strat this axe just dosen't cut it. It sounds so thin it's a shame because the ebony board is the nicest finger board I have every touched. great worksmanship.

Thin man Thin. To bright but not shimmering like a real fender stat. Think squire strat and your almost there. The sustain is nice because it's a hard tail and the bass end is lacking. I would say without tone it is lifeless souless. It screams "please process me"

great action. the finish and construction are dead on. nothing out os place. they really take care in the build department. no flaws at all. The wood however looks cheap. maybe thats why it don't sound good.

will it last? who knows I am returning it.

I did not like the way they handle returns. Buying the guitar was a breeze. They need to work on their customer support.

I don't like this guitar because the sound is bad. I guess thats why all the Pros use fender gibson and PRS. they sound great.

I WONT GO INTO TO MUCH DETAIL BECAUSE OF THE OTHER REVIEWS. THE ONLY OPTIONS I GOT WERE A HUMBUCKER AND REVERSE HEADSTOCK.CARVIN USES 500K POTS AND I THINK IT MAKES A BRIGHTER SOUND AND HELPS OVERDRIVE YOUR AMP BETTER.I THINK THEY DO THIS AT THE COST OF A FAT CLEAN SOUND. I DO NOT LIKE THE SELECTOR SWITCH WITH COIL SPLITER. SOUNDS THIN WHEN ENGAGED. THE NECK REMINDS ME OF A KOREAN IBANEZ(MAPLE) BUT THE EBONY IS SLICK AND THE FRETS NICE. NO DOUBT THE NICEST FEATURE IS THE FINGER BOARD.

I PLAY ROCK AND THIS GUITAR CAN HANDLE THAT WITH A MARSHALL. IT MUST BE SHEILDED GOOD BECAUSE THE WASN'T MUCH HUM. OVERALL ID SAY THIS GUITAR IS THIN SOUNDING EXCEPT WHEN OVERDRIVE IS ENGAGED AND THE BRIDGE PICKUP IS SELECTED. I PREFER A RICH FULL SOUND AND THIS GUITAR CAN GIVE YOU THAT SOMEWHAT BUT NOT TO THE EXTENT I DESIRE.

PERFECT SET UP AND ACTION. IT FEELS GOOD IF SOMEWHAT LIKE A CHILDS TOY. I CAN'T FAULT THE PLAYABILITY IN ANY WAY. IT IS THE SOUND I AM INTERESTED IN WHEN I DECIDE TO BUY AN INSTRUMENT.

I WOULD IMAGINE YOU COULD PLAY THIS LIVE ON TOUR FOR 6 MONTHS AS YOUR MAIN INSTRUMENT IF THATS THE SOUND YOU ARE HAPPY WITH. BE AWARE THAT THE NECK IS FLAT AND SO IS THE RADIUS BUT THE FRETS SEEM TO OFFSET THE DRAWBACKS OF THAT DESIGN AND THE EBONY IS SLICK PROBABLY THE BEST FRET BOARD MATERIAL FELL WISE.

SALESMEN ON COMMISION. IF YOU SPEND MONEY YOU GET GOOD SERVICE. IF YOU SPEND MORE MONEY YOU GET MORE SERVICE.

I AM GLAD IBOUGHT THIS GUITAR BECAUSE NOW WHEN I SHOP FOR THE ONE I WANT I WILL GET ONE WITH AN EBONY FINGERBOARD. SADLY THE CARVIN DOES NOT GIVE ME THE FAT RICH SOUND I AM LOOKING FOR AND WHAT I WANT IS A LES PAUL. EVEN THOUGH THE CARVIN PLAYS GREAT AND COSTS LESS I CANNOT KEEP IT BECAUSE I PLAY BETTER WITH GOOD TONE. I AM GLAD THEY HAVE A MONEY BACK POLICY AND FOR THE PRICE OF SHIPPING GOT TO TRY A NICE GUITAR.

I won't go too much into features, since many others have done so. I upgraded to the Humbucker in the bridge (with coil splitter, so all the standard strat pick-up options are more or less retained) and got the black pearloid pickguard. This was a kit, and I finished the body, neck, and headstock with tung oil as recommended. The result is attractive and idiot-proof.

I've always preferred strat's, and this axe delivers all the strat tones (with some extra oompfh due to the hotter pick-ups) plus the humbucker adds a great dimension on both clean and distorted tones. I play thru a Mesa/Boogie Studio Caliber, and the combination is tone heaven! Very quiet, even with a couple stomp boxes. The guitar has a single tone control that governs all the pick-ups, and this is a better approach than strat config. with two tone pots...simpler and more usable in my opinion.

As I said, this was a kit. Overall, really easy to complete, and I've never even opened up any of my previous electrics. The tung oil finish on the alder body is really cool looking, lots of grain features jump out. Plus, minor scratches can be easily sanded out and re-oiled...try that with lacquer! Put the whole thing together (including the finish) in a weekend...well almost. Carvin didn't include the five screws to mount the fixed bridge to the body, so I had them ship them to me. A few days later I got FOUR screws in the mail. Another call, another shipment, and I finally had the hardware to complete the job. With a few exceptions the parts and the accompanying instructions were flawless, but a couple nits: 1) the tuners each screw into the back of the headstock so they won't rotate, and one of the pre-drilled holes was a bit misaligned and I wound up shearing the screw head from the body. I could have overtorqued it, I don't know, but it seemed to bust awful easy (could have just been a weak screw). Not a big stress point, and no way to get the threads out of the headstock, so superglue to the rescue. Seems to be working just fine, but maybe a DON'T OVERTIGHTEN flag in the instruction would have made me a bit more cautious; 2) the copper shielding was not too hard to apply, but the instructions could be a little better...you wind up with a wall of copper tape between the control cavity and the pick-up cavity, and the pre-wired pickguard doesn't want to fit. If this copper wall can be trimmed down or folded over, tell me, and if that will reduce the shielding effect, tell me that. I just recessed it enough to accommodate the wiring harness, and everything is dead quiet; 3) The instructions said I'd need a hammer to install the string eyelets into the back of the body, yet I could push them in completely with my fingers and modest effort (good thing the strings serve to hold them in place!). Nits, like I said, but I was trying to do everything just perfect. Once assembled and strung, the set up instructions were excellent and easy to follow. I didn't touch the truss rod, but I wouldn't shy away from it if I felt it necessary. The string height at the nut seemed really high to me, not what I was expecting from a Carvin neck. So I had my tech lower the graphite nut grooves (I don't recommend doing this yourself without the proper, and very expensive, small files and saws), and the action now is just about perfect. He agreed the nut grooves were quite high, and also pointed out that the fretwires were rather sharp at the cut...no evidence of them being dulled back, so I plan to apply a bit of fine sandpaper and steel wool to give them a smoother edge. I hope all this doesn't sound like complaining, because I LOVE this guitar, it is very playable, flexible, and just plain cool to look at...it just took a little struggle to get it to this point, partly because I'm a perfectionist.

THis thing is rock solid. The switches and pots are smooth and quiet, and the jack is (with a little adjustment to the spring arm) snug but not too grabby. All the other hardware...the tuners, the pickups, everything, is top quality. It embarrasses my mid-eighties Strat, which I used to think was pretty well made. No need for a back-up.

Carvin is easy to get a hold of, and their sales people seem pretty nice, if a bit disinterested. I didn't get any apologies for the missing parts foul-up, but that didn't bug me too much. I would buy from them again, especially after Fender discontinued all the parts for my Japanese Strat...ever try to make your own metric knurled knobs? %#@*#%$ Fender...not another nickel from me!

I've been playing for 18 years (though you'd never know it!) I tend to make up for my lack of playing skill by trying to know some stuff about guitars and amps. As such, I think I can render a fair opinion of this axe. You cannot touch a guitar of this quality and playability for under $400, and I'd take mine over a $1,000 American Strat any day (except for resale/collectibilty concerns). I've seen where other reviewers have stacked this model up against the likes of PRS, G&L, and others, and that says alot to me. If it were lost or stolen I would immediately get another one (hey, I still have leftover tung oil and sandpaper!)

Standard features: tilt-back headstock, graphite nut, ebony fingerboard (15" radius), jumbo frets (.048 tall), tung-oiled finish on neck, S-S-S pickups (rev.wound center), toggle switch for all 7 possible pickup configs., fixed bridge, classic white color, electronics cavity is completely shielded. OPTIONS: Sperzel locking tuners, straplocks. Free hardshell case. Note that this is a Strat shaped body, but it does not have the heavy smoothly sculptured contours of a Strat. It does have waist and forearm bevels that are functional, but not quite as graceful as a Strat body.

The sound is GREAT ! The AP-11 pickups are like the fattest, warmest, quackiest vintage strat you can imagine. They retain the glassey-jangly top edge, without being harsh, and have excellent bass response. The midrange seems kind of "scooped out". Very SRV-ish. Output is slightly higher than standard single coils, but they are not super hot. They are very quiet, probably mainly due to superior cavity shielding. The toggle switch turns on the bridge pickup at any time, giving two more pickup combinations than on a Strat that are very cool and useable, though hard to verbally describe.

This is my fifth Carvin guitar, so I'm now obsessed with trying to find a flaw ! (nobody's perfect). All the usual checkpoint were flawless. The paint job, fret dressing, all adjustments and alignments were excruciatingly perfect. It came with my specially requested heavy strings and Eb tuning. The neck was perfectly adjusted with just a hint of relief.. The physical dimensions of the neck are identical (very tight machining tolerances) to my other guitars, so it felt like an old friend immediately. My only "complaint" is that the action was too low for my string-bending style, so I had to raise the action and re-intonate. I'm very anal about getting the setup identical on all my guitars, so I also noticed that the string spacing on Carvin's FT6 bridge is slightly narrower than my preferred 2.125, so I had to place small shims between each saddle piece to get the exact spacing. The spacing of these has no other convenient method of lateral adjustment.

This guitar seems rock-solid. No news is good news. I've never had a problem with any of my Carvins.

Again, no news is good news. If nothing ever goes wrong, you don't need any support. The salesman was very helpful and courteous. They predicted 6 week delivery, but it arrived in 4-1/2 weeks.

I intended to buy this as a travel guitar, since I could unbolt the neck and throw it in a carry-on bag. (All my other guitars are the neck-thru variety.) So I bought one of the cheapest models they make. After seeing it, its so beautiful that I'm really having second thoughts about risking scratching it. It also sounds superior to my other guitars. I think this is due to the pickups and slightly longer scale (25.5 vs. 25.0) I expected the "Classic White" to be very ordinary, but it's a slightly off-white creamy color that looks VERY classy. If it were lost or stolen I'd immediately order another.

Made in late 1997 in America. Strat-configuration - 25.5" bolt on, three single coils, hardtail, alder body, maple neck, ebony fingerboard, 22 frets, Schaller-style tuners (may be Schallers), excellent hardware. Controls include master volume and tone, 5-way switch, and mini-toggle for a total of seven sounds.
Pickup configuration - 3 singles, all Carvin AP-11 passives.
This is what a Strat would be if it was designed in the 90s instead of the 50s (40s?). Graphite reinforced neck, tilt back headstock (no string trees - makes a big difference), incredible hardware, neck joints fits so tight that you have to take out four screws and hit the neck hard to get it to pop out - they way they should all be), alder body for great resonance and warm sound, SRV-style pickups (very quiet for singles), sound compares very favorably to a great vintage Strat. Bridge is steel (best sounding material) with steel saddles, strings run thru body. Neck finish is Tung oil, body is enamel (was Tung oil - refinished for more factory look). Tuners are non-locking - Sperzels are an option. Frets are medium-jumbo and perfectly dressed. Included was a gig bag, strings, and tools for adjusting everything on the guitar).
I have never found a Strat that played like this. Best neck in the business, very light weight. You may be able to buy something of this quality and playability, but not for this kind of money - not even close.

Primary playing style is contemporary worship (encompasses styles from rock to blues to folk to pop to funk to ???) - it requires a lot from a guitar. Also, works very well in a hot country type of setting (recent reunion concert).
Amps - Mesa Boogie IIC+ (and previously, Peavey Bandit 112S and Ultra 112), Roland VG-8, DigiTech 2101, BBE 462, and more.
Guitar is quieter than Fender single coils, possibly due to superior shielding and more windings. Pickups are hotter than stock Fenders, and very warm and full sounding. Not real bright sounding, but bridge pickup needs some distortion to sing and not kill your ears (typical single coil icepick effect). Awesome Strat tones, especially positions 2 and 4.
A/B'd guitar with vintage 1963 hardtail Strat - Carvin sounded much like it with me playing both through the same equipment, enough that the Strat's owner couldn't tell which one I was playing if he left the room. But - the Carvin was much quieter and played vastly better. Strat was worth $4,000 in present condition - big advantage to the Fender.
Like - just about everything. It looks great (very slightly restyled, is prettier than a stock Strat without looking like a metal guitar), is very comfortable to play, neck is super fast and comfortable in the hand.
Dislike - replaced pickups with Duncan small 'buckers - need absolute silence, and began to desire Gibson-type tone from neck pickup. But stock pickups sounded great, and will be used elsewhere.
Love - new sound with the new pickups. Made a great guitar even better. Hot tip - the way the Bolt is set up, especially with the very resonant alder body and super-tight neck joint, putting a pickup like a 59er in the neck (and JB in the bridge) yields some very realistic 335 and LP-type tones, and adds greatly to the versatility of the guitar. Still sounds like a Strat when I want it to, but screams and cries and sings like a Gibson as well.

This Bolt was a kit. Can't blame the factory for anything. But - any idiot can put this thing together. Best kit I've ever seen of any kind. Everything fit perfectly, and the guitar even played in tune without adjusting the intonation. As it has aged, the action has improved even further, but I have had to adjust the neck and intonation a couple of times (in 8 months - not bad - living in Michigan, with its weather swings, this is pretty normal for a new guitar).
Pickup heights were already set to the factory specs (all specs are in the outstanding instructions), and I never changed them.
Neck is a work of art in every way, and every other part was of excellent quality. Assembling this guitar was the easiest thing I've done in a long time. With just a little care, you can't screw it up. You don't even have to solder anything!
When the new pickups were installed, I did replace the stock pickup selector with a Fender 5-way. The stock switch was noisy almost from the start, and at times, would not work properly.

This is a great working man's guitar in every way. I haven't even a string. And even when first assembled, it played like a well-used guitar. I have other guitars - this is the one I take with me, and I don't carry a backup. In fact, it has spoiled me completely. I am going to buy another one so I can have one at home all the time.

Carvin actually answers their phone when you call. They are among the very best of people to deal with (perhaps only Mesa Boogie is better). I'm unsure of the warranty, since it was a kit. I'm not concerned in any way. This kit was packed like it was made of eggshells. I'm not sure dropping it off a tall building would hurt it with all the boxes and padding that was used. Truly excellent in every way.

I've been playing about 30 years, and own a Fender American Standard Strat, Charvel Model 3, and several other guitars. Other gear is mentioned above.
No, I asked Carvin every question under the sun, and they answered each call completely and with kindness.
If stolen, I would call my insurance company, hang up and call Carvin to place another order.
Love - just about everything, see above comments. Hate - nothing. Should have done different? Ordered large humbucking in bridge position and perhaps tremelo. May have let Carvin finish the body - their finishes are great, mine are not quite so great. Second attempt was much better, and it looks much like a factory guitar now.
I shopped for years - the Carvin is superior to everything in the under-$1,000 range, perhaps as good as everything up to $2,000 with few exceptions (Anderson, PRS - not much else).
No, it has everything now (with the SD pickups).
No, you've heard it all. Feel free to drop me a line if you want to chat some more. Carvin should pay me - I have been directly responsible for at least 30 Bolt sales since I got mine.