Carvin CT4M

Not a lot of features, but that's the way I like it. Tone, volume, and a pull feature to go to single coil. And the 3 position pickup switch. Overall everything else high quality: tuning pegs, bridge, tweed case, straplocks, etc. No complaints whatsoever.

Sounds is great. Rich and full sounding, fairly high output on the pickups, but not excessive. No noise, overall great for classic rock. I don't find it neither excessively bright or dark, just about right. Have used it with Marshall AVT and Mesa Dual Rectifier. I much prefer the overdriven channels with this. When I need clean, I go to my strat. Not that the clean is bad, it's just that one dimensional clean humbucking sound. Overall, it's just one of those "perfect" sounding instruments.

Setup was great from start to finish. Finish on guitar is gorgeous (pearl white with gold hardward, has a natural wood color to the back). The white isn't as white as I was expecting, more pearly but it grows on you. It's my second Carvin guitar and they quite frankly just do everything right. It's the only guitar I would ever order sight unseen. Action nice and low, fast neck. In comparing it to a PRS, I find the strings don't bend quite as easily as PRS (something about PRS guitars where the string bends just kind of take off on you) but don't think for one second this is subpar. Probably better than 90% of the Gibson's out there today. The neck is a bit thicker - Les Paul style as opposed to Fender style. I ordered the neck radius in the mid-level b/w curved and flat. Maybe I'm so used to playing strats, when it showed up it felt flat as a board adn I didn't like it so much. I sent it back for a rebuild with the more curved radius option and it came back much better. I think it's an 11 radius, whereas the Fenders are 9.5.

Built to last that's for sure. They feel like a substantial instrument, and they are. Not heavy like a Les Paul though. Everything again is very high quality and have never had any problems. One testament to its build quality was someone else was playing it and it fell from their shoulder (operator error) and face planted on a hard wood floor. It fell with a huge bang and there is not a scratch on it, much to everyone's surprise.

Carvin support is excellent and one of the reasons to buy from them. Like I mentioned before, I didn't like the neck radius after waiting 2 mos. for it and sent it back for a rebuild. They did it no questions asked. Just like they say in the brochures.

I wanted a PRS but couldn't get one, so this intrigued me. For $1000, this is one helluva value. You'll have to go $2000+ to get something you're as happy about. I highly recommend it for the money. I had confidence they would deliver a great playing instrument sight unseen and they do. Again, this is more of a Gibson feeling guitar because of the neck/weight. You'll have to play a lot of guitars to beat this one though for overall value.

2005/6 Carvin California Carved Top (CT4M) made in San Diego, CA, USA
22 med.jumbo frets, ebony fretboard with MOP dot inlays
Solid Eastern 'plain' Maple Top with Honduran mahogany body and neck
H/H with push/pull tone knob for S/S coil splitting
Graphite reinforced neck
Master Volume
C22N/C22B pickups
String thru body with Tune-o-matic bridge
Locking Sperzel tuners
25" scale
Hardshell SKB-style case
Three color "Classic Sunburst"

Overall, the feature of this guitar for the price are a 10+++++++ There are guitars that cost two to three times as much with only a fraction of these features.

I play classic rock, blues and alt.country, and this guitar covers all those bases. Using the humbuckers, I get tones that sound like they are off of the Allman Brothers Band's first album. You can get classic 'woman' tone with the neck pickup with some tone rolled off. You can get some nice crunch with the bridge pickup and a bit of gain. The pickup sound like classic Gibson pickups, only better with none of the mud. I don't use many effects, but the guitar can handle clean tones and is quite suitable if you do. Right now, I only use a Sparkle Drive and go direct from that into a Mesa Boogie F30. With the coils split, you can get Fenderish tones that are wonderful for country or other music that requires a nice bright tone. The bridge pickup with the coil split gets a great Tele tone, and I'm saying this as someone who is a big fan of Telecasters. I love everything about these pups and how they sound in this guitar!

The action, fit and finish are excellent, and I've never seen a guitar set up so well brand new unless it came from a true custom shop. I didn't need to do anything to it other than change the strings. The action is nice and low, but bends feel very comfortable and effortless. The Eastern Maple top has a great grain, and the top looks perfect. I had to make no adjustments to pickup height either. The frets are great and are totally free from fret sprout. The pots seem to be great quality, but the pickup selector switch is a bit flimsy and might have to be replaced in the future.

I'm not gigging right now, but when I put a classic rock band together, I'll be confident taking just this one guitar to a gig. I have total confidence in the quality of the instrument and won't need a backup. Plus, there's so much tonal variety, I can replicate many different tones and styles. The strap buttons are very sturdy, and even if you need strap locks with your Les Paul, you might not need them with a Carvin!

I haven't needed any customer support for the time I've had the guitar. (I got it in February after placing my order in Novermber.) It was ready on time but got delayed a week in shipping. When I did speak to customer service when my order was pending, they were very nice and helpful, and Carvin does not put you on hold for a long time either! Carvin offers a 1 year warranty, and you have a 10 day money back guarantee on your instrument as well.

I've been playing for three years, and I think it is worthwhile to purchase quality instruments before you are a proficient guitar player. A quality instrument will inspire you to learn and practice and you will become a better guitarist with it! I would replace this guitar in a heartbeat if god forbid anything happened to it. This guitar contains a tracking device so that if it is stolen, it can be returned to its proper owner. I compared this guitar to PRS guitars that cost more than twice as much. I like PRS McCarty models, but they have less features and I can't afford one right now. However, I would go for Carvin even if I could afford the PRS. I plan on purchasing another Carvin in the future!

I was told by the guy that I got this CT4M from that he ordered it from Carvin and it was delivered to him in march of 2005. I got it in a trade. Made in USA of course. Double cutaway with a "sunset burst" finish, CT3 = all Mahogany: CT4 = plain Maple top over Mahogany body: CT6 = Flame or Quilted maple top over Mahogany body. 1 vol and 1 tone knob with push/pull for spitting the coils of the pick-ups and a toggle for switching from bridge/bridge+neck/neck positions of the Pick-ups which are 2 humbuckers. I don't know what Carvin pick-up models these are. Electronics are Passive so, no batteries. set neck, pretty fat when compared to any older Carvin's I've had in the past. Ebony fingerboard with 22 med jumbo frets, that I happen to like a lot. Scale is 25" Bridge is a "Tune-O-Matic" w/ String-thru body. Sperzel locking tuners. Carvin Molded plastic case was included.

I play only Contemporary Christian Praise & Worship music

At home I use it with a Fender Princeton Chorus combo at Church I play into some FX's and then straight into the main board.

This is a very quiet guitar even when using lots of gain, very full rich tone BUT it's not dark like a LP type it's brighter.

It's versatile BUT lets be honest,, NO guitar does it all ! It's just what I was hoping it would be, a cheaper PRS-ish type guitar, it's NOT a copy BUT does remind you of one.

How well was the guitar set-up at the factory? (How was the action?)
I didn't get it from Carvin BUT it came with VERY low action and plays super easy. Fit-N-Finish in all areas is fantastic.
There are NO problems with anything on the guitar save for the one small chip the previous owner told me about before making the deal,,, nice to see some good guys on the net who'll tell you the truth about things BEFORE you make the deal and get something that's NOT in as good a condition as you'd been told.

Reliability/Durability? I see nothing that speaks to me that there will be any Reliability OR Durability issues with this guitar.

Never deal with them,,,,,,,,,,, as with any company, you can hear good AND bad.

I've been playing for 21+ years all together,,, I've had Gibson, Jackson usa, G&L, Carvin, Brian Moore USA, NB Custom, Peavey Wolfgang's and Limited usa, Hamer usa, Fender usa, and others and this is as good and as high of quality as ANY of them. IF I had the cash and were to order a CT from Carvin, I would get a CT6 w/ quilted maple top in a blue with abalone block inlays BUT this CT4 with do fine.

GREAT job Carvin!!!! Great JOB!!!!

Mahogony body with a nice thick plain maple top. I ordered mine with a cherryburst finish, natural body binding, stainless steel frets, locking Sperzel tuners, MOP inlays on an ebony fret board, gold hardware and Dunlop straplocks. As far as features go, you can order a Carvin the way you want it. There is a long list of options to choose from, it is a custom shop guitar for an off the wall price. Was looking at LP Elitist, LP Studio, American Strats, just about anything around a grand, but being able to spec out a guitar the way you want it is priceless. Features, nobody can top Carvin for the money.

Came with C22T and C22B Humbuckers with a split coil switch on the tone control. The bridge pickup is great, with pinch harmonics coming out so easily. The neck pickup sounds really good also. With the split coil engaged you get some really nice single coil sounds. Compared to my Shecter C-1 Elite, it is much clearer. The Shecter sounds muddy when overdriven, while the Carvin lets each string come out clearly defined. The sustain on this guitar is awesome, the notes just hang on for what seems like forever.

Fit and finish exceeded my expectations. This is truly a Custom Shop guitar in every aspect, just beautifully made. The only issue I had with this guitar was that I had to have the truss rod adjusted. Took the action down to .008 when setup with a capo on the first fret and holding down the low E string on the 22nd fret. This guitar is as good as any PRS, Gibson or American made Strat that I have seen.

This is a solidly built guitar with high quality parts and quality control that is second to none. Only had it for a month so I can't really rate this category.

This guitar was a rebuild. The first guitar Carvin shipped to me didn't have the Cheryburst finish on it, just a clear gloss finish, but I was so impressed with the build quality that I re-submitted my order for a second guitar. Not a problem for Customer support.

I have been playing guitar for about six years off and on. This is the best playing guitar I have ever picked up. Currently I own a Shecter C-1 Elite, Fender Cyclone and an Alverez Classical. Wanted an American made guitar and this one fit the bill. Everything about this guitar is first class, would replace in a heartbeat if lost or stolen.