The defining feature of Carvin’s XB75 series of neck-through basses is its super-long 35q" scale. The XB75W package adds a handful of upgrades, including the walnut top and body, five-piece asymmetrical maple neck with walnut stringers, and dual-coil neck humbucker.
The Long & Short Of It
This elegant XB75W arrived with a beautifully figured bookmatched walnut top, matching headstock, gold hardware, and abalone dot inlays. The bass demonstrated excellent craftsmanship, from fretwork to hardware installation. Thoughtful little elements popped up left and right—active/passive toggle, coil tap, easy-access battery cavity, threaded inserts for the cavity cover screws … the list goes on. The bass was well balanced and not too heavy, and I loved how the asymmetrical neck felt thicker under the B and E strings. My only ergonomic complaints are that the XB75W’s knob placement felt cramped when I played with a pick, and the holes in the tuning-peg posts are too narrow for the ends of most silk-wrapped B strings. Also, I was bummed to encounter a G string dead spot around the 6th fret.
It took time to adjust to the instrument’s longer reach, but once I did, I was sold—the extra inch-and-a-quarter seemed to make a real difference with low notes. I tried fitting the XB75W with a few different string sets, but its scale limited me to brands with extended winding lengths. Some light-gauge Infelds designed for 36"-scale basses fit the bill, and I loved how the medium-low tension of the snappy-sounding light-gauge strings turned the XB75W into a slap-funk monster. But the XB75W’s low range sounded best to me with a set of Carvin strings, which seemed to showcase the instrument’s taut and full-sounding B string. With both the stock strings and a fresh set of Carvins, the XB75W had commanding slap-and-pop mojo, and notes had a bell-like resonance. The high tension due to the Carvin’s scale made standard-gauge D and G strings feel a little stiff, but it seemed a fair tradeoff; the lower strings had superb clarity and definition.
The XB75W’s defeatable EQ was subtle and natural sounding, giving a little extra low-end oomph here and a little midrange vroom there. Turning the treble knob—oddly placed between the bass and midrange knobs—had a subdued effect on the high end when I played through bass rigs, but it gave the Carvin shimmering highs through studio monitors. The Carvin offered a wide range of tones, from plump and rich to crisp and clear. The coil-tap deepens the XB75W’s sonic flexibility; single-coil mode sounded clear and bright, and humbucking mode—which came in handy while recording at a friend’s home studio—sounded rich and full. I appreciated the EQ bypass option, and the Carvin’s active/passive switch was dead silent, with the two modes evenly gain-matched.
In short, the XB75W is a beautiful, versatile, and a great value. With Carvin’s staggering range of options, the company offers an excellent alternative to buying a bass through a boutique builder.