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CARVIN BX 500 OR MARKBASS LITTLEMARK 3

#41
Brad Johnson said:
Not really. It's not like you have to own an amp to try one or hear one. I've heard and/or tried dozens of Carvin amps over the years, formed an opinion based on those experiences and owned one less than he has.
:)
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And you are of the same opinion? Sorry,if I'm not understanding this, but, obviously, many TB'ers are thrilled with Carvin bass amps, not only the BX500. The 1500, the 1200 have had great reviews. To say all Carvin amps have " no tone " is, at the very least, an inaccurate statement.
 
#43
jnewmark said:
And you are of the same opinion? Sorry,if I'm not understanding this, but, obviously, many TB'ers are thrilled with Carvin bass amps, not only the BX500. The 1500, the 1200 have had great reviews. To say all Carvin amps have " no tone " is, at the very least, an inaccurate statement.
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My point was in reference to you saying he's only owned one Carvin amp as if that's mandatory in forming opinions about the amps. It's clearly not.
:)

I've played a bunch of Carvin amps from the eighties going forward and so far I haven't played one that made me want to own it. By the same token I have not played the BX500 nor the bigger more recent heads (I'm not interested in a larger format head than what I have)... but I would not need to own it to form an opinion, I'd just need to try it.
:cool:


Not speaking for the other poster but my guess is that "no tone" is short for "no tone that he likes". Of course they have tone, every amp does. It's only inaccurate if you take it literally and there really is no reason to do that.

Besides, people like what they like (and the converse). I'm guessing that's still okay.
;)
 
#44
bassjam said:
+1.My thoughts as well.My LMII is going on 2 years-plenty of power,tone that I love,in a small light box.Im not sure I can rate it any other way but to give it two thumbs up.
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I did an outdoor gig yesterday and mine sounded amazing... as usual. I couldn't overrate this amp, it's easily the best amp I've ever played through... for me. Plug and play, phenomenal sound.

A drummer I worked with last week just texted me, he wants to recommend my complete rig to a bassist he knows. He loved it. People think nobody cares about what you use or how you sound. Not IME.
:cool:
 
#45
That much better than the AMP or the Thunderfunk, Brad? What cabs were you using for the outdoor thing? I'd be all over a LMII if I could figure out what small cabs to use to replace my 1x10 Yamahas (4ohms each, unfortunately). I bet the LMII would sound great with my GS212, but at that point if I am lugging a 75lb dual speaker cab, I might as well bring my DB750.
 
#46
Brad Johnson said:
I did an outdoor gig yesterday and mine sounded amazing... as usual. I couldn't overrate this amp, it's easily the best amp I've ever played through... for me. Plug and play, phenomenal sound.

A drummer I worked with last week just texted me, he wants to recommend my complete rig to a bassist he knows. He loved it. People think nobody cares about what you use or how you sound. Not IME.
:cool:
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Again I share your thoughts.Though our sound is the sum of all components(amp,bass,cab,etc)the LMII was the missing piece Id been looking for.I knew the first time I plugged it in.Im guilty of wanting to try everything that comes out and I try to stay current with all this new bass gear.Ive also owned way more gear than I care to recount.But Ive been very happy with my sound the last couple years-so much so I dont even feel the need to upgrade to the LMIII at this point.Nothing overrated about it-works great for me!

We do alot of fly dates and I usually tell whoever Im working with to just rent a cab,Ill bring an amp.The LMII handles this in spades.

That all said,Id still love to try the BX500.But it is going to take something really special for me to unload my LMII.
 
#47
Sean Baumann said:
That much better than the AMP or the Thunderfunk, Brad? What cabs were you using for the outdoor thing? I'd be all over a LMII if I could figure out what small cabs to use to replace my 1x10 Yamahas (4ohms each, unfortunately). I bet the LMII would sound great with my GS212, but at that point if I am lugging a 75lb dual speaker cab, I might as well bring my DB750.
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Yep... I know, hard to believe. It does what they did, just bigger. Much bigger. While being much smaller. Weird. I think what really got me was the performance of the coaxes vs. standard tweeters/peizoo/etc.

Here's the current "big" rig...


http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7506975&postcount=255
 
#51
Hey I know I'm six months after the fact. I owned a LMII loved it, sold my bigger (but still cool) SWR Working Pro 500 and my Ampeg B2RE and haven't looked back. I then brought a LMIII (you gotta have a spare), felt really redundant because the LMII was never going to crap out on me, sold the old LMII and went for the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0. I was going to get the Carvin cause all my cabs are 4 ohms and I liked the idea of going down to 2 ohms and running 2 cabs. In the end I got a great deal on the genz benz to have some variety in my rigs but will still end up with the carvin eventually, gotta pay for all this crap! Let me know how you like your carvins. Mike C. Schroeder rocks!! I love my Schroeder 1212L- 40 pounds, 800 watts sounds killer. I keep my Ampeg PR410HLF at rehearsal (amazing cab too) and my Bergantino HT322 (The best) at home. When I gig out, I'm not moving those behemoths, I use the Schro for all small to medium gigs. Was looking to go for the 1212R- 1,000 watts, onlyl 59 pounds. Amazing how that guy makes a 2X12 the size or a 112 and sound like a 410. I got the Berg instead cause I got a great price and I always wanted one. These sound great with the LMII. The Ampeg probably handles it best of all. Got G.A.S.?
 
#52
I was not impressed with my schroeders but i must admit that i have recieved compliments on how they sound.My complaint with mine was( and i have 2--21012 light cabs 1very slightly used and 1 brand new),they just did not seem to be built well,they both wobbled(couldnt stack them cause 1 wobbled on ground and the other wobbled on the other),took off the grill and the cuts where the speakers fit in were cut crooked and the wood looked like scrap laminate wood,when i play at moderate levels the cab literally vibrates and moves from original position and my lmiii vibrates off the cab(i remedied this with velcro).luckily I got a deal on them($300.00 bucks apiece) so i can live with that. if i had payed the $1100.00 they sell them for i would have been very unhappy.I do gig them and they have grown on me a bit but i wouldnt buy them again. but to each their own.;)
 
#54
Mike C, the Schroeders have a reputation to not sound great solo but sound great in a live band mix and they do cut thru nicely and can handle high volume in a small pkg. Hence the compliments you get. I love mine and I'm happy with the sound. I am alarmed to hear about the cheap construction, I thought Jurg was a craftsman who took pride in building great bass gear. I don't run more than 1 cab at a time (the 4 ohm cab/4 ohm head thing which was making me look to the carvin and it's 2 ohm capabilities) and I don't like to stack heads on top of Cabs; it's just me, almost everyone else does it, I just can't see all that vibration being good for the longevity of a $600 bass head. I like to keep the Schroder on an amp stand and I put the LMII on the floor under the amp stand or on a shelf in a rack case. Get lots of compliments on the sound. Bass4Worship, I had an Ampeg SVT classic 15E and that cab was amazing, great low end. I keep an SVT 410HLF and a PR410HLF which are complete monsters with volume and tone; just kind of big and heavy to lug around. I still love the Ampeg tone. Goes great with the LMII.
 
#55
Just a quick comment that I heard that apparently Jorg had a couple lazy, less than competent builders working for him that were producing inferior product. I heard a number of the same issues Mike is talking about. However, I haven't heard anymore about it about 4 or 5 months so I assume Jorg fired those dudes.

Ultimately though, the buck stops with him and I were him I'd personally inspect every cab to make sure standards are met. Once you get a bad rep its hard to live it down.

Here's hoping Jorg has that all sorted out now. And for the record all 4 or 5 schroeders that I have owned have been very well built.
 
#56
I really love my schroeder, I have the 1212L and was going to add a 1212R; it's only 10 pounds more, has great reviews and can handle 1000 watts (200 more than the neos in the light). Instead I ended up getting a bergantino HT322 (used) for a great price but it's another heavy cab that I will probably rarely if ever gig with. When the time comes for me to pick my rig for a show, I find myself grabbing the Schroeder because it's so easy to transport and I know it will get the job done. It's a no brainer and it goes great with the MB LMIII or the GB 6.0. Eventually I will end up with a 2nd Schroeder but I will have to make a tough decision and get rid of one of my Ampegs or the Berg. My weakness is cabs and I think mine all sound great. It comes down to practicality but I get too attached.
 
#57
Yeah I owned the 1212R for a couple years. Nice cab, but definitely has the aggressive low-mid thing happening. Personally I thought it was not a good match with the shuttle 6.0 as both of those units were a little lacking in the lows. Great match with my LMII though and also good with the eden 405.

I also have a weakness for cabs. My amp, the LMII, totally satisfies me as does my bass (stambaugh shortscale), but even though I totally dig my UL112s I could see switching things up at some point. The BMF 1212 looks pretty cool.
 
#58
I hear ya Bassist. I definitely lose some of of that room filling low end with the Schroeder that I get with the Ampegs and the Berg. It's physics; a 40 pound cab is not going to do what a 130 pound cab does, it's not going to move the air. That being said, it's a different sound, still pretty cool and I'm happy just running the Schroeder with the MB LMIII and nothing else. My other weakness was pre amps; I have a rack with an Alembix FX1, a Tech 21 Sansamp RBI and a BBE BMAX, I've barely been using them, getting a great tone with the Schroeder, MB LMIII and my 5 String Warwick Corvette $$ double buck. Killer tones with that set up. When I use my passive American Fender Jazz then I use one of the pre amps. The sansamp gets me soundling like Flea/ a real crunchy SVT tubey sound that always gets lots of compliments. The Alembic sounds like Roger Waters/Pink Floyd beautiful clear as a bell low end. There is just so much great stuff out there. I'm going to need a warehouse soon.
 
#59
I've tried the LMII a few times. Didn't like it personally, but I've only tried the combos with markbass speakers.

I own the carvin bx500 and I really like it a lot.

If you're a "set it and forget it" kinda guy, maybe the LM is for you.

If you like having a lot of EQ available, as well as compressor and drive functions, and even a pre-amp tube... it's the carvin.

I also can't stand how the LM looks and I love the carvin's looks and design.
 
#60
no the MarkBass Combo's aren't my favorite, they're very portable IMO they have a really thin sound. The MarkBass LMII/III heads are tremendous though. It does look like a "School Bus" but I don't care what a head looks like I care about the tone and the volume which the LMII has in spades. Glad to hear about the Carvin being good, wanting a 2nd lightweight powerful head (I have a MB LMIII) I was torn between the Carvin BX500 and the Genz Benz 6.0 Shuttle. I was able to get a great deal on the shuttle (less than a MB LMIII and they usually go for $100 more!) I had to take it. I'll eventually get myself a Carvin as long as I don't start seeing bad reviews. I end up using these things as power amps half the times anyway, I don't want a 40 pound 2000 watt monster to lug around. I usually play the MB and the GB pretty flat (well I tweak the filters) and use the active settings on my Warwick or use an external pre amp on my Fender Jazz to tweak the tone. I do have to say the Warwick/MarkBass/Ampeg or Schroeder combo has been my recent favorite. Making me leave my beloved Fender Jazz in it's case. Good luck with the Carvin, seems like a great value and a really good head.
 

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