NGD - Pictures!

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

So how is it????

He's too busy playing it to come back and tell us, Dru.

[aknow]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

It's funny, the 8 week wait for it to be built was easy. The acclimation time sucks!!

Why would you need to acclimate a solid body electric w/ nitro-cellulose laquer, probably? I love Carvin products, one of the best kept secrets, unfortunately, in musical equipment.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by The Growler

He's too busy playing it to come back and tell us, Dru.

LOL, you're right Growler. The longer he's away, the more he likes it

[mikealpine]

LOL!!

I didn't play it Friday night, and only played for a little yesterday morning. Was out visiting family in NJ, not getting home until after midnight and was beat, so the real play (and pictures) will show up today.

However, first impressions at lower volume so as not to wake my family, the guitar sounds really nice! The neck pickup is smooth without being muddy, and the bridge has a sharpness, without being shrill. The pickups sound great with the overdrive built into the amp, even at low volume. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to crank it up a bit and get a better feel for what they can do, especially with my (modest) pedal board. The Piezo does exactly what I want it to do, emulate an acoustic.

As for the guitar itself, it's beautiful. The pictures are in my phone (not nearby right now), and I will upload them later, but the blue burst with the thin black edge looks really sharp.

Also, I don't know how they do it, but the fretboard is smooth as silk. I seem to float over it. I don't know if it is their ebony, or something they do in the finishing process, but there is just this silky feel as you play. It's hard to explain, but this is the second Carvin I've owned, and I felt the same about that other one. The back of the neck is tung oil, and it also offers the smoothest feel. I think the build quality is as high as any PRS I've ever played.

There are two things I have to get used to. One is I got medium-jumbo stainless steel frets, and I think I hear a little buzzing as I play. When I take my time and test the frets, playing one note at a time all the way up the neck, there's no buzz, so the action is good. The action is really good, actually. So all I can think is that I am not playing as cleanly as I thought, and will have to work on that, and am sure I will improve in my guitar playing as a result. The second thing is the neck is on the thin side. I probably should have paid the extra charge ($80, I think) for a slightly thicker neck. It's not a deal-breaker, although Carvin gives you 10 days to try and return if you're not happy. However, if I order another at some point in the future, I think I will take that option.

Would I recommend Carvin? 100%. I had a great experience end to end. I loved the fact that I was able to choose pretty much everything about this guitar, the woods, colors, finish, etc. They will also work with you on much more customized options, if there's something really special you are looking for. As aknow said, they are much too good a secret. Will I buy another? Yes. I am waiting for them to offer a Strat-like guitar with a Piezo. As of yet, they don't, but I have been led to believe it may not be too far into the future before they do.

Pictures later, and if possible, a tone demo of the magnetic and piezo pickups!

[mikealpine]

Here she is:

[The Growler]

Looks really nice. I like the matching headstock. Congrats!

[mikealpine]

Thank you! I also have to mention the carved heel; I have never had such comfortable upper fret access.

[Dru Edwards]

Wow! What a beauty, Mike. Nice convenient battery slot.

I'm hoping that one day a used Carvin will show up around here.

[mikealpine]

Thanks Dru! They show up from time to time on The Gear Page and often on Reverb. The DC400 often shows up with a Piezo

[clintj]

Oh, my. That is a beautiful guitar! Congratulations!

[aknow]

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mikealpine]

Thanks guys! Seriously, build quality is top notch. And it probably has one of the nicest, non-muddy neck tones I've heard. The bridge sounds better under overdrive than clean to my ears, unless I roll the tone back to about 6, and I may spend more time on the middle position for playing cleanly. The guitar also sounds pretty good when the coils are tapped. It won't fool anyone into thinking it's a Strat or a Tele, but it provides a very nice and usable tonal range.

[moon]

Beautiful finish.

[mikealpine]

Thanks! It's wife-approved!!

[lukybob2]

Congrats! What a beautiful guitar!