The вЂ™78 catalog listed only one bass, the CB100 вЂ“ an un-Fender-like single-cut with a two-tuners-per-side headstock and the new M22B pickups. While the LB70 was a respectable instrument, the writing was on the wall for Carvin bolt-neck basses. Curiously, this incongruity is not mentioned in the catalog.The presence of two input jacks tags the LB70SB as a stereo instrument, but the wiring of the inputs was similar to RickenbackerвЂ™s вЂњRic-O-SoundвЂќ configuration plugging into one jack with a regular cord allows both pickups to be utilized in mono.В In the catalog, the LB70 listed with a manufacturer-direct price of $259. Because of their plethora of knobs and switches, the SB and SC have individual Volume controls, and a master Tone.

They also used three mini-toggles consisting of two coil-splitters (one of each pickup) and a phase switch. The controls on the stereo-wired LB70SB and LB70SC were more complex the three-way toggle was still there, but a bit further up the pickguard. The input jack was also on the top of the pickguard. One electronic option was dual-coil to single-coil switching. The intonatable bridgeвЂ™s plate and saddles were made of brass note the close proximity of the treble pickup to the bridge, which was unusual at the time.В The LB70B had Gibson-like controls вЂ“ Volume and Tone for each pickup, a three-way pickup toggle, and a phase switch. The headstocks on all sported Schaller M4SL tuning machines.The LB70 was initially given CarvinвЂ™s open-coil APH-4N humbucking pickups, but in вЂ™77 they were dressed up with chrome covers and a given new designation вЂ“ APH-8. The body had a laminated black-celluloid pickguard (also HГ¶fner-made) and a вЂњhand-rubbed, durable polyester finishвЂќ that came in black only on the standard version, but in two finishes for the stereo version вЂ“ black (LB70SB) or clear (LB70SC). According to catalog text, the neck measured вЂњвЂ¦1 9/16вЂі wide at the nut, 2 3/8вЂі wide at heel, 7/8вЂі thick at fifth fretвЂ¦вЂќ Its maple body was made by Carvin and measured 12 1/2вЂі inches wide by 15/8вЂі deep. Its overall length was 45 3/4вЂі, and the вЂ™77 catalog touted its weight at 10 1/2 pounds.Its HГ¶fner-made neck was maple with a bound rosewood fretboard, mother-of-pearl dot markers, and an adjustable truss rod. From the early вЂ™60s through the late вЂ™70s, it used bodies and necks made by HГ¶fner, the German instrument maker.CarvinвЂ™s early basses were short-scale instruments, and the LB70 (introduced in вЂ™76) was the companyвЂ™s first with a 34вЂі scale (its prefix denotes вЂњlong bassвЂќ). Known for its direct-to-customer marketing of made-to-order instruments, the company originally made pickups and lap steels, then delved into Spanish-style electric guitars in the mid вЂ™50s. And while the 1977 LB70 featured this month was a production bass, it was still unique.Д¬arvin was founded in the mid вЂ™40s by musician Lowell Kiesel (1915-2009). When a Carvin instrument has been featured in this space over the years, it was a either a doubleneck or an unusual custom instrument.

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