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Carvin BX1200

#181
This isn't really helping with tech at all, but I don't necessarily care.... took my bx1200 for it's first full testing and paired it up with my ls1503... Just with 2 guitarist and a dummer in a jam-band type setting. All was great and I had thought the amp was running bridged but I had to turn the volume up and I kept on seeing the peak light fade on and off... I was wondering why this was the case although I was still able to be heard (which is clearly a first for me) in all the notes I was playing (blues type music this run around). Throughout the whole gig I was fiddling a good bit with just finding a good sound b/c the possibilities are purely endless. As the night was nearing it's end I found my magic button, the bridge mode in the back... I clicked it in, I saw the a red light of doom shine forth and I was in heaven for the remainder of the night. All that headroom... it was the first time I had been able to play at a volume between 2-4 for both the power amp level and master volume level and still be a tad overbearing.

I love this amp, need to tweak the sound to get some more high's for slapping, but I doubt that'll be a problem. I was told I sounded good, and I'm just a very super happy camper. It does take a bit to fiddle with sound if a certain one is being looked for, but it's worth it and super nice to have the option of really hearing what your bass and playing sounds like through the song. I'm a very happy BX1200 owner. :bassist:
 
#182
Yay for new amp day. Can't wait to get over to the jam space and take her for a spin.

carvin.gif
 
#183
Yes, this amp has so many tonal and configuration features it will take a while to figure it all out.

I am now bi-amping with this amphead. I'm running it into my 215 mini cab with dedicated midrange drivers and crossing them over at about 800Hz. :bassist:

Link Removed
 
#187
::::BASSIST:::: said:
Jeepers... this amp is very similar to the BX1500 I ordered a month ago from Carvin (but is being delayed).

*subscribed*
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It is the BX1200, only yours will be lighter and have a tube Pre. Anything in this thread would apply to yours, with the exception of what the tube Pre could do for you (my guess is next to nothing based on any single tube pre-amp I've ever heard...but I could be wrong).

I don't mind the BX1200's weight because even though it's 27 lbs., it's only an amphead so it's still easy to carry.

The BX1200 (or BX1500) is just so damned versatile, both in tone and configuration options. To have plenty of power at 8, 4 or even 2 ohms, dual monoblock heads in one unit, total control should one wish to bi-amp (either with a true sub, or with a dedicated midrange) just gives the owner so much control over mixing and matching the output of various cabs (regardless of ohms :hyper:) and on and on.

Chime in here when you get the BX1500, so we can tell the differences between the two. Hope you get it soon. I know what it feels like waiting...and waiting.
 
#188
Yeah, I actually owned a bx1200 a couple years ago. Thats one of the reasons I went for the bx1500 as I definitely liked that amp.

I'll being bridging it at 8 ohms for 900w for my LDS 15/6, and I'll likely also use it to run my two 112s... though I gotta be careful not to give them too much power.
 
#189
::::BASSIST:::: said:
Yeah, I actually owned a bx1200 a couple years ago. Thats one of the reasons I went for the bx1500 as I definitely liked that amp.

I'll being bridging it at 8 ohms for 900w for my LDS 15/6, and I'll likely also use it to run my two 112s... though I gotta be careful not to give them too much power.
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Yeah, that's one if the cool things about this amp. There is almost no limitation to the combinations of cabs one can use with it. Mono, bridged, bi-amped with control over each side with a lot of power to spare.

That is one of the main reasons I got it. I design my own cabs and I have so many that with this amp, I no longer have any concern what ohms my cabs are, whether one cab may get more power than the other, differing cab efficiencies, etc. I can mix and match and balance them with ease.

And then to top it off, between the drive and contour controls, along with the parametric and graphic EQ's, the tonal options are limitless.

And then there's the price. :hyper:
 
#191
On a side note, my BX1200 is one of the newer, lighter weight models. I'd say it's around 15 pounds without the case.

I had an audition last night, and they complimented my tone as well as my playing. To be honest, I had the EQ on the Carvin set flat, and all my tweaking was done on my passive Yamaha. Yeah, it seems to be workin' okay for me. :cool:
 
#192
bassplayer7770 said:
On a side note, my BX1200 is one of the newer, lighter weight models. I'd say it's around 15 pounds without the case.

I had an audition last night, and they complimented my tone as well as my playing. To be honest, I had the EQ on the Carvin set flat, and all my tweaking was done on my passive Yamaha. Yeah, it seems to be workin' okay for me. :cool:
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Yeah, but the case it is in...well...let's just say you happen to have the worlds greatest "combo". :D
 
#194
Well, I WAS happy with this amp. Now I'm worried and will probably end up sending it back. The first time I played it, I took it over to the jam space, got everything hooked up and messed with the knobs a bit to get a good sound and played for a while, only about a half hour. Then, last night, had full on practice. After 3 songs, the head shut down on me. And continued to do so. It was hot. Really hot. Ended up taking a break to let it cool down and even took the top cover off so it could get more cool air. I ended up turning my volume way down to keep it from overheating and shutting down. Get this, when we first started playing....Drive was on about 2 1/2, Volume was on about 3. Had to bring both down to 2 to keep it from overheating. To me, that's a bit ridiculous.

To clarify for arguements sake, I am running the amp bridged into a single 4 ohm cab.

This really sucks, because before the shutting down, I loved this amp. I hadn't been that happy with my sound in a long time. Now I'm just worried. I sent an e-mail over to Carvin, so we'll see. I'm still well within my 10 day period. I really don't wanna return it, I just want it to work! Haha.
 
#195
That blows. I feel your pain.

I dont know if you've been following the b2000/bx1500 thread, but a couple of guys had their b2000s crap out on them as well. No report on the bx1500 yet as I believe they have not been released.

I guess Carvin needs to get their ducks in a row.

I've been patiently waiting for my bx1500 to ship, but I'd much rather wait and have them get this right, then deal with an amp shutting down at a gig.
 
#196
ShawnStones said:
Well, I WAS happy with this amp. Now I'm worried and will probably end up sending it back. The first time I played it, I took it over to the jam space, got everything hooked up and messed with the knobs a bit to get a good sound and played for a while, only about a half hour. Then, last night, had full on practice. After 3 songs, the head shut down on me. And continued to do so. It was hot. Really hot. Ended up taking a break to let it cool down and even took the top cover off so it could get more cool air. I ended up turning my volume way down to keep it from overheating and shutting down. Get this, when we first started playing....Drive was on about 2 1/2, Volume was on about 3. Had to bring both down to 2 to keep it from overheating. To me, that's a bit ridiculous.

To clarify for arguements sake, I am running the amp bridged into a single 4 ohm cab.

This really sucks, because before the shutting down, I loved this amp. I hadn't been that happy with my sound in a long time. Now I'm just worried. I sent an e-mail over to Carvin, so we'll see. I'm still well within my 10 day period. I really don't wanna return it, I just want it to work! Haha.
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Just to double check, which speaker jack did you plug into when you were in bridged mode?

Because you are only supposed to use the center speaker jack when in bridged mode. Either, or both, of the outside speaker jacks are for mono use only.
 
#198
ShawnStones said:
Well, I WAS happy with this amp. Now I'm worried and will probably end up sending it back. The first time I played it, I took it over to the jam space, got everything hooked up and messed with the knobs a bit to get a good sound and played for a while, only about a half hour. Then, last night, had full on practice. After 3 songs, the head shut down on me. And continued to do so. It was hot. Really hot. Ended up taking a break to let it cool down and even took the top cover off so it could get more cool air. I ended up turning my volume way down to keep it from overheating and shutting down. Get this, when we first started playing....Drive was on about 2 1/2, Volume was on about 3. Had to bring both down to 2 to keep it from overheating. To me, that's a bit ridiculous.

To clarify for arguements sake, I am running the amp bridged into a single 4 ohm cab.

This really sucks, because before the shutting down, I loved this amp. I hadn't been that happy with my sound in a long time. Now I'm just worried. I sent an e-mail over to Carvin, so we'll see. I'm still well within my 10 day period. I really don't wanna return it, I just want it to work! Haha.
Click to expand...

I read your post, and with some trepidation I took mine to it's first rehearsal today. Ran it bridged to an 8ohm LoPhat 1x12 (can you say butter?) via a Speakon>1/4 cable with a couple of effects in the loop, and a footswitch mapped for Effects and EQ. We went three hours non stop and it barely got warm! No issues other than too much goodness. It sounded amazing! :bassist:

Bummer to hear you had trouble!
 
#199
ShawnStones said:
Yes, center jack only. With the 12 gauge speakon cable I got with the head from Carvin.
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Well, there isn't a line of amplifiers made that won't have a few bad ones in the bunch. Sorry to hear you had issues with yours. I wouldn't blame it on the design and shy away from the BX1200 because of it. Have Carvin ship you a new one ASAP. They should be pretty good to deal with if your amp is defective.
 
#200
Sundogue said:
Well, there isn't a line of amplifiers made that won't have a few bad ones in the bunch. Sorry to hear you had issues with yours. I wouldn't blame it on the design and shy away from the BX1200 because of it. Have Carvin ship you a new one ASAP. They should be pretty good to deal with if your amp is defective.
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Although, some of the new B2000 stories kinda scare me, I will agree with Sundogue for now. I was having minor issues with my first BX1200. I called them, and they suggested I ship it back to Service. I did, and they sent me a brand new one the same day they received my old one. The new one was a newer, lighter weight model. I still had the minor issues (popping when using the Graphic EQ and Mute switches on the amp) with the new amp, but, now that I'm using the Effects Loop, those issues are gone.
 

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