Carvin Amplifiers and Audio

[mikewalker]

I got what was probably the last MB10 bass combo they ever made, when they were doing that final sale just before they pulled the plug... Its a great little amp and I still use it daily But I can't see myself buying a new Carvin anything ever again...

Keisel on the other hand is a definite possibility...

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Did not know they are doing Chinese crap rebranding now. Oh well

In late 2017 Carvin Audio as we all new them went out of business and stated that they are gone and because of this all of their gear will not be supported by their warranty or our service center. We are no longer a company so all warranty's are now invalid.
Carvin is gone.

Then a few months later this Carvin website appears selling microphones, wireless systems and some accessories, like you see now.
They stated on this New Site that this Current Carvin has nothing to do with and is not responsible for any of the previous gear that bares the Carvin name.

Carvin of the past is gone.

 

[logdrum]

My first apartment in San Diego was walking distance from the showroom. I would detour from my Trader Joe's errands and hang out there. Now I visit the Kiesel showroom. in Escondido and relatively near me because that area is near the first shopping centers nearest to me. I leave my credit cards at home when I go there. But really the way to increase my will power is bring the cards or cash and test myself. I bought something on my first visit.

 

[Obese Chess]

Kinda. Jeff and Mark Kiesel bought out Carvin's side of the guitar business and split off to become Kiesel guitars. It's a totally seperate company. The amp side stayed Carvin then within a couple of years, Carvin went out of business. Mark Kiesel ran Carvin's custom shop since the 70's, now he and his son Jeff run Kiesel.

I just wanted to clarify that because of Carvin shutting down and leaving their customers holding the bag by voiding all warranties. Kiesel is totally separate and had zero involvement in any of that. Kiesel is the same custom shop they were as Carvin, they make wonderful stuff, and they are killing it right now.

Killing it mostly, yes, but there has been a LOT of controversy around them recently regarding increasingly poor customer service since that buyout, largely coinciding with Jeff's increased involvement in the day to day business of the company.

The Carvin of the past really is gone, it appears.

 

[TeaTime]

First, I was a serious Carvin guy. My entire stage rig, my club rig, and my home recording rig are still Carvin gear. It's my favourite gear -- I don't look forward to replacing it as it begins to fail with age. Most of my basses are Kiesel basses.

Half the family took the guitar side and went off on their own, using the name Kiesel. The other half kept Carvin Audio.

Carvin Audio then screwed their customers by closing down, declaring all contracts (customer warranties and monies owed to suppliers) void, and then almost immediately reopening. People assume it's simply that someone bought the name to use, but that is NOT the case. It is the same family, led by the same scum guy who screwed customers and suppliers for their own gain. Not my opinion -- go dig through business entity registrations and see for yourself.

Don't do business with Carvin. Full stop. They lied, cheated, and betrayed their customers and suppliers simply to pad their own pockets. We deserve better than that.

It disgusts me that industry magazines and such treat them as if they are a respectable company. No accountability for thieves.

 

[Koshchei]

So are they back? I just received an email from them and it looks like their audio is back. No bass amps though, at least not that Ican find.

Carvin Amps and Audio- Gear For Musicians and Sound Professionals

It's kind of sad to see what's become of them... that amazing history and pedigree reduced to two preamp pedals, a rebranded Chinese pedal power amp, and a 1x12 extension cabinet.

I love Kiesel guitars - fantastically well-made and really good value for a semi-custom instrument. I can't say enough positive things about my experiences with Jeff and his guys.

 

[Mustang Surly]

I was a huge Carvin guy for years... I've owned multiple heads, instruments cabinets...
And SCREW those people now
They declared "bankruptcy" voided everyone's warranties, and reopened the doors the next day.
I suspect they have offshored all of their manufacturing to China. At that point you might as well throw the dice with Alibaba

I was kind of wondering if something like this wasn't the case with the "re-surfaced" Carvin brand. After all, "Made in the USA" was one of their big selling points, and nothing on the new website says that any of their stuff is that.

I picked up a Carvin solid-state MicroBass BX 250 1X10" amp during the close-out sale awhile back to use as a bass practice amp and like it fine. Too bad the new stuff appears to be "Carvin" in name only.

 

[abarson]

I don't see anything bass related on their website, and their PA stuff never really went away.
I'm not holding my breath for them to get back in the game.

 

[vid1900]

Carvin Audio then screwed their customers by closing down, declaring all contracts (customer warranties and monies owed to suppliers) void, and then almost immediately reopening. People assume it's simply that someone bought the name to use, but that is NOT the case. It is the same family, led by the same scum guy who screwed customers and suppliers for their own gain. Not my opinion -- go dig through business entity registrations and see for yourself.

Don't do business with Carvin. Full stop. They lied, cheated, and betrayed their customers and suppliers simply to pad their own pockets. We deserve better than that.

It disgusts me that industry magazines and such treat them as if they are a respectable company. No accountability for thieves.

Of course it sucks that they closed down and filed for bankruptcy, but that's how the laws in the States are written.

Famous persons in the States have filed for bankruptcy seven times in their lives, and people still adore them.

Apple, GM, Marvel, Six-flags, and many other famous companies have filled for bankruptcy protection from creditors, yet we all keep texting on our iPhones and keep watching Spiderman.

If you can't afford to make amps in the US anymore, and all your tech equipment and parts got liquidated, you are obviously not going to have any cash to buy new tech stations and parts for warranty work.

Even companies that are still very much in business (like Onkyo or Pioneer) will take your product in for non-warranty repairs, charge you a $79 bench fee, then tell you they don't have the parts to repair it (and you have to pay $20 if you want your broken product shipped back). Of course, any real tech can repair the product with common, readily available parts.

 

[agedhorse]

Of course it sucks that they closed down and filed for bankruptcy, but that's how the laws in the States are written.

Famous persons in the States have filed for bankruptcy seven times in their lives, and people still adore them.

Apple, GM, Marvel, Six-flags, and many other famous companies have filled for bankruptcy protection from creditors, yet we all keep texting on our iPhones and keep watching Spiderman.

If you can't afford to make amps in the US anymore, and all your tech equipment and parts got liquidated, you are obviously not going to have any cash to buy new tech stations and parts for warranty work.

Even companies that are still very much in business (like Onkyo or Pioneer) will take your product in for non-warranty repairs, charge you a $79 bench fee, then tell you they don't have the parts to repair it (and you have to pay $20 if you want your broken product shipped back). Of course, any real tech can repair the product with common, readily available parts.

Your post is full of factually incorrect information, perhaps you might want to fact check your statements and post a correction?

1. Apple never filed for either chapter 11 or 7 bankruptcy
2. Carvin never filed for either chapter 11 or 7 bankruptcy
3. Neither Onkyo or Pioneer provide warranty service, all of their service is through a global service network and these facilities operate independent of Onkyo and Pioneer for non-warranty repairs, they will have their own individual out of warranty service policies.

 

[vid1900]

Neither Onkyo or Pioneer provide warranty service, all of their service is through a global service network and these facilities operate independent of Onkyo and Pioneer for non-warranty repairs, they will have their own individual out of warranty service policies.

If your Onkyo DAP needs a replacement battery in the States (the player tells you it can't hold a charge any longer), they tell you to send it in for **diagnostic** (even though you have already told them it says it needs the battery replaced). They tell you the only USA service center for DAPs is the regional in NY. You ship it on your dime and pay $79

They then tell you parts are no longer available, and if you want it back, you pay another $20 for them to return it. They have been doing this for almost 2 years.

You then take the player to any cell phone rescue store, and they replace the battery for $40. The replacement battery is the exact same brand/size/OEM manufacturer.

Probably 8 guys have fallen for this exact scam in our audiophile club.

So much so that our club sent out a statement as all these players are hitting that 3-4 year mark.

You can get this EXACT TCL battery for $20 anywhere, and it fits either the Pioneer or Onk.

Don't know about the rest of the world, but in the States, you guys are getting reamed by Pioneer/Onkyo

 

[vid1900]

1. Apple never filed for either chapter 11 or 7 bankruptcy

For some reason I always see Apple at the top of every list "20 top companies that survived bankruptcy"

If they didn't, I apologize

 

[ddnidd1]

For some reason I always see Apple at the top of every list "20 top companies that survived bankruptcy"

If they didn't, I apologize

Apparently Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy, when money flowed in.

 

[ardgedee]

For some reason I always see Apple at the top of every list "20 top companies that survived bankruptcy"

In July of 1997, Jobs became CEO of Apple. By August, Apple was fairly infamously within a couple weeks of running out of money (calculated by income against expenses) when Steve Jobs announced what was effectively a cash loan from Microsoft (Microsoft agreed to buy $150M in non-voting shares of Apple).

But anyway, this thread is about Carvin, not Apple.

 

[mmbongo]

Apparently Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy, when money flowed in.

Apple people seem to want to forget that it was Microsoft that kept them afloat

Aug. 6, 1997: Apple Rescued — by Microsoft

 

[vid1900]

Apple people seem to want to forget that it was Microsoft that kept them afloat

What would M$ do without having Apple to copy?

 

[agedhorse]

If your Onkyo DAP needs a replacement battery in the States (the player tells you it can't hold a charge any longer), they tell you to send it in for **diagnostic** (even though you have already told them it says it needs the battery replaced). They tell you the only USA service center for DAPs is the regional in NY. You ship it on your dime and pay $79

They then tell you parts are no longer available, and if you want it back, you pay another $20 for them to return it. They have been doing this for almost 2 years.

You then take the player to any cell phone rescue store, and they replace the battery for $40. The replacement battery is the exact same brand/size/OEM manufacturer.

Probably 8 guys have fallen for this exact scam in our audiophile club.

So much so that our club sent out a statement as all these players are hitting that 3-4 year mark.

You can get this EXACT TCL battery for $20 anywhere, and it fits either the Pioneer or Onk.

View attachment 3876562

Don't know about the rest of the world, but in the States, you guys are getting reamed by Pioneer/Onkyo

Or, you find a QUALIFIED service center who knows how to work on these products. Somehow, you got talked into something here but that happens. Generally, the manufacturer and their importers of record do not do any repairs, but refer you to one of many authorized service centers. Back in the very old days, I put myself through my last couple of years of engineering school working as a service manager of an authorized service center for both of these brands.

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Support/Service-Center

Onkyo Service Repair Centers in U.S.A.

 

[vid1900]

Or, you find a QUALIFIED service center who knows how to work on these products. Somehow, you got talked into something here but that happens.

I always replace my own batteries and screens in cellphones and DAPs. Many of the tutorials on Fix-ya and Pinside are written by me.

But everyone in the club (and on the forums) says that when they called Pioneer, they were directed to mail their DAP to a single repair center. Jo Shmo, who does not have a hotair workstation, is not going to even think of trying to open it themselves. They are going to follow Pioneer's instructions and get robbed.

Whenever I'm in the States, my niece always has me replace her Moto screen. No case can protect it from her. 3 screens and 1 battery latter:

 

[vid1900]

Back in the very old days, I put myself through my last couple of years of engineering school working as a service manager of an authorized service center for both of these brands.

I still have my certificate from Bally in the 80s for completing my 4 week pinball master tech course in Chicago.

Talk about old school. They used PROMs because EPROMs (that you could erase and reprogram) were too much money!

 

[agedhorse]

Either you learn how to fix (or destroy) it yourself or you find a qualified service center. There's no conspiracy, it's really pretty straightforward.

And yes, I see a lot of damaged gear from folks trying to fix it themselves on those websites and forums. Much of the products that would have cost under $100 to fix properly are no longer economically repairable once the damage from the repair attempts is addressed. There is SO MUCH bad "fix it yourself" information on this topic that it's rather mind blowing.