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NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2021 7:07 pm
by slowhand84
Well, this is my 3rd quilted maple-topped Carvin Bolt but I just can't resist these higher end builds when it's a good deal...simply one of my favorite guitar models of all time.
Caught this one for under $700 and it's in really great shape. Beautiful deep red quilt top, alder body, maple neck with an ebony board and stainless frets, Sperzel locking tuners, Wilky trem, and the pickups are the AP11 single coils and C22 humbucker. Plays like butter with super low action and sounds amazing.
Pretty grey day so these pics kind of suck, will try to get some better ones whenever the sun comes out to really do the top justice...but away we go!
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2021 7:37 pm
by slowhand84
Forgot the obligatory "back of headstock" pic. I'll admit the grain on the back of the neck made me do a double take but thankfully it's just a mineral streak
.
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:17 am
by Mossman
That's the nicest Pacifica I've ever seen! HNGD!
Seriously, when did back-of-headstock shots become obligatory?
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:43 pm
by slowhand84
Mossman wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:17 am
That's the nicest Pacifica I've ever seen! HNGD!
Seriously, when did back-of-headstock shots become obligatory?
Haha, only in that I typically do my 6 pics - full front, full back, close up front body, close up back of body, front of headstock, back of headstock...so when I forgot it I felt I had to add it. That and I thought it was funny that the mineral streak gave me a mini heart attack
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:58 pm
by Mossman
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:43 pm
Mossman wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:17 am
That's the nicest Pacifica I've ever seen! HNGD!
Seriously, when did back-of-headstock shots become obligatory?
Haha, only in that I typically do my 6 pics - full front, full back, close up front body, close up back of body, front of headstock, back of headstock...so when I forgot it I felt I had to add it. That and I thought it was funny that the mineral streak gave me a mini heart attack
Oh, I thought it was one of those unwritten forum rules that I was unaware of, like your feet shouldn't be seen in your guitar pics, or you can't wear cargo shorts on stage.
Yeah, I'd read that streak as a crack on first glance too. Some people would be bothered by that even
knowing it's not a crack.
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:45 pm
by slowhand84
Mossman wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 8:58 pm
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 5:43 pm
Mossman wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 12:17 am
That's the nicest Pacifica I've ever seen! HNGD!
Seriously, when did back-of-headstock shots become obligatory?
Haha, only in that I typically do my 6 pics - full front, full back, close up front body, close up back of body, front of headstock, back of headstock...so when I forgot it I felt I had to add it. That and I thought it was funny that the mineral streak gave me a mini heart attack
Oh, I thought it was one of those unwritten forum rules that I was unaware of, like your feet shouldn't be seen in your guitar pics, or you can't wear cargo shorts on stage.
Yeah, I'd read that streak as a crack on first glance too. Some people would be bothered by that even
knowing it's not a crack.
Haha, yes feet out of the pic is a must. I’ve definitely seen people get upset over natural variations in wood but I love all that stuff so much. Part of what makes each piece unique.
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 2:34 am
by Mossman
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:45 pm
Haha, yes feet out of the pic is a must. I’ve definitely seen people get upset over natural variations in wood but I love all that stuff so much. Part of what makes each piece unique.
Yep, that's just what wood does sometimes... It's an organic building material.
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 2:42 pm
by slowhand84
Mossman wrote: ↑Sat Oct 09, 2021 2:34 am
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 11:45 pm
Haha, yes feet out of the pic is a must. I’ve definitely seen people get upset over natural variations in wood but I love all that stuff so much. Part of what makes each piece unique.
Yep, that's just what wood does sometimes... It's an organic building material.
For sure. My other Bolts also have some of that lovely mineral streaking. Awesome stuff
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:31 pm
by slowhand84
Couple of less crappy pics now that I got some OK lighting!
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:17 pm
by Mossman
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:31 pm
Couple of less crappy pics now that I got some OK lighting!
Yeah, that looks awesome!
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:32 pm
by slowhand84
Mossman wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:17 pm
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:31 pm
Couple of less crappy pics now that I got some OK lighting!
Yeah, that looks awesome!
Thanks man! Really enjoying this one. Surprised at how stable the Wilky is, been doing some pretty legit trem moves and it stays in tune perfectly. It's a VS50 which isn't the "higher end" Wilky, but looks like I won't have to bother with any upgrades!
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:14 pm
by Mossman
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:32 pm
Mossman wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:17 pm
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 4:31 pm
Couple of less crappy pics now that I got some OK lighting!
Yeah, that looks awesome!
Thanks man! Really enjoying this one. Surprised at how stable the Wilky is, been doing some pretty legit trem moves and it stays in tune perfectly. It's a VS50 which isn't the "higher end" Wilky, but looks like I won't have to bother with any upgrades!
I put one of these (WVP6-CR) on the Sun King, and I'm putting the same model on the baritone Strat.
I don't have any complaints, but I don't use a vibrato a lot, and I don't do anything drastic with it when I do. But it stays in tune. I also have the basic Wilkinson trem on the fuchsia Strat, but I never use it. Mostly because that one has a screw-in arm, and the fact that it won't stay where I want it to drives me bananas, so I took it off and decked the trem.
Wilkinson makes good parts... They've been my default go-to brand for bridges and tuners for a few years now. I don't really shop around for other brands anymore. I just hit "buy again" on Amazon.
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 12:18 am
by slowhand84
Mossman wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:14 pm
slowhand84 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:32 pm
Mossman wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:17 pm
Yeah, that looks awesome!
Thanks man! Really enjoying this one. Surprised at how stable the Wilky is, been doing some pretty legit trem moves and it stays in tune perfectly. It's a VS50 which isn't the "higher end" Wilky, but looks like I won't have to bother with any upgrades!
I put one of these (WVP6-CR) on the Sun King, and I'm putting the same model on the baritone Strat.
I don't have any complaints, but I don't use a vibrato a lot, and I don't do anything drastic with it when I do. But it stays in tune. I also have the basic Wilkinson trem on the fuchsia Strat, but I never use it. Mostly because that one has a screw-in arm, and the fact that it won't stay where I want it to drives me bananas, so I took it off and decked the trem.
Wilkinson makes good parts... They've been my default go-to brand for bridges and tuners for a few years now. I don't really shop around for other brands anymore. I just hit "buy again" on Amazon.
Definitely, I have Wilky trems on a couple of my guitars. I think my surprise comes from the fact that I've heard some people say the Wilky on Carvins is so-so and would benefit from an upgrade, so I expected it to be ho-hum...but in further research it seems they were talking about a different older Wilky and not this particular one (this Bolt has the WVS50IIK).
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 9:13 pm
by slowhand84
Alrighty, restrung with 9s (had 10s originally), cleaned, buffed, and sporting some new black abalone dome knobs. Ready to rock!
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:38 pm
by Rollin Hand
That top looks like a lake of fire. Nice.
Re: NGD - Quilted Carvin Goodness!
Posted: Wed Oct 13, 2021 9:43 pm
by slowhand84
Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Wed Oct 13, 2021 6:38 pm
That top looks like a lake of fire. Nice.
Yeah man, Carvin had some beautiful woods. Kiesel still does too, but now they got smart and charge a ton of money for the premium stuff. Back in the day things like this were "standard".