Alan Holdsworth Carvin Guitar - Any opinions?

Carvins are good guitars. For so, so many pre-Kiesel, pre-internet years they were a factory-direct catalog exclusive company that bought a lot of ads in guitar magazines to sell the brand. Great for guys who wanted a lot of bang for not a lot of money - their sans-retail-markup guitars back then cost approximately half of what a comp would cost in a brick and mortar storefront. Horrid for resale, however, in that they were priced cheap to begin with. Because of that pricing recipe, plus the absence of high profile well known artists on their roster (the masses will say "Allan who?"), Carvin never really commanded insane prices on the used or vintage market. Again, good for potential value-minded buyers like yourself.

Worth noting ... Carvin historically has loved figured exotic woods, ebony fingerboards and rock maple neck-thru or set-neck construction, which all combines as a recipe for instruments that are bright acoustically. Considering their factory OEM pickups tend to be lackluster at best, be ready to spend a little extra on that upgrade, which will enable you to tailor the plugged in sounds to taste.