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Carvin R600 Red line---feedback??

#3
i have the R1000 as well and would actually insist that you get it instead, same features just more power, and you can get it used for about $450 (i did)

the amp itself is light, reliable and very versatile, lots of tone options, and has compression which is helpful and you cant beat it for the money.
 
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#4
at my church they have the Cyclops 600W 1x15, 2x8 Bass Combo Amp which i think has the 600 head in it. its VERY strong in volume. the guy who owns the amp had problems with bad noises coming from the XLR output after a few years and I don't hear much difference between the dry and tube emulator, although I do use the tech21 RBI and can hear that emulation.

the compressor and gate are nice on the 600. flexible controls, biamp cool. 600w into 4 for $600? sound good. for $100 more you could have 1000W!!!! the R1000
 
#7
I had an R600 and it was ---ehh, but there may be better options out there for the money. Carvin also has some strong reliability issues. My R600 (version 3) was replaced within 1 week on receiving it due to malfunction, then was sent to the factory (read shipped across the country at my expense and was without it for 3 weeks at a time each case) twice during the warranty period for repairs of defects (the same repair of a buzz that was coming from it anda blown power amp section). Also the tone from Carvin heads is nothing spectacular. They do have versatility, but I found it to be almost too much.
I would recommend looking at all options before deciding on Carvin.
Also the Tube emulator isn't really any good. It never sounded "tubey" to me.
Some people like Carvin, but I became very unhappy with their customer service and got rid of all my carvin gear.
 
#10
Originally posted by RicPlaya
Carvin, good PA and bass head equipment, speakers are suspect for bass cabs.
Click to expand...

I guess YMMV, but I play through Carvin 4x10, and 1x18 cabs, and absolutely love em' and have had no problems with them. And they sound great as well, so for me, there's really no motivating factor to spend a lot more money to purchase another, "more popular" brand, when what I've got works great. In one way, I tend to compare this to cars. I'd love to have a Mercedes SL55 AMG, yet my 93' "Rolls Knardley" still gets me back and forth to work.

Anyway, to each his/her own. I wish you the best with whatever you speakers you prefer, but I just don't agree that Carvin's are "suspect".
 
#11
I gotta R600 series II, I've been beatin the piss out of it for three years and it keeps on truckin along. With the right cab (read: not carvin) the tones are limitless. I say get it. If your getting an 8x10 or a 2x15 or 2 4x10's get the R1000. Also, the series III is a tube emulator but mine has the 12ax7 tube in the pre-amp and gets a great growl to it when blended. I plugged mine inot a 4 ohm Avatar 4x10 and I have plenty of headroom for the clubs.
 
#12
I bought a Carvin 600 back in 1998 and mated it with an SR Goliath Jr as well as an Acme Low B2. The First head I recieved was a good sounding head, but suffered form static discharge that would show up as intermittent pops. That is unacceptable. So, I called Carvin and told them about the problem, and they issued an RMA and then sent me another head. This one sounded completely different. The preamplifier had a completely different tone, not as clear as the other unit, but the popping was gone. So I called again and asked why that should be. A Carvin technical service person indicated over the phone that Carvin is able to sell gear at that price point by having wider specifications for components, meaning components may vary in quality more greatly than is acceptable for other electronics manufacturers. So, the point: You are gambling a little bit with Carvin, and this would the differeing posts. Some poeple love Carvin, some people have sold all of their Carvin gear and will never buy again. I sent mine back, spent 5 years without an amp, and am now putting together an Eden/Stewart/Acme rig.

Brian
 
#15
I bought a RL6815 (R600 1x15, 2x8) about 3 1/2 years ago. Mine has a 12AX7 in the preamp, which does add some nice grit to your signal. After owning one for a few years, I'm not crazy about it (so I bought an aguilar db659, and a bag end q10bx-d). It has a bunch of bells, and whistles, but I could never get a great tone out of it. With the R600, you get what you pay for: A decent head at a good price. Incidentally, it's in the shop right now after leaving me hanging at a gig. I've never felt the need to write home about it.
 
#16
Used one for 4 years... I acquired an acoustic 301 cabinet, and it overheated the output thermal detect circuitry... It cut out on 2 gigs, so now I'm using a couple of
Acoustic 320's instead... a little noisier, but I don't ever worry about not being heard...
 
#17
As long as you put the right ohm load through your cabs you'll never have a problem with carvin stuff, but if you don't then you can kiss your transistor good bye. I just bought a 2x10's, 1x18, and the series III Carvin R1000 head from a guy and its totally awsome. so if you can find somme more money definately go with the R1000. But only get the series III if your going used don't bother with series I and II because if something goes wrong wiht those you rarely can get them fixed. Good luck with your decision!
 
#18
I have a series II R600 that I got off Ebay for $200. Overall I like it, but there's a glitch in the preamp of my particular one that shows up very rarely. The output drops and gets staticy, and then goes back to normal. No one has been able to completely identify and fix the problem yet. (It is definitely in the preamp) Usually I never have a problem, but an ideal amp should work 100% of the time, not just 99.5%.

I'm a little reluctant to recommend the Carvin-- I'm sure most amps that come out of their assembly line are perfectly reliable, but it's still kind of a crap shoot. :hmm:
 
#20
I have no problem with my RL1000. Its a reliable amp. Lots of features.

I will not speak for everybody, but I will say this:

The Carvin RL410T I have is a piece of ****.

Its heavy and bulky for the amount of sound it puts out.

It colors the tone dramatically. (Gives it a cheap sounding honky mid tone.)

I was running the RL1000 into the 410T bridged, which is 700 watts. The cab is SUPPOSED to take 800 watts. I didnt even have the volume know past halfway! The bottom right speaker blew. Luckily I could fix it easily. I really regret buying Carvin. I could have had a much nicer rig for 1300...

Dont buy anything Carvin until you test it out.
 

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