Gear Review: Carvin Guitars "Ultimate Soft Case"

Those of you who know me, already know that I really don't care for the old hardshell cases.  Soft-cases are far and away my preference.  As a result, I've owned several versions that are on the market today.  

While I've yet to find the "perfect one," I do have a few favorites: the Reunion Blues Continental, and the iGig G525.

Kiesel/Carvin have had their own model on the market for several years; known as the Ultimate Soft Case.  Now that I have a few months of real-world use on mine, I thought I'd share my thoughts here.

L: RB Continental. R: Carvin USC

To begin with, I really like the Carvin soft case.  Possibly the most notable characteristic of the Ultimate Soft Case (USC) is the relative slim size of the soft case.  Especially compared to the RB Continental.

Next, the second most notable feature of the case is the large "Carvin" label on the front.  The company is predominately Kiesel now, and on 19 September Jeff Kiesel will no longer refer to it as "Kiesel Guitars, Carvin Guitars."  So why the big Carvin logo on the case of a Kiesel bass?  Perhaps this will change as old Carvin stock is phased out for new, Kiesel branded items.  

Padded handles are similar between the two, with the Carvin (as it's branded) being significantly smaller than the RB, though far better than most soft-cases which are simply nylon straps.  

Please keep in mind that this is not intended to be a comparison of the two-- I am only using the RB as a point of reference as most bassists are familiar with the RB-- with no intention of declaring one better than the other...

Something that I'm not especially fond of is the limited end-pin protective padding at the bottom of the case.  Kiesel's large, standard endpins-- and more so the Dunlop strap locks-- really work their way into the padding after a month or so.  Granted, they have added a rectangular rubber foot to the outer portion of the cases bottom... which is better than nothing, but not as good as it could be.


I've chosen to deal with this by changing the standard Kiesel end-pin with a smaller, more strap-friendly G&L version that I had in my parts box.  Must say however, kudos to Kiesel for improving the quality of the screw used to secure their end-pin.  In days past it was a very small, flimsy little thing; now it's a screw slightly larger than that which accompanies the Dunlop strap locks, or G&L.

 Something that left me scratching my head is the placement of the nylon patch found on the lower interior, intended to protect the case from sharp portions of the instruments bridge.  It comes nowhere near the bridge.  Looking photos posted by others reveals the same thing-- it's useless for just about every instrument intended to fit this case.  To overcome this, I rest a polishing cloth over the bridge.  Doing so not only protects the case, but reminds me to wipe the bass down before stowing it. 

Protection for the headstock is excellent!  Not only is the neck supported by a pillow that also keeps the neck positioned properly, but there is an extra section of thick padding at the top, should the top of the case impact something when carried by its handle; something I've done on several occasions when my hands are full trying to squeeze past people congregating near a doorway.


Finally, the shoulder straps on the back can be secured nicely by tightening up the ends as well as a chest strap.  This makes the straps less likely to snag on something when loading/unloading, or when walking through crowded areas such as a subway station, or after a church service.

Overall, it's a great case.  Not perfect, but again I have yet to find that one.  Is it better than the G&G hard case?  Well, that's a matter of preference, but I believe it is far superior in most situations.  

That's not to say the G&G is a bad case-- it's among the best available for those who like hard cases.  Kiesel has updated them slightly as well; the old style raised metal logo historically fixed to the face of the case has been replaced by a Kiesel Guitars badge underneath the handle.  A classy touch.

The Ultimate Soft Case is going to be my choice for all future Kiesel builds, however that big, bold "Carvin" logo would keep me from buying one for a non-Kiesel basses.  That may be overly OCD of me, which is okay-- I've got several other soft cases to protect those basses.

For my review of the Vanquish bass that came with this case, check out the post, "Kiesel Guitars Vanquish V49K."

Stay tuned & in tune!