NGD - She's beautiful.................And She's Going Back

shredi knight

shredi knight

Power User
Here is what was to be my first new guitar in over 10 years: A loaded up Carvin DC600C. Unfortunately, Carvin goofed and built it with the wrong style headstock. Here's a pic of what the headstock should have looked like:

dc600-closeup-large-4.jpg



What I got instead was the 6-inline style you see in the pics. It might not seem like a big deal to some, but 2 things initially drew me to the looks of this guitar: The direct mounted pickups & the headstock (probably because they are different than on the Carvin I already own, which has the 6-inline headstock style). So it's going back for a rebuild.

Having to send it back is somewhat of a blessing in disguise though. I had gotten this guitar with a thinner neck option that they offer. While I don't hate it, I prefer the neck profile on my other Carvin. So I'm dropping that option (which was $60), and in it's place, I added an option they have where you email them a pic of what you want the top of the guitar (in this case, Spalted Maple) to look like and they go through their stock and match it as closely as possible (this option is $100, but I negotiated and got the $40 difference waved). I opted for that option because, while I really liked the top on the one they sent me, I've seen pics of Carvins with ones I've much preferred.

So anyway, it's going back and I'll have some more waiting to do (though I understand the wait time for rebuilds is usually less than the first time around, which was 2 months). Here's the specs & pics (and no cracks about my dirty-ass couch :mrgreen):





- Adler Body (gloss finish),
- Spalted Maple Top /w Matching Headstock
- Maple Neck-Thru (Tung oil on back), Ebony Fretboard (25" scale/14" radius)
- Thinner Neck Option
- Stainless Steel Jumbo Frets
- Floyd Rose
- Locking Tuners
- Dunlop Straplocks
- Black Hardware
- Black Carvin Logo

The pickups are aftermarkets that I sent to Carvin to install:

- (Bridge) Suhr Doug Aldrich
- (Neck) Dimarzio Air Norton




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Here's a couple larger, close-up pics of the body:


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Nice guitar man, I love the top :encouragement:!

I have to agree with EJ no locking nut? with the inline head stock it my not have been to bad but with the headstock your wanting it's going to be a nightmare. I have a Wilki on mine and the CT headstock (8* back angle) too much string pressure at the nut location to let the strings slide back and forth with trem use of any significance.

Their having to build you a new guitar anyway so may as well have it done. Also you want to make sure that they shim the trem for the correct radius. The floyd comes from the factory setup for a 12" without shims. Not sure if Carvin makes this a priority or not but thought I would mention it.
 
It's a nice top! Sounds like Carvin is going to work with you. That's good to know. My Avatar is a spalt top Suhr and I love that look. ;)
 
EJ James said:
You ordered it with a Floyd, but no locking nut?
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You'd be surprised at how many people actually do use a floyd without a locking nut. At one time Chris Broderick, Tony McAlpine, and several others did and some still do. I played a Warmoth strat a friend had once. It had a floyd, tusq nut, and planet waves auto trim lock tuners on it. It played amazing and stayed in perfect tune even with extreme trem abuse. The trem also sounded better and had a different feel due to the extra length of string it was working back and forth. I was afraid divebombs would make the strings pop out of the nut slots, but they never did. If I ever went floyd again it would be without a locking nut. But on my custom guitars, I have PRS trems with recessed routes which give me damn near the same range as a floyd and they are the best non locking bridge on the market hands down.
 
I've always been tempted, but never pulled the trigger, on a Carvin. I didn't realize that they would install pickups that you sent, that's very cool. Beautiful guitar.....Someone's going to get a great deal on that when it gets back to them and listed on their site.
 
Carvin makes really beautiful guitars. For a custom-config instrument shop, they are amazingly affordable.
 
dpeterson said:
yes the 3 on each side headstock is million times better looking, I hate their 6 inline headstock.
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Thank You!!!! :)

I started this same thread over on Rig-Talk.com and everyone is jumping my ass over there (yes, the same ass that got the couch so dirty :mrgreen), saying how much better the 6-inline looks and that I should keep the guitar. I respectfully disagree.



EJ James said:
You ordered it with a Floyd, but no locking nut?
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- It has locking tuners. I usually block my Floyds so they only drop the pitch (can't pull up) and I have no problems with tuning (my other Carvin doesn't have a locking nut either). This one did seem to hold it's tuning fairly well though (the string haven't really been stretched that much), even after pulling the strings sharp with the bar.
 
shredi knight said:
Thank You!!!! :)

I started this same thread over on Rig-Talk.com and everyone is jumping my ass over there (yes, the same ass that got the couch so dirty :mrgreen), saying how much better the 6-inline looks and that I should keep the guitar. I respectfully disagree.





- It has locking tuners. I usually block my Floyds so they only drop the pitch (can't pull up) and I have no problems with tuning (my other Carvin doesn't have a locking nut either). This one did seem to hold it's tuning fairly well though (the string haven't really been stretched that much), even after pulling the strings sharp with the bar.
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I also HAD a Carvin with Floyd with no locking tuner, but I had the rounded V-style headstock so no straight string pull. I eventually put in a lock nut (and new pickups). Now I love it.
 
retro_dad said:
I didn't realize that they would install pickups that you sent, that's very cool....
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Keep in mind, this is what is known as an "Option 50", which is an unlisted option that voids the 15 day money back guarantee, making it non-returnable/non-refundable (except in cases like mine where the guitar is not how I ordered it). There are several other "Option 50's" as well (the thinner neck option is one).

It's also a $50.00 charge to have them install your own pickups, which really didn't seem right to me since they were saving on a set of their name brand pickups that would have gone in the guitar. But since I am terrible at/hate soldering and I know very little about installing direct mounted pickups, not to mention I didn't want to tear apart the guitar as soon as I got it, I chose not to argue the point. :)
 
shredi knight said:
It's also a $50.00 charge to have them install your own pickups, which really didn't seem right to me since they were saving on a set of their name brand pickups that would have gone in the guitar. But since I am terrible at/hate soldering and I know very little about installing direct mounted pickups, not to mention I didn't want to tear apart the guitar as soon as I got it, I chose not to argue the point. :)
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Remember for their standard pickups, they simply run the same programme on their CNC router as they always do, and the mounting holes and cable routing appear in just the right place, zero effort, zero risk.

When you send custom pickups, someone has to measure them up, decide where to put them and how to route the wiring, then either make a hand template, or re-programme the router, which takes time and effort ... and every once in a while, they will screw up one of those operations and scrap the entire guitar.

So sure, they probably save $150 on a pair of pickups, but there is a huge time cost and an occasional production risk in doing a "special". Specials always sound so simple, but in a production environment cause major headaches.

I have to say though, that spalted maple looks absolutely stunning :)
 
shredi knight said:
Thank You!!!! :)

I started this same thread over on Rig-Talk.com and everyone is jumping my ass over there (yes, the same ass that got the couch so dirty :mrgreen), saying how much better the 6-inline looks and that I should keep the guitar. I respectfully disagree.





- It has locking tuners. I usually block my Floyds so they only drop the pitch (can't pull up) and I have no problems with tuning (my other Carvin doesn't have a locking nut either). This one did seem to hold it's tuning fairly well though (the string haven't really been stretched that much), even after pulling the strings sharp with the bar.
Click to expand...

Ultimately it's your guitar and you should get what you paid for. Carvin's customer service is great! I got a DC145 in Dec. and when I changed strings to a heavier gauge, I went to touch up the intonation - one of the hex screws was stripped. No questions asked, they paid for shipping both ways AND it was received, repaired and sent back within the same day.

Went the same route as you ("option 50" as well) with a Lagoon Burst finish, Holdsworth headstock, and had the trem blocked for dive-only. I installed a pair of Duncan P-Rails with the Triple Shot mounting rings. Just an outstanding instrument!! Congratulations on your purchase - they WILL make it right!
 
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