fretmeister Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Ed's finally got round to doing a proper vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-ujgbDoNeI Sounds pretty good to me! Love the colour too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Nice sounding P bass. It's a shame they don't have more coverage and stock over here. Last SB5000/PJB5 I got a quote for was very reasonable; about £1200 for a 5 string with a few upgrades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 I have severe GAS for a 5 string Fender type at the moment, but I have to say I'm tempted by a Carvin for that sort of price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 The thing about Carvin is that is you look at the prices in US dollars and they are very competitive... look at the prices over here and they cost a bomb. Pick something of their's and google the model name- the top hit tends to be the American page- look at google's cache of the page and you get to see the US prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1398877101' post='2438592'] The thing about Carvin is that is you look at the prices in US dollars and they are very competitive... look at the prices over here and they cost a bomb. Pick something of their's and google the model name- the top hit tends to be the American page- look at google's cache of the page and you get to see the US prices. [/quote] There are some places I've emailed offering about £900 up for a 5 string P or J with hard case, standard spec. Pretty good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1398877101' post='2438592'] The thing about Carvin is that is you look at the prices in US dollars and they are very competitive... look at the prices over here and they cost a bomb. Pick something of their's and google the model name- the top hit tends to be the American page- look at google's cache of the page and you get to see the US prices. [/quote] A lot of the differential is just the usual deal of adding shipping and UK taxes and import duties that pushes UK prices. On a £600 bass you have to add about £125 shipping and then £185 duties and courier clearance fees. That brings UK equivalent up to £915. That's a 50% increase on the US price Of course this is the most basic spec price and the shipping fee and courier clearance is flat for all models so upgrading spec brings the UK pricing closer to US (although the 23% VAT and duties will always be there). Every Carvin is built to order and some options are great value compared to a lot of custom builders. My favourite is the Birdseye maple board which adds just £25 to the price of a regular maple one! Their build times are great too, approx 8 weeks from order to completed instrument. They are never late either Official list price on a PB5 starts at £972 in the UK which isn't bad for an all US made instrument. If you speak nicely to a dealer they will discount off that base price as well to bring it pretty close to the £915 figure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 [quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1398893483' post='2438864'] There are some places I've emailed offering about £900 up for a 5 string P or J with hard case, standard spec. Pretty good! [/quote] One thing to watch out for Gareth is that if you order a Carvin that isn't sitting as a 'stock' bass in the Uk then it's exempt from the EU distance selling regs because it's classed as 'personalised' and/or a 'custom' product. This means you can only return it if it is faulty. Obviously part of the whole custom build process is to specify something you really want but if it turns up and you don't really like it it can't be returned like a standard UK stock item. This holds true for all custom builds - everything from a bespoke Sei or Shuker to a Fender or Sandberg Custom Shop. There may be some grey areas if it doesn't quite match what you thought you were getting IE the green you ordered isn't as dark as you wanted etc. but I wouldn't want to challenge these in court Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 [quote name='molan' timestamp='1398900375' post='2438966'] One thing to watch out for Gareth is that if you order a Carvin that isn't sitting as a 'stock' bass in the Uk then it's exempt from the EU distance selling regs because it's classed as 'personalised' and/or a 'custom' product. This means you can only return it if it is faulty. Obviously part of the whole custom build process is to specify something you really want but if it turns up and you don't really like it it can't be returned like a standard UK stock item. This holds true for all custom builds - everything from a bespoke Sei or Shuker to a Fender or Sandberg Custom Shop. There may be some grey areas if it doesn't quite match what you thought you were getting IE the green you ordered isn't as dark as you wanted etc. but I wouldn't want to challenge these in court [/quote] Sure, understood. Thanks Barrie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 [quote name='molan' timestamp='1398895135' post='2438885'] A lot of the differential is just the usual deal of adding shipping and UK taxes and import duties that pushes UK prices. On a £600 bass you have to add about £125 shipping and then £185 duties and courier clearance fees. That brings UK equivalent up to £915. That's a 50% increase on the US price Of course this is the most basic spec price and the shipping fee and courier clearance is flat for all models so upgrading spec brings the UK pricing closer to US (although the 23% VAT and duties will always be there). Every Carvin is built to order and some options are great value compared to a lot of custom builders. My favourite is the Birdseye maple board which adds just £25 to the price of a regular maple one! Their build times are great too, approx 8 weeks from order to completed instrument. They are never late either Official list price on a PB5 starts at £972 in the UK which isn't bad for an all US made instrument. If you speak nicely to a dealer they will discount off that base price as well to bring it pretty close to the £915 figure [/quote] PM'd as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Barrie, I might be phoning the shop shortly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 [quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1398965256' post='2439549'] Barrie, I might be phoning the shop shortly! [/quote] In truth, if that bass is available at a sub-£1000 price in the UK, then it looks as if it will compare favourably with similar offerings from Alleva-Coppolo and Mike Lull, at least in terms of playability and sound. Whether it can match the A/C for quality, or the M/L for lightness (and a 35" scale), is another matter but that's the first Carvin I've looked at and thought: Hmmmmm ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.