Dan St. Peters' Collection
 Carvin BBS ID: ultraVpilot
WWW: http://www.geocities.com/vr6pilot/dansguitars.html

Now this is a collection!  The best assortment of "pointy" Carvins from the 80's and 90's, including some real rarities.  This is by far the best collection of instruments from Carvin's 80's heyday, and shows the points and wild colors that made Carvin so popular with the big-haired bands of the 1980's.  This collection epitomizes what made Carvin so popular in that era, and it's well worth waiting for all of Dan's excellent photos to load (and there are a lot of them!).  Dan's comments accompany each picture immediately below, and there are additional beauty shots at the bottom of the page.

1989 Ultra VT. My FIRST Carvin!  The stacked-coil pickup (H11) in the neck position was a custom request.  My sole 6-string for 10 years before collecting, it wears a Jeff Beck in the bridge position. 1988 Ultra VT.  Practically unplayed for its entire life, this case-queen sports the rare Pearl Yellow paint, black hardware, and an M22T in place of the usual M22SD at the bridge.  The only year the jack was placed along the bottom edge. 1993 Ultra V.  Another virtual virgin, this was one of the last Vs made as they disappeared forever after the first quarter of 1993.   These were the only Vs with 25" scale necks! 1987 V220T.  Black on black, standard equipment for the day.  The only up-option was the Kahler Pro bridge.  (actually, not getting the K-Pro was a down option as the Pro was very common on the 220.
1989 DC145F.  The top of the non-active models;  3 humbuckers and reversed head were standard.  Kahler 2710 bridge with the $50 "auto-latch" which enables you to lock down the bridge in case a string breaks while playing.  M22SD, H11, M22N pickups. 1989 DC125R (under restoration)
I love it when entry-level guitars get dressed up with fancy options: ST body, reversed headstock, and a Floyd Rose trem.  Not the original pickup but it looks cool on jet black.  I call it "Black Widow".		 1991 DC120...sort of.  In '91 the DC120 came standard with active electronics but whoever ordered this one opted to drop the actives in favor of the same configuration as on the very rare LS175 which was offered for only one year;  1991.  3 stacked H60 pickups, volume, tone and 5 way switch.  No coil splitting on any of the pickups, the block inlays were a DC120 standard but having all 12 tuners in line on the head were an available option usually only seen on doublenecks.  Freakshow! 1989 DC135T. Reverse-head, block inlays, optional 5-way switch, and tung oiled neck.  In need of restoring to original specs.  It needs an H11 pickup with bezel and a repaint to be complete.  (Trans blue stain)
1999 DC127T.  Special order bits:  V headstock, black chrome, full switching, and the quilted maple top with translucent black stain.  Not as brown when out of the sun.  C22T/N pickups. 1990 or 1991 X220C.  Signed on the back by Guy Mann-Dude.  It said "Thrash On!". Autograph has been removed as, by the time I got it, it was badly worn.  Custom built beyond the usual choose-from-our-list stuff with the p/u selector mounted nearer to the neck. 1986 V440 Bass. Sister to the V220 guitar, these were made for only 3 years (85-87). Guitar-sized M22B bass pickups.  I want to move these to a guitar and experiment!
1989 DC400T built after the mid-year headstock design change.  The locknut is one very unusual red-anodized piece that never appeared in any Carvin catalog yet appears to be completely original.  All other hardware is black-chrome.  Otherwise, a basic DC400 which was Carvin's flagship model and featured active electronics.  The inlays and fancy wood top were $400 worth of add-ons to any other model.

Below (left) is another shot of Dan's DC400, as well as the back of his 1992 Ultra V, which is described below.

 

Not pictured at the top of the page is this recent score Dan made on eBay (above).  This is undoubted one of the most unique Ultra V's around - in this case, a 1992 model.  This is a neck-through model, with koa body, maple neck and flamed maple top with vintage yellow finish, and highly unusual 3-pickup configuration (Ultra V's came standard with a pair of humbuckers).  A stunning and rare example of the Ultra V!

Here's another shot of Dan's 1989 Ultra V.

This is another shot of the '93 model.  This is one of a very few Ultra V's around that didn't have a tremolo.

And this is Dan's 1988 model, in Pearl Yellow.

Another shot of Dan's 1999 DC127T.

Love it or hate it, the 12-inline headstock is one of the most unusual and unique features Carvin has ever offered.  Here it is on Dan's DC120/LS175 hybrid.  Almost certainly a one-of-a-kind.

No 80's collection would be complete without a V440 bass, and here's another shot of Dan's 1986 model.


                                                                                                                                                                               
click for larger

This is one of the coolest Carvin photos on the site.  This is Dan's DC135T (shown near the top of the page) after he stripped the paint off in preparation for a refinish to it's original state.  What makes this photo extraordinary is that it was taken in Saddam Hussein's palace in Iraq, while Dan was serving and flying with the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. 

This is an interesting model.  It's basically a '90 BC130, which is rare enough, and this one is koa, which is rarer still.  However, this was not a factory-made BC130 - it's made from a KB60 body which was bought in 1991 and never assembled.  Dan also found a vintage 1990 bolt-on neck with original logo and pointy headstock, and a late-80's M22 pickup.  The AP11 pickups, electronics and other hardware was purchased new in 2005.  So, what Dan wound up with was, essentially, a new guitar that hasn't existed in 15 years - very cool! 

Dan is quickly becoming the King of Carvin Collections, and this SC90C furthers that quest.  Dan says:

"When Carvin announced the limited time reissue of the 90s pointed headstock, I immediately sat down and spec'd out this guitar. The intent was not only to build what would be my primary 'player' to prevent further wear on my vintage "pointies" but to get as close as I could to an early-90s model guitar. I felt the SC body to be the most rockin' design in Carvin's current lineup and the reverse pointy headstock works great, visually, with that body. I had purchased a black-stained DC127 back in '99 (shown above) but never fell in love with that guitar. This guitar replaced that one."

This 2005 model is finished in black stain on quilted maple with a mahogany neck and body.  It has  C22B and H22N pickups with a coil splitters and a custom control layout, reverse pointy headstock and abalone dot inlays on ebony.