Basses

Carvin's bass lineup stayed basically the same throughout the early seventies, with a solidbody and semi-hollow body available.  Carvin also began using color photography in parts of the catalog, adding to the appeal of their models.

1975 Guitars

1975 Guitar Amps

1975 Bass Amps

 Click each picture for a larger version.

1975 Carvin Catalog Cover

1975 Carvin Basses

On the right is the SB60, made from solid Eastern hardrock maple, with a clear satin finish.  It still had the short-scale 22 fret Hofner bolt-on neck with rosewood fingerboard, APB4 humbucking pickups, and aluminum bridge and tailpiece.  Electronics included a 3-way pickup selector switch, and volume and tone controls for each pickup.  Price on the SB60 was $209.90, or $219.95 for a lefthanded model, plus $34.95 for the SC18 hardshell case.

Next is the SB40, which sported the same electronics and neck of the SB60, but was made from unspecified wood - probably some variant of plywood, and was finished in sunburst.  The SB40 sold for $189.95, and wasn't available in a left model.  

The last model was the AB45 semi-hollow-body bass.  This bass also featured the same Hofner neck and electronics of it's solidbody counterparts, with aluminum bridge and tailpiece, MOP pickguard, and sunburst finish with white binding.  The AB45 sold for $219.95, or $229.95 for a left-handed model.  The AC21 softcase was $19.95.

Click here to see the actual catalog page featuring the descriptions.

1975 Carvin DBS98B Doubleneck

Even as late as 1975, Carvin had black-and-white photographs in their catalogs.  The model shown here is a DBS98B doubleneck.  This is a combination bass/Spanish guitar, and had been in production under a variety of model names since the early 60's.

The features of the DBS98B were basically the same as the SB60 bass, and the SS75 guitar - that is, Höfner bolt-on necks with rosewood fingerboards, APB4 pickup (bass) and AP6 pickups (guitar) with 3-way selector switch.  Additionally, the necks were wired independently of each other, so each neck could be plugged into a different amp.  The guitar neck was available with or without the Bigsby vibrola.

An interesting feature of this model, and many older Carvin double-necks like it, is that the neck for the bass was the same short scale as for the guitar.  This would be very convenient for guitar players to play, but it required special, extra-thick bass strings.  At this time, La Bella flatwounds were standard on all Carvin basses.

The DNS98B sold for $339.95, and the DNS98 (without the Bigsby) sold for $309.95.  The SC27 hardshell case was $34.95.