Carvin vs. TC Electronic vs. GK showdown!

tubaman2 · #1 02-23-2011, 05:01 PM

Just want to know what the most preferred one by Talkbass.

The amps are

Carvin B2000

TC Electronic BH500/RH450 (I realize the BH500 is new, so I put the rh450 in as well.)

GK MB Fusion

The criteria you must judge by is depth of sound, reliability, features, character, and the company's customer service. Weight can not be a factor.

I understand that these are all very different amps, I'm just curious and want some opinions.

sebastian · #2 02-23-2011, 05:35 PM

I have owned a GK MB500 in the past and it was during the ironing the bugs out versions of this head. I was not very pleased with this particular head. GK makes killer products but they kinda rushed this one a bit. It appears they have the bugs worked out now. I like Carvin products, reliable and sound awesome...Great customer service too...

Fred Mott · #3 02-23-2011, 05:46 PM

My cousin bought one of their 600 watt combos 15in speaker, and it was a nightmare, just shortly after the warranty ran out it would just shut down on him. Then one day it quit. He had a lot of gigs lined up and couldn't afford to send it to Calif. then have to wait on it. So he took it to a amp guy in Austin and found some of the solder joints had come apart. And my cousin takes the up most care of his equipment. He played a short while but didn't trust it so got rid of it as soon as he could. He started playing SWR then.

jeff7bass · #4 02-23-2011, 06:05 PM

The Carvin B2000 is head is a monster head. It will be my next amp purchase.

tubaman2 · #5 02-24-2011, 11:13 PM

Shameless bump

tubaman2 · #6 02-25-2011, 07:06 AM

There have to be at least a few more people with an opinion on this.

Bob C · #7 02-25-2011, 07:13 AM

I haven't tried any of those amps. But I have had good CS experiences with Carvin. Why is the poll limited to those three amps? Are you considering buying one of them?

tubaman2 · #8 02-25-2011, 07:17 AM

Yes, I'm considering all three. Just trying to gather information on everything about them.

BackToTheGroove · #9 03-30-2011, 11:33 AM

I would like to play the Carvin over the GK.

Owned TCE's BG500-210 which I've just sold and a new BH500 is on the way right now. Same head, and I really love it. Ass kick power, musical EQ and then add the very usable and practical features like the tuner, mute button, 3 memory save, Spectra-compressor (really great compressor), Tweeter/horn tone on front, and TCE's Tubetone tube emulation adds a nice bit o' warm, or snarl, or balls on fuzz/o-drive to your sound.

Will mate the BH with an Avatar B410NEO. Shazaam.

tdub0199 · #10 03-30-2011, 11:35 AM

I'm GK Fan!!!!

unclekebm · #11 03-30-2011, 12:00 PM

Never owned the Carvin B2000 ... but have dealt with Carvin CS ~ not happy, and quality control is lame

GK MB Fusion vs TC RH450
GK CS is un matched.
never had to deal with TC Electronics

Very similar in tone
ime, the TC is warmer and has killer mids (very much diggin the EQ points)
GK has that grind, but also very nice and warm when the pre tube is pushed and upper mids pulled back a little
I like the feel of the TC Tubetone a little better than pushing the GK tube(s)

I prefer the EQ "Q" on the TC a little better, ime, more musical

The TC is darker than the GK for sure, the upper mid eq point on the TC is killer

As far as "depth" ~ GK has 2 channels which gives it more depth and the GK is more open up top (good & bad)
I prefer the TC upper EQ (the high seems more like an upper upper mid) which to me let's me dial in uppers without harshness
And I don't lose that upper harmonic percussive quality that I dig, which If I dial out harshness on the GK I tend to lose
depth in tone? I give it to the RH450 (because of the EQ) way more musical to me
and the compressor is awesome! a little goes a long way..

imo the contour on the GK is a waste, although a slight bit will get rid of upper harshness if needed

build quality, hands down TC

pfschim · #12 03-30-2011, 12:37 PM

own a RH450 and have played (bit not owned) a number of GK's including the GK Fusion. I have known some players who used Carvin gear, but I have not had personal experience with their stuff (other than as a one time back line experience).

I really like the RH450. Very clear voiced, with outstanding tone tweaking features. I'm not a huge fan of digital but this amp sounds great, is very adjustable and weighs in at something like 7lbs (which is one of the reasons I got it as a back-up to my Mesa Walkabout).

The GK Fusion I used, was quite different from the RH450. Sounded fine, with a pretty distinctive GK voice (pushed low-mids, snappy high end). Weightwise, it is even lighter/smaller than the RH450. But , to my ears anyway, the GK was not as flexible in the tone shaping dpt. It always pretty much had that GK tone. Not a bad thing if you like that tone.

So, there's my almost complete response to your question - minus any Carvin input.