Why do people beat up on Carvin?

grunge782

grunge782

New member
I ordered a Carvin 727 and I have to say its one of the best guitars I have played (yes I have played Music Man's, PRS, Gibson and Parker).

To be honest, I was ready to return it just in case because of the way some people had trash talked Carvin.

I got it as Translucent Purple, Blackburst with silver hardware. Very cosmic looking and beautiful. It's EXACTLY everything I wanted in a 7 string, minus the stock pickups. The neck didn't feel thick to me at all, the Schecter I have I know kills the hands, but this felt very comfortable to me.

Stainless steel frets, electronics are quality, cavity was shielded properly for fucking once, good hardware with sperzel locking tuners, tung oiled maple neck with ebony fretboard and a great sounding swamp Ash Body. AND it is made in the US. I'm sorry, but I'll take this thing over a 3000 dollar possible headstock break anyday.

I don't get it. Who around here has had a bad experience with them :confused:? What makes them "worse" than other guitars? This thing seems pretty fucking loaded to me. :rock:
 
That's weird man, I've heard nothing but good things about carvin.products. I got the chance to test one out for about 10 minutes before and I thought that it played great. I've heard their customer service is top notch as well. Never played any of the amps before though but I've heard good things about them too..
 
The only thing wrong with Carvin is that recently their QC has been a bit spotty. Aside from that their instruments are absolutely top notch. Oh and their resale value is really low for some reason.
 
Honestly man, I don't see people on this forum trash talk Carvin more than any other guitar. Carvin makes great stuff!
 
There really is no trash talk about any company aside of bussiness transactions. As far as Carvin having a low resale is based off of hype. I have been a Carvin X100B user since 1987. It is in my opinion one of the better amps I have played. I am no touring musician, but I have some serious playing time on that amp over the last 22 years and I have had no problems. I know it is not worth much to others , but it is very valuable to me. You just have to be happy with what you like regardless of what others think.
 
The only complaints I've heard about Carvin are how long they take. I had a CS4 and it was fantastically crafted EXCEPT that the fixed bridge was not adjustable any lower. It's a minor gripe, but a design flaw that I wish they'd fix. The only other gripe I have with Carvin is they only have thin necks. Other than that I think their guitars are fantastic and quite affordable.
 
I had an X100 head I used for 4 years, it never missed a lick. I have never owned one of their guitars, but a friend had one years ago, it was beautiful and well made, but it felt stiff playing it. we never figured out why :aww:
 
I think part of it comes from how Carvin markets themselves as custom shop guitars when it's more of a menu of options. To me that's custom, to others not so much. I love Carvins, have owned a couple guitars and currently have an X100b. All quality gear better than the money dictates. I was treated well when I ordered a TL60, got very good attention.
 
technomancer":svgszdxx said:
The only thing wrong with Carvin is that recently their QC has been a bit spotty. Aside from that their instruments are absolutely top notch. Oh and their resale value is really low for some reason.
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Hmm... the resale value thing kind of sucks. But it makes me wonder what people think of their guitars...

And what have you heard about problems with QC?
 
Carvin guitars are fantastic!!..every one I've ever played out of the box was set up and played perfectly...Only a small handfull of builders you can say that about..Their amps on the other hand are cheaply built but..ya get what ya pay for I guess??
 
kurtsstuff":3u54fn53 said:
Carvin guitars are fantastic!!..every one I've ever played out of the box was set up and played perfectly...Only a small handfull of builders you can say that about..Their amps on the other hand are cheaply built but..ya get what ya pay for I guess??
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Yeah their amps I'm not so sure about. However, when my TS100 had a problem they took care of it no charge.

And there seem to be a lot of happy customers about there amps. In fact, I've heard more people dog on their guitars than their amps.
 
grunge782":30cj3qjm said:
technomancer":30cj3qjm said:
The only thing wrong with Carvin is that recently their QC has been a bit spotty. Aside from that their instruments are absolutely top notch. Oh and their resale value is really low for some reason.
Click to expand...

Hmm... the resale value thing kind of sucks. But it makes me wonder what people think of their guitars...

And what have you heard about problems with QC?
Click to expand...

Well let's see... I had an all walnut Holdsworth that I sent back because the glue joint between the neck and the body had glue smeared that had screwed up the finish (cosmetic, but not something I was willing to accept in a brand new guitar that was over $1000). I've also seen several Carvins in the last six months or so on forums that have come with dings in the fret board, bad fretwork, and IIRC one misaligned FR bridge. You can always return them for a refund, but it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence seeing that happen.

Don't get me wrong as I'm not bashing Carvin, I've seen and played a lot of gorgeous guitars from them, but it is something to take into consideration when placing an order.
 
technomancer":1sdpa7sw said:
grunge782":1sdpa7sw said:
technomancer":1sdpa7sw said:
The only thing wrong with Carvin is that recently their QC has been a bit spotty. Aside from that their instruments are absolutely top notch. Oh and their resale value is really low for some reason.
Click to expand...

Hmm... the resale value thing kind of sucks. But it makes me wonder what people think of their guitars...

And what have you heard about problems with QC?
Click to expand...

Well let's see... I had an all walnut Holdsworth that I sent back because the glue joint between the neck and the body had glue smeared that had screwed up the finish (cosmetic, but not something I was willing to accept in a brand new guitar that was over $1000). I've also seen several Carvins in the last six months or so on forums that have come with dings in the fret board, bad fretwork, and IIRC one misaligned FR bridge. You can always return them for a refund, but it doesn't inspire a lot of confidence seeing that happen.

Don't get me wrong as I'm not bashing Carvin, I've seen and played a lot of gorgeous guitars from them, but it is something to take into consideration when placing an order.
Click to expand...

Wow, thats not good. Thankfully I think everything checks out on mine (at least from what I have noticed).
 
I rarely ever see anyone saying bad things about Carvin stuff. I've owned two of their guitars and loved both of them. Their stock pickups are very underrated as well IMO.
 
but carvin seems to have good customer service, if there is flaws or mistakes, from what I hear, they will take care of you.
 
IMO, Carvin's rep revolves around their long standing business model...mail/internet order and lack of test locations. Most, if not all, small luthiers/parts builders do internet ordering now but 20+ years ago no dice. So...if you menu'd your specs out to Carvin and they built something that was subjectively tone deficient, must be Carvin's fault. It couldn't possibly be the fact that the guitar is the sum of all it's parts and you should actually try out a guitar if possible before purchase...nope...Carvin's fault. So, guitars were sent back under Carvin's liberal return policy with the "it sucks" mentality.

Mass produced, non custom items like amps, cabinets, etc...are usually tested at a customer service oriented brick/mortar store by the staff who note defects and return the item to the manufacturer without "joe public" even seeing the item. However, the Carvin method sends the item direct to the end user so if there are issues that came from the factory or developed during shipment/transit the consumer ends up dealing with the defect. No middle man cuts the price but it can cost reputation-wise as it has for Carvin.

Lack of retail outlets combined with less than stellar word of mouth advertising has damaged their rep over the years. I'm sure most of us have heard the "burning Legacy" amps stories....but I've seen my share of failed Marshalls, Fenders, Peaveys, etc....as well. FWIW, I live close to the factory in Poway and most of the guitars I've played when I've visited have been fantastic both in build and tone...ymmv.
 
I would have to agree with the above post. I ordered up a Carvin AE185 years ago and when I recived it it had a finnish flaw on the top (which I was willing to over look as it was small) and fret issues which made playing the upper regerster real fun. After waiting 8 weeks and spending over a grand I want a guitar that playes and looks like it should.

It has been my experience that if you go to a Carvin store you can grab any guitar off the wall and none of them seam have any issues. So it would seam that Carvin has some QC issues for guitars that get ordered by a customer as opposed to ones that go to a store.
 
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