Carvin SH575 Synth Access Carved Top Guitar

This is a semi-hollow guitar that is carved from solid wood with the numerous controls mounted inside of it. It has a 13 pin jack in addition to separate 1/4" jacks for magnetic and piezo outputs. It has stacked controls for volume and tone, separate controls for the piezo, coil splitters... in other words, a ton of features.

The finish is custom-made to order. Mine is flame green with gold hardware. Flashy, yes, but I got it as my synth and special purpose guitar. I thought it should stand out, and it does.

I deduct one point here for not being able to blend the mags and piezo right out of the guitar in a manner similar to Godin's wiring on their 13 pin guitars.

A prior reviewer thought the guitar was too bright. It is somewhat bright, but it's no Telecaster. Its humbuckers are almost "hi-fi" sounding. I like the sound, but I use the guitar heavily for modeled and blended sounds. In all honesty, though, I wouldn't mind just having the magnetic pickups alone like Carvin's SH-550. I like 'em.

The piezo adds wonderful versatility but... it is very noisy. It puts out hiss even when turned all of the way off. I use a 13 pin cable through a Roland VG-99, and I really love how many sounds you can tweak out of the guitar before you even get into modeling. But, I really dislike the hiss and use a noise gate to tame it.

Although a semi-hollow guitar, for all practical purposes this guitar sounds like a solid body and feels like one. You get maybe the slightest hint of air in the sound, but not much.

The 13 pin with the Roland VG-99 turns this guitar into a crazy army of guitar sounds. I don't think the acoustics are particularly compelling, but you can roll all over the Fender Gibson territory with authority. Even without the VG, you can cover Fender sounds and beyond with the combination of the mags and piezo. But, you can't blend them straight from the guitar without the 13 pin.

My guitar came with a loose knob which tightened right up, other than that, no worries.

It is very well made. The finish is perfect, and it works great. The action is low enough, but not as low as some of my other guitars. It isn't a problem though, although I like to set my action as low as it can go.

Another reviewer said that his guitar came with high string tension. Mine is the opposite. It is a string bender's delight. This issue has been discussed on Carvin's forums, and nobody seems to know why some of them have high string tension and others don't. Beats me.

The guitar is HEAVY, at least to me. It weighs in the neighborhood of a solid Les Paul without weight reduction. Some LPs get into the 10 lb plus category and this guitar is less at below 9 lbs, but it feels solid and heavy despite the hollowed sections and f holes.

A strange issue I have with it is the fact that it slides off of my leg when I play with it seated. It's hard for me to balance. I don't know if the finish is too slick, or the size is just off for my body, but it is an annoyance I haven't been able to solve.

It's a very complex guitar, but well-built. I have heard that you can blow the circuit out by changing batteries while the guitar is plugged in, but I can't confirm that.

Really, I can't find fault with any issue but I'm going to deduct one point for the supposed battery problem.

I've read various reviews from people who hate Carvin's attitude and customer support. I haven't had a problem. Carvin has a fair return policy and they were polite enough with me when I talked to them on the phone. I will say that their ordering system is a little iffy because you just get a post card with an approximate date for delivery which may not be accurate. That's it. I called them when I was close to my delivery date and they were quite polite and got me a better estimate of when it would arrive.

Carvin is kind of a quirky company. They do things their way, and like it like that. Even their forums are run pretty tightly; they delete posts that get too raucous and make no apologies about it. I'm a member of both the Carvin forum and the Gretsch forum, and Gretsch has WAY more color and fun.

But, again, Carvin likes it like that and there you have it.

I bought this guitar for the 13 pin synth capabilities. It was somewhat pricey at over $2,000 but is a lot of guitar.

Carvin delivered what I asked for the way I asked for it. It is a beautiful guitar and well built.

There are some issues for me: the noisy piezo, lack of blend between mags and piezo, the weight and balance points discussed earlier.

But, I think it would be fair to say that this guitar is up there with the best of the choices for a quality 13 pin guitar. If I had it to do again, I would likely consider one of their lighter and lesser expensive 13 pin guitars that came out after I got mine. But I certainly would be happy to stay with the Carvin brand.

2008 model...the scale is weird...I had to raise the stop tail bridge all the way up in order to release the very unnatural tension. When I got the guitar...right out of the box , it played and sounded terrible. This is my first Carvin, and I was not at all impressed with the guitar. The synth pickup and design of the guitar is what really attracted me to it. I have been a long time guitar synth user and have used Godins for the past 2 years...the finish was very nice though...and I like the Gibson based design very much...it's basically a Gibson Howard Roberts fusion with a stop tail and a synth pickup. The synth GHOST system DOES NOT track as well as Godin's RMC...also, I'm stuck with a very expensive Carvin hard case that I didn't want and will never use...
The stock pickups, pots and wiring are terrible...the guitar sounds way too bright for my taste. I'm a Gibson guy and I thought a mahogany-body/neck guitar would have that fat/thick sound like gibson...but this thing disappoined me. Nice hardware, but I had to change the pots, pickups.....basically I gutted the guitar.

The sound is terrible stock....VERY BRIGHT...too bright for my taste...I put 1971 Gibson PAT sticker pickups in it and custom pots and wiring...sounds MUCH better 110% improvement.....sounds great with the mods..I play everything from disco to fusion, lots of rock and jazz, raggae and country, lots of new age style music....it works great now...but this rating is for the stock sound and I give it a 2...

I use egnater and hughes and kettner preamps/amps

the setup was bad...not really playable...too much tension, action was ok...he finish and hardware were great though

I use it live 3 to 4 times a week....has been great so far...
the white finish has started to yellow...I expected that.
Strap buttons are great..locking type...I don't use a backup guitar, too much gear to drag around..this is dependable enough...I always have a Steinberger backup in my truck anyway...

CARVIN IS TERRIBLE...the worst customer service I have EVER dealt with..they have an attitude there...treat you like they're snooty or too busy to talk with you....this is my first and last Carvin, you HEAR THAT CARVIN??

too expensive $2200, I may go back to Godin for a synth electric...I stil have my LGX-SA, but the Carvin looks more cool and that's important for some of my gigs. I still use a Godin synth acoustic, for my acoustic gigs..

SH575 synth access guitar. Direct order from Carvin and Made in the USA. Custom configurations include choice of top, neck, hardware finish, color and top coat. Variety of choices gives you a distinct, personalized product within a factory model. 2 Humbuckers (single vol & tone for both) and the Graphtech Ghost system which includes piezo acoustic saddle and Roland/Axion MIDI access via 13 pin cable. This is a versatile instrument, giving you three distinct output options. Pickups can go through 13 pin cable or individually through 2 standard jacks. Piezo pickup requires 9V when not going through 13 pin cable. Deep cutaway gives easy access to upper octave frets. Piezo has a total of 4 controls, bass, treble with cut & sweep mids via two stacked controls. Piezo alone gives a very broad spectrum of tone.

Playing for over 40 years, rock, jazz and worship music (fortunately at a church where I can do all three at once I've played most everything out there with six strings. Formerly used a Roland GR-20 and a cheap Epi LP to mount the GK pickup on. Used it primarily for pads and swells under songs & hymns. Cheap LP wouldn't stay in tune, so I became interested in guitars with synth access such as Godin and Carvin. I settled on the Carvin, because it offered the most versitile setup, with Humbuckers, Piezo acoustic and Roland access.
This Guitar is a TONE MONSTER. The humbucker tone control is more than just an extra knob. It has a wide range of tone and should not be overlooked. The piezo can be blended with the humbuckers and can add a lot of hrmonics on top. The Roland access is first of all very quiet compared to the GK pickup I had used and second is incredibly accurate in tracking. It will play the synth patches as fast as you can move. I am a little disappointed that the piezo outputs along with the guitar signal through the 13 pin cable. What's the use of setting all those knobs if it's not going into the clean side along with the synth sounds?

The SH575 has great looks and that was a selling point. Sorry Godin fans, but a comparable model has no style to speak of. Being able to custom order a guitar to boot was VERY appealing. I did a lot of checking around on non-Carvin sites and found overall the Carvin stuff was well built and respected, so I decided to take the gamble. The hardest part of the whole process was picking and choosing what features I wanted. I would say that some sort of "virtual build" would have helped a little piecing together the various options. The fact that Carvin offers a money back "try-it or don't buy it" gaurantee was helpful too. They evidently don't have trouble selling the one person's disappointment in their retail stores. I understand few guitars sent back gather dust. The final product met or exceeded all expectations. The construction, detail and finish was certainly a professional job. I would expect to have paid at least a third more for a guitar of this quality, especially considering the unique functions of this guitar I may opt for different strings, but for now I'm going to run with the manufacturer's suggestions.

I've played it out several times now and it does exactly what I need it to do. I opted for all black hardware and pickups. I've never used Spertzel locking tuners, so I don't know how they work in the long run. Between the tuners and the graphtech nut, I have no problem staying in tune (a common problem on LP's I've owned) The black finish on the hardware seems to be pretty sturdy and the Gloss finish would need a bullet to get through. The guitar came with the Dunlop strap option, but I prefer the Planet Waves locking strap with a cam that wraps around the button. Dunlops look ugly IMHO sticking way out from the guitar as they do.

It is a bit scary forking over 2 grand for a guitar when your only contact is a SnailMail post card. I would like to see some better ordering system that could at least give general tracking. Phone response was great though, when my anxiety got the best of me and I broke down and called for a status. The guitar came exactly as I had ordered it, and only a day late from my card date. Of course this was the week before Christmas, so I was just happy it got here. The guitar is beautiful. The construction, detail and finish was certainly a professional job. I would expect to have paid at least a third more for a guitar of this quality, especially considering the unique functions of this guitar. Carvin does give a generous return option, basically just hitting you for the return shipping. Not a bad deal for picking up a custom build. Once you decide to keep it, you have protection for five years on the build.

Been a player for over forty years, with around 8-12 guitars in my "stable" at any given time. This one is a keeper. I'm already interested in scoping out their classical model. I truly cannot see ever replacing this guitar unless some new form of technology emerges. I bought it for the versatility and it has delivered. I heartily recommend this. As far as my wish list, I like the supplied hard shell case, but it would be nice to get a fitted case option. The "instruction book" left a lot to be desired, but fortunately Carvin runs a forum on their site and the users are pretty informative.

Flame Maple Top. Rosewood Knobs. Mahogany Body. 13 Pin synth access. Piezo pick-up and electric pick ups. It has stacked volume and tone knobs and a push-pull coil splitter.

It is capable of creating and mixing electric, acoustic and synth sounds at once. This thing can really sound big. It has single coil sounds as well as excellent electric sounds from a Les-Paul to a Tele. I am currently playing it through a Fargen Blackbird,a Carvin Vintage 16 and a Valvetech Hayseed 30. I use a Tonelab for effects and a Boss acoustic pedal for the acoustic sounds. I also use a VG88 and GR33 as well. If you can think of a sound, it can produce it.

This guitar is very well built. Solid Mahogany body and a thick Maple top (no laminate on this baby!) I custom ordered it and it took about 9 weeks to get it, but it was worth the wait! If you want to know more about this guitar you should visit the Carvin website and watch how it is built.

This guitar is quality from the headstock to the strap lock on the body! I have played it live for about a month now, and it seems to be holding up very well. I have many guitars of all makes and models and this is as nice an instrument as I have ever played.

I have not been to impressed with their support to this point. Although I have not had to contact them about any issues with the SH575, I did have to contact them about other purchases and they are slow to get back to you, when and if they get back to you at all. Their website does not keep you updated on your orders progress and although there is a place to track you order it does not get updated.

I have been playing guitar for 40+ years and have had many guitars slip through my hands (and some are still with me) and this will be a guitar that I will keep for a long time. If it were stolen I would order another one the next day. I have Les Pauls, Tele's, Strats, PRS's,G&L's, Dusenburgs' and the list goes on and on and this ranks right up there. Carvin makes a quality product at a great price and despite the lack of a quality customer service, I will continue to consider their products when I am looking.