Carvin guys, come on in

[jsp]

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.

Exactly. With regular production model guitars, the pros/cons of buying new are basically the condition of the guitar, and maybe warranty. With made to order guitars, there is the additional trade off of getting the features you want, so they are more worth buying new, hence the (in my observation, very small) offset in resale value.

 

[ibenhad]

Have a Carvin DC800 (8 string) in radiation green and the guitar is just awesome. Great quality and workmanship I would put it up against just about any guitar I had. As for resale who cares I am never selling it. When you drive a car off the showroom floor it automatically drops in value by what $1000? It's all relative. Buy one you won't be sorry.

 

[robertkoa]

The playability is great .

They do have a few different neck profiles now in addition to the fingerboard radiuses.( radii -lol).

The fretwork and fret material ( Jescar ) is hard to equal in their price range, they intonate really well also .

Be careful of Maple necks on a neck thru Instrument if you want warmer tones.

The Bolt Ons if you get Fender Pickups and electronics will sound like a Fender, usuallly more resonance and sustain, there is no gaps or shims in the neck pockets and Fenders have the History but not the
precision Fretwork, or usually the sustain either.

They are very precision Instruments.

Their other Guitars are a little different , more of their own thing, due to the 25" scale on many of them.

7 Strings seem like killer value to me , I just don't want to learn and woodshed the extra string lol.

 

[threadkiller]

... .

Be careful of Maple necks on a neck thru Instrument if you want warmer tones.

.....

^this

 

[victorlee335]

I dont own one but i've played a few. I disnt really find their CT series too comfortable to play. Well on my hands.
I thought the strat style ones were killers

 

[ke2]

I have had a Bunny Brunel 5-string bass and a DC 727.
Both great instuments. I didn't like the bridge pickup of the DC too much, so I put in a DM Evolution 7.

 

[dfrattaroli]

I think this is a myth. They actually hold their value just as well as a PRS, Fender or Gibson.

I've owned several new Carvins. All great guitars. But I have to disagree. The resale on Carvins is not nearly as good as PRS or Gibson. I see a bunch of people trying to get that kind of resale on eBay but it rarely happens. That said, a used Carvin is probably the best value you will ever get on a guitar. And it's not even close in that regard.

 

[C1-ocaster]

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.

Very interesting info you've got there.

Rough calculations:
LP Custom loses about 40 - 50% of original price.
PRS Custom loses about 42 - 54%
Carvin in sig loses about 39 - 51%

Pretty close depreciation percentage.
But in terms of actual loss in dollars the Carvin beats both other brands.

In real dollars:
LP Custom loses between $1640 to $2000.
PRS Custom loses between $1500 to $1900.
Carvin loses between $650 to $850.

Both the Gibson and PRS lose enough real dollars to buy a brand new Carvin, each, with some left over for a pedal maybe two.

I've never had a chance to play any Carvin guitar. I have played one of their 5 string basses from like the mid 80's, and it was a fine instrument.

 

[C1-ocaster]

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've seen some Suhr's that have odd colors that I wouldn't want.
But given the perception of Suhr guitars some buyers may overlook some odd colors just to have a Suhr are a lower cost, used.
The same may not hold true for a Carvin.
With Gibson they are more limited in color/finish and are pretty traditional.

It'll be interesting to see how Gibson's new 2014 "Peace" series LP's will fare in the used market, cause some of those colors are very off the traditional Gibson offerings.
Here's something from Gibson's website:
"The stunning new finishes have been created specifically for the 2014 Model Year. A new wet-sanding process for nitrocellulose finishes gives a level of gloss and strength that was previously unobtainable. Shiny finishes stay shiny longer, and are more resistant to minor scratches."

Hmmm, "...previously unobtainable."? Or more like, Gibson just didn't offer it even though other builders did.
They make it sound as if they discovered something no else had been able to do before.
I don't quite believe that, but if I'm wrong please fill me in on the details of their assertion about, "previously UNOBTAINABLE".

 

[RJF]

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.

Very interesting info you've got there.

Rough calculations:
LP Custom loses about 40 - 50% of original price.
PRS Custom loses about 42 - 54%
Carvin in sig loses about 39 - 51%

Pretty close depreciation percentage.
But in terms of actual loss in dollars the Carvin beats both other brands.

In real dollars:
LP Custom loses between $1640 to $2000.
PRS Custom loses between $1500 to $1900.
Carvin loses between $650 to $850.

Both the Gibson and PRS lose enough real dollars to buy a brand new Carvin, each, with some left over for a pedal maybe two.

I've never had a chance to play any Carvin guitar. I have played one of their 5 string basses from like the mid 80's, and it was a fine instrument.

This is not a very good example at all. You are comparing something that is more expensive to something not as expensive.

I drive a $50K diesel pickup. It lost nearly $20K when it was driven off the lot. A Honda Civic costs what these days? $15K? You lose $5K driving one off the lot? So the Honda has better resale value because it lost less? Obviously no.


I am a perfect example. I have NEVER owned a Carvin. I am however a potential first time buyer. I am NOT going to pay 50% of new for one that is used (unless some freak deal where I found built to my exact specs, but not likely to happen.) I'm more interested in the 35% of new range for one that is close to the specs I'd order a new one with. Otherwise, if I have to pay close to a grand for one, I'd rather pay 2 grand and have one built.

On the flip side, why are people paying 75% of new cost for used BKP pickups, Diezel, Bogner, etc.... because of brand recognition of a very high end product that everyone wants. This is something the Carvin name does not have, regardless of how great their stuff is.

 

[C1-ocaster]

This is not a very good example at all. You are comparing something that is more expensive to something not as expensive.

I drive a $50K diesel pickup. It lost nearly $20K when it was driven off the lot. A Honda Civic costs what these days? $15K? You lose $5K driving one off the lot? So the Honda has better resale value because it lost less? Obviously no.


I am a perfect example. I have NEVER owned a Carvin. I am however a potential first time buyer. I am NOT going to pay 50% of new for one that is used (unless some freak deal where I found built to my exact specs, but not likely to happen.) I'm more interested in the 35% of new range for one that is close to the specs I'd order a new one with. Otherwise, if I have to pay close to a grand for one, I'd rather pay 2 grand and have one built.

On the flip side, why are people paying 75% of new cost for used BKP pickups, Diezel, Bogner, etc.... because of brand recognition of a very high end product that everyone wants. This is something the Carvin name does not have, regardless of how great their stuff is.

The main point of my post was to use Mudfoot's numbers to calculate rough depreciation percentages. The percentages do show that the actual depreciation percentages are pretty close, so close that the 3 brands listed have nearly the same depreciation percentages meaning near same resale value. Using his numbers, if they are correct and true, it does show that Carvin's resale is no worse nor better than the listed Gibson and PRS guitars.
The numbers show that there may be a myth regarding Carvin's and their resale value.

If you or anyone likes to buy and sell often, then knowing the resale values are roughly the same is a good thing.

I never said a Carvin has 'better resale' value.
This is what I wrote:
"But in terms of actual loss in dollars the Carvin beats both other brands."
Which is true. Losing $650 is better than losing $2000.
It's not a comparison, it's just numbers. There is an opportunity cost consideration if one likes to buy and sell often.

You wrote this:
"I drive a $50K diesel pickup. It lost nearly $20K when it was driven off the lot. A Honda Civic costs what these days? $15K? You lose $5K driving one off the lot? So the Honda has better resale value because it lost less? Obviously no."

To your example, I agree. Losing less money is not the definition of 'better resale value'.
Still, losing $5K sure does beat losing $20K.
But if you need a diesel pick up so that you can haul and carry things or need it for work purposes, then a Civic is not even a consideration.

Back to guitars, since all guitars are used for the same thing the consideration as to which one to get will vary among players and their own particular wants, needs, and budgets.
Is a Gibson LP Custom a better guitar than what Carvin can build for you at a lower price?
That's for each person to answer for himself.

 

[Snowblind56]

On the flip side, why are people paying 75% of new cost for used BKP pickups, Diezel, Bogner, etc.... because of brand recognition of a very high end product that everyone wants. This is something the Carvin name does not have, regardless of how great their stuff is.

The reason people pay 75% of new cost for BKP's, Diezel, Bogner, etc while they are highly regarded, it is more because of the lack of them that appear on the used market. I've noticed the price of used BKP's are going down as they are becoming more common.

 

[Chris O]

A Honda Civic costs what these days? $15K?

You haven't shopped for Hondas lately, eh?

 

[RJF]

A Honda Civic costs what these days? $15K?

You haven't shopped for Hondas lately, eh?

Uh no.... not my style. Nothin' but Dodge diesels and Escalades around here.

 

[Chris O]

A Honda Civic costs what these days? $15K?

You haven't shopped for Hondas lately, eh?

Uh no.... not my style. Nothin' but Dodge diesels and Escalades around here.

By the look of your avatar, I'd say you have a foot FIRMLY planted in the "bigger is better" camp.

 

[Chris O]

As long as we're talking Carvin, I'm jonesing BIG TIME for a C66. Anyone have much "play time" with one of those? I'm thinking t-o-m, mahogany body, maple/flamed maple neck w/jumbo stainless frets, hum-single (if they'll let me do it). Thought Floyd initially, but I'm tired of those, and I've never cared for standard Fender-type bridges.

I thought it would be a good bolt-on complement to my PRSi...

 

[Snowblind56]

As long as we're talking Carvin, I'm jonesing BIG TIME for a C66. Anyone have much "play time" with one of those? I'm thinking t-o-m, mahogany body, maple/flamed maple neck w/jumbo stainless frets, hum-single (if they'll let me do it). Thought Floyd initially, but I'm tired of those, and I've never cared for standard Fender-type bridges.

I thought it would be a good bolt-on complement to my PRSi...

I had a C66 for a little bit. It was a great guitar, had a wilkinson trem, single piece mahogany body, and the pickups were replaced with Dimarzio 36th's. Sounded killer. I sold it because I really preferred a flatter radius and bigger frets (it had 10" radius and the normal med-jumbo frets). Personally, I think if they ever did a 24 fret C66, they could compete with the Suhr/Anderson crowd. Even now, I'd consider getting another one, even with 22 frets.

 

[Scottfn308]

I have a Carvin ST-300, a V3 halfstack, and a SX300 amp. It is top notch gear, and is a
great value. I am not not one who trades or sells guitars and amps on a regular basis, so
the resale value is not really a concern for me.

Regards,

Scott

 

[Chris O]

As long as we're talking Carvin, I'm jonesing BIG TIME for a C66. Anyone have much "play time" with one of those? I'm thinking t-o-m, mahogany body, maple/flamed maple neck w/jumbo stainless frets, hum-single (if they'll let me do it). Thought Floyd initially, but I'm tired of those, and I've never cared for standard Fender-type bridges.

I thought it would be a good bolt-on complement to my PRSi...

I had a C66 for a little bit. It was a great guitar, had a wilkinson trem, single piece mahogany body, and the pickups were replaced with Dimarzio 36th's. Sounded killer. I sold it because I really preferred a flatter radius and bigger frets (it had 10" radius and the normal med-jumbo frets). Personally, I think if they ever did a 24 fret C66, they could compete with the Suhr/Anderson crowd. Even now, I'd consider getting another one, even with 22 frets.

Bummer on the 10" radius...who does that??

As I'm pretty PRS-heavy right now, I might sell one, and dip my toe into the Carvinite. We'll see. Man..they are lookers! Hard to argue with the quality. Pickups are no biggie. Seems one gripe is that they lack "character" in their tone, and can be "sterile", but the same has been said of PRS from time to time as well.

 

[ctoddrun]

Seems one gripe is that they lack "character" in their tone, and can be "sterile", but the same has been said of PRS from time to time as well.

This is such BS.

*OPINION IS MINE*

I had a Carvin bass for a while. Never had an electric, so take this with a grain.


Those who HATE those pickups, and have actual qualitative experience with them are few.

Those that HATE those pickups because they arent COOL are many.

Fact is, you can make music with a Pignose.

And if you cant, dont blame the equipment.