Carvin BX1500 : First Impressions

jnewmark · #1 09-27-2011, 06:44 AM

After trying out many of the 5 lb, 500 watt bass heads, this amp was always in the back of my mind as something I would love to try. I've been pretty much of a pre/power rig guy for the better part of 20 years, and the BX1500 is pretty close to being just that : a dual mono power amp with a very versatile preamp.

First off, a couple of caveats. You must rack this amp as it comes with built in rack ears, and it does'nt weigh in at 5 lbs, but closer to 11 lbs. Eventually, if I like the amp, I will get a shallow rack for it, but for now, it fits in a Gator small keyboard bag.

I won't go into all the bells and whistles; suffice it to say it has just about everything you could want on a bass amp, including the ability to go to 2 ohms and bi-amp. I set it up for bridge mode into a GB Neox 212T, para eq off, graphic eq on. I turned the 50 hz slider off, but gave a slight bump to all the frequencies, getting more of a bump as you go up. Compressor off, Drive at about noon, Master at noon, and Amp 1 volume at about 9 o'clock. Passive , 4 string MIA , '96 Jazz.

Wow ! Absolutely, clean, powerful sound, not muddy or bottom heavy, with a very nice crisp, but not ear splitting top end. My Jazz bass sounded wonderful, clear, ringing notes from E string all the way up to the octave on the G string. I like the graphic eq on this amp better than the para, which seems to need more knob twiddling, and experimenting with to my tastes. The on board compressor is very sensitive, only a tweak is necessary to get the red light to come on. I left the Bass, Treble controls at zero. The only other amp that sounded good right out of the box, was the MB F1 which I liked, but wanted more power. Of course, the proof is on the gig, which, unfortunetly, won't be for awhile yet because the next two gigs have backline provided, but, if it is anything at all like what I am hearing in my music room, it will definitely be a keeper.

MyMusic · #2 09-27-2011, 07:05 AM

Congratulations on your new amp. I liked my BX500 so much that I just bought a BX1500 used. Both are really great and I have no complaints so far.

jnewmark · #3 09-27-2011, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MyMusic

Congratulations on your new amp. I liked my BX500 so much that I just bought a BX1500 used. Both are really great and I have no complaints so far.

Thanks. I actually owned two BX500's, both were brand new and both had issues ( first run batch ). While they worked, I really dug the graphic eq, and was hoping the BX1500 would have the same. Funny, I never liked graphics before, but this one seems so musical, much more than the para on this amp. I will have to spend more time with the BX1500, especially A/B 'ing it with my pre/power rig ( Ashly SC-40/QSC PLX1202 ). I am actually toying with the idea of racking the Ashly with the BX1500. It would lighten my load by 11 lbs, and I could use the Ashly as the preamp into the BX1500's power amp, for a very easy A/B comparison. I also have a Carvin LS1503 which can be bi-amped. Might be fun to try that scenario ! Endless choices with this amp.

Bassman7PM · #4 09-27-2011, 08:12 AM

I have the B1500 which is simply amazing and I use it as my main amp at church. I turned around and bought the BX1200 and initially did not not like it compared to the B1500. However after giging the whole summer doing outdoor festivals, the BX1200 is my heart paired witt an Avatar 212/210 combo. Great stuff Carvin.

jeff7bass · #5 09-27-2011, 09:32 AM

I have a BX1200 with the chrome knobs and corners and the heavy vinyl covering. Great amp. I run in bi-amp mode since I have a 112LF cab (deep cab, no tweeter) and a 12”, 3-way cab.
The active crossover really works well with these cabs. Pure tone. I like the DRIVE at 12:00 and the COMP at 9:00. CROSSOVER also at 9:00. Bridge mode (at 4 ohms) really pumps up the volume but I don’t need that much, plus I don’t want to harm the speakers.

jnewmark · #6 09-27-2011, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff7bass

I have a BX1200 with the chrome knobs and corners and the heavy vinyl covering. Great amp. I run in bi-amp mode since I have a 112LF cab (deep cab, no tweeter) and a 12”, 3-way cab.
The active crossover really works well with these cabs. Pure tone. I like the DRIVE at 12:00 and the COMP at 9:00. CROSSOVER also at 9:00. Bridge mode (at 4 ohms) really pumps up the volume but I don’t need that much, plus I don’t want to harm the speakers.

Sometime down the road, I would like to try bi amping. How did you arrive at your crossover point ?

MontanaBassDude · #7 09-27-2011, 10:40 AM

You're asking "First impressions?" Just the name Carvin had me turned off, because I'd had some ungood experience with their Customer Service six years ago. I was done with them.

Last Fall, I desperately needed more power (200w Ampeg B2R). Whilst shopping around, I discovered - IN GENERAL - bass amps are about $1 per watt... and $1500 was completely out of my league.
I begrudgingly checked out Carvin again, especially their Customer Service, and it has become an eye opener. They've really turned the service around. It's USA made, and it sold me.
A year later, I worship my BX1500. Zero problems - I've played hot days in the sun, bridged at 4 ohms... or bi-amped in clubs, (one stage only had 108 volts!) and it's never faltered even once. Plus it was 33 Cents per watt.
I'm lousy at describing bass tones, but now my bass really lays it out there, and I can be heard.
And that's cheap cabs... just wait til my fEARfuls are done!

jeff7bass · #8 09-27-2011, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnewmark

Sometime down the road, I would like to try bi amping. How did you arrive at your crossover point ?

That’s what’s so cool about the CROSSOVER knob, you just turn it until you get the sound you like. It’s very noticeable. My sub carries the bulk of the lows and my 3-way really sings. I do some taming of the mids and highs with the 3-way’s attenuator’s.

BassmanPaul · #9 09-27-2011, 11:09 AM

I like my BX1500 but truthfully was very turned off by the one year warranty. I've owned/own a ton of Carvin stuff, most with three year warranties, that have never given me any trouble. The BX1500 tuner out and FX loop fades in and out. I don't use the features but decided to get the thing fixed only to find the warranty had expired. I'm disappointed in Carvin over this. One year is just not sufficient for a quality manufacturer.

rpsands · #10 09-27-2011, 11:13 AM

The power amps have a 3-year

My suggestion would be to get Squaretrade warranties on any Carvin stuff you get if you need a longer warranty. Very affordable.

jeff7bass · #11 09-27-2011, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MontanaBassDude

You're asking "First impressions?" Just the name Carvin had me turned off, because I'd had some ungood experience with their Customer Service six years ago. I was done with them.

Last Fall, I desperately needed more power (200w Ampeg B2R). Whilst shopping around, I discovered - IN GENERAL - bass amps are about $1 per watt... and $1500 was completely out of my league.
I begrudgingly checked out Carvin again, especially their Customer Service, and it has become an eye opener. They've really turned the service around. It's USA made, and it sold me.
A year later, I worship my BX1500. Zero problems - I've played hot days in the sun, bridged at 4 ohms... or bi-amped in clubs, (one stage only had 108 volts!) and it's never faltered even once. Plus it was 33 Cents per watt.
I'm lousy at describing bass tones, but now my bass really lays it out there, and I can be heard.
And that's cheap cabs... just wait til my fEARfuls are done!

I really believe the customer service improvements are directly related to a dedication to higher quality products. Less issues = less calls = better service = everybody happy. They did rush out the BX500 though, and since they were flying off the shelves there was a high incidence of problems (as documented here at TB). The B1500 amp was a breakthrough for them in terms of quality and performance. Out of all the Carvin products I ever bought, only one needed fixing (minor rattle under warranty) and they fixed it FAST. Faster than the authorized repair shop by me (GC products). All is not perfect however, they do charge too much for out-of-warranty repair work. It should be a flat 75 dollar rate to diagnose a problem, then add for parts and labor from there.

jnewmark · #12 09-27-2011, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpsands

The power amps have a 3-year

My suggestion would be to get Squaretrade warranties on any Carvin stuff you get if you need a longer warranty. Very affordable.

Depends. I got my Bx1500 on Ebay , in the Carvin store. Square Trade says that's " an Ebay category that we do not cover".

lo-freq · #13 09-27-2011, 12:24 PM

I'd love to try one of these out (running bridged) with my EA CX-310.

Ric_thumb60659 · #14 12-19-2011, 07:33 PM

So i got a BX1500 about a two three months about and it has been awesome great tone and loud, but today when i was playing when i first turned on the amp the volume faded in and out a bit and stopped after a minute or two but then i realized that when i touch any thing on the graphic EQ it cuts the whole amp out.....even with it switched off! any one know why this would happen or what to do. Did something vibrate loose? or is it carvins error in wiring or what ever? HELP!!

jnewmark · #15 12-19-2011, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ric_thumb60659

So i got a BX1500 about a two three months about and it has been awesome great tone and loud, but today when i was playing when i first turned on the amp the volume faded in and out a bit and stopped after a minute or two but then i realized that when i touch any thing on the graphic EQ it cuts the whole amp out.....even with it switched off! any one know why this would happen or what to do. Did something vibrate loose? or is it carvins error in wiring or what ever? HELP!!

Sounds like something got loose. If it's just a couple months old, then it is still under warranty. Give Carvin's CS a call.

5port · #16 12-24-2011, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ric_thumb60659

So i got a BX1500 about a two three months about and it has been awesome great tone and loud, but today when i was playing when i first turned on the amp the volume faded in and out a bit and stopped after a minute or two but then i realized that when i touch any thing on the graphic EQ it cuts the whole amp out.....even with it switched off! any one know why this would happen or what to do. Did something vibrate loose? or is it carvins error in wiring or what ever? HELP!!

Whatever happened with this Ric? Was it resolved under warranty? Ever find out what it was?

jnewmark · #17 12-24-2011, 07:45 AM

Just wanted to update a little, since I'm the OP. Still digging the BX1500 to the point where I'm no longer using the pre/power rig anymore ( amp is for sale in the classifieds, QSC PLX 1202

). The only issue I have found so far is a noisy DI. Since I use a Radial J48 anyway, it's not really an issue, and imho, not worth the bother to send back to Carvin. I will soon be A/B'ing it with a MarkBass SD1200, which are going for ridiculous prices at GC and Music123, ( around $600 ). Just could'nt turn that deal down ! Other than that, The BX1500 is definitely a keeper, and , unless the SD1200 really blows me away ( I'm hoping for a louder F1 ), it will be my main amp for years to come, hopefully !

5port · #18 12-24-2011, 08:22 AM

Thanks for the update. I havent used the DI yet. I hope they aren't all noisy. Last night for a change up I bought the MB200 to practice with a 1X15. When the guitarist asked "so whats this"? I said I want to try an experiment. He then replied "I dont expect it to sound as good as your BX1500". He was right.

jnewmark · #19 12-24-2011, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5port

Thanks for the update. I havent used the DI yet. I hope they aren't all noisy. Last night for a change up I bought the MB200 to practice with a 1X15. When the guitarist asked "so whats this"? I said I want to try an experiment. He then replied "I dont expect it to sound as good as your BX1500". He was right.

I also own the MB200, and mainly use it as an emergency backup head, and a headphone amp, hooked to my computer to learn new songs. I did have to use it on a gig once, and, it did save my butt, however, it certainly is not even close to the Carvin, tonewise. Pretty loud though for a 200 watt amp !

Ric_thumb60659 · #20 12-29-2011, 09:15 PM

Whatever happened with this Ric? Was it resolved under warranty? Ever find out what it was?

I haven't sent it in yet in fear of lost or damaged shipping thanks to the holiday season. but it seems to be a short or loose connection in the front board the problem has gotten way worse. Just touching the amp frame or or any thing and its going crazy.

I emailed there tech and they replied very fast with diy suggestions but they didnt work so I have to send it in. has any one else had a problem like this?