First Impressions Of My Carvin Cobalt 850T

First impressions are a big deal and Carvin certainly made an amazing first impression. When I took the instrument case out of the shipping container I was blown away by the case. I was expecting a plastic, SKB type, case. It was a very high end, faux leather, brown case with gold hardware and a very nice Carvin badge riveted to the side. The guitar inside really surprised me as well. Just yesterday, in fact, I was at Guitar Center looking at some Taylor and Gibson acoustics that don't look as nice as this Carvin looks. Nor did they play as well. The tone is very warm and round... just like I like it to be. This guitar plays and sounds better than my nephews Taylor 614CE. A guitar that is about 4 times the cost of my Cobalt 850T.

I haven't had a chance, yet, to try out the Fishman electronics. That will have to be a separate review. I've only had the instrument for about an hour now and am very impressed by everything so far. The finish is awesome. I haven't been able to find one flaw yet... I'm still looking. There's always a flaw... somewhere. The body is a high gloss finish, with binding on the front and back, while the bound neck has an awesome satin finish to it. It's very silky feeling and makes moving up and down the neck almost effortless as there is very little resistance. The abalone purfling around the sound hole, in the logo on the headstock, and in the strip on the back of the body are perfect (upon further inspection, this is strip is not abalone. I'm not sure what it is.), so far as I can tell. Nothing stands out at first look.

First impressions... Carvin certainly has this part down to a science.