Reviewer Tim Skaggs
Manufacturer Carvin
Model BK5AF
Price 449.95

Neck Type Maple, one piece, bolt on
Fingerboard Ebony, Fretless
Body Type Alder
Finish unfinished!
Pickup(s) Two, Carvin, H50N stacked humbuckers, active "J" style.
Controls Master volume, pickup balance, bass, treble, midrange
The kit came (as a Christmas gift from my wife) ready to assemble, pre-drilled and all. Pickups, electronics, tuning keys, & rear bridge are exactly like the basses Carvin builds. Of course, the bolt on neck is not Carvin standard construction. (Although they do now offer a B4 & B5 bolt on neck model, which appears to be the kit assembled with your choice of finish). The neck and headstock accepted stain perfectly, the body did not. The body soaked up the stain at the "waist" and the curve peak at each horn and each bout. The top accepted stain adequately. I assume painting would work well.

The electronics are fine, but the stacked humbuckers don't have the "wah" I was looking for in a fretless. (I have since changed the rear pickup to a Seymour-Duncan stacked "J" style wired in "series". It helped greatly).

The allen wrench sent with the kit spun in some of the bridge saddle adjusting screws. The fingerboard seems to be wearing excessively for ebony. I had string tracks in about two weeks. The Carvin cust. svcs. said to lightly sand. This created a lot of dust for what should be a hard wood. The "D" note on the "G" string is a very, very bad dead spot. I do like the bass and own an LB75. I recommend spending the extra money and getting the Carvin built, neck through model.

Construction 80%
Playability 100%
Appearance 85%
Sound 70%
Value 80%
Cust. Service 70%
Overall 85%
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