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From: BassGuitarMag
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  • Great demo, awesome bass, you maybe can answer my question: how do you compare this axe to a American Deluxe 5 string jazz bass?

    Thanks a lot!

  • I'd like to learn how to play the kind of stuff you're playing at the beginning of the video. Any books you can recommend?

  • Another great informative video Ed! Have you ever played this bass with the optional humbucker config? & How are the "rock tones" say compared to a Musicman Stingray 5?

  • Ed,thanks for taking the time to read and answer my comments and questions. Other reviewers claim to be too busy to answer. I just wanted to ad that its good to have an honest person like yourself to review these instruments. Your knowledge and expertise goes a long way. Again thank you!!!

  • @sosmooth7 - You're welcome.

  • Hi Ed, first I would like to say thanks for all the info you have given to all off us bass players. My question is, I currently have a Roscoe Century 5 and was thinking to sell it and get a Carvin SB5000. Because I have no access to one of these basses(SB5000), would you say that the neck feel and string spacing is comparable if not the same as a Jazz bass 5 string or a music man Sterling 5.

    Thanks,

    And glad to see you at Bass Player once again.

  • @sergbass - The string spacing feels a little more open than the Fender Jazz 5, the Carvin is 19mm. The Sterling 5 is 18mm if my memory serves me right... I would think the biggest difference for you would be going from the 35" scale Roscoe to a 34" Carvin. You can hear how the bass sounds... but you can only feel it in your hands.

  • Ed are you partial to the genz-bbenz equiptment. I see that most of the reviews are done with the genz-benz amp?

  • @sosmooth7 - Yes, I use Genz amps at home in the studio, and on every gig.

  • Ed,thanks for the review of this bass. Just for the record this is one of the most talked about basses in our area of Philly. All of my friends along with myself think this is one of the finest basses that's entered the market lately. I'd honestly put it the category of the Sadowsky and the like.I've seen many reviews of this bass on the Carvin channel,but I wanted an unbiased opinion.Everyone that I've heard play this bass has nothing but great things to say about it.Carvin makes great basses.

  • @sosmooth7 - It's a great bass, very slick modern slap tone!

  • what is this favorite style jazz bass??? would you compare this to a 70s jazz or percision bass?

  • Ed can you tell me what modes and scales you play for 5 string jazz? I totally would love to know!

  • @themacmann24 - Sorry, there is no such thing as "5 string jazz".

  • Please do a Gibson Ripper II bass video.. and a Wal Bass video too ..Thanks.. 

  • Hi Ed,great review !!!

    I've seen a diferent kind of maple fingerboard:the bird's eye maple.

    Could you answer me if there is some notable sounding diference between this or the ''standard '' maple??

  • @123andrelevy - It's cosmetic, I don't hear any difference.

  • Ed, how would you characterize the neck profile? Very thin? Flat or round? I have read contrasting descriptions of the neck.. Great, man!

  • @functusian - Uhm, it's sort of a rounded flat profile! It's not flat like Ibanez or Warrior, but not big and round like some... It's basically in the middle IMO.

  • Hey ed do you own that SB5000? If you do I was wondering if you have been having problems with the gold plating on the hardware. I just recieve my SB4000 a month ago and I love it, except that the gold plating has started to come off on my neck plate. It started coming off the second day i had it! Carvin did send me a replacement but I was just wondering if you experienced the same problem.

  • @CSAN33 - I do own one, but not this particular one. I haven't seen that problem with the plating

  • @BassGuitarMag Is your hardware goldplated?

  • @CSAN33 - Chrome

  • this bass sounds so delicious!! I think I'm going to get this for my next bass!

  • hey ed,i was looking your equipment on net.you have removed the bridge pickup on carvin lb75piccolo.do you have now bigger output and does the tone has change a little bit on neck pickup?one year ago i remove the bridge pickup and the tone control on one of my basses(jolana telecaster 77),now the output is masive and the sound is little different.sorry for my english

  • 7/8 Slap...nice touch ;)

  • I love it. Slap in 7.

  • Any plans on reviewing the Carvin B24/25? I'm looking to purchase the SB5000 in the next year but the Brian Bromberg series has also caught my eye.

  • @hakadoru - No plans, but I'm interested in it.

  • does anyone know exactly what finish he has on this bass? i'm looking into getting one and like how it looks. I looked around and found what he called it, "honeyburst," but it (the sample i looked at) seamed to be brighter around the edges. His also looks a little red to me, where as the sample looked more a yellow or cream

  • @notamillionare - this bass is honeyburst. My lighting may bring out the red, but that's what they call it.

  • it seems AWESOME

  • Passive tone beats active any day IMO.

  • @xMasterxRazorx It sure does! Makes it a lot more 'muffed', but a combination of both is awesome. If you do it right :P

  • Ive seen enough of your videos to know when you really love the bass your playing. I can seriously tell you love this bass, especially when you go and play around in passive mode with both pickups on full. Great review as always.

  • What string set came on the Carvin SB5000 you're demoing? I'm assuming those are the same ones in the video.

  • @sanwin17 - They are the stock Carvin Stainless steel set. Nice strings, and a great deal.

  • Not sure if this instrument bid farewell already, but I'm left wondering if those frets were wide? They just seemed to stand out more so than other basses you've reviewed.

    Regardless, what is your take on "Med-wide vs. Wide" frets?

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  • hey ed, I've been wondering about this for a while and i cant seem to get a straight answer from anyone. does what the finger board is made from effect the tone. the context i am speaking of would be...

    buying a jazz bass with either a rosewood or maple finger board. they are both fender americans jazz basses, but im not sure if it matters. but it seems to me that the maple has a bit more of an articulate sound while the rosewood has a muddier sound.

  • @henry12350 - Yeah, that's pretty much it. Maple is a little brighter and snappier than rosewood. The difference can be subtle or dramatic, depending on the two basses.

  • @BassGuitarMag thanks. i guess even to this day the difference between two basses that are the same make and model can still be drastic.

    thanks so much for the help!

  • To my ears those pickups sound slightly clearer than your typical jazz bass.

  • @jazzybassmasterboy they are definitely awesome pickups! less buzz too, it does have a maple board thought so that could have something to do with it

  • I've been searching for a new bass for quite a while now. I've come down to 2 models, Warwick corvette standard and Sterling by Musicman RAY34, I can barely decide. For the moment the Warwick is my favorite, cuz i feel like it's more of an allrounder. But the RAY34 just have that special something that makes me go boom.

    What would you suggest?

  • As always a premium review, men i got one single question have you heard about AXL basses i want to know if they are good ?

  • Ed - yet another fine review! This bass sounds really nice - much better than it looks (this finish option's sweet though) ;-)

    I like the tone but as I prefer my basses passive (excluding my main weapon - my beloved Alembic Essence 5, but that's a very peculiar animal, perfect as it is with that classic Alembic filter) can you please tell me if there's a "preampless" version? I'm planning to look for a good passive 5-er to get different, more "classic" tones than those I get from the Essence.

  • @BassWombat79 - This bass has passive bypass, and passive tone... but you could easily order it without the preamp.

  • This thing sounds amazing, I love the tone with the passive roll-off maxed. It sucks that you had to give up your endorsement for Carvin, their basses seem like the best choice for whatever you need to play. Have you ever done a review for Spector basses? I own a Euro Rebop DLX EX model and it's probably one of the most eye-catching and well sounding basses I have ever played and owned. If you ever get the chance, definitely try a Spector bass, I doubt you will be disappointed!

  • @Xberzerkerai - If you go to bassemporium (dot) com and search under resources/newsletters, you'll find a bunch of written reviews and sound samples. There is one of a Spector Euro LX4. Nice bass.

  • Hi Ed, With you, I bought a Bongo... Now, i want a cavrin!

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  • @julien2bastia / @BassGuitarMag I bought a Bongo 6 HH. Ed's video contributed greatly to that purchase. Now I want a 4 string Bongo HH too :|.

  • @tylerwylie I might be willing to part with my Bongo 4HH in Lava Pearl (I've got a 5HH in Desert Gold as well) Love the tones available - of course now I want an SB500!

  • @456or7strings errr... meant SB5000!

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  • how are the carvin MM style pickup and would it be a good mix with this bass and preamp

  • how are the carvin MM style pickup and would it be a good mix with this bass and preamp

  • @trevjay - I had a few basses with Carvin's MM pickups. I thought they sounded great, not EXACTLY like a MM bass, but very close. I'm sure it would sound fine on this bass, of course it won't sound anything like this demo.

  • That's got to be the warmest sound jazz bass I've ever heard. I hope you get to keep this one. I can tell how much you enjoyed doing this review. Keep up the great work...

  • Love your channel and your playing.

    Can you review more pedals and amps?

    What do you think of Markbass?

  • @FocusedLucidity - Thanks. Markbass? Sounds pretty good.

  • bleh, just another Jazz Bass copy with a preamp 

  • @GRANKOR - Maybe, but a great one!

  • how is the hum on the j99a's? and is the passive tone close to a fender jazz bass without exposed pole magnets?

  • @trevjay On my SB5000 the hum is very minimal when the pups are completely unbalanced.. no hum otherwise, as for the passive mode i would say it sounds very close to a fender jazz but still has its own nice distinct sound that i LOVE.. this bass really is a game changer in my opinion

  • I was looking to getting a Carvin Icon 6-String Claro Walnut as an upgrade to my Ibanez SR506

  • do you use a compressor for all your reviews? because all basses you test sound very balanced

  • @elpactodejohnson1 - I always use a minmal amount of compression when recording bass.

  • Ed, I'm a big fan of your instructional material. As expected, great review and great playing! I've had my SB5000 since July and I love it! These basses continue to get rave reviews and I've noticed a lot of killer bass players (like yourself) using them.

  • I am absolutely thrilled that you reviewed this bass as I have been looking at it for a while now!!! Your reviews are always top notch and you provide the info a serious bass player needs. By the way, I'll admit that I listen to your reviews on basses I am not interested in buying just to hear some of your cool licks!!! :-) THANKS...

  • Nice review, Ed. Wonder how your purple Carvin used for your Slap Bass dvd would sound with the rig you have now?

    The SB5000 sounds so different from a normal 70's Fender Jazz. Being a "modern, active jazz bass" you think it'd sound like Marcus Miller's. Not by a long shot! Wonder if the main factor is the blade-style pickups?

  • @inuyashaspet - Well, I no longer own the purple one. Nice sounding bass, played like butter. Kind of miss it.

    I think the SB gets pretty damn close to the Marcus sound when slapped. I have a 74 Jazz with a JRetro, you may have seen it in my recent Genz Benz demo. When I play the J and SB5000 next to each other, the similarity of tone is there. Of course, they have many differences too, but to my ear, they are more similar than not.

  • @BassGuitarMag ah, I forgot about your Genz Benz video. It's funny how your 74 used to sound so much in Marcus territory, and the Carvin sounds similar to it in the Genz Benz video, but by itself doesn't sound like Marcus at all! Although it seems to be voiced with less bottom end and more clanky treble, I think it more than anything it's your unique phrasing that's throwing me off here!

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  • it seems like its impossible for this bass to sound bad. No matter what you did it still sounded good some settings are better than others but when you boosted the treble all the way all i thought i was gonna hear was clank and string noise but it was dead silent!!! for the treble to be boosted all the way at least. I am sold on this bass. Too bad im a broke college student who cant afford it whether im sold or not but one day i will get this bass, or at least put the pickups into a j bass.

  • Hi Ed! great review like always! would you consider doing a review about any Conklin basses? I've been considering getting one but I wanna know more about them before i spend a couple grand. Be awesome if you could!

  • @JeroB666 - Well I review whatever gets assigned by my editor, or if a company wants to hire me independently. I have played a few Conklin 7 strings models. Hard to judge the brand based on that, the fingerboard was like an 8 lane freeway!

  • Modern J tone at it's very best - awesome instrument.

  • I love me some Ed.

  • outstanding review, Ed! Just wondering as a former Carvin player myself (had an LB70 fretless and a BB75) - is the neck similar to the asym. neck on the BB75? I can't say I liked that aspect of the BB, though it was a tremendous bass. Thanks for the review!

  • @hamarin86 - No, it doesn't feel asymmetrical to me.

  • Man when you boosted the bass during the fingerstyle you cant help but go "oooooh"

  • how much do they go for?

  • @jie1823 - I believe the base price is $949, but it depends on what woods and options you pick. This particular bass cost $1,350. Pretty dang cheap considering what you get.

  • @BassGuitarMag Wow. That's pretty much the cost of the passive Skyline basses by Lakland.

  • At last!!! Here is a bassist that plays many styles through a bass and indicates what pickups he uses each time. And most of all someone that tries all techniques in a bass. Pick, slap and fingerstyle. I hate those people who test a bass only through slap, even if the bass is not that slappy sound, and don't give a shit about picks.

    Bravo dude.

  • I'll be honest. I only watch his videos primarily because i wanna hear him shred.

  • @christianabiera - Well, I appreciate the positive feedback, I'm glad you're impressed - but check out some of the serious players like Matt Garrison, Victor Bailey, Jeff Andrews, Marcus Miller... it'll give you a much more realistic perspective on what I do.

    But thanks.

  • @BassGuitarMag Ed, what do you think of the late Dave Carpenter? I'm ashamed to say that I didn't discover him until after I'd heard of his passing, but THAT cat blows me away.

    Of course, you're great, too.

  • @bluenote71 - I have heard him, he was a great bassist. We met once and he was very warm and friendly.

  • @christianabiera me too

  • nice review man

  • Hey Ed! Great Review!

    What bass did you play when you were an endorsee? Thats super cool!

  • @AttitudeCastle - I played BB70's, 75's and 76's. I liked the extended top horn and wider spacing on the 5.

  • Me likes

  • Is it true that singlecoils are always noiseless when they are active?

  • @IwannaBEamerican - single coils are noiseless when they are both set at the same volume. If you turn down one of them, you get hum. This is true for any bass with singles.

  • you look like a carvin with a fender jazz bass head-to-hand, what is your favorite?

  • @urielslap1985 - I don't play favorites. I like them both.

  • That would be actual street price.

  • Ed, you're losing weight dude! don't lose too much though

  • @BigDaddyBass - lol! If that were only true!

  • is $1350 the retail or street price?

  • sounds nice and clean and ha a good sustain

  • great review again Ed!

  • you suck

    (to those of you thought I was serious get you IQ test and try to get special parking spots)

  • I wish you could whisper to me all of your infinite knowledge bass master

  • @darrenandsarah123 - Uhm...practice more.

  • do a demo on rickenbackers

  • That does sound pretty damn delish alright i have to say carvins stuff is amazing from what ive seen.

    Specially their 7 string guitar's they have the most comfortable neck profile i've ever played.

  • OMFG"! sdfsdafsdf what a BASS!

  • Ed, just a quick word of appreciation for your incredibly thorough, fact-dense and humorous reviews. I appreciate them all. I'm a Carvin-lover. This isn't quite my 2004 LB70P, but sounds great, as I've read from so many on the Carvin Forums. Quick question if you have a minute...any experience on an LB20F? You might remember that's a passive fretless. I'm considering it for my next build and I'm wondering if you have played one/have a comment. Keep up the good work.

  • @gnpahdc - I may have played one a long time ago, but I am very familiar with the LB basses in general. And their fretless boards are great. I think if you choose woods and pickups that fit your vision of the sound you want, you'll be happy.

  • Yesh!!!!! As a Carvin player I do favor this bass. Ed , you answered my questions before I could ask! I love the bridge on these things ; over the top or through body. you have satisfied my longing to see a Carvin reviewed. one last thing: What do think about Carvin amps? Combo or even a set up like yours?

  • Yeah, the creme pickup covers are a little odd-looking. But the sound is great. And Carvin makes some gorgeous instruments that photograph better than most companies.

  • Have you done a review on a bass you hated? I think that'd be fun to watch.

  • It's a bass review and a lesson at the same time! Its TWO, two videos for the price of one!

    Awesome, as always.

  • too bad its so damm ugly...it looks like they took a j-bass and broken its arms backwards

  • been waiting for this review for a while

    Hurray for American made and wipe out all those horrible Chinese basses

     thank you ed

  • great job ed :)

  • someone likes 7/8.... :P

  • Wow a treble thats actually quiet... it remains a mystery to me why Musicman never fixed this on their basses =P

  • @Lifeofbass - Well, I own 4 MM basses and I have never noticed any noise from their preamp.

  • pretty amazing bass

  • that jazz needs to go on a diet

  • man 5 string jazzes look faaaaaaat

  • The bass looks cool, sounds sweet and his really not that expensive at all!!

    Ed Friedland : my GAS dispenser... Once again, a model of review. Keep up the good job!

  • This bass really is incredible! I own one and you won't find a bass of its caliber for under at least $2000

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  • Interestingly i don't feel much coming from that bass.

    And please guys don't come flaming saying i don't know shit about bass or bla bla bla...

    I just don't feel it.

  • cool colors

  • amazing bass. Giving me all kinds of gas 

  • great sound

  • It looks pretty weird (and I'm a BC Rich player!) but it sounds beautiful

  • great bass

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