carvin – Preservation Sound

Carvin Co. electric guitars of 1978

chris — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:31:11 +0000

Continuing our series on Carvin Musical Instruments of the 1970s: the complete Carvin electric guitar line-up of 1978. Download a twelve-page scan of the 1978 catalog:

DOWNLOAD: Carvin_guitars_1978

Products on offer include: Carvin DC150C, DC150B, CM140, CM130, and CM120 electric guitars; the Carvin CB100 stereo bass, and the DT630 and DB630 doubleneck instruments.

By 1978, Carvin had abandoned the slightly Fender-influenced European-made guitar components they had been using since the late 60s; the 1978 lineup is much more Gibson influenced; or maybe Gibson-by-way-of-Alembic. Noteable late-70s trends at work here include: solid brass hardware; heavier (8.5 lbs) instruments; humbucking pickups with coil taps; ‘natural’ finishes; and plentiful control knobs/switches ala Alembic and BC Rich.

One odd holdout from the earlier era of the electric-guitar is the fact that these instruments shipped with a guitar-cable included. I wonder when this practice finally ended. Seems like a cable more ought to come with an amplifier than with a guitar… Also notable that the bass-instruments shipped with flatwound strings standard. I have noticed that there is a definite trend lately for electric-guitar players to use flatwound strings again; I have been really enjoying the sound of flatwounds on my 60s Fender and Harmony guitars; it’s kinda the secret ingredient to get the sound of 60s records (assuming yr using an old gtr and an old amp as well). The only problem is that they are more expensive. $12 vs $5 for roundwounds. On the other hand, they rarely break, and it’s not necessary to change them as often, as a ‘dulled’ sound is sorta the point.

Previous 1970s Carvin coverage on PS dot com begins here…

Carvin Mixing Consoles 1979

chris — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:46:42 +0000

Download a fifteen-page scan of the mixing consoles on offer in Carvin’s 1979 Catalog:

DOWNLOAD: Carvin_Mixers_1979

Above is the playing-field of the flagship Q1608, a Quadraphonic console with 16 inputs and 8 outputs. Other mixers on offer: the Carvin S1800, S1200, MP1000, MC1000, SP600, S600, MP600, MC600, and MP410 mixers.

Above is the MP410, a lil dude with 125 watts (into 4 ohm), a graphic EQ, and a built-in Hammond reverb. Seems like a pretty good little keyboard amp.

One of the most repetitive selling points in this catalog is the alleged superiority of the new differential input stage relative to input transformers. Both methods certainly have their benefits; nowadays, input transformers are almost universally used as a selling point rather than a liability. I personally prefer transformers, and use the Jensen 115 (click here to download details) for most of my builds.

Tomorrow: Carvin guitars of 1979. If you’ve been enjoying this series, check out the very comprehensive Carvin Museum. The Carvin Museum does not offer full catalog downloads as I’ve been doing, but they have done an admirable job of scanning and indexing every Carvin catalog from 1955 through 2005.

Carvin Guitars, Amplifiers, and PA equipment: 1973 Catalog

chris — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:19:20 +0000

Download the thirty-two page 1973 Carvin catalog (presented in two sections):

DOWNLOAD AMPS, SPEAKERS, AND PA: Carvin_1973_part1

DOWNLOAD GUITARS: Carvin_1973_part2

Products covered, with images, specs, and text, include: Carvin Lead amps LM1000, BL1250, FR1200, LP600, SM450 and TM565; Carvin Bass Amps ABM850, BM900, BM355, and FH2500; Super Amps SBL2000, SLM1600, SABM1800, and SBM1900; Combo amps VTR-212, ML212, and MB212; Tube amp head VTR2500 and TV2500; Solid-State heads ST4000, ST2400, B3000, B2000, and B1500; Carvin P2500, P4500, and P5000 PA heads; plus numerous speaker cabinets and components.

Guitars and bases include: Carvin AS50B, CM95, SS75B, SS65B electrics; Carvin SB60, SB40, and AB45 bass guitars; DBS98B and DTS90B doubleneck guitars; PRO-S8 and PRO-D6 steel guitars; plus more.

Above, some of the new offerings for 1973: we see a Folded-Horn bass enclosure (popularized by ACOUSTIC corp in the early 1970s); we see a return to tube amplification in the form of the VTR2500 amp head (seems similar to Ampeg V4 of the era); and we see a larger PA head with 8 inputs and some sort of quasi-notch filtering: power output is 170 watts into 4 ohms. Can anyone hear the singer?

1973 Carvin AS50B. AFAICT, this instrument uses the same body as the earlier OVATION “Tornado” guitar.

The 1973 Ovation SB60. Identical to the cheaper SB40 save for the 1.5lbs heavier maple body. We’re near the start of the unfortunate ‘heavier-is-better’ guitar trend of the 1970s.

Doubleneck guitar/mandolin has been replaced by doubleneck guitar/12-string guitar.

Guild CopyCat tape echo has been replaced by Maestro ‘Sireko.’ Anyone out there have any experience with the merits of one vs the other?

Carvin Guitars, Amplifiers, and PA equipment: 1971 Catalog

chris — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:16:18 +0000

Download the thirty-two page 1971 Carvin catalog, presented in the original glorious black-and-white (9.9M zipped file):

DOWNLOAD: Carvin_1971_Catalog.pdf

Dig the excellent non-designed cover. Products covered, with pictures, specs, and text, include: Carvin Super Band Leader amp SBL2000, Super Lead Master Amp SLM1600, Super Bass Master SBM1500, Band Leader BL1100 and BL1200, Lead Master LM990 and LM1000, Carvin Altec -equipped Lead and Bass Masters, Bass Master BM 755 and BM 775. Public-Address (PA) systems/components include: PA5000 incorporating P2200 head and CR 150 speakers, PA600 featuring P3500 head and SR660 speakers, System 7000 featuring P4500 head. ‘Compact’ instrument amplifiers include Twin Master TM550, Lead Performer LP400, Bass Master BM340. Amplifier heads include Carvin B3000, B1600, B2400 and B1050 Bass amp heads or ‘Power units’ as Carvin calls them; L4000, L2500, and T2000 Lead Power Units, aka Guitar heads.

Guitars covered include: Carvin AS50B and AS50 hollowbody electrics, SS70, SS70B, SS65B, SS65 electric guitars, AB45 and SB40 electric basses, ABS95 bass/guitar doubleneck and AMS90 Mandolin/Guitar doubleneck; Carvin pedal steels # 41B, 61B, 81B, 101B, and 1010B; Carvin steel guitars PRO-S8, PRO-D8, PRO-D6; plus a range of parts and accessories.

1971 Carvin AS-50B Acoustic-Electric Guitar

1971 Carvin SB40 Electric Bass

1971 Carvin APS95 doubleneck

As far as i can determine, Carvin used imported European bodies for their acoustic electric guitars (similar to what Ovation did at the time) and imported the necks as well. I am honestly not sure if they made their own solid-bodies, but given that they were making amplifier cabinets, I can’t see any reason why they would not have. When you look at these guitars, the overall vibe is not Fender or Gibson… I feel like the closest comparison is the work of fellow Californian Paul Bigsby.

(image source)

BTW, if you have not read Andy Babiuk’s excellent book on Paul Bigsby, spend the $32 and check it out. Far and away one of the best books ever written on the subject of a musical-instrument innovator. NEways…back to Carvin…

1971 Carvin Super Amp

1971 Carvin L4000 amplifier head

The most interesting thing about the amplifiers is the construction method used. Years after even tube-based electronics had begun using printed-circuit-boards, Carvin was using point-to-point wiring for their all-solid-state amps. The amplifiers ranged in power from 80 watts into 4 ohms up to 160 watts into 4 ohms (2 ohm capable).

Guild CopyCat Tape Echo as offered in the 1971 Carvin Catalog

As Carvin still does today, the catalog also includes accessories made by other manufacturers, as well as part and encouragement to ‘build your own!’

Plenty more on offer within the catalog. Download and see…

Tomorrow: 1973.

Carvin in the 1970s: Part 1

chris — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:51:39 +0000

What If I told you that there was a US company that had been making good-quality electric guitars, PA equipment, and instrument amplifiers since the 1940s, in the United States, and for about the same price as better foreign made goods? And the company has remained in the same family for all those years? There is only one such company that I am aware of, and to be honest, I have never used a single piece of their equipment beyond a replacement humbucking pickup and a couple of raw speaker drivers. And you probably haven’t either. The company is Carvin. While the appeal of the Carvin brand seems limited to aging hair metal’ers, fusion-bros, and faith musicians, it’s hard not to have a strong dose of respect for this resilient, independent corporation.

Lately i’ve been noticing that Carvin’s 1970s guitars are starting to look pretty fresh in an inscrutable WTF iron-curtain sorta way. So I think it’s time to dig into my pile of 70s Carvin catalogs and get the discussion going here on these charmingly-misshapen sleepers.

This week I will be uploading original Carvin catalogs from the early, mid, and late 1970s. Like I said, I can’t claim to have any particular knowledge of these offbeat items but maybe my readers can weigh in with some personal anecdotes about ye olde Carvins.