By Vic Serbe

The Company LineWe’ve done the company line on Carvin previously, but as of February, 2015, a change has occurred. The guitar-building company that started out in 1946 as the L.C. Kiesel Company – later becoming Carvin and expanding product lines into other areas – has returned to its roots and is now called Kiesel Guitars. Currently, all Kiesel and Carvin guitars and basses are made in the San Diego location by a staff of around 50 people. Mark and Jeff Kiesel run the show, protect the heritage of the line, do all the designs and day-to-day business, and generally keep the fire alive. In fact, the bass we’re reviewing here was designed by Mark Kiesel.

DetailsThe JB model borrows from a rich lineage of prior Carvin models inspired by the Fender Jazz Bass, and features some recent improvements. This is not just a repackaging of the previous models. In fact, there are multiple significant new features to the JB. They include dual carbon fiber rods in the neck, a 5-bolt neck plate, JVA vintage plain enamel-wire single-coil pickups, a new preamp design with a cleaner signal path, better balance when strapped on, and optional ‘60s position pickup placement (moves the bridge pickup about 1/2 inch closer to the neck).

Let’s talk about some of those improvements, specifically. First, their necks have always been great,

Carvin Guitars JB5

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simply through careful wood selection, but they took it to a whole new level when combining that with not just one, but two carbon rods – increasing the neck strength by up to four times. The enamel-coated wire in the new JVA pickups is expensive, but it was the only way they could hit the tonal bulls-eye they were shooting for, compared to the lesser expensive poly-coated wire used more commonly. The preamp changes are proprietary, but can be summed up by saying they’ve made the signal path much more efficient, which translates to a more pristine tone being preserved from the pickups as the preamp does its magic. Carvin previously offered their J-style basses with only the ‘70s position pickup placement, but many players out there still prefer the ‘60s position, and Kiesel Guitars listened, now making that an option for a very small upcharge.

The 18V preamp comes standard as a two-band, but a three-band with a “sweepable” (semi-parametric) midrange control is optionally available. The controls start out as either volume and pickup blend or optionally individual pickup volume controls. The bass is 20dB boost/cut at 30Hz, the treble is 20dB boost/cut at 10kHz, and the optional sweepable midrange control is 15dB boost/cut at anywhere from 100Hz to 2.2kHz (the center click position base frequency is 550Hz).

The hardware is familiar territory, which is a good thing. The tuners are Carvin premiums, which are lightweight, smooth, and have a 20:1 ratio for easy precise tuning. The bridge is Carvin’s high-mass locking bridge with individually adjustable saddles and through-body stringing supported (there are ferrules on the back of the body). The strap buttons and knobs are typical widely used button and metal dome respectively.

When it comes to woods, you have many options available, but this model came with the stock wood combination. This means the neck is eastern hard rock maple, with a tung oil finish (my favorite neck finish), a rosewood fingerboard, and the body is hand-selected alder. The neck is a slender, what I call “shallow C” profile, sporting 22 medium-jumbo nickel silver frets, and a 14” fingerboard radius.

Fit and finishThis is an area where I must say Kiesel (and Carvin before) was always very good. I’ve checked many of their various models out over the years with a fairly fine-toothed comb, and it’s damn hard to find a flaw. They’ve had this down for a long time. The paint is flawless, the neck joint is tight and consistent, and the fret work is top notch. There are no sand/file marks visible on the fretboard, the fret level is excellent, the nut work is just right. I cannot find a single flaw in the construction of this instrument.

On the gigThis bass is a bit on the heavy side for me, at 10.6 pounds, but balances well on a strap, so neck fatigue

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is really not bad at all. For those who need a lighter-weight bass, you can select an ash body, or even have the bass chambered to reduce the weight. It was set up just right out of the box, so I didn’t have much to do there. The J-style pickups do just exactly as you’d expect on the gig. They provide a big round Jazz Bass sound: fat on the neck, burpy on the bridge, and funky when blended. The preamp controls work very smoothly and offer a wide variety of augmentations to tone using the blend control and EQ. The treble and bass are very musical and voiced perfectly for these latest editions of their single-coil pickups. The bridge pickup has burp and growl for days, and if you want to fatten it up, add a little bass. To narrow its focus, take some of the treble off. The neck pickup is big and bluesy. No need to add bass to it, but if you want to drop some treble, it goes classic on

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you real fast (in a good way). The electronics are well-designed, grounded, and shielded. This is one of the quietest single-coil pickup based basses I’ve played. Passive mode is not just for backup, either. It’s a strong member of the tone family on this bass, backed up by the vintage tone control, which of course also works in active mode (a feature I really like, in particular). The bass plays like a dream, and is highly resonant; very little in terms of dead or dull spots. It’s very alive all over.

The Bottom LineThis bass is Carvin’s latest take in a long successful lineage of basses based off the venerable Fender Jazz Bass. Carvin’s continual improvements in every aspect of these instruments shows … aesthetics, function, and tone. I know there are a lot of J-style basses out there these days, but if you’re in the market for a particularly good value – especially considering a fully USA-made instrument – you owe it to yourself to check one of these out before you decide. You may find yourself done with the search.

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CONFIGURATION

Strings: 5Style: Double cutawayOverall length: 45 1/2”Body Dimensions: 20 1/2” long x 13 1/2” wide at lower boutBody Contouring: ModerateWeight: 10.55 lbs

NECK

Scale length: 34.”Neck width at nut: 1.735”Neck width at 12th fret: 2.578”Neck width at joint: 2.822”Neck thickness at nut: .940”Neck thickness at 1st fret: .757”Neck thickness at 12th fret: .879”Neck thickness at joint: 1.078”String spacing at nut: .350”String spacing at saddle: .743”Fingerboard Radius/Neckshape: 14 deg/ flat C shapePeghead break angle: 8 degBridge break angle: 50 deg through body, 16 deg top loadAfterlength at nut: 1 3/8” to 6 1/4”Afterlength at saddle: 1.22” through body, 2.304” top loadAttachment: Bolt-onPocket gap: .005”Truss rod type/access: Dual-action / pegheadFret count: 22Fretwire: 100x45

ELECTRONICS

Pickups: Carvin JVA single-coilPickup location(s), from 12th fret: 10 7/8” and 14 13/16”Electronics: Carvin 2-band preamp (3-band available)Controls: Volume, blend, passive tone (push/pull for active/ passive), stacked bass/trebleShielding: Copper foilPreamp Circuit Voltage: 18V

CONSTRUCTION

Body woods: AlderNeck woods: MapleFretboard: RosewoodBody finish: Classic White glossNeck finish: Tung Oil

HARDWARE

Strings: Dunlop Super Bright™ nickel round woundGauge: .040 .060 .080 .100 .120 Attachment: At bridgeBridge/color: ChromeNut: Graphite-teflonTuners/color: Carvin/ChromeKnobs/color: Dome/ChromePickguard: Red TortoiseControl cavity cover: Chrome control plate

GENERAL

Company: Kiesel Guitars / Carvin Guitars 12340 World Trade Drive San Diego, CA 92128-3742 (858) 484-8277 sales@kieselguitars.com http://www.carvinguitars.com/

Country of origin: USAWarranty: 5 Year LimitedPrice: $999 ($1,079 as tested)Options: NoneAccessories: Black Ultimate Soft Bass CaseAvailable colors: Natural and various paint finishes

Acquired from: Kiesel Guitars / Carvin GuitarsDates: Spring 2015Locales: Illinois, OhioTest gear: Gallien-Krueger Neo112-II, Gallien-Krueger MB Fusion 800, Aviom

Carvin Guitars JB5

TEST RESULTS1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)

In-handFeatures: 4Tonal Flexibility: 4Ease of Use: 4Aesthetics: 3.5Ergonomics: 3.5Tone: 4Value: 5

On-benchOverall Construction 5Wood Choice 4Materials Choice 5Joinery 5Fretwork 5Fit and Finish of Adornments 5Quality of Finish Work 4Ease of Repair 5Potential Range of Setup 5Balance on Knee 3Balance on Strap 3Overall Electronic Quality 5Solder Joints, Wire Runs 5Clarity 4Noise 5Shielding 5Quality for Price Range 5

In-Hand Score4.00average

On-bench4.59average

SONIC PROFILE:Lows: Big, clear, and deepMids: Present, growlyHighs: Smooth and sweet

This bass is yet another take on a J-bass. It does all a Jazz Bass will do, and then some. Considering the quality, versatility, and especially considering the price, it’s extremely hard to beat.

Two J-style pickups live in mostly traditional Jazz Bass locations. They feed an 18V preamp with two bands of EQ (plus a passive tone control). The preamp is neatly tucked into a typical J-bass route, with full shielding in foil. There is a little bit of fur or diffusion in the plugged-in tone, but it’s great sounding for the price point.

The JB5 plays and sounds pretty much like the J-bass it emulates. The neck shape and fingerboard radius are flatter feeling than other peoples’ offerings, so they diverge just a bit from the classic curves in this area.

This bass would be hard to beat in a head-to-head shootout at its price point. It’s a little body heavy, the sound is a touch unfocused, but its fretwork is really great and the electronics are quite good for the price point. If $1,000 is your budget, this has to be on your shopping short list.

Carvin Guitars JB5Made in the USA, 5-string Jazz Bass with an active circuit, good lumber and reasonable construction for $1,000? Yea, that’s a really good thing. Carvin continues to challenge USA bass makers to a duel at the lower end of the professional instrument class. They don’t have much competition. This entry is exactly $1,000 as ordered from their website. It’s a good-looking white Jazz-inspired 5-string with a reasonable B string and better-than-decent-sounding electronics.

This bass has a slightly heavy selection of alder body wood, with a maple neck topped with a rosewood fingerboard, in traditional J-bass bolt-on construction. The hardware appears to be solid, with Carvin’s high-mass locking bridge, Carvin’s own compact tuning machines, and other typical chrome-plated J-bass appointments. The neck is bolted on with a 5-bolt curved plate. The alder body sports a solid white finish. The poly finish is a little thick on the body, but it’s clean and correctly applied. The neck is classic slab-cut maple, with a flat-bottom rosewood cap. The fretwork is quite good on this instrument.

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