CArvin DCM1000 question

[catty]

I'm wondering if folks could tell me what I might need to run this thing as a bass amp: a la this, for example:

Carvin DCM1000: Black Suit Karma Bassist Gets Detailed About The Carvin DCM1000 | Gearwire

I'm a long-time acoustic player but have occasional opportunity to go electric. I'm thinking I need some kind of preamp--and I'm a poor musician, so basic, functional and cheap are always concerns of mine..

I have a Mesa/Boogie 115 cab. Any chance I can use the amp with it without blowing it?

Thanks for any suggestions..

[NickCormier]

Most likely, but it is abit dry sounding, as its just a poweramp.. The best way to get a great tone out of it, would be with something like the Tech 21 Sansamp into the DCM, that'd give a good tone.

I also suggest the DCM1540L, its not much more than the DCM1000, but has a lot more wattage per side, and at lower ohms. The 1540L is the general consensus for the most effective DCM model for a single rig (ie not running monitors/PA gear)

[catty]

Ah yes, well I own this thing (came with a pair of 942 cabs).

Thanks for the suggestion--I'll look up the T21 Sansamp.

Later: Yeah, a small piece of gear like that would fit the bill for me.

[Verminaard]

Bass into vt or other suitable bass preamp into dcm 1000.

I have the DCM 2000 and run that general setup (with a couple more things thrown in) and it is simply AWEsome!!

Super powerful with tons of headroom.

[catty]

Hey vermina- thanks. Since the 1K is only half the power, is it safe (sez Zel) to run through a 115 like an old MesaB RR cab? .Forgot to add that I don't know the rating...something like 4 or 8 ohms and 200 or 400 w...

I never thought I'd be carting this stuf around again at age 50 ...so I'm still an ignoramous about half of it... Still don't know if I'll ever use it, yet

[RickenBoogie]

Just remember this, ANY amp can blow ANY spkr cab, so use your ears. If the cab is straining or farting, you're pushing it too hard, and will damage it if you don't turn down the volume, or low eq.

[::::BASSIST::::]

IMO > VT bass sounds MUCH better than the BDDI. Its also cheaper. That and a poweramp is all you need. You might want to add a graphic eq pedal for more tonal control but its not essential.


I'm also going to say if you want cheap-ish and light you should consider either the markbass LMII, gk mb500 or carvin bx500. All are very well reviewed amps on TB and all under about 6 LBS. Buying one of those will likely be cheaper than the preamp + poweramp.... and definitely lighter. They are plenty powerful IME/IMO... unless you need HUGE volume. Maybe later on look for a lighter cab?

[NKBassman]

I ran a DCM1000 with a Sansamp RBI for years. Great rig!

[bongomania]

I have a DCM1000 and it's a great, solid, reliable amp. The one thing to watch out for is if it gets too full of dust inside, it can have problems. So you'll want to vacuum it out, or use one of those compressed air cans usually used for cleaning a keyboard.

It works well with a wide range of preamps, and the VT is a great match for it. Some preamps won't have quite enough juice to drive the power amp well, but if you look around at threads talking about preamps you'll see which ones people tend to recommend. For cheap though, the VT would be hard to beat.

Also, re-read this guy's post, it is truth:

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Just remember this, ANY amp can blow ANY spkr cab, so use your ears. If the cab is straining or farting, you're pushing it too hard, and will damage it if you don't turn down the volume, or low eq.

[Verminaard]

It will be fine with your 15" cab, just don't push it too hard. Another identical 15" cab would be even better though. It's probably a 8 ohm cab. It should say on the back, or you could tell us what model cab it is and we could probably tell you. If it's 8, you could use another 15" 8 ohm cab (preferably similar makes) and bring it to a 4 ohm load, which would be preferable in your setup, since you can run either side of the amp separately at 2, 4 or 8 ohms (not positive with that amp) or together at 4 ohms bridged (2 * 8 ohm cabs).

The cool thing about having the separate channels is that if you want to run a drum machine or split your signal to run a guitar preamp with a lf pass you can do both with 2 cabs if you don't need the full bridged power.

[::::BASSIST::::]

Also keep in mind that if your cab is 8 ohms, which it probably is, a poweramp will work with well with it as many poweramps can be bridged into 8 ohms for lots of juice.

[catty]

What a bunch of great info--thanks all.

Older MB 115 ... I'll have to search for labels and ratings...

Meanwhile, would the Carvin 942 cabs be decent for bass? No subwoofer--I believe one 15" and maybe an 18" horn, ported..

[theduke1]

You will need some kind of processor for EQ and the likes