These endorsements are meant to ad credibility to the line, but seldom reflect an instrument that is as good as the endorsers instrument was.ДЄlso, the endorser does not necesarilly play the 'endorsed' guitar for anything important. It is like a Jack of all trades, but also a Master at most too.And let's not forget that these supposed 'signiture guitars' are not anything near the quality coming off the production line as the one that the 'custom shop' made for the endorser. Oh, you nailed it, Versatile is a perfect way to describe the DC series. I will say, the Carvin pups sound is much better than the Ibanez pups sound and everybody seems to love their RGs and Prestiges. The Carvin pups are certainly responsive. Then again, sound is subjective, some people might like the Carvin sound better. My feeling is, if I can play it better, I will sound better even if the pick-ups don't sound quite as good as the Gibson or Fender pups. I will not tell you the Carvin sounds better than a Strat or a Les Paul.Д«ut, it certainly sounds very good and the playability is 10x better than either the Gibson or Fender. The split humbucker single coil sound is not as nice as my Strat sounded and the humbucker sound is much different than my Les Paul sounded. I meant to say, humbucker or single coil sounds at the flick of a switch. It was great to gig with it since it covered a lot of musical ground, but definitely not a substitute for people expecting a real Strat or Les Paul sound and feel. I would find myself twisting my body a bit to hit the lower frets after 17 on the Les Paul which was killing me. My bad back dictated me switching to lighter and better balanced guitars with easier fret access. However, it did not have the same quality feel as the Carvins.ДЄnother important thing, the Carvins are light compared to a Gibson Les Paul and very well balanced, very easy to play standing or sitting. I would say, the closest guitar I have played in comparison to the Carvin was a Fender Showmaster FMT HH, it came stock with Seymour Duncan pups, a 59 and a Pearly Gates (really nice pups), it also had a 25.5' very thin neck and 24 frets strung with 9-42s. They are as good as stock Gibson or Fender pick-ups and much better than stock Ibanez pups. Two of my Carvins are 14' and one is a 15', they are perfect for anything from Bendy Blues to Shredding Metal, but are not so flat as to make chords difficult, in fact I feel 14' is the PERFECT radius for me.ДЄs for the stock pups, they are nice, not the best pick-ups I have ever heard, but I would not think of taking them out. Gibsons are 12' and Fender Strats range from 7.5' to 9.5'. Plus, most Carvin necks are either a 12'-14' Fretboard radius (the higher the radius the flatter the fretboard which is better for bends). Strats have a 25.5' scale with 9-42s and feel nice, but the right in the middle 25' Carvin scale combined with 24 frets and 9-42s is heaven. Gibsons are 24.75 and come stock with 10-46s, a little stiff for me. It has Gibson type string tension for easy bends and feel, especially strung with 9-42s. This is my travel guitar, it is also my lightest and favorite one to play. I also added a very basic Carvin DC127 with a plain alder body and no active pick-up switch, I don't really like active pups anyway. Now, I have two more Carvins, a DC127 with a Quilted Maple Top on a Koa body with the same options as my 1st Carvin DC400 except for a much preferred fixed bridge and slightly more aggressive stock pick-ups.

Within the next month I sold my Les Paul Standard and Fender Strat. Right then and there I traded my Gibson SG in on it. It is the fastest and easiest playing neck I've ever tried, better than my previous Ibanez RGA121 Prestige. Les paul or Strat sounds at the flick of a switch.Д®asy access to the lower frets thanks to the double cut body, but also 24 frets, 2 more than the Strat and Les Paul.Д®ven if you are not a shredder, the benefits of 24 frets are huge. This guitar was a jack of all trades and does everything well. It also came with Sperzel locking tuners which are so much more user friendly than a locking nut, and a Wilkinson Trem, like a Strat style trem. It had a flamed maple top, double cutaway lightweight alder body, super thin and fast 5 piece neck with 24 frets marked with abalone block inlays and a 14' fretboard radius, dual humbuckers with coil taps to do single coil, a phase switch, and a switch to make the pick-ups active or passive. I have also owned a 2008 Fender American Standard Strat.ДЄbout 4 months ago I walked in to a Music Store and saw a gorgeous guitar hanging on the wall, a Carvin DC400. Within the last year or so I have owned a 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard, 2007 Gibson Les Paul Studio, and a 2007 Gibson SG Special. I was a big time Gibson fan and I always believed any guitar player Needed to own at least 1 Les Paul and 1 Strat.

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