Carvin CT3M California Carved Top

Mine is a Carvin CT3 with a nicely-bookmatched mahogany body, string-through, with a TOM bridge, SS frets, birdseye maple fretboard, locking tuners with pearloid buttons, and stock carvin pickups (chrome at the neck, zebra at the bridge - makes for a nice look). Pretty straightforward electronics with a 3-way switch and a coil tap. I'm not sure if mine was wired incorrectly, built this way on purpose, of if I'm just going nuts, but when I pull the push/pull tone pot, I get humbucker tone, and not single coil. This seems backwards to me, but whatever. Not a big deal, and I can always switch it I suppose.

Anyway, this guy as all the features I need. Taking off a point for the weird coil tap, but this is a first-class guitar and it seems very versatile.

Sounds good overall. The coil tap, though backwards it may be, delivers workable single-coil tones. I rarely find this to be the case. In fact, the only tapped humbucker I've ever gotten along with is my lace sensor dually, but that's really a different animal. Anyway, I don't get the strat single-coil neck sound that I love, but you can find something pretty close.

As for the stock Carvin pickups, some love 'em, some hate 'em, and I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm a big fan of the neck pickup. It has all the warmth and clarity that I'm looking for in the position. I haven't been as happy with the bridge position though. Sounds a bit thin to me, and not very complex (not sure if that's the word - basically, to me it lacks what some would call character). Sounds a little one-dimensional, if that makes any sense at all.

I think that the other major factor on tone, after pickups, is scale. I like the PRS scale, some don't. I like that it sounds kinda in-between the traditional Fender and Gibson scales, while others see that as bland or limited. For me though, it's just right.

Taking off a few points for the weak bridge pickup, which I'll most likely replace with something a bit hotter.

Yep, the guitar sounds great. However, here's where it excels. Aesthetically, it's just stunning. The birdseye maple board is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. The stainless frets are well-polished without any sharp ends. The deep cherryburst finish was perfectly applied. The mahogany body was expertly bookmatched, with a really interesting grain pattern. I can't find a flaw in the finish, workmanship, or wood grain. Absolutely beautuful!

More importantly, the playability is off the charts. Low action, great neck carve, perfect balane on a strap (weight and balance remeind me of a PRS McCarty). You know the feeling when you pick up an instrument and it just feels solid? That's what this has going on.

I don't hand out many 10's, but if I could, this category would go to 11.

I haven't owned it long, so I really can't rate this category. But, it's built like a tank, and I can't imagine there will be problems. I have no doubt that it will withstand live playing (that is, as soon as I swap out the bridge pickup).

Again, can't rate this category. I didn't order this from the factory; I bought it used.

I've been playing for longer than I like to think about, and I've owned it all. As noted above, I love the look and feel of this instrument. I'd put the quality, feel, and playbility up there with my PRS Custom 22.

As stated, the only 2 problems I have are the strange wiring for coil tap, and the weak bridge pickup. I'll take off one point for each and settle on an 8, but I'm a tough judge. This is an amazing guitar, and I'm very glad that I made the decision to purchase it. We'll be together for a long time.

My CT3M is a clear gloss mahongany finished body, neck and headstock. The CTM3 has sperzel locking tuners, and has Carvin's C22J neck pickup and C22B bridge pickup. It has the basic volume control with the tone control having a push pull for splitting the pickups for single coil or humbucking. The controls for this guitar are very active meaning the actually infuence the sound. The CT3M is a 2009 model.

I play a mixture of blues, jazz and rock with the CT3M, and it suits the different styles. The neck pickup is very warm sounding, but with the tone control set in single coil can punch. The bridge pickup is great for leads, and is able to cut through easily the mix.
I have been playing this guitar through a Fender Deluxe Reverb with a Zoom G7.1ut pedal.

The CT3M came shipped still in tune which was a suprised to me. The finish is flawless. Looked it over many times under lighting, trying to find something wrong. The fretboard is ebony, and is very quick / easy action. Ease to play. I have been a guitarist for over 44 years so I was looking for a problem, and could not find any. The Mahogany clear gloss finish is perfect especially in the quality of the wood used.

I have played and owned Carvin guitars in the past without any problems. I know the CT3M will hold up to hours of playing without giving any problems. It is solid built with not one thing looking or feeling cheap. The CT3M is USA built , and the luthier can be very proud of his art done on this guitar.

I have used Carvin products since the early 80's , and have known their products to be very good and reliable. No breakdowns. I have written e-mails to the Carvin Company with less than one day e-mail return information. I have never had a problem with the phone service either. They were always eager to help or answer my questions.

CT3M is a superior built custom shop guitar. The quality of this guitar is representative that the luthier takes great pride in creating this work of art. I have been guitarist for over 44 years. My guitars used and owned were all top level models from Gibson, Fender, G & L, Gretsch, Epi Elitist, and Ovation. The Carvin CT3M is clearly the leader of the pack.

This was put of the Carvin In Stock Room It is the Standard CT3 config with C.22J and C22B pickups and splitter. The only extra was the Tobacco Burst color. I give it a 7 only because it did not have all the extra's, not due to anything that Carvin did.

I do not get what others do here. Maybe they have improved their pickups in the last year or two? Maybe it is just preference. these pickups sound great. They are very articulate and can ccover all kinds of ground. they sound Great clean or with distortion. they are fairly hot and will get you in the PRS tonal range for fair change less.

This guitar was flawless. It is a thing of beauty. It looks stunning in all aspects. I have yet to find a flaw in the finish. The setup was great out of the box. Fairly low and intonation was spot on. So why 9 and not a 10? This one is quite heavy. They claim a half pound less than a Les Paul at 8.5 pounds, but it is closer to the heavy Les Paul range of 10 pounds. But, much like the Gibsons, you do get heavy ones from time to time.

I am sure all will hold up well. Carvin's are built like a tank (I have owned 4). I will add strap locks, but the buttons are sturdy and the hardware seems fine. I have never had an issue with the pots or switches in a Carvin.

I have only had good experiences with their support. I hade a Cobalt come in damaged once and they took care of me with in a week, new guitar in hand. A pickup dies (an AP1l) in a bolt..which is a rtare occurrence, and again, they took care of it..no questions asked. My only issue is that they are slow responding to emails and sometimes you have a long hold time on the phone.

I give it a 10 overall. It is a tad heavy, but that may also add to the tonal character I love. I play Christian Pop and Rock and some classic rock. I even dabble in some heavier stuff at times. This overs it all for me.

My CT3 has a very nicely matched mahogany body, sperzel tuners(nice!), stainless frets, transparent finish, and abalone dot inlays.

Lots of sustain and really hot pick-ups. Someone commented that their's had no vibe, I can kind of relate. But then again I've owned mostly strats so I think I just miss the snappy articulation of a bolt on neck. The pick-ups are suprisingly balanced and I am loving the rich harmonics I can pull out of it. I don't have much use for the coil splitting feature, compared to real single coils.

The action needed a little adjustment for my likings. The medium jumbos are just right, enough for metal but not to bulky for blues,funk, and jazz. The 12" radius is very comfortable as well. The fret work is stellar, I've experienced no fret buzz and they are smooth. The finish is spotless and the grain is beautiful. It's the sunset burst which is well done. There is a little spot at the top of the nut where the head begins that is bare unfinished wood, but it's barely 1/32" of an inch that you can see on each side of the truss rod cover. That is the only flaw I can find and I can honestly say this is the cleanest and tightest guitar I've ever owned. The strings through the body and bridge set up is much more reliable then what prs offers.

I've owned this guitar for over 2 years and have put well over 1000 hours on it. It looks just as good as the day I recieved it. I know people who own PRS and they don't hold up as well. The stainless frets hardly show any wear and nothing has given out yet. Compared to my American Deluxe strat, this thing is indestructable. Just quickly examining the guitar you can see that it's quality, solid construction.

The service was just fine 2 1/2 years ago when I bought this but I recently bought an Ultra V and their was a problem with billing. I paid 10% down and requested that they don't automatically bill me because I needed a couple of weeks, the rep said it was taken care of but I was charged. A guitar tech acted a little annoyed with my questions one time but that's it. A lot of other people seem to have had bad experiences too.

I've owned Ibanez and Fender guitars and they are pretty much mass produced junk. PRS and gibson are over-priced. I've bought two carvins and they kick ass, no signifigant complaints with either guitar. They don't rely on brand hype and image, I think they are trying to compete by making quality products, not dressed up fluff. There are nicer guitars but they cost much more and are handmade. Being factory direct cuts out the distributor and dealer mark-ups and that is at least half the shelf price.

All mahogany body - 2 piece, but they did a really nice job of grain matching. Finished in gloss natural w/cherry burst. Chrome hardware, ebony board/dot inlays. Very basic CT3M. Only option was the burst finish. If you're reading this, you know the rest.

I play mostly 70's and 80's rock through a Marshall DSL50 head and cabinet with Vintage 30's. I have a lot of different pedals, but normally I play using no effects. The sound of this guitar with the Carvin pickups was ok with the bridge p/u, lousy using both pickups, and total crap with the neck pickup. The coil splitter made the guitar sound even worse. Seymour Duncan's favorite combination made a world of difference, and for that reason, I am rating this guitar as a 9 in sound. With factory Carvin pickups, the guitar basically sounded like s**t, and I would have rated it a 3. I also have a Fender Custom Classic strat and a Les Paul Custom. As other reviewers have said, the Carvin sounds like neither, but (with the Duncans) it has a very nice tone of its own.

I have read where others receive their Carvins perfectly set up, and even in tune right from the UPS truck, but that was far from my experience. Although it needed a complete setup including truss rod adjustment, I am not marking it down, as both of my other guitars were set up like crap as well from the factory.

I looked long and hard at the details such as fretwork, finish, nut cut, pickup selector, etc., and I have to say that my Carvin is better in fit and finish than either of my other two guitars.

The solid, plain mahogany is much prettier IMHO than the quilt or flame, but to each his/her own.

The CT3M seems as if it will be in it for the long haul. Time will tell, as I have only had it for 3 months. I can only hope, as if my experience with Carvin for repairs is as bad as my experience in purchasing this, I'm in for a tough time. (surly, bad attitude sales guy)

Standard strap buttons were replaced with straplocks, as they are the only way to go.

No issues and no repairs so far.

Carvin is completely clueless on customer service. Every time I have called them (I own a Carvin bass purchased new as well) I feel like I have landed in the middle of a Keystone Kops episode. I even wrote a detailed letter to the president of Carvin, and sent it overnight and via fax. No response, even though I included home address, phone, work phone, fax, etc.

A fish rots from the head down.

I have been playing for close to 35 years. Guitar is just for fun, as I am a bass player predominantly. I have 7 guitars/basses, and two of them are Carvin. Although I like them both, I doubt I will buy from them again, as their service and attitude just sucks.

Although I really have an attitude about the company, I would have to say that this is a pretty good guitar, as long as you're willing to get rid of the sh***y Carvin pickups. The feel of the neck and the action is very very good, and the finish is basically flawless.

In the spirit of HC wanting a CRITICAL opinion, I've done a fair bit of bashing here, but deservedly and rightfully so.

My California carved top was just built and delivered (Dec. of 2006) and has a quilted maple top, on Mahogany back. At the time I placed my order, I requested a more blistered figure rather than longatated quilting. Great job to the guy in the wood selection department, this top is among the nicest I've seen. The finish is the deep triple-step tiger's eye with sunset burst. I had the back and neck painted gloss black. The finish was buffed and polished to a high luster. One little flaw on the top, a touch of black found its way under the lacquer (very minor)and hardly detectable against the burst edge. I went with the Tune-O-Matic bridge, as I'll be using this guitar for recording, and don't want the headaches of tuning problems. The tuners are Sperzel locking type. This is my first experience with these tuners, so far I very impressed. The neck and frets are perfect for my (sausage-like) fingers. The fretboard is ebony, with perfect tight grain and pure black throughout. The block inlays on the fretboard are abalone, all with great color and figure. I had the zebra style pickups installed, and opted for the M22 pickups, which are the more aggressive ones that Carvin offers. I ordered the plastic molded case, which appears to cater to many different strat-style guitar bodies. I'm not impressed with the interior, as it doesn't seem to fit too well around the body of my guitar (fairly sloppy).

I write, record, and play hard rock music. This guitar suits my style well. The sustain is like nothing else I have experinced, and I've owed 8 Les Pauls! I'll attribute this to the strings going through the body (no tail piece), and the low bridge position in the body. The sound is amazing, even acoustically it's got great resonance, sustain and tone. I use a Line 6 Pod and Pro Tool Mbox 2 for recording, and the guitar is very quiet with this application. Between the two pickups and volume control, there is plenty of sonic diversity, and the clarity is great.

The action on my guitar when it arrived was too high for my taste, and no, it wasn't in tune out of the case like I've read of other Carvins. I re-strung the guitar with Ernie Ball Hybrids, lowered the action, adjusted the intonation and made a slight adjustment to the truss rod... aside from some minor fret buzz (undetectable when recording), it plays like a dream. The bridge pickup was set a little low, so it too got a slight adjustment. The fret work is perfect, just a few flaws where the black paint meets the edge of the fretboard. The body binding which is created by the natural maple end of the top, is perfect, much to my surprise. Great job taping it off where it meets the burst edge and black sides. The top is perfectly book-matched, and bridge routing is perfect as well. The only flaws I could find in the finish are a little speck of black under the lacquer on the top (hardly noticable against the burst edge), and what appears to be some wood fill (slightly discolored) on the top. I've been a cabinetmaker for twenty years, so I know what to look for in quality woodworking. I was hard-pressed to find anything else wrong with this guitar!

While this guitar may never see the stage, I'm confident it could withstands years of road-wear. The finish is deep with luster. The back is painted gloss black and is buffed and polished to a mirror finish. The lacquer on the top is flaw-less... no pits, orange peel, sags, etc. This guitar is very well thought out. The body scallop on the back and carved top lend nicely to resting against my body and forearm. The weight and balance are perfect. The neck shape is full, but very comfortable and fast, not chunky. I used to spend a ton of time tuning my guitars... this guitar stays in tune, now that's a first!!!

Ordering a guitar from the manufacturer is something I've never done before. I've always bought a guitar I could play and hear. The fact that Carvin allows you to "test drive" the guitar they build for you for ten days says something. This guitar has exceeded my expectations in so many ways. The salesperson I ordered it from was professional, and knowledgable. I originally ordered it to have a clear back, showing the Mahogany. A couple of weeks after placing my order, I decided to change that to be painted black. They were very receptive to my change, and other than an addition charge, they had no problem making the change. There unique method of tracking the fabrication process was really helpful in knowing where the guitar was in production, simply by logging on to their website... great feature. The only problem I had with their service was near the end of completion. I called a couple of weeks in advance of it being done, to pay for it in full. My payment never got processed, and it didn't ship when it was scheduled to. A few phone calls on my part to get things back on track, and all was good... no harm, no foul.

I've been playing guitar for over twenty years. I've owned Carvin amps before, but never a Carvin guitar. I would highly recommend taking a look at this guitar. It easily stacks up to other carved top models. While this guitar was being built, I spent countless hours online, looking at other guitars... B.C. Rich, Dean, Gibson, PRS, Jackson, Hamer, etc. I can honestly say I made the right choice with Carvin! I'm really impressed at how good the guitar looks and plays, I wouldn't change a thing.

This is for the 22-fret, all mahogany version with C22N and C22B stock pickups, bought new in March 2006 with hard shell case. I went for the sunsetburst and abalone dot inlays as is often pictured in the catalog. I've not done a lot of electric playing, so based my purchase on recommendations of friends and other reviewers here. I'm just now submitting a review, because I wanted to play it for a good 6 months before commenting. Other reviewers have compared this guitar to the PRS Standard 22, and after demoing one at the store, I agree. This guitar also has the ebony fingerboard and Sperzel tuners, which the PRS does not, so I'm very happy with my choice. Carvin is mail-order only, but allowed me to add the optional tung-oiled neck, which is silky smooth and more like a US Strat, compared to the painted necks of Gibsons. Short of a true hand-made custom, what else do you want!

I use this guitar for recording and live performance almost exclusively with a worship band. Style-wise we hit all over the map to contemporary P&W, rock, blues, and jazz. I play through a DOD multi-effects pedal directly to the house PA, and this guitar covers
quite well. The pickups are very clean and have great shimmer on soft passages or strums. I especially like the C22B, which has good character and bite with sustain, but is not too metally. The neck p/u does not have as much life, but is ok for some jazz settings I use, hence the 8 rating. Carvin now makes this guitar with the C22J, so maybe has improved the neck p/u from mine. Overall, I love the full, rich sound of this guitar and the full range responsiveness of the electronics and pickups (both loud-soft, clean-dirty, low-high).

The natural mahogany w/sunsetburst, cream/black pickups...mmm...this guitar is drop-dead gorgeous, and is very classy-looking for my
types of performance. As with supermodels...much better in person than the catalog pictures. The weighting and balance are great for my left hand. The action and set-up were perfect, right out of the case after shipping to me. Through Carvin I also got the optional tung-oiled neck, which is silky smooth and I love it. My only cosmetic complaint is the tiny bead of glue visible at the neck-body joint. This seems like an obvious easy fix for the builder, so I'm baffled at why it wasn't caught. The only thing I can thing of is that the tung-oil neck somehow prevented complete sanding of the joint, since a painted neck would have easily covered the glue bead.

I've played it for 6 months now without mishap, but only time can tell for years. The pickup selector switch seems to have a little play in it, but since I'm not well-versed in electric guitars, that may be pretty common. Since I'm not a touring performer I don't need (or have) a backup. The Sperzel tuners are fantastic and seem to be built like tanks.

After reading other reviews of Carvin customer service, I was wary. I did my research and made sure I knew what I wanted before calling and walked the rep through it all without any problem. The actual delivery was within a few days of the predicted date I was told. It takes about 6 weeks to do a build-up, so buyers should not be in a hurry. Experienced buyers who know what they want may do well with Carvin, but inexperienced buyers may have trouble understanding the choices to get what they want, especially without a shop to see/play one.

I've been playing acoustic guitar and mandolin for over 10 years, own or have played many good-quality Martins and other hand-built brands, and know the feel and vibe of a professional quality instrument. This is my first electric, although I've borrowed Strats, Teles, and a Steinberger Spirit from friends. I love the classy look, tung-oil neck, ebony fingerboard, tuners, and rich sound of this axe. The action is smooth and superb. My biggest complaint is the so-so neck pickup is not as full-bodied as I'd like. After trying the PRS 22 out, I really fell in love with it(vs. a US Strat, which I debated for quite a while), then decided the Carvin look-alike was worth taking a chance on and saving me big $. I've been really happy with my decision. Great value for the $, if you can be patient, do your research, and know what you want.

Made in the US of A by machine robots and people robots. There is no way that a person with any vision couldn't have seen how badly this guitar looked. Nice bridge pickup, neck was light on the lows and the mids were scooped. The bridge sounded so much better, I might have done an AC/DC on it if I decided to keep it.

Like said earlier, neck pickup was useless. Switch was noisy between pickups and in single coil mode sounded phased. Paid for two pickups, got one.

After hearing story after story about carvins one piece bodies I get two pieces and they're no match at any angle and there was a little bit of a glue line. Not acceptible for a guitar that wasn't sold at WalMart.

Felt solid but other problems make this guitar unacceptable.

A bunch of losers. I actually heard the manager in the background complaining to the sales rep talking to me during the order to "Sell, sell" "Close the fool" or something like that. When I called to return it, I wanted questions answered for a possible exchange and they treated me badly some more. I get better service from the guys at the corner trying to sell me crack - No, I aint joking. They are actually nicer and more considerate.

The Chinese made Dean guitars like the Cadillac have caught my fancy and I put one on layaway (waiting for the credit on my returned Carvin). Better tone and clean tones rang a lot better. Built solid but nothing like a good Korean guitar.

New CT3M - all mahogany solid body, rosewood fretboard with abalone dots & 22 standard frets, locking tuners, clear gloss, black chrome, C22N & B humbuckers, string-thru bridge system, strap locks, Snagg microchip equipped. Humbucker splitter is standard - I don?t need it.

The tone and action I wanted ? a sound that is full with plenty of clear high end ? great for blues, rock, and suitable for a bit of jazz. It?s not my Gibson CS 58 RI, but very nice ? a comfortable player. Don?t worry ? the highs are there ? but these are not for the ?twang? bunch. Compare it to a PRS Standard 22 ? the Carvin Carved Top series are a gooood value. I'm using a Reverend 60 watt tube amp, or a Vox Valvetronix 30 watt. My wife purloined the Carvin Vintage 16.

Mine was nearly perfect - just a minor adjust to the truss rod and bridge height to my preference. This is my second Carvin electric - both great action, fit & finish.

If it's anything like my other Carvin, it's very durable.

'Kristofer Harrin' sold me both my Carvin guitars - nice fellow, knowledgeable. Phone ordered on August 8 - delivered October 4.

As previously stated, compare the Carvin Carved Top series to PRS models, or to Les Pauls. I love um both - these are similar, but unique, and they are much more affordable. I've played blues, jazz, rock for many years, and recommend this guitar. Some of the previous reviews are pretty negative. All I can say is that I've never had a problem with Carvin - guitars or amps.

Solid Mahogany body, jumbo fretwire, ebony fretboard, sperzel tuners, tune-o-matic style bridge. The usual for this model. Prepare for a completely honest review, you don't see too many of them here.

This guitar has a really unique sound due to the brightness and snap of the ebony fretboard and the warmth of the solid mahogany body. Great for jazz and rock and roll. All around a really nice and versatile guitar. I was actually pretty surprised at how nice and smooth it sounded. Of course Carvin pickups and electronics are complete garbage. I had intended to change them right away. The only people that seem to like them are Carvin fanboys who have never used anything else. In their defense though, they don't sound THAT bad. But they don't exactly sound good either. Very lifeless with no character. But I've heard worse on other guitars. I may just be spoiled by using Dimarzios, Rios, and Duncans over the years. I'm using it with a Carvin Legacy half stack and my 1x12 EL34 combo. I would have kept it if not for:

There is where I gotta say "what the hell is wrong with Carvin?". The first guitar I received was atrocious. There was a dark smudge in the paint (had a white finish), dents and dings in the top. And I think Ray Charles set up the guitar because it was obvious after finishing someone messed up the nut, took it out and put a new one in. Of course in the process they chipped and scratched the paint and clear coat around the nut. Also, for some reason, someone sawed away at the bridge saddles, especially the G string, making that one much lower than the rest, and it rattled like god damn when I got it. They did send me a new bridge but all of this was unnacceptable, I sent it back for a rebuild. The 2nd one arrived a month later than the estimated date. This one was MUCH better. Except they put the ugliest damn piece of ebony they could find on this guitar. It looked like it had leprosy. The guitar played and sounded great, but it was a solid white finish guitar and the ebony looked horrible on it. I would have never been happy with it if I kept it. Also, on this one they did the wiring for the switch wrong. Oops. I guess someone screwed up yet again. There were also numerous small dings in the top of this guitar too. I don't get why Carvin uses such cheap electronics too. The jacks and switches will NOT last, and their action is poor. The pots are also scratchy. My guitar teacher and tech is a fan of Carvin guitars and owns 3 old school ones from the 80's/90's and he's even said all the ones people have brought in for him to set up were atrocious, especially the junk electronics.

The one good thing I can say is the fretwork was done very nicely and the finish looked great in the places it wasn't damaged.

The contruction of the guitar and finish is very good and durable. Seems to be a very solid and dependable guitar. But like I said above, the electronics are cheap and will fail. It gets a 5 for this reason. Carvin, quit cutting corners, people DO notice this stuff.

Customer service is a joke. I'm not kidding. These guys are horrible. It's a miracle they sell any products at all. At first they are great. Some of the better reps I've spoken to have since been fired or left the company. Every once in a while you'll get a guy who acts like you're wasting his time or bothering him by calling. What are you getting paid for dumbass? Maybe you should quit then. Also, when I first called to see what can be done about the fact that I'm unhappy with my rebuild, (a partial refund even would have been suitable) the guy said he'd call me back and he never did.

Now for the good stuff, I told you I was gonna be honest. When I had a problem with my legacy they sent out a part no questions asked. Also, after I wasn't happy with my 2nd rebuild they offered to let me keep it until the 3rd one was finished. I thought that was awfully generous of them. But by that time they had wasted too much of my time. And for a "custom shop" I don't think it takes 3 tries to make a decent guitar with pretty standard options.

Now for more of the bad. When I called to decline their offer and get a refund for the guitar the rep (supposed to be one of the better ones) he acted like I was wasting his time and since I'm getting a refund he didn't have to be pleasant at all. It's funny how they do a complete turnaround after they already have your money. They took their time getting me a refund too. But he was pretty much trying to hurry me off the phone, probably to make time for the "paying" customers.

I took pictures of the ebony fretboard on my rebuild and posted them on the carvin forum and the carvin museum forum just to ask opinions to see if other people thought it was as ugly as I did. I wasn't even complaining about it. So they banned me from the carvin forum and tried to do the same at the carvin museum, didn't work because carvin employees don't run that one.

So at this point I've had a very ugly experience with carvin and wanted to let others know of my experience. Carvin dropped the ball multiple times on this issue so I wanted to express my dissastifaction. On another forum I frequent I put a factual list of things that happened and issues with both guitars I got just like I got here. Then (head of carvin customer service) emails the admin, who also happens to be the VP of marketing for the company. And tries to say I'm spreading incorrect information about carvin. He was probably suggesting he ban me or delete the thread. Except for the fact that the admin knows me and anyone reading the review could tell it wasn't slanderous but just the account of an unhappy customer that was treated badly. (head of carvin customer service) is supposed to be in charge of customer service. Which means he has my phone number and could have called me at any time to try to make things right. Instead, they went around the internet trying to play cover-up and save face.

Instead of trying to cover up your screw ups, in the future prevent them from happening in the first place. Train your sales staff better, and when things do go wrong, treat the customer fairly. It's not our fault if we get a rude salesperson and a guitar with many flaws. And then you act like it's our fault. When will you realize that how you handle these situations will either give you a repeat customer for life if you take care of them, or a pissed off customer who will never buy a carvin product again and will tell everyone they know about their bad experiences?

Worthless customer service.

Nice guitar, I would have been really happy with it if there weren't flaws that I couldn't live with. Their products aren't bad.

The worst part of it all was Carvin's customer service.

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!)