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Instrument Review
Carvin Custom Shop Bolt-T Solid Body Electric Guitar Review
Carvin Bolt-T Features:
* List Price - $1299.00 (Does NOT Include Hard Shell Case) * Carvin Custom Shop Direct Price - $699.00 (Sometimes with $70.00-$100.00 Off) |
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Features:
The S-shaped body type guitar made popular by Fender, is arguably the most popular body style in history. You see more Fender Stratocasters on stages over various types of music than any other guitar made. Telecasters probably come in a close second. Have you ever wondered why? Is it because Fender has the best advertising and endorsement deals with artists? Or is there just really something to the quality of their guitars.
Obviously many of Fender's products are of a high quality, or they wouldn't be so successful. But the Stratocaster model has various versions made in various places, most of them not being in the United States. There are Japanese Strats, Korean Strats, Mexican Strats, and yes the ever popular American Strats. I have tried all of them, and found the current American and Korean models to be the best coming from Fender. Soon we'll have several reviews up of Fender Stratocasters.
The body style that has become known as the Stratocaster body style, is called an S-shaped body. The idea is that with the deep cutouts on both top and bottom, the guitar can have maximum flexibility playing wise. The deep cutouts also mean less wood which equals less weight. It works, and many a player prefers the S-shaped body over other types.
But just about every electric guitar manufacturer sells an S-shaped body guitar. I mean you can get this type of guitar from Yamaha, Dean, Ibanez, G&L, Samick, Hohner, Jackson, ESP, Schecter, Floyd Rose, Peavey, Charvel, and many others (believe it or not.) There are so many manufacturers of guitars using this body style, because there is profit in it. Fender does not corner the market in this area, although it seems that if you see an S-type guitar on a stage, it is usually an actual Fender Stratocaster. The other thing I have seen is higher end custom S-shaped body guitars being used by professional musicians. Many players build their own. Still others use Custom Shop models from manufacturers such as Carvin, Yamaha, Charvel, or even G&L. The model we are reviewing here, is the American made Carvin Custom Shop Bolt-T, and it is a popular model with those who are looking for something a bit more custom than a regular American Fender Strat.
Reviews of this model online at www.harmonycentral.com rate this guitar with an average rating of 9.3. That's really high, when you consider that a few inevitable negative reviews are factored into that score. When I last checked, that high score was based on 30 reviews, so obviously the Carvin Bolt-T rates as very desirable amongst people who have put their money where their mouth is. Recently, I became one of those people, because I wanted a Strat type sound at times, but with more versatility and character than what I was getting from the Fender American Standard Stratocaster Deluxe Plus I owned. So basically, I sold the Fender, and got the Bolt-T in a configuration that I hoped would fill the void.
Construction and Features
Bolt-on
neck guitars never seem to be as stunning to my eye as your typical neck-through
or set neck guitar. I think it's because of the break between the body and
bolted on neck. There just isn't that flow and unity that is so nice on the
other types. So generally when I look at construction of a bolt-on, I've gotta
force myself to realize that a bolt-on has a beauty all it's own, and make sure
than I use the same critical eye as I do with the other types, but not judge too
harshly just because of design flow.
I got this guitar with the black Carvin hardshell case that has the Carvin logo on the side. These types of cases are small and light, and yet still tough. I like them better than any other case I've used, because they are not bulky, and can even fit in an airplane overhead compartment if available. I bought this Bolt-T pre-owned, and there were a few dings and light scratches on the upper side. But as you can see in the pictures, the top and back are clean, and the guitar with the translucent dark purple finish and added black pearloid pickguard is visually stunning. The guitar came stock with a white 3-ply pickguard, and I added the black pearloid 5-ply pickguard to make the guitar stand out more, and customize it further.
It's hard to see in pictures, but you can see through the dark purple translucent finish and it is very nice. This guitar had the optional Swamp Ash body which to my ear sounds better, looks better, and is noticeably lighter than the 7.5 Lbs. spec. stock Alder bodied Bolt.
I got this model with the two
single coils in the front/middle, and a humbucker in the bridge position.
Control-wise it had a 5-way pickup selector, a coil tap for the humbucker, and
one volume and tone control. This combination of controls is excellent, and
gives maximum versatility. Access to the tremolo springs is via
the covers on the guitar back. To get to the electronics, you've gotta take off
the pickguard.
The optional Wilkinson tremolo (that's what makes the Bolt a T model) this model was equipped with is my preference, and I am very familiar with them. They are easily adjustable for height and intonation, and with the graphite nut the guitar stayed in tune very well. I really like the Wilkinson tremolo unit. It has a quality high end feel, and just plain does what it's supposed to do, and does it well. This guitar also had the optional Sperzel locking tuners, which again are my preference and generally perform flawlessly. On the Bolt-T, they also did there job perfectly. All hardware was ordered with the gold option.
Construction
on this puppy was just like any other Carvin I've seen or owned. The neck pocket
was tight and perfect. The finish applied at just the right thickness. And the
fretboard had a nice high end feel with excellent fretwork. This guitar was
every bit as high a quality as the American Standard Fender line, and easily
equal to the Strat Deluxe that I owned for several years. That should not
be surprising as the Bolt-T is a custom shop American made guitar, and Carvin
has an excellent reputation for quality. All the awards their guitars have won
over the years weren't given for no reason!
So upon close examination, the Carvin Bolt-T looks to be a well made guitar. Visually it is more attractive with the pearloid pickguard. Otherwise...you know...an S-shaped bolt-on neck guitar is what it is. It looks how it looks, and there are tens of thousands of other guitars out there that look just like it unless you make yours look more custom with different features. So on to the Features section!
Playability
The main strong point of any
Carvin I've ever played is playability. Carvin claims to have some of the best
playing guitars available. Out of the
case, this guitar did play well, but it needed some new strings, a truss rod
tweak, tremolo setup and intonation to get it back up to typical awesome Carvin
playability. After that it played fast and easy. A good setup is usually
necessary on any guitar, so I wasn't put out or bothered by the fact that this
one needed it. In a perfect world, guitars would get setup at the factory and
stay that way, but in real life they are effected by temperature changes,
humidity, and many other factors. To put it short and sweet - They gotta be
setup most of the time to play their best. Carvins are no different in this
respect. If you buy a guitar and it plays perfectly when you open the box,
consider it a blessing, but realize that eventually that guitar will need a good
setup. You just got lucky from the start.
So after a half hour or so of
setup, the Bolt-T played just that much better than the Fender Strat that it
replaced. Not much, but just noticeably faster, with a looser feeling to the
strings. These guitars have a graphite nut, tilt-back headstock, and an ebony
fretboard which to my hands really adds to their playability. Lately ebony
boards have become my preference. The Headstock design makes it so string trees
aren't needed, and seems to add to the sustain of the guitar. All these things
add to the custom feel, and cause the guitar to play better than your average
Strat in my opinion. Remember this is an American made custom shop guitar, and
it is priced around or below even the most basic American model Fender such as
the Highway One Stratocaster.
Weight wise, the Bolt-T with the Swamp Ash body was a fairly light guitar. It was not as light as the Fender Custom Telecaster we tested, but it was a comfortable lightweight guitar, that I had no problem with playing for extended periods of time. I am a bit sensitive to guitar weight because of an old motorcycle injury, and can't really handle playing heavy guitars such as Les Pauls, etc. for very long. I was fine with the Bolt-T.
Another great playability feature here is the Tung oiled neck back. It's an option, but well worth every penny, because it makes the neck play fast and smooth. I like this type of finish on the back of the neck as opposed to a full gloss finish. In my experience a full gloss neck back can be a hindrance in certain playing conditions (such as sweaty performances or studio sessions.)
Sound Plugged In
I have read two user reviews at Harmony Central that claim the Bolt doesn't get the typical Strat sound. I would have to ask those reviewers what they are smoking. I mean PULEEEEAAAASE. Hook it up side-by-side with one and listen. This guitar not only gets the Strat bell-like sound in the first coupla positions when e.q.'d right, it gets more than the Strat sound. My biggest problem with the 3 Single coil modeled Strats is their limited versatility, and there was more than one time that I could not get the sound I was looking for when recording. The three single coil setup is great for many things, but when you need a humbucker, you need a humbucker!
I didn't find the single coils on the Carvin Bolt-T as limiting as the ones on my Fender Strat. They can get that Strat sound, but they are thicker, fuller, and to my ears sound better when using distortions or tube overdrives. The Carvin pickups have more pole pieces (11 per row) which Carvin claims eliminates dropout when bending strings. I tested the claim, and it's true.
I do have a gripe here - On clean settings, the better definition of Carvin's pickup design can be both a blessing and a cursing. When things aren't e.q.'d just right, the higher definition can cause highs to be way too detailed, and mids to be to harsh. Of course that can all be fixed with the right adjustments, but some people will find that they just don't want to mess with it, and prefer the duller sounding, more limited typical Strat pickups. He says tomato, she says tomaaato. The only way to know whether you'd like Carvin's pickups is to try them. I like the higher definition, but I don't mind messing with equalizations settings on my amp and tone control on my guitar for each song.
The humbucker position pickup sounded very detailed and very good. Not too hot and not too bright. Distortion through our Traynor YCV80Q tube amp rocked using this pickup with a nice crispness, but still had some warmth. The coil tap sends it back into your typical single coil distorted Strat sound, but again with a bit more definition.
My gripe about the single pickup sounds of this model is really just a concern. I don't consider the higher definition as a detriment. It's just that it is not what people are used to. Isn't that why you buy a custom guitar though? To have something different than the norm? I would think that with the versatile pickup combination and Ash body, most guitar players will end up getting many tones they like out of this model ordered this way.
Conclusion
Carvin's
Bolt-T is an interesting proposition. It's a guitar that in my opinion one-ups
the traditional Fende
r
Stratocaster. Even the higher end models. Feature wise, obviously it's a custom
shop guitar that can be ordered just about however you'd want it. Generally the
options are half off at Carvin, so $100 in options can go a long, long way to
customization. You can't order it with anything other than various models of
Carvin's pickups though, which I think are excellent, but that may be a problem
for some who have another brand pickup preference. In the
Bolt-T you have a guitar that looks similar to many guitars. I think this model
with these options, is actually better sounding, made with more care, and of a
higher quality than any other S-shaped body guitar out there that is made in the
U.S.A. and is in the $600 price range. Let me tell you...there aren't many to
choose from that are really made in the U.S.A.!
To get a better guitar than this, with a Wilkinson tremolo, Sperzels, graphite nut, and an ebony fretboard for less than Carvin's price, you've most likely gotta buy it used, or make it yourself. Once again Carvin offers a great product with features that are near impossible to find at it's offered price point. Ain't America great?:)
by William Charles
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