Carvin Pickups?

joshkava

Newbie
Messages
16
thinking about a carvin custom made guitar.. but i dont like the fact that you have to use their pickups..

seems crazy to shell out big $ for a custom guitar.. then throw out the pickups and pay another 200 for some duncans...

also, they have so many variations now.. M22, X22, etc.. and they dont explain on the site the different characteristics of each..

advice??  :help:

 
ildar said:
rounce55 said:
Warmoth's quality is superior to carvins.

+1000
Why Duncans though? They're so vanilla.

damn, this remark is already eligable for the 'remark of 2009' award. real vanilla tastes great, but the usual vanilla is weak, without real flavour, and very, very common. like duncan's :)
 
hey guys.. cool.. duncan's are the only 'boutique' pickups that ive ever used.

what would you guys suggest??

thanks!

:cool01:
 
I hate to be the desenting opinion here, but Carvin's are great guitars.  I am on my third--one custom built and two eBay finds.  They offer things that Warmoth simply doesn't.  If you are looking for a neck-through or a set neck, you can't get that here.  As for whether Carvin or Warmoth has better build quality, that is probably a debatable point, but Carvin's are very well built.  Admittedly, Carvin is VERY limited on their bolt-neck options, which is where Warmoth plays, so both can coexist very nicely.

As for the original question of Carvin pickups, I happen to love the C22B bridge pickup.  I had one in my DC127 and in my current CT3T--both mahogany bodies--and they give me a great straight-ahead rock tone.  Harmonics are nice.  I have a Dimarzio Tone Zone that came in a Wolfgang that I own and I am thinking about replacing it with another C22B.  The TZ just doesn't do it for me.  For the neck, I really loved the H22N that I ordered in my DC.  It is a very articulate pickup that does great legato leads and such.  I have the C22J in my CT, which is nice but not as good as the H22N.  I had the M22SD in my 1989 DC127 that I refinished.  That pickup in that guitar (all maple) was too harsh for my tastes.

If you choose to go with a Carvin, don't discount the pickups right off the bat.  A lot of people like them and stick with them.  Give them a listen for a month or so and see what you think.  If you really decide that you don't like them, there are a lot of options out there.  The fact of the matter is that Carvin is a SEMI-custom shop.  They don't do full custom guitars.  How many guitar companies offer you your pick of any pickup from any manufacturer?  I am not familiar with many.  I think that Jackson Custom probably does.  Probably a couple of others.  Generally, if you want your own unique pickups on a guitar, that is something you can pick up after the fact.  With Carvin, you at least get to customize a guitar to your liking from a huge list of available options, and the prices are generally better than most full-on custom shops are going to be able to get you.
 
The other nice thing about warmoth is they let you choose pre-existing shapes like SGs and Strats.
 
I ripped out the C22+C22N in my DC150 and replaced them with SD Seth Lovers (I had pre-planned this before I ordered the guitar).

(Also added the white plastic rings, replaced the pup switch with a leaf toggle+white tip)

Carvin pickups are too hot for me (about 13k IIRC)... also, they don't have AlNiCo-2 magnets (my favorite bucker magnet).

To note, Carvin humbuckers are slightly smaller than your typical bucker... had to open up the pickup routs a hair
to fit the SDs in there.

1.jpg


So, they're not for me, but I don't like new - I dig old.  :icon_biggrin:

The guitar itself is excellent and has an awesome "mahogany plank + humbucker" tone.
 
My understanding is that when they introduced the covered pickups, they changed their CNC program to make standard sized pickup routes.  According to people on their discussion boards, aftermarket pickups will fit without modification now.  I don't have one of the new guitars to confirm or deny if that is true.
 
Never had a or dealt with Carvin, but from what I've read and heard there are many out there that think their stuff is top notch.

There must be something to this cause people are quick to complain if something isn't right.
 
I had a V220 and an X-100B halfstack. I'll never use Carvin stuff again.

85_backcover-small.jpg


:tard:
 
GearBoxTy said:

The amp was OK, but certainly nothing special. The "dirty" channel was pretty weak for 100 watts. I had tons of trouble with that guitar. The pickups squealed like crazy, it was real brittle bright sounding. The Kahler broke the first time I pulled up on it... eh it was just not good. Soured me on Carvin stuff ever since. I feel like it's low budget stuff.  Or it was. It seems nice but it just doesn't cut it, for me anyway. Still wouldn't be able to bring myself to buy something from them without really trying it out first.
 
GoDrex said:
I had tons of trouble with that guitar. The pickups squealed like crazy, it was real brittle bright sounding.

IIRC, V220 had a maple body and a maple neck (with whatever fretboard... prolly ebony)... no wonder it was brittle and bright.
 
The information about pickups on the main Carvin website is very inadequate, but if you look in the FAQ section of their forums you can find more information.  If this is inadequate, you can post exactly what you are looking for and get suggestions.

As for people dissing Carvin, I have to speak up in defense of Carvin as well.  I can't do a direct comparison of Warmoth to Carvin, since I don't own a Warmoth (yet).  I can tell you about the comparison of my CS6 that my instructor and I did to his custom built, artist package, pre-lawsuit PRS singlecut.  The PRS won, of course, but the Carvin held up VERY well in a head-to-head with a guitar that would retail for roughly 3 times as much. 

Warmoth gives you a wider selection of woods, neck profiles, body shapes, and hardware.  Carvin offers bolt-ons, neck-throughs and set necks, while Warmoth only offers bolt-ons.  Carvin's woodworking and finishes are first rate.  Carvins have a reputation for being very bright because of the default wood options on neck-throughs.  There are other options available.  Many complain about Carvin electronics, but that seems to be mostly due to noisy active electronics on some models.

Finally, if you go on brand A's forums you are always going to be told brand A is better than brand B.  If you want objective comparisons, go to a neutral website.
 
I like Carvins O.K. I've only ever owned a used one but it worked well - good frets, good neck, good tuners, good pickups etc. I'm pretty sure if I had a PRS I'd like it OK, or if someone gave me a Les Paul I could play it.... I just have more fun with my money building what I want. Carvin will let you specify electronics setup, which is where I think Strats and Teles used to be so weak - but even Fender has realized that people want the whack pickup combinations, real frets, real tuners etc.

Finally, if you go on brand A's forums you are always going to be told brand A is better than brand B.

There is great truth there - like, somebody's gonna sign up & register on the Geezlefurter website so they can go on there and say:

"My Geezlefurter SUCKS, dude - I'm SO stupid for buying this, or maybe I just sound like crap no matter what I play...."  :party07:
 
For what it's worth, I bought a Carvin SS amp from Guitar Center the other day, and I love it.

It's a 2x12, loud as hell, great clean, and decent distortion. I only paid 200 bucks for it, which is heads and tails above anything even twice that price in that store. Sure, it was used, but if the quality of their low-end SS amp is any indication, the rest of their stuff can't be terrible.
 
Get the H22n or M22. They sell pretty good on ebay. I personally changed my dc and kit to SD Dave Mustaines, A ridiculously awesome active pick up that sounds really creamy when not turned up all the way and almost becomes percussive when cranked. I have installed Tons of Bare knuckles pick ups and each one sounds better than the next. As for the rest I have never really had my socks blown off.
 
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