As for controls, there’s a group of four knobs at the lower bout (a rather snazzy single f-hole occupies the space north of the strings), and houses a single volume control, a treble cut/boost knob with a neutral detent in the middle, and a bass knob that does the same for the lower frequencies. We set up the electric signal through an old Vibrolux Reverb and placed the acoustic signal into Yamaha nearfield monitors powered by a Peavey power amp (the side of the guitar has two, rather than the usual single, mono inch outputs, one for each use). When amplified, using the Carvin was easy as pie. Adding to the pleasure of playing the 185 was its extremely manageable weight (a bit less than six pounds) and the intuitive feel of the controls – very familiar to anyone who loves a Les Paul. The intonation was right on, assisted by a carved saddle, and before ever plugging this baby in, we had a feeling it was a winner. The AE-185 has the feel of a well-worn Les Paul Junior, with a perfect fretting job, no raw edges, and an ebony board that is resonant and a pleasure to play. Starting with workmanship and materials, Carvin has surpassed itself again in bringing this guitar to the marketplace.
The mix and variety available through the blend knob provide more possible sounds than most people can get out of three guitars. Now standard on this model is a mahogany neck-through body construction a 25-inch scale ebony neck, locking Sperzels, and the combination of a standard Les Paul-type pickup and switching system (standard 3-way switch) and the added flexibility of a belly-bridge housing a high-quality transducer yielding a realistic and very sweet acoustic guitar sound.
The options loaded onto our test axe included a flamed maple top (the wood quality was terrific), multi-layered tortoise body binding, and open-type, cream humbucking pickups.
These are the guitars that I keep seeing onstage from Will Ray’s chicken pluckin’ to Danny “Elfman of Oingo Boingo, but had not (as yet) been able to personally play. Our movable feast of musical gear begins this month with an offering from the folks as California’s Carvin Musical Instruments: the semi-hollow, acoustic-electric, 6-string guitar designated AE-185.
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