Carvin CT3M California Carved Top

2004 Made in USA. 22 frets. The controlls are simple, just like any good quality instrument would have. You get volume, tone and in/out of phase switch. The feel of the neck is very good, but is a bit different. takes a few weeks to get used to, but once you do, you'll love it. The tuners are great. I gig a few times a week, and only have to tune up the instrument once every week or so. Way awsome, especially compared to my Ibanez that needs to be tuned every hour or so. If you buy it from one of the Carvin stores, it comes with a hard shell. Strings are almost a pleasure to replace. Again, great instument.

I play rock (all styles) and I can't say I've ever seen a better guitar than this one. It sounds best when plugged in directly into Fender Deville 212 (bright switch on). The sound is extremelly warm, yet very difined. On recordings, I dont suggest using this guitar for rhythm tracks too much, for it takes up a lot of room on the recording. when overdrived, the sound is extremelly rich, but lacks a bit of mids, so some definition is lost. Still sounds great. Highly recomended. I wouldn't want to play metal with it though. It's too classy.

Carvin makes great stuff! Very Solid and made with care. Much better than anything else for the price.

I've been playing with it for the last 6 month and I've only had to bust out my back-up once, a couple of weeks ago, because a string broke. Super Durable and stays in tune forever.

Never had to deal with them. (knock on wood)

I've been playing since the mid 90's. If the guitar wast stolen, I would ask Vito Corleone to take care of who ever stole it. Meanwhile, I would buy it again. Again, great price for a great instrument.

Factory pickups, Sperzels, ebony fretboard, moon inlays - ordered it exactly as it's pictured on Carvin's website (even the color scheme).

I'm using two completely different systems through which to play. My amp is a Hughes & Kettner Duotone combo (my only in-line effect is a rack mount Roland SDE-300 Digital Delay) and when my wife is watching tv, I plug into my Pod XT Live and toss on the headphones. I really enjoy the creamy tone of this guitar. The mahogany wood gives it a really rich tone. If I have a gripe, it's the apparent loss in volume when I switch the pickups out of phase. The "Strat" tone sounds really spanky, I just wish there wasn't such a noticeable difference in volume when switching the phase back and forth .

This thing was unbelieveable out of the box. The guy I talked with on the phone (Keith) when ordering told me it was going to be incredible and he was pretty much dead-on. Not only was the guitar great looking, I picked it out of the box and began playing almost immediately. It was so close to being in tune. The action is very low for a factory set-up and it plays very easily. I have noticed that string bends on the E string can sometimes get hung up on the underside edge of the fret when returning the string to original position (i.e. when I'm loosening the bend, sometimes the string gets hung up on the underside of the neck giving you that "oh-crap-I-can-really-play-better-than-this" sound and feeling) Maybe the ends/edges of the frets just need to be polished a bit.

This thing is as good as any other higher end guitar that I investigated buying in terms of reliability. The hardware seems solid and the finish looks like you could dive into it. I ordered it with strap locks (just in case) and they seem to be fairing nicely. I don't think gigging without a backup is a good strategy to begin with, so no offense to Carvin, but I'd always have one. One thing I have contended with on the CT3M is the lock nut around the input jack tends to loosen over time - that's kind of a pain...

I've not had to deal with CS, so I'm reluctant to address the issue.

I played for about 15 years then took a 12 year hiatus. I returned to playing last October and started basically where I left off, only I had to buy all new equipment again (having sold all the old stuff - long story). I went with a Carvin because I had always been on their mailing list as a teenager, and had always wondered what it would be like to own one. I was not disappointed. A critical review is just that - the good and the not-so-good. I've tried to be as objective as possible and have given myself since last October to play it, get a feel for it and really think about it honestly. Since purchasing the Carvin, I have also added a PRS Custom 24 10 top to my collection. Both guitars sound great and suit my playing style very well. Being a little further along in life has also allowed me to spend a little more on gear than I could in high school so the experience of playing instruments that are more finely crafted has been an absolute joy. I'd recommend a good hard look at a Carvin to anyone who may be even remotely interested in their guitars. I'll be holding onto this one.

Volume tone, stop tailpiece, 3+3 tuners. Hardshell case. Locking sperzel tuners. Medium jumbo frets.

The sound gets a 5 from me as it sounds very weak. The clean tone is too bright and the overdrive is way too bright. The pickups are not good, and the bezels are difficult to replace if you want new pickups.

Here's where the Carvin shines, it looks great. Fit and finish is the best I've seen but that doesn't add up to a good guitar! The only good thing is the actio n which is among the best I've tried. But even with the sperzels the necks are so unstable it's difficult to keep Carvins in tune.

Terrible reliability, I've owned several Carvins and there's always problems. The strings are never centered, the Tune-O-Matics buzz. Switches become noisy, cases break easily, straplocks get stripped from the body wood. I would assume this is due to the very light and weak wood they use!

They make you pay shipping back to them. Speak to you in a condescending manner, and ignore your concerns. Send guitars back in worse condistion than you sent them back, and sometimes new guitars have chips in the finish! They also tell you what is good, instead of listening to your ideas.

Overall I'd say stay away from this manufacturer. The guitars look good and play great, but sound horrible, don't last and the customer service is among the worst in the business!!

2004 CT3M. Finally, a 22-fret, set-neck, carved top Carvin. I sometimes wonder what took them so long. As a bonus, this toneful all-mahogany model was made available shortly after the introduction of the prom-queen CT6M with its figured maple top and resulting brighter and more fundamental tone. Although advertised as a 2-piece body, my CT3M arrived with a one-piece body (sorry Carvin, hope I don?t cause a flood of requests from customers). My options are a rosewood board, no inlays, stainless frets, black hardware, an H22N neck pickup, and clear finish with sunset burst edges.

I use the CT through a Vox Tonelab SE floorboard into a Carvin AG100D full range amp, or through a Vox AD30VT for home rehearsal and recording (yes, quality of the Vox modeling technology has led me to the dark side). I fully agree with the previous review that the all-mahogany construction of the CT3M lends a larger, rounder, sweeter tone and blooming attack to the guitar in comparison to its ebony and maple adorned brethren. The maple-topped specimens exhibit more high end, and snappier attack, and more overall presence. I prefer the more buttery tones of the CT3M, although your mileage may vary. As I described to the members of the Carvin BBS, it sounds like a chocolate-dipped sledgehammer in a velvet bag. The midrange is huge, and the highs and lows are sweet and balanced, and there is still plenty of presence on tap.

The C22B at the bridge is an animal, and I?m dumbfounded by reports that the pickup isn?t hot enough for some folks. Enormous is the only way to properly describe it. The H22N is fluid and sweet in this guitar, while still having quite a bit of top end and exhibiting a slightly horn-like quality. The middle position is a bit more jangly and poppy, and the tapped positions sound better than I expected. They are no substitute for a Strat, but I expected that too and would be a fool to expect otherwise (the maple-topped CTs are more adept at convincing single coil sounds). Sustain lives in spades, and the feel of the guitar is one of a perfect marriage between proven tradition and modern design. The neck is larger than the standard Carvin profile but by no means cumbersome. I can?t imagine a better guitar overall. There are no disappointments to be had.

The quality of the wood, construction, hardware, assembly and finish is about as perfect as humanly possible. I received a very lightweight piece of mahogany, just as I had requested. The one-piece body was an unexpected bonus. Mine has a TINY bump in the finish in the upper horn cavity, but all of my Carvins have had a small finish flaw somewhere. I attribute this to my uncanny ability to, without fail, get the single pit in the cherry pie, so to speak, and it doesn?t bother me in the least. I don?t play the finish. Everything else is a study in attention to detail. Carvin has this whole guitar assembly thing down to a science.

I forsee no issues here. Everything is of professional quality.

Eh?you never know. The best bet is to get a good referral from another Carvin customer and ask for them each time, or find one you like and stick with ?em. Otherwise you may be in for quite a treat. I once had a sales rep say very audibly under his breath as he was taking my order (l think he was having issues with the order system), ?Jesus f*#$ing Christ?. How?s that for great CS? Stick with one of the half dozen or so good guys, and you?ll be fine.

I?ve been playing for about 12 years, gig regularly, jam constantly, and occasionally do the studio fill-in thing for various acts. I?ve owned gear from damn near everyone, and Carvin guitars have yet to be beat for professional quality-to-value ratio and reasonably priced feature customization. This guitar is as good as any I?ve ever played, including PRS, Benavente, Warrior, McNaught, Baker, and Driskill. If you can live without the prestige of one of those brands (I sure can), then this is a no-brainer. Fantastic guitar.

This is Carvin's take on the PRS CE22, just released this year. The difference between this and the other Carvin Carved Tops listed on this site is that the CT3M is a solid Mahogany body. Other features are the same. C22's are the pickups of choice (dual humbuckers with a pull-split on the tone pot), with string-through-body and a tune-o-matic bridge. Sperzel locking tuners are standard on this model, and are outstanding for their feel and accuracy. This one is Jet Black, with silver appointments and abalone dot inlays on the ebony fingerboard. Purchased with SKB case, strap, picks, and truss rod wrench.

Quite honestly, while the mahogany body was a lot cheaper ($400), I played it side by side against the much more expensive flamed-top version, and found that the mahogany was a very different kind of tone. The flame maple top on the CT6M contributes A LOT of high end which I didn't care for. For my tastes, the CT3M is a much warmer sounding instrument, and much more reminiscent of the PRS tone. Perfectly suited for Rush, 3 Doors Down, or Nickleback, the tonal balance is excellent top to bottom, with a very nice low-end thump. This is a very chunky sounding axe. The single-coil is not real present, so it won't beat out my Brawley Strat-type for that one. I love the sound, but it's unfair to think it will do everything.

Quality of the finish, the fit and the setup is absolutely flawless. Nothing more needs to be said.

This is an amazing guitar, both structurally and sonically. the intonation is dead-on, "check it with a Peterson" perfect. This is the best playing instrument I have, and it has just recently unseated my previous number 1, a beautiful 91 Les Paul. It could use a couple of tweaks with the performing artist in mind, like recessed straplocks installed at the factory (Brawley did this, and it's a GREAT feature!). As for the last question, be serious; unless it can spontaneously grow a new string when broken, of course I would carry a back up.

Carvin is great. I've been with their products for a few years now, and their service is top drawer, after the sale. I found the staff in the store to be a bit pushy, and I sent a pretty clear message that I basically like to be left alone to shop for a guitar. Maybe this guy worked for Guitar Center too long...

I have played for over 25 years, and am currently the lead guitarist/frontman for STREAM. I currently play a couple of Gibsons, some custom Strat-type Brawleys, the Carvin, and have previously owned everything from Ovations to Ibanez, solids, acoustics, and arch-tops.

This is hands down the best playing guitar I have ever played, and will buy another one soon. I highly recommend it. It has all the beef of the Gibsons, with none of the tinny high-end sting. The amazing thing is that it is a puny 8 pounds!! very nice to play (OK, you Parker guys still beat me on this one!)