Carvin SH-550

Year - 2009
Frets - 22
Top/wood - Solid 4A flamed maple top, body and neck solid mohagany
controls - 1 volume, 1 tone(pull/push coil tap), 3-way pickup toggle
2 humbuckers - passive
Finish - top is a Honeyburst -sides, back and neck are clear finish
Body style - semi-hollow, single cutaway - routed body with maple cap
locking tuners
maple fretboard - 14" radius, stainless steel frets, 57' neck
Came with a very nice hardshell case and straplocks

Sound: This guitar sounds great plugged in and unplugged. It is crystal clear on the clean setting and handles OD very well. This guitar can make a variety of sounds due to the coil tap capability. The coil-tap is not as clear as a PRS rotary tap, but it still sounds good. You will not be able to get a perfect strat sound out of this guitar.

What I am using: TC Electronics Nova System into a Fender 4x10??? HotRod.

This guitar was set up perfect in the factory. The intonation is spot-on. The string that came on the guitar were Elixer???s. I used these when they first came out, but I am not a fan of these strings. 10???s feel like a 11???s and when you are making a big bend, the strings feel rubbery. I am swapping them out with D???addario 11???s.

Finish: This guitar is beautiful. Pictures do not do it justice. The flamed 4A(that right 4A!!) maple top is fantastic and paint/finish is top of the line.

Everything is solid on this guitar. All electronics are high quality and this guitar should stand the test of time.

Customer support - I have heard horror stories about Carvin support and well...there is an easy way to avoid that...order something in stock. I custom designed the guitar I wanted on the website, saw the price, and before comitting, I saw they had one in stock(for less $) close to what I wanted. I bought the in stock model and it was delivered in 4 days. As for my experience(order, pay, ship, enjoy) all went well for me.

I have been playing guitar for about 17 years now. I have owned PRS CEs, Gibson SGs, Gibson Howard Roberts, ES-335, USA Strats, and many more.

Prior to buying this guitar, I had two other guitars in the mix. 1. Gibson ES-339(smaller than a 335) and 2. PRS Hollowbody. My review of the Gibson angered me. I learned they were selling used for about $1400 and the Gibson quality was not up to snuff(poor workmanship and sub-par materials). The PRS was fantastic. The only problem was the price tag. The one I wanted was over $4000. I can get a used Honda for that!!! I mean, I would spend more money on a bodyguard for the guitar at gigs than I would make.

I finally stumbled across the SH550 and was blown away with the features, options and quality. I bought one in stock based on a photo. To my surprise, the pictures do not do these guitars justice. This guitar IS comparable to a high-end Gibson and a high-end PRS...without the $4k price-tag.

If this were stolen or lost I think I would buy another one. I might actually have one custom made if that happened???but I am inpatient and would most likely order another one in stock.

This is hands down the best guitar I have ever seen for the money.

This review is of a Carvin SH550.Has a solid,thick,carved,quilted maple top that is stunningly beautiful.Choice mohogany body and set neck,Sperzel locking tuners,Carvin pickups(with which I am very impressed),Tune-O-Matic bridge,1 volume and 1 volume tone(the latter splits the coils when pulled out),3 way pick-up selector,no pickgaurd that would hide the gorgeous top.The body shape is a bit of a departure from the norm,a single cut with a rounded lower horn,a bit larger than a Les Paul,a bit smaller than a 335,about 2.5 thick,thinner at the edges.The set neck has no heel to hinder access to the upper frets,which by the way are stainless medium jumbos on an ebony board.Standard high gloss finish,chrome hardware,block abalone inlays,small abalone dot position markers on the side of the fretboard and abalone Carvin logo on the headstock.Mine has the deep red 3 step finish on the top and headstock cap(also quilted maple),natural back and binding.The natural binding involves masking the edge of the maple cap during the finishing process and yields an elegant touch to an already stunnig guitar.I give a 9 here because of all the options available when you order to spec.

This is a tough category.The SH550 is great for most of the music I play,that is it will handle everything I throw at it,but no 1 guitar is perfect for all music.It's great for some blues,but a Strat is better for some.It is a wonderful jazz guitar,but it is not a traditional jazz box,though it can get close.Great for country but it's not a Tele.I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is a very versatile guitar that has it's own voice,one that I really love.I only have 2 amps,a Deluxe Reverb and an Allen Accomplice,and it works well with both.Neck pick-up is full and lush,without being muddy.May need a little more treble from the amp,but is wonderful.The bridge balances quite well with the neck and can get some good crunch and growl.The 2 combined can be very sweet for lead or nice and jangly for rhythm work.Tone control lets me gradually fade the highs and sweeten the tone.The volume controls works very well as it has a gradual taper and retains the sparkle and harmonics as you roll it down.Pull out the tone knob and the coils are split,lowering volume a bit and thinning the tone a bit.Not Strat territory,but useful.Harmonics,natural and pinched ring loud and clear.In high volume situations feedback can be a problem(sometimes a blessing?),but with proper stage position can be controlled to your advantage.

The set-up from the factory was quite good,but the action was a little low for me.Intonation is very good.The pick-ups were adjusted about where would have set them,no worries about the set-up.The quilted top is done very nicely,all tooling and routing is good and smoothly finished.The only flaw I can find is a tiny bit of stain on one side of the nut that was not cleaned off.The finish is beautiful.

This is one well built guitar.I watched the video on the Carvin website that shows how the guitar is made.At one point,the host took an unfinshed back,a neck and explained how tight the build tolerances are.He put the neck into the back(body back),with some difficulty.The fit was so tight he could not shake it loose.I think this guitar will stand up to anything except tragic accidents or willful destruction.The hardware is top notch,strap locks are solid,but I always have a back-up.

Only dealings with them were when I placed the order.I bought a pre-built in-stock guitar,because it was exactly what I would have spec'd anyway.The procees was very easy and the guitar arrived at my house 2 days ahead of schedule.Carvin provides a 5 year warranty,but you can not alter the guitar in any way,or it will be voided.This means even a pick-up change.For me that's OK because I like it just the way it is.

During my 40+ years of playing I have owned and /or used a wide variety of guitars.I now own 2 Strats,2 Ibanez SZ models,2 acoustics and an old Peavy bass,besides the Carvin.I used to think the Gibson ES335 I had was the best semi-hollow body available,but the Carvin puts in in the shade.It is the most comfortable guitar I have ever played.It is light,balances very well on a strap,sounds bigger than it is and is a breeze to play.As a bonus it is quite beautiful.I would buy another(and probably will soon)just because I like it and is now available with a Bigsby.It would be nice to try some P-90's in it,but that will wait until the warranty is gone.I love the sounds it will make,and the feel of the ebony board and SS frets.Slick!Like has been said before,a PRS or Gibson of this caliber would cost 2 to 3 times as much.My all time favorite guitar!

I purchased the SH-550 nearly as it appears on the cover of the catalogue: fancy flame sunburst, gold hardware, Bigsby tremolo, block abalone inlays, and I added the stainless steel frets and they installed the Strap-lok system for me at the factory. I also purchased a Carvin guitar strap and the hardshell case. One quick note: I had significant difficulty restringing this guitar with a heavier gauge of string due to the small holes in the Sperzel tuners.

This is the first Carvin guitar I have ever played or bought and I was somewhat "underwhelmed". I am not incredibly particular about pickups and thought that the stock pups were just fine, but did expect a little more dimension from a semi-hollow body. What really disappointed me was the lack of usability from the tone and volume pots. The tone pot had nearly no frequency sweep/cut and the volume pot went from nearly 10 to off, with almost no gradual increase or decrease. The coil split works and sounds just fine and is an incredibly useful tool for all sorts of applications. One of my little "tricks" is to turn the volume way down, set the pickup selector to the neck, and split the coils: on a semi-hollow body, this alludes to a nearly "jazz box" type tone, good for big band/acoustic swing. I have not yet gotten the chance to replace the strings so it will be interesting to see how the pickups respond to different gauges and round v. flat wound strings...Overall, I would say that this guitar will prove very useful and versatile.

Action was superb, with the factory set-up 10s. Pickups seemed to be very in tune with the neck and bridge action, neither too close nor too far from the strings. All components and hardware seemed very well fitted and incorporated into the body. I noticed no real "flaws" and certainly none that would affect the tone, appearance, or performance of this instrument. As previously mentioned, Carvin has an outstanding reputation for gorgeous finishes and colors. This guitar was just another example of that high quality.

This guitar feels to be very solid, durable, and sturdy. The weight balance did seem a bit odd to me, not uncomfortable, just different. I have not yet had the pleasure to use it in a performance setting, but anything shy of Pete Townshend style abuse will probably not affect this guitar. There is certainly a chance of oxidation on the gold hardward. I would definitely use this guitar on a gig without a backup, especially since it doesn't need a 9v for active pickups and can wear many "hats" thanks to the coil split and Bigsby bar.

While in the process of ordering this instrument, I found the support staff extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and courteous. I do not recall the reps name, but he was incredibly patient and informative. Through the process of dealing with the aforementioned tone and volume pots, Carvin reps set up a UPS pickup for me to return the guitar for repair. On a bass amp I bought about 4 years ago, the speaker grill did not fit properly and Carvin sent me a new one, no charge. I'm not sure why some people have had complaints about Carvin customer service, but I am happy to say that I have been very pleased so far.

I have been playing guitar for roughly 11 years, 8 of those professionally in military bands (USMC, Army National Guard, and U.S. Air Force). I have taught lessons off and on for the past 8 years or so and have a K-12 Instrumental Music Education degree. I have owned a variety of guitars from Teles, to Schecters, etc. I chose this guitar because as soon as I saw it on the cover of the catalogue, I knew I had to have it;) It seemed to have everything I need or want in a good all-around guitar that I could bring to nearly any gig and make the band and crowd happy. Once the little wrinkles have been ironed out, I'm sure this will be one of my main tools for years to come. And besides, it was about half of what a similar instrument would have cost from Gibson, PRS, etc.

This guitar comes standard with a Flamed Maple Top, 2 Humbuckers, with Coal Splitter via the Tone Knob. Options on my guitar included Gold Hardware, Abalone Block Inlays, Burst Finish on back of the guitar, neck and headstock. Gold plated Pickup Covers, and a beautiful binding around the guitar.

When I plugged this guar in and started to play I was floored. The tone is amazing, I???ve owned a lot of Carvin's and this is the best sounding one I???ve every played. Chords are defined with amazing clarity. Full bodied tone that was very smooth. The Middle and Neck Positions I would call creamy while the bridge, aggressive and tight. The guitar can cover Jazz to Metal if needed. Engage the Coil Splitter and you get some really great tones, much better than my PRS McCarty, but its not a Fender Strat either.

As with all Carvin???s the action is stellar right out of the box. Yes the guitar was in perfect tune when I took it out of the box. Action was amazing. The finish is very typical Carvin, absolutely stunning. I got this as one of their in stock guitars, got really lucky as it would have been exactly what I would have had done if I had custom ordered the guitar. The flame top with the Vintage Finish is so pretty to look at. The craftsmanship is just amazing. My PRS and Gibson Les Paul are not even in the same league; this guitar just smokes them as far as aesthetic and playability.

Hard to say about this guitar, it???s brand new. That being said, I own several Carvin Guitars and have been plaything them for 20 years. They some of the best built guitars in the world and can hold to some serious abuse. Although I do not play live anymore, I???m a home Project Studio guy, when I did I played Carvin???s along with many other guitars and never had an issue with any of my Carvin Guitars.

This is where Carvin is horrible. Although this sale was a good one, my experience with Carvin in the past has been just terrible. They are an arrogant group of people and I am convinced that stems from the top of the company and down. It seems to be a corporate culture. It is just sad. I run an 80 million dollar a year business, where customer service is the core of my success, so I just don???t get who it is tolerated at Carvin. At this point they cannot say they don???t know, that they are not aware, there is too much out there with people complaining about it. I brought it up once when ordering a guitar last year, mentioned how much negative publicity Carvin was getting on this site, they guy blew me off, he didn???t care. Again, just emphasizing they way they think, it???s a culture, when it gets seeded that deep; it???s hard to change it. Really too bad, they have such a good product, the customer experience should be just as good, if not better.

Carvin, you need to wake up!

I won a lot of guitars, nice guitars, from Fender to Gibson, to PRS, to Taylor, and including Carvin???s. This is my favorite guitar at this point. If any one of my other guitars were stolen, I???m not sure I???d run out to buy another. This guitar is the exception to that. I would buy another one the next day; I love this guitar and cannot recommend it enough. They are a little pricey for Carvin???s standards, but a steal when comparing to other Semi Hollowbody Guitars, like an ES335 or one of the PRS models. Buy one, you will be very, very happy.