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Carvin New R1000??? Honest opinions...Does it sound good?
- Thread starter Roberta
- Start date
I get to go first? OK, I had an R600, but the R1000 should sound virtually identical.
I think it sounds great. I would buy it over *any* G-K or Ampeg or Peavey I've encountered. SWR and Ashdown I'm not a big fan of personally, though they're both great amps IMO for what they do.
Tonally, the Carvin fights my Eden to more or less a draw--the Eden does some things better IMO, the Carvin does others better. The only reason I don't still own the Carvin is that for some reason it (actually, a couple different samples of the saem amp) misbehaved when bridged into my 4 ohm Acme. I was just slightly more attached to the Acme than I was to the Carvin, so the amp went back. But I really wish this problem hadn't come up, because it was a great sonic combination IMO.
Their cabs I'm not very excited by. I'd think, though, that an R1000 into something like an Eden 410XLT would be kickin'.
I think it sounds great. I would buy it over *any* G-K or Ampeg or Peavey I've encountered. SWR and Ashdown I'm not a big fan of personally, though they're both great amps IMO for what they do.
Tonally, the Carvin fights my Eden to more or less a draw--the Eden does some things better IMO, the Carvin does others better. The only reason I don't still own the Carvin is that for some reason it (actually, a couple different samples of the saem amp) misbehaved when bridged into my 4 ohm Acme. I was just slightly more attached to the Acme than I was to the Carvin, so the amp went back. But I really wish this problem hadn't come up, because it was a great sonic combination IMO.
Their cabs I'm not very excited by. I'd think, though, that an R1000 into something like an Eden 410XLT would be kickin'.
Man oh man, that is what I want to try. I love my RedLine 1000 head, but I get the feeling that I can get better sound out of another cabinet. I'm sorry to hear that the head wasn't compatible with the acme, I had considered that.
Richard, we seem to be agreeing on multiple subjects today . . .
Richard, we seem to be agreeing on multiple subjects today . . .
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Their cabs I'm not very excited by. I'd think, though, that an R1000 into something like an Eden 410XLT would be kickin'. [/B][/QUOTE]
This is exactly what I have. I play a r1000 into a eden 410xlt and an ampeg 410 hlf
I got the r1000 in trade for a bass. I was going to use it as a backup/second amp to an ampeg b4. It blew the b4 out of the water. I now use the carvin only.
Their cabs I'm not very excited by. I'd think, though, that an R1000 into something like an Eden 410XLT would be kickin'. [/B][/QUOTE]
This is exactly what I have. I play a r1000 into a eden 410xlt and an ampeg 410 hlf
I got the r1000 in trade for a bass. I was going to use it as a backup/second amp to an ampeg b4. It blew the b4 out of the water. I now use the carvin only.
I've had an R1000 series2 for a couple of years now.When I first got it I had a tough time getting a tone that wasn't nasel sounding.It has so many tone options it takes awile to get what you want.But the tones are there.I've used it with Peavey 210s and 410s,Carvin 210s and 410s and now with 2 Eden 210XLTs.I keep my eyes open for something better,but the only amps I see that come close to the same features are the Eden WT800,SWR sm900 or the Ampeg SVT4 pro.All these cost much more.Now that I've got these Eden cabinets I wouldn't think of changing.My trick for getting a great sound out of the head is to run a Sans Amp Bass driver into the preamp set for the SVT setting and set the EQ on the head to flat.The head does do everything Carvin says,it's just a little hard to dial in right away.Also have never had a problem maintenence wise in two years.
Hey farboozle, I bet if you bridged the R1000 into an *8 ohm* Acme, you'd probably be fine. The R1000 delivers 700 watts in that mode. I realized this belatedly, well after I'd sent the amp back and bought the Eden.
I say this because the R600 would drive the Acme all night *IF* I just used it as a 4 ohm load on one side of the amp. Not really enough power for what I needed that way, though. A 4 ohm load on each side of the amp is equivalent to an 8 ohm load on the bridged output, just as 2 ohms on each side is equivalent to a 4 ohm bridge. My bridging the R into a 4 ohm load was like asking it to run 2 ohms on each side, which it's supposed to be able to do (per the published specs) but just couldn't with the Acme for some reason. So if I could run the 4 ohm Acme on one side of the amp, you oughta be able to run an 8 ohm cab on the bridged output.
But even if you do work out a way of making an Acme work with the R1000 (and I do think it's workable the way I just described), you will get perceptibly less output than you would with the Eden.
When I got my R600, I actually disliked the tone right out of the box--until I pushed the "Mid" button in. All of a sudden, I had a sound I liked, and I hardly used any EQ from that point. I added a little bass and treble at lower volumes (the "loudness contour" effect), but at band volumes, I played it with all the EQ bas(s)ically flat.
I sold my Carvin R-1000 towards an Eden WT-600 amp. Eden only makes BASS amplification and enclosers. Also, my Eden WT-600 is much luder than the Carvin R1000.The Carvin may be listed at 400 less watts but it still blows the Carvin away. That's why I opted for the Eden.
I would recommend Carvin gear for guitarists before I would bassists.
I would recommend Carvin gear for guitarists before I would bassists.
I have been told at First Bass that those things need massive power to get them to work in spec. I was told to get a Mackie 1400 to power it (I was looking to buy it as a package). I set it up in the store and the Mackie failed in a couple minutes. Was it the amp or the cabinet's fault?
I bought a Carvin RC210 last year and recently bought an Eden D410-XLT and power it with the R600 head from my RC210. The Carvin combo sounded pretty good, but when I paired the R600 with the Eden the sound was amazing. And its plenty loud.
As for the power amp failures when powering an Acme, it might have something to do with the way the Acme's have 3 drivers. The 4 ohm impedance that is listed is just a nominal impedance, which fluctuates with frequency and some other stuff. Any cab will have fluctuating impedances when real music is played through them, but maybe the Acmes fluctuate too much. I don't know, just a though. I could be way off so don't trust me on that.
As for the power amp failures when powering an Acme, it might have something to do with the way the Acme's have 3 drivers. The 4 ohm impedance that is listed is just a nominal impedance, which fluctuates with frequency and some other stuff. Any cab will have fluctuating impedances when real music is played through them, but maybe the Acmes fluctuate too much. I don't know, just a though. I could be way off so don't trust me on that.
My intent is to purchase the R1000 and take it to several stores with my own bass and plug into a bunch of cabinets and see what happens.
It sounds like many of you prefer Eden cabs with the Carvin head.
Has anyone had any luck with the R1000 and BAG END cabinets?
It sounds like many of you prefer Eden cabs with the Carvin head.
Has anyone had any luck with the R1000 and BAG END cabinets?
carvin heads are great. i play through an R600. i love the sound it gets, when paired with better speakers. The carvin cabs leave much to be desired. I would agree with pretty much everyone here that a carvin head is well worth looking into. taking out with a bass to try cabs sounds like a wise idea to me. good luck.
Like Phat Ham, I bought the RC210 combo, which has the R600 head. I was happy enough with the R600 head, but I needed more power when I was driving solely Carvin cabinets and trying to be heard over a can-bashing drummer. I opened the R600 to give it my "engineer's once-over" to check on the quality of componentry and construction. It met my approval, so I bought an R1000 to add to it. I'm quite happy with both heads.
A few points:
* I believe the power ratings are a bit on the liberal side, compared to *some* other manufacturers. Carvin denies this vehemently on their web forum, but it really boils down to preference in how to rate power output. Buyers need to beware of the differences for their applications.
* The noise gate on my (Series II) heads is basically useless. This hasn't been a problem for me because my gear is generally pretty quiet.
* The heads have TONS of flexibility and you have to be patient setting them up to get the tone you prefer. I should probably scan a picture of my EQ settings for reference. It depends on lots of factors though, including the type of bass you have, the cabinets you're using, whether you're running it bi-amped or full-range, and the music you're playing.
Anyway - they are solid B+ (at least) quality heads, and when you factor in the cost, you come out a winner (if you insist on new stuff).
There has been a lot of discussion in TB about Carvin heads and cabinets, so I recommend doing a search. I myself have contributed a lot of posts.
- Mike
A few points:
* I believe the power ratings are a bit on the liberal side, compared to *some* other manufacturers. Carvin denies this vehemently on their web forum, but it really boils down to preference in how to rate power output. Buyers need to beware of the differences for their applications.
* The noise gate on my (Series II) heads is basically useless. This hasn't been a problem for me because my gear is generally pretty quiet.
* The heads have TONS of flexibility and you have to be patient setting them up to get the tone you prefer. I should probably scan a picture of my EQ settings for reference. It depends on lots of factors though, including the type of bass you have, the cabinets you're using, whether you're running it bi-amped or full-range, and the music you're playing.
Anyway - they are solid B+ (at least) quality heads, and when you factor in the cost, you come out a winner (if you insist on new stuff).
There has been a lot of discussion in TB about Carvin heads and cabinets, so I recommend doing a search. I myself have contributed a lot of posts.
- Mike
My band played with another band a few weeks ago and their bass player had a carvin cyclops.. I was surprised at the tone.. he also had a carvin 6-string bass.. the whole setup sounded pretty good... I think the speakers may have lacked a bit.. but it sounded very nice to my ears 
I have the Carvin RC210. It has always sounded great. In fact, I sold my SWR SM400 to buy it. And, after he heard the Carvin, the guy who bought my SWR sold it to buy...a Carvin RC210. 
i have the series 2 r1000. it works awesome and does every thing that they promise. very flexible sound wich is good because i change my idea of what good tone is about once a week. if you have the money though, buy cabs from another company
I bough a Carvin R1000 and gave it the 10 day trial. Played it through my 2 bag end S15d and my carvin 210 wedge and I'll tell you it kicked butt!!! Just what I neede for my loud classic rock band. great clean sounding solid state with plenty o' power and more low end than you will ever need.
Then the little voices inside my head started talking to me along with some other little voices on this board. "what if something goes wrong, you'll have to ship it clear out to california" " it only has a 1 year warrenty ampeg has a 5 year and they're right down the road from me" " Real Bass amps have tubes" ....ahem...well, you get the picture. So I sent it back on the 10th day. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. cb beats head against wall. And went to my home town Ampeg dealer and bought a SVT3pro
Big mistake, when I played it through my Bag ends I heard all this weird tubey distortion. YUCK Fortunatley my local Ampeg dealer was cool enough to let me trade it back in for a B4r which should do the trick nicely. (I'll let you know in a few days when it gets in) So to answer your question yes you'll love the Carvin R1000. Just don't let those little voices get to you like they did me and you'll be fine.
Then the little voices inside my head started talking to me along with some other little voices on this board. "what if something goes wrong, you'll have to ship it clear out to california" " it only has a 1 year warrenty ampeg has a 5 year and they're right down the road from me" " Real Bass amps have tubes" ....ahem...well, you get the picture. So I sent it back on the 10th day. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. cb beats head against wall. And went to my home town Ampeg dealer and bought a SVT3pro
Big mistake, when I played it through my Bag ends I heard all this weird tubey distortion. YUCK Fortunatley my local Ampeg dealer was cool enough to let me trade it back in for a B4r which should do the trick nicely. (I'll let you know in a few days when it gets in) So to answer your question yes you'll love the Carvin R1000. Just don't let those little voices get to you like they did me and you'll be fine.What sort of tone can one get out of this head? Can you get a strong cutting sound thats mid-oriented...but not muddy? (when combined with the right cabs, of course)
