Okay so back to the reason for this post.  I’ve been doing a great amount of studio time lately and have been dealing with those pesky engineers that only want to see a Fender bass.  I understand the history and significance of this “request”… but I think my Sadowsky is way better in many regards.  At any rate, I took this as an opportunity to experiment yet again.   I decided to go with a Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass V because the neck seems to be just a bit longer than the American standard and it gets me just a little bit closer to the 24 fret that I’m used to playing.

I upgraded the pickups and preamp, opting for Lollar Single Coil Jazz bass pickups (direct Fender fit) and a Sadowsky pre (I really trust that preamp in any situation).  The Lollars are very impressive!  I first learned of them while testing out some Bill Nash basses here in Atlanta.  The tone was amazing and consistent!  I typically play using it’s incredible passive tone in the studio, and I prefer to use the pre when I’m playing live.  The combination is impeccable. I’m very happy with the way that this turned out.  This one’s definitely a keeper!

To update you, I still don’t have a great back up bass.  When I say great, I mean a bass that feels great in my hands as well as sounds great.  It seems to be pretty easy to make them sound like you want, but getting a bass that feels incredible is a more daunting task.  The issue seems to be that I’ve been playing the same bass for over 6 years and I think my hand is just molded to that neck.  My bass is also broken in extremely well, so I’m sure that plays a major role as well.

At any rate, I recorded some audio of another bass that I slightly upgraded.  The bass is a Fender American Standard Jazz Bass V.  Upgrades include Sadowsky Blue Nickel Strings and Nordstrand Nj5FS hum-cancelling pickups.  I am once again very pleased with the Nordstrand pickups.  Check out the audio and tell me what you think.

The Carvin B50 has arrived!

Hey guys, the Carvin I ordered finally arrived on February 7th! I ordered the bass on 11/28/11, so it took about 2 months from order to completion. I paid for the bass in advance, which turned out to be somewhat of a “sour” moment, only because they never sent a notice or email that the bass had been shipped, and I wanted to make sure I was home to sign for it.

Another bassist on YouTube ordered a B50 about a week before I did, and he advised that I contact my sales advisor because the factory was running a week or so behind, in which he wasn’t notified. My advice to you guys is that if you really want to know when your bass is on it’s way to it’s new home, that you wait and pay closer to your completion date. They won’t ship the bass without payment in full, and this way they’ll be forced to keep you abreast of your build info. If you call and ask about your bass, just know that it may take a day or so for them to get info from the guitar department.

I was very excited about receiving my bass and I wanted to post info about it on the blog on that very day, but I decided to wait until I had time to try it outand see what I really thought about it first. So here we go!

The Specs

Carvin Box with specs list

•  Carvin B50
• Swamp Ash Body
• Black Stain w/ Flame Maple Top
• Blackburst Edges
• Active/Passive Electronics
• SB HeadStock / Flame Maple / Color Matches Body
• Abalone Dot Inlays
• Abalone Carvin logo
• Master Volume / Blend
• HardShell Case (free promotion!)

Carvin Hardshell Case

This is my first custom bass, so the experience was akin to the “kid in a candy store” adventure that everyone can relate to!  I ripped through the box, opened the case and found this beauty:

Carvin B50

What a gorgeous bass!  I was very impressed with how this bass turned out.  The paint and craftsmanship is impeccable!

SB Headstock on a Carvin B50

Back of the Carvin B50

There is so much beautiful detail in this guitar.  If you look closely, you can really see the grain pattern of the ash on the back of the bass.  Even on the back of the neck, there’s this lovely “dancing maple”:

Maple colors on the neck of the Carvin B50

And here’s the back of the headstock:

Carvin B50 - Back of Headstock

Aesthetically, there is absolutely nothing to dislike about this bass.  I had a vision of what this bass would look like, and the actual product turned out to be many times better!

The Sound

Okay, so in all honesty and to get right to the point, I didn’t like the way it sounded.

I tried this bass out in three of my normal playing situations, and the tone just wasn’t for me.  Nothing is functionally wrong with the electronics, but the J99A’s and the preamp are just not my taste.  I’m sure this is all my fault.

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I’m a huge Sadowsky fan that was looking to expand into some other kind of basses, mainly for backup purposes.  Carvin is one of a few companies that I’ve tried.  With that being said, I opted for the volume blend, an by many accounts this affects the range of tones you can achieve.  With this option and a very very very generous tone knob (I usually only opened it up to about .5  on a scale of 10 because it seemed to make everything really really “treble-y”), I just couldn’t find a tone that I liked.  I also thought that I could appreciate the 70′s pickup spacing, boy was I ever wrong on that.

I listened to countless clips on YouTube and other places of the B50 / SB4000 / SB5000 (same electronics), I’ve actually played Sekou’s personal bass, I’ve even heard Sekou in concert and the one thing that occurred the most in all these instances was slapping.  This bass is a slap monster.  I couldn’t find a clip or recording where the bass was used prominently for fingerstyle playing (which I do 95% of the time).  My hopes were that I could dial the tone back enough to not be so bright (Marcus Miller 70′s type), but also not too dark (when you eliminate all the treble and roll the tone knob all the way off).  Maybe a midrange control would have helped?

The Bottom Line

Carvin makes incredible basses.  I just hate that I didn’t really like the J99A’s.  Maybe my ears are just tuned to the Sadowsky’s.  The preamp has a very strong presence, but in most of my playing situations it was really bottom heavy.

There aren’t many Carvins in the Atlanta area that would allow me to really dig in and “try before I buy”.  I had to just order and hope for the best, and in my case take advantage of the 10 day return policy.  And I honestly don’t think 10 days is enough time to make a decision.

I really like the size of the bass and thought about just upgrading the electronics to maybe a Nordstrand combo, but that would be another $300-$400 investment into a 70′s spacing that I can’t appreciate.  Not really worth it to me.  Looks like I’ll be trying something else… maybe even another B50 with a different setup.

I know the obvious solution is to just get another Sadowsky.  But let’s just keep searching for now!

It’s nothing to walk down any isle and hear incredible musicianship.  Here’s a video of my bro’s Jermaine Hall and Oliver McEwan in an impromptu jam session at the TC Electronics booth.  They’re jamming to MJ’s Human Nature.  Enjoy!

NAMM & EBS Logos

Guys I’m headed to NAMM in Anaheim, CA!!!  This is my first year and I am so very excited to be attending.  For those of you that may have never heard of it (from namm.org):

NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization’s popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry. Our association—and our trade shows—serve as a hub for people wanting to seek out the newest innovations in musical products, recording technology, sound and lighting. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages.

In the Winter and Summer every year, NAMM sponsors trade shows that allow all of the merchants and manufacturers to showcase their products.  This results in every musical company that exists convening in one place to show off the goods!!!  Nearly every person that is endorsed by these companies stops by and performs, showcases new products, takes pictures, signs autographs and just hang.  It’s an incredible opportunity to hang and network with musicians from all over the world.

NAMM isn’t open to the public, so a manufacturer or merchant has to help you gain access.  EBS Sweden, a company that graciously allows me to endorse their pedals, allowed me the opportunity to go to this year’s conference!  I am very thankful and grateful for this opportunity.

I’ll have tons of pics and video in the coming days!!