User Guide

Congratulations on your Carvin bass
purchase. With proper care Carvin basses will
last a lifetime.
■ IMPORTANT
Within several days of receiving your bass, it
may require a truss rod adjustment, especially if
your local weather is either very dry or very
humid. If it is very dry, chances are your neck
will start to acquire too much forward bow. If it
is raining or very humid, the neck may become
backbowed, causing string buzzing. Please refer
to the 2-way truss rod adjustment instructions.
■ STRINGS
Your Carvin bass is equipped with a high
quality set of Carvin strings. For replacement
strings, please order from our catalog. If you
change to considerably lighter or heavier strings,
you may need to adjust the truss rod in the neck
to maintain good string action. For long string
life, keep the strings clean with a soft dry cloth.
Replace strings regularly to avoid dead strings
which can cause intonation problems.
■ 2-WAY TRUSS ROD ADJUSTMENT
Carvin basses come with a 2-way adjustable
truss rod, allowing you to add the proper
amount of forward bow to necks with a reverse
bow condition. You can check the neck
yourself for the proper amount of forward bow.
You will need a straightedge about 24” long and
a feeler gauge set. Tune the bass to the proper
pitch and place the straightedge edgewise on
the center of the fingerboard so that it is resting
on the first and last fret. Now take the feeler
gauge set and check for clearance at the 7th
fret. If there is less than .010” clearance, the
truss rod nut must be turned counter
clockwise. If more than .020” clearance, the
truss rod nut must be turned clockwise. The
optimum forward bow is .015”. Turning the nut
to the left (clockwise) will reduce the amount of
forward bow. To make adjustments use the
1
/4”
socket screwdriver provided with your bass.
Turn the nut 1/10 of a turn and recheck.
NOTE: If you have just received your Carvin
bass and the string action is very low with
buzzing frets, then chances are the neck needs
adjusting because of a backbowed condition
sometimes caused during shipping. If this is
the case then remove the truss rod cover with a
small phillips screwdriver. Turn the
1
/4” truss
rod nut counter clockwise until you have .015”
forward bow. This is about the thickness of 2
business cards or playing cards.
If you don’t have a straightedge or feeler
gauge set you can achieve great results by
pressing one of your outside strings down at
the first fret and 24th fret and having a friend
slide 2 stacked playing cards between the 7th
fret and the bottom of the string. The 2 cards
should slide under without lifting the string up.
Adjust the truss rod accordingly.
MAINTENANCE AND ADJUSTMENTS FOR CARVIN BASSES
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■ BRIDGE ADJUSTMENTS
Each Carvin bass is set for best possible
playing action for the average bassist. We set
our basses up for
3
/32” clearance at the 24th
fret. If this dimension is much greater or less
than this when you first receive your bass then
your neck will probably require a truss rod
adjustment. Bassists with a light playing style
can possibly lower the action slightly. All
bassist with a hard playing style will probably
have to raise the action slightly. Use a .050”
allen wrench to raise or lower saddles.
■ CLEANING AND POLISHING
For all Carvin basses with a gloss finish, use
any good quality automobile wax or guitar
polish. To avoid scratching the finish use a
clean soft cloth. Do not get wax on the ebony
fingerboard.
For Carvin basses with the natural tung oil
finish, apply a good furniture oil such as “Old
English” lemon oil and wipe off the excess.
This should be done at least twice a year.
The ebony fingerboard should also be oiled
with lemon oil twice a year.
WARNING
• Your bass is constructed of seasoned solid wood
and dried to specific moisture requirements.
• If you live in a desert, high mountain or a cold
winter region, you will experience dry and
extreme weather conditions from time to time,
which can cause your wood and finish to
crack. You can prevent cracking by storing
your bass in it’s case and by not subjecting it
to extreme heat or cold.
• If you live in humid regions such as the
Southeastern United States, or near the ocean,
you should take extra precautions and keep
your instrument in its case or gig bag as much
as possible.
• Do not leave your bass and case in direct
sunlight or in your car when it is hot. Heat build
up in the case can damage the instrument.
• Carvin does not warranty cracks or neck
warpage due to extreme weather conditions,
improper storage or misuse.
■ PREMIUM CARVIN TUNING KEYS
Carvin premium bass tuners are designed to
keep your Carvin bass in perfect tune. They
feature a very smooth feel with extra fine 20:1
gear ratio. You can adjust the tension of the
Carvin tuning keys with the phillips screwdriver.
Just tighten or loosen the screw on the end of
the button until the desired tension is obtained.
Height adjustment screws
.050” allen wrench
Intonation adjusting screw
#1 phillips screwdriver
Tension
Adjustment
■ ADJUSTING PICKUP HEIGHT
For best overall pickup performance we
recommend that you adjust the top of the J
type neck position pickup 5/32” underneath the
2 outside strings. HB style humbucking bridge
pickups should also be set at 5/32”. J type
bridge pickups perform best at 4/32” below the
strings. If you prefer a mellower sound, just
lower them accordingly. Use the #1 phillips
head screwdriver-wrench provided with your
bass.
■ STRINGING YOUR BASS
You have your choice of feeding your strings
through the rear feed through holes on the
back of the bass or through the T-slots on top
of the bass bridge. Pull the string forward until
the ball end of the string comes to a stop. Pull
the end of the string past the tuning key string
post and cut the string so that it extends about
2" past the center of the string post. Now stick
the end of the string into the hole on top of the
string post and wind it around the string post
by turning the tuning key button. Proceed by
stringing up the remaining strings to pitch.
■ INTONATION
Carvin presets the string saddles for accurate
intonation. Use your guitar tuner to fine tune
your intonation. With the aid of your electronic
tuner, tune each string to the proper pitch.
Now check your G string tuning at the 12th
fret. If the tuner shows sharp at the 12th fret,
then adjust the G string bridge saddle slightly
further away from the neck. If the tuner shows
flat, adjust the saddle towards the neck. Move
the saddle 1/32" (about the thickness of a
dime). Retune the open G string perfectly and
recheck the tuning at the 12th fret. If the
tuning is perfect, you are done intonating the
G string. If it is still sharp, then keep moving
the string saddle further away from the neck
until your intonation is perfect. Repeat this
procedure for each string.
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