Carvin CM 140

This guitar is a couple of pounds heavier than my other guitars, indicating quality hardwood. It is a Les Paul body type, 22-poll humbuckers (each post is height adjustable),the entire height of the humbuckers is also adjustable. Ebony fretboard like the high end Gibsons with block inlays as well as beautiful inlays on the head stock. The tuners, bridge and stop piece are by Schaller. The bridge is height adjustable by loosing the strings and turning the thumb screws. The neck has a brass nut, 24 frets (medium jumbo), and is a neck through body design with no 'heal'. It is wired for either stereo or mono, has a three position toggle pickup selector, and three separate switches to split the coils and put them out of phase. it has a raised pick multi-ply pick guard and all the metal is gold. Two volume and one tone knob. Made in 1980 and retailed for around $480 with Carvin hard shell case.

This guitar can produce about pretty much any sound for any style. I muddied up the sound once by changing the set up and raising the pickups while lowering the strings. That was a mistake and I realized that I needed a hotter amp, not hotter pickups. It will get as close to a strat sound as you can get without a strat. I play metal and blues mostly from the 70's. I play it through a Peavy Classic 30, a Roland JC-50 (Jazz Chorus), and a Fender Blues Deville. Or any two amp combination since it is wired for stereo. About the only effect I use anymore is an occassional Ibenez tube screamer. This guitar will sustain a note way longer than most due to the neck through body design coupled with a fixed bridge and heavy hardwood. It has great tone from bottom to top and the bass strings are full, rich and clear. And it will scream. And everything in between.

It is flawless and plays as good as anything I have, if not better.

It is 30 years old and hasn't missed a lick. Very reliable and dependable. I hope to one day find a Carvin strat-style guitar at a good price. I would jump on it.

I bought it used and didn't know what all the bells and whistles were for. Emailed a picture to Carvin, and they gave me all the info I needed. They told me it was worth about $250. (10 or 15 years ago) I wouldn't take $800 for it. All the components are top of the line.

I've been playing for 30 years. I own two Fender American Made stratocasters-Californis Series, and a G&L Legacy. I was not in the market for a guitar when I played this one in a pawn shop. It was so clearly a high-end product at a low-end price, buying it was a no brainer. I love the the neck-thru-body heal-less design. I guess the only thing I would change is the block inlays. They are beautiful and showy, but ebony is such a good fretboard material it is a shame to route out so much of it. Abalone and Mother of Pearl are slick like maple and a string can slip out from under your finger during extreme bends with vibrato. This is a minor thing, but I had to try and find at least one thing critical to say. The weight is noticeably heavy, but that is a positive for tone/sustain.