CARVIN
BRIAN BROMBERG
B24P SIGNATURE
BY JORDAN WAGNER
Few bassists have had as wide-ranging a career as Brian Bromberg. Since his big
break at age 19 when he joined saxophonist
Stan Getz’s quintet, Bromberg has played
with some of the biggest names in music,
including Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock,
and Bill Evans. When Bromberg partnered
with San Diego’s Carvin Guitars to craft a
new signature model bass, he set out to create
an instrument that could provide the refined
versatility he’s known for. The new B24P bass
is one of the two models resulting from this
partnership (there’s also a 5-string version of
the Bromberg bass), and it’s one hell of a tool
for dishing out low-end rumble.
Caress the Detail, the Divine Detail
The B24P is the very definition of sleek.
Weighing in at only 8. 8 pounds, Carvin’s
neck-through machine is quite catch-
ing to the eye, and highly contoured for
comfortable playing. Every aspect of the
instrument—from the neck profile to
the upper bout of the body—shows that
Carvin and Bromberg put just as much
thought into the shape as they did to the
hardware and electronics. I found the
shape and contours of the body to be
extremely comfortable, and the B24P sat
perfectly against me whether I was stand-
ing up or sitting down.
The B24P’s 34"-scale neck has a beautifully sculpted heel at the body—one that
offered absolutely no resistance to my fretting hand when I reached for higher frets.
A 12"-radius ebony fretboard tops the neck
and boasts Bromberg’s super-classy abalone
inlay at the 12th fret. In the same style and
color scheme as the body, the headstock is
capped with a flamed-maple finish. Props
should be given to Carvin and Bromberg
for keeping a keen eye on the visual aesthetics of this bass, as they could have gone
overboard with inlay work and binding.
The bass offers a great balance of flair and
classy reservation.
The B24P is loaded with a pair of
Carvin’s new RJ2 alnico, single-coil pickups, which are radiused to match the
fretboard. Carvin claims this helps the
Hipshot piezo-equipped bridge
AAAA-classified,
flamed-maple top
Carvin RJ2 alnico,
single-coil pickups
