fri night bandmates thought it was a little much...until we started! I like having to much and controlling volume.
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Carvin BX500: Part II
- Thread starter Kelly Lee
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Unless things change a lot today while I'm here at work, it looks like I've got a deal to buy a used BR510N for $450 shipped! 
I just got one of my Tax return checks in my hand.....I'm fighting to wait until it's IN the bank account before I order....!!
It is a clear sounding head,it does get a little gritty with the drive turned up. So far I think I like the tone from this head more than my lmiii,time will tell,maybe i do lean more towards modern tones. I have been working on slap & pop for a cover band I fill in with and this head makes it easier to achieve this, seems like I can hear the notes more clearly.I was worried about this head being thin sounding(weak on lows) but so far happy with its well balanced tone.
Anybody here put a different 12AX7 preamp tube in their BX500? Which one did you use and how did it affect the tone?
Happy New Amp Day, fourstringbliss. I have that exact combo amp and dig it for many uses.
The head from mine is actually in its own 2U rack right now and hooked up to my Carvin 410 cab for better bass extension in the practice room. I grabbed some thumb screws from Link Removed and can now easily go back/forth between the combo rackmount space and 2U rack with the head. Yum.
The head from mine is actually in its own 2U rack right now and hooked up to my Carvin 410 cab for better bass extension in the practice room. I grabbed some thumb screws from Link Removed and can now easily go back/forth between the combo rackmount space and 2U rack with the head. Yum.
Thanks! I've wanted one of these since they first came out.
Thumbscrews! Genius! I'm thinking I eventually want to get a 410 as well, or maybe another Carvin 210 to make a 410 together with the combo's 210. We'll see.
I've toyed around with those combinations as well - the 210 I used sounded fine but I couldn't get past the aesthetics of the two together (the combo is oddly narrow). I've done a show with the combo and a Carvin BRX10.4 Neo and it sounded really excellent - well balanced across all speakers with gobs of tight low end even though IMHO it looked a bit ghetto.
I have yet to measure the resistance of the speakers in the combo itself but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's 8ohms based on the great volume balance I heard when coupled with the 4ohm BRX10.4. My other evidence is that I tend to have the volume knob a tick or two higher when using the combo vs. using just the head with my 4ohm pseudo-Ampeg 210 cab. One could argue that this is a result of the efficiency of the speakers but I can't imagine a pair of Ampeg (Eminence) 10" speakers from ~1990 are more efficient than a pair of modern Carvin Neos.
Congratulations on your new amp FourString.
Which thumbscrews from Grainger should I order? TIA.
If you want to go inexpensive, these nylon thumbscrews work well (I also use them in my PA rig), and you get a bag full of 'em in case they break on you:
Link Removed
If you'd rather go with stainless steel like I did for this application, grab 4 of these:
Link Removed
along with a bag of washers:
Link Removed
The steel units are perfect for this setup in that you can still easily turn them in the recessed confines of this cabinet, but they aren't cheap. Should last forever, tho.
Thanks Optihog, I love these kinds of things, I've used the nylon ones on my PC cases for years.
Take Care
Take Care
Optihog,
Thanks for the thumbscrew info. Being a "technogeek", I thought it was amazing to see the difference in the tensile strength of the Nylon Vs Stainless Steel thumbscrews. The difference is huge, although it makes sense, I didn't realize it was that much.
Tensile Strength - where it deforms under a linear stress (pull usually)
Nylon: 155 psi
Stainless: 80,000 psi
I guess stainless would be better with the gorilla's that handle my gear, lol.
Thanks for the thumbscrew info. Being a "technogeek", I thought it was amazing to see the difference in the tensile strength of the Nylon Vs Stainless Steel thumbscrews. The difference is huge, although it makes sense, I didn't realize it was that much.
Tensile Strength - where it deforms under a linear stress (pull usually)
Nylon: 155 psi
Stainless: 80,000 psi
I guess stainless would be better with the gorilla's that handle my gear, lol.
No problem, whatever you choose, just be sure they have a deep enough reach to get to the nut, which is on the backside of the wood block holding the head in that combo.
My rule of thumb (ouch, no pun intended) with the nylons is that I'll use them when they're not exposed during haul-in. They're pretty inelastic and the head could fairly easily be popped off by a big impact.
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