Haven’t posted in a bit so thought I’d show off my new guitar. I bought this used as I’ve always loved this body shape - to me it’s a cross between a strat and a tele. a strat in the sense that it’s a double cut, but a tele in the real slab board body shape. with that being said, something about the hips on it being relatively narrow and there being fairly good access to the 24th fret make it unbelievably playable.
Electronics setup on the guitar is fairly similar to another carvin I have, but I’m not entirely pleased with these pickups. It’s wired up with some knockoff Dimarzio super 2’s in the bridge and middle and a knockoff dimarzio hs2 in the neck. coil taps on the bridge and middle are nice to have as well. that all is running through a “transwarp” preamp which i am also not in love with, but it sounds fine for now. the on board effects loop (obel) is currently wired backwards so will have to dive in there on a rainy day and fix that first.
while i could find other guitars that had this body shape, what really drew me to this one was the reviews i’d read on the neck, and how great the shape is and the detail and accuracy on the inlays. while this guitar is a knockoff of Jerry Garcia’s wolf guitar, it obviously is not as ornate, but the inlays were a must for me. i’ve heard rumors that on the original, doug irwin designed the inlays to be like banjo inlays to bring jerry garcia back to his banjo playing days (ahhh the joys of a custom instrument) this guitar only features a plain grained maple top as opposed to the 5a quilted top on the original, and the neck is quartersawn maple as opposed to flamed maple. walnut around the guitar would be purpleheart on the original, but ultimately this guitar costs a few thousand dollars less than a custom made instrument and still is high quality out of korea. with all of that being said, the neck feels great, and the brass nut is a brilliant feature. probably one of the best guitars i’ve played.
I don’t love that eastwood included the logo of Doug Irwin on the headstock as that seems like it crosses the line of inspiration and falls into straight rip off territory, i do love the finish on the headstock. the walnut veneer there really does pop, and the eagle definitely does help point it out.
the final detail i love about this instrument is the body which is made in the “hippie sandwich” style and includes 11 plys of wood, alternating between maple and walnut. it’s a heavy instrument, don’t get me wrong but it sustains for days, and actually balances fairly well on the lap and with a strap as well.
most guitars i purchase i end up modifying to some extent, this one will likely be no different. I am thinking about swapping the pickups out for some alnico 3 single coils, and changing all of the pots to military spec parts, and swapping the preamp for an alembic stratoblaster. this would take the guitar into the 1974 Jerry Garcia wiring zone, albeit i would love to include the effects loop still (not akin to 1974, but rather 1977).
All in all, it’s a truly awesome instrument, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to purchase a versatile guitar with a beautiful neck through construction. Jerry Garcia may be known for his clean tones, but that man knew how to shred and his guitars were the ultimate shredder guitars.
