ok, recieved my new BX-500 from carvin this afternoon. here come the pictures!
I'm not a huge fan of branded boxes, especially when they're meant to sit on a porch for a few hours. nondescript boxes would have been more to my liking, but I'll get over it.
quick shot of the pack job on the rack ears. empty box with the plate in a plastic bag. works for me.
both boxes were stapled, I like that!
I like this even more! molded + wrapped foam pieces form a great nest for the amp to lie in. Great packing job! Also glad to see it wasn't a box inside of a box, which would be unneeded from a direct from factory company like Carvin.
another shot of the nest. The amp is really really well insulated from the jars of shipping. Great job Carvin!
anyway, back to the product in question. Here's it's first breath of fresh Massachusetts air!
Contents of the box were the amp, warranty card, manual, and a power cord.
booty shot. Lets take a peek inside.
well spaced, plenty of room for heat dissipation. the big ole heat sink helps.
tube is an unbranded 12AX7. labeled "made in china". hmph.
noticed an inordinate amount of hot glue
all over the switching power band. Looks like the builder got a little crazy with it.
The total contents of what came with the rack plate. I know that for about 80% of customers, no instructions were needed, but I still wouldn't have minded a quick page of directions for installing the rack plate, as I'm sure some users might be afraid to start taking screws out of their new amp.
nice little tidbit, with the rackplate on the feet do not need to be removed to fit a 2U rack. Nice!
Ok, enough about how it was built, time to head to the practice space and see how it sounds!
here's my testing platform:
I was going to use the ampeg svt-4 as a comparison, but unfortunetly before I could it's owner came and took both the Sunn stack and the 4pro
. I was left with the following testers:
Avatar B410 neo (4 ohm)
Ampeg 810EN (4 ohm)
SX J bass (stock, alder body)
Hamer velocity I (stock, flatwounds)
Here's my impressions:
SX through B410:
set the amp totally flat, volume zero, drive zero. kept the drive at zero and slowly increased the master volume. Holy crap! this thing is already VERY loud with the master at 2. (9 clock). I'm usually a loud bassist but this thing cranks. Very happy about that already.
Playing with a pick, I noticed how the mids pronounce themselves more and more and you increase the master volume. very cutting, very crisp tone that sounds all kinds of clean. Using fingers to play gives it a predictably deeper, warmer tone, and the amp sounds very dynamic to different picking styles as well as where I pluck.
Hamer through B410:
Switching from a passive to active bass EQ, I flipped the active switch on the front of the amp. The cut is not noticeable volume wise but is definitely a better fit for an active bass. I had been messing with the EQs during my playtime with the SX so the front looked like this: (sorry for blurriness)
I would classify the amp's EQ as "strong". I find that my Hamer and SX have different tones from each other, however, with the hamer's onboard EQ set flat, the tone through the amp is quite similar. There was a bit more "plunk" to my notes with the Hamer, which I attribute to the flatwounds, and the amps EQ works with the onboard nicely, letting me boost my bass frequencies until I reach an almost Dub-ish sound.
There is no limiter light on the amp, which I very much like because I am always weary of my clip light. I did not hear either cabs distort throughout my playing time, even with over the top low boost, all the time playing at a band volume.
I reset the EQs and plugged the amp into the fridge. My normal rig picks up alot of background noise (mostly from the ACTUAL fridge) when running through the 8x10 but the BX was quiet. (although, I did notice a very quiet hum, about the volume of a small computer fan, through the speakers. the noise got barely inaudible when I bypassed the tube circuit. either way, it was negligible but it was a concern for me after reading the mega threads)
This amp really shines through an sealed 8x10. It's pronounced mids are less apparent without a tweeter, and as a result, it gives the 8x10 great punch. With barely any adjustment I found a great cutting rock tone with good bass and character. The tone, however mid-heavy, works great and sounds like you'd be clear in a mix.
Basic Tone Observations
giggable volume is reached quick, however I found that the master volume knob has a drastic increase from 0-2, but then a much slower increase in volume from 2-7. the increase from 7-10 is inaudible to my ears. The drive knob provides a nice boost to the volume; With the drive at 10, I had to gently nudge the master volume slightly around 0.5 to achieve a usuable volume. However, there wasn't any real grit from the drive channel. I was expecting more of an overdrive, and it just didn't have it.
The amp has plenty of mids, however I think the amp will "force itself" into a mix rather than blend well, meaning that sometimes the mids sound a bit harsh to the ears.
Engaging the tube circuit seems to add a little bit of clarity to the mid to high frequencies, but doesn't result in the kind of change in tone I would have liked. I feel that running the preamp tube at a higher voltage might give it more grit that I think players look for from a tube pre, this one just doesn't deliver the overdrive like I would have wanted.
I really like the compressor on the BX. I would describe it as "subtle" and doesn't give you the clear compression sound that I hate, more of almost a tubish compression that sounds natural to my ears.
The parametric mid sweeps are fantastic, probably the amp's strongest point. There should be no problem finding yourself in any mix without getting in anyone's way.
The lows of this amp are unusual. They are there, to my ears this amp can get very bassy. However, they aren't really the heart-stopping lows that you'd expect. It's very hard to describe, I was in no way wanting for more low-end, and my cabs were definitely moving a whole lotta air. However, I think that these lows along with a strong kick drum would sound locked in and fantastic together.
Other Tests
My wrap up complete, I decided to run a few more experiments.
First, I put some effects through the amp's effects loop.
I love my rocktron deep blue chorus because even though it's capable of ultra-watery chorus, it really shines as a background, subtle chorus that really enriches your sound. Through the BXs effects loop it sounds simply fantastic, no doubt about it. However, I did notice a volume different when I dimed the pedal (there is no level control)
My BDDI is my preamp for my current gigging rig, and I was planning on using it as my D.I. because the BX's is not post-eq (which I don't really get) putting the BDDI through the BX's effects loop made me decide to keep the BX. I could achieve the same tones I'm used to from my old rig, but the volume and ease of use along with the BX's own EQs I can enhance those sounds into something far more to my liking.
I also ran the amp at 2 ohms, with both the fridge and the avatar plugged in. WOAH. powerful, in your face tone. and most importantly, total stability.
Also, it is definitely worthy to note that at the end of these tests (about three hours of playtime, during which the amp was always powered on except when switching speakers or changing to 2 ohms) the fan at the back was blowing air out that was cooler than room temperature.
Final Verdict
This amp is a total keeper. It's light weight (easily carried with one finger from my car into my jam spot) and power makes it ideal for small gigs as well as the medium sized gigs that I'm used to. The volume is USABLE, which I think is more than just being loud. Crisp, Clear, variety filled tone is the name of the game here, with excellent EQ options and two great parametric mid sweeps. The flat tone might be a bit too mid-heavy for some players, but the use of the contour knob will solve that problem. Using this amp, my gigging rig weighs in total around 70lbs, which almost makes it a mini-ROD (if the 4x10 was less bulky).
Most importantly for me, this amp doesn't FEEL digital. it's very receptive to differences in playing and dynamics, which for some reason I really noticed. I was half expecting it to sound and feel limited because of my prejudice against digital vs. analog, but I think this is the best all-around amp I've ever played.
Bailey Approved!
I'm not a huge fan of branded boxes, especially when they're meant to sit on a porch for a few hours. nondescript boxes would have been more to my liking, but I'll get over it.
quick shot of the pack job on the rack ears. empty box with the plate in a plastic bag. works for me.
both boxes were stapled, I like that!
I like this even more! molded + wrapped foam pieces form a great nest for the amp to lie in. Great packing job! Also glad to see it wasn't a box inside of a box, which would be unneeded from a direct from factory company like Carvin.
another shot of the nest. The amp is really really well insulated from the jars of shipping. Great job Carvin!
anyway, back to the product in question. Here's it's first breath of fresh Massachusetts air!
Contents of the box were the amp, warranty card, manual, and a power cord.
booty shot. Lets take a peek inside.
well spaced, plenty of room for heat dissipation. the big ole heat sink helps.
tube is an unbranded 12AX7. labeled "made in china". hmph.
noticed an inordinate amount of hot glue
all over the switching power band. Looks like the builder got a little crazy with it.The total contents of what came with the rack plate. I know that for about 80% of customers, no instructions were needed, but I still wouldn't have minded a quick page of directions for installing the rack plate, as I'm sure some users might be afraid to start taking screws out of their new amp.
nice little tidbit, with the rackplate on the feet do not need to be removed to fit a 2U rack. Nice!
Ok, enough about how it was built, time to head to the practice space and see how it sounds!
here's my testing platform:
I was going to use the ampeg svt-4 as a comparison, but unfortunetly before I could it's owner came and took both the Sunn stack and the 4pro
. I was left with the following testers:Avatar B410 neo (4 ohm)
Ampeg 810EN (4 ohm)
SX J bass (stock, alder body)
Hamer velocity I (stock, flatwounds)
Here's my impressions:
SX through B410:
set the amp totally flat, volume zero, drive zero. kept the drive at zero and slowly increased the master volume. Holy crap! this thing is already VERY loud with the master at 2. (9 clock). I'm usually a loud bassist but this thing cranks. Very happy about that already.
Playing with a pick, I noticed how the mids pronounce themselves more and more and you increase the master volume. very cutting, very crisp tone that sounds all kinds of clean. Using fingers to play gives it a predictably deeper, warmer tone, and the amp sounds very dynamic to different picking styles as well as where I pluck.
Hamer through B410:
Switching from a passive to active bass EQ, I flipped the active switch on the front of the amp. The cut is not noticeable volume wise but is definitely a better fit for an active bass. I had been messing with the EQs during my playtime with the SX so the front looked like this: (sorry for blurriness)
I would classify the amp's EQ as "strong". I find that my Hamer and SX have different tones from each other, however, with the hamer's onboard EQ set flat, the tone through the amp is quite similar. There was a bit more "plunk" to my notes with the Hamer, which I attribute to the flatwounds, and the amps EQ works with the onboard nicely, letting me boost my bass frequencies until I reach an almost Dub-ish sound.
There is no limiter light on the amp, which I very much like because I am always weary of my clip light. I did not hear either cabs distort throughout my playing time, even with over the top low boost, all the time playing at a band volume.
I reset the EQs and plugged the amp into the fridge. My normal rig picks up alot of background noise (mostly from the ACTUAL fridge) when running through the 8x10 but the BX was quiet. (although, I did notice a very quiet hum, about the volume of a small computer fan, through the speakers. the noise got barely inaudible when I bypassed the tube circuit. either way, it was negligible but it was a concern for me after reading the mega threads)
This amp really shines through an sealed 8x10. It's pronounced mids are less apparent without a tweeter, and as a result, it gives the 8x10 great punch. With barely any adjustment I found a great cutting rock tone with good bass and character. The tone, however mid-heavy, works great and sounds like you'd be clear in a mix.
Basic Tone Observations
giggable volume is reached quick, however I found that the master volume knob has a drastic increase from 0-2, but then a much slower increase in volume from 2-7. the increase from 7-10 is inaudible to my ears. The drive knob provides a nice boost to the volume; With the drive at 10, I had to gently nudge the master volume slightly around 0.5 to achieve a usuable volume. However, there wasn't any real grit from the drive channel. I was expecting more of an overdrive, and it just didn't have it.
The amp has plenty of mids, however I think the amp will "force itself" into a mix rather than blend well, meaning that sometimes the mids sound a bit harsh to the ears.
Engaging the tube circuit seems to add a little bit of clarity to the mid to high frequencies, but doesn't result in the kind of change in tone I would have liked. I feel that running the preamp tube at a higher voltage might give it more grit that I think players look for from a tube pre, this one just doesn't deliver the overdrive like I would have wanted.
I really like the compressor on the BX. I would describe it as "subtle" and doesn't give you the clear compression sound that I hate, more of almost a tubish compression that sounds natural to my ears.
The parametric mid sweeps are fantastic, probably the amp's strongest point. There should be no problem finding yourself in any mix without getting in anyone's way.
The lows of this amp are unusual. They are there, to my ears this amp can get very bassy. However, they aren't really the heart-stopping lows that you'd expect. It's very hard to describe, I was in no way wanting for more low-end, and my cabs were definitely moving a whole lotta air. However, I think that these lows along with a strong kick drum would sound locked in and fantastic together.
Other Tests
My wrap up complete, I decided to run a few more experiments.
First, I put some effects through the amp's effects loop.
I love my rocktron deep blue chorus because even though it's capable of ultra-watery chorus, it really shines as a background, subtle chorus that really enriches your sound. Through the BXs effects loop it sounds simply fantastic, no doubt about it. However, I did notice a volume different when I dimed the pedal (there is no level control)
My BDDI is my preamp for my current gigging rig, and I was planning on using it as my D.I. because the BX's is not post-eq (which I don't really get) putting the BDDI through the BX's effects loop made me decide to keep the BX. I could achieve the same tones I'm used to from my old rig, but the volume and ease of use along with the BX's own EQs I can enhance those sounds into something far more to my liking.
I also ran the amp at 2 ohms, with both the fridge and the avatar plugged in. WOAH. powerful, in your face tone. and most importantly, total stability.
Also, it is definitely worthy to note that at the end of these tests (about three hours of playtime, during which the amp was always powered on except when switching speakers or changing to 2 ohms) the fan at the back was blowing air out that was cooler than room temperature.
Final Verdict
This amp is a total keeper. It's light weight (easily carried with one finger from my car into my jam spot) and power makes it ideal for small gigs as well as the medium sized gigs that I'm used to. The volume is USABLE, which I think is more than just being loud. Crisp, Clear, variety filled tone is the name of the game here, with excellent EQ options and two great parametric mid sweeps. The flat tone might be a bit too mid-heavy for some players, but the use of the contour knob will solve that problem. Using this amp, my gigging rig weighs in total around 70lbs, which almost makes it a mini-ROD (if the 4x10 was less bulky).
Most importantly for me, this amp doesn't FEEL digital. it's very receptive to differences in playing and dynamics, which for some reason I really noticed. I was half expecting it to sound and feel limited because of my prejudice against digital vs. analog, but I think this is the best all-around amp I've ever played.
Bailey Approved!
