carvin RL810T1

I heard that Carvins Heads are excellent, but there cabinets are lacking. Granted, I havent used them personally, but from what I know, in general Carvin makes top notch stuff. I was really feeling the red line 1000 watt head until I found the beautiful Kustom Groove Bass head

The 8x10 cab is one of the few Carvin boxes I have not tried. I have used their 1x15, 4x10, 2x10, some of their PA cabs and their 15" floor monitors. In my opinion Carvin cabs are well made, resonably priced and sound just awful. Maybe their 8x10 cab is the shining exception, I don't know, but I tend to doubt it.

Carvin make great instruments, but the general setiment is that most everything else they make is pretty poor.

Well, my personal experience is limited, but I have a 1x18 cab that is great - older model, 400watt. I knew a guy in college that got one of their 180 watt 1x15 combos, and he was really happy with it (not a gigging bassist mind you). The real problem with carvin is its inexcessability. The stuff looks great, and people can tell you all they want, but you just can't try it out! very few places have any carvin gear, and it is almost always older stuff. The old "let your ear decide" is unfortunately not possible. If you could try it out, go for it! I have also used carvin mixers (great for the price, not top-notch, but really cheap), carvin PA speakers - little ones, and I was really impressed with the sound/price ratio. Also, their amps - these are really the best thing I have had experience with. Solid and reliable. Sorry I couldn't be more help - you need to find someone (or many someones) who have used this exact rig.

good luck!

p.s. I hear the red line series is not all it is cracked up to be, but that could just be hearsay

Snarf said:

Carvin make great instruments, but the general setiment is that most everything else they make is pretty poor.

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That's hardly the "general sentiment."

I have been using Redline amps for three years now, and for the money, you can't beat them. I own a RL6815 combo and I play through a RL1000 head with an RL410 and RL118 for big shows. I haven't had any reliability issues in the last three years, and IMO, they sound fantastic. The problem many people have is that they don't take the time to dial them in correctly. There is a copious amount of EQ and tone shaping and it's easy to find yourself lost. However, if you take the time, the Redline amps are super versatile.

Regarding the 8x10 cab, I have only played one once, and it sounded at least as good as any other 8x10 I have heard. They have great sensitivity and power handling, and reasonable frequency response. They certainly weigh less than an Ampeg and cost nearly half. I don't see any reason not to order one. If you get it and aren't satisfied, Carvin has a 10 day return policy. Hope this helps and good luck.