Just like many readers/posters, I was very skeptical to purchase a bass through the mail… huummm?… ten day return policy!?!?! I can live with that. I can only get ten to twenty minutes, at the most, with a bass in a store, with music blasting, through some other bass rig, fifteen guitarists looking for just the right distortion, and an impatient sales person saying, “the large headstock on that bass is real popular with the ladies.” (He really said that!) Factory direct… bring it on! Ordering was easy, thanks to all of the BBS, the mods, and the knowledgable employees at Carvin. I highly recommend calling in your order if it is for a custom instrument. I think it keeps things clear, you can ask them questions, and there are things that they can do that are not in the catalog or on the website.

So here is what I ordered and received:

- BB70P
- Walnut body sides – WAL
- 5 piece maple neck with 2 walnut stripes – 5MW
- Clear finish over quilted mapletop – QTC
- Tung Oiled neck - TN
- No show neck on front – NS
- Birdseye Maple Fretboard – BMF
- No inlay on fingerboard – NIN
- Hipshot Detuner – HS
- Black chrome hardware – BC
- Installed Straploks by Dunlop – SL
- Low wide frets – 6130
- Vintage Tweed Hardshell Rectangular Bass Case – HC18

Like I said, ordering was easy, but waiting was hard! Don’t get me wrong. I would have have this bass in seven weeks if I wasn’t on vacation. I think 7 – 12 weeks for a custom built instrument of this quality is very, very fast. “Like a kid at Christmas” doesn’t come close to the anticipation I felt. Another tribute to Carvin’s quality. The day I got it, I carefully opened the cardboard box just in case I needed to send it back. I really wanted to set my excitement aside and analize the bass with an unbiased opinion. I opened the case and… wow… huh… it looks n-n-n-n-nice!!! The quilted maple, the walnut, the body shape, the workmanship and especially the birdseye maple fretboard all were beyond my weeks of imagination. I have played many basses in many stores and been to many shows and have never seen a bass that was this beautiful… and it’s mine… no wait… be objective… I have not even played it yet.

After staring at it for a few minutes I started to play it unplugged. Major string buzz. No biggie, I will plug it in and fiddle some more. Major string buzz. It’s cool, the clearly written paperwork that came with it says that shipping may put it in need of adjustment. I adjusted most of the buzz out. Just enough to know that the strings it shipped with did not deserve to be on that bass. I quickly changed them to Elixers (I like these a lot). I adjusted the bass until I got rid of the buzz, but now the action was too high. Carvin’s instructions on how to set up the instrument were clearly written, but I am not great at setting one up. I took it to an excellent tech and he put the action where I wanted it; low, low, low… did I mention low? I still get a little buzz above the 16th fret if I attack the notes hard, but that is true on every bass that I have played with low action. I think that we should all learn to do our set-ups, but if you are in any doubt, take it to a good tech. I’m sure Carvin wants it to be the best possible and so do you.

To figure out the tone, I had to start with all of my EQing and such flat on my amp. The pickups really seemed to bite. There was lots of mid-treble, I guess!?! My bass is maple and walnut, both of which are supposed to have bright qualities and they do. I’m doing most of my EQing on the bass and a little on the amp. For now I tend to use both the J99 and HB2 together with a tiny bit of piezo. I roll up the bass a little from center, I roll down the mid a little from center, and I turn the treble almost all the way down. It slaps, taps and fingersyles beautifully here. I like the power of the J99, but for now I only use it blended with the HB2. I love the HB2 alone for a lot of things; jazz sound, lead soloing, and a funky slap sound. Nice mids with a big punch. I think the dual HB2s would be really cool. I would love to hear from someone who has it. The piezo is great. It definitely adds tonal flexibility for my styles. With the proper EQing (turn down the treble), it makes a fantastic tapping/chording bass. Very quick and accurate sound. I wouldn’t call it “acoustic”, but it would be cool on a fretless (I think a must). Doh! Now I need another carvin. That figured walnut looks real nice… Koa back… 2xHB2… it’s gotta stop! Anyway, the electronics are very quiet. No hummmbuzzz. Even the single coil J99. I think the electrical of your house, or jam space have a lot to do with this outcome.