The Webmaster's DN640K
Although shown on my
Collections page (where there are
additional photos), this DN640K is worth showing off in the Player's Gallery, as
well.
This DN640K
is the one that started my love affair with Carvin basses. I ordered
this directly from the factory way back in 1983. Cost was about $1150, which was pretty
pricey for back then. It's made of solid Koa, with Koa
set-necks. Hardware is gold, and the electronics consist of the
venerable M22 pickups, with coil splitters and phase switches all around.
It originally had black bezels, but I ordered cream ones about a year after
I received it. It also has inlaid logos on the headstocks.
I've been refitting this one for the past
couple of months. I was luckily able to find original gold plated
Schaller tuners for both necks - and they weren't cheap! The guitar
tuners were $80 for a set, the bass tuners were $150. I haven't been
able to find original bridges for either - a got a very close Schaller
bass bridge, which looks very much like the original, and a new Carvin
bridge for the guitar. The tailpiece on the guitar is the tough
one, but I found a NOS one on eBay that had never been used - got it for
less than 10 bucks, which was a real bargain.
This DN640 was
also featured in the March 2005 issue of Vintage Guitar magazine - click on the
cover to see the article.
Stephen Ayres' DN640
Carvin BBS ID: stevie
WWW:
http://glowingtubes.com
There's just one word to describe this
vintage 1981 DN640: Wow! Stephen just scored this on eBay (in
fact, look at the bottom of this page, you'll see it from a couple
months back when I first saw it). After receiving it, Stephen
replaced the electronics, pots, tuners, knobs, etc, and buffed it back
out to it's original 1981 glory. And it turned out just
great.
Look
here, and you can see actual restoration photos while the work was
being done, and there are more photos of the finished product
here. |
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Here are the
original pictures from the eBay auction - notice how much better it
looks after Steven cleaned it up.
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Josh Finkler's DN640B
This is another
great example of a vintage Carvin DN640 - in this case, a "B" model (black) from
1982. Josh says:
"I saw this
up for auction on eBay but for a fairly high opening bid. After it failed
to fetch a bid, I contacted the owner and we worked out a pretty sweet deal off
of auction. He was the original owner and sent it to me in mint condition in the
original hard shell case with all the original paperwork and original purchase
receipt in his name. despite being so mint, I'm viewing this guitar as a player,
it's got a great presence to it, I especially like the feel of the ebony
fingerboards."
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Unknown DN640C
This
turned up on eBay towards the end of '05, and is a great example of a DN640 near
the end of their production. This is a '93 model, finished in clear gloss
with a quilted maple top and maple body and necks, and even the body has nice
quilting. It also has a Floyd Rose tremolo, Sperzel locking tuners with a
de-tuner on the bass, and ebony fingerboards. The bass has been upgraded
with EMG pickups, so the control layout isn't original, but it's still a
beautiful instrument.
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Chaz Filter's (former) DN640
I stumbled across a very old ad for
a DN640 that was for sale, and I contacted the seller to see if he still had
it. Sadly, he had already let it go, but did have the following photos and
comments to share. Since DN640's are so rare, I decided to go ahead and post it, even
though it's whereabouts now are unknown. Evidently, the person Chaz sold
it to in turn sold it on E-Bay sometime in 2001 - so, if you're reading this,
and this doubleneck is sitting next to you, drop me a line! Anyway, best
guess, based on the headstock logo and J99 bass pickups, is that this is a
1987
model. Chaz says:
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"#1 Ah, all those
controls! Neck volume, bridge volume, master tone knobs; neck
split, bridge split, phase on/off switches; pickup select & neck
select on/on/on switches. The neck select switch
(guitar/both/bass), just above the screw holes, is a replacement
(original failed). I added the brass thumbrest because there was
no good place to anchor my thumb. The next owner moved it closer
to the neck.
#2 Those Schaller bridges were excellent! The knobs are
Carvin-direct replacements, because the gold faded off the originals.
[Over the years, I have spent enough money on Carvin replacement parts
on all of my instruments to buy an LB76! :-( ]
#3 Carvin knows how to DESIGN doublenecks! I have owned SEVEN
doublenecks over the years: BC Rich Gunslinger/Assassin 12/6,
Robin Medley 12/6, Cort "Hippie Sandwich" 12/6, Gretsch
6120-612 12/6, BC Rich Bich 8/4, Joe Jem Custom 4/4, and the Carvin
DN640 6/4. [I have usually sold one in order to buy another one!]
The Carvin is the best balanced, easiest playing of the bunch.
Note that the doubleneck fits in a standard sized bass case!!! Eliminating
that unneeded extra body width is the key, but it was still heavier than most... go figure!
#4 The next owner moved the strap pin. The stereo jacks worked
great, especially for a guitar/bass combination. One cable plugged
in mixed the sound; two cables plugged in split the sound. Very
practical!!
#5 Tacky case stickers courtesy of the next owner. Those ebony fretboards were excellent... smooth, true, and easy to play.
#6 When I played in a classic rock band, I primarily used the guitar to
generate synth sounds using a GK-2A pickup, GI-10 converter, and a Kawai
GMega synth module. I heard that the current owner saw this
picture and decided to mount a GK-2A in the same place!" |
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Ernie Smallis' DN640
Here's a great
example, from the heyday of Carvin's doubleneck years. This is an early
80's model in natural maple, with some nice figure, and the inlaid headstock,
which only occurred on some models. Ernie also has a 1978 CM120, which I
hope to have up here soon, as well.
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Unknown eBay DN640
Wow, here's a real find. A
1990 or 1991 DN640 in clear gloss on natural poplar with maple necks. Note
that this is the 2nd generation "bass-on-top" design.
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Kevin's DN640K
Finally, sadly, there's this one. This
was sent to me by Kevin Simonson, and here's what he said:
"I too am the proud owner of a
Koa doubleneck DN640. But there's a small problem....you see, long ago I
made the mistake of selling it to one of my wife's piano students. He
took great care of it, until someone burglarized his home, stole a
Nintendo, and PUT THE DOUBLENECK UP AGAINST A BUNK BED AND KICKED IT,
SHATTERING BOTH OF THE NECKS. I was totally heartbroken. This happened
about 8 years ago. I'm still affected. So much so that I've obtained the
carcass and set about finding a good luthier and having it re-built to
its original all-koa glory."
Wow, what a drag. Hopefully Kevin
can indeed bring this one back to life... |
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