Carvin DC127

2008 Made in USA. 24 frets, maple neck through alder solid body in a very smooth, perfect solid white gloss finish. Volume and Tone knobs, a 3 way pickup switch, and 2 coil splitting switches. Pickup configuration Humbucker/Humbucker using Carvin stock passive S22's with black covers. Body style similar to a Strat with a fixed Carvin FT6 bridge and Sperzel locking tuners. Neck is ebony fretboard with dot inlays and medium jumbo frets. Included ABS molded and padded case and strap locks.

I play several types of guitar driven music. I use Guitar Rig 3 for my guitar modeling. The only noise I hear is when the buckers are split and I am using only one coil and even then it's not that bad, buzzy like a Strat. Believe it or not Carvin makes some of the most underrated pickups on the market and they are almost half the price of leading replacement pickups. The guitar is full sounding but bright, not too bright on the bridge bucker and nice and smooth and warm using the neck bucker. I am not a person who likes to use both together so I have no opinion on that. Good versatility for almost any music form I can think of.

The guitar came in nearless flawless and the action was just about as good as it gets out there in guitar land. I was skeptical because I hate ordering guitars by mail without touching or hearing first. I once ordered three Ibanez guitars (same model) and each one had a completely different feel and neck profile, I mean really not even close, so I thinned to one and got this Carvin.

looks and feels sturdy and tough. The hardware looks great in black on a white guitar. I think this guitar is a keeper for a long time to come.

Carvin has always been good to me. Hopefully it stays that way. Shipping has always been lightning fast.

10,10,10. Consider the DC 127. Consider the DC 127. Consider the DC 127!!!!!! Especially for the price this guitar is probably in all reality unbeatable.

Late 90's early 2000's all USA made DC127 Lefty in trans Vintage yellow. Thin Compound radius Neck, 24 Jumbo frets, Ebony Board, Locking Sperzel Tuners. Hard tail, stock Carvin pickups, H/H design with 3 way toggle and phase switches. Alder wings with maple neck thru body with super smooth uninhibited reach right to 24. I'm giving this a 9 simply because it needs a Graphite nut instead of plastic and it has a generic bridge, could use some graph techs saddles. having a generic bridge and plastic nut doesn't hurt the guitar at all, just upgrading them would improve tuning stability a little more, and are really the only areas of improvement I could find on the guitar, everything else is flawless.

Played thought a Pod Pro preamp or a Mesa Studio Tube Preamp and a Carvin TS-100 all tube power amp into a Mesa 1x12 thiele ported cab with EVL12M. This guitar is beyond magnificent in both sound and playability. The Ebony board give the tone a little snappy brightness like maple and added sustain, which this guitar has tons of due to the neck thru. It will do everything from bone crushing metal to blues, jazz and clean playing with ease, these Carvin pickups are some of the best, if not the best stock pickups I have ever played on. I'm a hardcore Dimarzio fan and for the first time I haven't felt like ripping these pickups out 2 seconds after playing the guitar. They remind me of Super Distortions, with plenty of harmonics and sustain, with the ability to change character just by backing the volume down. Even in standard tuning you can get a very mean crushing metal sound, then shred to your hearts delight. There is an option the throw them out of phase, but this option only sounds good in the middle position with a clean or blues sound, since the other two have some hum, which is inevitable.

Since I got it used I really can't comment to much on this, it played really well before I set it up, I can get the action very low with minimal buzzing. The fret ends are a little sharp, this may just be due to the natural shrinkage of the ebony. Either way, not a major issue and easy fix.

This guitar is solid as a rock and could easily stand up to a world tour or just a bar gig or two. The volume pot loosened up a little, easy fix though and happens to all guitars.

No opinion since I have never delt with them directly, but everything I hear is that there great.

I am absolutely in love with this guitar. I Own a Ibanez Jem 77BFP/rg550 hybrid, a super rare Ibanez rg3120TW Prestige, a ESP m-207L, I've also owned a slew of others including Kramer, Fender, Schecter and Jackson and this guitar can hold its own to all of them. us leftys don't get many options but Carvin really comes through. I think I'm going to order a 727 soon. Grab one if you can!

Alder body, super strat, ebony fret board, sst frets. carvin crapistic pickups.

This guitar sounds like a carvin----bleh. Frumpish and uninteresting. If i could get a fender to sound this bad, i would be able to open up a factory in china. thin, man, thin, thats all i can say about the sound.

this is where carvin is good. the frets are pretty good for this price range, maybe two high or low ones (i cant tell). but it only rattles at the 14th fret and frets out at the 17th. the finish is sunburst and it is flawless

it is built quite well. i use it for rehersals at a friends house mainly because the sound is not siotable for live playing IMO (too thin). i would say it is pretty dependable aside from too frequent truss rod adjusting.

Carvin customer service is like a crap fish that ate a crap stack burger at the crap shack and took a giant crap in a porto-crapper bathroom and then smeared crap on the walls. these losers are a joke. They were rude to me on the phone when i ordered. I heard wrappers rustling around in the background and i think the guy burped while he was on the phone with me. Yeah he was actually eating potato chips while on the phone with me, and he burped at me. i actually still think that is hilarious. they never get back to you when they say they are going to. this guitar was 3 weeks late and they never notified me of when it was going to be shipped. i missed the UPS guys and had to go pick it up myself, why, because i had no idea it was on its way!

this guitar is OK for the price. carvin has seriouse probs with their cust. service.

200? Carvin DC-127. Mahogany Neck-thru, Mahogany Body. Clear Gloss finish. 24 Fret, 25" scale. Ebony fretboard with Large Abalone shell fret markers. Master volume, master tone, two coil tap switches and a phase switch. Stap-locks. String through body bridge. Seymour Duncan SH-PG-1 Pearly Gates in the neck and a SH-13 Dime-Bucker in the bridge position. Sperzel locking tuners. Chrome plated metal pickup rings also added. Carvin Tweed case. Individual volume and tone controls would give it a 10 score.

EXCELLENT TONE and sustain. BIG sounding. This guitar can cover about any type of music, period. The taped coil sounds are very nice played clean, and can be further thinned out with the phase switch. Splitting the coil of the Dime-Bucker is actually closer to the output of a good Tele/Strat single coil. In single coil mode the guitar sounds very good with light to mediun-heavy distortion. Both humbuckers sound great clean as well. The Dime-Bucker needs the volume rolled back a tad bit though for the really clean stuff in humbucker mode. The guitar is nothing short of fantastic with the bridge pickup,under High/Ultra Gain settings. The treble bite of the Dime-Bucker is a perfect match for the ALL MAHOGANY body and neck, with Ebony Fretboard. Never muddy, and powerful indeed.

Very Low action!!! SUPER-FAST Neck with perfect frets. Beautiful Clear-Gloss finish. Excellent Abalone inlay in the Ebony fretboard with no sign of filler. Light, comfortable, and balanced well. Top quality build! I cant find anything that is not perfect. Excellent tuning stabilty.

Built like a Bomb-Shelter. SOLID...It will outlast me. I am 45

Honestly, I have never had to deal with Carvin, though I own several Carvin produts. I must leave no opinion.

QUALITY-QUALITY-QUALITY!!! Great guitar at any cost, period! Would sell other guitars I own, and pay Full Price, if I had to replce it. Hard to believe one guitar could sound so good Clean, and be such a Beast through a even the highest gain settings. I bought it like new but used, with case, and have about $725.00 total, counting the Duncans. The stock M-22 pickups sounded very good with the Mahogany, but the Duncans have a small bit more output when tapped, and can do the more extreme gain settings.

Updated review. I reviewed this a few years back and really burned it. I was PO'd because I couldn't get a replacement armseat for the Wilkinson Trem. I still haven't found one, but after getting it out of it's case for the first time in many many months and cleaning the hell out of the pots and resoldering the battery box, I repost.
It's all black with unfinished ebony neck SS frets, Sperzel tuners and active electronics HH, coil split, I don't know what some of the switches and knobs do, and a carvin case. Bought used for 500. I think it's a late 90's in good condition, no scratches. Tons of features.

I play blues and classic rock. I play through what ever is at the studios I rehearse at. Like jazz 120, Fender blues jr., Matchless. They lined the control with copper and it is not noisy. I use Tube screamer, Dunlop wah, boss dd3. It sounds fairly full and manly on full HH setting. Other settings get thin to wierd. Sounds really good straight to BJ. I wish I could get the trem going without spending 100 for a whole unit. Great for tapping, speed, and variety. Wish I could play better to see it's full potential.

Got used. The pots had a major dirt problem. Lowest, fastest, action possible, stailess on elbony is slick and bright. Black gloss finish is flawless, kinda funny but clean where it stops at the neck.

Could play live definately but, with the electronics a little finicky and after the promblem with the battery wires coming off, I'd bring backup, my Les Paul or US Strat, just in case I broke a string.

Since I didn't buy new I felt they treated me like s**t when I tried to get the "seat" for the trem arm. Not good for biz but they don't seem to care. Worthless to this second hand buyers. I don't mean to devalue the resale value but that's my experience.

Player 27 years, own a ton, Gibsons, Fenders, Martins, PRS, and much more. Marshall, Jazz 120, US blues jr., recording stuff, too. The guy who sold it to me said it would be easy to replace the bar, not. I wouldn't sell it but wouldn't but another. Their 15 watt amps look cool. I love the action, unpluged is awsome. Plugged in needs more mojo. Wish it had the trem. I think it's a good git for the money, BUY MADE IN USA

Most notably I added a flame top over the alder sides and 5 piece neck to the options which makes it look beautiful, gloss finished body tung oiled neck Koa and maple. I went active electronics, maintained the hardtail bridge, and went for pearl inlays. Plus straplocks.

All of the features I picked out are extremely elegant and practical. The guitar looks classy yet is a real workhorse that can take some abuse and really perform.

With the right pickups, there is no way this won't be a 10. Acoustically the instrument sounds great and the tone woods available are wonderful. Personally I wasn't thrilled with the sound with the carvin pickups but after changing them I really started to dig the sound.

Personally the number one thing I look for in a guitar is playability, comfort and look. Of course you need good tone woods for an exceptional guitar, but carvin has that covered.

With the forward midrange and volume of this guitar, I'm sure I'll make this guitar sound a 10 after another pickup swap.

This is where the guitar really shines, the combonation of a tung oiled neck, stainless steel frets, and ebony fretboard makes for the best playing guitar I have ever played. Also to me, neck through guitars play better and don't inhibit where you can move(because there is no neck heel. The playability on this instrument is outstanding and not even the more expensive Ibanez JEM beats its playability. The shape is extremely comfortable, and honestly it allows you to move freely. Mine is lightweight and never fatigues me.

Of coure the look is immaculate, but the frets are also very well done. As carvin is famous for, the guitar arrived in tune. Absolutely incredible how much care the people at carvin put into their instruments.

Everything on this guitar is cosmetically perfect and plays better than any other guitar on the market.

Another strong point of the carvin is the fact that they don't break easily. Playing in a metal band I've accidentally hit walls amps and band members with it, and it can take alot of abuse and still work great. I was very impressed with how this axe has held up over the 3 years I have had it so far.

Carvin builds its instruments so well that support really isn't neccessary. I haven't had to deal with them yet and I think thats a good thing.

While carvin pickups aren't the be all end all, the guitar certainly is. I could not be more proud of my purchase, and I have not stopped receiving complements on it since I first laid eyes upon it. Carvin takes pride in their work, and their instruments portray their values.

If stolen or lost I would absolutely buy another, I really do love this guitar.

1993 DC 127 model. Has upgraded Tom Anderson humbucker pickups, Kahler Steeler tremolo system, alder body with poplar wings, maple neck-thru. Beautiful birdseye maple fingerboard. Features Carvin tuners and additionally, one volume knob, 1 3-way pickup selector, and a coil tap for the bridge. Absolutely beautiful translucent vintage yellow finish.

I play primarily 80s metal and shred. The Tom Anderson pickups are fantastic, the cleans are amazing full and rich. I'm running these through a Line 6 Podxt Live. The distortion is excellent, it's bright, but that makes it fantastic for a lead tone. It can produce jazzy cleans to strat type classic rock to full on heavy metal tones.

The action is very low, making it very easy to play. I bought it in used condition, however everything is in great condition, including the neck which is nice and thin. The bridge is set parallel, pickups in perfect position, everything is great.

This guitar is built rock solid. Has solid strap buttons, durable finish, and excellent electronics. I would certainly use this for gigging without a doubt.

N/A

I've been playing for a little over a year, and this guitar is everything I could ever want. I would certainly buy this one again if it were possible. I love the neck, as well as the bridge. Finally, I think this is a one of a kind find that is fantastic.

DC127C-2006-Black stain on Quilted Maple top w/ matching headstock-Rounded body sides-Floyd Rose w/ locking nut-stainless frets-ebony fingerboard-no inlays-M22SD & C22N PUs-just the basic elect- Tung oil finish on back of neck-Black hardware-Strap locks- Tweed case

M22SD sounds great but the M22N is sorta underpowered. Had a few slight adjustmants to make when I got it and the coilsplitter for the neck PU didn't work for single coil mode(don't use single anyway). They sent me a new one right away.

All great

Gotta love it

They do take care of me

This guitar will do it all. My particular model has a fixed bridge and no trem, but you can have the same guitar built with a trem if you like. I have an Ibanez Jem which has a great trem, the best available IMO so having a guitar without a trem that can change tunings quickly is more valueable to me at the moment anyway.

I believe mine is the standard trim from Carvin for a DC127: alder body, ebony fretboard, 24 frets, neck-thru construction, 12" radius fretboard, pearl dot inlays, fixed strat style bridge, 2 humbuckers with coil splits for each. I am 99% sure the pickups are the default Carvin models C22N/C22B - whatever they are they are definitely Alnico V magnets and sound great.

If mine does not have the feature that you want, such as trapezoid inlays, mahogany neck and body with or without a maple body, or a fretboard perhaps made of rosewood or maple instead of ebony, you can have one made however you want which is a really cool option. The guys at Carvin do a really good job and it's all factory direct so that makes Carvins a really good value.

I play a variety of styles like classic rock, hard rock, progressive rock, blues, metal, etc. I should mention that I am a tone freak, and will not even use some equipment out there if it was free.

So far I played the guitar more in the store through a Peavey Classic 50 more than I have through any of my all-tube Marshalls or my Vox AC30, but I find my favorite sound is a mildly overdriven fusion tone. It sounds great both clean and distorted, and the pickups also have rich harmonics which is rare for pickups to do clean and distorted so nicely.

I compared the guitar to a Jackson, and an ESP which both sell new for over three times the price of the Carvin DC127. They both had 10s on them where the DC127 only had what I am fairly sure is a set of 8s, and the DC127 was easily the best of the bunch and sells new for a third the price! After playing the DC127, I was not expecting to like either guitar better, but I thought they would be able to hold their own. They had more lows and a tigher sound, but there was an inch difference in action and they did not even sound nearly as good until you get a real heavy amount of gain on either.

I was totally shocked at how good the Carvin stock pickups sound in contrast with the wood. The alder top gives the guitar a fairly balanced tone with rich midranges. The coil tap switches add so much more versatility. Most coil tap switches that I have seen I would never use because the contrast is too harsh - the humbucker has a big mean sound and the single coil sounds very thin in contrast.

On my Carvin DC127, the single coils do sound a little thinner as to be expected, but as single coils they are not overly bright or harsh sounding in comparison to the full humbucker. Additionally, the guitar sounds equally good with the coils tapped as without. My favorite combination right off the bat is using the bridge as a humbucker and tapping the coil of the neck pickup which makes both pickups sound the same volume (and the highs are about the same that way as well). I can turn the coil tap switch off and use the neck pickup to solo and it gives the appropriate boost and makes a tube amp sound really warm.

This is easily one of the better sounding guitars that I have ever played.

I bought it used and it was setup for 8s. The action was insanely low when I got it.

The particular model is a little bit beat up and the price was affordable which is what attracted my attention, but after playing the guitar I had to check the price tag again to make sure that I was reading it correctly. The neck is perfectly straight and the radius is even, and the neck is about just right - it is slightly fatter than the neck on my Ibanez Jem with a slightly different shape to it, which felt very natural to me.

I compared it with an ESP and Jackson just as a reference, both which cost over three times more new than the baseline DC127. I really expected more from both of them. There was absolutely no comparision - the only thing either had on the DC127 was a little more low end, and possibly better sustain (from the mahogany body / maple tops). Additionally, the action was not even close and it was apparent to me, being as I am very proficient in doing setups on guitars that either guitar would never have action twice that of the Carvin DC127 without skipping a note and buzzing horrendously.

The only thing that I do not like about the guitar is that it has Sperzel locking tuners. I have had a really bad past with the same tuners on my G&L which regularly slip and break for me.

It seems like it is made like a rock. If I owned it for longer I would be able to better judge.

Bought it used. No dealings with the company.

The price tag initially attracted me to the guitar. I have played one Carvin before many years ago, and do not remember it being that good but I played a very different style of music back then and I do remember considering buying that guitar because it was a great value.

I was only looking for a banger when I came across my DC127 that I could carry around and not care if it gets stolen, damaged or destroyed, but this guitar is well beyond my wildest dreams for a "banger" price - all of $425 plus tax. Even for the new price, the value of this guitar is amazing and I was blown away by the quality of the entire instrument throughout.

Judging by my DC127, Carvin will build you whatever you want at great quality and price that makes gas look cheap. My only problem is that you don't get to walk into a store and play one new. Fortunately, I happened to be in the store at the right time and got myself a hell of a steal.

carvin dc127, made in usa, 2005. 24 fret. maple neck through alder body. rosewood fretboard (extra cost option). pickups- c22n, neck, c22b, bridge. three way switch, neck/bridge/both. dual to single coil switch for each pickup. ft6 fixed bridge (string through body). sperzel locking tuners. passive electronics. chrome hardware. strat style double cutaway body. translucent finish, vintage yellow face with cherry burst edges. black pickups, black bezels. 14 inch radius fretboard. (extra cost option)-seperate volume and tone for each pickup instead of standard one volume and tone for all.

suits my style, which is varied. blues, rock,country, folk, psuedo classical/jazz. this guitar could produce the tones to work for any. absolutely silent! no noise, buzz, hum. pickups loud and strong. clean and bright on bridge p/u single coil. mellow and smooth on neck p/u. humbucker mode really brought out harmonics, real nice full sound. finger picking would almost sound like two instruments. sustain went on and on and on. however, i ended up returning the guitar because of crosstalk on the volume controls. adjusting the volume on one pickup actively changed the volume on the other. it was impossible to replicate tones by adjusting/mixing volumes of the pickups. oh yeah, no effects just on old 50 watt silvertone tube amp(rescued from the dump) pumping through 2 12inch 100 watt speakers.

action fit and finish were immpecable. set up was excellent. a really good looking guitar that plays very nice and easy! no fret buzz on any string at any fret. neck properly bowed, action extremely low.

seems to be rock solid and high quality all the way. gig with out a backup? yes. but i have never gigged with a backup. so that's a wash.

warranty-5 years for manufacturing defects. carvin covered the shipping both ways on my return for repair. you get 10 days to try it before you buy it. on the eleventh day, you can return it for credit on your next purchase from carvin, but you won't get your money back. sales people are freindly enough, most want to help you get exactly the guitar you want, but they are not experts and there are options not listed in the catalog. and there are options they don't know about or are not aware of. Technical support at carvin really, really sucks. no answer, differing answers, always referred to some guy i could never get ahold of. came close one time...probably should have used the name Joe Walsh or Keith Richards.

played 1965-75 for my second income. 20 year break for marriage, kids, canoe trips etc. from then to present playing all i can when i can. gear- that '63 silvertone amp i mentioned, a model 5060 Alvarez Yairi acoustic, 1969 silvertone electric guitar and a few garage sale types acoutic and electric. also a fuzz and a wah-wah from the late '60's but i haven't used them in quite a while. oh yeah and a carvin dc 135. if lost or stolen i'd look at a lot more guitars before i'd decide. $900 is a lot of money to me, and every guitar is different. just like fingerprints no two are identical. don't love it, don't hate it. it is a very very good guitar. except for the volume control problems on the dc 127.oh, i read on the carvin bulletin board chat that returned guitars are sent to one of the two carvin stores in calif. the dc127 i sent back showed up on the in stock ready to ship list on carvins web site. really dude, same serial number and all. probably with the same problem i sent it back for. ??? oh before you order, check sale prices in catalog and sale prices on line-ask for the better price

My guitar was made in 2005. It has a maple neck with an ebony fret board, koa overlay on the headstock, mahogany body with a koa top, gold hardware, Allan Holdsworth pickups, thru-body bridge, stainless steel frets, rounded body, no fret board markers-side dots only, tung oil finish body-and back of neck. Came with a nice case standard.

Sounds awesome! It has nice balanced tone with great articulation! Sounds rich, warm, yet clear and somewhat open...as you can gather I really like the tone....part of it is probably the Allan Holdsworth pickups, which sound great to me, the othe part is the combination of woods that I choose....they just sound really good together!

Better then the rest of the factory made guitars except for maybe PRS.

No problems yet....none detected.

Better then some....worse then others......the customer support people are doing their jobs as they are supposed to for the people they work for.....they must have some manegment problems to even allow customer support to have as many issues as they do with their customers....boooooooooo......a mark against them...to bad.

I have been playing for a long time. I love the way it sounds and plays...the vway it feels...looks nice too! I play it through a VHT Pitbull Classic and a Bogner Ecstacy 101B with a Trutone bottem open back cabinet loaded with Weber Alnico Blue Dog and Silver Bell speakers. I have allot of other guitars this is the only one with the pickups it came with....they're that good in my opinion. Most of my other guitars have WCR pickups and one has seymour duncans; if I thought the pickups weren't some of the best there are I would have changed them. If you don't get the tone your looking for with one of these guitars try a different set of pickups....they are built better then most and at least half of your tone is in the pickups that you use. If you overlook the customer support issues, which I had none it easily gets a 10!

2002 dc127 black, active, locking tuners. 2 hummers. Carvin case.

I play blues and rock mainly strats through marshalls loud. This git bites, has no souls, sucks the soul from your fingers. It sounds from bad to worse. Only unplugged is it nice.

Neck is out of line so the high E falls off, I don't know how they did that on a neck through. Frets stick out from neck, everyone of them Ha Ha. It's a bad joke... sick. All the pot are junk I spent hours try ing to clean them and the jack, useless. Now I know why everybody buy Chineese it's not only cheap but better built. This workmanship is a crime.

I wouldn't be caught dead having this cheap noisy toy around my neck. I tried to get the tremo arm and holder replaced and thoses monkeys said I had to buy a whole new unit @$100. not what I wanted to hear.

After hours on hold I was left pissed and used. E-mail were unreturned. Stuff they sent was the wrong matterial at overnight rates, what a ripoff.

It's a loosy git. I've been playying 30 years and have everything, now I know why I've never seen one on stage. The pickups sound like dish water. The neck is wierd. Even the case is crap. I think I'll burn it in the park, the charmas so bad on it, It's a bad trip.

Well, I've had this guitar for a while and its about damn time I got around to writing a review on it:

My DC127 was made in 2003 in the US as are all Carvins. 24 frets maple neck through body with an ebony fingerboard with no inlays on the guitar and a tung oiled walnut body. It has the M22V in the bridge and the M22n in the neck, more on those in the sound section, three way pickup selector, coil splitters for each humbucker and a phase switch. All passive electronics. It has a string through body stop tailpiece bridge, I'm not a big fan of trems. Sperzel locking tuners, normal size frets, and a 25 1/2 inch scale. When you can coustimize the features that you get on a guitar I really have to give this the best rank. I mean the finish looks fantastic and everything else I asked for so I have absoultly no complaints.

Ok as far as the pickups go I'm quite satisfied with the neck pickup, it delivers a very warm rich tone and I'm absoultly in love with it. The brige is a nice sounding pickup with distortion, but its a little thin sounding when I play clean. Its not noisy at all on any setting, except when I split the coil on the bridge humbucker with distortion. But thats to be expected. I'm using this with a Carvin SX200H head into a fender cab or just recording driect into my computer. I'll give the pickups a 7 because of the fact that I love the neck but am not quite satisfied with the bridge.

The guitar came from the factory set up with elixer 9's on it. I changed the strings to my usual Erine Ball 10's and couldn' be happier with the feel of the guitar. Its got a nice thin U neck profile, low action and with the tung oiled body and neck a very fast neck. The finish on the wood is absoultly flawless, its a beuitiful walnut.

I have and will continue to use this guitar in live situations, its continued to hold up aginst all that I can throw it up aginst. The strap buttons a solid, I got it with straplocks installed and they've never failed me. The only flaws in the finish have come from me banging it on things or hitting it with stuff accidently. I would gig without a backup if necessary but I always bring a backup just in case.

On the few occasions I've delt with Carvin support they've been more than helpful. I honestly think they're one of the best companies I've ever delt with. They quoted me 6 weeks for my guitar to be built, plus shipping. It was at my door in 5 and a half weeks much to my suprise. They did screw up the order with my amp head, they forgot to include the cover I ordered for it. I called them and they overnighted it to me the next day for no charge. I absoultly love their service and would reccomend them to anyone and would love to have the extra cash to be able to deal with them again.

I've been playing guitar for about 6 years and this is the absoultly best guitar I've owned or played on. I would buy another one in an instant, if I wasn't a broke college student. If this were stolen I would be devistated and would do my best to get a new one asap.

I don't know the year - possibly a 2000 It's the standard DC127 with a fixed bridge. Maple neck with mahogany body sides. Classic sunburst finish. Tung oil neck (great feature). Black hardware. Straplocks installed (a must). Tweed case. Otherwise pretty stock. Just looking at their options make this a fantastic guitar for features.

I do some rock/pop songwriting/recording at home with my carvin. I don't know which pickups came with the guitar (used), but I suspect it's the standard C series humbuckers. I love the middle position and neck position. The bridge is a little too treble when clean, but with distortion, it does smoke pretty well. I've read a lot of these reviews here, and overall, I'm very happy with the stock pickups. I play through a pod (v2.0) directly into my computer through some Event reference monitors and it smokes the old American Standard strat I once had. Very versatile with the coil taps.

After I got the guitar (again, used), I brought it to a local tech for a setup. He got the action real low. There's a dab of buzz but it's not overwhelming. The intonation on the Low E string wasn't right though, and it appears that the saddle can't go far enough back to properly intonate. The tech said it looks like the bridge wasn't laid out properly. I don't know, but it bothered me at first. Truth is, it's not really a problem - it's only out a dab. Recently (had the guitar for two years), I'm noticing some fretting out at the 20th fret or so on the high E. But it just needs the action raised a tad. Overall, the finish is amazing, and everything is great. My only gripe overall is the neck shape. I have small hands, and it's a really flat wide neck. I've gotten used to it, but it still doesn't feel like "home".

Can't see any problems. I don't really gig with it. The finish looks brand new after 2 years. Seems fine.

N/A - never had to deal with them.

I've been playing guitar for 18 years or so. Not really my primary instrument, but it's become my primary instrument. I teach guitar about 25 hours a week, and I'm using the Carvin now as my teaching guitar. I grow to like it more and more each day. Aside from the wide neck, I can't complain at all. I love it so much I put an order in last week for a new Carvin carved top model, and I stare at the pictures onlive every day in anticipation. You can't go wrong with Carvin - top notch!

2001 Made in USA. Neck through body. One volume, one tone control, 3 way switch. Two humbuckers. Pickups: M22T, M22v Passive electronics Mahogany body with clear finish, Strat style. fixed bridge. Sperzel locking tuners. Mahogany neck. Tweed case(optional)

I play rock, blues and jazz. I prefer a clean sound with some reverb. This guitar is bright even though it's all Mahogany. The middle switch position, (using both pickups) sounds like it's single coil, probably because it has 24 fret, thus putting the neck position pickup closer to the bridge. I don't like this tone at all. I sold the guitar because of this sound!

The guitar was set up very well. The action is good. There were no flaws and Carvin stands up to it's reputation as a good builder. The 3 way switch had to be replaced shortly after I bought it. It started out as scratchy and noisy, then went bad.

It's a very solid guitar and will stand up to live playing for a long time. The hardware is good, finish is fine. strap buttons solid and dependable. No backup needed

I have not dealt with Carvin for service. Warranty? Maybe 2 years

I've played for 30 years. I have a Fender Strat, Telecaster, Gibson ES135. If it was lost or stolen I would not replace it (but I sold it) I find the DC127 to be physically too small. It looks like a tiny guitar, not substantial enough. This always bothered me. The tone is only average. I've compared it to other guitars and I gave it a fair chance. I thought I'd gamble on it because I had received catalogs from Carvin for years. My advice: Get a Fender, you won't go wrong there. The tone is thin and the guitar is tiny. I don't speak poorly of companies, just an honest evaluation.

Three C22 pickups (humbucker at bridge), alder body. It's cherry red - sounded a bit gay when I ordered this over the phone from Sydney but actually looks awesome.

One feature I don't like is the whammy bar doesn't screw in, it just slides in (and thus falls out all the time) - very annoying. I suppose I should get round to just finding a screw in one that fits.

The tuning system is absolutely awesome. I don't know why ALL guitars don't have this system.

The pots are kind of cheap - I'm going to replace them soon. The volume has been fuzzy when I turn it since shortly after I bought the guitar.

I can't get the action very low without buzzing... a bit disappointing because Carvins seem to have a reputation for playability.

It is generally a very bright sound. The pickups are not that good, as most ppl have said... sounds great though when you get some Seymor Duncans in.

Remember though - this is a VERY light guitar. Of course its not going to sound as fat as a big heavy Gibson or hollow body.

Unfortunately the main advantage of a thin neck (playability), is hindered by not being able to get the action low.

I play every style through this guitar. Its basically got that Fenderish sound because of the lighter weight and single coils, but can cross over into more Ibanez style shredding. I guess it's like a PRS in many ways.

It was mostly set up fine... just needed the usual adjustments... except that - for some odd reason - someone had wrongly cut the back plate that hides the underside of the bridge. I couldn't access the strings. Not wanting to weaken the plate more than I had to, this was a weird problem to fix and ended up having to request a new one be sent.

The pots are going to need replacing.

Everything else is very well made and will last. In terms of body, tuners, bridge, electronic set up - this is how a guitar should be made.

I live in Melbourne, Australia and I got this guitar sent from Sydney. You can't use the custom online ordering thing like you can in the states (unless you pay heaps more)... but it's still fun buying it from the Sydney shop because they have heaps to choose from. Just make sure you read heaps of these reviews so that you really know what you're getting.

They didn't give me a whammy bar and the back plate was wrongly cut, so I wrote to them and asked for a new one which was sent with a bonus pack of picks to cheer me up.

This is a fine guitar... very professional and well worth the money. It looks great. One guy I know... who really knows his guitars... said it was the best looking guitar (in terms of construction) he had ever seen!

Obviously there is the problem with the pickups... but the only stock pickups I have ever liked are gibson ones.

The main other problem is with the action, but apparantly most Carvins are not like this.

I suggest getting the Carvin as a comparable alternative to models like Fenders, PRS, Ibanez. It is not like a Gibson.

Made in 2003 in San Diego CA. 24 Fret solid body, Mahogany under Walnut top. Active electronics : 2 coil splitters for the 2 humbuckers, 1 phase switch, 3-way pick up selector. The pickups were the standard pu's that come with the guitar. The neck is a 5 piece laminated neck which runs through the body. There are abalone block inlays on the neck. Back of the neck is tung-oiled. Sperzel locking tuners and string saver saddles. Came with tweed case.

I really recommend getting the tung-oiled neck option. The back of the neck feels like very smooth natural wood. Once you start rockin out, other guitar necks can get kinda slippery. The natural feel of the neck is really nice.

I am running this DC127 through my Dunlop Cry Baby Wah->Demeter compressor->Legendary Tones Time Machine (Signal Booster)->Ibanez TS-9DX Tube Screamer->Guyatone P3 Phaser->Carr 4x10 Imperial Tube amp. I play in a jam-rock-funk band and we cover a wide array of styles. Check out www.evidencebomb.com !

<<I very much recommend the Legendary Tones Time Machine and the Carr Amp. Check reviews of the Time Machine on Harmony Central.>>

To be honest the stock pickups sound very trebly and bright to me. The active electronics are great but there is no 'meat' to the sound. I'm used to playing my Epiphone Dot semi-hollow body with dual humbuckers. The Carvin is a much stronger and clearer sound but it loses that analog 'something' and is REALLY bright... for lack of a better word. It is very hard to describe. Even when I turn up the bass on the guitar, the low end is kinda boomy and does not give the same feel as my Epiphone. For strictly lead playing, it is fine. It really does scream. But I play more rhythm than lead so it was not doing it for me.

So I changed the pickups to Seymour Duncans. I put a Jazz in the neck position and a JB in the bridge. Now we are talkin! It is still not the same as the Epiphone but in a lot of ways it is much better. The active electronics and the phase switch and single coil taps really make this an all-in-one guitar. In a flick you can turn your meaty rock and roll tone into a funky-strat like sound. I was looking for 1 guitar that would give the the ability to do many different styles. This is it. I very much recommend putting in some Seymours ! I'll give it a 6 with the old pickups and a 9 with the new.

The action is a little high and I do get some buzz on the frets. But it is really not a big deal. (I use .010" strings.) Everything else on the guitar was flawless.

Even for 3x the money, you can't get a better looking guitar with these features. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. It feels great ! That is why I spent so much time and money getting the pickups worked out. This guitar feels like a million bucks. Go to Carvin.com and custom order a guitar or you can browse their pre-made guitars on hand. It takes about 4-weeks for them to make the guitar for you but you get everything you want. Their site is very interactive and you'd be crazy not to at least take a look. But if you are reading this you have probably already been there-done-that.

I do gig with this guitar and I have had it for about 7 months. It is fantasic. Especially now that I have all the pedals and crap that make it sound just like it sounds in my head... even better sometimes :)

Carvin has a special process where they don't need to put too many coats of clear-coat on the guitar. I don't know how long it will last with the fewer coats but it really lets the wood or color come through very well. A PRS is kiddie toy compared to these guitars. You know it the second you pick one up.

I did have a problem with one of my Sperzel locking tuners and had to get a new one sent to me. I just called 'em up and said that the string was not locking in properly and they shipped it out no charge. Of course I am the original owner so I got no hassle.

Been playing for 8 years... other gear I have is listed above. If it were lost or stolen I'd be PISSED. In all honesty I would proably play a few more guitars from some custom builders and like their guitars but laugh when they want $2,000 - $5,000 for a guitar. I'd then go right back on the Carvin site and order a new DC127.

Here is the bottom line.. why pay well over $1000 - $3000 for a good Gibson/Fender/PRS? All of these guitars only have a couple of different tones and they don't even come close to feeling or looking as good as a Carvin. Besides, every Joe-Schmo has one of those... who has a Carvin?

I am giving it a 9 for value only because I had to change out the pickups to suit my taste.

2003 Custom
Neck Thru
Active Pickups (3 switches: 2 single coil splitters, one phase)
Beautiful Saphire Flame Top Finish
Sperzel Locking Tuners
Fixed Bridge
Swamp Ash neck (=ORGASMIC)
Case included
Made in USA
Active electronics (bass, treble, and volume)

***WARNING***
The pickups are NOT big enough for Seymour Duncans or EMGs. They are only big enough for Carvin pickups unless you want to waste tons and tons of $ and ruin the guitar! U dont need to anyways, it SLAYS!

I play a Peavey Classic VTX hybrid tube-solid state amp, 65 watts. I run a BOSS TU-2, Cry Baby, to an A/B Switch (B goes to Clean Fender amp)...then it runs Radial Tonebone, Boss EQ, Then to Johnson J Station with Footswitch. To be honest the amp and the J Station dont sound too good on their own. Its eitehr too much treble or too much bass, I can never seem to get a great sound. :/ but when I plug the Carvin into it, with its active electronics (controll for bass, volume, and treble) this SOB SINGS! I can EQ it from the guitar so I can get a good basic sound, but through any amp on any setting this guitar is a monster. GREAT low end and the swamp ash neck is perfect for fast playing....it never seems to get any residue from my sweat!! This guitar is a dream come true..its fucking amazing. Hard to think I got it used (and in great condition) for only $450!! Its extremely vesitale and perfect if you are looking for that Fender Strat/Tele mixed with a Gibson Les Paul and even a ESP Kirk Hammett!!! I love it!!!!!!!

But best of all...
IT STAYS IN TUNE!

Perfect action, CAN get fret buzz but not often.

The pickups never need any adjusting.

The Brige is just fine, IT NEVER COMES OUTTA TUNE!

The finish...omg its so gorgeous. Flame top Saphire blue top...=orgasmic...its amazing how beautiful it is. Matching headstock with bodom and a swamp ash neck..it looks like heaven but rips like hell! \m/

Never gotten messed up, and I beat my guitars up sometimes. Never any problems with electronics. Never had to contact Carvin. Its perfectly sound and dependable.

Never used em, but Im sure they're nice!

Greatest guitar ever.

Sounds good. Alot of nice options on the active electronics

Horrible. Was not bought brand new, but only 4 months old. Defective, the bridge needs to be reset and since its 2nd hand, the warrenty is not transferable (bull sh*t , it hasnt been registered). Gotta send it off and pay bout 80 bucks.

read about my problem above

Bad. HOrrible. Couldn't flex a little, warranty was never registered by original owner , but they couldnt transfer it to me. This is bull, they need to be a little bit more flexible. This is why i sometimes hate large manufactures.

aside from crappy service and the defect, everything is fine. This is my second carvin, the first i have had all great experiences with, b ut then again , i never had to reach customer service.

DC127 2003 USA 24 Frets
quilted AAAA top, 2 humbuckers w/ 3way&coil taps&phase switch
seperate pan for acoustic and electric or combining both
M22SD, bridge(highly reccommended) M22V neck
body and neck Koa wood fretboard birdseye maple
custom requested blue stain/sappire burst reminicent of a Phill Collen model Jackson $100.00 additional charge
Fishman acoustic bridge, sperzel tuners
comfy neck, just right tickness
opted for tweed regular case, sick of those shaped cases closing on me and whacking into my axes while removing from case

perfect fro my rock/metal/new rock style
running through GSP2101 digitech/QSC power amp/marshall 4x12
sounds fantastic, plenty of sustain, nice fat full sound
I send the acoustic output(2nd Jack) to the mixing board and mix in acoustic on the fly via pan control.
Only dislike is the day I put the first ding in the finish!

Guitar set up just how I like it. Perfect action to me is if you slide a penny under the 12th fret and it the string is just touching.
had to raise the pickups to suit my style(more output!)
The finish and overall apperence of the guitar is nothing short of FANTASTIC,AMAZING,FLAWLESS or however you want to put it. The depth and beauty of the quilt is among the best I've seen. The color is just right. The Blue stain and Sappire Blue worked great together. I took a gamble ordering something never done before but it was well worth it.

completly reliable
get straplock option-there is nothing worse than dropping your prized possetion
completely dependable
gig with my carvins exclusively

No problems ever.

Don't be afraid to buy from Carvin direct. They make great instruments that are of the highest quality. You will be satisfied.

2002 dc-127,solid hondouras mahoghany neck-thru construction,crimson transparent finish.String thru fixed bridge,black hardware,two hummers,and two coil tap switches.Not a ton of features,but more than enough for me.

THIS BABY FLAT OUT SCREAMS!This is the first guitar i've ever owned where i don't feel the need to modify anything on it.With the coil splitters i can get any sound i want,and this thing sustains more than any guitar i've ever owned,and i've owned quite a few in my time.I won't drop names,but if i had the chance to get my hands on one of these sooner i wold've saved ALOT of bread.IMHO THESE ARE THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN THE GUITAR INDUSTRY!

I bought this used,but the set-up was still immpecable!This slab of wood seems to play itself,and i can get lost in {the zone} for hours.

Too early to tell,we"ll see

Carvin dc127 , made in san Diego California, 24 frets, solid top, volume,
passive, active treble, active bass, Bridge and neck splits, and a phase switch. Has the Sperzel locking tuners, they same okay so far. The neck is somwhat fatter then advertised, I have small fingers, and am having trouble with the flat finger board. It feels like an Ibenaz I used to play, I may return it because of the fret board is just to wide for my small fingers. I wish they gave a couple of choices of neck sizes like PRS does. I always play with .010-.046, so thats how I orederd it, perhaps I use to smaller nuts with .010s on other guitars and thats why it feel wide to me, I'm not sure. Buts is tough to play with short fingers.

I have 2 Marshalls, a Randall, and a Mesa-Boogie, the guitar sounds good, somewhat versitile, I like the phase switch. Although I also have a Gary Jacobs guitar with Seymour Duncan pickups, with just 2 volumes, 2 tones, and splitters, and it does not compare to the Symour Duncans very well even with all its fancy options. The Seymour Duncans make you feel like your part of the guitar when your play it, the Carvins are just there, good, but not better then good. If Carvin offered Seymour Duncans, these guitars would be untouchable for any price.

I ordered a jet black finish with black hardware. It looks cool. The workmanship is fantistic, the neck joint (or lack of it) is by far the best in the business. You can play this baby no problem to the 24th fret, it makes a PRS look silly, I love the feel of this guitar (except for the fret board), its balanced, a nice weight, and comfortably as all hell to play. (I ordered mine with the rounded body sides) I owned a PRS, if you can forgoe the great PRS AAA tops, this is a much better guitar.

I have only had this guitar 5 days, but I am sure it is well made and would withstand anything any other guitar would or better. The finish is good, its solid with a strap on, (no hands needed). I'm sure its dependable although it is my first guitar with a battery in it and active pickups. Its a great fell for live playing and I would trust it with no backup since it works without the battery as well.

I dealt with the company to arrange a shipping date so it would not come when I was out of town, they where very helpful. Although, I would expect them to automatically send notice when the guitar was completed with a shipping tracking number, they do not do this. I don't know why not, I order vitiams and they send email me a tracking number for vitiam C.

I've been playing 38 years, I own a Les Paul and a Gary Jacobs, and 2 Martins. I traded a PRS for the Gary Jacobs. Carvin is onto something great here, all they need is to offer is a couple of pickup choices (other manufactures) and 2-3 different size necks like PRS, they would have the best guitar for any price (Yes, any price). It is still a better guitar for the money then a PRS and many other overpriced guitars and a great value. The best for the money no doubt.

Model year 2002 USA DC127. Twenty four frets, 1/2" quilted top option.
I opted for the fishman piezo bridge. Has seperate output jacks for regular pickups and one for the piezo. It has a pan control so you can mix the acoustic with your electric sounds. I usually send the acoustic output to the mixing board via direct box, and business as usual with the regular output to my amp. If you are into hard rock/heavy music get the M22SD pickups! Much fatter and nicer I think.
Body wood is neck thru koa and quilted top(AAA grade). Get straplock option! Sperzel locking tuners very nice. Neck feels just right.

For my classic rock, hard rock and metal this guitar fits the bill.
You can tell a good resonating guitar if it sounds good unplugged.
I use Digitech 2101 and QSC power amp. I have to back off on the volume conrol a tad because this baby is so powerful with the active electronics and fat sounding SD pickup. I primarily stick with the bridge pickup for sounds but do occasionally flick on the neck pickup for some nasty lead tones.

Guitar was set up nicely, I did have to make a slight adjustment of intonation an the b, and g strings but this is rare for Carvin guitars are usually perfectly set up. Quilt top very nice, AAA grade.
For $150 this is a great deal. Of course if you want AAAAA grade you can go to someone like Mc naught but pay big bucks for that type of quality. but the Carvin top looks just fine. Nice translucent blueburst finish looks awesome.

I used to be a floyd rose guy but am a die hard non trem player now.
This guitar stays in tune perfectly. I don't use the trem bar anymore so the non trem is great, much nicer for ease of tuning. Tremlos are ugly and cumbersome, the guitar looks ond sounds better without one in my opinion. Electronics look nice and the finish is flawless.
Very dependable guitar.

customer support is just fine

I have been playing for 17 years. I will play nothing but Carvin. I want more! This model has super high output so you may have to back off the volume a tad. Blows the doors off many brands compares to PRS in playability. 25 inch scale very nice. String tension just right.

Mahogany body and neck, traditional headstock, 1046 strings, standard hardware, rounded body sides, graphite saddle, C22 pups, tung-oil finish. Ican't rate the features as they are custom and what I wanted.

The guitar when not plugged is clear and loud. Unlike an acoustic, which has volume, this guitar can easily be played without an amp. Understand I am referring to playing alone in a relatively quiet room. Pinched harmonics are not a problem with this guitar. When plugged in, the tone is to die for. With the pick selector switch on the bridge pup, the guitar speaks with authority. Move it to both pups and she mellows out. Still has a bite but a little more tame. Selector switch to the neck produces jazz tones rivaled by full body guitars. The guitar also has coil tap switches that allow single coil selection. Like most single coil guitars, there is a little hum. Nothing to write home about.

The action was perfect right out of the case. Neck is straight and the strings the correct height above the fret board. My only regret was getting standard frets. Next guitar will have the small frets. The guitar is well balanced. I can let go of it and it will stay in the same position I left it in. This even with a nylon strap. Finish is one of the finest I have ever seen. This is pure wood with not a stitch of paint anywhere. I like to feel the grain of the wood under my hand. It has a rough texture that is associated with bare wood.

I have banged the poor instruments a few times and dropped it once. The only marks are on the edge of the tip of the headstock where the wood is sharp. On the rounded body, there is no indication that the instrument hit anything.

I have only had to use Carvin customer support once. It was not related to this guitar though. I am very pleased with the people at Carvin. They have been known to ?bend over backwards? for the customer. This you do not find much anymore.

I have been playing long enough to know a good instrument when I see one. Prior to ordering the DC127, I had a LoneStar Strat. Shortly after receiving the DC127, the strat left my inventory. I use DC127 exclusivly with my band West 78 (www.west78.com). It works with my Carvin Legacy VL812. Once you have had a guitar with no paint, you will find a whole new world. If this guitar were ever stolen or damaged beyond repair, I would have another one made immediately. Regardless of what others have said, the pickups on Carvin guitars are extremly dynamic.

Just wanted to send an update to my last review to be fair. Looks like I got ripped off and I should have only paid around $30 bucks to ship the guitar back to Cali instead of the $57 I paid. I guess it was a $27 piece of tape that they put on top. Oh well, I know one place that I'll never ship anything from again.

I still hate the pickups. If they ever decide to go with some, what I would call "real" pickups, I might give it another shot. Until then, got my eyes on a Godin. $120 bucks more than the Carvin and I pick up MIDI and piezo sounds along with Seymour Duncan pickups.

coil splitters
black stain on quilted maple
tung oil neck
sperzel tuners

The pickups were terrible. A very compressed sound and the single coil sounds were even worse. Everyone has a different ear, but if you get this guitar, I'd highly recommend getting a set of replacement pickups from your favorite supplier. I think that the pickups is Carvin's Achille's heel. Again, just an opinion.

Setup very well. A little less than sharp intersection between the fretboard and neck near the nut, but nothing major. The guitar even arrived in tune!

But the quilted finish had none of the depth and pizzaz that is shown in the catalog. It really looked more like the photo finishes you see on cheap guitars.

No opinion. I only kept it for a very short time and sent it back. Seems like it would hold up well.

Sometimes it's a 10, sometimes it's a 1. Find a good guitar salesperson and talk to them. Don't bother sending email. I've heard that another group other than sales answers email and you either don't hear a response or you get incorrect information.

So, I'm giving them the average of the two. I've seen good things posted about Sean, Doc and Raul on the BBS. You can't go wrong with either of them.

After reading the reviews that raved about the guitar, I was very excited. After getting the guitar, underwhelmed. It really had the vibe of a $400-$500 import guitar. You'll see reviews saying that it's just as good or better than a US made Jackson or PRS, but don't believe the hype. Your mileage may vary, but in my opinion, they aren't that great.

Also, big warning -- I cost me $57 to ship the guitar back to Carvin. So, I'm out $80 total to try the guitar. Unless you've tried one of these before and like them, I would highly suggest that you buy something off the rack at your local music store. At least you know what you're getting. Carvin honors their 10 day trial offer, but it can be a little expensive. Think about going to your local music store and having the salesperson say, "That'll be $80, plus you'll need to pay for the guitar in full" each time you want to try a guitar. I think you see my point.

Also, make sure you order online. I ordered by phone and ended up without a trem. I called and they would have made it right, but I just didn't like the guitar so there wasn't a point in making another.

I ordered a power amp from them a year ago and it turned out to be great. So, I'm even more disappointed with the guitar. I had high hopes...

Bought this bad boy nearly 6 years ago. Here is what is on mine:

Emerald green paint job
Wilkinson tremolo
Neck through body design
24 frets
Gold plated hardware
M22N neck pickup
M22SD bridge pickup

This guitar flat rules. I used to own about 5 different guitars at one time. I had a Alvarez, Ibanez (lower end model), Fender american strat, Charvel, and my Carvin. The others were pretty much collecting dust as I loved how my Carvin sounded and played. With the tung oil finish the neck just feels so silky smooth!! Buy one and you MUST have the tung oil finish on back of neck, trust me you will love it. I have 2 amps, a Carvin Belair 212 and a DOD Grind 60w. For effects I use the Zoom 9002 multieffects. I can get such a smooth distortion out of this setup till its not even funny. Even just straight guitar through the amp you get some really good tones. Using on a clean channel the pickups can stay dead quiet. On distortion you can get a rich full sound with enough bite to rip off some harmonics. The one thing I didnt like though was this is just a little bright sounding so you may need to tweak your eq's to help balance it out.

The action on this thing is just beautiful. Man the thing almost seems to play itself. Even after several years this looks just like new.

I did have one small problem though. When I would switch from the bridge to the neck pickup the neck pickup would cut out. I have sent this back and they fixed it.

Great support. They fixed my guitar with no hassles.

I am die hard Carvin now as nothing feels or sounds like one. You have got to own one!!

Carvin DC 127, Koa neck thru Koa body.All gold hardware,Floyd rose (which I aint really crazy about, they seem to be more trouble than they're worth) Sperzel tuners,locking nut,(kinda redundant,I know) 1 vol,1 tone,3 pos pickup selecter,2 m22 humbuckers with ciol splitter switches,Abalone block inlay on an ebony fingerboard, and rounded body sides.

This guitar is QUIET! Even when It's cranked all the way up, it's CLEAN but BALLSY. Sounds great thru a Fender Dual Showman, or a Roland Jazz Chorus 120. Hell,it sounds great thru a Fender can amp.I dont use any effects when evaluating a guitar,because I want to know how the GUITAR sounds.I am currently recording with it played STRAIGHT thru a Carvin 32 channel board powered by a Carvin 1000 watt PA amp.No guitar amp!Can you believe that? EVERYTHING we play thru this settup sounds incredible!!! If you have GOT, to have effects pedals to make your guitar sound good,If thats the only way you can pull it off,either your guitar sounds lousy,or your playing sucks

Action fit and finish are equall to any thing out there reguardless of price! Period

I think it can take anything I can dish out.I wouldn't use ANY guitar without a backup.

Dont know cause I bought it used.

This guitar listed for $1300. so even with the undesirable gold hardware(because gold usually tarnishes, although this one hasn't)and the floyd rose tremelo (which I wouldn't kick a hog in the ass with,because less is better) I still got an incredible deal on this thing at $379.00. If I ordered one it would be a hardtail with chrome

2002, Made in USA, CARVIN DC-127, Sperzel locking tuners, factory case, (2) C22 humbuckers, excellent pearl blue finish, maple neck & body, rapid play neck. I bought this one off the rack, pearl blue finish with black fretboard, black pickups, satin silver machine heads. If you really want a nice looking custom guitar you'll have to pay for it, the options really add up fast. The stock ones work well for myself and the level that I am playing.

rock/metal/blues played on a sx-200 (100w) amp, sounds good with the C22 pickups...wish I would have upgraded to the M22SD pickups for a fatter sound.

very low action with no buzz, I made a slight pickup adjustment with a few of the screws...just for myself. Otherwise it was in perfect condition. I really did look it over in the store (carvin - Santa Ana) and at home - couldnt find any flaws.

purchased 04/02...nothing wrong so far. Seems as if it should last for several yrs. I believe it also comes with a 5 yr.

I did see one guy in the store bringing a guitar back for something? The customer service seemed to really take care of him, not sure what was up...I just know he walked out satisfied. I also didnt receive much info on the actual guitar itself...the sales rep at carvin santa ana me was a nice guy...just didnt seem to know much about the products (maybe a new guy?)

I was very satisfied for the level of quality that I had received for only $520 brand new (sale price). I would have easily paid twice that for another major brand. I really think it would be almost impossible to find something of this level for the same price.

This is a 2002 model DC127, made in the U.S.A. It came with a huge list of options I could choose from, depending on my budget. The DC 127 came with standard 24 fret (24.5" scale) fingerboard made of ebony. The maple neck (medium thickness) through alder body design is also standard on these guitars. I added a solid quilted maple top with ruby red stain to the body, along with a tung oiled back of neck. I upgraded the bridge humbucker to the M22SD, for a higher output. It has a fixed bridge, standard Sprezel tuners, optional Dunlop straplocks, rounded body sides, jumbo frets, matching quilted headstock, engraved truss rod cover. The guitar was shipped factory direct in a sturdy hardshell case.

I play directly through a Marshall Valvestate 102 amp, and suits my style very well (metal). The bridge pickup has a full, insane crunchiness, just right for metal. The neck pickup gives a nice, warm sound for when I need it. The sustain is unlike anything I've played before (mostly due to the neck through design), and harmonics scream. The notes are clear, and there is absolutely no feed back in high gain situations.

I was surprised when I first opened the case, to find the guitar perfectly in tune. There was absolutley nothing needing adjusting. The action was very low, making playing a dream. The pickups were adjusted exactly for maximum sound and noise reduction. I examined this thing from top to bottom. The only flaw I could find was during shipping, the case key fell out of the storage compartment, and rubbed against the body side, leaving a small scuff mark. The factory strings are o.k. but I will replace them sooner than normal.

This guitar without a doubt will withstand live playing. I'm a little paranoid of damaging it with such a beautiful finish on it. The finish is not whimpy, though, and with a little care will last forever. This is the most solid, dependable guitar I have played yet. The fixed bridge gives me the option of playing live and not stopping even with a broken string. String changes are quick.

The customer service was exceptional, once I actually made the order. My first impression, though was not as good. Getting an estimate, the salesman seemed impatient, and cold. This did change, though once I made the order. They even phoned me to tell me it was being shipped early, and gave me the UPS tracking number so I could follow up if I wanted.

I've been playing for twelve years, and have not yet seen this kind of quality in a guitar. I was a little unsure of ordering a guitar sight unseen, but now I can say this was the best choice. I had researched guitars for over a year, and for the money to quality ratio, this one easily comes out on top! I would recommend to those doing research as I was, to seriously consider a Carvin, you won't be disappointed. The only thing I would change on this guitar, besides the strings, is I would like an option of a thinner neck available.

This is my second DC127. USA made, 24 frets. 2 humbucker config with a coil tap for each and a 3-way switch. Hard tail, Sperzel locking tuners, 25" scale, 15" fretboard radius with an ebony fretboard.
Here are the additional options purchased:

Mahogany neck thru mahogany body
H22 pickups
GraphTech String Saver saddles
No inlays on fretboard
Black Hardware
Jet Black finish
Tung oiled neck

Tweed case purchased with guitar. Very light for an all-mahogany guitar. A nice understated triple-black instrument with no inlays.

I bought this guitar to satisfy my Allan Holdsworth/Shawn Lane/Al DiMeola/Scott Henderson side. I use it primarily with a Carvin Legacy head which is excellent for the aforementioned styles. Acoustically, the sound is very well balanced and the resonance is spectacular.

Like all my Carvins, the guitar is dead quiet. The combination of the mahogany and H22s did just what I wanted - this guitar is SMOOTH. Very fluid, very fat, very rich, very full, and very articulate. There is certainly a Les Paul vibe in the sound but it remains it's own unique beast. Overdriven lead lines just blossom and sing. The sustain is unbeleivable (probably the result of the mahogany/neck-thru/hardtail combo).

Sparkly, jangly clean sounds are hard to get with this guitar's configuration, but that's not what I bought it for. It does excel at fat and juicy jazz voicings and thick LP-style cleans. Splitting the coils thins and sharpens the sound a bit.

Overall, I optioned this guitar to essentially be a one-trick pony - and it is a damn good trick. I have never played a better guitar for smooth and fluid voicings. I love it.

The action was a bit high from the factory. Strange, since I like my action a bit higher than most, but easily fixed. The visible portions of mahogany on the neck are beautiful, very uniform grain and color. There is a TINY paint run on one of the body bevels. Unusual for Carvin, but almost unnoticable. All else is typical Carvin - in other words, perfect to a T.

Been gigging any playing Carvins for years now. The hardware, finish, and woods are all top-notch stuff and there is no question that it will easily withstand years of enthusiastic playing and gigging.

Hit and miss, depending on who you get on the phone, but getting better all the time. On this occasion, my salesman was great.

I own a lot of gear, from a number of different companies, at all price points. To state is simply, there are no finer player's guitars out there. Some may swoon over super-exotic woods, or hand carved tops, or (lord have mercy) the name on the headstock. But the fact is that there are no finer playing and sounding guitars than Carvin. Add in the price point and it's all gravy.

This is a VERY old model of this guitar...from the earlie 90's I think. It's actually my brothers guitar but I play it as much as my own. It has passive pickups, not sure what kind. Sperzel locking tuners, neck thru, block inlays, and my favorite is the single/humbucker mini switches. It also has an ebony fretboard and I'm not sure what the guitar itself is made out of, like I said...it's old and could be alot different than the newer models.

The sound is amazing. The clarity you can get with the neck pickup on single coil is great, clear, and bluesy. But the best part is the distorted bridge pickup. It's just amazing how crunchy and metally it can sound. Palm mutes grind on this thing.

It's just mean...I have an ESP LTD H-301. This sounds MUCH better than that when it comes to distortion, though I like the clean on the ESP due to the 5 way toggle.

Carvin's stock pickups are much better than most...the ESP's will be replaced soon.

This is also great. The action is extremely low but buzzes just a little on the low E. It plays so effortlessly. It feels alot like my ESP in that sense. It's very easy to palm mute on, those always seem to roll out faster on this guitar. The guitar is very old and the finish still looks great, so that's also good.

I'm not sure here...my brother said he's had to get it fixed a few times. Though that might just be because he doesn't take care of his instruments, but still...I'm not sure about this one

I dunno

Overall this guitar is great...I haven't played a guitar better yet.
But when I get those new pickups, there might be a challenger

I own a basic Yr.2000 Carvin DC-127 hardtail with rounded body sides and clear finish. Everything else about features you can read in the other reviews.

Has a brite sound. I like Carvin pups. I rather have a guitar with a real brite sound, then roll back the tone control.
Great sustain and spank in both single and hum-b mode.

Carvin guitars are flawless! I mean perfect. Nice tight saddles and alighnment is perfect everywhere. Finish is second to none.

This guitar stands up to anything period. Stays in excellent tune even when wanked on.
All the hardware and finish is excellent.
I could rely on this guitar with no back up, but I never go to a gig single guitared. Not smart.

Company is as good as it can get with pleasing the customer.
Warrantee is 5 years.

Been playing for 33 years. The ONLY thing about the Carvin I can criticize is the fretboard radius is a little flat feeling. Other than that, you cannot buy a better guitar for the price.
The guitar is wonderful!

This is a 2001 Carvin DC127. Here's a rundown:

Maple neck through mahogany body
Ebony fingerboard
C22 Pickups
Active Electronics
Fishman Acoustic Bridge
Hard-tail bridge
Gold Hardware
Sperzel Locking Tuners
Tung-oil finish over everything...in other words, you see the natural color and grain of the wood.

This thing is jam-packed with nice features, and they're all valuable.
10?

OK, this thing has a very nice sound for the most part. It's not perfect, though I've never played a guitar with PERFECT sound. This comes pretty close to a lot of my ideal tones, though.

My style is very much jazz fusion. I like to dabble in progressive rock and some other styles, but I really like fusion. I like to hear individual notes, ESPECIALLY in full chord shapes. The C22s, with the help of the active electronics, I imagine, give me a tone I can really use. The cleans, and I noticed this especially in the neck humbucker are INCREDIBLY clean, and that's certainly nice. Distorted tones, I noticed, are especially nice and clear. I played some twisted inverted chord forms and the thing I noticed was that the low E was not getting lost like it did on my other Carvin (TL60T, alder body, M22s). The distorted stuff on this axe is GREAT.

One area where it falls short for me is getting that muffled, tone-rolled-back jazz lead tone that I can get so well on my TL60...I don't know if there's something wrong with it or if it's just the active electronics in general, but I can't get that tone.

Something I'm pleasantly surprised with is the Fishman Acoustic bridge. I'm one of those people who can tolerate the piezo sound when you're playing in a mix, and this thing does it really well. I haven't had a multitude of time to mess with the pan pot yet (blends acoustic and electric signal), but I'm sure I'll find some valuable tones with it.

So really, short of the missing jazz lead, I really like the sound of this thing, it's really a good step closer to what I want-an articulate, low-output pickup lead thing. It's great.

8age

The action on the guitar was fantastic. It was nice and low, and that, combined with the 6105-sized fretwire, made it really comfortable for running through Holdsworth-style legato runs. The only setup issue I'd have liked a little different would be having it arrive in tune, but c'mon, how hard is it to tune it myself?

The pickups were adjusted perfectly, like I said, the sound is excellent on this beast. Not too much midrange, not too little spank.

The bridge routing was typical Carvin - perfect, not a problem to mention.

The tung-oil finish is naturally very nice to the touch, and it just contributes to the classiness of the instrument...this is a beautiful guitar, no mistake about that...and it's beautiful through and through, not a loose-end about it.

I'm confident this guitar will withstand live playing. Like I said, it's built rock solid, the strap buttons are nice and secure...it should be fine.

I am confident that the hardware will last, at least as long as you should expect it to. It's certainly strong, but you have to expect the finish to wear eventually...that being said, my other Carvin has been played like crazy for the past 6 months, and I sweat alot, and I have yet to see any wear on the finish of the hardware.

Without a backup? Of course not, that's just foolish. Course, if I had to, I'd be pretty confident with the thing, it's made well...I just don't like breaking strings in the middles of songs...

Carvin's customer support is nothing short of excellent. Even when you perform an online order, you are assigned a salesman who takes care of you. They've always been accepting of my questions, and they even called when the thing shipped. I was quite pleased.

I've been playing for a little over 4 years now. I'll be attending music school next semester (financial factors dictated otherwise for the fall semester) at Virginia Commonwealth University. I own another Carvin, I just sold the thorn in my side that was my Ibanez RG570, and I'm about to sell my poorly intonated Ibanez 12-string. I've got my 5150II and Marshall 1960 on the way, and I can't wait to try the combination.

If it were stolen, I think I'd definately replace it. It's a very great instrument.

I love the distorted tones, I love a lot of the clean tones, I just wish I could get my little jazz tone...but maybe this will stop me from getting cliched out like that all the time...

Anyway, I think it'd be worth a shot for anyone to check out Carvin. Chances are you'll be satisfied, and if you're not, you can send it back. Give them a shot, you'll most likely be quite happy.

USA, 2001
This is a 24-fret, all mahogany neck-thru guitar. It's double-humbucker setup w/one volume, one tone, a three-way selector & a coil tapper for each pickup. I ordered it with Carvin's M22's, but have replaced them with a pair of Duncans. The shape is strat-styled w/sapphire blue translucent finish. The bridge is an FT6 string-through. Molded hardshell case was included, as well as a strap...

I'd say even with the Carvin pickups, this is THE best guitar that I have ever played or owned (and I've tried just about everything). And now that I've put the Duncans in this guitar... WOW!!!!!!!! I play many different styles of music (played a gig this weekend where we did rock, punk, hardcore, r&b, disco, funk and blues... just to give you an idea of how many different styles I need to cover)and this thing can do it all! I run it through a Line 6 POD version 2.0 into two 40-watt tube Fender combos (stereo).
The split-coil settings on the Carvin pickups just flat-out blew. With the new pickups, I actually like the split sound. The pickups are a Duncan Pearly Gates Plus (bridge) & a Duncan custom 59 (neck). I pulled these pickups out of a stock Fender Big Apple Strat, and they absolutely SING in this instrument!!!

(I probably would have given this catagory an 8 or 9 with the Carvin pickups...)

Although this guitar was setup for VERY light strings (I use 11-50 gauged strings), the action was perfect right out of the delivery package, and almost in perfect tune!
The finish on this thing is just beautiful. I can definitely say that there were no issues (other than the pickups).

I just gave this thing the first REAL test run at 2 1/2 hour gig this past weekend, and it performed FLAWLESSLY! It NEVER went out of tune! And rest assured that I beat this thing silly at an outdoor gig under the hot, humid sun down at the Jersey shore (I put new strings on about an hour before the gig began). I was amazed. In fact, I did not bring a back-up to this gig and I never needed one! (brazen move, but I knew this guitar was going to perform like a champ)
I had Dunlop Strap Locks installed (custom option at Carvin) and they did exactly what they should have done. End of story!

I have only had two experiences with reps at Carvin and both times were with my salesman, Urban. Urban was THE man! He was VERY helpful and answered all of my questions. The second time I called him was regarding an order change due to my fickle nature, and was VERY patient with me.
5 year warranty, just like all Carvins ordered from the factory.

Anybody on this board bitching about Carvin gear should GET A LIFE!!! What in GOD'S name could you possibly be complaining about??? I've been playing for fifteen years now and owned countless Fenders & Gibsons, played MANY PRS's (would never purchase one though), and these guitars just can't be touched (and I'm not just talking about the price). If you don't like your Carivin, send it back and stop your damn belly-aching.

The reason I took a chance on Carvin was because of their 10 day guarantee (business days that is). If you don't like the guitar that you just ordered, send it the fuck back! They'll give you a FULL refund! You only eat the shipping charge, which is twenty friggin' bucks. And twenty bucks to play a semi-custom guitar for two weeks is a damn tempting offer if you ask me. Needless to say, they'll NEVER get this instrument back from me!!! I would DEFINITELY order another guitar from Carvin...

Since I purchased the guitar used, I can't really rate the features, as I didn't select 'em! I'll just give it a "9" because the guitar comes with a lot of stuff for the price, even when new. My guitar is basically a stock DC127. The guitar was probably made in April or May of 2000. The only features added by the original owner to the stock features were rounded body sides, black hardware, and the transluscent gloss antique yellow finish. Otherwise, the guitar is a maple neck-through with alder body sides, two passive Carvin C22 humbuckers, ebony fretboard, fixed Strat-style bridge, three-way switch, and two coil tap switches. Looks-wise, the rounded sides make it look somewhat like what a neck-thru Ibanez Satriani model might look like. I advise anyone interested in more detail to check out www.carvin.com for a list of all available features--there's a ton of 'em. The frets are the standard medium/tall frets not unlike those you would find on many PRS or Parker Fly guitars.

In short, the sound of this guitar is solid, but a bit nasal-sounding and not quite as smooth on heavy distortion as I would like. I believe this is primarily due to the Carvin-made pickups, as the guitar itself is structurally and materially almost identical to an '80s Jackson soloist (maple neck-thru, alder wings), which does not sound like that. The solution is probably to plop a couple of Seymour Duncans into this guitar. A JB in the bridge and a Pearly Gates in the neck position would be nice. I have a couple of EMG 81s available, but those have limited switching options, and I would rather stay with passive pickups in this Carvin. The clean sounds, on the other hand, are wonderful--the coil tap switches allow you to get a wide range of sounds when you use both pickups at the same time, although I wouldn't have minded having a phase switch, as well. Strat-lovers beware, however: the coil-tap does not create a very strat-like sound. It just creates a thinner, shimmering version of the humbucking sound, for some reason. I'm basically a "evolved shredder", meaning my goal in life now is to be as good as Mr. Holdsworth, rather than Mr. Malmsteen! For the style of music I play, this guitar-style is very well suited, as a neck-through design permits extremely low action, and the design and manufacture of the Carvin are much better than anything else I've found in this price range. For what I paid used ($395), almost anything else I could get would either be a beater or a Korean special. Had I ordered one from the factory myself, I probably would have opted for the Wilkinson tremolo, as well as a mahogany body/neck with a maple top, but the hardtail has advantages, as well. For one, the tone is much improved, I believe. Each note rings out clear as a bell and sustains beautifully. In a way, it's odd that almost all of the commercially available neck-thrus these days come with Floyds, which blunts a lot of the sonic advantages of having a neck-thru guitar in the first place. Interestingly, this DC127 seems a bit more 'transparent' sounding than one I owned a couple of years ago. That first DC127 was much heavier, however, and may have been all-maple. This new DC127 is really quite light--even lighter than my Charvel Model 5. Carvins are all definitely "bright" sounding, however. Gotta get those weird pickups out of it!!

I purchased the guitar used, although it's only about a year old--so I can't comment on the factory setup. Interestingly, the neck seems to be just about perfectly in alignment, even after sitting in a used guitar shop for awhile in the semi-tropical climate of Washington DC in the spring/summer. This climate is brutal on guitar alignments because of the radical difference between winter and summer, and I expect to have to do a truss rod adjustment in the next few days due to the fluctuating humidity in my basement studio. The strings were set rather high, however. I suspect that this was either the doing of the first owner, or else he ordered it to be set up high from the factory. Carvin normally promises low action. A few tweaks and I've gotten the action down pretty low. I'm going to try to set it even a bit lower--Carvins are *great* that way. If you want to shred, you have to have low action in order to avoid repetitive stress injuries. As far as fit and finish goes, the guitar is far ahead of anything else I've seen available in that price range ($6-700 new). I haven't seen any of the problems with bum switches that others have reported here. The "antique yellow finish" is a bit orangish, I'll admit, but it is still quite striking. The hardware all seems to be functioning quite well and still looks brand new.

I've only had the guitar for one day, so I don't know how it will hold up. If it's anything like my first DC127 (which I had to sell in order to come up with rent deposit money on a house), it will withstand WW3. The finish is decent, although I've seen thicker gloss coats before. I'm just a studio guitarist, so I don't really have to worry about gigs and strap locks and all that good stuff. I don't usually feel the need to imitate EVH's moves while tracking material in my basement... ;)

I purchased both DC127s I've owned used, so I've avoided the factory. Years ago, however, I did purchase an X-100B half stack from the factory, and found the folks nice to deal with. That was a loooonng time ago, however, so I don't know anything about them now. The only repairs I've had on my first Carvin guitar was a plain setup job. My setup guy said the thing was quite easy to work with, however.

I've been playing for 19 years, and I've owned just about every decent guitar that's come down the pike. Traded 'em all in like an idiot at one time or another. Seriously, I could open a kick-ass used guitar store with all of the axes I've played! Now that I'm married, money pressures don't permit me to own the kind of expensive guitars I used to have (Les Paul, PRS, Steinberger, etc). I'm not a pro, so it's hard to justify having $2000 axes to the Missus. I had kind of a sad story recently, because the Charvel Model 5 I spent a bunch of money fixing up myself turned out to be junk due to warpage of the top part of the neck related to the fact that the headstock is a separate piece of wood and aged differently than the neck. As of two days ago, I had not a single totally functional guitar! Anyway, enough of the bio. Carvin guitars are a godsend for me, even if they aren't perfect, because they allow me to own a quality American-made guitar, when the only other options available to me are shoddy Asian-made guitars that don't play or sound good, or extremely beat-up Jacksons or Fenders. No, my new DC127 isn't going to threaten anyone's PRS Custom 22 or Brian Moore, but those guitars, even used, cost *four times* what I paid, at least.

I've seen a lot of bitching on this board about Carvins in one way or another, but I have never seen any other guitar in this price range with either the build and design quality or the range of custom-options. Just do like what I'm going to do--junk the Carvin pickups and pop some Duncans in.

1999-24 fret ebony fingerboard, no inlays, classic sunburst on alder body and maple neck, black hardware, original Floyd Rose trem, Sperzel locking tuners, strap locks, and 2- M22V and M22SD series humbuckers. 25" scale length. Same as PRS. Coil splitters, one tone, one volume, and a three way.

This pickup combination sounds awesome with distortion. You can get a real fat tone with the tone knob alone, but its very metalic sounding through a clear channel. Not really a clean playing guitar. More for metal with this configuration.

Awesome!

The three way switch keeps clicking and making funky noises when I use it. Carvin sent me another after sending me the wrong one, and it does the same thing. I've cleaned it with compressed air to no avail. Other than that it's fine.

They have caused me too many problems to mention. I?ve only talked to two people in over three years at Carvin that care, Eddy and James. Most of their people are down right rude and the management there doesn't care enough to fix the problems. That?s why they have so many problems in this area. Just read some of the other peoples experiences on here under Customer Support.

If they would get rid of most of their people or at least train them in customer support they would have one of the best companies going. Fact is it sucks even though the guitars are some of the best in the world. I'll buy more, but they'll come from Ebay.

2001 custom made (USA)
Tung Oiled Mahogany (neck through of course)
5 piece neck (Mahogany and Maple)
Active Electronics
C22 Humbucking Pickups
Fishman Acoustic Bridge
Low-Wide Frets
No inlays on the fretboard

I play a mostly clean guitar. Jazz/Rock/Funk and other things. I use little or no distortion. Running it through an MTS3200 and a 1X12 (soon to be 2X12). No real effects besides an occasional compressor or delay. The tone on this guitar is BEAUTIFUL. Its a nice full sound due in part to the Mahogany Body. The sustain is great. The Fishman adds so much to the tonal pallete. For instance, with the bridge pickup activated I get a great deep, bassy sound. I add alittle of the Fishman and it almost sounds 3 Dimensional. It adds the slightest (or greatest, whichever I desire) bit of percussive high-mid sound to the guitar. It really makes for endless possibilities. I'm still experimenting.

Action is terrific, not to high but not too low (alittle on the low side I guess) Pickups sound great right out of the box. As far as the tung oil goes, everything was PERFECT. I'd definately have to pay $2000 in the music store for an instrument like this.

Built strong. I dont think I'll buy any other brand of guitar besides Carvin.

The sales guy wasn't great but everyone else I dealt with was great.

I've been playing guitar for almost 15 years now. I've owned a Les Paul, a Strat, two SG's, an ES-165, an ES-135, an Ovation Elite Standard (the only other guitar I still have and LOVE), and a few other crappy cheaper models that dont deserve mentioning. I wouldn't compare any of those guitars to my new Carvin (except maybe the Ovation) If it were stolen I would buy another one, no doubt about it. Any neck through guitar is automatically going to be expensive. Originally I was looking at a PRS but I didn't have $2000 to spare!! This Carvin could outplay a PRS any day of the week. Not to mention I saved over a grand. There's only one option...BUY CARVIN!!!

Another Carvin Custom Shop masterpiece! Constructed at the end of 2000, and shipped to my house the following February. All mahogany, with the usual Carvin neck-through-body construction. I opted for a clear finish, but chose a matte rather than a glossy finish. Black painted headstock, just like how they used to paint them in the good ol' days. Chrome hardware, ebony board, 24 nicely done frets, locking Sperzels, Dunlop strap locks, fixed bridge, coil splitter, free hardshell case, and free shipping. They even gave me a free tweed strap and some extra packs of strings. Nice!

I thought the tone would be darker with the mahogany wood, but it's still kinda bright due to the neck-through-body construction. I play mainly jazz and blues, and it does the job quite well. I am using a Peavey Triumph 120 combo noise machine (remember those?), as well as a Tech 21 Series 10 - the best practice amp...ever! If anything, the guitar is versatile as hell. Even through the shitbox Triumph, it still sounds like a million bucks, not like the corner-cutter Gibson SG Special I used to own.

The guitar arrived perfectly in tune! No kidding. The action was quite low, but I like that. The neck is maybe the nicest I ever played, fast like those shredder Ibanez necks made in the late 1980's, but more comfortable. The pickups are great for stock pick-ups; I opted for a M22SD bridge model. The matte finish is great - less susceptible to visible scratches. It's not the fanciest guitar I've own, but asthetically, it is quite beautiful, in a simple, yet functional way. I looked inside the wiring, and voila...outstanding shielding! Simply stated, everything was GOOD!

I am sure this guitar will stand the test of time. I plan on keeping it - selling it would be rather dumb since Carvin's have zero resell value! This is an excellently constructed instrument, not a mass produced piece of garbage that you will find at Sam Ash.

Sean at Carvin was totally cool. He helped me with this, and I am grateful. Keep in mind if it gets damaged, you need to ship it to San Diego, but their customer service is great, the best I ever dealt with.

I have been playing since 1987 - damn it's been a lot time, eh? I went through my metal phase, a time of great stupidity and youth when I actually traded a Les Paul Custom for a piece of shit B.C. Rich Gunslinger - give me a break, I was still a kid!! Now I own my Carvin DC127, and a Takamine acoustic. I don't play as much as I used to, but I still like to kick out the jams early each weekend morning. I plan on getting a Carvin Bolt within the year.

I want to let the readers know, Carvin might be the best kept "secret" in the music instrument industry. I bought an outstanding piece of glorious American-made guitar for UNDER $700!! Screw Paul Reed Smith and Brian Moore - their prices disqualify them from being able to compete with Carvin. Screw all other companies, Carvin has a customer for life with me!

My Carvin was made in 2000 in the USA. super-Strat style with rounded body edges. 24 perfect medium-jumbo frets. mine has passive electronics; 2 humbuckers (M22V neck & M22SD bridge), each is splittable and there is a 3-way selector switch and a volume and a tone pot. i also ordered mine with a phase switch. mine has a mahogony body and neck (ebony fingerboard) and a beautiful AAA flamed maple top finished in greenburst. it's gorgeous. it has a Fender-style hard-tail bridge and the strings go through the body. locking sperzel tuners made stringing the guitar a breeze and keeps the guitar in tune better than any other guitar i've played. straplocks were installed. it came with a free hardshell case and a few goodies such as picks, wrenches...since it's all customizable, you can't complain that you dont get the features you want.

I love this guitar! i mostly play alternative and rock and dabble with funk and blues a little. right now I'm using it with a Marshall TSL60 head with the matching 4x12 cab and a couple effects here and there. the guitar can cover about any style except maybe country, but i dont even touch that, so it's not an issue. the bridge pickup gets a little noisy on higher gain settings. the split humbucker sounds aren't completely convincing but they're nice for a little variety. i'm considering switching the pu's for Duncans or something. this guitar can sustain like no other. thats probably due to the mahogany and the bridge style. very full and cutting sound but not muddy nor piercing. the neck is sooo comfortable. thin, but not too thin. perfect for me. some people say that they'll only play on tung oiled necks and hate painted necks. but i have no problem. i'm not a shredder so i don't mind. i like everything about the guitar; except it's pretty heavy.

The guitar was shipped from San Diego all the way to Baltimore and it was perfect straight out of the box. action was perfect and the neck needed no adjusting. pickups were good too. the flamed maple top is flawless and gorgeous. finish seems a bit thin, but it's ok cuz i baby my guitars. the electronic cavity was properly shielded. the fret job is immaculate. you can tell that the guys and gals at carvin put lots of effort and time into each guitar. the only problem was that the selector switch was a little noisy. that was easily fixed though.

I've never gigged with it and even though i have faith in it, i wouldnt gig without a backup. finish, like i said, is kinda thin, but not in a bad way. the strapbuttons are for straplocks so i dont need to worry about it falling. hardware is all solid.

When i ordered my guitar, Carl, my salesperson, was very helpful. didnt try to pressure me into buying anything i didnt want. my first case was bent up in the front. i called about it and they let me keep the bent case until they brought the new one. they shipped the broken one back for free! when i called about the selector switch, they were very helpful in diagnosing the problem and explaining how to fix it. 5 year warranty.

I've been playing for almost 5 years and this is my 3rd electric. i also own a Martin acoustic which i love too. if somebody stole my carvin, i'd find them, and kill them in some gruesome way. i wont go into detail about that though. i love everything about it. props to carvin for building such fine instruments at such great values. i like it better than any PRS i've played; singlecuts, McCartys, CEs...do yourself a favor, save a couple grand and look to Carvin.

DC127 Year: 2001
My options: Mahogany neck, Mahogany body sides 2 humbuckers (standard) 2 single coil switches (standard) I had a phase switch added. Pickups: my choice: M22T and M22v Finish: Clear gloss Abalone block inlays (fantastic) Strat style body. Fixed bridge. Sperzel locking tuners. I ordered the vintage tweed case.

It suits my style very well. This guitar is a single coil sounding monster. I've played for 35 years. In the humbucking mode the neck pickup sounds full and good for jazz. The middle position of the 3 position switch produces a single coil sound. You would expect it to sound like a humbucker using both humbuckers at the same time. The sound, however, is exceptionally good. No guitar anywhere produces a better quality tone. I love the sound when both single coil switches are on. Killer tone. The hype about these guitars is justified. I've never heard a better sounding guitar in my life. The phase switch ( costing me only $7.50 to have added) produces sounds "exactly like a Fender Mustang" This might not have much use to me, but it didn't cost much. Mustang lovers would go crazy over this I believe. I have a Fender Deville amp and a Carvin MTS 3212 tube combo. The guitar sounds great through both amps. Quiet guitar. The guitar in general is quite bright. I wish the guitar was more humbucking-like, but the neck pickup nails the humbucking tone. Good variety in tone.

The guitar was set up well when it arrived. Way out of tune, that doesn't matter. The action is the best compared to any guitar anywhere. Again, they advertise this and they are right! The fretwork is perfect, and the best I have seen in 35 years. A small flaw on the beveled edge of the guitar, like a spot of laquer. Small and it's ok with me.

It's solid and will hold up well. The hardware is very good quality. All top notch. The finish looks good and durable, not thin like I have read elsewhere. I forgot, my finsh is clear gloss. Beautiful over the dark Mahogany. Strap buttons are solid. I can depend on the entire guitar. I would use it without a backup guitar.

My mistake was ordering it from a sound specialist. The regular guitar specialist was gone the day I ordered it, which was on a Saturday. He could not get the order right and I had to repeat what I wanted over and over. I called back to confirm what I ordered, and the order was still wrong. I finally got it straightened out. I've had the guitar for 5 days, so no repair now. I forget the warranty time. Other customer support was very good.

I've played for 35 years. I have a Telecaster and G&L Asat Classic. This guitar blows away the Asat Classic. The tones are the best. I love the single coil tones. There are none finer on any guitar anywhere. Devastating single coil tones. I don't know ANY guitar anywhere that could out-single-coil this one. At one time I had the feeling that a guitar must say Fender or Gibson on the headstock. After playing this guitar I found out I was so wrong. I wish the humbucker in the middle position sounded more like a humbucker and less like a single coil. That's the only minor complaint. But this middle position sound is fantastic. I welcome Email.

this thing is the bomb! i was saving up to buy a carvin when the exact model i wanted went up on ebay. the guitar has a hardtail string through body bridge that runs on graphite saddles, over 2 after market active emg-89's (basically emg 85's that can be tapped to emg sa's), past a real ebony fretboard with 24 jumbo frets, across a graphite nut and down to sperzel locking tuners. the body is all mahogany with a mahogany neck thru (no heel at all! the neck feels kinda like a gibson). mine came with a satin finish that really shows off the choice woods. the hardcase is amazing. i hate most hardcases because they fail to support the neck fully. this case was made for the guitar and it shows. mine was made in 96 and was well taken care of. it is beautiful and plays fluidly. sustains for weeks (makes me think of the scene in spinal tap where nigel brags about the sustain -- this almost lives up to that!)

i play heavy, aggressive rock music and some strange, noisy jazz stuff on the side. unlike my amp (a peavey 5150 half stack), this guitar is not a one trick pony. the guy i bought it from used it for blues and rock. i use it for metal, hardcore and noisy art rock. the sound is quite varied. i can get the whiny, screamy bridge sounds and the thick as sludge neck stuff. i play hardcore breakdowns on the neck and piercing octave chords on the bridge. in the clean channel i use both pickups and get a really full acoustic sound.

this is a dark sounding guitar. i can not get the fender strat style brights out of it, but that's not what i bought it for anyway. this guitar is such a match for me tonewise, that i am no longer looking for any other guitars. i think that speaks volumes right there!

this thing shipped via ups from portland, or to akron, oh -- and arrived IN TUNE! i have had it for 2 months and only needed to tune about 3 times (and i play very aggressively!).
there is absolutely nothing wrong with this guitar in this category. i have heard that the carvin 5-way switches can be noisy, but this has a 3 way and 2 mini toggles (another plus!). my only complaint is that the neck would feel better if it were unfinished. i will still give this a 10 because that is a factory option that was not selected (so it wasn't carvin's fault!).

i would never, ever gig without a backup. i have seen too many crazy things at shows to do something that silly. besides, a broken string is better fixed after the show - grab the backup.

that said, this is the closest i would get to not using a backup. the last show we played, i didn't tune my backup before the set because i knew i wouldn't need it. the construction is solid as a rock and i have not had even minor problems in the past 2 months with it.

dunlop straplocks were factory installed, so i doubt they'll slip anytime soon. those things pressure test at 800 lbs!

i am going to give this an N/A because i have not had it long enough to see if problems will develop, although i suspect it deserves a 10.

i emailed them once to get a key for my hardcase and the email wasn't returned.

i didn't buy it from them so i did not expect much. i have never spoken to them.

i have been playing for about 12 years. i have a washburn strat that became my backup upon receipt of this. i also play bass. i have had yamahas, a vantage (martin's japanese imprint), countless off brand clones and even a couple of fenders. this guitar tops em all.

i priced the features this has with other manufacturers. this thing would cost over $2000 (not list, but actually cost) if it were made by esp or jackson custom. carvin is by far the best manufacturer for the money. it is an added bonus that this was made in the USA. this is my first american made neck thru, and i love it.

if it were ever lost or stolen, i would cry like a 7 year-old girl with a skinned knee. then i would order an exact version of what i had. i would also order a backup at the same time and get a traditional headstock (instead of inline) and an unmarked fretboard. that's another thing about carvin's, it isn't a big deal to get exactly what you want.

if you like gibson necks with jackson soloist action, fender hardtail sustains, and custom shop options, get off of harmony central and hit carvin.com.


this is the best guitar i have ever owned or played for the money. i have spent a lot more on stuff i have liked a lot less. a lot of players will rave about their gear because they are embarassed by what they paid (a defensive reaction?). these definately warrant a tryout if you see one used in a store.

2000 Maple Neck through Mahoghany body. All made write here in the USA. 24 medium jumbo ebony frets with abalone block inlays. Two Carvin humbucking pickups with 1 volume, 1 tone, 2 coil taps, and a phase switch. I got the M22V vintage neck pickup for a sweeter sound. The Body is sort of a cross between a strat and an SG. It has outline of a strat but it has beveled edges and is a little thinner that a strat. Fits very comfortably, absolutely no neck heel! The bridge is a FT6 string through body bridge ressembling a Fender hard-tail. I got the cool looking blue-burst funish. Other options include tung oil on back of neck, chrome hardware, grah-tech string saver saddles, Dunlop straloks, engraved truss rod, and the kitchen sink! I give it a 10 because its a custom guitar, if you don't get what you want, its your fault. It came with a great Tweed case (for an extra 30$, it usually comes with a normal hardshell case), truss rod wrench, picks, and an allen wrench.

The sound is good. I play mostly hard rock/metal. I also do some classic rock and blues. These pickups are top of the line. Believe me, I usually change the stock pickups in my guitars to Seymour Duncans, but these pickups are just as good. My amp is a Marshall VS265R 2X12 combo. I run my guitar through a pedal board with a Boss tuner, Crybaby Wah, and a Boss 7 Band EQ. The sound is very smooth, with controlable feedback when you want it, and silence when you don't want it. With the coil taps, you can get a lot of different sounds out of it. I've got some nice blues sounds out so far. The phase switch is fun, I haven't had much time to play with it yet but I'm sure I'll get some cool sounds.

The action is great, very low, very easy to play. Some people might not like it, but it fits me like a glove. The tung oil on the back of the neck feels awesome. The finish on the body is absolutely beautiful. You can see the grain of the Mahoghany and Maple through the Blue-burst. I haven't found any flaws yet. The switches were a little noisy at first, but thats going away now that I've used them a bit.

I've only had it for about a week. Its lasted so far. The chrome hardware lookes tough. The finish is kinda thin, but still seems durable. It came with strap-locks, so I don't have to worry about dropping it.

I don't know why everyone else complains. I didn't have any trouble at all with the people at Carvin. The employee that talked to me, Scott, was very helpful and answered all of my questions. I haven't talked to them since I got the guitar. Its got a 5 year warranty and a 10 day return policy if you don't like it or if somethings wrong.

I have been playing for over 2 years, and this is the greatest guitar I've ever played. It plays great, sounds great, and looks better! A guitar this quality from someone like PRS or GIBSON would cost three times as much if not more! Great deal and a great guitar. Do yourself a favor and go get one of these made for yourself. My next guitar is definitely gonna be a Carvin. If you wanna see my guitar, as well as read more about it, go here:
http://www.angelfire.com/pa4/carvin/index.htm

Carvin DC127, made in 2000. Alder neck-thru with alder body sides, tung oil finish. 24 frets, ebony fretboard. Lightweight. Cool abalone dot inlays -- a subtle touch of class rather than those big 'ol abalone blocks. Sperzel locking tuners, Wilkinson tremolo, passive H/H pickup config with a master volume, master tone, coil taps for each pickup and three-way pickup selector. Nothing fancy, just a simple tone machine. Gets an eight because it has everything needed to play great and produce useable sounds without loads of unneccesary stuff.

I play mostly progressive metal and rock in the vein of Fates Warning, Dream Theater, etc. The fast neck and low action lend themselves well for this kind of technical playing. Makes you want to shred (I pick up the Strat when I want my playing to be a little more subdued). I play it through a Legacy half stack or an MTS3200 half stack. The only effects I use are a BBE Sonic Maximizer and some basic chorus/delay effects. The guitar is very quiet, even when using the coil taps. The alder neck and body sound great - the tone is bright and lively without being harsh and the guitar is very light. You can feel it resonate in your hands. The bridge pickup is solid-sounding and articulate, the neck pickup is round and smooth and punchy. The coil taps allow fairly convincing sounds. I must say that I can't find anything to dislike about this guitar.

The factory set up of the guitar was near perfect top-to-bottom. A few tweaks and I was ready. The cavity routing is absolutely flawless - none better at any price. Even the insides of the cavities are smooth. The alder wood is beautiful in it's simplicity. All controls are tight and function properly.

This guitar feels substantial to me, although some others have said it seems fragile. The hardware is top-notch and should last forever. The tung oil finish is more easily damaged than the clear finishes, but what's a few dings? It won't affect the sound or playability and just adds a little personality (I am of the persuasion that guitars should be played and not maintained flawlessly in someone's bedroom). The tung oil has a great feel and looks classy. Everything is solid and I can certainly depend on it.

Good guys, Urvan hooked me up and made sure everything was correct. Overall great CS.

Been playing for about 8 years and have a good deal of gear, a lot of it from Carvin. I would replace it without hesitation if it were to befall a gruesome fate. I don't have any complaints with it, and love it's simplicity. The only other axes of this quality that play this well are gonna cost you big-time. Play one if you get a chance, then order one from the factory for less than 1/3 what you paid for that PRS.

This is a follow-up to my earlier post. While I am thrilled with my guitar, I am less than enthusiastic about Carvin's customer service. As I mentioned before, the second page of my invoice was not shipped with the guitar. While my salesman, Carl, was helpful when it came to rectifying that matter, I still think that it is less than stellar performance on Carvin's part. More significantly, two days after placing the order, I called Carl and asked to add the $15 phase switch option to the guitar. He said that they would do that, and bill my credit card. Well, I wasn't billed, but I also didn't get a phase switch. When I called Carvin I was shunted from one salesman to another, and left voice mail for Carl, with no answer. Carvin makes great guitars (based on mine), and I would buy from them again, but their customer service leaves much to be desired, especially considering that most of their customers deal with them by phone, as I did.

I just received my Carvin DC127 in the mail today. I placed the order on July 7th, and it was shipped on August 14th. Carvin offers many options as far as guitar woods go. My DC127 is a maple neck-thru guitar with alder body sides and a quilted maple top. It has two humbucker pickups (Carvin C22's), a three-way switch, and a coil-tap toggle. I also paid $15 extra for a phase switch. The guitar has Sperzel locking tuners and a solid looking hard-tail bridge. I chose to appoint my guitar with gold hardware and abalone dot inlays.

The neck is a 15" radius, with a 25" scale. This is wider and shorter than my American Standard Strat, which has been my main guitar for the last 10 years. I was worried about how it would feel, but I should have saved myself the trouble. This is the best playing guitar I have ever touched. Compared with the Strat it is slightly longer from top to bottom, but it is narrower all around. It has much less of a bevel for the side and arms, but as a thinner guitar, that is not a problem. The Carvin is also significantly lighter than the Fender. I wanted a lightweight guitar (one of the reasons I went with maple/alder, as opposed to a Les Paul like mahogany body and neck), and Carvin has delivered.

The guitar also came with Carvin's HC11 case for free. This case is wonderful. It is small and light, fits the guitar like a glove, and is very sturdy.

I play blues and rock, usually straight into my Fender Princeton Chorus Amp. The guitar sounds very good, and VERY loud. Having only played for a few hours, I have not discovered all of the tonal options, but I am very impressed by the sustain. An open E chord sustains for over 60 seconds, and decays in a very nice way. The guitar is not as loud acoustically as my Fender, but it sounds very nice unplugged, and is not quiet by any means.

The action is perfect! I have never had such low action, but it suits my playing wonderfully. The pickups are set up well, but I plan to play around with them soon. They have extra polepieces, and I am wondering what raising and lowering the "inbetween" polepieces will do to the sound. The quilted top was a $300 option, but I splurged as this is my 30th birthday present. The top is the most beautiful I have ever seen, and is almost perfectly bookmatched. I chose the "Vintage Yellow" finish, and it was a great choice. Besides being beautiful, the guitar has a great "new guitar" smell. This axe has a very "PRS" vibe, for lots less money.

On the con side, the switches were pretty loud for the first 20 minutes or so, but the noise has worked out of them. Also, there are two pin size pits in the abalone dot at the 15th fret, and a small "something" on the back of the headstock (I haven't determined what). The alder sides have a nice grain, which is visible on the back of the guitar, but I don't think I'll spend much time looking at the back.

The guitar is wonderfully well balanced, and has a good sound. I will not bring a backup to my weekly practice sessions with my band, but I may bring the Strat to gigs in case a string breaks. But this guitar is so comfortable to play, and so light, that it will be my main guitar from here on out.

My sales person, Carl, was quite friendly, and was very enthusiastic, and he offered some good advice. It helped that I came to the phone prepared, having done lots of research on Carvin's website, and on Harmony Central. The guitar came without the extra sets of strings I ordered, and without the free t-shirt that Carl threw in for me. When I called tonight, he remembered me and the guitar, and promised to mail the stuff out today. I will call back during my 10 day trial period to ask about the slight imperfections on the abalone and the headstock mentioned above. I will submit an update later on the customer service.

I've been playing for 14 years. I have the aforementioned Strat, and a Guild acoustic. For more info on why I chose this guitar, and eventually for pictures and more feedback, check out http://www.empire.net/~lewisec/gtr00/index.html
If anything happened to this guitar (and I had the money) I would replace it in a heartbeat. I only wish that Carvin would offer a built-in guitar synth setup, like Roland used to do.

1992 Carvin DC 127 Made in the USA. 24 Fret Ebony board with dot inlays. Strat style neck-thru body, maple with poplar sides (I think). H-H Passive stock Carvin pickups with 1 volume, tone and 3 way toggle. The finish is pearl red with black hardware. Carvin licensed Floyd Rose with a Kahler locking nut, Carvin tuners. The was the last year Carvin featured the 24.75 neck scale (Gibson style). The neck is your basic thin-wide profile featured on most guitars of the late 80's early 90's. I bought this off of ebay and the guy threw in a Carvin strap and cable. I'll give this a 9 because it has everything you need for your basic Metal guitar. I would have ordered a few things differently, tung oiled neck, mahagony wood, but hey I didn't pay the $700+ a new one would cost.

This was meant to be your basic Metal/ Hard Rock guitar, and it does that really well. The distorted tone is full and rich. The neck-thru construction really makes the guitar very dynamic. The highs and lows are both really well defined. This is the first neck-thru I've ever owned, and I really think this is the only way to build a guitar. There are no "dead spots" on the neck and the Gibson scale lenght really gives this guitar that meaty Les Paul tone. Everyone thinks that the thick Mahogony body is what makes the Les Paul sound, but the scale length has just as much to do with it. I only with Carvin still offered this scale, now they only offer the crappy PRS 25 inch scale on their neck-thru's. The clean tone is also very good on this guitar. You could use this guitar for almost any style of music. Even bluesy SRV riffs come out sounding pretty good on this thing. The only real complaint I have is the stock pickups. They tend to be a tad noisy in high gain situations. I think I will replace them with EMG's. I'm playing this through a Mesa/Boogie DC-3 with a Boss Super Overdrive.

I bought this used although it was hardly played so I can't really complain about the setup. I did change the strings to 10's so I had to re-setup the guitar anyway. Everything on the guitar was flawless. Being 8+ years old, I was suprised to find no chiping or flaking on the finish or the hardware. The frets are in perfect shape, and the action is super low.

I assume this guitar wasn't really played that much, since it's in such good shape. Everything has held up fine and I don't anticipate any problems. I would take a backup just in case you break a string. The Carvin Floyd Rose takes a while to re-string.

This is the 2nd Carvin I've owned and I've never had to deal with customer support.

I've been playing for over 10 years now and I've owned 5 or 6 guitars over the years ranging from Les Pauls, Strats, G&Ls and Yamahas. I currently have a Fender "Frankenstein" Strat and a Gibson Les Paul DC Standard. For the money, you can't beat a Carvin. No one makes a better guitar under $1000. This is also the easiest playing guitar I've ever owned. This things blows aways anything Ibanez, ESP or Jackson is making these days. The beauty of all of this is that Carvin's don't have a good resale value since they sell direct. This means that you can pick up a used one dirt cheap. Check out ebay and you'll always find a few gems out there.

My DC127 was made in 1999. It has a string thru body bridge, standard Carvin humbuckers(passive electronics) and Sperzel tuners. The body and neck are tung oiled mahogany. The tuners, bridge and knobs are black. It's a gorgeous guitar! I also had a phase switch added. It came with a case, combo allen wrench/screwdriver tool and a few picks. I rate the features a 10 because it has everything I want.

I play classic rock, stuff like Hendrix, Santana and AC/DC. I own a Carvin X-60 amp. My wah-wah is a Dunlop Cry Baby and all my other pedals are Boss'. The guitar makes a little noise when I use the coil splitter, lots of gain and a compression pedal but is much quieter than my standard Strat. The Carvin's sound is thick and the has lot of sustain. I play with the coils split for Hendrix, Rolling Stones and Zepplin. The humbuckers are great for Santana, ZZ Top and Satriani. They scream! The phase switch is useful for "Ain't talkin' bout love", "Fly by night" and "Rock an' roll hoochie koo".

The setup was great. The action is perfect for me, I asked Carvin to set it a little higher than normal. All the controls work fine but after a year the pickup selecter will occasionally make a crunchy noise. Dust perhaps? Another ten because it was set up the way I liked it and everything worked the way it should.

I am paranoid about this guitar because of it's tung oil finish and neck thru body construction. If I have to bash a rowdy drunk over the head I would prefer to use my Strat. Unfortunately the band I was in fell apart shortly after I purchased the guitar and it has only left the bedroom a few times. Everything is solid on this guitar but since I haven't really tested it in the real world it would be unfair to rate this category.

I've has no problems with this axe and have not had to deal with Carvin so I can't make a rating.

Been playin' since 1984. I would buy another one. I love the feel and shape of it's neck. It has a flatter radius than a Strat and is very smooth. A few years before I bought this guitar I thought Jacksons were the shit. I hated the prices, $2500 for a custom ordered guitar with the features of the Carvin. Also if I didn't like the Jackson I was stuck with it. I think PRS guitars and Carvin are the best out there but again the price factors into it. Screw the resale value argument, when I buy something I keep it. Do yourself a favor and try a Carvin. If you don't like it will only cost $20 to ship it back.

I got this guitar used a few days ago. I'm not exactly sure of the model number or the wood it's made of, but I can make an educated guess with the help of this very useful website: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/9455/cvnmenu.html. I think it's a 1989 or '90 DC127. Made in the USA. It is neck-through, and I think the body wings are either koa or poplar. The fretboard is 24 medium, high frets on a beautiful slab of ebony. I believe the scale is 25.5". The fretboard radius is probably 15", as it has always been on DCs. The guitar has a nice natural finish, which lets you see the maple neck running all the way through the body. The neck is really comfortable - not too thick but not too thin either. The tuners are Carvins; they don't lock, but they seem to hold the tuning perfectly fine. The headstock is a cool "shredder" shape, sort of like a Jackson but not reversed. The bridge is a hardtail type thing, and the nut is graphite. I'm happy about this because I was getting tired of having to adjust the floyd rose and locking nut on the ibanez rg 470 I used to own.

My guitar has two humbuckers, and I have no idea what model they are. The electronics are all active. There is an incredible number of tones you can get with this system. There are a whopping 4 knobs (volume, bass cut/boost, treble cut/boost, and blend (when both pickups are engaged)), 3 toggles (coil tap for each humbucker and a phase switch), and a 3-way switch. These are all arranged so that they can be easily reached, but don't interfere with your picking. The active electronics are powered by a 9-volt battery, which is sort of cool, but also sort of weird. I'll just have to get used to that fact.

Basically, this guitar has all the features I've ever wanted, and everything seems to be really high quality. And it only costed $400! And it cam with a case! This guitar definitely deserves a 10 here.

I like to listen to lots of music styles: rock, metal, jazz, jazz-fusion, and blues in particular. I'm not so good at playing them yet, though! I use my trusty Marshall Valvestate 65R. My only effects right now are the amp's gain and reverb, but I would like to get a multieffects unit (like the Korg ax1000g) sometime in the future.

First of all, the clean sounds are really nice. You can get everything from a full jazz humbucker sound with the neck pickup to a Fender-type single coil sound with bridge pickup coil-tapped. I haven't played with all the controls much (yet), but there is an amazing amount of variety you can get in the tone.

With distortion, the guitar smokes of course. This guitar was designed in the shred era, so it definitely has those capabilities. The neck HB is warm and expressive, and the bridge HB is bright and cutting. And this can be tweaked ad infinitum with all the tone shaping controls. I will say that distortion with the coil taps engaged sounds especially interesting.

I should mention that there is some hum present in coil-tap mode, but that is probably to be expected. Also, out of my amp it's impossible to get that full blown 80's hair metal lead tone, but that's definitely because of my amp (and also because I play with the volume set very low), not because the guitar can't do it.

Even though it's a neck through, it's not overly treble or shrill. And because it's a neck through, it has great sustain. I think I'll give it a 10 here.

From the store, the guitar was set up for very thin strings (I can't tell if they're .008's or .009's). I'll change them to .010's or .011's somewhere down the line. Everything seems to be just fine, except there are a bunch of little dents on the body wings on the front and back. It's because they used a softer tone wood there like koa or poplar, and there isn't a thick coat of gloss over the body to sheild it. I'm not too worried about this. I bought this guitar to play rigorously, not to put in a museum. The dents are very small anyway, and they almost blend in with the grain of the wood.

The two things I care about most, the frets and the action, are both great. The frets are nicely polished and level with no visible wear. The action is very comfortable with no buzzing. I can play comfortably all the way up the neck, by virtue of the neck through design.

I'll take a point off here for the little dents, and a couple points off the durability rating.

I don't play out, but if I did I would definitely trust this. The only things that would concern me are the the "dentibility" of the finish, and the fact that the pickups run on a battery. Other reviews have stated that the battery lasts up to two years, so that makes me feel a bit more comfortable.

I've never dealt with Carvin. If something had to be fixed/replaced/upgraded, I would just take it back to where I got it.

By the way, the people at Bills Music were really nice. They answered all my questions as much as they could, even though they aren't very experienced with Carvins. Thanks to Don, especially.

I've been playing for about 2 years now. I'm not bad for the time I've been playing, but I still waste too much time noodling around. I vow right here to practice harder and more intensely and not waste so much time.

I've already mentioned what kind of music I like, and my other equipment.

I think Carvins have always been way underrated. From any other company, this same exact guitar would have costed me well over $1000. There's not another company that makes an affordable, high quality, US made, neck-thru, active electronic guitar like this. Even brand new from their factory, this kind of guitar would only cost about $600.

I guess I wish it had some kind of tremelo. Wait! No I don't!!! That would mean taking a chunk out of the body. I think it's got everything I need for now. I love how I can feel the body resonate along with the strings. I don't really hate anything. My favorite feature is the smooth ebony fretboard.

I compared this to several Strats, a Jackson neck-thru, and a no name arch top. I played some other nice guitars that day, but this won, hands down, because it was exactly what I wanted. I am really glad I found it!

I hope I didn't forget to include anything. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

I purchased this guitar in 1995. I ordered it with a mahogany neck and body with a natural transparent finish and black hardware. Like most Carvin solid-body guitars it features a neck-thru-body design with a very nice 24-fret ebony fretboard. I sent the first one back because it had a small, dark knothole on the front of the guitar that was very visible (they don't make trees like they used to). As I recall, carvin replaced the guitar without complaint, although I had to pay return shipping on the defective guitar. The second one didn't have this flaw. It has two Carvin humbuckers (with coil taps) that are slightly hotter than PAFs, a Wilkinson "tremolo" bridge (non-locking), and locking Sperzel tuners.

I play mostly rock, jazz, and fusion, which this guitar is well suited for. Its on the heavy side (about the same as a Les Paul), and it has a lot of sustain. The pickups are clean, warm and fat sounding, although the coil taps don't really give a good Strat sound. Tapped humbuckers never do, so I can't blame this on Carvin. One minor complaint is that the pickups are missing the wire necessary to wire the individual coils in an out-of-phase parallel configuration.

The guitar was setup at the factor with extra light strings, which I promptly removed and replaced with D'Addario jazz lights. The action on the guitar is very good, although the strings were a little close to the fretboard (and buzzy) as setup from the factory. The fretboard is about as close to perfect as I've seen on a mass-produced guitar. I've owned three Carvins (not counting the one I sent back), and they've all had fantastic necks. The neck itself has 25" scale, which is right between a LP and a Strat. The Wilkenson bridge works well, and it stays in tune very well for a non-locking bridge. This is helped considerably by the locking tuners. I don't really use the wammy bar much; I plan to go back to a fixed tune-o-matic style bridge on my next guitar. The guitar has a couple minor cosmetic flaws, but the overall the workmanship is impressive. The wiring was a bit of a mess, however.

This has been a very reliable guitar, although I have not used it extensively for live preformance. I have had some minor electrical problems; a scratchy picking selector switch, and a wire that cracked.

Carvin CS is good in my experience.

Keeping with previous established pratice on this forum, I'll talk about myself and mention that I've been playing guitar for 21 years. :-) All the the Carvins that I have owned have been great guitars. The only other electrics that interest me much are PRS and Parker, and both of them cost twice as much as a Carvin. I can't imagine that I won't buy another one someday.