Carvin LB-75W Five String Bass - Claro Walnut - Made in USA - Free Pro Setup

Carvin LB-75W Five-String Neck-Through Claro Walnut Bass with Active Electronics - Made in USA
Weighs 9.6 lbs

Includes Free Pro Setup - $90 Value
See below for details

Available cases:

• Gig bag, $69
• Soft case, $89
• Gator molded hard shell case, $119

E-A-D-G-C: We've set this up for E-A-D-G-C. Most five string basses add a low B string, that can cause difficulties as bass players are used to the low string being the E. So instead, we've kept the low E and added a high C. This allows you to play the low strings like a regular four string bass, and adds a high C for melodic work. If you prefer B-E-A-D-G, let us know and we can set it up for that.

Serial No: 65001 is stamped on the fingerboard above the 23rd fret.

Age: Based on the features, we'd estimate this LB-75W was made between 2000 and 2004.

Condition: This bass is in excellent condition. It plays and sound wonderful. It's going on 20-25 years old, and has been played, so it has a few light scuffs here and there, but overall it's in excellent condition. We've tested it and everything works as it should. One of the tuners is a Gotoh brand, but it looks very much like the other tuners. This leads us to belive that the Carvin tuners are re-branded Gotoh's, which would make sense. Carvin has been known to use a lot of Gotoh parts, which are of very high quality.

Made in USA Custom Shop Quality:  Carvin is the old name for Kiesel Guitars. Founded in the 1940's, they are a contemporary of Fender, and they've been making high-quality Made in USA guitars for almost 80 years. Kiesel is still located in Escondido, San Diego County. Our shop is about 20 minutes from the Kiesel and old Carvin factories. We've been to them many times, and have been working on and selling vintage Carvins for years. We love Carvins for their excellent build quality and top quality woods, electronics and hardware. We buy them whenever we can and love to turn our customers on to them.

This is a $2700 Bass:  You can order a bass like this from Kiesel today. It's called the Vader. With similar specs, it would cost $2700. Which is actually a good deal for a Made in USA bass of this quality.

Neck-through-Construction: Carvin touted the benefits of its neck-through-body construction as: "The superior strength of neck-through-body construction increases resonance and sustain for a sweeter tone. Also, the smooth neck heel gives you effortless playability to the last fret." We agree, and it looks amazing to boot!

History of the LB-75: Carvin introduced the LB-75 in 1988 and it remained a mainstay for decades. For the first years it had a five-in-line pointy headstock, which was in style at the time. It changed to a 3+2 headstock in 1992, which was more compact and offered straight string pull for better tuning stability, which made a lot of sense. In 1996, there was an option for a 5-piece laminated neck, which added even more strength and stability. New electronics and a Hipshot bridge were added in 1998. Claro Walnut was offered as an option in 1999, and an LB-75 with this option was called an LB-75W. A "P-Option" was introduced in 2001, which added a Piezo pickup in the bridge.

Late Night: A prominent user LB-75 was Will Lee of Late Night with David Letterman, who used his LB on network TV and was featured in Carvin ads for years. If you watched the Letterman Show back then, you know that was one-hell-of-a-band. And Will Lee held his own backing up some of the best artist of the era.

Hipshot XTender: It has a Hipshot XTender on the lowest string, which allows dropping the tuning of that string on the fly. For example drop from E to D. We've tested that and it works well.

Luthier's Assessment and Measurements:

• Weight: 9.6 lbs
• Nut width: 1.75"
• Neck width at 12th fret: 2.40”
• Neck thickness 1st fret: 0.85”
• Neck thickness 12th fret: 0.99”
• Action on high side: 0.085"
• Action on low side: 0.095"
• Truss rod: Turns smoothly
• Frets condition: Excellent 9/10
• Cosmetic condition: Excellent
• Functional condition: Excellent
• Playability: Excellent
• Sound: Excellent
• Overall condition: Excellent

Features and Specs:

• Type: Five string bass
• Body type: Solid body
• Body wood: Claro walnut
• Body finish: Tung oil
• Neck: Five piece laminated - Maple/Walnut/Maple/Walnut/Maple
• Construction: Neck-through-body
• Neck finish: Tung oil
• Scale: 34"
• No of frets: 24
• Fret size: Medium-jumbo
• Fingerboard material: Ebony
• Fingerboard radius: 15"
• Inlay markers: Mother of pearl dots
• Pickups: J99 single coil (Jazz Bass style)
• Electronics: Active/passive
• Passive mode: (Pull up on volume) Master volume, pickup blend
• Active mode: Master volume, pickup blend, cut & boost for bass, treble and midrange
• Bridge: Hipshot string through body with five adjustable saddles
• Hardware: Chrome
• Other features: Hipshot XTender (Drop-D tuner) on low E-string

Dr. T’s Professional Inspection and Setup:  You may find a similar instrument listed at a lower price, but ours may still be the better value as we include our professional inspection and setup.  With over 20 years in the industry, we’re convinced that a good setup is the single most important investment to improve the playability and sound of your guitar.  We inspect the guitar and address issues. Next, we remove the strings, clean the guitar, and tighten and set the drag on the tuning keys.  We inspect the frets and dress and polish as required. We clean and oil the fingerboard, restring, tune to pitch and set the neck relief, action and intonation.  We then play each fret and check for fret buzz and fret-outs during string bends, and we fine tune as required.  Next, we test the electronics, tighten pots and jacks and balance the pickups. Lastly, we play the guitar to make sure everything is just right.  We do this using common settings, which work for most players. If you have specific requirements, please let us know. We are located in Southern California, where our climate is mild. Sometimes minor adjustments will need to be made after you receive your guitar, especially if the guitar traveled a long distance and was subjected to unfavorable conditions. We do not cover the cost of these adjustments.

Standard of Care:  We strive to meet our clients’ expectations and want you to be happy with your purchase.  Musical instruments develop wear with use and it’s widely accepted that honest wear adds character and shows that it has been played and loved.  Our used and vintage guitars will often have signs of wear.  Our Del Mar Lutherie guitars are hand built and can have artifacts that some people might view as "imperfections".  If you want a guitar in “flawless” condition, we advise you to buy locally so you can inspect it closely in person.  We cannot guarantee our guitars will be cosmetically flawless.  We do not accept returns or give partial credit on guitars due to cosmetic imperfections that are only noticeable upon close inspection.

Shipping:  Price shown includes ground shipping via UPS within the continental USA with "Safe Shipping" insurance through Reverb. It also includes packaging materials and our time to pack and drop off at UPS. Note that guitar shipping costs are controlled by the box size, not weight, and insurance is based on the guitar's value.

Specs: We list specifications as a courtesy. Some specs are measured by our luthier, others are taken from the manufacturer's data. Manufacturers change specifications all the time, and their listed specs may not be 100% accurate.  Also, used guitars sometimes have modifications that may not be apparent upon visual inspection. The guitar you will get is the one shown in the photos. If there are any "deal breaker" specs that you must have, please let us know so we can double check these for you before your purchase.

Videos:  We often provide links to YouTube videos to provide our clients with more information. These videos will be of a similar make and model which is representative of the guitar in our listing. 

Cases:  We price most guitars without cases. This allows us to offer a more competitive price and pass along some savings to our clients who do not want a case. However, if you want a case, please let us know, and we will find a good one for you. If you buy a case, we will ship your guitar in it for the best possible protection.  There are many benefits when you buy a case from us; we have good prices, we make sure your guitar fits, we offer free shipping on the case (when combined with a guitar), and best of all we ship your guitar inside the case.  Each year, we see a small number of guitars arrive with damage caused by mishandling during shipping.  However, when shipped inside a hard case, the incidence of damage is almost zero.  Please consider buying a case from us. 

Returns and Canceled Orders:  We are a small business and can’t afford to offer free returns like the big guys.  There is a lot of time, effort and cost involved with processing your order, pulling your guitar from inventory, setting it up, packing and shipping it.  Please make sure you want the guitar before you commit to buy.  If we agree to a return or to cancel your order, you will be responsible for all incurred shipping costs (both ways) and a restocking fee to cover our time.

Dr. T's Tone Factory & Del Mar Lutherie, Message from the Owner:  We are a small shop in San Diego County, California.  We are less than 15 miles from the old Carvin factory in San Diego, and about 20 miles from the current Kiesel factory in Escondido. We are huge fans of the build quality and value of the old Carvin electric guitars, which were made in San Diego County in the 1980's, 1990's and 2000's. We are part of the local guitar community and build custom electric guitars, custom tube amps, and do mods and setups. We also buy, sell and trade vintage and used instruments. Our owner is a guitar enthusiast, wood worker and professional designer and engineer. We've been doing this type of work since 1999 and have hundreds of happy customers. We are a Reverb Preferred Seller and our approval rating is almost 100%.  

Best wishes and happy strumming!

Dr T.