Never used their stuff, but, like you, really miss the catalogs. (Truth be known, I miss catalogs in general. I'm an old, fer shure.)
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Anybody besides me miss Carvin?
- Thread starter countrybass5
- Start date
I miss early 80s Carvin. Once they went to "modern" styling and a less deep wider neck, I was done. Fortunately I have a specimen, a red one, in excellent condition. It remains the best, easiest playing bass I own. It has a voice of it's own, dark in the low mids, infinite sustain and just cuts through any track. Whoever designed it was a zenmaster. They kept the design for as long as insane American business people with "new ideas" could, never would it occur to them to wait until it became a industry standard...like Fender or the VW beetle, Mustang cars... Kleenex...
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I'm confused. They might actually still exist, but in a much smaller form. Their website is still active. But there are only a couple dozen items available. Their new guitar preamp pedal wasn't even introduced until January of this year!
Carvin Amps and Audio- Gear For Musicians and Sound Professionals
Carvin Amps and Audio- Gear For Musicians and Sound Professionals
In my universe, Carvin filled the void between Lafayette / Heathkit / Montgomery Wards and the top-shelf offerings of the day (Fender, Gibson, etc). I recall when the Carvin catalog went head-to-head dissin' on their competition of the day namely Kramer aluminum neck basses (78-79).
Riis
I'm essentially waiting for a killer deal on some 10s and I'll probably replace em. It's such a light little can and was so loud for it's size.
I've had a ProBass 150 for years, now... still use it for practice/rehearsals... some dirty pots, over the years, but easily resolved...
... and still going.
... and still going.
I get the vibe that Carvin as we knew it is no more. The current company looks to just be using the name to distribute overseas-manufactured stuff. Not that that's any different from a lot of businesses, but Carvin is Carvin in name only now. Nothing researched, nothing built, just redistributing with their branding on it.
Kiesel is pretty awesome still.
I used their rack oriented bass amps for years, like the BX 500, and 1500 amps. Never played any of their basses. For a rack mounted amp, I thought they were fine, for a lot of features all in one amp like a crossover, compressor, separate power amps in one head, etc. Never had a problem with any except the BX 500, when it first came out; it had solder joint problems, and Carvin immediately replaced it with a new one. Since I got tired of the whole rack unit thing and went to smaller heads like the Genz Benz, I don't use them anymore, but you will hear no complaints from me about their products or service.
I spent HOURS as a teenager going through the Carvin catalog and figuring out my perfect custom bass would be. (never did order one, though). I got a great deal on a BX500 a few years back and use it as backup amp. It was always an "Eh, it's OK" amp, but never very exciting.
- Oct 18, 2012
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I don't miss Carvin at all. In the early 80s, my band had Carvin monitors. They were terrible. No clarity or definition at all. We sold them and purchased JBL and there was a huge difference. About 12 years ago, I purchased an LB75. I kept it for one week and sold it. I also tried a couple of bass amps and never kept any of them for more than a week or two. I know some people love Carvin but their products are not right for me.
Carvin has been the backbone of my musical gear for many years. I have three of their six string basses, avatar shows my LB76WP, and a five string I built from their parts. Four or five Carvin power amps and a BX1500. Their IEM system with six receivers and a bunch of other stuff. None of it has ever let me down. I considered them pretty much as good as one can buy.
I miss them a lot!!
I miss them a lot!!
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
I've had plenty of failures with Carvin amps and powered PA boards. Only the older power amps have held up any better. They closed up and left their customers hanging with no service. Local independent repair shops are enjoying the stream of new customers with faulty Carvin gear. Good riddance.
You may find yourself missing people who miss Carvin.
I only ever had a BX1500 because Carvin was so obstinate about how they’d ship (apparently against their better judgement) to Canada. It was powerful but I found it lacked any defined character. A real boatload of features, though.
I only ever had a BX1500 because Carvin was so obstinate about how they’d ship (apparently against their better judgement) to Canada. It was powerful but I found it lacked any defined character. A real boatload of features, though.
I seriously miss knowing they could repair my BX1500 if it ever needed it.
Was planning to get a 4 channel power amp for PA monitors.
They folded just as I had the money together.
Was planning to get a 4 channel power amp for PA monitors.
They folded just as I had the money together.
Hello,
New TB member here (but have been trolling the forums for years & found lots of helpful advice). I recently purchased a second hand Carvin MB15 to use with my upright bass and I’m very pleased with it. I was wondering if anyone might know how to acquire a 115MBE (15” Micro Bass extension cabinet)? I’m obviously very late to the party on Carvin gear (especially since they’re now defunct). I’ve had no luck on their website or their eBay store. FYI I live in Canada, which may present an additional challenge (trade war and all ). Thanks in advance!
New TB member here (but have been trolling the forums for years & found lots of helpful advice). I recently purchased a second hand Carvin MB15 to use with my upright bass and I’m very pleased with it. I was wondering if anyone might know how to acquire a 115MBE (15” Micro Bass extension cabinet)? I’m obviously very late to the party on Carvin gear (especially since they’re now defunct). I’ve had no luck on their website or their eBay store. FYI I live in Canada, which may present an additional challenge (trade war and all ). Thanks in advance!
I had a couple of monitors and a powered mixer of theirs from the early 2000’s. They were ‘meh’. The powered mixer fried at one point, but I took it to a shop and it ended up being a cheap repair.
I tried a couple of the "Probass" combos, no tone IMHO. I got a BX 500 head which I really liked quite a lot until it went pffft one day about three months in and powered up but had no sound.
I soon realized I had a throw away amp that was just as cheap to replace as repair.
Some of their older bass heads seem to have a Peavey tank like indestructible record, and have some popularity. I don't really think I would buy one given their age.
I've read plenty of bad reviews of their bass amps of the last 20 years. Perhaps they tried to cut their losses and focus on what is arguably their strongest product line, their custom instruments.
Let's face it, even the big boys have winners and losers. Fender bass amps for the most part sucked lemons for decades. How ironic is that ?
I soon realized I had a throw away amp that was just as cheap to replace as repair.
Some of their older bass heads seem to have a Peavey tank like indestructible record, and have some popularity. I don't really think I would buy one given their age.
I've read plenty of bad reviews of their bass amps of the last 20 years. Perhaps they tried to cut their losses and focus on what is arguably their strongest product line, their custom instruments.
Let's face it, even the big boys have winners and losers. Fender bass amps for the most part sucked lemons for decades. How ironic is that ?
