Carvin C-850

Fishman piezo pickup, cutaway, and abalone inlay around the sound hole. Spruce top and rosewood back and sides. The body is gloss finish, and the neck has a satin finish. The pickup is active; needs a 9 volt battery. I've had my guitar two years, and I haven't had to change the battery yet (though I don't use the pickup much). I'm giving it an 8 just because it could have more flash I suppose, but what else do you want?

It sounds great unplugged. For recording purposes, I defintely prefer to mic it rather than use the built in pickup. However, for live purposes, I'm content to use the Fishman pickup. I like it better than my Dean Markley sound hole pickup, but I may investigate soundboard mics in the future. A solid 9, though if we're talking about the electronics alone, I might bump it down to an 8.

The action was great when I got this guitar. I'm very picky about this. My first acoustic was set up exceptionally well, and before buying this guitar, I tried out several acoustics from Martin, Taylor, Epiphone, and Yamaha (maybe others, but these are the names I remember). The action is better than any of those I played in stores. That isn't to say that those other guitars could be set up to have the action I like, but at the time I played them, it wasn't the case. Out of the case, this was just how I like my guitars to feel. I couldn't ask for anything else from the finish quality

Everything is solid with one exception. I've had this two years and I already need a fret leveling. However, this probably can be put more on me playing it often than the quality of the frets. Fretwear is inevitable, but I don't remember my other guitar needing a fret leveling in two years. I've only been playing about eight years, so this is hard for me to guage.

I don't recall how long the warranty is. Carvin customer support can be hit or miss. I remember something being off when I ordered this and I commented on it when I filled out a customer survey. I was later given a 15% discount on my next order for the trouble I had to go through.

If this were stolen, I'd buy another one in a second. However, this is equipped with a SNAGG computer chip which is registered when you register the guitar. It's a nice little safeguard to have. I bought this one over other Carvin Cobalts for the cutaway and the pickup system. I'm so pleased with this guitar, that I am looking at buying Carvin's C350 which is the all mahagony model. It would make a nice backup or extra guitar for when friends come over and forget their acoustic. I'm also curious as to what kind of (full?) sound I'll get without the pickup compartment built into the side and without the cutaway. So okay, you won't get any "Made in America" pride when you buy this, but most guitars (or anything for that matter) aren't these days.

High quality acoustic guitar by Carvin but made in a Korean factory for cheap labor purposes. Has a fishman pickup that in my opinion is the highest quality acoustic pickup. It features a AA spruce top and rosewood back and sides. Must purchase case but that is also superior quality. Also has a nice cutaway which doesnt really serve a great purpose. But hell its an acoustic how many "features" can it possibly have?

Sounds very good especially when using a pick and strumming. Doesnt quite have the same response when fingerpicking as the bass notes do not really stand out like they should. All in all it DOES NOT sound like an expensive Taylor (at a cost of about $3000) but sounds much better than instruments costing double its price. This guitar REALLY shines when it is plugged in. I plugged it into my stack and it still retains its acoustic quality and has no feedback, no external noise and it just osunds incredible like this. I give it an 8.5 for live sound (even sounds better than my Martin) and a 10 for "juiced" sound.

The action, fit and finish is flawless. I could not find a single flaw and the action is incredible.

Guitar feels very solid. I hope the neck holds up against warpage in the future but we will see...

The people I dealed with over the phone arent the brightest stars in the sky but they did their best to help. Nice people....

If it were lost or stolen I would definately purchase another. In fact im going to purchase their 12 string jumbo sometime in the near future. I had read many reviews surrounding Carvin products over the past 10 years and finally my curiosity got the best of me when I was in the market for an acoustic-electric. I will definately be a repeat customer. Super high quality at a great price...if it had the name "Martin" on it , would cost $1800

This a Carvin C850 Cobalt Acoustic, made in Korea I believe and setup at the factory in San Diego, CA. It has a Engelman Spruce top, Rosewood back and sides, and has the Fishman Matrix pickup, with the Fishman Prefix preamp. It has a satin finish on the neck, and a high gloss finish on the body. It has a very fast playing neck with an excellent setup. It has Carvin Premium tuners which compare to Grovers, which are not top of the line, but very good nonetheless. It came with the truss rod wrench and a 1/4" cable.

I play at a church and do contemporary Christian music in a worship setting.

I am running through a Boss AD series processor which has an EQ, chorus, reverb and all the bells and whistles, and then going straight to the mixing board.

The sound is very full with the EQ on the guitar flat. I play it with the bass turned up just a hair, and it sounds beautiful. We have 2 other players with Martin acoustics, which feature the same pickup and preamp, with mahongany back and sides, and the Carvin sounds better to me, our Music Pastor and to others that run the sound board. I wouldn't slam the Martins by any means because they sound good, I was just looking for something comparable at a lower price range, and for $500 less I got a better sounding guitar, and a better case. SKB cases are the very best in my opinion. Martin cases have a black or brown Tolex covering that tears very easily. Cheap in my opinion for such a high priced instrument.

I don't readily give 10's for ratings, but I just have to in this instance. The sound I get from this guitar is nothing less than inspiring. It begs to be played plugged or unplugged. And for $715 with Fishman electronics and Rosewood back and sides, it deserves a 10! A great sounding guitar.

The guitar was set-up perfectly for me at the factory, I had no complaints. The neck was great, it plays all the way up and down the neck without any buzzes.

I have always thought that Mahogany was a prettier wood than Rosewood, but you just can't beat the sound of Rosewood, it is very full and bright. The high gloss finish on the Rosewood isn't necessarily the most beautiful thing to me, but if it sounds this good, I could care less.

I have had the guitar for 2 months now, and have played it during services just about every week. It is very solid feeling, and has a good finish. It has solid strap buttons on the tail and the neck heel. I feel like I can depend on this guitar, and would use it without a backup.

Haven't dealt with them on this guitar, and more than likely won't have to. It's got a 5 year warranty against construction defects. But from my experience with other purchases, I have been very pleased with all aspects of their company, and products.

I think Carvin makes great equipment for the working man, at lower prices factory direct. Most people who have bought Carvin products are repeat customers, sheerly because of the quality, affordability, customer service, and because they deliver what they promise in their catalogs and on their website. And they make things right when things go wrong with shipping, or order mishaps. Read some of the other articles on thier customer service, and 99% are from very satisfied customers. And I am proud to be one.

I have been playing guitar for around 18 years, and have owned Yamaha and Takamines, and they do not even compare to this guitar, in contruction, sound quality, playability, or looks. I love everything about the guitar, but especially the sound plugged in, which is top notch.

We usually play some CD's at the end of our services, and one service I started to play a song and was later told by someone that they thought it was a CD, becuase the sound quality is that good!!!!

You will not find a better sounding acoustic/electric guitar for $659 guaranteed!!! Try it out, they have a 10 day trial for all of their products.

This guitar is made in korea, but made with the same standards that Carvin's US factory builds its guitars with. The body is Rosewood with a beautiful dark grain. The top is standard spruce, also with some nice grain to it. It has a very complex, but very sweet sounding Fishman Matrix/Prefix-Plus pickup. The tuners are Grover and very sweet, they hold a tune beautifully, and are a sinch when tuning is necessary. It also came with a strap button at the base of the neck, a great service to the customer!

The sound is explosive and rich unplugged. The notes shimmer when fingerpicked, and when strummed with a flatpick the sound seems to bring the instrument alive. You can feel the vibrations throughout the body -- right down to the fretboard. When listening to the chords, the sound is crisp and clear, and lets you hear each individual note in all of its beauty! The clarity impressed me! I chose to buy a new accoustic because I needed to be able to fill a descent size room without amplification when leading worship, and my old Ibanez accoustic certainly couldn't cut it. This guitar provided beyond my expectations! Compared to most of the martins, taylors, takamine, and ibanez guitars sold around the $1000 range sounded MUDDY compared to this $669 carvin!

The action on this guitar is incredible. I've actually been trying to decide which is lower, the action my accoustic or on my carvin DC200 (which as most of you know is reknown for it's low action and fast neck). The action stays low right up to the 20th fret (which is very easy to reach thanks to the cutaway.

The case provided by carvin does a wonderful job of protecting the guitar. It sits very snugly in. The guitar itself I have not had any trouble with, and knowing carvin i'm sure it can withstand just about anything i throw at it. Plus, carvin provides a 5 year full service warantee, so you know they stand behind the quality of their work.

I'm very satisfied with Carvin's service in the past and currently

To find a guitar of comprable value, you would need to start looking at taylors or martins, forget takamine or ibanez. And even then, you would have to look easily at a $2000 taylor or martin at that! The tone on this guitar is incredible crisp, rich, and full! I understand that most people do not like mail order guitars, but this is my second one from carvin, and each time I am blown away! You will not be sorry if you purchase one of their cobalt acoustics!

Don't want to repeat everyone but I do want to say that the AA top is closer to AAA. the back and sides also look as good as my Gibson J-45. I don't give it a 10 because I wish they came standard with a strap pin on the neck. I sweat beed every time I put those in a guitar (sidebar: never tie your strap to the head stock, within a year you'll have a buzzing on your high strings because the neck has warped).

I bought this guitar as the Full Drop D guitar for my stage shows. I have a Gibson J-45, a Larravee D-50, a Custom Martin. When the guitar arrived I quickly took off the Elixor strings (I think Martin SP strings sound better), and tune it up to DADDDD, The tone was increadable. I retuned it to drop D (DADGAE) and used it that weekend for about a third of our set.
You can't really compare the sound with my Larravee because that mahogany so it apples to orenges (my Larravee is my standard tuned guitar normally).
If my Gibson J-45 was stolen, I'd cry then go replace it with another carvin C-850 because for a third the price, I'd get the same sound and carvins come standard with better pickups. (fishman prefixes are the best on the planet, you don't even need a mic if you've find the right eq).
my martin is 20 years old so it has a better sound because of age, give my carvin a couple years and I'm sure it'll get that good.

the action alone give this guitar a 10 in this area. I can play 32nd notes at the 12th fret, but won't buzz no matter how strong I play.

the finish is good too

good case, it's the deluxe SKB case. if you don't like those then get a different one but you get a 125 dollar case for 59 bucks when you get this guitar. as far as durability, how strong is a guitar, if you don't hit it agenst your stage you should be fine.

call Scott, Extention 127... he'l hook you up. I'm sure the other support guys are good too but scott was great so no bad taste in my mouth

if all my guitars were stolen, replace them all with carvin c850s and c750 (Mahogany model). they are a fraction of the cost of any other professional guitar company and sound just as good. the action is as good as an electric.

look good sound great... no I'm not a carvin promo guy, I'm just a very satisfied customer.

I will not go into too many of the features, because everyone else pretty much hit them. Mine is a 2003 model with the Fishman electronics mentioned, Grover tuners, tusque saddle, Rosewood sides and back, solid AA spruce top. It had the fast play neck. Dovetail joints for the neck to give it excellent sustain, as well as X bracing. They like you to buy the case for protection in shipping. Not a bad idea, but the case is the only poor feature. I am going to give it a 9 for features for a guitar in its price range (if it had had something other than a plastic nut, it would have made a solid 10..but it still sounds great and has excellent sustain), but if I had to rate the case it would be a 2. It is ABS and the inside is cheaply done. A musicians friend dreadnaught tweed case for the same price blows the case away!

I love the sound. I played mostly Alvarez prior to this, and while Alvarez are great guitars, this one sounds better than any Alvarez I have played. I play mostly Christian Contemporary and Worship Music. It has great sustain, has great depth. It seems to handle all ranges quite well, and sounds better than many Martins I have heard. While it may not be a $2000 Taylor, Yairi, or high end Martin, it blows others in its price range away.

The action and fit was super. Everything was put together well, and not a sign of glue anywhere. It was setup up perfect on arrival. They really do well in the setups. One minor complaint was that the volume was cranked. I didnt check (stupid I know) and sent it into feedback city when I first tested it with an amp. I only gave this a 7 because mine came with a minor cosmetic flaw on the spruce top. There was an inch and a half scratch or crack that was finished over. They sent me out a new one and it was flawless, and luckily it played and sounded as close to identical as you can get, so I am happy, but since it took a second try I had to lower the rating a bit.

I have used it at Church so far. It is very well made and I have no doubt it will hold up well as long as it is treated well. It is quite sturdy. I will let you know more later., but I think it will be fine since it uses all quality parts.

These guys have great support. When I called about the scratch the apologized like crazy and asked when they could pick it up and get me a new one out, before I even asked. I explained that I had just sold my Alvarez and only had an old non electric for a backup and needed something to play for services the next two weekends. He told me it wasn't a problem, play it Sunday and UPS would be there Monday. They refunded the price and placed a new order and gave me free upgrade to 3 day shipping to ensure I would have the new one for the following weekend. I did have to go 2 days without, but not bad considering the alternative was to just send it back across country and probably have a 2 week turn around time.

I have been playing a couple years, bnut I have dabbled for years. I got serious a a year ago and since then I play regularly. I also own a Harmony Marquis Acoustic, just sold my last Alvarez acoustic, and I also own an Epiphone Les Paul Quilt Top. I only wish I has skipped the case. It suffice for now, but mine gets transported a lot and I want a little more padding and soemthing that feels more solid. Other than that, I would be very mad if it was stolen and would buy another. I tried some other Alvarez's, Ovations and a couple Martins before deciding that I liked this better in sound and price. The only thing I would like to see are a few options like, bone nut, optional Fishman Stereo Blend electronics etc. But all and all I am more than pleased.

This is a solid spruce top acoustic with Fishman Prefix Pro electronics and cutaway body style for access to the upper frets.

This is a decent sounding guitar but lacks depth and low-end resonance. Other reviews compared it favorably to some of the Taylor guitars, but the one I received was not as rich sounding. I enjoyed playing it, but when I compared it to my Guild F40 the Carvin sounded much less resonant. It was closer to my Ovation in sound.

There was some string buzz on the low E string. I requested that the guitar be set up so that I could tune it in DADGAD and dropped D tunings so that they wouldn't set it up with the action too low to allow alternate tunings. The finish of the guitar was very good.

The guitar was well made and appeared durable.

I've been playing acoustic guitar for over 30 years and own two 6-strings and two 12-strings. This guitar is made for Carvin by a shop in Korea. I discovered that Ibanez has a nearly identical model, the Artwood Dread AE-100, which sells for $489 at the Guitar Center. There were 2 of them at the local store and one played and sounded better than the Carvin while the other one was about the same as the Carvin. I suspect there is some variation in the C850 models as well and I may not have gotten one of the better ones. The Ibanez has a different neck and different Fishman electronics, but it is made in Korea and appears to be nearly identical in body design and construction. The 2 guitars must be made by the same manufacturer in Korea. For $150 less, the Ibanez is a good deal and one of the models I played had a richer tone. However, I decided that this wasn't the guitar I wanted and I sent the guitar back to Carvin. I will keep looking and will probably end up spending a lot more to get a decent Taylor, Martin or other brand with a richer tone than the Carvin. It's a decent guitar, but so is the Ibanez and that one is a bargain for the money. What I've learned from this experience is that there are quite a few decent sounding guitars available for less than $800, but you need to spend more than that for a really good sounding instrument.

2002 Korean Carvin Cobalt Series C-850... 20 Frets, AA blonde spruce top, Fishman matrix series piezo pickup running through a Fishman Prefix plus preamp. Rosewood back and sides with gloss finish. Grover tuners, abalone rosette, dot neck inlays.

As a performer, I purchased this guitar because I wanted the Fishman pickups... Of course, Fishman makes the best sounding highest quality piezo pickups and preamps out there... They beat the heck out of Ovation OP-24s and anything Gibson or Fender can put out. Since I couldn't afford a Taylor (which also uses the Fishman gear), I "settled" for the Carvin Cobalt series. What surprised me was that this guitar has a natural sound that is killer to start with... the wood in this guitar just sparkles and makes you all tingly inside when you hear the music it makes. Coupling that with the Fishman electronics, and you can't do wrong. Tons of options to modify the sound with the pre-amp too... but of course, its not necessary. I play through several different rigs... Running straight to a board and out through a PA or into a recorder sounds nice... My favorite rig, however, is to run it through my Tech21 Sansamp Acoustic DI (makes it a bit fuller sounding) and then through my Behringer V-Amp2.. adding just a little bit of chorus and compression... and then out through a standard 4x12 cabinet with vintage speakers... It makes sounds so heavenly that you wouldn't know one guitar was capable.

Setup stright out of the case was perfect. Very low action, better than my Fender Strats! Grover tuners stay in tune even after a long session using the capo. Elixir strings are solid GOLD! Did I mention the Fishman electronics kick ass? Top is pretty standard... its not the most beautiful top I've ever seen, but of course, I didn't pay $2000 for it either... Rosewood sides and back are absolutely beautiful... wish the audience could see the back all the time instead of the front.

I play it live... it lives still... Of course, I haven't put any stickers on it, or smashed it with a hammer yet.. I'll let you know if my opinion changes... Nice finish... came with the bottom strap button (which is also the jack)... DID NOT come with a top strap button... had to drill it myself... a slight annoyance... but I guess some people like tying a string to the top and warping the neck... I just don't.

I have made more transactions with Carvin than I can possibly count. I've bought everything from sound equiptment to guitars, and all I can say is... they rock! They always deliver excellent quality merchandise at a fantasticly low price, and I've never been disappointed... never had to return anything... never had to complain.

I've been playing for about 6 years, and performing for 4... I have an Ovation shallowbody that I've played for almost 2 years, and it was nice... but the sound nowhere compares to the Carvin C-850... and they are in the same price range. I'm selling the Ovation. I wish it had more choices in top design or maybe a sunburst finish... but such is life... and for under $800 it beats the living hell out of a $2000 Taylor on price... and is at least equal in sound and performance. If you were thinking about purchasing a Carvin, do it... its worth every penny.

Acoustic dreadnought single cutaway made in 2001. Made in Korea. 20 medium frets. Beautiful solid bookmatched spruce top. Fishman Matrix pickup and Fishman Prefix Plus preamp with volume, notch filter, bass, countour with frequency sweep, treble and brilliance. Gorgeous rosewood back and sides. 1 piece mahogany neck with satin finish. Top, back and sides glossy finish. Tortoise pick guard. Appears to an ebony or dense rosewood bridge. Rosewood fingerboard with MOP dots. Chrome plated Grover tuners. Medium-thin comfortable bound neck and headstock. Rosewood headstock veneer. 25.4" scale. Top and back are bound. Abalone rosette. Case was $59 with purchase and made by SKG I beleive.

I've been playing for 30 years and believe me when I say this is the most beautiful sounding guitar I have ever played. That's a statement I don't make lightly. The rosewood give it sparkling highs and the shear size of the box reinforces the deep bass. Midrange frequencies shine right through. I plugged it into my Tubeworks 112 combo and played for a total of about 1 hour. The Fishman system is remarkable in it's ability to pick up the full spectrum and deliver it to the amp in a totally neutral way. I found that the flat settings are pretty much what this guitar sounds like unplgged. The plugged-in tone was slightly electronic sounding. That's my only complaint regarding the tone. I rarely plug in so no big deal for me.
I have a friend that bought a Taylor and after playing the Carvin, it was easy to critisize the Taylor. The workmanship was nowhere near that of the Carvin and the tone was far an away the clear winner. The Taylor sounded dull and lifeless in comparison and at almost 3 time the price, I was extremely pleased with my purchase and had a few clams leftover.

Action was high, but a little adjustment of the truss rod brought it down nice and low. I managed to get it pretty low before fret buzz set in. It's extremely easy to play and easy on the pads as well thanks to the Elixir NanoWebs (which I'm now hooked on). The choice woods used on this instrument are top quality. The beautiful blond spruce looks like Engleman; supposed to be AA but probably closer to AAA. Nice tight grain and perfect bookmatch. The rosewood is gorgeous - dark brown with black stripes - very dramatic. It has a herring bone inlay down the back. Here is the worst part of this instrument: the frets are not as perfectly polished as the Carvin San Diego shop produces and the bridge had very sharp edges. The frets would require a pro to finish up the ends of the wires. I left them as-is; no problem for me. As for the bridge, I simply masked the entire bridge with heavey paper and tape and sanded the edges round with some fine sandpaper and finished with some super fine grit stuff. That's it! No other prblems of any kind.

I wouldn't dream of putting this baby to any test of endurance, but judging by it's stout construction, I would say it could hold it's on with the best of 'em. Hardware is nice and sturdy. The Grovers are smooth and this guitars has stayed in tune since the day I first tuned it up. And by the way, sounds low down and swampy tuned down. The Fishman preamp is well made and swings out for battery changes. The strap button doubles as the cable jack.

They are as helpful and responsive as can be. I've contacted them prevoiusly regarding their instruments made in San Diego and have gotten satifying service. Guitars are warranted for 5 years against defects on parts and labor. 10 day money back guarantee.

Been playing 30 years. I own a slew of other gear including 4 other Carvins (all made in San Diego). The quality of this instrument goes beyond that of the USA made Carvins. It is truley amazing. I would not hesitate to get another if It were lost/stolen/destroyed. I love to just look and hold this thing. Best thing since women! I have written some pretty incedible pieces just from the inspiration it's given me. It has brought out the best in my playing. It has everything I want and need in an acoustic guitar: intense beauty, incredible tone and sensitivity, and easy, comfortable playability. You've probably noticed I've rated all but 1 catagories a 9. I don't hand out 10's as a matter of course, but I do have to reiterate; this instrument is the best looking, sounding and playing guitar I have ever had the pleasure of putting my hands on. Highly recommended!