Guitars

Quite a few things happened in 1994.  The guitar line was trimmed down considerably, to make room for future expansion.  The DC125, Ultra V, DC145, and DN612/DN640 were all gone, and two new models, the AE150 and AC175, were added.  The Floyd Rose tremolo was brought back as an option, and mother-or-pearl dots were no longer standard.

Unless otherwise noted, the pictures and prices on this page are from the Spring '94 catalog.

Click each picture for a larger version.

With the departure of the DC125 and DC145, the DC127 (near left) was paired up with the DC135 (far left).  These models were unchanged from 1993. Price on the DC127 dropped to $529 (or $599 with tremolo), and the DC135 dropped to $559 ($629 with tremolo).

The catalog photo showed the DC127 in Tobacco Sunburst over koa with matching headstock, black hardware and Wilkinson tremolo, and the DC135 with tung-oiled koa body and neck, matching headstock, gold hardware and Wilkinson tremolo.

Brand new for 1994 (although officially, it was offered in the last catalog of 1993) was the TL60, a model that remains popular to this day.  The TL60 was modeled after the legendary Telecaster, but was seriously upgraded with Carvin's many options.  The FT6 bridge and Sperzel locking tuners were standard, as were Carvin's other features, such as poplar body, maple neck-thru construction, graphite nut and ebony fingerboard. Standard electronics consisted of a pair of S60 single coil pickups, with volume and tone controls, series/parallel mini switch & 3 way lever-style pickup selector.  The M22 pickup was optional in the bridge position.  The base price on the new TL60 was $529, or $599 with Wilkinson tremolo.

The catalog photo showed a TL60 in Jet Black with chrome hardware, M22 bridge pickup and Wilkinson tremolo, and in Tobacco Sunburst on quilted maple with gold hardware.

The DC400 was also unchanged for 1994.  The base price, with FT6 fixed bridge,  dropped to $929.  Base price on the DC400T, with Carvin-licensed Wilkinson tremolo, was $999.

The catalog photo shown is from the Winter 1994 edition, and showed a DC400T in vintage yellow on flamed maple with chrome hardware, and a a DC400T in deep purple on quilt with gold hardware and reverse inline headstock. 

New for 1994 were a pair of acoustic/electric guitars, one which would be a hit, one which would be a miss.  The AC175 (near left) was Carvin's first effort at an acoustic/electric model, and it would be very popular with players, and would lead to several variations over the coming years.  The body and neck were made of mahogany, and a clear flamed maple top was standard.  Active electronics featured volume control, bass boost/cut and trebel boost cut.  Spruce top with binding was optional, as was the 6-inline headstock.  Price on the AC175 was $799.

The AE150 (far left) was really a hybrid, rather than a totally new instrument.  Although sold as an acoustic/electric, what it really was was a DC200-style guitar with an A60 piezo bridge, and modified controls to blend the A60 with the M22T and M22V pickups.  Otherwise, specifications, construction and available options (except tremolo) were the same as the DC200.  Price on the AE150 was $749.

The catalog photo showed the AC175 in clear flamed maple with gold hardware, and the AE150 in Tobacco Sunburst on koa with gold hardware.