player opinions

Carvin Bolt

Carvin Bolt

  1. Name: Greg

  2. Band: Broken English

  3. Model Year: 1998, I think

  4. Price Paid: $250 used

  5. Performance

  6. This thing is 10 times better that a Strat (American!) They are just better, easy action, low too. Sound is amazing can play anything from punk to classic rock to jazz to blues, anything. The trem is sensitive, but hey you don’t have to use it. Stays in tune beautifully. If you are thinking of getting a Strat (which I was too at one time) grab a good Carvin.

  7. Performance Rating: 10

  8. Sound Quality

  9. Amazing, look above for more info.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 10

  11. Construction

  12. The best part, there craftsmanship is amazing. My friend wanted to trade me his 95 American Standard for it! I told him no because I would never go to a Fender. It’s like taking 3 steps down.

  13. Construction Rating: 10

  1. Name: Lee Scott Howard

  2. Band: 2 Over 30 (rock duo); The Hollywood Band (dance); Soloist

  3. Model Year: 2000/01

  4. Price Paid: $600

  5. Performance

  6. Frustrated after searching for a quality Fender (read on for details) I decided to try Carvin and have them build me something as close to a Strat as I could get. I originally ordered an alder bolt-t (bolt on neck with wilkinson tremolo) maple fingerboard, tung oiled neck, locking tuners, 3 single coils, jet black w/ white pearloid pickguard. If you’re judicious with your aesthetic options, you can get a great instrument at a very low price. The first guitar I received had an odd overtone when fretting the G string on the 1st fret. The company took it back no questions asked, and rebuilt me a new guitar using mahogany, even giving me a price break on the more expensive wood. In addition, they were great in helping me find a solution to the problem. Their next attempt was flawless! Low action with .010s, no buzz unless I bash on it (perhaps the other reviewer has a heavy handed technique?)

    7. Yes, the neck WAS wider than I was used to playing, which discouraged me at first. But after about an hour of playing, I was fully settled in. The neck was solidly and correctly seated in the body cavity and every screw was securely fastened (believe me, I went over every inch of this instrument). Neck tension/relief was right where it should be. The black finish didn’t even have any buff marks. I truly believe they went out of their way to make sure the replacement guitar was perfect. The maple neck has a beautiful translucent figuring that really stands out with the tung oil finish (this finish feels smooth and doesn’t make your hands stick when you perspire). I get a load of compliments on the look & sound.

  7. Performance Rating: 9

  8. Sound Quality

  9. The mahogany body makes this guitar sing, and with single coil pickups, I’ve got the equivalent to an SG/Strat combo sound- much thicker than a Strat, but with the same quack and expressive tone. The throw switch allows for some extra pickup combinations that yield some nice additional tones. I use a Line 6 Flextone II XL and it sounds beautiful. Plenty of highs like you’d expect, but with growl to spare. When I solo and bring the wah pedal down about 1/2 way, I get an incredible tone that’s like a cross between SRV, Santana, Brian May and even a little Guess Who-thick, clear, sustaining, expressive, retro feel.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 10

  11. Construction

  12. Unlike the other reviewer’s axe, mine had absolutely clean fret work. As a matter of fact, I was all set to spend a grand on a Strat and tried every American Standard I could get my hands on in New York City & New Jersey. NONE- and I mean NONE were anywhere near the workmanship of the Carvin. And the “low end” Carvin was made exactly to my specs, which had more features than the more expensive Fenders. With one exception, all the Fenders I tested (about 20+) suffered from one or more problems including: fret buzz, improperly set necks, pitted finishes, extremely poor action, loose hardware, dirty pots, bad intonation. The one that was good was a Natural Ash Strat and wasn’t the color I wanted. I’m sorry, but consistently bad workmanship from a name like Fender is totally inexcusable, especially for the prices they command.

    By contrast My Carvin was still in tune after a 3000 mile journey to my doorstep! The floating bridge holds its tune well with realistic tremolo arm maneuvers, and does occasionally go out slightly with deep bends. I’ve read reviews where the tung oil finish has caused neck warping because it isn’t a sealed finish, but I maintain mine at or better than mfr recommendations, and I’ve yet to experience any problem. I have perfect pitch so the slightest intonation problems drive me batty. After 2 years of solid playing, I have YET to adjust the guitar’s intonation. And the frets are just NOW starting to show some wear. Unbelievable! My overall impression is that Carvin, like other mfrs, makes some good and not-so-good instruments. The difference with Carvin is that if you don’t like what they send you, they will keep trying until they get it right. The other reviewer should have returned his guitar and had them make a new one like I did. perhaps he might’ve had better luck.

  13. Construction Rating: 10

  1. Name: Justin Saragoza

  2. Band: The Lively Ones (bass)/20,000 Leagues (guitar)

  3. Price Paid: $608

  4. Performance

  5. I used the bolt in an emergency not being able to use my Jaguar or Strat. I’d bought the bolt as a backup to the Strat mostly from Carvin’s press about low string action. I was not pleased with the action at all. My Jag is much lower with .011’s and I’m using .010’s on the Carvin. The neck is fatter than the other guitars making it rougher to play. No matter what is tried it doesn’t have low action without buzzing somewhere.

  6. Performance Rating: 6

  7. Sound Quality

  8. This is the total surprise. The tone of the Bolt is amazing. I fight with the Strats running through a Fender Reverb tank because the highs make a terrible resonance with the dwell on full. But the Carvin tone control filters out the mess effortlessly. It almost sounds like a slightly out of phase Telecaster and really “stings”; this is a single coil surf guitar monster. The bolt is hassle to play but the sound is well worth it if surf music is what you do. Sonically this thing kicks. Just make sure you get the maple neck option. I didn’t get the “whammy” bar option so it’s only the hardtail I’m familiar with.

  9. Sound Quality Rating: 10

  10. Construction

  11. This is a well made guitar but it does have a couple of problems. The fretwork isn’t smooth like the Fenders; the frets don’t smoothly integrate with the side of the neck. It wants to snag the fingers. The metal work on mine is a bit rough like it wasn’t completely finish polished prior to chrome plating. You can actually see grinding lines and minor pitting; but in all fairness you do have to be looking for Fender quality to notice. The woodwork and paint are simply amazing so it seems odd they would scrimp on the metalwork. Despite the lack of high quality in certain areas I’ll probably get another one because (for me) this guitar has a surf sound to kill for — blowing the Stratocaster away. The Jaguar can’t even touch it, but that’s like comparing apples & oranges. The Strat (its obvious competition) plays better, but suffers when compared to the Bolt if you’re a reverb addict running wide open dwell.

  12. Construction Rating: 8

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  1. Average Ratings
  2. Performance: 8.2
  3. Sound Quality: 10
  4. Construction: 9.4
  5. Ratings Key
  6. 10: Excellent
  7. 0: Useless
  8. Company
  9. Carvin

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