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.
Click each
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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.
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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.
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