Carvin Audio Will Never Be The Same. 

Toby K. agreed at least we can get moderately priced custom guitars from kiesel

I didn’t really get along with my V3 and sold it after about a year and a half. It was an OK amp but didn’t seem to really do anything superbly. Jack of all trades, really and for that it was awesome but ultimately had to let it go.

Andy, “Jack of all trades,” isn’t bad. My Marshall JCM 900 was a “one trick pony.”

I agree it is a "Jack of all trades" but I do enjoy it. It is a great amp at $400 for the half stack used was a great buy for me. I do have a dual rec and a 6505+, this amp is up there for sure and it's Made in USA.

same bro

...I'm sure Vai is fine, think of the people who will end up losing their jobs. Them, not so much.

I am surprised no one bought the company to continue on.

im sure vai will have a crate full of them sent to him, he has the money to do so

Alberto5150 Hi mate, yeah I'm sure his financial situation is fine, but I'm thinking about his tone, moving forward. He's an esoteric man and he values those relationships he creates. He's maintained loyalty to many companies over extended periods of time. I wonder if he will continue using legacy Legacy amps, or collaborate with someone new.

Garegh62, after drooling over that catalog,for years(decades?), I decided to order me a bolt, their cheapest model. (less than $600 back then). Clueless, I picked a bunch of random stuff, swamp ash, matte finish, single coils, birdseye maple neck, etc. and waited 3 months for it. Someone at Carvin called after all that time, and told me it would be another month before they put it together. I almost cancelled the order. Strangely, the guitar showed up less than a week later.??? As soon as I opened that case, I knew I almost made a dreadful mistake. It was beautiful and the tung oiled neck made it feel like butter in your hands. And the sound was so sweet. I got lucky. Everything just came together right. I've got at least 11 guitars, and that one I plan to keep forever. I'm a lousy guitarist but that guitar always impresses people. It even smells like candy. I'm left handed, and the selection for left handed guitars is limited at most stores to say the least. Yes, Guitar Center, you can kiss my ass! Anyway, I bought the second Carvin, A thin line acoustic, from their in stock section of their website. Again, I got a very nice sounding easy playing guitar which was superior to my old acoustic. I rarely play acoustic but that one makes me want to pick it up more often than my old one ever did. I picked up the other two from E-Bay. The re-sale value on Carvins is crap, because most people never heard of them. Some people actually put them up for sale for as low as $200. I've never gotten one that cheap, and I'm willing to pay a lot more for one because, like most Carvin owners, I know what they are actually worth. I've kept a watch on left handed carvins for years on E-Bay and if you find one in the $400-$600 range, you can bet I'm watching it. Carvin is doing amazing things with their guitars right now. Really stepped up their game even more. (unfortunately, they stepped up their prices too). Even so, I've been thinking about ordering another. After 4, I'm pretty sure that I, and you, would be happy with the results, even at full price. As a local guitar store owner likes to say, it's only money. it's nothing if you end up with your dream guitar. You can always make more money. the Carvin corp. actually posts on E-Bay on a regular basis. They posted what was the last combo amp from the store with a buy it now price of around $575. I found the post the day before it ended, and I knew it wouldn't last till the end. A couple hours later, somebody snapped it up, while I was still thinking about it. It broke my heart when I miss out on it. Now, Carvin amps is on my watch list. I guess a used one is our only choice now. It really is sad.

I have one to , I put 6l6gc in there should have stayed 5881 , going with EL34 next . Mine is still mint for the age . I only have 2 power tubes set at 50 watts , that thing still will rattle the windows . I do not like the distortion as much as Marshall , but the clean channel is good as a fender .

realjester i know right!

And lack of brand recognition, except to those in the know. Those catalogs were guitar porn to me.

These isn't many big league manufacturers that don't have a preamp/di box on the market. Like scrambles or Aguilar. I think there's even Sunn clones These are so clean and transparent. All I have to do is set the amp flat and use one of the those. It's a perfect substitution, without risks or expensive or vintage amp.

But the question is did you ever buy anything?

A guitar, but no amp. I wish they were more affordable...but they are handmade in the US, so you do get what you pay for.

Blkjakk,, I think, but don't hold me to it, that the when they rebranded, the companies became separate financial entities. Either way, it sucks, my Carvin gear is bullet proof.

Agreed...I'm a longtime Carvin fan and am glad that my Carvin guitars SAY Carvin. I do feel that this is more of a byproduct of the company split than anything else. It also seems that the guitar side has a different vibe since the name change.

I think Kiesel broke off to become more of a "Boutique" guitar like an Anderson, Suhr etc. They probably had to because the Carvin name wasn't selling like it use too. I have a Lefty Carvin and I love it....still bullet proof after 11 years. I like the fact that they don't overcharge for LEFTIES.....and the left-handed guitars are quality and not an afterthought like most guitar companies do for lefties. The only thing I did on my Carvin is put in a hotter pickup (DiMarzio Evolution) in the neck position.

I saw the Framus factory tour video.

Tricko I do agree with most of what you wrote, but we don't have a guaranteed income here. We have unemployment money, but if you refuse to take a job, that can get cut down. And we do have homeless people, so guaranteed housing isn't precise either. But of course all in all there is way more social security, less so than twenty years ago, but still. And I am pretty sure that Warwick get decent money for the energy they put back in the grid, and solar energy was heavily subsidized not long ago. So, yeah, most things aren't as easy as they look at first glance...

What makes framus "better" is that they are expanding as a business because they are having success while carvin is downsizing because what it was doing wasn't working. That is my point. To say that the cultures are different is absolutely true. They actually care much more about the environment and local communities than US companies just about ever do. However, they are still a business that has to make money and US companies have to complete with and all companies should have some social responsibility. They do pay more in taxes they do have higher regulations and have even gone beyond the requirements. I just hate that every businesses failure in California is blamed on the state government taxes and regulations but when government taxation and regulations works elsewhere its described as if its from another planet, and not done by mortals. Impossible to consider that they may be doing somethings better than we are. Not just as a company but as a nation.

Bryan Moseley I completely agree with you. To think that we (the US) can’t learn from other countries is very arrogant & shortsighted. I definitely feel that we as a country could do so much better economically & culturally if we took lessons from others.

I played in a band with a guitarist that used the x-100.That thing screamed.! He said it was the best clean sound ever.He used it a Carvin 4-10 in tandem with a Roland Jazz Chorus 150 I believe.He had a great sound with his Charvel San Dimas, so very 90s.