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Just did a complete evaluation and minimal set-up of a 55 year old Carvin brought in by one of our clients.

It's all original (cover plate for bridge is in case) and it looks as if it has never been played, no fret wear.... Although this one will need lots of work to bring it back to playing perfectly, refret to level the board and kill the ski ramp.... it does play now and sounds great. These old pups are about the hottest pups I've ever played.

Inside there are lots of unshielded wires and some with no insulation either.... Things are held together with masking tape... but it works, for now.

I had to shim the neck to get it playable and the owner will likely relegate this one to cowboy chord strumming on stage and wall hanging at home due to the expense of bringing completely back to life ($500 - $800ish) but it is cool.

This is the kind of thing that I really get into and enjoy completely. Working on this old stuff... just like me.... is a lot of fun and a great way to spend a Monday. I was five years old when this guitar was built in 1963.

Lastly this case brings new meaning to the definition of tweed. It's the tweediest (is that a word) case I've ever seen and smells like a 150 year old dead person.... Now you can picture Hesh at his bench with three air fresheners all around me...

Thanks!

Well...they've come a long way.

Neat stuff. No surprise on the tape.... My partner in crime at Thesis Audio here in town (Mike Metz) worked on some awful Carvin mixers back in the day. The chips weren't soldered into the circuit boards.... they were held in with duct tape.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I didn't know Carvin had been around that long...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

Very cool indeed!

Very odd. I don't know exactly when Carvin began making guitars, but the name comes from his two sons: Carl and Vincent. I didn't think either was yet 50 years old.

Of course I'm just repeating urban legends. Carvin is local to me and several of my friends had Carvin guitars and amps as kids. I know there are two sons, but they could be named Juan and Freddy for all I know!

Still a very cool old guitar!


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I suspect that guitar is a home built using Carvin replacement parts including the neck (they sold many diy components back in the fifties) I've seen a few early Carvins and Kiesels (Carvin founder) they are much finer than the one in the pixs. $.02

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Well that would explain why the builder got the neck angle wrong......

I only remember them going back to the 80's. I had a Carvin Amp, my very first amp, I think it was an X--- something or other?? I bought it used off a heavy metal guy. It was a pretty rad amp but at the time I knew it was not a Marshal or a Fender or a Boogie so I got rid of it thinking it was just a cheap amp like a Peavey or something.

But then 1980 was 37 years ago. Only 13 years shy of 50 years ago. We're all getting old yo!