Carvin bolt on guitar

RG7GUY · #1 06-01-2001, 04:42 PM

Hey everybody. I want to buy a carvin bolt on guitar, but am tired of guitars with 22 frets. So far, the carvin bolt seems like the best guitar, but I think if I get it I'll change the neck, only problem is to find a neck that can compare to the original's quality. I played a DC127c at a pawn shop once, it was probably 20 years old but looked new, and there was absolutely no fret wear and open string chords sounded GREAT. You just can't say that about ALOT of guitars in this price range($500-$650 depending on what options I get). The price is right, I can customize it at a local carvin store, but I just want the 2 octave neck. And I don't want to spend 200 dollars extra on a neck-thru because I worry about the neck bowing or breaking. Anybody who knows if it's possible for me to get a customized carvin 24 fret bolt on neck would be even better. * *

**jemsite** · #2 06-01-2001, 04:43 PM

look into Warmouth since they are essentially the parts department for Carvin... glen

Noodles · #3 06-01-2001, 06:10 PM

I would also go with warmoth. I tried one of the carvin bolt guitars, they are a great value.

RG7GUY · #4 06-01-2001, 08:52 PM

So should I just try to contact someone from the site and ask if they can make me a custom? Will it be as good as the original?

Noodles · #5 06-01-2001, 11:09 PM

There necks are nice and they will fit the carvin bolt. There site has all the order info you need.

RG7GUY · #6 06-03-2001, 03:04 AM

I checked the necks section at warmoth and I don't like the sound of having the 23rd and 24th frets overlapping the neck pickup. Any other suggestions?

vwall · #7 06-03-2001, 03:15 AM

i am selling my carvin neck thru with emgs and a schaller floyd right now. *email me if interested

scott

vwall@family.net

Screamin · #8 06-03-2001, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Quote: from RG7GUY on 7:52 pm on June 1, 2001
So should I just try to contact someone from the site and ask if they can make me a custom? Will it be as good as the original?

They do have a "custom shop" online. *It's not as visually spectacular as they claim, however.

kuma · #9 06-04-2001, 09:06 AM

Carvin is flexible on many things, and will offer custom options not shown in the catalog if you ask. *But I seriously doubt they'd make a 24-fret Bolt.

As you noticed on the Warmoth site, a 24 fret neck will not fit on a body designed for 22 frets - the neck pickup is in the way. *You'll either need to live with the 22 frets, or step up to one of the neck-through models. *I believe Carvin does offer a 5 year warranty, so if the neck should twist, they'll fix it or replace it. *Or, better yet, get an Ibanez!

That being said, I own a Bolt kit, and it's fantastic. *Tremendous value for the money. *I did replace the pickups though.

Glen, not sure where you got the idea that Warmoth makes Carvin's parts...my Carvin neck is very different from my Warmoth neck. *Not only does the Carvin have graphite reinforcement rods and a very different back shape, but it's made from one piece of maple, while the Warmoth has a scarf-joined headstock (both are tilt-back design.) *I highly doubt Warmoth is doing that for Carvin but not themselves, especially at a price point where Carvin can charge $120 for what Warmoth charges almost $200 for.

darren wilson · #10 06-04-2001, 11:57 PM

I bought a Carvin Bolt neck that i'm going to attach to my 540R body (just needs the neck pocket widened ever-so-slightly) and i'm blown away with the quality of the neck. One piece of really clear, straight-grained maple (sadly, not quartersawn) with a flawless ebony board on it. It's got a really nice shape to it (sort of a flat oval, not too thin), and it came from the factory with frets gleaming and set arrow-straight. I can't wait to play on it.

Oh, and they also made it custom for me with no face dots, for like 10 bucks extra! I think it was something like USD$159 shipped to Canada. I'd have a hard time getting a Warmoth neck to my specs for that price.

As for having a Bolt kit with 24 frets, the pickup issue is easy enough to fix. Since it's a front-routed guitar, it's easy just to chisel or route some more wood out of the way, move the neck and middle pickups closer to the bridge and get a new pickguard to accommodate the new pickup positions.

The other problem which would need to be addressed is the depth of the cutaway... you're going to want to take a bandsaw to the lower cutaway (a la Green Meanie... which incidentally only had 22 frets) in order to get the upper-register access for a 24-fret neck.

guitarshredder7 · #11 08-23-2005, 06:10 PM

yeah i want one, with 24 frets too.

Hobophobic · #12 08-25-2005, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jemsite

look into Warmouth since they are essentially the parts department for Carvin... glen

Actually that's not even close to true. Carvin does all their work in house other than the Cobalt series acoustics.

No they won't do a 24 fret bolt (they also won't do the Floyd Rose on the lefties for some weird reason). These are questions that I asked and discussed thoroughly with them just a few weeks ago. Warmoth necks usually require a bit of "coaxing" to work with the Carvin neck pocket (despite advertising the same specs), but nothing too difficult. The fretboard extension Warmoth uses to make their 22 fret neck into a 24 fret neck would require some modification to the Carvin body for the neck pickup unless you ordered the "125" configuration which has a bridge pickup only.