# Carvin DC800 w/DiMarzio Dactivator 8s



## yuureikun (Mar 20, 2012)

I just put some Dactivators into my DC800, the stock active pickups were good (for actives), but still didn't satisfy me in comparison to a nice set of passives. The guitar absolutely screams now, I could not be happier with the tone. I can do some clips once I have a chance, for now, the pictures (yes I know, a lot of people don't like pickup rings. But I prefer the rings with passives over the look of actives or active covers).


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## ibanez4lifesz (Mar 20, 2012)

I'm not a fan of the 'active to passive' conversion ring look, but I have to say, this doesn't look nearly as bad as some of the RG2228 conversions I've seen. 

And I'm sure it sounds so much better that you're not even worried. Congrats!


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## yuureikun (Mar 20, 2012)

Honestly, in person the rings don't stand out much. The flash from the camera makes them more prominent in the photos, but because the finish is so dark in person the rings blend a lot more. They are also mounted by the screws inside the pickup cavities so the screw holes are hidden, so I could always switch to active covers if I really wanted to. But personally I think it looks better this way.

I am definitely loving the tone I am getting from this guitar now. These pickups are just a whole hell of a lot more articulate and clean sounding than the originals.


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## Philligan (Mar 20, 2012)

I gotta say, I like it more like that 

Did you do it yourself? I'm planning on ordering a DC800 and would definitely consider this, I'm just scared to drill a hole in it to ground the passives. Does it come with the bridge already grounded?


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## Zonk Knuckle (Mar 20, 2012)

I've been thinking about doing the same thing to mine, but I still haven't decided. Idk if you recorded anything with the original pickups, but it would've been great if you had before and after clips through the same rig and settings. Either way, I'd like to hear clips with the d activators if you make any.


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## yuureikun (Mar 20, 2012)

Thanks! I prefer this look as well, I just love the look of passive pickups. I did not do this myself, I brought it to a tech who did all the work and (I assume) had to drill the hole for the bridge ground. An experienced tech has no problems doing it. This is the second time he has had to drill a bridge ground for me on a guitar.

I do have some sound clips of the old pickups. I will have to re record those using the same Axe FX patch and riffs once I get a chance, been a bit busy with my band but hopefully I can find time soon.


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## guy in latvia (Mar 20, 2012)

damn man, that looks awesome! where did you get the pickup rings?


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## FrancescoFiligoi (Mar 20, 2012)

Nice! I don't usually like pickup rings but they look good on yours!

I'm planning to order an EMG-sized Lundgren M8 and an Aluma X Bar for my DC800 so that I can have passive direct replacements.


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## FrancescoFiligoi (Mar 20, 2012)

Another thing: how do you compare Carvin actives to D activator 8s EQ wise? I find Carvin's actives are thick and hot but not bright at all...


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## stuglue (Mar 20, 2012)

Mmm, pickup rings spoil a nice guitar. What are your impressions of the dimarzio?


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## Quitty (Mar 20, 2012)

I'm sorry, but i have to get this off my mind - this looks like an Agile.

Nevertheless, i know Carvin - and what they do with sevens, for one, would make for a killer 8-string... 
I'm assuming you swapped all of the electronics?


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## NixerX (Mar 20, 2012)

Glad you are happy man and that is one sharp axe...but damn do I hate pick up rings.


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## yuureikun (Mar 20, 2012)

The pickup rings were actually made by my step father. I found a template on here for some conversion rings and gave the template to him so he could whip some up for me. He still has a sweet set of polished steel ones sitting around that he made as well. 

I found the same thing about the Carvin pickup's lack of brightness. I found myself cranking the mid's and highs, trying to do anything I could to get some clarity out of them with my Axe FX, and all I found was I was getting too much noise. My friend has a pair of Bareknuckle Aftermath's in his Agile 8 and I plugged his guitar into my amp, and it sounded much more clear. It was then I decided to do the swap. 

Someone else mentioned how it looked like an Agile. The funny thing is that a certain purple Interceptor that was on Rondo got me on the kick to get a purple guitar, and inspired this build (obviously I wanted a higher quality guitar than an Agile, otherwise I would have just bought the Agile). So while it may resemble an Agile, it is most definitely not one, haha. The looks were inspired by this guitar: 






And again, I know a lot of people hate pickup rings. But I personally think pickup rings with visible passive pickups look better than rectangular hunks of plastic for pickups do.


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## Galius (Mar 20, 2012)

I wish you had a comparison. At first they didnt sound as bright as the other pickups in my other 3 guitars but a bit of EQing solved that and the Carvin pickups blew away my 808s, Blackouts, and Agile passives. I know thats not saying much compared to most pickups but every time I plug in and let other guitar players play my Carvin through my rig they are all blown away by how clear and thick as hell my sound is.


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## yuureikun (Mar 20, 2012)

I can make a comparison once I have a chance. I have some recordings of the old pickups, I will just re record a few of those things using the new ones. Like I said, I tried to get them to sound clear, but the closest I got was causing squealing before my noise gate was able to close on the sound. I then tried plugging my friend's guitar with BKP Aftermaths in and they blew me away, much more clear without having to tweak the hell out of my amp, and no noise/feedback. So I opted to just switch. 

The stock pickups definitely aren't bad by any means. I like them better than EMG 808s or Blackouts. But they still just don't quite do it for me the way passives do.


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## Zonk Knuckle (Mar 20, 2012)

yuureikun said:


> I do have some sound clips of the old pickups. I will have to re record those using the same Axe FX patch and riffs once I get a chance, been a bit busy with my band but hopefully I can find time soon.



You will probably actually have to bump the gain up a bit for a fair comparison.


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## yuureikun (Mar 20, 2012)

It is an absolutely gorgeous day outside, so I decided to take a few pictures. The color and quilt were just popping in the sunlight. 
















I think these pictures do much more justice to how the guitar looks in person with the rings and passives. I am so happy with how the guitar looks and sounds now!


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## eurolove (Mar 20, 2012)

it looks like you could shave at least 2mm off the sides of those rings.


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## NixerX (Mar 20, 2012)

Out side of the obvious maple top...what are the specs of the guitar?


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## Andrenighthound (Mar 20, 2012)

I think it looks just fine with the pickup rings! Gives it a beefy look. I'm glad you like the pickups! I just change my volume pot on in my agile with dactivators from 500k to 1meg to open it up some. What value volume pot did you use?


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## yuureikun (Mar 20, 2012)

It may be possible to shave more off the pickup rings, however I am not totally sure as there needs to be some space for the rings to sit on the front of the body so they don't just fall into the EMG sized cavities. I could double check to see if it is possible to make them slightly smaller. Again, I just used a template I found that someone on these forums posted.

The specs are the maple top with DTS purple stain and black burst edges, 5 piece maple/walnut neck, alder body wings, black hardware (replaced 1 knob with a black chrome with purple abalone knob, still waiting for the other matching knob to come in! >.>), and gold plated logo.

Thanks, I am glad there are a few people who agree it looks better this way, haha. I used 500k pots as DiMarzio suggests. I am going to replace the volume pot with a push pull pot soon for coil tapping. 

Now I just need to save up more money so I can invest in a Ghost Piezo system for it which will put the battery pack back to use!


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## SYLrules88 (Mar 20, 2012)

nice! i dont mind the look of the rings and i think the passives look good in there. just today i was jamming with my friend and using my dc800 and i was noticing i had to up the treble and presence on the EQ a bit. still working on dialing in the perfect tone, but so far im pretty satisfied with the pups.


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## yuureikun (Mar 20, 2012)

Thanks! Yeah the pickups require some more high end to get some clarity. They aren't bad at all, just not for me I guess. I kept getting squealing out of the pickups when I adjusted the high end to make them sound more clear. I was just having too tough a time being 100% satisfied with them. No big deal, the guitar is still an excellent value and worth every penny even with switching the pickups. 

Looks like the rings can, in fact, be trimmed anywhere from 2mm to 4mm smaller than they currently are. I will have to give the unused set I have back to my step father and see if he can trim them down a bit so I can use those instead.


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## thewolf49 (Apr 20, 2012)

If you put passives in a DC800, do you need the rings?


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## Randy (Apr 20, 2012)

Looks tight. I personally would've gone with a set of IR rings but that's just a personal thing.

Sick guitar by all accounts, though. 

EDIT: Didn't realize this was a little bit of a necro.


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## yuureikun (Apr 20, 2012)

No, you do not NEED rings if you put in passives. You could get EMG style covers, or just leave it open if you don't mind the extra space around the pickups.

These rings are IR rings. The screw holes mount inside of the EMG routes so no holes were put into the front of the guitar.  And actually I put some new rings on that are slightly smaller and painted to match the pickups better. Looks awesome.


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## jon66 (Apr 20, 2012)

yuureikun said:


> No, you do not NEED rings if you put in passives. You could get EMG style covers, or just leave it open if you don't mind the extra space around the pickups.
> 
> These rings are IR rings. The screw holes mount inside of the EMG routes so no holes were put into the front of the guitar.  And actually I put some new rings on that are slightly smaller and painted to match the pickups better. Looks awesome.



Any pics of the new rings? You expect us to just believe you when you state something like "looks awesome"?


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## NixerX (Apr 22, 2012)

yuureikun said:


> No, you do not NEED rings if you put in passives. You could get EMG style covers, or just leave it open if you don't mind the extra space around the pickups.
> 
> These rings are IR rings. The screw holes mount inside of the EMG routes so no holes were put into the front of the guitar.  And actually I put some new rings on that are slightly smaller and painted to match the pickups better. Looks awesome.



And where does one procure these covers / IR rings? I have some interest in buying some BKPs but all my guitar pups are active...


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## yuureikun (Apr 22, 2012)

The rings I have in particular were custom made by my step father, they are made of sand blasted aluminum and I painted them, but you can buy rings from Frets On The Net Home

As far as pictures, here are a couple of the guitar being played at New England Metal & Hardcore Festival earlier today!


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## jon66 (Apr 23, 2012)

Yup, you were right. Does look awesome!


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## deragoku (May 6, 2012)

I know it is not to say most of the pickup, but every time I plug and let the other guitarist to play my rig Calvin, they are clear and thick hell my voice blew.


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## Hollowway (May 6, 2012)

deragoku said:


> I know it is not to say most of the pickup, but every time I plug and let the other guitarist to play my rig Calvin, they are clear and thick hell my voice blew.


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## Uncreative123 (May 6, 2012)

Hollowway said:


>




spam bot. They always have about 4 posts and seem to be from New York...and say things like that.


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## YoshieF200 (Oct 5, 2012)

I know im late on this post. I dig the guitar even with the pickup rings. Question: I have a DC800 on the way. i wanted to put in some Bare knuckles. but dont want the spacing because if have a claro walnut finish. to replace these would i have to get the 'covered' version? OR would i be better off even getting those pickup covers? Would those work with BK pups?


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## guitarman1990 (May 31, 2013)

yuureikun said:


> I just put some Dactivators into my DC800, the stock active pickups were good (for actives), but still didn't satisfy me in comparison to a nice set of passives. The guitar absolutely screams now, I could not be happier with the tone. I can do some clips once I have a chance, for now, the pictures (yes I know, a lot of people don't like pickup rings. But I prefer the rings with passives over the look of actives or active covers).



stunning guitar how long was the turn around time?


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## MF_Kitten (May 31, 2013)

The rings look fine! It's better than no rings! The only other option would be plastic covers.


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## redkombat (May 31, 2013)

looks fantastic...... if only it had inlays


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