Umber stain was added to Carvin's color lineup in 2003, and was
almost immediately followed by Umber Stain with Sunsetburst edges,
both of which are shown on this page.
Note that as with all photographs, there is quite a bit of variance
in the color, depending on the lighting conditions, camera used and
skill of the photographer. |
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Lucky's
LB75
Carvin Museum Forums ID: lucky
WWW:
http://www.flameoutgraphics.com
Wow,
look at this one! Received in April 2005, this extraordinary LB75
is finished in umber stain on quilted maple, with a mahogany neck and
body. Other features include abalone block inlays on a ebony
fingerboard, black chrome hardware, and a pair of HB-series humbuckers
with coil splitters for each.
Lucky says:
"I absolutely love
the way the quilted maple top came out with the burnt umber
stain, in fact the mahogany came out good with that stain as
well.
The asymmetrical
neck is fantastic, I can hardly believe how easy it is to play
this new bass. And forget what the majority says, I really LIKE
the abalone block inlays.
Wicked looks, TWO
humbucking pickups (with separate coil splitter switches thanks
to you and mgood1), great playability, this IS my new weapon of
choice."
Lucky also has an
early SC90 - see it
right here.
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Erik Nett's DC127C
Carvin Museum Forums ID: syrnett
This is a beautiful
DC127C, with an interesting backstory. Erik says:
"I had placed my order
in October 2005 to my exact specifications. Unfortunately 4 weeks later
I canceled the order for a variety of reasons. In early January 2006, I
happened to browse the Carvin web sites In Stock section, and was
shocked to see my exact guitar for sale. Even though I canceled the
order, for some reason they went ahead and built the exact guitar
anyways. I jumped on the chance once I saw how gorgeous it looked and
bought the guitar. But looks alone wont cut it with me... it has to play
and sound great.
Six days later it arrived. As excited as I was to have my guitar waiting
for me when I got home today, there was a big part of me that was
extremely tentative. I knew it was gorgeous since I was fortunate to
have Carvin provide a professional level photo of the actual guitar via
the In Stock section where I ordered the guitar, but how would it feel
and sound? I opened the box knowing very well that this guitar may be
getting shipped back the next day no matter how it looked. I did my
homework before ordering this guitar and heard all the horror stories. I
read all the posts on multiple sites from the Carvin bashers and the
fanboys alike. I read every review on Harmony Central. I was prepared
and expected the worst when I opened the box."
Pretty cool story!
Needless to say, Erik got a real winner - you can read his entire review
on the Carvin Museum Forums,
right here.
And this one is seriously
loaded. It's finished in Umber Stain on quilted maple with
matching headstock and rounded body sides. The body and neck are
mahogany, and the Birdseye maple fingerboard has abalone dot markers and
jumbo stainless steel frets. Other features include an original
Floyd Rose tremolo and Sperzel locking tuners in chrome.
Electronics consist of C22N and C22B pickups.
Dave's DC727
Carvin
BBS ID: Dave Frattaroli
WWW:
http://www.downinfrontht.com
This is a very nice DC727,
in one of Carvin's newer finishes, Burnt Umber Stain on flamed maple.
It also has an alder body with tung-oiled maple neck, matching headstock, ebony
fingerboard with abalone dot inlays and black hardware.
Electronics consist of a pair of C26 pickups with coil splitters and
phase switching.
Dave is also in the middle
of building his own guitar, totally from scratch. Check out his
website to see very detailed photos and descriptions of the build
process.
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Drew's
H2T
Carvin Museum Forums ID: FastRedPonyCar
This H2
Holdsworth was actually originally owned by Tom, owner of the spalted
HF2 above. However, recently Tom sold it to Drew, which makes his
2nd Carvin.
It's
finished in Umber Stain on quilted maple with matching headstock.
Other features include a birdseye maple fingerboard with abalone dot
inlays, Wilkinson tremolo, and black chrome hardware. Active
electronics consist of "zebra" Holdsworth pickups, dual coil splitters
and phase switching. |

Jim
Alkire's IC6
Carvin BBS ID: boogie5strg
WWW: http://www.galleryofsouls.com
This
was the first IC6 ordered from Carvin, and Jim received it on 3/28/06.
It's finished in umber stain on quilted maple with matching headstock, alder
body, and 5-piece maple/koa neck. Other features include a Birdseye maple
fingerboard with abalone dot inlays and stainless steel frets. Electronics
consist of Carvin's new soapbar pickups and new 18V preamp.
Jim
says:
"All I can say is, Carvin has out done themselves. This is by far
the best bass I have played. it just smokes my other Carvins in how
it sounds. These new Soapbar pup's along with the new 18volt
electronics are outstanding. It is the first bass I've ever played
that after 5 minutes of playing it for the first time I was wanting
another. They are that nice."
Jim has
an impressive collection of Carvin basses and guitars - see the rest of
them right here.
Brad
Smith's BB75
This is a great example of a
BB75, with the new (and very nice) umber stain with sunsetburst edges
finish. It also has a killer quilted top, with chrome hardware,
ebony fingerboard with no inlays, and a 5-piece neck. Brad says:

"I
purchased this beautiful BB75 almost a year ago from the Covina, CA
Carvin store. I had seen this bass in the catalogs for years and never
bothered to check it out. I have had a pair of Tobias "Killer B" bolt-ons
since 1991 - one fretted and the other fretless. I was convinced the
Toby's were the best until I played the new MTD basses, but who has
$3,000 or $4,000 for one of those? I then purchased a Lakland Skyline 5
string - sold it within a few months - not happnin'. Then there was the
Fender Deluxe 5 string - no good. Owned a couple G&L's too - necks are
too narrow at the heel. I've been checking out everything at NAMM
shows for years too. Nothing. I don't know what got me to go check out
the BB75. I had been looking at it in the catalog and digging all the
options and the cool figured maple tops with all the nice color options.
I think it's the upper horn that I didn't like at first, but it's
actually just a little longer than the Tobias. Anyway, when I strapped
one on, it sat just right and it's pretty lightweight too. It feels
right. It feels like a high-end bass that would cost a few grand, but I
think I paid around $1,100. The string spacing is right on. 3" at the
heel is good. My Tobias is 2-7/8, which is a little tight. The Ken Smith
5's are too wide. Anyway, moving on to the sound - incredible. The MM
and the J style is a good combo. I like the fact that I could order the
bass without the dots on the face - I think it's a high-end look. The
umber stain/sunset burst on quuilted maple is amazing. The
matching headstock is cool. The only thing I don't like is the
arrangement of the 3-band eq controls. I'd rather have bass, middle,
treble - from the bridge moving toward the neck. Here's the deal: I
haven't even been playing my Tobias much since I got the BB75. I
bring both to gigs, but the Carvin sounds and plays better. And I
thought Tobias was the sh#@. I'm even thinking about picking up another
BB75 in a different finish and maybe another fretless one too - after I
unload some other gear on ebay and get some bread together! Just thought
I'd share this info." |
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Tim Warstler's AC50F
Carvin BBS ID: desertracenbass
Tim's AC50F one has a very
beautiful Umber Stain with Sunsetburst edges over quilted maple, with the headstock and back of the
instrument finished in just the burst color. Other features
include tung-oil on the back of the neck, tortoise body binding,
drop-shadow logo, fretlines with no inlays and gold hardware. |
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Tony Campisi's CT6M
Carvin BBS ID:
KOR
Another great
example of the new California Carved Top - in this case, the 2nd one ordered
from Carvin, and possibly the first with a quilt top. And what a quilt!
The umber stain with sunsetburst edges looks fantastic, and these pictures
probably don't do it justice. Other features of this one include matching
headstock, abalone block inlays on ebony fingerboard, and chrome hardware.
Nice!
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The
latest addition to the collection is this 2005 Holdsworth Fatboy.
It's finished in Umber Stain with Sunsetburst edges on quilted maple
with matching headstock, and has a mahogany body and neck.
Other features include no inlays on the ebony fingerboard, stainless
steel frets and black chrome hardware.
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In-Stock
DC747C
Generally,
instruments from Carvin's In-Stock section aren't listed
in the Player's Gallery, but this DC747C is worth a look
at. It's finished in beautiful umber stain with
sunsetburst edges, but what really sets this apart is
the solid quilted body (versus just a quilted top).
Notice that the neck also has some nice flame to it, as
well. Other features include gold hardware, a
Floyd Rose tremolo, and a birdseye maple fingerboard
with no markers.
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