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.
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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. |
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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. |
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The DC200 (near left)
and DC120 12-string were unchanged for 1994. The
DC200 (with FT6 fixed bridge) dropped in price to $659, and the DC120 rose to $769.
The catalog photo is
from the Winter 1994 catalog, and showed the DC200 in gloss koa with
gold hardware, and the DC120 in sapphire blue on quilt with gold
hardware.
In subsequent 1994
catalogs, the DC200 and DC400 would share the same page, and the DC120
would not be pictured. |
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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.
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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. |
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Introduced at the end of
1994 was the AE185, which was an acoustic/electric semi-hollow
guitar in the tradition of the SH225. This neck-thru guitar was
made from mahogany with Engleman spruce top, mahogany neck and ebony
fingerboard. Electronics consisted of an M22N and M22T pickup,
and an F60 acoustic transducer pickup, with active electronics to
control the lot. It also had dual out puts, so it could be
plugged in with all 3 pickups, or just with the acoustic pickup.
The base price of the AE185 was $799, plus $88 for the HC12 vintage
tweed hardshell case.
The catalog showed an
AE185 with natural spruce top, body binding and gold hardware, and an
AE185 in blueburst on flamed maple with inline headstock and chrome
hardware.
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