DC127&DC127T Electric Guitar

as featured in the July, 1997
Guitarist Magazine.

"I can't think of a single guitar of this quality, type and specification that represents better value for money."

To find US-made, high-quality high-spec electrics in the UK for around the £1000 mark is becoming increasingly rare. In fact, you could, by now, be forgiven for thinking it was an impossible dream. Carvin is a name that's been steadily growing in familiarity, while earning respect among those who've encountered its various products.

Although Carvin's wide range of guitars, basses, amps and PA equipment has been around for eight or nine years in the UK, it has never had any stability of distribution. West Coast Wire And Wood took over the UK marketing at the end of last year and they're in the process of re-launching the products. The Carvin company is well-established in the USA and was formed as long ago as 1946, so goodness only knows why it's taken so long to find success on these shores - particularly since quite a few of their guitars cost less than £1000. Even this particularly sumptuous model is only £1130.

Build Quality

There's little doubt that the first thing you'll notice is a half-inch thick, ruby-red, quilted maple top. Since PRS arrived in the UK over a decade ago and focused everyone's attention on the 'is it as good as a 10-top?' issue, I've grown increasingly frustrated with people who judge a whole guitar by the appearance of a slab of maple. That's fine if you want to look at it more than play it, or even store it in the hope that it becomes collectable and more valuable in days to come. But anyway, don't get me started on that, or I'll probably upset someone - not PRS, as they make superb guitars with or without 10-tops! These days, though, the fact is, when someone hands me a nice piece of maple with a guitar attached to it, I can sometimes be heard muttering, "Oh, nice investment". When the guitar has a lovely top, complex construction, great neck and superb build quality, all for £1130, I'm not so blasé.

How can Carvin achieve this at such a price, when others charge twice as much? I don't know. I'll just go over a few points with you. The neck is one piece of maple and is built straight through the body. It has a two-way adjustable truss rod and an ebony fingerboard. The sides of the body are made up of poplar 'wings' and then the aforementioned quilt cover is added. Now, it must be obvious, even to those with only a smattering of knowledge about guitar construction, that this is no easy way to build a guitar. Even with the benefit of modern CNC machines, on a relative scale, this construction method versus the bolt-on neck, is like comparing a flat-pack shelf unit with a Regency breakfront bookcase.

As aesthetically satisfying as it is, there are nevertheless a couple of points to bear in mind. This is a very strong neck and would survive most bangs and slithers with minimal damage - even simple fractures of the headstock are, in the right hands, easily repaired. But should you have an RTA (really terrible accident), and smash the neck badly, repairs will be extremely expensive because the whole guitar is built around the neck - effectively you have to buy a new guitar, less the cost of the salvaged parts.

Carvin's design is well-thought-out and beautifully executed. Notice the simple headstock, which gives both straight string pull, and a decent angle over the graphite nut to suit the Wilkinson tremolo. With Sperzel locking machineheads and the absence of string trees, you can safely rely on quick and easy string changes and stable tuning. The neck is dead straight, the fretting is immaculate, the back cavities are cleanly cut, the soldering is tidy and bright, the control cavity is fully screened, and its cover is attached with small, captive nuts and bolts. This is a guitar put together by people who really care about their products; they want the invisible bits to be perfect, just in case you look. I reckon that either the management accounts team are guitarists, or they're banned from the production areas!

A whole array of switches and two humbucking pickups, each laden with 24 polepieces, might suggest electronic overkill, but the system is, in fact, very simple to use, once you're familiar with the layout. The doubled-up polepieces are to prevent dropout as you bend strings (not that the majority of us ever notice a problem with normal pickups) and also to allow for type of string spacing at the bridge or tremolo system.

Master volume and master tone controls couldn't be simpler, so that leaves the four switches. The big black one is a standard three-way pickup selector, the two side-by-side mini-toggles are coil-splits, and the odd mini-toggle is a phase switch, and therefore only takes effect when the black toggle is in the centre position either both pickups in use. Of course, this operates in all four combinations of the two pickups, whether you're in split coil or humbucking modes. So that's... um... four plus four... er... plus two... plus two... take away the number you first thought of... twelve combinations in all. Believe me, it's much easier to use than to explain, and suffice to say there's a number of usable configurations.

The mini-switches point up (towards the middle of the guitar) for humbucking and in-phase modes. I'd turn them through 180 degrees if it was my guitar, so that everything was flat out and in-phase in the 'foot to the floor' position. I just find it more logical that was around. One final, small detail I like was the use of a three-point adjustment system for the pickup mounting. This enables precise adjustment of the coils for height and angle, so you can keep the pickup surface parallel with the strings. It also prevents the pickup moving if you rest your hands on the edge, or catch it with a pick - you may have come across similar mounts on Schaller and Yamaha pickups.

Playability

The DC127T has 24 frets, and access is completely unhindered because the 'straight-through' construction enables such deep recessing. The absence of a neck pocket for bolts, or a mortice and tenon means the flare (as the neck becomes body) doesn't even start until the 18th fret. The guitar was supplied with a near-perfect setup and was a real pleasure to play, straight from the moulded hardshell case. The neck has a C-profile, which is on the slimmer side of medium, and measures 20.5mm at the first fret and 23mm at the 15th.

The high fret access, narrow, high fretwire and fingerboard radius of 15 inches, make this an ideal guitar for modern, technique-driven rock, indeed, anyone with a fair bit of lead guitar work to do could have some serious fun. If you're just going to strum some chords, and you don't have good left-hand control over finger pressure and vibato, this may not be the most appropriate instrument for you. Those high frets will really show up any serious weaknesses in your technique.

Sound

Acoustically, you can hear that the Carvin has a thoroughly resonant quality - it even feels vibrant as you play. Before we go any further, I don't think this is necessarily due to the neck-through-body construction. Luthiers have argued about this subject for years, so at the risk of starting another, here's my case. Straight-through-necks cannot loosen and move laterally like a bolt-on, but I'm not a proponent of the idea that they have any distinct advantage over other fitting methods as far as sound goes. After all, the Fender Stratocaster has done very well with four (and sometimes three) bolts. Beck, Blackmore, Clapton, Sambora and Malmsteen never seem to have been short of sustain and tone. The set neck of a 335, SG or Les Paul also seems to work okay, and in my opinion a tight, well-made joint is the equal of a through-neck in every way. To my mind, what counts is mechanical integrity and high-quality woods.

The amplified sound of the DC127T is somewhat different in character, and it seems smooth almost to the point of being compressed. The humbuckers aren't unduly powerful, and have a mid-range dominance even in single-coil mode. The choice of resonant peaks enables the phase switch to work remarkably well. I usually decry true out-of-phase (not the same as a Strat) as they're weak, thin and nasal, but the voicing of the Carvin pickups seems to allow some more usable options.

Value For Money

I can't think of a single guitar of this quality, type and specification that represents better value for money.

If you forego the quilted maple top and settle for a plainer (but still translucent) finish, you'd only pay £905. For a standard opaque finish, the price would drop even further to £860. Carvin makes a range of about 20 guitars, basses and acoustic-electrics, and there are about 1,000 specification options in all. All guitars are made to order, so you could have different pickups, a Floyd Rose, or a hardtail if you'd prefer. The really good news is that if you're a left-hander, there's no additional cost.

Verdict

With the two glorious instruments I've had to review in this month's Guitarist, I find myself wallowing in an embarrassment of riches. Apart from the 'sound' and 'playability' which I feel may be a touch dark and 'rockish' for certain tastes, it's almost five out of five all-round for this very attractive guitar.

Frankly, I'm amazed at what Carvin has managed to provide here for relatively ordinary money. The DC127T is a beautifully constructed guitar, done with taste and an obvious passion for creating the finest musical instruments. Why this company has such a low profile in the music world, I'm at a loss to understand.

• Build Quality:
  5/5

• Playability:
  4/5

• Sound:
  4/5

• Value For Money:
  5/5

• Verdict:
  A memorable, high-quality guitar with a forgettable name and options galore at an extremely keen price.

- Martyn Booth, Guitarist Magazine

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