Carvin guys, come on in

[RJF]

I've been looking for a killer 7 string for a while now, something that isn't an Ibanez or Schecter, and something without EMG's!

I always blew Carvin gear off, as sub par stuff, but I am reconsidering.

The DC700 and DC7X look pretty darned cool, and for about $2K you can custom order a pretty awesome guitar with some serious features. Figure another couple hundred though for a real set of pickups.

So you Carvin guys, are those models unsung heroes or junk?

https://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w220 ... ain004.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/fSbkrvQ.jpg

http://www.carvinguitars.com/images/gui ... 13230b.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8LjK71r.jpg

 

[jsp]

My Carvin is great. I think they are kinda underrated. I've been thinking about getting another one, but I am pretty stacked on guitars right now. But, the playability of this thing is phenomenal.

 

[aizenx]

Carvins are awesome. They easily compete with top end guitars (many of which are a bit overrated imo....Suhr...cough). But to each his own.

Top quality and play like a dream. Severely underrated (I think a lot of that has to do with guys ordering wacky custom guitars that look terrible). As a customer you have the power to make a classy guitar or an atrocity and some guys just mix fugly options.

I'm with you on getting new pickups though - Carvins are decent, but I am a Dimarzio guy.

 

[mudf00t]

I have owned several Carvin guitars over the years. Each of them has been great. I just picked up another one 2 days ago that you can see in my sig.

I follow Aaron Marshall from Intervals on fb and he was recently endorsed by Carvin. They sent him a sweet CT7.

He posted a video of him playing it. It sounds great.

I think there are a couple of reasons why people underrate these guitars. First, there have been some issue in the past where people have said that the wood they used hadn't been properly cured. Secondly, they do use a fairly thick gloss coat but you can order something different if that concerns you.

I never liked Carvin pickups. I will be putting something different in this one... probably DiMarzio D' Activators.

 

[metalmaniac93]

I do not care what anyone says, but Carvin makes great guitars!!

 

[4406cuda]

I have owned Carvin Guitars, Amps, and PA's. Always impressed and happy with their products.

 

[JerEvil]

Love me some Carvin guitars. I have owned 2, a V220 and CT4. Both were solid.

 

[mudf00t]

 

[iplayloudly]

my only beef with carvin is it seems the resale value isn't as high as most other "name brand" guitars. I've played a few but never actually owned one, so maybe I'm just imagining it.

This may not matter to some people, but for someone like me who is constantly switching out gear it does

 

[mudf00t]

my only beef with carvin is it seems the resale value isn't as high as most other "name brand" guitars. I've played a few but never actually owned one, so maybe I'm just imagining it.

This may not matter to some people, but for someone like me who is constantly switching out gear it does

I think this is a myth. They actually hold their value just as well as a PRS, Fender or Gibson. That said, there probably won't be a huge collector base 30 years from now for Carvin's as these other brands. I will give you some examples.

A brand new Gibson Les Paul Custom costs around $4000. A used one runs $2000-2400.

A brand new PRS Custom 24 10 Top costs around $3500. You can buy used ones for $1600-2000.

The Carvin in my sig (and pictured above) costs $1650 new. They run around $800-1000 used.

Discuss.

 

[threadkiller]

My take is that the workmanship is incredible and the price is great for an American made guitar. Resale is lousy and often this is because some people order custom options that hardly anyone else would want and then try to resale them. The pickups really are pretty good as well though I replaced mine. Wish they offered some more neck shape options but I guess that's how they keep costs down. Mine is a little big for may short sausage fingers. Overall great guitars.

Here's a pic

http://carvinbbs.com/viewtopic.php?t=30254&highlight=

 

[JB6464]

Very nice looking guitars !
Does anyone know if Carvin offers a 1 3/4" wide neck so i can install an R5 Floyd nut ?

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I have 2 of them and don't care about resale value, I'll let my kids worry about that when I'm dead and gone. Great guitars!

 

[mudf00t]

I have no idea why people keep saying resale is lousy... it's not. Maybe if you trade it in or something.

 

[Snowblind56]

I have no idea why people keep saying resale is lousy... it's not. Maybe if you trade it in or something.

It's because people order weird wood options, wonky burst colors, or the dreaded floyd without a locknut when in reality, most people won't want something like that. They have to take a beating or give it away. If you order something normal with traditional woods and colors, etc, the initial cost isn't as high as some with the crazy woods and finishes and you can sell it at a normal selling price.

 

[mudf00t]

I have no idea why people keep saying resale is lousy... it's not. Maybe if you trade it in or something.

It's because people order weird wood options, wonky burst colors, or the dreaded floyd without a locknut when in reality, most people won't want something like that. They have to take a beating or give it away. If you order something normal with traditional woods and colors, etc, the initial cost isn't as high as some with the crazy woods and finishes and you can sell it at a normal selling price.

I see what you are saying... so essentially, we are only talking about the odd ducks.

 

[RJF]

I think I am falling for these Carvin 7's! It started when there was a tiger burst DC7X on my local CL that looked KILLER. I should of bought it, but kept saying.... "it's a carvin I don't want that."

It sold before I got my head together.

There is another for sale, and I believe the guy would trade my Mark 3 red stripe strait across for it. I don't think I'm going to do it though, it's a 727 and brown with gold hardware, and is pretty freakin' ugly. http://modesto.craigslist.org/msg/4571063229.html

 

[RJF]

I have no idea why people keep saying resale is lousy... it's not. Maybe if you trade it in or something.

It's because people order weird wood options, wonky burst colors, or the dreaded floyd without a locknut when in reality, most people won't want something like that. They have to take a beating or give it away. If you order something normal with traditional woods and colors, etc, the initial cost isn't as high as some with the crazy woods and finishes and you can sell it at a normal selling price.

I see what you are saying... so essentially, we are only talking about the odd ducks.

I would say Carvin products are harder to sell. They just don't seem to carry that "top tier" reputation like Gibson, Jackson, Mesa, etc. that are "got to" pro products that all players would buy. Randall is another one in that same category, just doesn't seem to sell well.

 

[chunktone]

my only beef with carvin is it seems the resale value isn't as high as most other "name brand" guitars. I've played a few but never actually owned one, so maybe I'm just imagining it.

This may not matter to some people, but for someone like me who is constantly switching out gear it does

I think this is a myth. They actually hold their value just as well as a PRS, Fender or Gibson. That said, there probably won't be a huge collector base 30 years from now for Carvin's as these other brands. I will give you some examples.

A brand new Gibson Les Paul Custom costs around $4000. A used one runs $2000-2400.

A brand new PRS Custom 24 10 Top costs around $3500. You can buy used ones for $1600-2000.

The Carvin in my sig (and pictured above) costs $1650 new. They run around $800-1000 used.

Discuss.

I have also found this to be true. I love my Carvin, and think they are highly underrated.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I have no idea why people keep saying resale is lousy... it's not. Maybe if you trade it in or something.

It's because people order weird wood options, wonky burst colors, or the dreaded floyd without a locknut when in reality, most people won't want something like that. They have to take a beating or give it away. If you order something normal with traditional woods and colors, etc, the initial cost isn't as high as some with the crazy woods and finishes and you can sell it at a normal selling price.

I see what you are saying... so essentially, we are only talking about the odd ducks.

It's more than that. Ex. I see a used Carvin dc800 for sale for about 1300. I like about 90% of the options. I'd rather wait till the next big sale and pay a few hundred more to get it with all my options.