THE CARVIN "ELITE SERIES 5 STRING BASS" DESIGNED BY JOHN FAISON BUILT BY CARVIN IN 2005 I ASKED THE CARVIN COMPANY TO BUILD A BASS FOR ME THAT THEY HAD NOT BUILT BEFORE. IT HAD TO BE UNIQUE FOR THEM AS I HAD CARVIN BASSES IN THE PAST, I WANTED SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I ASKED THE CARVIN CUSTOM SHOP IF THEY COULD BUILD ME A 5 STRING WITH A 5 PIECE BODY AND MATCHING HEADSTOCK. IT HAD TO BE BUILT WITH THE XB NECK OPTION ALSO. I WANTED IT TO HAVE A FULL QUILTED MAPLE TOP AND BACK WITH A WALNUT CORE SEPARATED BY A DARK LAMINATION IN BETWEEN THE MAPLE AND WALNUT LAYERS. THE HEADSTOCK HAD TO MATCH THE BODY AND I WANTED THE FULL ELECTRONIC PACKAGE WITH THE PIEZO BRIDGE. THEY ASKED IF THEY COULD EXPERIMENT ON MY BASS AS THEY WANTED TO TRY OUT A NEW PHENOLIC MATERIAL AND IT WAS USED AS THE DARK LAMINATION. THIS BASS BECAME THE FIRST "CARVIN ELITE MODEL" OF COURSE I DID NOT GET ANY CREDIT, BUT THE BASS THAT IS ON THEIR WEBSITE SHOWING THE "ELITE OPTION IS MY 5 STRING, EVEN THOUGH IT IS LISTED AS A 4 STRING MY 5 STRING WITH AN XB 35 1/4 INCH SCALE NECK OPTION WAS THE ONLY ONE AVAILABLE FOR PICTURES! THE ONE SHOWN HERE IS THE SECOND ONE THEY SENT ME WITH THE NEW ICON PICKUPS AND THE PIEZO BRIDGE. THIS ONE IS 34 INCH SCALE AND A KILLER BASS!! SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL IN PERSON AS EVERYONE ASKS ABOUT IT. CARVIN DOES NOT OFFER THE "ELITE" OPTION IN THEIR NEW CATALOGS AS THEY DID IN 2006 ONLY. THERE WERE ONLY A FEW MADE SO THIS WILL BE A CARVIN COLLECTIBLE. THIS ONE IS SOLD!!
Here is another beautiful Elite I now own and it is one of only a few ever made so I think I need to hold it as long as I can! This is a killer Carvin Elite 4 string bass that just shows how special the Elite Basses are! This is one of the most beautiful Basses you will ever see in person. The Quilted Maple is outragous!! It looks like its not even real, but it is!
