Recorded direct into Focusrite Saffire 6 interface into MacBook Pro using GarageBand.
Clip 1: Both pickups engaged. Flat EQ.
Clip 2: Slap riff with neck pickup soloed. Slight bass and treble boost.
RatingsPros:A value-rich instrument for bassists of all sizes. Solid P-style tone, great playability, and awesome looks. Cons: Our test bass had fret issues. J-style pickup lacks characteristic bark. Street: $299 Ibanez SRMD200 Mezzo ibanez.com | Tones:  Playability:  Build/Design: Value: |
Mellow Fellowship
The most immediately striking qualities of the Fellowship are its sleek lines, lustrous satin-black finish, reverse headstock, and pretty bound-and-blocked fretboard. The bass’s Art Deco elegance is immediately appealing. Even the single P-style pickup’s blade magnets reinforce the sophisticated aesthetic.
The Fellowship takes a unique approach to the conventional P-bass-style electronics layout. The blade-shaped magnets improve the pickup’s off-axis response, and the concentric tone/volume knob situates the frequently used tone control for immediate access.
The body and neck also take a left-of-center approach, at least as compared to a P. As on all Reverend basses, the Fellowship’s body is made from korina, a tonewood frequently associated with Gibson’s late-’50s Flying V and Explorer. Known for its balanced frequency response, clarity, and sustain, korina is also appealing for its light weight, as the Fellowship demonstrates. The instrument’s top is thicker along the center, abutted by two thinner wings. Reverend claims this design puts the body’s mass where it needs to be—in line with the pickups and bridge—while allowing the thinner wings to resonate more freely for increased sustain and harmonics. The Fellowship’s set neck also improves resonance. It’s a 5-piece design, with alternating laminates of korina and walnut.
The Fellowship hard-core hardware contributes mass to the bass’s sonically influential parts. The lock-down bridge’s Allen bolts secure the saddles to the hefty bridge plate so that the string-contact points at the saddle work in unison with the bridge plate to improve clarity and attack. Players have the option of stringing the bass through the body. The heavy-duty tuners match the bridge’s beefiness. They turn smoothly, look well-finished, and feature 1/2"-diameter posts.
Ratings
Pros:
Gorgeously austere aesthetic, beefy build, fat and versatile P-like tone.
Cons:
Heavy headstock makes neck dive a bit.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$1,199
Company
reverendguitars.com
Reverend Feelgood
The bass felt comfortable strapped or in my lap. Its subtle contours conformed to my body, and the sleek, satin-finished neck is fast and well shaped. The set neck provides easy access to the upper registers. The bass is a little neck heavy, perhaps due to the body’s light weight and the massive tuners. But otherwise the bass feels fantastic, with comfortable string spacing and just-right low action.
I played the Fellowship live through several amps, including a TecAmp Puma 1000 and a Demeter HBP1-800D with Epifani and Bergantino cabinets. At home, I tracked a few overdubs with a Tube Tech MEC 1A and a Universal Audio LA-610.
Given the Fellowship’s P-style pickup and electronics, it’s not blessed with a huge variety of tones. But that’s clearly not the instrument’s purpose. It does offer a big and immediately beguiling Precision-like thump. It’s capable of pillowy fatness, especially with the tone rolled off, but manages to retain definition, string-to-string clarity, and presence.
With the tone knob all the way up, the Fellowship has impressive high-frequency response for a P-style bass. Rather than wallop the room with the usual midrange thonk of a P, the Fellowship provides a more balanced and subtle response. Massive lows are ever-present, but a genuinely airy and crisp high end is there when needed, lending definition to pops, Paul Jackson-style vibrato, and up-tempo fingerstyle work. But the Fellowship is pure meat-and-potatoes when played palm-muted and with the tone rolled off.
The Verdict
Ndegeocello’s signature bass looks fantastic, brims with style, plays smoothly, and pours forth a fat-but-articulate tone that works well in most settings. Any sonic limitation are consequences of the P-style design in general, and by P-style standards, the Fellowship is remarkably versatile. Players in the market for a P-style bass that stands out visually and sonically should include the Fellowship in their search.
Before we get to into the build of the PB4, we must first talk about the, well, build of the PB4. Carvin has a downright dizzying array of options for anyone wanting a bass (or guitar) that differs from a stock model. Pretty much everything can be customized on the PB4, though we requested a close-to-stock version for review. Carvin makes it easy to build the bass of your liking with a just a few clicks. If there’s anything you don’t like about a stock instrument—finish, electronics, body wood, inlays, whatever—chances are there’s an option that can make you a happy player.
Our review model has an of alder body (standard), and is outfitted with an optional P/J passive-pickup configuration utilizing two volume controls and one tone control. It should be noted that Carvin recently switched the standard control configuration on their two-pickup PB basses to master volume and blend dials instead of separate volumes. Separate volumes will now be available as an option.
Although the body shape is familiar, the PB4 felt less chunky and a bit more refined than a standard P. Some may miss that sense of mass and attitude, and some may not.
The 34"-scale bass has 20 medium-jumbo frets and a thin, almost Jazz-like neck constructed of Eastern hard-rock maple and topped with a rosewood fretboard. The 4-bolt neck, finished in tung oil, feels lightning-fast, and the string spacing is comfortable for fingers, picks, and thumbs. All joints are clean and finished, and the frets are perfect. There isn’t a gap anywhere on this bass. It was very apparent that even this “stock” model was constructed with care and excellent quality control.
Unplugged, the PB4’s sustain is remarkable (no doubt aided by the string-through design). The light yet balanced 8 ¼-pound instrument is definitely a candidate for a three-set bass.
Passive/Aggressive
I ran the PB4 through a Warwick CCL with the EQ flat. I started out soloing the SPC P-style pickup with the PB4’s volume turned all the way up and the tone control about halfway up. The PB4 hit me with a smooth, even tone that leaned toward vintage warmth. While the tone wasn’t quite as earth-shattering as a vintage P’s, the pickup sounded really good at this setting.
I rolled the tone knob all the way up, adding a touch of modern “point" to the sound, yet the result wasn’t overbearing. This slightly more aggressive setting is ready for a plectrum or thumb. Runs above the 12th fret remained even and full, and I probably could have played all day using just this pickup.
Next I dialed out the neck pickup and cranked the bridge pickup. With the tone knob all the way down, it’s a rather wet-blanket sound, but pushing the pot to the halfway point tightened things up and offered fingerstyle pep. However, the bridge pickup tone was not necessarily my favorite. For me, the single J-style pup is a spice for the soup, not the meat.
Ratings
Pros:
Well made. Excellent sustain. Nice tones. Many build options.
Cons:
Design felt a bit too light. Mail-order wait time not for everyone.
Tones:
Playability:
Build/Design:
Value:
Street:
$848
Carvin PB4
carvin.com
The bass opens up considerably when the pickups are used in tandem—so much so that it’s hard at times to believe that the PB4’s pickups are passive. They have all the characteristics of their 9-volt-sucking cousins, without all that battery cavity baggage. By maxing the three dials, I got to another tonal high with a great sound that balanced low-frequency warmth and high-end snap.
As I continued playing, I found myself switching the bridge pickup on and off. I liked having the flexibility of the bridge pickup, but with a small reservation: When combined with the split-coil, the volume control for the bridge pickup seemed almost like an on/off switch rather than a level control. If you want to truly tailor your tone with the bridge pickup, you may have a hard time here. The upside is that the bass sounds really good with the bridge pickup on or off, and at just a slight factory upcharge for the P/J configuration, you might enjoy the added tonal options. Also, with Carvin changing the standard setup to include master volume and pickup blend controls instead of separate volumes, dialing in a blended tone should be much easier.
The Verdict
Carvin’s PB4 is a nice take on a classic design. I was impressed by its sustain and the output of the pickups, which made me wonder how an active set would sound. The combination of a thin neck with a light body left me wanting a bit more mass, though that could just be my personal preference. The upside is that smaller-framed players and those with smaller hands are likely to dig this bass a lot.
Carvin is a great place to turn for an alternative to the usual bass suspects, and their new PB4 certainly merits consideration. The street price is budget-friendly, though tacking on custom appointments can really add up. The mail-order scenario might not be for everybody, but Carvin provides a 10-day trial period to determine if the bass you ordered is for you. My guess: You’ll probably keep it.
Watch the Review Demo: