Carvin C-350 Cobalt

2007 Carvin Cobalt 350, Korean made (I believe)
Solid top, laminated sides
No controls, no electronics
Mahogany top and sides
Pretty thin neck for an acoustic - great action
Came with a nice brown leather-like hardshell case.
Came with spare bridge saddle and hex wrench to adjust the neck.

This sounds pretty good for what I paid. I've had great electrics forever, but never a good acoustic. This was an excellent deal. The strings that came with it sound great. It's got a pretty full sound. I have two small children so leisurely strolling through a guitar shop trying 100's of acoustics was not an option. I went on Carvin's reputation and I wasn't disappointed.

This guitar probably compares with other acoustics in the $700-900 range. I've played this along with an old Guild mahogany acoustic, and a Gibson acoustic, and I think it held it's own.

Action was fantastic - very low.
The fit and finish were great - there was one spot on the fretboard that looks discolored, but it doesn't bother me, and you can only see it if you hold it in the light just right. To be honest, I don't recall if it came that way, or something I did put it there. No flaws that I can tell.

All aspects of this guitar seem like it would last. I've only had it out of the house a few times to jam with a buddy and it's awesome for that. There actually is a strap button on the neck heel that I thought was a great touch. The hardware and tuning pegs seem solid and long-lasting.

I only dealt with the company on the phone when I bought it. The salesperson was a little too "California" for my taste, but he was aiight. I did have to remind him of the $100 off sale they were having. Initially he rang it up as $528, not $428. After I told him to put the bong down, he rang it up correctly.

I've been playing 21 years. I own a Les Paul, 70's hardtail Strat, a '69 Super Reverb, Supro lap steel, Crate V20 amp, and an Epiphone Valve Jr head.

If stolen or lost, I probably would buy this exact guitar again.

I actually like the smell of it - kind of glue-y. I love that it's inspired me to play more songs for my kids. It records pretty well, too.

Nothing I hate about it. I sold a pedal steel I wasn't using to get this guitar. I think if you want to get a LOT of bang for your buck if you're looking for an acoustic, get this, or one of the Carvin Cobalts with electronics if you're so inclined. Read this and the other reviews before you decide. I think you'll be pleased. It's a nice looking guitar as well.

This is a 2005 Korean made dreadnought-style acoustic guitar with steel strings. 20 frets, with the neck set at the 15th. The body is all mahogany, with a gorgeous striped mahogany top, rosewood fretboard, and rosewood accents. No acoustic-electric system on this one. Has synthetic binding on the neck. X-bracing inside. Chrome Grover tuners.

The neck is flat-radius, small frets, dot inlays. It's rather thin for an acoustic neck. It seems much like the typical Carvin DC neck. Action is low but there's no fretbuzz during normal playing.

I'm giving this a 10, because it is an excellent guitar for under $500. The higher end Cobalts are nicer, but if you're looking at the lower end models, this is the one to buy.

I paid $410, $60 of which was for the ABS case.

I mostly play progressive metal, jazz, classical, rock, and blues. I bought this to teach my wife to play acoustic rock. It's a great player for that.

The sound is deep and resonate. There's plenty of warmth, but it's clearer, brigher, and snappier than the typical mahogany guitar.

I bought this off the shelf at the Carvin factory store in San Diego, so other people had played it before. Despite that, it didn't have any scratches or marks. The only finish flaw is that the coloration on the Carvin logo is slightly uneven.

Time will tell. It seems very well built. It feels like a professional guitar. This is not like the typical Korean guitar.

5 year warranty.

Angel and the others at the store were very friendly as I spent 4 hours playing every type of guitar they sell.

In the past, I've called Carvin about a guitar I had on order and had trouble finding information about its status.

This is a great guitar. I'm surprised that this nice of a steel-string acoustic can be bought for so little money. I've seen 15 or so Cobalts, and all were nice. I'm usually wary of imported acoustics as the quality can vary immensely, but I'd buy one of these with confidence.

If lost, I'd replace it with another, or get a more expensive model that includes a Fishman Matrix system. This is a far better acoustic than one could get from Ibanez or Fender at the same price.

I've been playing for 15 years.

I'm giving this a 10. It's a fantastic value. I'd say this is a $400 guitar that plays and sounds like a $1000 guitar.

Brand New & Gorgeous. Open the box, pull out the case and open it. Wow! That smell. This is a beautiful guitar. I hesitated touching it (for a second and then it was on). This guitar is Korean made, mahogany body & top, etc. I'm sure that if you've made it here, then you've also visited the carvin site and know the features of this guitar. (Note: It is my understanting that due to "the" Japanese factory changing what it produces, that a lot of guitars are soon to be made in Korea if not already). Features on an acoustic? Body & Neck binding, great finish, excellent mahogany color. Must buy the case, but it comes out to be about $465 with shipping.

I do intend to install an acoustic pickup and it would be nice if a cut away body were an option so it gets a 9 and not a 10.

Very bright and full sounding. Punch and projection, it has it. It could have a little more bass, but its not bad. Harmonics are great.

Low action! This thing plays like a dream. The neck has a satin finish, which I like. The satin feel makes it easier to run up and down the neck unlike the high gloss found on other necks. The body's finish is perfect and the binding is too.

It has X bracing... Finish is thick... and these things could contribute to the bass not being just what I'd like for it to be, but it should keep the guitar top from warping. There are no electronics, there is failure possible there.

Friendly. Didn't know when it was going to ship. I called & after a few minutes someone told me that it would be about a week and it was. Total wait from purchase to it being in my hands was about
1-1/2 to 2 weeks and I live in Florida (it shipped from CA).

For the cost to value ratio you cannot go wrong with this guitar. I still cannot believe that I got it for the price that I did. I truely believe that to get a guitar this nice you would have to pay much more.
Note to Carvin: The price & appearance the main reasons I chose this guitar. If it were anything other than what it is I would have went elsewhere.

2005 Dreadnaught, solid mahogany top and back, Grover tuners.Rosewood fretboard. Gloss finish. I'll consider the price a feature since its discounted 100 bucks off right now. Guitar was 339.00 plus case and shipping came to 428.00. Retail is 880 I believe. A steal if you ask me...

I've been playing for about 38 years, and have been around the block a few times. Man this axe sounds outrageous, especially for the money. Good bass extension, singing highs. Can't wait to throw some Martins on it. Reminds me of a late sixties Guild or a Gibson Hummingbird. Lots of bang for the buck here folks.

Gotta Give it a 7 here folks for some minor stuff. The high E intonation is a little off,and the abalone Carvin Logo on the headstock has the R letter not nearly as reflective as the other letters, so from some angles in low light it looks like this letter is missing. Its no big deal, and basically they screwed thier own advertizing. That'll learn em.
On the plus side the action is low, no buzzing, and very easy to play. Finish is impeccable, no glue inside the box, externally is flawless except for the above mentioned Logo deal.

Like anything else should last if you take care of it. Discounted two points for the plastic strap buttons.

Not applicable since I web ordered it and never dealt with them on the phone.

A solid nine. This axe is worth every penny and I would run it up against most acoustics in the 800-1000 dollar range. I compared this to some of the cheaper Martins and this guitar kicked butt in terms of overall tone every time. Carvin has been around forever and has a solid rep for building nice guitars. My next purchase will be a Carvin TL60.

Not much to speak of here. It's a basic dreadnought acoustic, what features could it really have? It does have a solid mahogany top and back, rosewood fingerboard and bridge. and Grover tuners. The ebony bridge pins are a nice touch, as is the abalone inlaid "Carvin" logo on the headstock. Nice binding and finish, but still a basic acoustic.

The guitar sounds awesome, as it should with a solid top and back. Not quite as good as the Martin D-15 I looked at also (which was about $200 more with a case), but still warm and full. I also looked at Carvin's C-550, which has a spruce top and rosewood back/sides, but I like the warm sound from the all-mahogany construction.

The guitar well set-up, with the exception of a slight buzz on the 1st fret low E string. I plan to have it set-up anyway with my preferred string guage, etc. The gloss finish looks great (and is a key reason I went with this guitar over the Martin). The mahogany is gorgeous. One problem I did notice is a tiny gap between the nut and the top of the fretboard. This doesn't seem to affect anything, though.

I think this guitar, as with any other guitar, will last forever if taken proper care of. It hasn't left the house so far and stays in its case when not in use, so I haven't really tested it yet. However, I am planning to get a band together and anticipate using it in live situations without any problems.

This is where Carvin has some problems. I haven't really had any problems with them, although the staff in their factory store didn't seem particularly interested in helping me until I walked to the cash register with the guitar. A friend of mine at work, however, recently bought one of their guitar kits and was given the run-around. I think the key is to avoid the factory store employees when looking for help. The guitar hasn't needed any repair work, so I haven't had an opportunity to test the warranty, which is an unspectacular 5 years.

I've been playing for about 10 years, and this is the first nice acoustic I've had. I bought a Fender American Std. Strat when I started playing, and that's always been my main guitar, but recently I've started playing more acoustic stuff so it was time to upgrade from my old beater. I shopped around for a few months before deciding to go with this guitar. The main competition for it was the Martin D-15, but I liked that this guitar had a thicker gloss finish which I think will stand up better than Martin's EXTREMELY thin satin finish. Tone-wise the MArtin had a slight edge, but the difference was really minute. As noted above, I bought the guitar from Carvin's San Diego factory store, which was a great deal ($419 for the guitar, $60 or so for a great hardcase, $515 all together including tax). If you live near one of Carvin's stores you should really check out all of the Cobalt guitars. There's another model (I forget which number), with a cedar top that I also strongly considered. Overall, a fantastic value considering the Martin D-15 which is almost identical features-wise goes for $200 more.