Carvin Review: Bolt-5 Fretless

History:

Purchase: The bass was purchased direct from the manufacturer in 1998 for $669 with the options I wanted (tobacco burst body and matching headstock, straplocks, gold hardware, plain ebony fingerboard, etc.) I had always wanted a fretless bass, and since it was a five-string (which I have a fondness for) it fit all my requirements.

What I Like About This Carvin Bolt-5 Fretless: The sound is really good. I can get alot of different tones with the active electronics, but I usually leave the tone controls set to where I like them and use the pick-up fader to vary the sound. It really sounds great with the fader set on 75% to the rear. It really sings at this setting. The bass is well balanced, and is comfortable playing sitting or standing. In the five years I have owned the guitar, I have had no problems with it whatsoever. It is now my main live and recording instrument.

What I Do NOT Like About The Carvin Bolt-5 Fretless: The humbucking pickups (which is all it came with at that time) would be exchanged for the new single coil reversed hum cancelling pickups. They have more output than the humbuckers the bass has. It may be a modification I'll make in the future. The B-string is not quite as defined in sound as the others, and I probably would have purchased the four-string instead if I had to do over. It does make for a great "bass pedal" effect, however, and does ok down to the "D" note.

Carvin Bolt-5 Fretless Quality Rating: I was not a fan of "burst" paint jobs until I saw the beautiful tobacco burst Carvin makes. The paint was applied flawlessly. The fit and finish is great, with no noticible gaps. Very well made and put together. The ebony fingerboard is beautiful and long wearing. I use Fender Super Bass round-wound strings on the guitar and have not needed to have the surface planed yet.

Review Summary: I own several basses. This is the one you will see me playing about 75% of the time. The guitar has a sound that has fit well with the different styles I play.

Rating of this Carvin product: 5

This Carvin Bolt-5 Fretless Bass Guitars Review Submitted By: D.R. Wyatt

Review Date: 2002-08-25