I'm curious as to why there's not much love for Carvin around here

[u84six]

I haven't seen much of their equipment in stores either. I was just looking at their website, and man, that B2000 looks like an amazing amp and a really good deal! What's the catch? Is their quality really sucky or something?

I've done some searching on TB and there's one review but no a whole lot more. Hmm...

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by u84six

I haven't seen much of their equipment in stores either. ...

That would be because they only sell direct or out of the very few company stores they own.

[autodidact]

There's not too many reviews on here because most peoples Carvins are different. You can order and "in-stock" bass from the site but the biggest plus to a Carvin is that you can pick everything from the wood to the paint to the neck to the electronics and get a pretty much fully customized instrument. So it would be hard to review an instrument that's almost always different ya' know?

This is the same reason they're not in stores. AFAIK Carvin does mass distribute basses to retail stores so it's likely that the only one you'll find are "used" instruments that were either traded in or sold by their previous owner.

That help?

[PastorofMuppets]

I found carvin amps very anemic, sterile and lacking tone.
on paper the specs sound great but in reality not so much.

[u84six]

Originally Posted by PastorofMuppets

I found carvin amps very anemic, sterile and lacking tone.
on paper the specs sound great but in reality not so much.

That's interesting. Maybe they use low quality parts to keep the price low.

[Tanner5382]

There seems to be a lot more interest in Carvin products on here lately. I've heard many people Carvin gear wasn't "cool" enough and that it wasn't good quality gear, which is ridiculous. The quality is outstanding. I love my Carvin BX500. There's not really any catch that I can think of.

[PastorofMuppets]

Originally Posted by u84six

That's interesting. Maybe they use low quality parts to keep the price low.

Well the lack of middle men keeps it low.
I dont think they use low quality.
Its just my own experience. I was lured in by the price myself.
Spending more for a better sounding rig was well worth it.
If you are still interested, you can still try to find a way to try it out. They do have a decent return policy.

[BassmanPaul]

I have been using Carvin stuff for about fifteen years. Their quality is on par with just about any other musical equipment manufacturer out there and better than a lot of them. I've had a couple of problems with the stuff I've purchased but every one of those problems has been fixed to my complete satisfaction.

Anemic??? not in this man lifetime!! My Carvin equipment sounds wonderful.

Why is it that folk take pleasure in putting a US company down that employs US workers and builds most of their equipment in the big ol' US of A???? How many companies can say that???

[funkinbottom]

I use Carvin power amp. Absolutely killer amp.

[u84six]

Originally Posted by Tanner5382

There seems to be a lot more interest in Carvin products on here lately. I've heard many people Carvin gear wasn't "cool" enough and that it wasn't good quality gear, which is ridiculous. The quality is outstanding. I love my Carvin BX500. There's not really any catch that I can think of.

My problem is that I can't go anywhere to try them out for myself. And my ears seem much different than most TB'ers. I'm finding that most TB'ers like a lot of grit in their sound and I'm the total opposite. I like round, deep tone will a lot of sustain.

[PastorofMuppets]

My feelings on Carvin bass amps have zero to do with American workers and American made products. I merely stated my opinion. Glad you like your carvin gear. Keep rocking it out brother. Take Pleasure in that, Ummm Kay.

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

I have been using Carvin stuff for about fifteen years. Their quality is on par with just about any other musical equipment manufacturer out there and better than a lot of them. I've had a couple of problems with the stuff I've purchased but every one of those problems has been fixed to my complete satisfaction.

Anemic??? not in this man lifetime!! My Carvin equipment sounds wonderful.

Why is it that folk take pleasure in putting a US company down that employs US workers and builds most of their equipment in the big ol' US of A???? How many companies can say that???

[Waterpilot]

I have the Carvin B2000 and love it. No complaints or problems at all.

[Tanner5382]

Originally Posted by u84six

My problem is that I can't go anywhere to try them out for myself. And my ears seem much different than most TB'ers. I'm finding that most TB'ers like a lot of grit in their sound and I'm the total opposite. I like round, deep tone will a lot of sustain.

Have you tried hearing any sound clips from the amp on Carvin's site or youtube? The Carvin is definitely capable of getting a clean and deep sound(I use a similar setting on mine al the time), but it would be best for you to try to hear some clips of it first.

[gjbassist]

Did you do a search? There are many threads about Carvin amps on TB. The BX500 thread was so big it was split into three parts!

[iiipopes]

I've played a Carvin PB300 since 1993 for everything from Friday night to Sunday morning. When I needed another amp to do both DB & EB duty, I went straight to Carvin and bought an MB12. When I need the lowest 1/2 octave extension, I stack it on a 1X15 ported cab loaded with a Carvin driver. All the techs who have worked with me in the last couple of decades say my line out is the quietest cleanest line out they have ever worked with short of DI the bass itself upstream from amplification.

I've owned an SVT head. A real one from the early '70's. I've owned several rigs throughout the years. I've played through more than I can count. For price/value combined with durability and tone, nothing can beat Carvin. Nothing.

[masonsjax]

I've rocked some carvin gear in the past and always liked it. I have a bx500 now that is replacing my big rack rig. It's powerful and sounds fantastic. Very versatile and can be dialed to any tonal profile you can conceive. Maybe not the most popular brand, but they don't spend so much on advertising and for the price to performance ratio, I'm pretty glad they don't.

[low2groove]

Sorry to say but I've never played a carvin that was worth the price of a good set of strings.

They feel as bad as they sound.

Their Amps are also poor representations of higher dollar amps only with bad electronics.

IMHO, People are sucked in by their looks, kind of like Michael Kelly or Dean or any other basses that look really great but don't have any muscle.

Even low dollar Ibanez is better than high dollar carvin.

I do like looking at the pretty guitars in their brochures, good bathroom reading.

Sorry carvin guys!

[HertzWhenIPlay]

i have some carvin pa gear that i love.
also have a friend who tours with a bx1500 without any complaints.

talked first-hand with a guy the other day who had to return 2 of the same model (bx 500) and finally sold the third replacement and moved on...

[firmlybassed]

I gig just about every weekend in a classic rock cover band. I use two Carvin BRX4X10 driven by a Carvin Power Amp and Sansamp RPM. I also own a Carvin LB75WP which after some adjustment and tweaking sounds as good as my Ibanez SR505 SR500 and my Fender Jazz and Schecter Studio 4 and 5. I get complements all the time on my tone. I play with 2 guitarists using B52 amps and cabs and a drummer with Ludwig Vistalites. No problem cutting through. Good bang for the buck and very reliable. Carvin has top service also.

[fourfinger]

I have owned 2 DCM Carvin power amps and a ProBass head. I would say the sound from the head sounds very good, and the power amps were truly excellent. I would not hesitate to recommend Carvin to a friend.