Carvin C-250S Cobalt

Carvin C250S. Satin finish solid cedar top, mahogany body and sides. Made overseas but to exact Carvin specifications. Set-up and checked by Carvin Tech's in San Diego, California before shipping.

Sounds really great. Beautiful rich acoustic tone.

Guitar set-up by Carvin Tech's in USA before shipping.
Excellent finish and beautiful wood.
Strings barely off fretboard with no fret buzz at all.
"Rapid play neck" is excellent and feels great in hands.

I would trust this guitar for studio or stage.
Grover tuners offer reliable, stable tuning.
I would expect to pay at least twice as much as the actual cost.

Never had to return a Carvin product ever.
But the Tech's are fantastic when ordering.

I have been playing 35 years.
All I play is Carvin Pro Audio and Guitars/Bass.
If it were stolen it has the "Snagg" computer chip.

Satin finish. wears away very quickly actually. the bare wood is now showing where my forearm goes on the top. top is made of rosewood but really doesnt sound as great as the others say it does. grover tuners are good. im glad i only paid 100.00 for it from a guitar shop. if i had paid more i would be really upset.

sound is OK. nothing too crazy about it. ive played many martins and many takamine guitars and this comes nowhere near any of those. ive even played better yamaha's

as i said before, the finish has worn off where my forearm normaly rests. the action was really high at first making it dreadfully hard to play so i had to take it to a shop and get the action lowered. really a pain in the butt.

when picking it up and putting it on my lap it feels rather flimsy. maybe it is because the sides are laminate? i feel like i am going to snap off the neck sometimes! but if you are very careful it should be ok

for 100 bucks why even bother? if anything happens to it i will take out the grover tuners and put them in another one of my guitars. (which i will probably do anyway..)

ive been playing for almost 10 years now and have owned/own many guitars. i wish i had really givin it some thought before buying this guitar. i wanted a guitar for camping and something to let my kids learn on without walking on eggshells the whole time. but this guitar isnt even fit for those things. all in all i would not reccomend this guitar to anyone. go get a yamaha if you are looking to spend 100-200 dollars.. dont even think of spending more than that on this guitar.

Mahogany with cedar top. Satin finish. Nice binding work. Perfect neck. Grover tuners. Case is nice. Overall - good materials and exactly what I wanted. Be aware that a satin finish just is not as pretty as a gloss.

Absolutely wonderful, warm, versitle sound. Sparkles with fingerstyle, roars when you pick it hard. The Cedar with satin finish works. More midrange than the spruce top C250 (I have one of those too). I like this better for just about everything. Note: It did take about a month of playing it quite a bit to get the tone to open up.

Perfect factory setup. No materials issues. Only issue - a minor break in the Carvin logo on the headstock. Overall - A wonderful player and value.

Good materials and good workmanship plus a good case - It should be fine. Stays in tune exceptionally well.

Ordered via web. It was backordered several times. I had to call them but they were ok when I did. Overall - Not bad but no real issue to resolve.

Solid value, good materials, fun to play and a joy to hear. I've purchased about 40 guitars of the years, This is the only one I'd say is a must buy given it's quality, value, and tendency to jump into your hand to be played. This is not a 'I just got it yesterday, it's so cool' review, either. I've had it about 7 months now and I like it a little better all the time as the sound opens up more and more.

Made in Korea for Carvin, standard dreadnaught design acoustic guitar without any electronics. Purchased new online and arrived in early February 2004. The back is solid mahogany, the sides are laminated mahogany, the top is solid cedar. Rosewood fretboard with white binding, ebony bridge, ebony bridgepins with abalone dots, high quality Grover tuners and bound rosewood headstock with inlayed abalone Carvin logo. This cedar top model is only offered in a thin satin finish, which I preferred. Purchasing a high-quality SKB black plastic case is mandatory for shipping from Carvin to you.
Inside the case was a warranty, keys for the case, picks and a trussrod adjustment tool. All the features I wanted, and you can choose other models with other wood combinations (and electronics) if you wish.

The guitar shipped with Elixer strings which are expensive strings but I don't really prefer their sound. I replaced them with a 'Bluegrass' gauge (light top/medium gauge bottom) set of phosphor bronze. The guitar has a sparkling high end with clear definition between notes. The cedar does seem to effect the sound as you would expect - stronger bass response than spruce. I found the spruce models with the heavier gloss finish to be too bright sounding and lacking in bass. The bass response on this guitar is excellent and reminds me of a Gibson in tone. The guitar has 'opened up' considerably after almost six months of playing it daily despite cedar having a reputation for not needing to be 'broken in' as much as spruce. I also think the thin satin finish contributes a lot to the ringing sustain. And no finger prints show either. To my ears it sounds just wonderful.

The construction is flawless. No glue drips, braces cut perfectly without any jaggies. The nut is cut perfectly, and the frets are even and smooth. Amazing quality for the price, but ...
Carvin adverises these models as having a 'Rapid Play' neck. The action as shipped from the factory was very high. And the neck had way too much relief. The relief issue was easy enough to fix, and may have been the result of shipping from sunny San Diego to New Jersey in the dead of winter. However it became obvious the bridge saddle was way, way to high. So, after each string change I removed the saddle and sanded it down, slowly, carefully, in small increments. After four such sessions I can honestly say that the action rivals any acoustic at any price, and some better electrics like my Gibson SG. So, as shipped, I give it a 6, but after a lot of careful home adjustments I give it a 10.

As with any acoustic, you have to be careful. But the overall quality of construction is fabulous. How Carvin can sell these for way under $500 including shipping and case is beyond me! I compared this to the HPL type Martins (which sell for a bit more) and there is no comparison in sound, quality of assembly and materials used. Truly a bargain.

I e-mailed Carvin about the action issues, and Albert C, the head of R&D! e-mailed me back to say he would be checking the setups of new Cobalts coming off the setup bench to see if mine was an anomyly. I could have sent it back, but figured that with a little effort on my part I could get it where I wanted it and I am very pleased with my efforts. Also, the Carvin BBS is populated with Carvin owners who are quick to offer good advice about any issues with Carvin equipment. Excellent service and the ordering process went smoothly too.

This is my third acoustic. The other two were purchased in 1983 (6 and 12 string Ovation AE's) and I still have them but they are getting worn and tempermental. I figured I'd take a chance on a Cobalt (I already have two Carvin electrics) and am glad I did. This particular instrument is a keeper, and I suspect it will go the distance like the Ovations have. If you are in the market for an inexpensive acoustic, I strongly suggest you give Carvin 250S a try. They give you 10 days to evaluate it, and the only downside is you will have to pay the shipping costs back if decide to return it. Think of it as renting a guitar for 10 days.