# New Carvin bass, now with split P pickups!



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 10, 2013)

Carvin.com : PB4 4-STRING CLASSIC BOLT NECK BASS







Carvin.com : PB5 5-STRING CLASSIC BOLT NECK BASS






Finally, a Carvin bass with a P and P/J config. And I dig the shape a lot.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jul 10, 2013)

I'm half way between "finally!" and "fugly". 

Having a P and/or P/J option on all their basses would be pretty awesome, at least the SB.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 10, 2013)

I'm digging the shape. Reminds me of the old 80's Ibanez and Peavey basses.

But I agree. Would kill for a P/J B or BK.


----------



## Philligan (Jul 10, 2013)

MaxOfMetal said:


> I'm half way between "finally!" and "fugly".
> 
> Having a P and/or P/J option on all their basses would be pretty awesome, at least the SB.



I feel like a more traditional look would help a lot.  The natural and stained ones look so plain, but something like surf green or a burst, a natural headstock, and chrome hardware would look great.  

It still doesn't top the SBs for me, though - I think I like them more than real Jazzes.


----------



## sear (Jul 11, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> I'm digging the shape. Reminds me of the old 80's Ibanez and Peavey basses.


Or, perhaps, a _Fender Precision Bass_? You may have heard of it.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 11, 2013)

No, I have not. Who makes them? Ibanez?


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jul 11, 2013)

sear said:


> Or, perhaps, a _Fender Precision Bass_? You may have heard of it.



I get what he's saying. It is reminiscent of the post lawsuit stuff that was essentially the pre-lawsuit clones being slightly modified, a cut here, a trim there, etc. 

Obviously these are Precision Bass replacements, just like the SB is a Jazz Bass replacement, only they're certainly not clones. 

Like I said, I think these are kinda ugly, and I dig the heck out of P-Basses.



HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> No, I have not. Who makes them? Ibanez?


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 11, 2013)

MaxOfMetal said:


> *Ibanez catalog*



I knew it.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 11, 2013)




----------



## MaxOfMetal (Jul 11, 2013)

The candid shots do make it looks a little less "amorphous" in shape.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 11, 2013)

I really hope they offer a kit for this one, or at least offer a BK kit with the PJ config. 

If not, there's always the Fender P Special, I guess.


----------



## Mike (Jul 11, 2013)

pretty cool, I just don't think I'm a fan of those headstocks.

edit: kinda looks like a baseball cleat if you turn them upside down so that the tuning keys would be the spikes.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jul 11, 2013)

You can order a different headstock.


----------



## DavidLopezJr (Jul 11, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> You can order a different headstock.


Ehh, none of them really work for it sadly.


----------



## Herrick (Aug 6, 2013)

These are very tempting for Herrick. I've owned two Fender 5-string MIA Pees that had B strings that did not please me. Perhaps these hold the answer? Still, I'd like to hear how it sounds. 

I'm picturing one all black with matching headstock, rosewood fretboard, & that 3 + 2 headstock. Not sure how that headstock would work out. It looks good on the Icon series butt I don't know about these


----------



## iron blast (Aug 6, 2013)

love it all but the fugly headstock it would look ok as a 6 string headstock but deff not for a 4 or 5 Imho


----------



## Grand Moff Tim (Aug 6, 2013)

Oooh, how'd I miss this? I dig.


----------



## Herrick (Aug 10, 2013)

iron blast said:


> love it all but the fugly headstock it would look ok as a 6 string headstock but deff not for a 4 or 5 Imho


 
Yeah mang. I don't like those headstocks either. Good thing there are options for others. I'm trying to picture what a PB5 would look like with Carvin's 3 + 2 headstock which I think are from their LB basses. I looked at some pictures of B50s with those headstocks to try to get an idea but still...I'm not sure if that would be a good combo


----------



## Don Vito (Aug 10, 2013)

That is one of my favorite headstock shapes for basses. They look like goddamn crocodile heads.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim (Aug 11, 2013)

Goddammit. Just $1003 for the exact specs I want right now...




...if I lived in the US or Canada.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Aug 11, 2013)

Don Vito said:


> That is one of my favorite headstock shapes for basses. They look like goddamn crocodile heads.



Should get a transparent dark green (if they make that color) bass with a matching quilt-top headstock. Would fit it perfectly.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim (Aug 11, 2013)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> Should get a transparent dark green (if they make that color) bass with a matching quilt-top headstock. Would fit it perfectly.




Deep triple step emerald green, like this'n:


----------



## GenghisCoyne (Aug 15, 2013)

theirs something off about the body.... i cant put my finger on it. a horn doesn't extend far enough or the others to far, i dunno. i wish they would have put the effort they used into making this into making a 27 inch scale 7 string.


----------



## eyeswide (Aug 16, 2013)

Don Vito said:


> That is one of my favorite headstock shapes for basses. They look like goddamn crocodile heads.


 

I actually appreciate it more after you bring up the crocodile headstock comparison. Still though, those pick-guards are not for me.


----------



## pushpull7 (Aug 17, 2013)

Oh wow, you CAN get a P/J config 

I don't really care about the odd shapes but I've played some carvins and they make a nice bass. I really need a 4 string but was worried these were P only.


----------



## Murmel (Aug 17, 2013)

I actually dig these. As a Precision nut I think this is neat. The shape and headstock works too.


----------



## Herrick (Aug 20, 2013)

Well mangs, I ordered a PB5 yesterday. 

Jet Black 
Clear Gloss Finish (Standard) 
Maple Neck/Alder Body (Standard) 
Tung Oil Finish Back Of Neck (Standard)
Headstock To Match Body Finish 
Icon-style Bass Headstock 
Ebony Fingerboard Black (No Streaking)
No Top Inlays - Side Dots Only 
Med-Jumbo Frets .048" H .103" W (Standard)
$14in Fretboard Radius (Standard) 
Black Hardware 
Black Pickups 
Large White Logo (no charge) 
Flat Wound Med Light 
Black Multi-Layer Pickguard 
Black Tolex Wide Hardshell Bass Case


----------



## Herrick (Oct 1, 2013)

Here's mine. I haven't taken a real picture of it yet so I took this from Carvin's site & made it horizontal. 





It plays very nicely & isn't heavy. Definitely somewhere in the 9 lb range. It sounds good too. The Beeeee is pretty good, which I had real concerns with after going through two Fender 5-string Pees without lackluster B-strings.


----------



## pushpull7 (Oct 2, 2013)

Herrick said:


> Here's mine. I haven't taken a real picture of it yet so I took this from Carvin's site & made it horizontal.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



So about 6 weeks for your order? I don't have a bass coming but a guitar.


----------



## Herrick (Oct 2, 2013)

chrisharbin said:


> So about 6 weeks for your order? I don't have a bass coming but a guitar.


 
I chose the rush build option for $100. They were supposed to ship it 30 days after order was placed. Like if it was placed on Monday then they're supposed to ship it 30 days after Tuesday. This did not happen in my case and I'm a little upset about that.


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Oct 2, 2013)

Herrick said:


> I chose the rush build option for $100. They were supposed to ship it 30 days after order was placed. Like if it was placed on Monday then they're supposed to ship it 30 days after Tuesday. This did not happen in my case and I'm a little upset about that.


 
There should have been a disclaimer saying the rush option isn't for sure, there's a reason that folks take that option so rarely. 

Did you call or do everything online? The sales folks I've talked to have always been pretty honest about that.


----------



## pushpull7 (Oct 3, 2013)

I'd have paid that to get it. Seems there are a few options I would have liked to know about. I did mine online. Called today, still going to be the end of OCT before I get it.

Anyways, back to the bass......really looks good but you know what they say...



(or did you do a NBD? )


----------



## Herrick (Oct 3, 2013)

MaxOfMetal said:


> There should have been a disclaimer saying the rush option isn't for sure, there's a reason that folks take that option so rarely.
> 
> Did you call or do everything online? The sales folks I've talked to have always been pretty honest about that.



If they had that disclaimer then they would have to remove the guarantee that it'll ship after 30 days.

I called them to see what was going on because I never even got a card in the mail with an estimated finish date which some people get. The bass ended up shipping like 35 days after the order was placed so it's no big deal. This is my second Carvin order and every time I've called them, they've always been very cool.

Ha ha Chris Harbin  I didn't do a NBD. I'll try to post some real pictures tomorrow, mang.


----------



## pushpull7 (Oct 3, 2013)

I hope you do, will look forward to it!


----------



## Herrick (Nov 23, 2013)

DSC01097 by ShutOrp!, on Flickr




DSC01105 by ShutOrp!, on Flickr




DSC01090 by ShutOrp!, on Flickr




DSC01092 by ShutOrp!, on Flickr




DSC01088 by ShutOrp!, on Flickr


----------



## MaxOfMetal (Nov 23, 2013)

That black/tux thing going on is HOT.


----------



## Herrick (Nov 23, 2013)

Why thank you, Eddie 

(Boogie Nights Reference)


----------



## pushpull7 (Nov 25, 2013)

love that Carvin. Would like a review! How's the neck/action?


----------



## Herrick (Nov 25, 2013)

chrisharbin said:


> love that Carvin. Would like a review! How's the neck/action?



The neck is very comfortable. I don't know the nut width but it's smaller than Fender's 5-string P Bass. The action is low but there is some fret clack on the B & E strings. I don't mind some fret clack so I haven't bothered messing around with the action. Overall it's a very easy to play bass.

The tone is very good to my ears. The problem I had with the two Fender 5-string Ps I used to own was the B string didn't sound as good as the other strings. Also the C & C# were indistinct at times. It was very weird. I'm not sure how to describe it. They sounded out of tune...not all the time though  I used different strings & different pickup heights. The only I didn't try was a different pickup. 

The Carvin Bee is very good. The biggest surprise are these Carvin flatwound strings. They already felt broken in when I got them. There's no brightness that you normally get on a new pair of flats. This is pretty much the bass I've wanted for a while: passive, single-pickup, 5-string with a good B-string. The only complaint I have is it's not as light as I was hoping. It's a little heavy. I haven't weighed it but it's probably under 10 lbs.


----------



## pushpull7 (Nov 25, 2013)

Well, it looks great.


----------



## littlemurph7976 (Nov 28, 2013)

Really digging the new Carvin headstocks!


----------

