By Tom Bowlus

Carvin is no stranger to these pages,and likely a well-known brand byour readers. We have featuredreviews of Carvin amps (back inBGM #2), Carvin basses (back inBGM #8), and Carvin combos (backin BGM #10). We covered a goodbit of the “Carvin story” in theseprior reviews, so I will not spendmuch time re-hashing alreadycovered ground. However, it isworth stating once again some ofthe noteworthy facts regardingCarvin. The company has been

around for over 65 years. Itcontinues to be owned by onefamily (the Kiesel family). It hasalways been based in the USA.They make a huge variety ofproducts; they make them well; theysell them for very reasonable prices.Carvin feels like an old friend;someone you can rely upon.

With this background in mind, it’sno surprise that we have come toexpect solid, predictableperformance from Carvin and theirproducts. The specific product weare reviewing, here, is Carvin’s take

on a P-bass: the epitome of a“comfortable, predictable oldfriend” in bass form. The stage wasperfectly set for a nice, if nottypical, review experience. Littledid I know, my expectations wereabout to be blown out of the water.

Setting the StageClassic-inspired, bolt-on basses arenothing new for Carvin. We’ve hadsuch options around since theB40/50 series and other basses. Butthese were, by and large, J-bassinspired instruments. Why no P-bass? Well, first you need thaticonic split pickup, and sinceCarvin makes all their own pickupsand electronics, we had the classic“chicken/egg conundrum.” With theintroduction of Carvin’s new SCPsplit-coil alnico V single-coilpickup, the path was cleared for aproper P-bass in Carvin’s lineup.Jeff Kiesel explains, “Yes, that isCarvin’s first ever split-coil pickup.Not sure why it took so long. It wassomething I was getting asked for

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all the time, and I finally tookmatters into my own hands inNovember of 2012 and started onthis PB bass as my first instrumentdesign. Tonally, we wanted a fullrange of dynamics, while bringingthe thunderous bottom end that hadbeen missing from our lineup.”

The PB basses not only build upona solid foundation, they take it tothe next level. As good as they havebeen (and they have been very goodfor a very long time), Carvin seemsto be continuing to up their gamewith regard to the basses they arecranking out. Each time they rollout a new bass series, such as theB40/50 and the Brian Brombergsignature model, Carvin seemspolish the apple just a bit more.Nothing big jumps out at you, butthey seem to keep doing the littlethings better and better.

Dialing Up a PB5When Carvin offered us the chanceto review one of their new PB-

series basses, they suggested thatwe use their online “Bass Builder”configuration tool and place anorder for the exact instrument forreview. How could I say no?Although Carvin offers the P/Joption (and even the option to addtheir HB humbucker in the bridgepickup position), I felt that the truetest of a great P-bass is right therewith the single split-coil pickup, andresisted the temptation to add abridge pickup. Likewise, a P-bassjust has to sound right in passivemode, without any onboard preamptrickery. So our review bass is astraight-up passive affair. It’s not tosay that the added versatility of abridge pickup and/or an onboardpreamp option might not be a goodthing. Far from it. However, there isa certain beauty to a nice split-coilpickup, run passive.

Carvin offers a staggering numberof options to choose from, and thisstarts with the body and neckwoods. While I was tempted bymahogany, black limba, walnut andkoa, I really love a nice alder-bodyP-bass. I did, however, pull thetrigger on a 4A quilted maple top.For the neck, we kept things

traditional, going with (single piece)maple and the standard rosewoodfingerboard. At the core, we have apretty straightforward, tried-and-true combination: alder/rosewood,passive, single-P layout. However,knowing Carvin’s capabilities forproducing stunningly beautifulinstruments, I felt like I had tochallenge them a bit in regard to theesthetics. To show off that quiltmaple top, I went with the DeepAqua Burst (which includes theirDTS – deep triple stain – finish),and a matching headstock. Tocomplete the look, I opted forabalone block inlays, blackhardware, and a white pearloidpickguard. This potentiallyaudacious combination would havebeen easy to get wrong. However, ifyou get it right, quilt maple,abalone, and a pearloid guard canwork very well together.

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Price-wise, our test bass tallied upto about $1,400, but you can order aplain Jane model for about $900,and that is just an amazing bargainfor an instrument that is made in theUSA, with a solid 5-year warranty,from a firmly established company.

The Moment of TruthWhen the big Carvin box wasdelivered this past December, ittook great restraint to wait for it toacclimate to the warmer indoortemperatures. When I was finallyready to open the case, I felt like akid on Christmas morning. Oncethe lid popped up, I knew thatCarvin had nailed it. The quilting inthe maple is big and deep, and theDeep Aqua Burst invites you todive in and take a swim. The rich,deep rosewood board cradles thoseabalone blocks, and the whitepearloid pickguard really pulls it alltogether. I almost always preferblack hardware, and blackdefinitely works on this bass. Okay,we’ve got a looker on our hands.But how does it play and sound?

Picking up the PB5 and grabbingthe neck is immediately rewarding.That is a great neck profile(between a J-style and P-style), andthe oil finish feels just right. The 22medium jumbo frets were nicelyfinished, and felt great underhand.Likewise, the carved-down neckheel makes access to the upperregisters easier and morecomfortable. The slightlyundersized (compared to aPrecision) body feels appropriately“modern/vintage,” and your righthand always feels comfortable inthe presence of a single split-Ppickup. I strongly believe that inorder for an electric bass to soundgreat when amplified, it also has tosound great when playedunplugged. Electronics can certainlyhelp make more out of what you’vegot, but the really great basses allseem to sound really great rightthere in your hands, without anyoutside assistance. This PB5 passedthat particular test with flyingcolors. 30 seconds into my review, Iknew I had a winner on my hands.

Getting back to that bodyshape/size, the PB’s designer, JeffKiesel, explains, “I wanted to havea classic, but yet modern look tothis bass. I spent a lot of timecoming up with this design; I didnot want to make a copy of anotherbrand.” As far as what separates thePB from other P-style basses, Jeffcites the following features:

1. Better neck heel access:other have a huge block thatgets in the way; you havemuch better higher registeraccess.2. Headstock tilt: by tiltingthe headstock back, yougain string tension on thenut.3. No string tree: othercompanies use a string treebecause their headstockdoes not tilt back (thiscauses string bind whentuning).4. Superior bridge: ourbridge is a much more solidconstruction andhas locking saddles andguides on each side toeliminate side load.5. Neck adjustments: youcan easily adjust our neckbuy removing the truss rodcover (to adjust the others,you need to remove thepickguard).6. Lighter weight: theCarvin will come in 1/2 to 1pound lighter in weightthan most others.7. Separate output jack onside of bass: this adds to thecomfort of the bass (mosthave the jack on thepickguard).8. Modern neck profile: we

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are using a modern neckprofile that is between the Pand J-style necks (the Pnecks are very fat and canget uncomfortable).9. Superior pickupdesign: other pickupdesigns use pole pieces thatstick up (when bending thestring, volume changesdramatically); we use acontinuous magnet that hasa consistent volume fromone end to the other.

Putting the PB Through Its PacesMy very first bass featured a P-stylesplit-coil pickup, and I gigged thatbass for years. From there, I movedon to dual humbuckers, and didn’tlook back for a long time.Eventually, I fell to the lure of the J-bass, and worked dual single-coilsinto my lineup. During the last yearor so, however, I have found myselfplaying P-style basses more andmore. You could say that I amfalling back in love with the way aP-bass sits in a mix. What I amfinding, though, is that “a P-bass isnot a P-bass.” Though that singlesplit-coil pickup lends a certain“bark” – which is very distinct froma J-bass style “growl” – the point atwhich each split-coil bass crossesover from a more clean “bump” tothat signature “bark” can be veryunique. Levels of clarity andfullness can vary quite a bit, as well.

Once I plugged in the PB5, thatclarity and pureness of tone I heardwhen playing it unplugged wascertainly there, but I was surprisedby the fullness and volume. This isone hot pickup! If I didn’t knowbetter, I’d think that I was playingan active bass with a decent bit of

preamp gain going on. I foundmyself backing off on the volumeknob a bit to achieve the best resultswith most of the amps I used withthe PB5. But hey, that’s why wehave volume knobs, right? The PB5played nicely with every rig I put itthrough, but it really seemed to lovegrinding through a GK MB Fusion800 and Bergantino NV215. Mybandmates were wowed by both thePB5’s looks, as well as its tone. Italways cut through well in a mix,and really worked great with fuzzand overdrive pedals. In fact, itseemed to lend some coherence andpunch to the affected tone fromthese pedals which is sometimesmissing (or harder to dial in) withother basses.

To see just where the PB5 falls inthe “P-bass continuum,” I comparedit to the F bass VF4-P (alsoreviewed in this issue) and myLakland Skyline 44-64 Custom. TheCarvin was the most full-soundingof the group, the loudest of thegroup, and it could more easilyachieve the signature P-bass bark.This means that you can get somebark even when not digging in too

much. Of course, if you back off onthat volume knob, you can keep itclean, even when digging in.

The Bottom LineThe wide array of options availablefrom Carvin within the PB seriesmake it very difficult to assess theline by focusing on just oneinstrument. For our review bass, wewent “bread and butter” on thebasic specs, choosing an alder body,maple neck and rosewood board,paired with a single split-coilpickup, and no preamp. Thiscombination proved to be verycompetent, with a full tone, andsurprising volume. On the fit andfinish side of things, we pushedthings a bit with our order, and werenot in the least disappointed. Carvincan really dial in some drop-deadgorgeous instruments, and this iscertainly one of them. With adifferent configuration on the BassBuilder, you could dial in adramatically different instrument,but I am confident that the CarvinPB has “good bones.” Whatevercombination you dial in, I amconfident it’ll be a winner.

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