Carvin LB75P 5-string
| March, 2008
You probably know the deal with Carvin, the amp and instrument maker with the unique catalog custom business. Though a handful of Carvin stores in California stock pre-built basses and guitars, the company primarily sells instruments built-to-order, with each customer selecting wood choices and other options to customize each instrument. The LB75P adds an undersaddle piezo pickup system to Carvin’s standard 5-string model, with the goal of having an acoustic-like sound that can be blended with the standard magnetic pickups. The P series electronics underwent an ’07 revamp, so Carvin built an LB75P for us to check out.
First, about our “custom” tester: It was handsome and understated, and included options that raise its price to $1,685, from the base direct price of $1,099. The bass has a figured walnut top ($160) covering koa body wings ($120), and a 5-piece maple and walnut neck ($100). Then there’s the matching figured walnut headstock ($25), stainless-steel fret upgrade ($40), and abalone dot inlays ($20). Not having the through-body neck show on the top adds $40, the black hardware and straplocks come to $20 and $7.50 respectively, and there’s no charge for the tung-oil finish or the soapbar humbucking pickup set (a J-style single-coil and J-style humbucker are standard on the LB75P). It’s worth noting that each of these option prices is half of what they were a couple of years ago.
The bass looked good and felt great, with a well-balanced body, a comfortably round neck profile, and inviting feel and response, with excellent string-to-string balance. My sole construction gripe was a wiggly B-string saddle, which sometimes made an audible click if I dug in while using the piezo. I called Carvin’s customer service line (not mentioning it was a review instrument), and the tech promptly offered to send me a new saddle, noting that reconnecting the piezo wire was an easy no-solder fix, or pay for me to ship it back to them to take a look. Not bad.
Forget about the piezo for a second: The LB75P offered superb tone versatility with just the magnetic pickups, 18-volt active/passive system, and 3-band EQ with sweepable mids. The neck pickup was round and full, the bridge pickup was articulate without being too thin or honky, and the EQ was a robust tone-shaper, though it never seemed heavy-handed. Passive mode—with the volume knob pulled up—was smooth and lively, and spoke boldly at a rock rehearsal. Blending in the piezo changed the whole scene, adding top-end bite and airiness. With the piezo soloed, the sound was woody, with a warm, hollow bottom and a sparkly top end that evoked the fingers-on-strings/strings-on-fingerboard sonic nuances of upright. It didn’t have that grating brittleness I’ve heard on some piezo-equipped instruments, rather, I could fearlessly goose the treble knob, which gave notes a sweet, crisp fizz. The piezo doesn’t really capture an upright’s sound, but it’s far enough from the magnetic sound that it’s like having two different instruments. The LB75P would easily fit into a semi-unplugged “acoustic” session, but with so many sounds at the turn of a knob or two, I could see taking this bass just about anywhere.
TECH SPECS
Weight 9 lbs
Scale length 34”
Body Koa with figured walnut top
Neck 5-piece maple and walnut through-body, with graphite reinforcement rods
Fingerboard Ebony
Nut Graphite-Teflon
Hardware Carvin
Neck width at nut 1 11/16”
Neck width at 24th fret 2 3/4”
Pickups Two Carvin SP2 soapbars, and Carvin piezo system
Controls Volume (pull for passive); neck/bridge pickup blend, magnetic/piezo blend, bass (±10dB@50Hz, stacked mid with frequency sweep (±10dB@200Hz–1kHz), treble (±10dB@7kHz)
Options Numerous
Made in U.S.A.
Hardshell case $54
Warranty Five years limited
List $2,399 base, without options
Direct $1,099 base, $1,685 as tested
Pros Good looks, good price, exceptional sonic versatility
Cons None.
Bottom line An adaptable instrument with stellar looks, solid feel, and a nice price.
Contact 800-854-2235 www.carvin.com
