Carvin is a love or hate kinda deal, it seems. I've played a few pre-Kiesel guitars that I liked a lot, and one that I couldn't get along with at all. That was a surprise to me, since I am not too picky with guitars. I need to make a trip to the Carvin factory/storefront and play some of the new stuff. It's just too far away from me for public transit. Gotta find a guitar buddy with a car to bum a ride from, haha.
Cool Color and concept but not a huge fan of the body shape. Seems like that with every carvin I see. I feel (for me) the body shape and headstock designs are close but not quite there. They all look a bit "off" IMO.
Pretty much felt like a Schecter to me. Plastic, no life, etc...I know guys that really dig them, but they're not for me. Offed it immediately and chalked it up to bad advice. Fuck it, I'll stick to what I know works for me.
For the cash I'd rather do a partscaster win some top shelf shit.
That's pretty much how my high-end C-1 Limited Schecter felt, after comparing it with an ESP Horizon NT-II (which had pretty much the same specs, but neck-thru and no EMG's).
Needless to say (but I'm gonna), I bought that ESP and sold the Schecter soon after.
My take-aways were:
-not a Schecter guy. Even though it was a gorgeous guitar with ebony fretboard and beautiful split crown inlays)
-not an EMG guy. Yes, I play all kinds of (fast)metal and I've really tried to make them work (even with 24V modules), but I vastly prefer passive pups.