A Boutique Snob tries the Carvin B1500

As those who have dropped into my rather schizophrenic Glock Heart Rock thread (I love it, I'm not sure I like it, Ok I like it, I love it ) know, I decided to try another of the big, mono-block all in one heads... the Carvin B1500.

I am attaching SMASH's very comprehensive review thread, which I pretty much concur with 100%, so I won't do a full review here, as it's been all said in SMASH's thread:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224326&highlight=carvin+b1500

It was very interesting to A/B this very nice piece of gear with the MUCH more expensive Glock. Here is my brief take on it:

Quality.... shockingly good, given my preconceptions of the Carvin brand. As SMASH points out, the knobs, chassis, switches, etc. feel as good as anything I've ever experienced. I can't obviously speak to long term reliability, but from those who have taken the lid off and looked at the internal build quality and components, it would seem to be as good as anything else out there.

Physical size and weight.... very nice.... 35 pounds, three space, but very shallow (maybe 10")... so it is by far the smallest and lightest of the three big mono-block SS amps (Glock HR and DB750 being the other two).

Volume.... it is, by far, the loudest single piece of gear I've ever experienced (and, I own the big Glock and have played through the DB750).

Tone..... interestingly, the front panel is VERY similar to the Glock, and the EQ center points and shelving points are very close, with the Carvin voiced a little lower in the bass (that sub bass control is really something) and a little higher and sizzlier in the treble. The drive control is very nice, and works similarly to the EBS HD350 control... adding a little warmth and tube like 'give'. However, in my direct comparisons with the Glock, I found the Carvin a little sterile, dry and a touch clanky above 1K. Of course, if you aren't a SS roundwound funk/pop type player, you wouldn't even be aware of that region, so this is more of a very specific issue involved with my tone goals versus a big, general problem with the amp. Quite frankly, I could actually be happy with this amp, but now that I've come to terms with the Glock EQ, etc., I'm sticking with that.

So, even though I am invoking the very nice 10 day trial/return policy, I am actually highly recommending this head to any TBer that needs MASSIVE volume (I'm not kidding, we are talking CA9 type low end and volume here), punchy low end and an easy to use tone section at an almost unbelievably low price (a little over $700 shipped). If I was a more rock oriented player using vintage type cabs, I'd be all over this thing. For those of you with those Bergantino NV's, I would think this head would be the total bomb!

Ken

IvanMike said:

Amazing.

I'm always on the fence re: carvin. I hate the fact that you can't just go try one downtown, even though there is the money back thing. This especially ticks me off when it comes to actual instruments, as there is always that one special one that jumps out at you. I've tried some carvin basses that were awesome, and some no so much. Ditto for their cabs. That said, i dont think I've ever played a carvin amplifier that i hated.

Hmmmmm i must try one, they do go down to 2 ohms right?

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Yes.... 1250 watts into 4 and I think 1900 into 2 (don't quite know where the 'B1500' name comes from ).

Even though the power ratings are spec'd at a somewhat higher distortion level than typical (1%), I just can't see how anyone could drive one of these things to distort. I'm not kidding, the clean low end on these things is just stunning. They have very nice low end tone controls, almost identical to the Glock... with what is really two 'bass controls'.... very low bass that is more of a 'feel it' thing than a 'note specific' thing, and then 'low mid' with is centered around 100hz (I think) which acts as a nice low end punch control. Very nice, and as SMASH pointed out in a recent thread, the 'sub bass' control almost acts like a hi pass type filter, fine tuning the deep low end to either a cab that might roll off high, or a room that is boomy, etc.

If I didn't have so much darn stuff, I would keep this thing in a minute. $700!!!!!

Sean Baumann said:

are the fans loud?

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It's a large fan and a big amp... so it's not whisper quite, but is surely not a problem. It's just a touch louder than the Glock fan when it is running at its lowest level. The Carvin has a two speed fan and only kicks in the high speed when it gets really hot, which means you would be playing loud and not notice it. So, I would not think it's a problem.

Regarding the 800 versus 1500 Sean.... man, less than $300 more for that huge increase in watts in the same size unit.... if you are considering one of these, I'd just go all the way IMO. It is somewhat heavier than the 800, but the extremely small footprint makes it feel quite a bit lighter than its 35 pounds IME (and as you know, I've very sensitive to gear weight )

GreyBeard said:

Beween the Traynor YBA200 and this Carvin, looks like the bar is being raised again.

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It's interesting that you post this.... in a PM discussion with my buddy Tom B., this came up... that the CarvinB1500 was the SS equivalent to the all tube YBA200.... both maybe not totally there tone-wise with the very expensive stuff (at least for some tone preferences), but both very high quality, loud, and very, very good deals.

CrUiSeR said:

So what is your point? Did you not believe Smash? Are we supposed to believe you more than Smash? Felt like wasting Carvin's time? Why would a "snob" compare a Carvin to a Glockenklang? You know ya wasn't givin' up the G for the C!
And if it's so good(surely not a rock oriented only amp), why are you "invoking"?
So you wanted to "try" it for less than 10 days and then give us your "recommending" approval.

iMo

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Well.... hhhmpphhh. Here's the deal. SMASH and I have very, very different tone requirements. I ordered this head when I was having very serious concerns about the Glock not fitting my tone needs, but still wanted a very loud, led sled type solution for those gigs that require it. Since I respect SMASH's opinions quite a bit, this self-proclaimed snob decided to try this amp, even though I've been massively underwhelmed with the few other earlier pieces of Carvin gear that I've tried. Since SMASH's tonal goals are very different than mine, his sound clips, etc. didn't really provide the information I needed.

Over the week or so between ordering the Carvin and its arrival, I worked with the Glock a lot, and actually determined it would fit my needs, so unless the Carvin was perfect, it was going back almost before it arrived.

The point of my thread was to attempt to communicate to other TBers to not immediately eliminate this head from consideration because of the brand name and/or prior experiences.

Per my recommendation, what I was hoping to communicate is that I would highly recommend it for more rock oriented tones. For those that like a more 'new SS RW sound' like myself, it doesn't quite due the trick. So, I'm hoping this provides additional useful info.

PS I had every intention of possibly giving up the 'G for the C' by the way (at least at the time I ordered it), and if I was strapped for cash, I would... honestly.