In 1990 I ordered a Brand New Carvin X220C Guitar, from this company, I paid for options, that were not put on this guitar, things like a "Phase Switch" There were parts missing as well, one of the Strap buttons was not put on the guitar, nor was it included in the shipment. The Guitar was hap-hazardly placed in the guitar case, to the extent that the Tremolo arm was loose and allowed to bounce around the case, damaging the finish. Not only did the Finish get damaged, but the finish was NO Good, runs and bubbles in the paint, which allowed the paint to flake off, the second it was touched. I Immediately contact Carvin by phone, and they would not allow me to return the Guitar for a Warranty Repair, nor would they Refund the money for the missing parts and missing customization, that was NOT done at the factory. Not only would they not take care of a factory problem, I found out that I had been deliberately lied to and sent a plain jane off the assembly line guitar, I was lied to about having Active electronics installed (One of the Customizations I wanted) By being told the Body Cavity was too small. (all Carvin Body cavities at the time were EXACTLY the same size!) Recently I noticed on their web site a link where you could requst having your instrument refurbished, I clicked the link, and asked about having the guitar restored at MY EXPENSE. The Response I got from Izzy Lopez at Customer service, was "We're too busy doing custom Builds" Well that's what Izzy Lopez and one other Carvin Customer Service Rep, (I suspect it was Izzy, pretending to be someone else.) has been telling me for YEARS! My response to the "we're too busy with our Custom Builds." is this, "Mine was supposed to be a CUSTOM Build, I PAID FOR IT, and it WASN'T Done Right!" I have Battled with Carvin for 26 years over this guitar, over being not built correctly, their complete lack of Customer Service, and being RIPPED OFF by paying for Custom Features that I did not recieve.
Not Only has this Guitar been a Problem, but their Guitar amplifiers are noisy, and the last one I had every time you turned it up past 1/2 Volume it blew the fuses. (bought it from my Rythm Guitar player, he had only had the amp a month, and didn't like it.) after all of Carvin's B.S. Excuses I saw no point in trying to send it back for a Warranty Repair.
BUYER BEWARE! If you are not a Rock Star that is Endorsed by Kiesel/Carvin, don't count on ANY Warranty Service from them.
MikeCR72
Cypress,#2Consumer Comment
Tue, January 03, 2017
In response to your criticism, as a VERY long time customer with numerous custom instruments from this company, bought over the last thirty + years, I have not once had a similar experience! Only once has there been an defect and/or blemish on an instrument and once I contacted Carvin they immediately sent me a shipping return order, at their expense, completely rebuilt the guitar from scratch, and expedited it with overnight shipping. Every one has been perfect. I am not a "rock star" nor am I endorsed by them, so that couldn't be it! I am a professional musician, and have been for 38 years, guitar luthier, and collector and still have every guitar, but three, I've ever owned, Gibson's, Martin's, Taylor, Breedlove, Carvin, Collinsgs and many many more custom and factory, plus those I've constructed! I'm well known in the guitar community and am a contributor to many publications, as well as a guitar appraiser, so I believe I have an above average knowledge of instruments and manufacturers.