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Carvin SBX410 1200W 410 NEO HALF-STACK
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$950.00
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10.0
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Description:
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BX1200 Head
- Advanced Equalization - three EQ sections
- Active Passive front panel input gain switch
- 5-band three sweep tone control section
- 9-band foot switch able graphic EQ
- Single knob silent Optical compressor w/auto limiter
- Internal crossover for bi-amp system
- Preamp DRIVE and MASTER volume controls
- XLR Direct out with Level, ground lift & pre-post preamp controls
- Effects loop Switch able by front panel or FS22 footswitch
- Tune output jack independent of mute switch.
- High current Speakon connectors
- RMS 8 ohm 275W/ch, 4 ohm 400W/ch, 2ohm 600W/ch 8 ohms Bridge 800W, 4 ohms Bridge 1200W
- THD less than .03%
- Freq. Resp.: 20 - 20 kHz
- Dual speed fan
- Active Passive input (-10 dB)
- Dimensions: 5.7" high x 21.6" wide x 12" deep, 2 rack units
- Weight: 32 Lbs.
- Made in San Diego, California
BRX10.4 NEO Cabinet
- 4 Neodymium 300w 10" woofers and 1" titanium horn driver
- 6-position horn attenuation: -3, -6, -12, -24dB, off, or full on
- Imp: 4ohms, power handling: 1200 Watts
- Reproduces Frequencies from low B (26 Hz to 22 kHz)
- Sensitivity: 104dB @ 1w and 135 dB @ 1200w
- DuraTex™ scratch resistant,weatherproof polyurethane finish
- Dimensions: 24" wide x 18" deep x 27.75" high
- Weight: 76 lbs
- Made in San Diego, California
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Author
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mattj1stc
Registered User
Registered: January 2009
Location: Dallas, TX USA
Posts: 81
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Review Date: Fri February 26, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $950.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Good Value, Good Footprint, Loud, Tweakable
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Cons:
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Solid State Only
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There are two main questions to consider if you’re thinking about buying the Carvin SBX410. First, are you interested in having your amp provide a specific signature sound (e.g. SVT, B15, Orange, etc.)? If you are, then you should probably consider going out and getting that specific amp (or maybe a pedal that simulates one). The Carvin SBX410 is better suited for more of a neutral reproduction of your sound leading up to the amp. Yes, the SBX410 has a lot of controls that allow you to tweak and shape your sound, but it’s not going to radically transform your sound. Put another way, the SBX410 is probably best for situations where you already like your sound, and you simply want to amplify it.
The second question relates to your preferences for footprint and weight. The SBX410 is a separate head and cabinet, so it’s not as small or light as a true combo amp (and you will have to make two trips to and from the car when loading and unloading). On the other hand, the total weight, especially the weights of the individual components, is not really all that much heavier than a good sized combo amp (250 Watts or more). The SBX410 is also a lot less heavy and cumbersome than a full stack. In other words, it’s a great compromise solution – pretty much the full sound and volume of a full stack, but not much more footprint and weight than a combo amp. As you might expect, the price is somewhere in between both types of solutions as well.
I chose this amp because I found myself wanting to amplify my direct sound, which I liked. I also wanted more than a combo amp in terms of Watts and functionality, but I wasn’t ready for the footprint of a full stack. Carvin offered what I needed at a very good price – I had used Carvin products and found them to be a good value – this was the case with the SBX410 too.
In terms of sound, as I mentioned above, this amp is best for amplifying a sound that you already like. There are almost too many features in the preamp to shape your sound (5 band (3 sweep) parametric equalizer plus contour plus a 9 band graphic equalizer post effects loop), and that’s just the tone controls. Again, you’re not going to dial in an Ampeg sound, but you can certainly tweak to your heart’s content. The compressor is very good and certainly more than adequate for most situations. The drive knob is also pretty useful, but it is completely solid-state – no tubes, so it’s not really possible to get that true tube sound. I know that Carvin is retiring this head and replacing it with one that has a tube in it, so the new version may be a bit more versatile.
At 1200 Watts, it is certainly possible to run multiple cabinets as well as bi-amp, but I’ve been content to run the one BRX4.10 Neo cabinet bridged. It’s definitely more than loud enough, and the 4x10’s handle low B, even low A, very well without getting muddy (of course, you need to equalize correctly).
I tend to use this amp primarily as a power amp, using a Boss GT-10B as my preamp and running it straight into effects loop return. This allows me get the sound that I’m after off-line in my headphones (connected straight into the GT-10B) and then reproduce it quite consistently through my amp, tweaking it with the 9 band graphic equalizer that is post effects loop. I’ve had this amp for almost a year and a half, and I’ve had no problems – I’m very satisfied with it.
The Carvin sales guy was also very helpful when I went to buy this amp. I had originally wanted to get a full stack with their older BX cabinets – a total package that would have been larger and more expensive than I really wanted, but I thought that I might need a full rig to get the presence that I wanted. Their sales guy actually spent a lot of time telling me about the BRX4.10 Neo cabinet – that it would basically be able to do the job of the full stack at half of the size. I’m really glad that he did. It’s also notable that he went down this route given that the full stack was more expensive and probably would have earned him a bigger commission.
Anyway, this is a great amp package for the purposes that I’ve outlined above. I think that the new tube version will be even better.
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