To close out this story, I received the guitar on 07/17/07 at 6:00 p.m. Eight weeks past the original due date of 05/22/07. I didn't have nearly the time I wanted to get to know the instrument before heading to Nashville, but life doesn't always go smoothly.

As expected, the guitar is wonderful! Used it in Nashville and have nothing but good things to say about it (as well as many compliments about it).

On the down side, customer service was not good at all. I still do not know what caused the 8-week delay other than the stock "we were running behind" answer. My guess is had I not started calling and emailing (and blogging) I would still be waiting on the guitar.

In the end, if you want a great guitar at a really good price, Carvin delivers. However, be prepared to deal with their customer service should anything happen with the order and/or you try to get information as to why the guitar is past due.