Bob Kovacs is an engineer and singer/guitarist. He can be reached at pvreditor@yahoo.com.
Second Opinion
by John Gatski
I agree with Mr. Kovacs that the C550 guitar we tested lacked the prominent bass of traditional dreadnaughts, and to my ears, the balanced openness of a dreadnaught. I believe the large bracing -- in combination with the thick, high-gloss finish -- reduces the bass and some of the openness.
In contrast, the identically designed, laminated mahogany back/sides, solid cedar top Cobalt C250S dreadnaught, which is coated in a thinner satin finish, had more bass and was more open sounding than the C550.
For $399, this guitar is a killer deal. Sure, it does not have solid wood sides or back, and the larger braces may not allow it to boom out like a vintage D-28. But the lack of a thick finish, combined with a great-sounding cedar top, make this guitar sound similar to an old vintage mahogany Guild with a tad less bass.
My test sample had a singing, warm, yet open, character that was good for many different playing styles. In a bluegrass setting with a loud Vega banjo, a seasoned player more than held his own strumming and picking the Carvin. (By the way, I enhanced the C250S' sonic characteristics by installing Martin SP bronze strings, which are my favorite acoustic strings).
In my opinion, the C250S is the best buy of the Cobalt dreadnaught line. I would like to see what this Korean factory could do with all-solid wood with satin finish versions.
Carvin has been making great value/performance, made-in-U.S.A guitars for many years. With the introduction of its Cobalt line of imports, the company now has applied its value formula to acoustic guitars.
Carvin offers eight different hand-built-in-Korea, Cobalt models, which mostly differ in woods and options: including cutaway versions and on-board electronics. All but one jumbo are dreadnaught-size.
The C550 model tested here has a list price of $999, but sells in the Carvin catalog for $499. The hard case is an extra $59.
Features
The Cobalt 550 has a premium, AA-grade, solid spruce top with some of the cleanest, tightest grain I have ever seen on a guitar. The two halves of the top are not book matched, but both lack any visible defects.
The guitar's sides and back are laminated rosewood, not solid -- a trend you see a lot in imported guitars from Yamaha, Takamine, Ibanez, Fender and others. The body of the guitar has a thick high-gloss finish, which makes it attractive and resistant to dings and scratches.
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C250S
The guitar's body is trimmed in ivory-colored binding, which also extends up the neck and around the headstock. There is tasteful trim, including an abalone ring around the sound hole. A vintage tortoise pickguard gives it that old style look.
Chrome Grover tuners adorn the headstock, and the rosewood bridge uses ebony pins to hold the strings in place. The saddle material is Tusq, a trademarked plastic that contributes to the enhanced treble and sustain.
The mahogany neck is topped with a rosewood fingerboard, and it contains 20 medium frets. The neck has a truss rod that is adjusted through the sound hole. Carvin supplies the Allen wrench needed for any truss rod adjustments.
The C550 utilizes the 25.4-inch scale, which is typical of dreadnoughts. The guitar comes with light gauge, Elixir NanoWeb strings. Carvin says that it does a precise set up and intonation for each of the Cobalt guitars.
The guitar is nicely built. Inside, I saw no excess glue or any significant construction defects. The Cobalt series has rather large braces; the top utilizes a traditional X-bracing pattern. Unlike many low-cost (and some high cost) acoustics these days, the Cobalt neck is glued-in by hand, the old fashion way. The guitar comes with a 5-year limited warranty.
The audition
The action -- which Carvin describes as 'Rapid Play low action' -- is just that. The C550 had ideal action for an acoustic guitar, and the intonation at all frets was dead on. The Grover tuners were smooth, and the entire guitar had the appearance and feel of a quality instrument.
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C550
, The guitar's setup was excellent. The neck was as fast as Carvin claims. I was able to proficiently play the opening lick to Van Morrison's 'Domino,' which takes some fast moving.
If you have read any of my other acoustic guitar reviews, you know that I like my instruments to sound bright and clean with good bass. I use an old Alverez Yari, which has a good balance of bass and treble. The Carvin C550, with the Elixir strings, is the first guitar that I've played that was too bright for my taste.
After using the Elixir strings for a while, I replaced them with a set of light-gauge Martin bronze strings. This did two things: it made the guitar more comfortable to play (something about the Elixir strings seemed to bite into my fingertips); and it reduced the guitar's high end just a bit. But the C550 still lacked tonal balance. In my opinion, the bass thinness is due to the heavy bracing -- and perhaps too much gloss finish which can smother a guitar's aural openness.
Like anything else about guitar construction, bracing has its consequences. Too little bracing and the top will eventually buckle. Beefing up the bracing makes the guitar more durable -- and this is a very good thing -- but it also means that the top has a higher resonance frequency and the guitar will make less bass.
To be fair, guitars of the same model can sound different, and we did not have another C550 to compare to this one. (Carvin did send us the C350 -- an all-mahogany, high-gloss model -- and the lightly satin finished, C250S, a solid cedar top/mahogany body; both the C350 and C250S had more bass than the C550).
The Carvin C550, with the bronze strings, is a good fingerpicking guitar, and it works pretty well with thicker picks. Both of these styles tended to mute the treble some and help tilt the sound toward the bass.
Also, the plus side of lean bass is that the guitar will record better than one with more bass; bass tends to be increased with close-microphone placement.
If you want to plug-in, electronics could easily be added to this guitar. However, Carvin sells several cutaway models in the Cobalt line that have electronic packages already installed. Summary
If you are into the crisp and lean acoustic sound, the Carvin C550 is your guitar. It is a quality, affordable, durable, good-looking, solid top acoustic guitar that is easy to play.
If you are into the traditional Martin or Guild sound, however, there are other choices that will give you more bass, while retaining the treble. Keep in mind that these choices will almost certainly cost a lot more than the Carvin C550.
For more information about Carvin guitars, contact Carvin at 858-487-1600; or visit the web site at www.carvin.com
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