Carvin/Kiesel guitars

    Anyone hear have any experience with modern carvin/kiesel guitars. Build quality looks good. My concern would be tonal quality. Some say electronics not the best and or pickups. Obviously if it looks gorgeous and I don't want to play it or it doesn't have any MOJO to to its tone it doesn't matter. Anyone with somewhat recent observations or specific pickup guitar configuration appreciated. Looking at their modern strat style ct6 type. Or if anyone has another recommendation for the 2-3$ range.

    I'm a long time fan of Carvin/Kiesel...my most recent addition being a Vader 6 custom build. I would say that their pickups are generally so-so...but the newest Lithium pickups are actually pretty good.


    That said, if you have one built, you can actually send them your own pickups to put in. You just need to talk with them about it first. They're really kind of awesome folks. Great to work with and talk to.


    Build quality is, IMHO, some of the best bang for the buck out there. The pickups were the only thing to me that were lacking. To me, the CT6 is a better PRS than PRS...but everyone will have different opinions. I find the guitars well balanced...the necks very comfortable...and the general playability to be most excellent.


    I've owned a number of Carvins (and now a Kiesel) over the years. I'll probably have another built at some point.


    [Blocked Image: http://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?media/2015-12-17-20-21-41.14336/full&d=1450728828]


    Thanks for the input..

    I agree with jlf599. In the last year, I've picked up several Carvins and a Keisel with the Lithium pickups (very good by the way). Excellent guitars in every way, materials, construction, appearance, playability.

    Quote from Orangecat

    I agree with jlf599. In the last year, I've picked up several Carvins and a Keisel with the Lithium pickups (very good by the way). Excellent guitars in every way, materials, construction, appearance, playability.


    you guys are making this easier for me to pull the trigger.... Al the pics and build process Ive seen are impressive. Like I said my concern would be getting a pretty, yet lifeless, tone void guitar. Seems more than a few are pleased in this regard. Any of yours have their version of the "wilkinson trem" ? Can you comment on it ?

    If your concerns are about "tone cold" guitars, I suggest avoiding a maple body, especially if the guitar has a maple neck through design. I've had a few, made by various manufacturers, and they all were sterile sounding guitars, compared to other woods. If you want a flame/quilt maple look, a body made from mahogany, alder, etc. with a maple veneer or cap will be a much richer sounding guitar.

    Quote from paults

    If your concerns are about "tone cold" guitars, I suggest avoiding a maple body, especially if the guitar has a maple neck through design. I've had a few, made by various manufacturers, and they all were sterile sounding guitars, compared to other woods. If you want a flame/quilt maple look, a body made from mahogany, alder, etc. with a maple veneer or cap will be a much richer sounding guitar.


    Once again, you seem to be full of wisdom @paults .. This makes perfect sense to me... . I'M FEELING much more confident now.

    Unsure what was meant by "their version of the wilkinson", Carvin uses Wilkinson branded trems and I have a few with that and it performs exactly as a Wilkinson should.
    Here's a couple of my recent purchases:
    [Blocked Image: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/MountainDog/2D4E8331-4214-41BC-9C83-6A8522D6DC88_zpsznbg0yzh.jpg]
    [Blocked Image: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/MountainDog/D184940C-DA89-4F7A-8B47-A2F3D4931262_zpsxq81rfrf.jpg]

    Quote from Orangecat

    Unsure what was meant by "their version of the wilkinson", Carvin uses Wilkinson branded trems and I have a few with that and it performs exactly as a Wilkinson should.


    some have complained of tuning stability problem when getting wilkinson with carvin. And some have consequently sent in an alternative trem vs the vs100 or vs 401

    I got a Carvin SC-90 made of Koa like 10 years ago, been my main ever since. Quality is awesome, only problem I've ever had is burning holes in the frets playing it so much. Got the punchy pickups split coiled, great for metal and the single coil neck pickup is great for clean or distorted. Neck adjustments happen immediately, awesome guitar. Was gonna drop some old emg's in it but just never bothered. So glad I bought it, the neck-through rocks.


    Sounds like:


    External Content youtu.be
    Content embedded from external sources will not be displayed without your consent.
    Through the activation of external content, you agree that personal data may be transferred to third party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our privacy policy.


    Sorry for the boozy solo