[jakeskylyr]

That's right. After WAY too long without one, I bargained my way into a Carvin LB76 6 string bass!

I wanted to get a new bass, as I'm now officially the full time bassist for Angel Vivaldi. The 4 string Steinberger rules, but wouldn't cut it for this. I figured if I was gonna buy a 5, I may as well buy a 6, as I'm that kind of player Plus, I've always like and been comfortable on Carvin 6s. Since I've essentially let 2 slip through my fingers, I was waiting for the day I could finally get my hands on one.

Here's a quick rundown of the events. This bass came into my old Sam Ash back when I still worked there. Apparently the preamp died in it, and it was the tech's job to fix it. Essentially, Sam Ash didn't want to pay full price for the preamp since they were a major chain, and Carvin basically laughed when asked for a lower price on their parts. So the bass sat for over two years in the repair room. I went in last week to talk to the tech about fret recrowning, and I noticed it. It took a few "meetings" to get a deal made.

Since it had come in, it had taken on some new issues as well. Firstly, a small crack is developing on the headstock. There are some scratches on the bass side of the neck around the 12th fret. Also, you could begin to feel the differences in level on the 5pc neck. The major problem was in the fact that on initial purchase, they paid too much for this bass. So, that's both sides of the "bargaining" fence.

Summary: after 3 meetings/attempts & $321 later, I was able to walk out with it.

Tonight I began the "restoration" process. I scrubbed the crap out of the neck and fingerboard, removed the remaining hardware, and gave it a quick once over with some steel wool and mineral spirits. Then I proceeded to do some sanding on the back of the neck to smooth the 5pc back out, as well as to try and get some of the scratches out. I cleaned that as well. The scratches are still kinda there, but much better now.

I decided that this was as good a time as any to give the whole bass a few fresh coats of tung oil. So I started with the top. I'll do another coat tomorrow, then two coats on the back as well.

I also ordered the parts I need from Carvin as well. Came out to about $150.

Essentially, and hopefully, I've spent just under $500 for a pretty decent looking 6 string bass that's nice enough to be presentable, not too nice to worry about it getting dinged up at shows, with a nice neck (one of the main purchase decisions), and is something I've wanted for quite some time. It gives me a project, and it gave me a reason to actually purchase an instrument from a music store for the first time in nearly a decade.

So onto the bass It's a natural finish that was apparently purple at one time judging by the cavities. It's a flamed maple top over alder (it seems). It has the rounded body sides. The bass is remarkably light. It has a 5pc Maple neck (koa stripes I think) and flamed headstock. The frets are in good shape. The ebony fingerboard isn't the darkest I've seen, but it's nice, with a little bit of character grain to it. After doing a bit of research it seems it's a 1998. It has the Hipshot bridge (offered in 98) but not string thru (started in 99), it has 2 H50N pickups which were standard through 98, but changed to J99s in 1999. So it seems likely to be a 1998.

So this will likely become my main player bass (outside of lessons) and will be quite the workhorse for me.

Here are the customary crappy camera phone pics. I need to get some real pics. One of these years





The headstock crack:


















The proof of the former Barney bass:






That's my latest toy

[Vince]

Jake, it reminds me of our old bassist's axe, back in the Obscure days. I think he had a Carvin 6er too if I remember correctly. They're great basses. Congrats on the score, I can't wait to see it when it's done!

[jakeskylyr]

Originally Posted by Vince

Jake, it reminds me of our old bassist's axe, back in the Obscure days. I think he had a Carvin 6er too if I remember correctly. They're great basses.

Didn't he buy Fern's Carvin? I'm pretty sure that's who Fern sold it to. Which means he was using the same bass I used for all the Obscure shows I played bass for. I wish I could've bought that from Fern then, but I definitely didn't have the money then. Hopefully that was for a reason and THIS is the one I'm meant to have

[JJ Rodriguez]

It's missing a string

[darren]

Wow... that's a beauty!

[Leon]

nice! and can't wait to see you and Angel tearing it up at Jemfest next year!

[Vince]

Originally Posted by jakeskylyr

Didn't he buy Fern's Carvin? I'm pretty sure that's who Fern sold it to. Which means he was using the same bass I used for all the Obscure shows I played bass for. I wish I could've bought that from Fern then, but I definitely didn't have the money then. Hopefully that was for a reason and THIS is the one I'm meant to have

I think so. Man, it's been so long I honestly don't remember

It was a pretty bitching bass, it's a shame our bassist wasn't better on that instrument at the time.

[Shawn]

Nice bass! I love Carvins too, very nice. Nice score!

[HighGain510]

I used to own a Carvin LB70P and it was awesome. The neck was thin (in terms of width) so I can only assume that like their 7-string guitars, Carvin 6-string basses aren't too much of a stretch for guys with medium-sized hands. Nice score man, a little TLC and it should be rockin'!

[jakeskylyr]

Alright, now that I actually own a REAL camera *gasp!*, it's time to bring on the gear porn But first, let me just state that I bought the bass on a Monday, and I had ordered the parts Monday night from Carvin. I got the delivery on Thursday, had the bass put back together and used it for practice that night

The only thing that needs to be done is to get the right battery box. Apparently Carvin changed the one they use now. No biggie, the battery is just in the electronics cavity in the meantime.

After a restring and setup, I used it for my first show with Angel on 11/4 and it went great. Needless to say, this bass is awesome.

If anyone could tell me if they think the body sides look like alder or swamp ash, that would be great. I THINK it's alder judging by the color, but there is a spot by the cavity that's pretty flamed grain for alder. I'm not sure. It IS light, but that doesn't say anything either, as both swamp ash and alder are fairly light woods. *shrugs*

So on with the pics:

















Some of the battle scars. Here is the side of the neck:






If you look about halfway between the jack and the strap button, there is a slight crack:



Note, 2 of the tuners have messed up bushings (the D and the C. I plan to get a set of sperzels down the road):



Small crack on the headstock:




Ding on the back of the body:



The bottom of the body:




Typical thumb wear by the neck pickup (love that flame top ):




So yeah, she's got some miles on her, but from 2 ft or more away, she looks great. Most importantly, the tone is awesome, and I feel so comfortable and at home on this bass. A perfect workhorse bass. I definitely can't complain for under 500 bucks altogether!