Carvin Bolt

2009 Carvin Bolt T, made in San Diego California. Features include Swamp Ash body, Maple neck, Ebony fingerboard, 2 AP11 single coil pickups in the neck and middle position, C22 humbucker pickup in the bridge w/ coil tap toggle switch, 1V/1T and 5 way selector, Wilkinson tremolo, Sperzel locking tuners, gold hardware, and white pearloid pickguard.

The sound of this guitar is bright, maybe a little too bright at times, as a result it's not as versatile as I was hoping for, but I can't fault Carvin for that, I ordered the guitar to come with single coils, swamp ash, and ebony, all of which contribute to a brighter sounding guitar. I'm also not familiar with single coils and playing through a Line 6 Spider3, the guitar sounds awesome on some settings but bad on others. With that said, the AP11 single coils are EXTREMELY quiet, no humming at all. I particularly love the sound of it with a my Crybaby wah.

I was hoping for a sound a little warmer, like Clapton's Strat sound, but it's not.

I'll give this a 10, because I bought it to get sounds that I can't get out of my Les Paul or Charvel So-Cal, and for the most part it does that great.

I wasn't that happy with the bridge setup, felt a little to low, but it was a simple fix, that is a totally subjective thing though. It was exactly the way they described it, very low action, and not fret buzz... So I won't fault them for my taste.

Craftsmanship of the build is 2nd to none when compared to other guitars of this price and maybe a little more. The Blueburst finish is completely flawless, the neck is taking some getting used to, the ebony board feels foreign to me, and the compound radius neck of the Charvel is IT for me, but it's definitely playable, and I've been playing it a lot. The hardware, pickguard, back plate, tremolo, controls, neck joint, all that stuff is A++.

I haven't owned it for more than a week, BUT there is nothing about this guitar that gives me the impression it won't last, and nothing I've heard about Carvin suggests it won't last.

Have heard horror stories about Carvin, but I haven't had an issue... Of course I haven't called them with a complaint yet.

I'll give this guitar and overall rating of 10.

I've been playing for almost 25 years, and this Carvin Bolt is without a doubt one of the top 5 guitars I've played. I've posted my Edwards Les Paul (which I wrote a review about late last year) on ebay to possibly buy another Carvin (maybe a CS or CT) with more familiar components (mahogany boy, maple top and neck/fingerboard, and flatter fingerboard radius), or another Charvel (wrote a review for a So-Cal last month). I like the tonal qualities of the Les Paul design, and look, but after playing the Charvel I need a flatter fingerboard lol

I use to live about 30 minutes away from the Carvin factory. I would check their showroom from time to time to see if they had anything that I was interested in. One weekend I stumbled across a beautiful cherry red bolt model. It had an alder body, maple neck with an ebony fretboard, single,single,humbucker pickup combination and a white pickguard. I had been thinking of buying an american standard strat.

I play jazz, blues, classic rock and metal. if you invest in a carvin and you play heavier stuff you'll have to change the pickups the c22's are weak. They remind me of the Gibson reissue pickups that come standard in an sg. For softer stuff like classic rock, jazz and blues the bolt is every bit as good as a fender. You can copy any strat sound you wish if you have the right set up.

Carvin's rapid play neck is great plus if you order custom you can choose the fret size that you like. Ihave never had any problems with the guitar coming out of tune or buzzing. I had bought a Gibson sg standard about 12 years ago and I had so many problems with it coming out of tune but not carvin. The standard tung oil finish on the back of the neck is second to none.

I have traveled cross country with this guitar form California to Tennessee to be exact. I was on a bus for 3 days and when I got home the guitar was still in tune.

This is my third Carvin and they have always been good to me. If you have a problem with your instrument they will be glad to fix it.

I have been playing on and off for 12 years. I am a tone freak so if something isn't wirth buying beleive me I'd let you know. In my opinion Carvin is hard to beat and I think that alot of players have passed up Carvins and bought something for the same price that wasn't near the quality.

This is a 2008 bolt made in the USA. It is their strat model with a swamp ash body C22B humbucker and 2 AP 11 singlecoils. The finish is transparent blue with a white pearloid pick guard and it is beautiful. One tone and one volume and a coil tap switch for the humbucker. The neck is maple with a birdseye maple fret board with abalone dot inlays. No trem just a fixed bridge and sprezel locking tuners it comes with a skb case but of course you have to pay for it. They won't ship is without a case. It is a 25 1/2 inch scale with a 12 inch radius fretboard which very comfortable.

I use it for jazz, country, rock, and blues. This thing can cover just about everything. I play it through a Kustom Quad 65 dfx and also a Marsall mg100dfx combo. My pedals are boss distortions and delay, crybaby wah wah, danelectro chorus, and ernie ball volume. The single coils are pretty quite but not nearly as bad as some fenders I have played. It has the strat sound I have been looking for that bright bell like tone. The C22B humbucker doesn't have the same crunch as my EMG 81 but thats an active pickup. Although I love metal I don't play a lot of it any more. Carvin offers a M22 pickup which is their high out put pickup. If your a metal head you might want to try it out. The only issue is that the single coils seem to be weak causing me to crank my amp up in order to be heard at all on stage.

I had heard stories of carvins being in tune out of the box unfortunately mine was the exception. But then again it rode in the back of a UPS truck from california to south texas through many climate changes. I had to adjust the intonation on both E strings but the rest were fine. The action was incredible and it is easy to play. I raised the single coils and lowered the humbucker to balance the volume between them. Finish is perfect I could not find any flaws in workmanship. The frets could be rounded on the edges but that could be said for many guitars. Everything looks great on this thing.

I never gig without a backup no guitarist should no matter how confident you are in your instrument. But I haven't had to use my backup yet. I haven't had it all that long but this thing is built like a tank and I look foward to playing it for years. A 5 only because I haven't had it that long.

Carvin has the worst customer service. I called for a simple question and I spent 30 mins on the phone getting the run around and called back 4 times. At one point the operator hung up on me; I kept getting past around which I found to be very rude. I sent them a email about a week ago and have not gotten a respose. Its a shame that with such a great product they have such poor customer service. I mean we are the reason they are in business. I tell every one how great the guitar is and not to call them if you want to order do it online. Just to give you an idea of good customer service. I email Marshall one day and was called back the next day. Now thats how you take care of customers!

I have been playing for 14 years and I play everything from classical to metal. I own a epiphone les paul, and Ibanez hollow body and an S series. I have played just about any guitar you can name and this is one of the most comfortable guitars so far. I was about to spend $1000 on a fender american standard strat and remembered carvin. I am so glad I went with carvin I got more guitar for less money. Since they have a custom shop I was able to get everything I wanted on it. I would have had to spent twice as much on a fender to get what got with carvin. This is my first carvin but won't me my last I'll just make sure to bypass their customer service and order online.

2006 carvin bolt. alder body, maple neck, ebony board. bolt on neck of course.

it sounds really good. very resonant body. the stock pickups are under rated. the ebony board does make it sound a bit shrill and thin at times, but you need to know how to eq that out. if i bought it again i would get a maple board.

the fret job is OK, there are two or three high frets. the finish is really nice, although it came with a little bit of some sort of compound under the clear coat, which can be seen in sunlight.

no problems other than the scratchy pot that came with the guitar.

oh no...oh no. their customer service is the absolute worst in the industry. my order was delayed three weeks from the post date on the card. i called and called and emailed and emailed. they kept brushing me off and well, basically lied to me over and over again..."dude can i call you back right away", "i will email you tomorrow", "it will ship on the 11th". give me a break. if there is a delay, tell me the truth, dont lie to me. that is so disrespectful! it is for this reason that i will never buy anything from them ever again.

the guitar is pretty nice, at least as nice as an american strat. but their customer service has scared me away for good.

This is a 2004 Carvin Bolt in Pearl Blue, SSH pickups configuration(AP11, and C22B), no trem bar, Alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Tuners are standard(I wish I'd gotten the locking tuners). Made in San Diego, CA USA!

Since purchasing this guitar, I had a need to replace the single coils with noiseless pickups, not for sound reasons, but because of the dimmer packs in the lighting system at my church causing a bad buzz. I liked the AP11s, but had to switch to some Bill Lawrence L-200 pickups. They are noiseless, and sound wonderful. They are quite inexpensive and very fine people to deal with.

http://www.billlawrence.com

I play at a church and this guitar is perfect. I play through a Fender Blues Junior, with a Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde and a Boss DD-20. It is really a great sound. By using the 2 channels on the J&H, the pickup selector, and volume knob, I can get a wide variety of sounds from clean sparkle to high gain leads. Really great, I am very pleased!

I love the way it looks and plays. It is the perfect guitar for me, I have never been so comfortable playing a guitar. It came out of the box needing some minor adjustments to the bridge, but what guitar wouldn't after a cross country ride on the brown UPS truck? Simply wonderful, I would buy another in a heartbeat!

The finish was perfect, the pups adjusted well, and everything was great inside and outside of the pickguard.

It will withstand years of use, and it has so far. The hardware is great, although I will replace the tuner with some sperzel locking tuners some day. The strap buttons are solid.

I can depend on this guitar, I play at church all the time without a backup.

I had a problem with the guitar staying in tune when it first arrived, but I think it was due to the Elixir strings slipping, not sure. I'm not a fan of the Elixir brand, so Carvin sent me a new set of strings at no cost to me. Problem was solved.

This is just a great guitar for the price. I got all the features of an American strat for half the price. What more can you ask for? I would buy another if this guitar were stolen. I've been playing for close to 20 years, and have never been more happy with a guitar.

I have no complaints. I'm looking forward to a longlasting friendship with this guitar.

Carvin is always very loaded with a ton of optional features that you can select from. My strat style Bolt had three single-coil sized rail pickups, locking tuners, stainless steel frets, a fixed bridge, switch that turns on the bridge pickup, and a woody-looking natural gloss finish. I may be forgetting something...

This is where I'm disappointed. I've had this guitar for six months now and played it loud, soft, with solid state amps, and with tube amps. The overall sound is OK when you play at low volume and just plain mediocre when you turn it up. This bolt has a very thin/dark tone to it that is very sterile and unexciting. Part of this seems related to the pickups- the rails pickups are mediocre. I've always wanted to try rails, but they simple lack good tone- very mushy, lifeless, and no bite at all. And the strat-quack in positions 2 and 4 are just OK, not great. The neck position actually sounds decent but the lead bridge tones are thin and weak. But I get the feeling that even if I changed pickups, the guitar would sound weak- while the lightness of the weight feels good, it seems to contribute the thinness of the sound.

The neck feels great, the fretwork looks quite excellent, and the set-up is above average. Unfortunately, I'm going to give a lower score than I would have because of some odd flaw that makes the strings produce unwanted ringing at the headstock. I especially notice this when I do any palm muting without overdrive from the amp. This is very disappointing. Carvin prides itself on not requiring a string tree on the headstock in order to improve sustain. But the only solution the Carvin customer service guy could give was to put a string tree on there to eliminate the ringing!!!! He could give me no answer to why the guitar was making this sound. How bogus. My guess is bad neck fit. Not sure.

So far the Bolt has been pretty reliable. No major problems. It appears to be built to last.

I mentioned the problem I had above with the ringing noise at the headstock. I was shocked that the Customer Support was uanable to give me a better answer. They were courteous, but not very knowlegeable. Part of this mess is my own fault: I should have played the guitar more frequently in the first week to discover this flaw and sent the guitar back during the return period. Since I'm past the period, I'm stuck with the thing now and I'm sick of calling Carvin back and forth. I guess these are the downfalls for buying a guitar through the mail/online.

I've played for 17 years- mostly classic and hard rock, bluesy rock, and now alot of contemporary worship music at church. I was very much looking forward to this guitar and had always heard alot of good things about Carvin. And the price was unbelievable compared to other similar guitars. This isn't a horrible guitar. It's got some good features- esp. the neck, frets, and playability. But the tone and responsiveness is not what I was expecting- dry, thin, no bite, very little strat cluck. Partly the fault of the pickups but the guitar itself just feels a little too light and unsubstantial. And the mysterious ringing noise at the headstock... Kind of disappointing. Overall, this guitar might wind up my backup to my Fender Tele that I've had for 10+ years. If I had it to do again, I'd get an American Fender Strat. I played one the other day and it sounded like I was hoping this Carvin Bolt would. I guess you live and learn...

I had a Carvin bolt with an alder body, ebony fretboard, Wilkinson tremolo, and Fender Lace Sensor Pickups. With the exception of the stock pickups, everything about the Carvin bolt is of superior quality to ANY other bolt-on guitar made (Fender, PRS, Music Man, Quicksilver, Pearlcaster, Melancon, G&L, etc). As long as you're willing to replace the stock pickups with some lace sensors or Seymour Duncans, you absolutely can't go wrong with this guitar.

It was the most versatile guitar I've ever owned, and I used it for about 90% of my recording work. I had two Fender Lace Sensor blues in the neck and middle positions and a gold in the neck position. The guitar could scream better than any Les Paul or PRS or twang better than any telecaster. I think that the angled neck, ebony fretboard, tight neck joint, and thick tone block on the tremolo all contribute to the superiority of this guitar. Try finding a Fender with a tighter neck joint and more dense tone block.

The action on the guitar is second to none. Carvin diamond grinds their fretboards so that they are the most accurate and consistent on the market, even more so than Warmoth. Also, Carvin inserts two graphite rods beside the trust rod, which keeps the neck perfectly straight and prevents twisting. Mine also came shielded. The Carvin bolt is of higher quality in comparison with an American Fender Strat than the American Strat is in comparison with a Mexican Strat.

I keep using the past-tense to refer to the instrument because it unfortunately fell from a couch and cracked in half. No instrument could have withstood that fall, though, and as I've said, the neck is the most reliable on the market because of its precision grinding and graphite support rods. I discovered first hand how durable the paint on the guitar is when I tried to strip it to repair the body - I couldn't get the paint off at all, not even with chemical strippers or a spinning wire brush on a drill!

I've had no contact with the customer support.

The bottom line is that as long as you are willing to replace the stock pickups with something a little more higher grade, you can't go wrong with the Carvin bolt. It features a titled headstock, a graphite re-enforced neck, an ebony fretboard, no skunk stripe on the neck, a four-bolt neck plate, a giant tone block on the tremolo, a 10 way toggle switch option, locking tuners, and a shielded pickguard. Where else are you going to find all of those options at such a great price? If you pass up this guitar just because it doesn't have the right decal on the headstock, you're not a musician -- you're at best a collector and at worst a petty, superficial, narrow-minded tool who's just going to sound like the one-thousand generic Joe Blows on the gig scene who all play the same name-brand instrument through the same solid state name-brand amp with the same predictable name-brand pedal and the same gauged strings (9s or 10s) and the same picks that they grabbed near the cash register at their local outlet of the same name-brand corporate guitar superstore. Do you really want to be Joe Blow number one-thousand and one?

2004 made in USA, 22 medium humbo frets, tobacco sunburst on Flamed Maple top, phase switch on bridge humbucker, 2 twinblade humbuckers and one bridge humbucker, birdseye maple fingerboard with black dots, maple neck and alder body, strat style body with wilkinson trem and schaller locking tunners

I play rock and blues and a mix between the two. This guitar is perfect for it. I use a Marshall AVT50 and Small Clone Chorus Pedal, and an Ibanez Tube Screamer, and I get the best sounds for rock and blues ever. My brother plays lots of metal and he likes using this guitar alot too. I like everything about this guitar because with carvin you customize the guitar to your liking.

The action was a bit bad, but that was probally because of the shipping process but I could fix it and now the action is perfect.

I have had this guitar for about a year and it shows no signs of slowing down. I always gig with a backup just incase but this guitar never goes out of tune and I have no fear of it breaking.

Besides using their website I haven't had to contact them.

I have been playing for about 7 years now and this guitar I think will be with me till the day I die. If it were lost or stolen I would try my best to find it, but then buy a new one. I liked it a lot better than the Fender's in the price range because this guitar was customized to my likings.

2004, Ebony Fret Board, Alder body, fixed bridge. Two single coils and humbucker on the bridge.

Here is an example of a company who has the goods to make a fantastic guitar, but fall way short on the design. I've always been impressed with Carvin's precision fret work and overall quality - no problem there. I think there are a few areas that Carvin could improve, and they'd be selling twice as many guitars: (1) add more wood to the neck back, or at least an option for a more rounded neck back profile, (2) lose the shark fin shaped headstock, and (3) add more wood to the guitar body for more warmth to the tone.

Graphite rods in the neck do not make up for the fact that there is not enough wood on the body to create a really warm tone - the tone is a bit too thin and no amount of EQing can hide this. Moreover, it would help keep the guitar more stable instead of flopping around when you're picking and strumming. Also, the graphite rods limits the range of the truss rod. It's very important to make your last adjustment to the rod is a tightening move, else the neck becomes unstable. Carvins do , however, have alot of sustain - no problem there.

The neck back profile is too thin and flat causing big time hand fatique for anyone with larger hands. Also, the fretboard edges are too sharp - need to round these off for more comfort. Carvin could take a cue from Fender in that regard and I don;t think they'd be violatinng any patents. Also, the shark fin shaped headstock has to go - pretty ugly. Hey - how about radius options as well instead of the tandard 15" radius? Comon guys - think out of the box a little here!!

Having said this, Carvin does have some good ideas - the tilted headstock does have better string tension. Neck through body helps as well.

Overall - Carvin could take some small steps to vastly improve their guitars that already have a high level of workmanship.

Not withstanding the above problems, what Carvin builds - they do a fine job in terms of the workmanship. It's the design that is subpar.

Carvin is great at supporting the products they sell. But, try to make some design/marekting suggestions, and they'll shut you down quick. I've had discussions about the above issues (see Sound Quality section) and have emailed suggestions and their response is thanks for your input. I don't think they particularly care for unsolicited advice. The net here is that I've tried Carvin's twice and each time sold the guitars because of playability issues (too thin neck) and tone warmth was a bit lacking. However, I still regarded the guitars was having quality construction.

See above catagories.

IT HAS MAPLE NECK,SWAMP ASH BODY,SPERZEL TUNERS.CLASSIC WHITE GOLD HARDWARE,WILKERSON TREM,22 FRETS,S/S/H,STRAT BODY,CARVIN PICKUPS,ELECTRONICS ARE PASSIVE,IT HAS A COIL TAP FOR THE BRIDGE HUMBUCKER.

THE GUITAR IS GREAT BUT I DONT LIKE THE CARVIN PICKUPS THE HUMBUCKER SOUNDS TO THIN AND I DONT LIKE SPLIT HUMBUCKERS EITHER HAVE A SINGLE COIL ARE HUMBUCKER CHOOSE ONE.THE SINGLE COILS ARE AP 11S I THINK I CAN LIVE WITH THEM.BUT I CHANGE THE SINGLE COILS TO TEXAS SPECIAL AND THE HUMBUCKER TO A DUNCAN DISTORTION.THE GUITAR ITSELF WAS BUILT BETTER ARE AS GOOD AS ANY USA FENDER.HALF THE PRICE.IT SOUNDS GOOD NOW.

ACTION WAS WONDERFUL VERY FAST PLAYING GUITAR.LOW LIKE I LIKE IT.PICKUPS SUCK.HARDWARE WAS SUPREME THE GUITAR IS VERY NICE.BUILT BETTER THEN MY FENDER.EVERYTHING WAS PUT TOGETHER VERY WELL.THIS IS A GREAT GUITAR.SOMETHING TO WATCH THEY SAY THIER PICKUPS ARE REGULAR SIZE THEY ARE NOT.I DONT KNOW WHAT THE STANDARDS ARE BUT WHEN I CHANGE PICKUPS I HAD TO DO A LITTLE ROUTING ON THE PICKGUARD AND GUITAR ITSELF.

WITH PROPER CARE IT LAST AS LONG AS YOU.EVERYTHING ON THIS GUITAR IS BUILT TO LAST ALONG TIME.DONT BE WORRIED THIS GUITAR IS BUILT AS WELL ARE BETTER AS A FENDER ARE GL.YOU CAN DEPEND ON IT

WONDERFUL HELPFUL COMPANY I DONT HOW LONG THE WARRANTY IS I FORGOT IVE HAD THE GUITAR 6 OR 7 YRS.I OWN ONE OF THIER AMPS THE BELAIR 212 AND THEY ARE VERY HELPFUL GOOD PLACE TO BUY TUBES TO RETUBE MY WHOLE AMP FOR 80 BUCKS.VERY FRIENDLY.THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAVE WITH THEM THEY CALL THEM SELF A CUSTOM GUITAR COMPANY THEY ARE IF YOU STICK TO WHAT THEY OFFER.I ORDER THE PICKUPS S/S/H WITHOUT A COIL SPLIT I HATE SPLIT HUMBUCKERS BUT THEY DIDNT PAY ATTENTION TO ME AND SENT ME THE SPLIT.MY SISTER GAVE ME 2 GRAND TO BUY A GUITAR I CALLED CARVIN AND WAS GOING TO ORDER A CTM6 ARE CM6 ARE WHATEVER THEY CALL IT WITH MAHOGANY NECK BODY AND FLAME MAPLE TOP FLOYD ROSE SO FAR THEY WERE EXCITED I WAS EXCITED UNTIL I ASK THEM NOT TO PUT PICKUPS IN IT AND ROUT IT OUT TO FIT REGULAR PICKUPS IN IT I WAS GOING TO PUT GOLDEN FIFTY HUMBUCKERS IN IT . THEY SAID NO I WAS GOING TO PAY BIG BUCKS BUT THEY REFUSE THEY SAID THEIR PICKUPS ARE NORMAL.BUT I HAD TO ROUT THEIR STRAT TO GET THE DUNCAN TO FIT AND TEXAS SPECIAL.THIS PISS ME OFF IF IAM PAYING THE BILL WERE GOING TO DANCE MY SONG.I GUESS CARVIN LIKE OUR GOVERMENT HAVE A DICTIONARY DIFFERENT THEN OURS YOU KNOW LIKE THE WORD FREE ON TV ARE ON THE NET THAT DICTIONARY CARVIN LOOK UP THE WORD CUSTOM DONT THAT MEAN THE WAY I WANT IT.SO I WENT AND GOT ME A VINTAGE GIBSON ES-335 THANK SIS FOR THE GIFT.BUT IF YOU PLAY IN CARVINS BALL PARK THEY DO MAKE A VERY NICE GUITAR AND IT IS BUILT IN THE USA BY AMERICANS THATS DIFFERENT AINT IT WE STILL CAN MAKE SOMETHING HERE. CARVINS COOL BUT JESUS STILL RULZ. I HOPE YOU AND JESUS GET THINGS WORK OUT HE LOVES YA BYE NOW UNTIL THE NEXT TIME IVE PLAYED A LOT OF AMPS LOTS OF GUITARS IN MY 25 TO 39 YRS

VERY GOOD GUITAR.I BEEN PLAYING 25 TO 30 YRS I OWN A ZION WITH SA/SA/81 EMGS.GL-500 ES-335 CARVIN BOLT.SILVERFACE TWIN,PEAVEY DELTA BLUES 210 COOL LITTLE AMP I USE A OLD CS-505 IBANEZ CHORUS BOSS DELAY AND BARBER DIRECT DRIVE.A CARVIN BELAIR 212 OYEA MY MARSHALL 800 HUNDRED HEAD AND 412 CAB A BUNCH OF STUFF IVE COLLECTED OVER THE YRS. I PLAY CHRISTAIN METAL BLUES SOUTHERN ROCK AMD MY MAIN THING 20 YRS WORSHIP. I WOULD THIS GUITAR OVER FENDER IT JUST BUILT AS GOOD ARE BETTER THEN FENDERS USA STUFF I THINK BETTER AND HALF THE PRICE. AND THEY ARE STILL HERE IN THE USA PUTTING AMERICANS TO WORK AS FAR AS I KNOW.. BE COOL AND JESUS RULZ

2002 model (Strat-style) made in the USA. 22 frets. Solid ash body transparent blue high-gloss finish. Tung oiled maple neck. Birdseye maple fretboard. S/S/H. Volume, tone, 5-way selector, coil tap. Fixed bridge. Locking Sperzel tuners. 15" radius, 25.5 inch scale. Medium jumbo frets. Hardshell case standard. All the features you could ask for in a Strat-style instrument, but nothing is perfect.

I play finger-style pop/jazz and I was able to get a nice tight, warm tone out of it. I also play blues and it the Bolt could nail that BB clean very well. I played it straight into a 4x10 tube amp with just a bit of reverb. It was very quite using the neck and middle p/u. It is capable of all the normal single coil sounds and it was very quiet. The bridge humbucker can wail, also. The tone control was more usable than most I've encountered. Great tone, but again...nothing's perfect.

This is where this Bolt really shined. The action and p/u adjustments were perfect. The set-up was impeccable. The materials, construction and assembly was as good as any instrument I've ever touched and I've been playing for 45 years.

It seems built like a tank, but I never gig without a backup.

I've not had any experience with them.

As I said I've been playing for 45 years and I've been around the geat track a few times. The Bolt I played belonged to an acquaintance and it has convinced me to order my own Bolt+ model. This thing is just a killer value. I don't know why Carvins are not more widely used. The standard Bolt that I played was as good as any custom shop Fender I've seen and I am a long time Fender fan.

2003 Bolt. Pearl blue finish over alder, SSH pickup configuration (two AP11's and a M22SD bridge humbucker). 5-way switching plus an on/off swich for the 'bucker plus a coil tap for the same. FT6 bridge (strings through the body, hard tail), and a hard rock maple neck with a 22 fret ebony fretboard. 25.5" scale. Reverse in-line headstock (an optional feature) and sperzel locking tuners. A solid, well made, versatile guitar.

This guitar can do it all. Turn the single coil AP11 in the neck position on, roll back the tone, and rip off some Cream. Roll the tone back on, run it through some chorus and twinkle away. Slam the 5-way switch to the middle AP11 pickup, run it into a Fender amp, and start playing "Sweet Home Alabama." Or kick it all the way down into humbucking mode, turn your rectifier on eleven, and shred.

Perfect. Not one flaw. Action to 1/16", pickups properly adjusted, and solid as a rock.

This is a heavy guitar-it's built like a tank. I think I could clock someone with it and it would still be in tune. Yeah, I'd say it'll be reliable and dependable!

Ummmm, let's say dealing with Carvin is hit and miss. They're not evil, just not always terribly accurate. Keep calling 'til they get it right.

Carvins are the best playing, best sounding guitars on the planet for under a grand. You could spend TWO grand (think Fender) and not get half the guitar. Plus, with Carvin's "custom shop" you can get one configured almost any way you please. Highly, highly recommended.

2001 Bolt-T Wilkinson Tremolo, Strat Style, Made in USA, 22 frets, Solid one-piece Swamp Ash body with a clear matte finish, black earloid pickguard, ebony fingerboard w/ mother of pearl inlay, med jumbo frets, maple neck w/ tung oil finish, black chrome hardware, sperzel locking tuners, S/S/H w/coil splitter (2- AP11s 1- C22), .010 Elixir strings, case incl.

Bought used, so features picked by someone else, but they were what I was looking for also. Carvin builds to order so they get a 10 for features.

OMG! I have a mahogany Bolt-T with 3 single coils and a maple fingerboard that I thought had tone. This thing eclipses it! I play all styles of music from jazz standards to classic rock to progressive rock to modern rock to blues. Considering some idioms would be better suited for hollow bodied guitars, this axe covers all territories pretty darn well.

NOTE: Woods and pickups and strings ARE the sound of any electric guitar. I've seen reviews here saying their guitars sounded thin. If you want a silky, thick, singing ax go for the combination here- you will not be dissapointed!

BTW- I am SOLD on Elixir strings. I used to easily go through a set of conventional string in one 4 hour gig. Elixirs last almost 4x longer, I buy them in bulk at a discount, so I get a bright, long lasting sound that actually saves me money in the long run. Who'dathunkit?

I run the guitar through a Flextone II XL 100w 2x12 combo digital modelling amp. So every base is covered sonically. But you CAN tell the difference between guitars when I change them. This one sounds the best wth the custom presets I came up with using a different Bolt-T. Go figure...

I bought this guitar used and it was like it came from the factory- not a blemish on it. Action slightly higher than advertised, but I like it that way so I can really bend and get underneath the other strings for 3 half-step David Gilmour-esque bends. I'm able to do it as effortlessly as I do with .009s on my other Carvin Bolt-T. Tight pocket and clean workmanship all the way around. Fretwork=flawless. I gotta tell you- the matte finish Carvin uses in combination with the Swamp Ash is gorgeous! A natural looking light brown tint that really brings out the deep grain. I would guess any translucent finish (such as Vintage Yellow) would be equally as beautiful. But the fact that it has no shine from the matte finish makes this guitar a natural beauty to behold. The black chrome hardware and black pearloid pickguard are a very stylish accent.

This guitar weighs in at over 8 pounds and is a solid piece of ash. Feels indestructable and I don't feel as if I need to pamper it like I did with vintage guitars I owned that had lacquer that would dent if you looked at it the wrong way. ;-)

The matte finish does hide small blemishes better than the glossy. I bought this guitar as a backup for my other Bolt-T but it has immmediately become Axe#1. The only reason I felt compelled to get a backup is because when you break a string mid-song with a tremolo, the thing goes way out of tune and you're sunk. With a backup, I can quickly switch guitars and not miss a beat.

CS at Carvin is a crap shoot. Period. Keep trying until you get someone reliable.

I got a practically brand new $700+ guitar for under $500 WITH an ABS hardshell case. When I ordered my original Carvin from the factory they didn't have Ash (the one regret). So now my dream's come true.

I have two other Bolt -Ts and they also crush the truckload of Fenders I tried in the $700-$1000 range in sound AND quality. Yes, they don't sound *exactly* like a Fender, but each one has its own p/u configuration/wood combination and has a unique, expressive, muscial tone that comes close enough (better, I say!). I'm not handing out 10s here for the heck of it- this guitar has surpassed my every expectation by a mile. Let's face it, every guitar is a unique piece of equipment, and every company puts out both good and bad pieces. I can honestly say after extensive research and shopping, Carvin has been more consistent than Fender in delivering top quality instruments at reasonable prices. And at least they'll fix, rebuild or refund in 10 days if you don't like what they give you.

Beautiful Classic White finish, Black Chrome Plated Hardware, String Saver Graphite Saddles for FT6 fixed bridge, Sperzel locking tuners, Engraved Truss Rod Cover, Vintage Tweed premium plywood hardshell guitar case. Otherwise, the standard stuff. AP11 single coil pickups in all positions. I guess I got all the features I wanted.

This is pretty far from being my only guitar, so I wasn't looking for versatility when I bought it. I'd say it's very versatile though - it can do hard rock, classic rock, blues, singing clean strumming rhytm, funk, country and even jazz, as long as you pick the right amp.
I use it mainly for distorted hard rock leads (mostly studio work nowadays) through a Laney VC50 (British EL34 2x12 amp). I use few effects: Boss pedal EQ, Ibanez TS-9, Jim Dunlop Crybaby wah and sometimes a little Dallas Arbiter fuzz.
It's extremely quiet for a single-coil guitar - in all positions. I doubt anybody will complain about the noise. The AP11 pickups are very warm and sweet, but much hotter than Fender Stratocaster stock pickups.
I for myself don't like RW/RP middle pickups, but that's the system Fender uses on its Stratocaster models since a while ago. I think they sound weak in the 2nd and 4th positions.
I've made a few mods to it, including rewinding of the middle and bridge pickups. The bridge pickup was rewound for more turns of coil winding, giving the pickup a darker sound and a higher output. The middle pickup was wound with the same amounts of turns and the same wire, but in the opposite direction (= no RW/RP middle pickup anymore).
The rating it received in this cathegory is the rating of the sound of this guitar in [i]stock condition[/i], before the modifications were made. If I'd rate it the way it roosts today, I'd give it a 9.

The guitar was actually perfectly set up from the factory (intonation, action, pickup height...). The fretwork seemed flawless. Compared to my American Deluxe Fender, the overall quality is much nicer on this one. The finish is better as well.

I wouldn't use it without a backup, but I wouldn't do that with ANY guitar. I have only had this one for a few years, so I'm not sure I can give it a fair rating, but it seems rock solid.

Haven't had to deal with them.

Been playing for 35+ years. I love its ultra-nice overall quality feel, its versatile pickups, its incredible box-stock performance and its great-for-lead slim neck. For the price (less than $700 including tweed case), it's top-notch.

The bottom lines:
Not a version of a Fender Stratocaster, even if it's similar in many ways. If you want a Strat with slimmer neck, better upper fret access, flawless overall quality and tons of options, this is it. I've tried Bolts with full-sized Carvin humbuckers as well as Carvin TBH pickups too. Don't let the price fool you - this would be a great guitar even if it was $1500.

the bolt is carvin's copy of a stratocaster. i ordered it 6/9/01 from the carvin website, got it 7/26/01 and shipped it back 7/27/01. mine was alder, painted gloss black with a white pickguard. the neck was maple with a maple fingerboard (the only option on it). it had three single-coil pups (ap 11) and a five-position switch plus a mini-toggle switch which allowed all seven pickup combinations. it had one volume and one tone control. hardware was all chrome with a string-through body fixed bridge. the tuners were non-locking. scale length was 25 1/2" and it came string with 9's. the neck radius was 15". i got a hard shell case for it. i have no opinion as to the features - it is what it is.

i'm primarily an acoustic guitar player. i finger-pick blues on a gibson j-200 and play blues slide on both a national style o and a national delphi (i'll post reviews of those instuments later). i was looking for a strat style electric to fool around with when i got the bolt. i didn't want to spend a lot and was a little put off by the inconsistent fender quality. i played it through a silver face fender champ i bought over 20 years ago. i thought the sound was pretty good. i could get lots of different types of sound. with the tone control rolled of and using the neck pickup there was a decent jazz sound. the bridge-middle pup combination had that hollow scooped out tone. the high e string did sound weaker than the others but i made no attempt to adjust it. i would say the sound was the best quality of this guitar, but realize i'm an acoustic guitar player - people who've played strats for years might have a totally different opinion.

this is where i was disappointed. i had read about the great carvin action in lots of reviews. the saddle height was not particularly low, the neck had just a little bit of relief and there were no buzzes if played with a light to moderate touch, but the nut was way too high. if i had raised the action at the saddle it would have been fine for slide. my j-200 professionally set up with light gauge strings (12's) tuned down 1/2 a step has a better action than this guitar with 9's! (both have the same scale length). what i liked least was the flat finger board. i didn't think that a 15" radius would be that different from my gibson's 12" radius, but it was. i think that with a professional set-up this guitar would play quite nicely, but it really wasn't very good as delivered.
there was a pretty obvious flaw in the finish, right below the input jack about three by one inch - it looked like a piece of tape had come in contact with it before it was completely dry. also, there was a large gouge in the cover of the middle pup cover - looked like someone slipped with a screwdriver while adjusting the pole-pieces. neither of these flaws affect the sound or the action but i would never buy a new guitar at full price with defects like these.
finally, mine did not come with the set of adjusting tools.

i returned it the day aftr i got it so i really couldn't comment on reliabilty or durability.

i ordered on the web. the only time i talked to a real person was when i called to return it. no hassles - the guy didn't even seem to care why i was returning it (i told him anyway).

i've been playing guitar on and off for about 25 years. i play mostly acoustic blues - fingerstyle and slide. i'd still like to get an electric to fool with but i'm going to wait till i have the time to try a whole lot of guitars. ordering this carvin was the lazy way of doing it. if i liked it great - if not send it back. all told i'm out about $35 for the shipping to me and back to carvin.
for someone who likes this sort of neck, is willing to deal with sending it back (after waiting 6-8 weeks), can accept some flaws and will get a professional set-up this could be a good guitar.

I special oredered it through their custom shop on November 11. It took eight weeks to make. It is made in the USA. I'll start from the top. I have the flying V headstock option. I don't like its shape that much, but its not bad. I have Sperzel locking tuners.It has 22 standard frets on an ebony fingerboard (Its real nice. The neck is Mahogany (I like mahogany soooo much!). The body was also special ordered Mahogany(It is a real nice piece of wood!!!). The pickup config is s/s/h and has a five way switch and a splitter for the humbucker. All electronics are carvin's own in house brand but I may change them out later, but I am not sure yet. It has a black pick guard. It has a hardtail chrome bridge. I made sure to order a clear finish so I could see the quality of wood used, and I have to commend carvin for not cutting corners or using cheap wood on such an inexpensive instrument. Bravo Carvin!!!!!!

I mostly play everything I can (and this guitar is versatile!), but this guitar seems to be directing me into blues playing. I have a tendency to experiment with open strings quite a bit and I must say that this ax lets me use open chords and still sounds nice. I can't say that about many other guitars I've tried.I don't know about tone but I really like it quite a bit because it sounds good with overdrive and clean,but I must say the humbucker is a little harsh for my taste. I am tempted to change out the pickups for some seymore Duncans because I have a good connection for his stuff, but I am not sure if it will take me closer to where I want to be in terms of tone. I play it through a Yamaha DG 80 and this guitar sounds very good, but I do get some annoying hum. Its not really that bad and I think I am being picky about it. I have to give it a 9 only because the humbucker could sound less harsh.

This is where Carvin really shined. The quality of the mahogany, the perfection of the clear finish. The tung oil on the back of the neck. the quality of the tuners, The ebony fingerboard are of very high quality. I have a luthier here in fountain valley california I took it to before I decided to keep it and he said regardless of price it was a nice guitar (except for Carvin electronics. He is not a big fan of their pickups). when I told him the price I paid for it his jaw dropped. All is not perfect though. I can tell that the intonation is ever so slightly off, but that can be adjusted in six months when I have it set-up and maybe change the pickups. I have to take a point away for the intonation being off but boy did they come close to a ten.

I really cant tell yet. I have only had it about three weeks but the finish and the hardware and the quality of wood is very good. I can't say anything about the electronics. I suspect it will work well for the rest of my life. I really baby all my harmonicas, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars. I don't play professionally yet so I don't tax my equipment.

Carvin had good customer support and they followed up the purchase with a direct call one week after my purchase to see if I was happy with it. I must have a warranty but I have not looked at it but Carvin equipment seems to be always at least good in everyting they make. It real professional quality stuff. This guitar is no different. One last thing is that the salesman was really patient with me since I ask lots of questions and it takes me forever to make a decision.

I am a really pick SOB and am very critical of instruments. I really am an acoustic guitar player who plays electric because I like the feel of electic guitar strings. I own a Larrivee C05E (my main axe). I have an old kramer pacer (which I never liked that much, but it was a gift from my brother before he died so I keep it). Its just not the guitar my carvin is and cost $800.00 about 15 years ago at least. I have my eye on my friends Ernieball Music Man Axis Super Sport because its so light, has better tone and the neck feels better (for playing long periods of time),but seems a little too thin and when I do open chords it seems you have to be extra careful not to bend the high e string off the fingerboard (that doesn't happen with my Carvin); doing hammers and pulloffs at the top registers on the high e string also requires more finess with the EBMM than my trusty bolt. The other draw back is that its a $1350.00 (with Piezo pickup)guitar and they wont bargan down much at guitar center. If I take the money into acount and the quality of instrument vs. my friend's strat, and EBMM I would have to say that in terms of shear value Carvin is a 10+. The EBMM is also a good guitar for the price but no one can beat carvin in the price devided by the value equation......Bravo Carvin for a modestly priced ass kickin product made in the USA...It blows away any Ibanez in existance away.

USA made Carvin Bolt. 22 frets. Controls include: Volume, Tone and coil splitter. Pickup configuration is: S/S/H. (AP11 pickups are VERY nice, but I might get a single coil humbucker instead just to try them out). Swamp ash body in the strat-like style. The finish is pearl blue with a black perloid pickguard (ABSOLUTELY gorgeous). Sperzel locking tuners. Straplocks. The works.

I absolutely ADORE the sound I get out of this guitar!! I love it!! Even unplugged, you can tell it's quality of tone!! As for my music styles, right now, I'm still in the process of learning guitar, so of course, I usually cling to what I know (go figure). I usually do a lot of clean stuff, some jazz, a few DMB riffs here and there, nothing too fancy. HAHA!! The amps I'm using you're probably going to laugh at because you're probably not supposed to do this, but I'm using a stereo chorus pedal as a dual output and putting one to a Crate GT-80 (nice high/mid end) and the other to a Crate B-60 (NICE low/mid end and yes, that is a bass amp). It actually sounds REALLY sweet!!!!! I get the best tone EVER out of that combination!

The finish on the guitar is just plain old BEAUTIFUL!! Carvin always does an excellent job on their finishes. And also, the action, you can tell they put a lot of time into. The action was really low, but had no buzz. The pickups were also perfectly set. It was just......PERFECT!!!

This guitar is VERY reliable. I would play this thing without a backup any day.

Customer support was very friendly. Didn't have any problems.

I'm not one to judge too critically, since I've only been playing a year, but in my opinion, this guitar ROCKS!! If it were stolen, I'd be VERY ticked off and probably buy another. The only other thing I wish it had were piezo pickups, but I can probably get those installed. I love this thing!!!!!!

1999 Carvin Bolt - Standard hardtail except C22 w/splitter added in place of bridge AP11. Straplocks added as well. The 5 way selector plus splitter for the C22 makes this guitar quite versatile. It stays in tune very and I prefer a guitar that stays in tune on it's own rather than one with locking tuners or that use other schemes. Volume and tone knob incuded at no extra cost :) On the other hand I don't think we should rate a guitar on it's features because you get what you see.

This guitar does not exactly sound like a Strat and I am glad. It has it's own sound somewhat akin to a Strat, but it is different. The AP11s drip tone. The C22 is a good pickup as well although not of the same caliber as the AP11s. I have played it through several amps and it sounded great through all of them. It has character, but still let's personal quirks come through. I love it. To all of those out there looking for a Strat... go buy a Strat. For the rest of you, this may be what you are looking for. A great price without giving up great tone.

This Bolt came set up with really low action and that was exactly what I wanted. The neck is dead straight and as others have noted the fret work was exceptional. I did have to raise the action on the D string, but only about a half a screw turn. Excellent job Carvin. I like not having a string T and still wonder why other manufacturers don't do away with them altogether. The paint and finish is flawless and it should be. The guitar failed quality for paint twice, but by the time it reached me was perfect.

I am rather rough on guitars and because of that decided against getting another Ibanez RG570. With all of the gear on those guitars I feel like a mechanic. I really don't see much that can go wrong with this guitar. It seems solid.

Here I give Carvin a 5. Although Carvin is always ready to answer the phone I wasn't very happy when I found out that if you order from the web you get routed to a different department. Maybe it's because no one gets comission off of web sales??? I don't know, but they weren't very helpful. This doesn't mean I won't order from them again, what it means is that when I do I will call.

I have been playing for about 10 years on and off. I am not a guitar collector and prefer to have only two guitars at any time. Usually one of these sits in the closet while the other one gets played to death. I rate this guitar a 10 for price, a 10 for sound, and a 10 for overall value. If someone stole my Bolt I would order another right away.

1999 Model "Lefthanded" 1 Volume/Tone, 5 Way selector and Mini Toggle for all pickups at once. S/S/S AP11 Pickups ,middle is reverse wound. Body is Alder with Maple Neck and Fretboard. Finish is Blueburst with as far as I can tell a bit of Green mixed in. Hardtail Bridge, Sperzel Tuners and Hardshell case

Sounds like a Strat but not a great Strat!. Use through a Fender Hotrod Deluxe and Digitech RP7 for Effects. Guitar is Carvin quiet due to their exellent Grounding and shielding of the cavity. Bridge pickup is bright if not a little to tiny with out tone adjustment. Middle is reverse wound (I've never been crazy about this new fad) Neck sounds better but not as full as I prefer. 2 and 4 Quack positions are not that great due to the middle pickup being reversed.

Guitar came from the factory in good condition. I had to adjust the neck a little and lowered the action a bit (Shipping can reak havoc on a guitar) but overall I was happy with it. Hardware looked good, bridge is solid and the saddles have a contoured groove in them for string travel. 5 Way switch is cheap! and stem is to long. You can tell it doesnt fit in the case cause it was slightly bent.

Carvin has always done a great job on the necks, bodies and finishes of their guitars and the electronics though theres nothing outright wrong with them just dont compare with the quality of the guitar itself. I've gutted the electronics (Pickgaurd and all) in favor of some Dimarzio HS2,HS3 and Virtual Vintage Blues Pickups, Fender 5 Way selector and separate volume/Tone controls for each pickup (Dual Pots). The guitar itself should last a long time with proper care

Steve and Marco at carvin were great! My order ended up being a Month late and the guys kept me informed as to the status (The guitar got all the way to quality control and was rejected due to a twisted neck) so they made another neck.

I've owned Carvins in the past and have been happy with them. They have kept the quality there and havent gone the way of cheap to keep costs down. I played several Fenders (What ever Lefties I could find) from Mexican, Japanese and American standards before going back to Carvin and found that the Fenders just didnt have the quality for the price since Fender jacks up the price on Lefties!. Carvin didnt charge me a dime extra for a Lefthanded version which shows that Corporate greed hasnt gone to their heads!

Made in the USA San Diego, CA Features an Alder body with a string-thru bridge. This feature in my opinion has so much more tone and sustain. (Too bad Fender doesn't make very many stock Strats with this configuration.) Comes with standard 5 way blade switch (which went bad btw) giving you a lot of tones to choos from. My model came with a humbucker in the bridge position for your "Les Paul" growl sound provided you have a decent amp. The neck is killer! Ebony, dot inlays cut perfectly!

I compared the Bolt's toa Fender Tex-Mex Strat, the Carvin had much better output on the single coils. The Bolt also was so much more quiet. In all positions it was cleaner and had more depth to the tone. The sound is awesome! I was pleasantly suprised by its sound. I've own a lot of Strats and I have never been impressed with Fender production models. This Bolt has custom-quality details at no extra cost. A much better guitar than the production-line Strat.

This is where the Carvin kicks butt! My guitar was flawless other than the bad 5 way blade switch that failed after three months of use. It came with a natural-honey finish showing the alder grain at its best. Gives it a nice vintage look. The graphite nut looks and feels like it is built-in the neck. The fret work is awesome! The action was really low with no buzzes. So for all you Metal guys who love a fast neck...this is for you! The setup was right-on out of the case and no adjustments had to be made on my part. Everything was perfect.

I have played this guitar without a back-up. I typically use the Bolt as my back-up guitar. However, I have found myself playing two or three consecutive sets with it because it stays in-tune so well! That is huge! Nothing is worse than a moody, tempermental guitar!

Great support! Sales guys are very helpful, However, I didn't bother getting another 5 way blade replacement from Carvin. I bought a Fender switch! Sorry...but they are better!

I will keep this as my Strat replacement. I use a Terry C. McInturrf Polaris as my main ax and also have a Gibson Les Paul Classic as well. If it got ripped....I'd get another one! I think these blow away the Fender stock strats. The value is incredible!!!

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...