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Anyone who has ever studied a Carvin catalog dreaming of a Custom Shop guitar has their work cut out for
them. With the myriad of options available of colors, woods, hardware, etc., it can be quite a task to decide on how that
special guitar will look, sound, and feel. Over the years I have written down and conceived at least a hundred different versions
of what my new Carvin Custom Shop guitar would be. It has been since 1991 since I bought a brand new Carvin guitar made just
for me, and now finally it has arrived!
Another Carvin BBS member, Nightrain, is a OTR truck driver who stopped by my town one icy weekend in January. Nightrain
had brought along his Carvin TXB-finished Bolt and allowed me to play it through my Carvin amps for over 10 hours that weekend,
and I knew then and there that my next Carvin Custom Shop guitar would be a Bolt. I was able to hear, see, and get a feel
for some of the features that I wanted on my new Carvin guitar. Without further ado, here they are:
Bolt w/FT6 bridge
Translucent Emerald Green
Birdseye maple fretboard
Abalone dot inlays
Headstock
color to match body
Gold plated CARVIN logo
Gold hardware
Dome knob replacement to gold knobs
C22B at bridge
Cream
pickups
Black pearloid pickguard
Sperzels
Straplocks
Engraved truss rod cover: CAROLYN
10-46 Nickel strings
tuned/intonated to E flat
...and an HC11 hardshell case!
This guitar is a stunning instrument all the way around. It is intended to provide closer sonic references
(but, NO clones here, folks!) to the Fender Stratocaster than my other five 24-fret neck-thru Carvins, but will undoubtedly
kick the ass of any Strat that gets in its way!
My salespeople at Carvin (who were infinitely helpful in putting together my list of options, all of which
are available in the most recent 2005 catalog) told me it would be completed in six weeks, and they were very close--it took
7 weeks. It was definitely worth the wait.
NOTE: The only modification to the Mean Emerald Green BundyBolt is the change of the 5-way pickup selector switch from
black to creme, intended to better match the pickups (see below). Not all photos may reflect this mod.
The tones available from this guitar are fantastic, just completely sonically overwhelming. The action and playability is
flawless, and the workmanship and quality is absolutely perfect. The Carvin Custom Shop did a superb job all the way around
and the attention to detail is evident and unrivaled.
I've had the chance to stage-test this guitar at three separate gigs during Memorial Day weekend of 2005. This
guitar is the most versatile instrument I've ever played, and I think I put it to good use during its trial debut. This Bolt
delivers ass-kicking sonic mayhem at its best!
Please click on the banner below to see more of Bundy's Carvin guitars at the Carvin Museum in the Private
Collections section!
If by now I have you interested in a Carvin Custom Shop guitar, go to http://www.Carvin.com and by all means check out the entire line of Carvin guitars and custom options available!
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