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Carvin BX500: Part II

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#123
darman said:
By the way, on my first review I'd said it sounded very trebley at first :
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This is my first impression as well, in my living room, compared to my GK1001RB-II, Much less thickness in the lows and low mids. I have to crank the bass almost full to get some bottom out of it. The gig tonight will be the first real test. I will review it afterwards.
 
#124
Thanks to the speaker impedance switch in the back I was able to power three single 12" cabs stacked :eek: and the master volume was never over 3 or 4. Bass used: Fender MIA Jazz V. The basic tone of this head is what you would expect with this type of head. Dry and quick. It's not "thick", I would say more big and airy in the low end. It seems to lack some definition in the low end in a way I find hard to describe. Kind of hollow sounding, but the low freqs ARE there.
The upper mids a highs are very present and snappy. Through my Mesa Powerhouse single 12 it was VERY crispy.
With the compressor engaged string pops sound quite good without clamping or restricting lower frequencies. This surprised me and I'm not really a fan of compressors live. I have more live playing this week so I'll post more after I get more time with it.
 
#125
tonenazi said:
Thanks to the speaker impedance switch in the back I was able to power three single 12" cabs stacked :eek: and the master volume was never over 3 or 4. Bass used: Fender MIA Jazz V. The basic tone of this head is what you would expect with this type of head. Dry and quick. It's not "thick", I would say more big and airy in the low end. It seems to lack some definition in the low end in a way I find hard to describe. Kind of hollow sounding, but the low freqs ARE there.
The upper mids a highs are very present and snappy. Through my Mesa Powerhouse single 12 it was VERY crispy.
With the compressor engaged string pops sound quite good without clamping or restricting lower frequencies. This surprised me and I'm not really a fan of compressors live. I have more live playing this week so I'll post more after I get more time with it.
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+1 Very nice description! From my limited experience with the BX500, I wholeheartedly agree. I will add, though, that you can definitely add some fullness to the low end, should you so desire. Also, without naming names, this head works great with cabs that may tend to be a little too pillowy in the low end.
 
#130
tombowlus said:
+1 Very nice description! From my limited experience with the BX500, I wholeheartedly agree. I will add, though, that you can definitely add some fullness to the low end, should you so desire. Also, without naming names, this head works great with cabs that may tend to be a little too pillowy in the low end.
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Funny you mentioned Aguilar GS112's, I tried the Carvin BX500 with my Aggies stacked vertically (weird, but there was narry an inch left onstage to set up) and it just did not work at all like I had hoped. Not sure if it was the vertical alignment (more space between the drivers) but I ran out of poop and was farting out big time. What a difference compared to three cabinets stacked horizontally. (Landscape format vs Portrait)

This thing is going back. Have to try a MB II next. I'm still not sold on these here fling damn new fangled digital doo hickies.
 
#131
I've used my BX500 at about 8 shows so far and feel i made the right choice. It has all the features I was looking for in the other mico amps i bought and sold. Volume is unbelievable. I have to turn my SABDI down sometimes just to tame it at smaller gigs. I use 2 x Avatar neo 210's for a 4 ohm load. I do agree that one could say it is a brighter amp than most but that doesn't seem to translate to the audience as we use FOH and the di is pre so I have no compaints. Band likes it as well and it is an easiy load in.

CP
 
#133
tombowlus said:
Ummmm... I didn't mention the GS112. :confused:
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Sorry I forgot to include the "winky" emoticon. I was just being facetious. I would be the first to comment on the GS112 having pillows stuffed inside the cabinet. Update: I returned the BX500 and walked out with a B1500 :eek: Sounds "mo betta" !!!!! I like the upper midrange controls, should bring some nice presence into the picture while using my GS112 subwoofers. :D This head sounds NICE. BX500 thread: Out.
 
#134
I installed an Eminence Kappalite 3015LF into my BR515N. In order to get a better idea of the sound difference, I left all the amp settings alone and just installed the speaker. My findings:

The mids are definitely more scooped using this speaker, probably due to the freq range of this speaker...which is 40Hz-1.5kHz as opposed to the stock Carvin 35Hz-3kHz. The 3015LF does provide more bass response that was instantly obvious, as the vibration cause my walls buzz and rattle in a way it didn't before. 3015LF being an 8 ohms speaker, replacing the stock 4 ohms, was a tad bit quieter, but will make this combo more compatible to multi cabinet operation.

Rolling back the bass and turning up mids in order compensate for the newly attained “scoopiness“ I was better able to judge if my investment was worth my hard earned money. The 3015LF did seem to add more depth and fullness that I thought was lacking from the stock speaker, though I feel nothing was gained in clarity, as the stock speaker spoke boldly enough to cut through any mix. In speaking of the fullness, I would venture to say the 3015LF added a little warmth to the sound that I felt was not previous present. Overall, I think there is an improvement when using the 3015LF, but not enough for me especially at $179.99. I’ll bite the bullet and keep this speaker, mainly due to it being 8 ohms and seemingly built better.
 
#135
Hey Funk. The 3015LF is made to be a sub, not as a stand alone fullrange speaker.

The speaker you should've tried is the 3015KL. That would have got you the desired results.
 
#137
Blues Cat said:
Hey Funk. The 3015LF is made to be a sub, not as a stand alone fullrange speaker.

The speaker you should've tried is the 3015KL. That would have got you the desired results.
Click to expand...

Supertanker said:
Or the 3015...
Click to expand...

Yes, you're right...but looking at the numbers 40Hz-1.5kHz, I didn't feel that it was a true sub. By no means does it sound bad, it really does sounds better. It gets even better the more I adjust the tone controls, and for the most part, it really doesn't act like true sub, to me. Yes, it's not full range, but it is mostly there. Also, providing the Eminence rep with the Carvin link of my amp, he said this speaker would give me more of what I was looking for, which was depth....he was right.

Honestly, I would be estatic if the speaker cost $99. But, I'll jam with the loudest guitarist in the world (my brother) and my Roland R-8 drum machine and see what comes of it. I like testing with this drum machine since it's huge and heavily processed snare and bass drum make everything more difficult to hear.
 
#138
I used my BX500 for one gig before it got ripped off. I'd tend to agree with the assessments here. It's a little "different" in the low end though not really lacking. I found myself boosting the bass quite a bit more than I normally do. It wasn't really a difficult adjustment though. I liked the amp once I dialed in "my" sound. It certainly has plenty of power. I usually am not a fan of an amp with "twin" eq's, as I tend to be one of the "less knobs is better" camp, but using the graphic EQ as a "tone change" was kind of a neat feature. My normal tone tends to be rather old school, and when I wanted to switch to a more "smiley face" sound for our "disco" block of tunes, it was really nice being able to achieve this by just kicking the graphic EQ in.
 
#139
It would be nice if Carvin offered the new combos loaded with either 4 or 8 ohm speaker, as they do with some of their BR cabs. I prefer an 8 ohm speaker in a combo so I can drop it on an extension for bigger gigs. I also prefer a 15" speaker in the combo (for standalone gigs) and a 210 as the extension. I'm a rock player and find the 15" speaker sits in the mix better than a 210. 300w is plenty of power for small gigs (where the combo stands alone), IMO.
 
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