Grateful Dead Music Forum

I LOVE it!
I gotta get me one them one day...

monroe wrote:I'm saving up my money to order a Carvin with what appears to be pretty much the exact same specs. Do you mind posting the specs/options that you chose for yours. If it plays half as well as it looks, you are good to go!

Now you just need to spend $10 more to get these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0524977431

Hey now. Not a problem with the specs. Here they are:

DC145-
Right Handed
Fixed Bridge

WAL - Maple Neck & Walnut Body
-CG - Clear Gloss Finish (Standard)
QTY - Vintage Yellow Quilt
RB - Rounded Body Sides
5MW - 5-Piece Maple Neck w/ 2 Walnut Stripes
TH - Traditional Style Headstock
BPH - Black Painted Headstock
-EB - Ebony Fingerboard (Standard)
-DI - Dot Inlays (Standard)
-FR - Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W (Standard)
-R12 - 12in Fretboard Radius (Standard)
-C22B - C22B Bridge Pickup (Standard)
-C22J - C22J Neck Pickup (Standard)
407 - Cream/Black Coils w/ Cream Bezels
32 - Two Coil Splitting Switches
36 - Add Phase Switch
-CH - Chrome Hardware (Standard)
-46 - Elixir 1046E Light Gauge .010 - .046 (Standard)
WL - White Logo

Thomas Lieber wrote:Carvin makes very nice instruments. They have been one of the most underrated manufactures in this industry and it is unfair. Lots of other companies have tons of hype but do not walk the walk; Carvin has quietly walk a path of good quality at a more then affordable price point.
If I did not have the funds for a personal custom build by a luthier such as myself or Matt Moriarty, I would not hesitate to spend my money with Carvin, you receive value greater then its price!, no doubt!

Best,
Tom

Thanks all, for your support and encouragement about my recent purchase/build and also your opinions even before I submitted the order. It was a fun process to choose the options that best suited me in both playing style and appearance. Mr. Lieber, I have been an admirer of your work and I respect your comments and opinions. I am glad to hear that you also feel the Carvin quality is as good as I had first read (in this and other forums). Now that I have my Carvin in hand I can honestly say that its not all hype. The product is as good as advertised. And you completely nailed my situation, I did not have the finances to choose a luthier-built custom. As much as I would have loved to give you or one of your peers the business, it is beyond my means. However, Carvin provides a quality alternative. It is definitely not an "off the shelf" instrument.

Jon S. wrote:I love it (and am glad I'm not the only one who chose H-S-H for his own "Jerrycaster" ).

Jon-

Thanks! And yes!... we sure are in the minority in our H-S-H club... at least in Jerry world. The pickup routing configuration options from Carvin did not have H-H-S or H-H-H. So, in a sense my decision was made for me... the default DC-145 configuration is H-S-H. However, I REALLY wanted the Carvin AP11 SC in the middle position. I am not sure if I would have done it any differently, though. Both HBs are coil split and there is a phase switch, as well. I definitely will have some tonal variety. Thus far, I am extremely pleased. I played through my Super 60 briefly this morning and the AP11 has really nice, high output. It is somewhat un-Fenderish (is that a word?) to my ears. I only really have Strats to compare it to but this feels brighter and chimey. I know part of that is the Maple and Walnut which are bright sounding woods. I had read mixed reviews of people's opinions on the Carvin electronics- but so far so good here! I can't wait to finish work for the day...

JonnyBoy wrote:HO--LEEE SHEEP SHIT! DERN DITTY BOY, YOU GOTTEN A GOODIN'!! CONGRATULATIONS!!

For real, I have to say that is one of the coolest guitars I've seen yet! I was waiting to see the outcome since you were choosing colors.... This has been a great few months on here for tribute guitars, between you and Dozin', the scott walker's and the other's I've peeked at, you guys got me wondering why I am playing these pieces of shit I've got (although I love my guitars and you can pry them from my dead cold hands one day if you want to give it a try).....This place has a Knack for egging me on to spend some money


What kind of pickups did you wind up using in there????

Thanks for the kind words, JBoy. This was a fun process and Carvin builds a great product. I have all stock/standard pickups for the DC-145 model (H-S-H). The pickup models are:

-C22B Bridge Pickup -AP11 Middle Pickup -C22J Neck Pickup

Specs Chart:

bpg21 wrote:Sweet axe!!! Here are some pics of my Carvin. I have been playing it regularly for over two years now and am very pleased. Tom Lieber did the electronics ( demarzio super 2s and SDS ) and he himself was very impressed with the overall workmanship and quality. Especially for under $1700. The back is koa and the neck is maple and koa. I have the CB2 UGB in it and it really has that 78-79 wolf tone throught my rig ( 67 Dual Showman to a McIntosh mc2100 to 2 JBL E120s). I have heard alot of negative reviews in regard to Carvin electronics but I have to say that the Carvin single coils that came with it sounded real nice. It gets all kinds of positive comments when playing out. I will probably spring for Waldo's buffer soon. Always searching for the sound.

bpg21-

Truth be told, your koa/maple Carvin was my inspiration. So, thank you. The pictures you posted on a previous Wolf thread opened me up to investigate Carvin. Koa put me a bit over budget so I chose walnut. The Walnut is a heavy, bright wood and Carvin uses it probably more than any other guitar maker. I took a bit of a chance with it and I really like it. I also chose the Vintage Yellow finish. I assumed yours was Clear Gloss only... so, that and the black Traditional headstock was my touch of the Irwin Wolf that I was hoping to get. The color came out really nice. I wasn't sure how it was going to look over the walnut until it showed up at my door. I also liked your use of the brass pickup ring and DiMarzio pickups. Did Tom Lieber do your routing, wiring and brass fabrication? Who knows, maybe some day (or year) I'll send mine off to Mr. Lieber to receive the Royal treatment, as well.

Thanks again!

~BB45

Love the neck through Carvin Wolfs!

1. That is awesome! Congrats.
2. record some sound clips.
3. watch numerous RU Kinders call Carvin.
4. I will be one of them.
5. see 1

Crazy 9.5 Fingers wrote:1. That is awesome! Congrats.
2. record some sound clips.
3. watch numerous RU Kinders call Carvin.
4. I will be one of them.
5. see 1

Nice looker. Wow, I love those options.
Probably will someday get around to different pickups but just because it is fun! At least for the bridge Pup i wanna try something else.


Mine has the swamp ash body, a piccy>


Good Luck!EnjoY!

I'd really like to hear more reports on the carvin AP11 single coil pickup in the middle position.

Brad

SarnoMusicSolutions wrote:I'd really like to hear more reports on the carvin AP11 single coil pickup in the middle position.

Brad

You got it, Brad. I need a few more days with it. Yesterday, I only had a limited time in the morning to just check all the wiring and electronics and get a basic feel for tone. I am going to spend a good deal of time today, though. I let you know my thoughts- albeit not that technical.

~Brut

Tom Lieber did the routing and installed all the electronics. We originally tried to use Waldo's wolf schematics but hit a glich when a dual ganged(I think thats the name) pot was needed which are no longer manufactured. We decided to go the Tiger wiring route. However it still sounds (depending on what concert your comparing to) very 70's wolf. I chose koa for it's beauty and having a very close tone to mahogany plus I always wanted a Hawiian guitar! There's still some tweaking to be done (there always is). The brass plates were purchased/manufactured from Jackaroses back when he was making them. I'm not sure if he's still do it.
Here's a pic of the guitar that I used before the Carvin. It was built by an Albany area luthier named Kevin Smith. I found it used in Saratoga and had Smith do some modifications to it. It is very Cripe like but was built in 1986 which preceeds Cripes design. Probably one of the first Tiger inspired guitars that I have seen.

If anyone is looking for those custom dual pots for the passive/active toggle option, check with Scott Walker at www.scottwalkerguitars.com. He may have some.

Brad

SarnoMusicSolutions wrote:I'd really like to hear more reports on the carvin AP11 single coil pickup in the middle position.

Brad

So, I spent a couple hours with the new C-Wolf. I gave it a good listen with the selector set at the middle position (Carvin AP-11) playing through a Fender Super 60 with Weber Cali 12"(paper cap, ceramic). My very first impression of this pickup as compared to a stock Fender SC, is how much quieter it is. There is virtually no hum at all. Both my Strats are not very well-shielded so its not a surprise how loud they are. But this is a huge, black and white difference. And since I am comparing the AP-11 to a Fender stock pickup, I don't have quantitative proof, but the AP-11 seems to be slightly higher output. My initial impressions was that this pickup was bright. Some of the overall tone characteristics are attributable to the Walnut/Maple construction, though. When I was playing this time, I rolled back the tone to about 50% and dimed the guitar volume and mid tones felt much warmer. But, I don't get a sense a much "Strat-ish-ness" (just made that word up). Even in the Mid-Bdg position (4), where the Strat would quack it seems a bit less plunky. That may also be somewhat attributed to the coil split HB in the bridge position. Also, I really liked how the AP-11's harmonics sang- very sweet. At higher volume and some OD, I really felt like I could nail that pinch harmonic tone and sustain that I identify with '87-88 Loser solo's. It was not harsh to my ears though- very smooth and glassy.

I hope that gives some sort of idea how the AP-11 "fits" in the middle position. Its a very non-technical review/overview, but if you have any questions I'll answer as best as I can.