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Carvin B-series reliability

amos

amos

Oct 23, 2003
1,692
8
40
SE Portland Oregon
#1
Hi, I am sort of posting for a friend of mine. He has an older Carvin R600 that he picked up on ebay years ago for very little money. He's in the market for a new amp and I've recommended the newer Carvin B- line up of amps but he's unsure of the reliability after all the weird issues he's had with his R600.

Anyone out there had problems with the B600/1200/B1500?
 
#2
amos said:
Hi, I am sort of posting for a friend of mine. He has an older Carvin R600 that he picked up on ebay years ago for very little money. He's in the market for a new amp and I've recommended the newer Carvin B- line up of amps but he's unsure of the reliability after all the weird issues he's had with his R600.

Anyone out there had problems with the B600/1200/B1500?
Click to expand...

I had a bx600, it broke in a day, unfortunately i had already written a + review of it on TB. But I would say stay away, stay waay away.
 
#4
His R600 does this bizarre thing where the volume drops to an unheard level. You have to spike the signal by hitting the strings at the bridge really hard in order get the sound back. It's pretty awful.

What he usually did was use his Sansamp BDDI box + Behringer mixer as a preamp and just use the power section of the R600. The problem I described is in the poweramp.

Unfortunately he's lost his Sansam BDDI (drug users :-P) and now is in need of something be it a new bass driver box, or new amp setup period.
 
#6
The B500/B1500/B800 amps are built like tanks. Supper rugged mil spec circuit boards. Pots mounted to the chassis with metal bushings, mil spec wiring, heavy gauge steel chassis, toroid power transformers, high quality connectors and components.

I cannot speak for the build quality of the BX series or the B600/1200.

I do know that these amps need their cooling and if the heatsinks or fans get blocked they can and will blow the power module.

The B500/1500/800 pre-amp is amazing sounding. If you cannot get your sound with that pre I don't know what to tell ya. Best deal in bass amps these days.
I just sold a B500 today actually.
 
#7
Also cannot speak for the BX Series, but it still has me scratching my head as to why Carvin discontinued the B500/800 ... I have the B800 ... great sound set flat, easy to use and seems to be built well ... I dont use it a lot, but couldnt be happier with it ...
 
#8
I have owned a B1500 for only a short time now. Played it on about a 4-5 gigs and no problems in it's Gator 3U shallow case. The rig is built like something out of the distant past looking at it from the outside. No cheapo plastic sliders, buttons or knobs. Big transformer, 2 speed fan, simple controls, the whole 9. Major mojo tone here and gobs of volume if you so desire.

Why did they discontinue the B800/500? Good question..
 
#9
bx1200 owner here and extremely happy with it !!! last night at a 2 band show the opening bands bass player couldnt get over my carvin 1200 / 210 / 410 rig ... he owns a aguilar 412 , ampeg 810 , and a couple of ag and ampeg amps .... he likes my rig better than his now :)
 
#10
If the brand you drove was good, you'll sing it 's praises. If you got a lemon they will never see you again and you'll tell everyone you meet what a piece of crap it was!

I have owned several Carvin amps, starting with a Redline R1000 Series III. That was a great amp. I played it hard for years, never had a problem. Replaced it with a BX1200 about 6 months ago. Also great, and way more advanced than the Redline. Killer sounding and absolutely trouble free (currently for sale if you need one :)

I also have a BRX112-Neo combo, that one has the B800 amp in it. Amazing little rig.

And last but not least I have a B1500. Like all my Carvins it is rock solid and I've never had a single issue with it.

That's one of the reasons I keep buying Carvins, the other is that I don't think anyone else gives you the combination of quality and bang for the buck that they do.
 
#11
Seeing that the BR-Series is just the R-Series reborn, I would say you can probably expect the same results. Though, I never really liked the sound and was always trying to find a good tone, I know my Series 3 R1000 was solid. I drove that thing hard at times and it never had a problem. Would I ever buy another? No, like I said, I didn't like the tone. If I had nothing else to use, would I use one of these? Absolutely, it was never an issue of reliability.

As far as his amp, try these out while he's saving money for a new one. This is what a lot of people on the Carvin boards say works:

Clean out all input and output jacks.
Open it up and clean all the contacts.

Sometime just a little cleaning will go a LONG way, especially with these.

-sam
 
#12
LAG said:
I have owned a B1500 for only a short time now. Played it on about a 4-5 gigs and no problems in it's Gator 3U shallow case. The rig is built like something out of the distant past looking at it from the outside. No cheapo plastic sliders, buttons or knobs. Big transformer, 2 speed fan, simple controls, the whole 9. Major mojo tone here and gobs of volume if you so desire.

Why did they discontinue the B800/500? Good question..
Click to expand...

This is a great description. This amp seems like such a good deal. Genz-Benz quality construction for a great price? I just wish I could try one out.
 
#13
The Carvin B and BX are both built super reliable. On the carvin promo DVD (you can have one mailed for free if you ask them) shows one of the reps taking b1500 to the carvin factory parking lot and literally heaving it onto the concrete. He then picks it up and brings it back inside. It fires up no problem! I would NOT do this with the vast majority of the amps out there.

I've owned the b800 and currently own the bx1200. They are both built extremely well. Do a search with TBer SMASH. He did a very thorough review a few years back of his b1500.
 
#15

Ok, I've owned a Carvin BX1200 for roughly 6 months now. I really enjoy the tone and drive of this head.......but, yes, there is a but.......I had it totally cut out on me during my third set. Now granted I was pushing it pretty hard but still.....very upsetting. I was in biamp mode. The back was un blocked, plenty of airflow. I finished out the night with a crappy Behringer,(arrrgghhh). The next morning,after cooling down the amp was fine and have not had a problem since. I really like this amp, esp for the $$$, but that incident didn't sit well,(a first). I've sinced changed my backup to a Yorkville BM400,(not a bad amp at all) but the Carvin is my first choice for tone and power. I don't care what you use....always have a backup.......ready :rollno:
 
#16
Ok, I've owned a Carvin BX1200 for roughly 6 months now. I really enjoy the tone and drive of this head.......but, yes, there is a but.......I had it totally cut out on me during my third set. Now granted I was pushing it pretty hard but still.....very upsetting. I was in biamp mode. The back was un blocked, plenty of airflow. I finished out the night with a crappy Behringer,(arrrgghhh). The next morning,after cooling down the amp was fine and have not had a problem since. I really like this amp, esp for the $$$, but that incident didn't sit well,(a first). I've sinced changed my backup to a Yorkville BM400,(not a bad amp at all) but the Carvin is my first choice for tone and power. I don't care what you use....always have a backup.......ready :rollno:
 

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#17
I've been gigging my B800 for 2 years now as my primary amp. Never had a single issue. Ever. Period.

Killer amp, regardless of price. I run mine at either 4 or 2ohms, BTW.

I peeked inside the chassis when changing a fuse and it looks neat, clean, and solid.

I WILL be getting a B1500 if I find that I'll be playing large outdoor gigs in the future.

Do it! :bassist:
 
#18
I've got BX1200 w/410,118 cabs that I've owned since 01/31/07 and it has worked great for me. The only thing I've experienced was the crossover switch had a dirty connection and made some noise when you use it, but WD40 took care of that, otherwise, it's been a great sounding amp, powerful, very versatile.
 
#19
Just got my new issue of Bass Player in the mail, and included in the 2008 Readers Choice Awards, under Best All Around New Products...

Ta da! The BX1200.

They also gave this amp a great review a few issues back.

There's a little street cred for ya :)
 
#20
TTYTT, although the intention of this thread was to give my friend an idea of the quality of the B1500 compared to the older redline series heads, this thread has given me bad lust for an amp head. My first real setup was components and I am just itching to try out an integrated amplifier like this Carvin. I am a big fan of tube pre's and am itching for a Quatravalve more than anything, but I am very interested in hearing this amp if it is as good as everyone say it is. I am hesitant to change because the sound I get with my setup is very unique.
 

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