I'm still rockin my BX1200 well after a year's worth of hard gigs (at 2 ohms no less).
What does that mean for you? Nothing.
What does that mean for you? Nothing.
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Carvin BX Amp reliability?
- Thread starter jzucker
- Start date
what made you choose the Carvin over the GENZ B.?
Welcome back, Jack
I've had my BX500 for a month now. Lots of play time, all good. Just sold my Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 and thinking about using half that money to purchase another BX500 for back up just because they are so inexpensive and portable.
Here's a similar poll I posted after you told me you had so much trouble with your BX500:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=725046
Despite the ratings, they sound like they produce the same amount of volume, goes to 2 ohms, has a less colored tone, graphic EQ, compressor, sounds more consistent from cab to cab. Not to mention its half the price and made in the US. Another small thing is its still light but heavy enough to stay still when you remove your instrument cable.
wow, i'd disagree totally. It doesn't sound less colored and certainly is no less consistent. I went exactly the opposite direction you did. Went from the carvin to the genz. No failures on the genz, 3 on the carvin.
Shocker
I agree with this statement and its what I meant by less colored.
I've had my BX1500 for a year now and keep it in a road case. It stays at our rehearsal space, which has no climate control, here in South Florida. I've use it three times a week for about 4 hour a pop and it gigs about every other weekend. Our winter temps vary from low 30s at night to low 80s in the day time and the warehouse can get to be 100*+ during the summer and mine still kicks as hard as ever and performs way beyond my expectations. I bought it because of the $/power ratio and would be cheep to replace if I killed it. I think she'll be around for a while, which is good because I freaking love the thing.
Usually if something is going to die prematurely, it will happen within first year. One then goes for a long time where things are fine barring some sort of cruel and unusual punishment of the thing. Then after quite some time they will start to die of "old age". Kind of like replacing an alternator in your car after 220,000 miles.
I've used my BX1200 for a year or so in all kinds of temperatures and circumstances and have had zero issues. If it ever got stolen I would buy another Carvin amp immediately.
My " yes " is kinda left handed. My BX1500 had a buzz when using the DI, that I could'nt get rid of. I already had a Radial J48 , so I was using that. But, after awhile, I thought, hey, it's a brand new amp, it shoud'nt have that buzz all the time, so I sent it in for repair. 3 weeks later, Carvin sent me a brand new BX1500 ! It was a problem I could eliminate by using a DI box, but I'm glad I sent it back. I also bought the BX500 when it first came out, and it had problems right away, so I sent it back for a refund and waited for all the kinks to get ironed out. By then, the BX1500 had been out for awhile, so that was a no brainer when it went on sale for awhile. Great amp, and no other problems whatsoever.
- Jan 17, 2002
- 1,249
- 23
- Disclosures
- I paid for all my gear myself. Well, me and MasterCard.
The problems I've had with my BX500 (which I bought used, so no warranty) were intermittent ribbon cable issues. I have been able to fix them myself at zero cost.
Everyone,
I don't mean to preach but, lately, I'm seeing amp build quality dropping off to unreasonable levels.
Yes, every company has problems at one point or another and yes most if not all problems can be fixed by either ourselves or the amp company or a repair person.
However, in this economy and otherwise, why should we tolerate any product that has a reasonably high failure rate? We shouldn't. Features are great, but an amp that goes silent due to breakage or fear of unreliability is useless.
I don't know about you, but I see a LOT of the same companies' amps (and models) being sold over and over again on the used market and there are some amps that I almost NEVER see being sold used, even though plenty were made.
LL
I don't mean to preach but, lately, I'm seeing amp build quality dropping off to unreasonable levels.
Yes, every company has problems at one point or another and yes most if not all problems can be fixed by either ourselves or the amp company or a repair person.
However, in this economy and otherwise, why should we tolerate any product that has a reasonably high failure rate? We shouldn't. Features are great, but an amp that goes silent due to breakage or fear of unreliability is useless.
I don't know about you, but I see a LOT of the same companies' amps (and models) being sold over and over again on the used market and there are some amps that I almost NEVER see being sold used, even though plenty were made.
LL
Hmmm, I don't know about this. If you scan the classifieds here on TB, you see ( unofficial count ) more MarkBass and Genz Benz used heads being sold, than for instance, Carvin heads. That does'nt mean that MB and GB heads are more prone to have " issues ". It could be alot of different things : gas for another new head, financial problems, need for more ( or less ) power, etc. If anything, it points to the fact that, in the aforementioned two brands, they are a good used buy as far as bass heads go. In Carvin's case, they are so damned cheap ( in price ) compared to other brands that, alot of bass players can afford to buy them new and use them for a long time before gas strikes again.
You might be right.
But, I've bought and sold a ton of gear over the years and I've never sold a single piece of equipment that I thought was TRULY amazing. Not once. I've always found a way to justify selling something less amazing. Which I am still doing. Doesn't mean the sold stuff isn't cool, it is cool and great, but not TRULY amazing....for any number of reasons.
And, in the end, "less amazing" is, after all, a way of saying "not the greatest".
This reason people sell could be any of the reasons you are saying, but I personally find that the notion of people consistently unloading their prized top-notch stuff is difficult to believe.
LL
But, I've bought and sold a ton of gear over the years and I've never sold a single piece of equipment that I thought was TRULY amazing. Not once. I've always found a way to justify selling something less amazing. Which I am still doing. Doesn't mean the sold stuff isn't cool, it is cool and great, but not TRULY amazing....for any number of reasons.
And, in the end, "less amazing" is, after all, a way of saying "not the greatest".
This reason people sell could be any of the reasons you are saying, but I personally find that the notion of people consistently unloading their prized top-notch stuff is difficult to believe.
LL
No. I was not - I have no Carvin-related experiences to base this on. My opinion is based on some other companies' gear.
LL
