Carvin R1000

[brentonkim]

I've been reading reviews all day on them, and apparently, they're unreliable, and they break easily.
Does anyone have any personal experience, or can vouch for the reliability?

[Axtman]

I bought a Carvin R600 then found a R1000 so I sold the R600. The R1000 Series II had some issues so I got it repaired. I gigged with it for a bit then sold it. Recently I found another R1000 Series III and bought it because it was cheap. Turns out that it has some issues as well. Oh well.

[lobey]

I owned an R1000 Series III for about 3 years, and never had any problems with it. It did have a hiccup when there was some dust/lint in the effects loop, but nothing that wasn't solved with air duster and some electronics cleaner.

If the price is right, it's plenty of power.

[MysticMichael]

I think the core issue with the Carvin Redline series isn't their reliability so much as their mediocre tone. Ten to twelve years ago, the Redline was a pretty good amp, relative to the other makes/models on the market. Now there are so many other amps that sound better and perform better - including Carvin's own line - that the only good reason to go for a Redline now is that you can get it cheap...

MM

[Ukiah Bass]

Had an R600 in the late 90s and it was OK. Got a R1000 and it broke twice. Crappy quality. Hard to dial good tone on either one. I'd never buy Carvin amps again based on that experience.

[73jbass]

Had both the 600 and 1000 many years ago. I thought they were way underpowered for their rating. My RB800 was louder and cleaner than the Carvins.

[vinxbass]

My brother who also plays bass has been using the same R1000 stack for 10 yrs and hasn't had a single problem yet - AMAZING!!

[bassplayer8953]

I bought an R1000 that "needs repair". A little cleaning, tightening the jacks, some canned air, and it works great. It's become my go-to amp, over my newer Carvin BX600. I like the tone on the R1000 better than my newer Carvin, better than my Peavey...actually I think it has great tone. 1 issue on mine: the DI output, when used, puts noise through the PA. So if I mic it up, I use a direct box from the FX out, and it's all good. Maybe too sterile sounding for some, but I like a clean sounding amp.

[Gar Bear]

I bought my R1000 as the power section of the Cyclops combo. This has a 15", 2-8"ers and the red tweeter. What hooked me was a 20% vendor discount that applied since I was selling them op amps back in '97, and it's compact size.

Got good use in a weekly "living room jam" for about 5 years, then 3 years idle, and 3 years in a weekend working band. One day last year, while it was idling with the volume(s) down it burst into an medium loud oscillation at around 400HZ. I parked it for a few months and took a look at it 2 weeks ago to see what was what. The pre-amp section is fine, but the power section needs repair. It distorts at any volume. No oscilation though. Next I will need to isolate it to hopefully one power amp...and then to the component level. I might farm that work out.

I repaced it with an Eden WT800 (and a Mesa 400+ for backup), with separate cabs, but plan to keep it for keyboard/utility use once repaired.

It does sound rather plain IMHO, but has decent power and will respond to pedals OK.

Mine lasted about 10 or 12 years, so I can't complain. I def. got what I paid for.

[ErikW]

I like my r1000 series III. Like stated earlier, it was cheap and I actually bought it from Carvin (refurbished) last year. So far no issues.

[Uncle Snake]

Bought an R1000 new, it sucked, never again........

[ErikW]

Originally Posted by Axtman

I bought a Carvin R600 then found a R1000 so I sold the R600. The R1000 Series II had some issues so I got it repaired. I gigged with it for a bit then sold it. Recently I found another R1000 Series III and bought it because it was cheap. Turns out that it has some issues as well. Oh well.

Probably has cat hair in it. LOL