Carvin Cobalt 550

This post might get pulled or offend some people but I just wanted to let others know what I think I found out. After searching for my next acoustic I discovered that these (Cobalts) are the exact same acoustic guitars that some Ibeneze, Cort, Dean, and Hohner's use for at least some of their products.

There are only some very small variations in the head stocks and bridges. From the guitars that I have actually had in my hands I think that they might all be manufactured by Crafter Guitar in Korea. Crafter is distributed by Hohner in the US and other countries.

I got to demo several Crafters that the Hohner rep arranged for me to see and the bodies were identical in construction and materials to the other brands that I mentioned above. The one thing that stood out between them was that the Crafter's neck was not as refined as the other brands. In fact I was ready to buy a Crafter based on reviews until I played them and found that all the necks were not very good (size, shape, and variations in the wood of the neck).

At first I thought that it was just similar designs that made them seem like the same guitars but while I continude to search online for my new guitar I happened to see the exact same spec images, text and even the page construction that Carvin has on there Cobalt page used on a Ibeneze web page and then parts of the same Carvin page on a Cort page and then again in a Hohner product slick. The Dean used the same dovetail construction shot and Amp picture that is on Carvins site.

From what I have seen I think that Crafter builds the bodies and each manufacturer provides them with their own neck or has the neck built to there specs. I have tried out all of them and they are all great sounding acoustics but the Crafter necks just did not compair with the others.

When I reached this conclusion it brought me back to my original choice for my new acoustic. When I started out I wanted to get a Tacoma but I thought that I could get the same quality for less by going with a handcrafted Korean guitar. Being less then wealthy made it an easy choice but after diging for specs on all of these guitars from their manufactures (even calling them) and getting limited info I will now bite the bullet spend $300-$400 more and buy a Tacoma because I know what it is and how it was built.

This 20 fret,high gloss finished, bookmatched AA solid spruce top, bookmatched rosewood sides/back/headstock dreadnaught guitar, with mahogany neck/rosewood fret board, was made in 2002 in Korea.

Tuners are Grovers and has an excellent playing, fast and low action neck.
Comes with a really nice SKG deluxe case with "Carvin" imbossed in the lid. Comes with neck adjustment wrench, pick, cloth and strung with Elixer nano web strings.

My acoustic style is strumming and finger picking different types of music from rock to country. The Carvin C-550 handles it all very well.
The guitar has excellent punchy tone with excellent highs and mids. I love everything about this fine instrument.

The guitar came set up perfect! Bookmatching is flawless! The constuction and craftsmanship is 2nd to none!
The old saying "Korean junk" can no longer be used when you see and play this guitar. I was just blown away at the beauty of the grain and quality of the wood and craftsmanship.

This guitar is AAA #1. A professional dependable acoustic guitar that stays in tune and would "wow" anybody for under $600.00.
The finish is super high gloss and flawless. Waaaaay better than Takamine.
Yes, I would gig this guitar without a backup. But as everyone knows, it is best to have a back up, as ANY stringed instrument can break a string or have tuning problems on hot, high humidity days.

It comes with a 5 year warranty. Carvin service is great! I also own a Carvin DC-127 electric guitar. I had to get a new pick-up selector switch for it. They shot one out to me pronto! But come to find out, the switch just needed a little lube/cleaner. Oh well, now I have a spare for down the road if I ever need it.

I have been playing since 11 years old and I am now 45...34 years.
I own 9 electric guitars - Gibsons, Fenders, Electra, Peavey and Carvin. I also own a Fender and Harmony lapsteel.

If this guitar were stolen, I'd cry, then buy another one, because I love it so much. The purfling around the sound hole is beautiful. It has binding everywhere and a mother of pearl inlayed Carvin logo on the headstock.

I was looking to buy a Martin D-15. I got waaaaay more guitar for less money! It sounds and plays better that the D-15 and as good as the lower end Taylor guitars.

My favorite feature is the awesome bookmatched top and sides. And, Carvin does not mention that in their catalog!

I'd have to say, do not waste your time looking at any other acoustic, if you are on a budget. Carvin acoustic guitars are a steal! You get way more guitar for the money than comparisons in the music store.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me. I will be happy to answer.

I wouldn't say that this guitar is extensively feature laden. It has nice appointments that make the guitar look as good as it sounds:
(most are right from the catalog)
acoustic dreadnought, Made in Korea
AA solid spruce top, rosewood back and sides
satin finish neck, high gloss body
Abalone sound hole purfling
bound headstock and fingerboard
the so called "rapid play" neck
ebony bridge pins with abalone inlays
Grover tuners
Elixer nanoweb strings
a very nice Carvin/SKB case, a high quality case
The features are right on. This was the guitar that I wanted for a long time but didn't know existed. It's a fairly new line of guitars. I didn't think that you could find a guitar at this price with these features and it may be the only offering of it's kind. From the high quality Grover tuners to the FINE abalone...very elegant in sight and sound. The little details that most people love were thankfully not left out on this guitar and they are by most other companies. It has just the right features for my style and probably for many other people as well. I hate to speculate but it's such a classy instrument.

Wow! I am very impressed. Were talking about a 500 dollar instrument here that, to my ears, is extremely full and alive. Never heard this sound from any other guitar in this price range...there just isn't anything that comes close in that respect. It's a very rich and balanced sound. Loud but not overpowering. I had never heard a Cobalt acoustic until it arrived at my house. I made an informed choice based on reviews, the features that the guitar offered and the reputation of Carvin(really good and really bad...depends on who you talk to) keeping in mind the 5 year warranty and the fact that as much as I would hate to do it, I could send it back if necessary. I have played many different acoustic guitars over the years. I can honestly say that there isn't another dreadnought acoutsic that I'd rather own at this price. In fact, at this price I will buy it again and hope that they have a 12 string model offering in due time. Now then, consider this:
I have a feeling that this guitar would not sound that great with the Fishman systems that most people have in their guitars. If you are saying "well, I hate fishman/piezo and any other way to amplify acoustic tone besides the proper mic/pre setup" then you need not read this part. I believe that fishman and other transducers can sound good but I wouldn't go that route with this guitar. The Cobalt cutaway guitars have the Fishman Prefix Plus standard. I heard the audio sample of one of those models and was very unimpressed. I have heard the same Fishman system with other guitars (different company) and thought that it was pretty good. Just something to think about.
2) Some will say that this guitar is too bright sounding. There's nothing to remedy that if that's their take on it. But I think it's a very balanced tone, full, and articulate. I suggest going to the Carvin site and having a listen to the Cobalts. Not the best dreadnought being made (what's the "best" mean anyway?) but absolutely the best value there is to be found in the acoustic world, I'll stick by that. Modest rating.

You're not going to believe this. Tune the high E, and it's perfectly in tune! The first time I ever lay my hands on it and I barely need to tune it up. Shipped from San Diego, CA through horrendous climatic changes in the the couple of days it took to get here. I was fearing that BROWN may have abused her, looked and sounded like great care was taken all the way through the process, thankfully.
AA spruce is better than expected. Have never seen wood like this on a 500 dollar guitar, so nice. I don't like to put down other companies but the wood used for a couple of the Taylor 300, 400, and 500 series guitars were not as nice. Were talking about guitars that are as muuch as three times what I payed for mine. Won't write my opinion of the sound comparisions at this jucture!
The grovers are a spendid touch, turn like butta, smooth.
No flaws, checked under magnifying glass shortly after opening the case for the first time. No glue smudging inside the guitar, didn't get high from glue fumes when I opened the case, no checks dings or anything like that. One things about the strings, Elixers are so nice on this guitar, glad they are strung this way right from the factory. I will continue to use them on this model.

Absolutely will withstand live playing and will withstand the four to five hours that I give it on a daily basis. The usual maintenance is required for any instrument to keep it at peak performance. The tuners are grovers and I trust they are good quality. Gig without a backup? Who came up with that question? But seriously, I can and will depend on it as my main dreadnought acoustic, until I buy another of the same. In my opinion, it is reliable and durable.

Called Carvin twice after I mailed, yes mailed in my order to check shipment status. First time I bought mail order and I get nervous. Have heard good things and bad things. My order arrived within the time that I was told, unharmed, and both times the sales person was nice and gave me the one bit of information that I needed. Not much to go on but a good experience nonetheless.

I've been playing for about eight years now and in that time I think I have developed a playing style that is unique and interesting and that's really all that I aspire to do. It is my belief that people place too much emphasis on the gear they use when most of the time they are trying to recreate sounds that have been around for 30 years anyway.
I will probably buy this guitar again as a backup to the one that I already own. I compared it to many other dreadnoughts. In the end, I decided that to buy anything else would be a bad decision because if I stuck to the same price range for other guitars I would have no where near the quality, features, etc., and if I bought this quality from anywhere else I would be paying three times as much. Seemed like a no brainer even though I wasn't able to demo this instrument as I did with the Taylors and others.
I really wouldn't buy anything else from Carvin except for another Cobalt. I wouldn't custom order one of their electric guitars. I'm sure they are good but just not for me. I think that they are really onto something with these new acoustics though. Lke I said before, it is the best value in an acoustic dreadnought. Based on that, this category deserves the almighty 10. Very satisfied.

This Is a brand new carvin model dreadnought style acoustic guitar....I've only had it for 3 weeks. It has 20 frets (medium I think), a spruce top and rosewood back and sides(with a beautiful wood grain), and a gloss finish. This particular model doesn't have electronics, I plan to install some, fishmans maybe, but other models do have electronics, but I don't really like cutaway acoustic guitars, and I've heard it's better to install them yourself anyways. It has grover tuners, and comes installed with elixir strings (i'm now addicted to elixirs). The neck is not excessively fat, and has a nice low action. my only complaint is that it doesn't come with the custom options that carvin is so well known for.

I'm not really picky about tone, (some people can play an entire wall of the exact same guitar and pick out one whose tone they prefer) but I can tell you that this has a pleasantly rich tone. If you are the kind of person who has to play an entire wall, though, I wouldn't reccomend it, since it is available only by mail-order.

I would like to shake the hand of whoever built this guitar and whoever set it up. It plays like a dream. the action is super low, thus avoiding sore fingers that accompany higher action, and increasing speed capability, not that i am capable of speed, but it makes it easier to play.

you bet your booty it will withstand live playing. this puppy should last me my whole life if i take care of it. It is as high a quality a guitar as a Taylor or a Martin. And gigging without a backup....well, i could, if i gigged, but i just play it at home because i'm not good enough to gig. But I play it as often as i have time for (which is pretty often since I'm bumming out at home until boot camp).....but yeah, it is trustworthy for gigging without backup.

who needs customer support? this guitar is self explanatory: play it, don't smash it...it's too nice to smash. but, no, i haven't had to deal with them, and from what my aunt(who bought it for me) says, customer support was very friendly and helpful when she ordered it.

I've played for four years now, and I've used my dad's fender acoustic(this one blows it out of the water)....I own an Ibanez Rg (which I love dearly, but i have only played it maybe once since I've owned it) this guitar is great....I'm trying to be critical, but I just can't find anything about it to bash. I bought it just because I got to pick out an acoustic guitar in the $500 price range (a graduatin gift), so I thought I might try something new. one friend who played it said that he thought it might be a decent guitar, since it was carvin, but that it exceeded his expectations by a long shot. Another friend who played it was the type who has to play all of the guitars of the same model and pick out the one with the best tone, so he was skeptical about a mail-order guitar, but even he was impressed. I highly reccomend this one. It is the same quality as a taylor or martin, but at less than half the price.