Thanks Kirk and Funk.I may have to try this one.I keep hearing great things about it.My friend is currently on the road and we spoke last night.He got one of the first ones,never had the issues others here had.We were laughing that he thought he would never buy a Carvin amp.But he totally loves this head.
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Carvin BX500: Part II
- Thread starter Kelly Lee
- Start date
- Status
ive been thinking about buying one of these heads soon. are they capable of getting a nice, gritty metal sound? i play thrash metal mainly, but also stoner/doom metal where i think the 12ax7 tube ould come on handy, as ive read it gives a nice fuzzy sound. but the other tone im looking for is a crisper tone, with plenty of mids and a crisp attack. can the drive control add in enough grit to give it a dirtier tone without muddying it up completely?
+1
Carvin bass amps never even crossed my mind. I was close to getting an LMII. I did like the way it sounded, but I felt it needed a little more something, if that make any sense. Also, I wanted a 15" combo and that would be $1100 or so in Markbass money. More than I want to spend.
But after playing this BR515N (ordered on blind faith) I made the right decision. Loud and super lightweight. Great tone all around...so damn versatile. AND, half the price!
Anyone interested in a white, SLM Ampeg SVT-CL w/810s? You'll need to bring a forklift or something....
+1
Carvin bass amps never even crossed my mind. I was close to getting an LMII. I did like the way it sounded, but I felt it needed a little more something, if that make any sense. Also, I wanted a 15" combo and that would be $1100 or so in Markbass money. More than I want to spend.
But after playing this BR515N (ordered on blind faith) I made the right decision. Loud and super lightweight. Great tone all around...so damn versatile. AND, half the price!
Anyone interested in a white, SLM Ampeg SVT-CL w/810s? You'll need to bring a forklift or something....
Have you gigged with just the combo yet? I just ordered one and I have a gig on Sat. I am hoping it fits the bill.
Yep, a couple of times. More than loud enough, monsterous tone...and that tone sounds awesome....fits my bill.
Which combo did you order, BR515N or BR510N?
I trust you will like it. Not much interests in 15ers anymore in the bass world. I'm not so much old school, but a throw back with a twist. I like the sound of 15s more than 10s. I like heavy basses (like the old days) but will always take active over passive.
- Dec 18, 2000
- 13,201
- 340
- Disclosures
- greenboy designs: fEARful, bassic, dually, crazy88 etc
I'm really hoping a BX version with big two-channel power and a crossover (ala BR1200) comes down the pike soon. It'd be near-ultimate for my cab designs.
Yeah IME one 15 sounds better than 2 10's in a combo. I was close to getting the 210 but someone in an earlier post felt that the 15 was louder and deeper sounding.
This combo gots some deeps to it. But crazy me, who've gotten too used to my previous setup (2-15s & 8-10s) that I wanted more deeps from this combo. With the advice from Anthony Lucas of Eminence, I replaced the stock 15 with a Kappalite 3015LF. It's a floor shaker and a half now...it rattles everything in the house. It may seem strange to put a sub into this combo, given the freq range, but it works well for me. So glad I took his advice. But, by no means was this combo depth challenged.
Greeny, I've been following some of your cabinet design threads. You got some serious knowledge of speakers and whatnots....dude, you are a genius to me. I'd love to hear how your cabs would sound.
I picked up a Carvin 210 cab to go with the BR515N so I can now go either way or use both. The 15 does overpower the 210 when using both.
Just received mine today.
Sounds great except for the warbley buzz I get with the tube engaged. I think I read someone else had this problem too.
Already scheduled for UPS pickup for replacement.
Strike one
Darn. I receive mine tomorrow. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Hmm. do you think that Carvin will produce a video where they throw the bx500 on the ground in the parking lot and then fire it up?
Just received mine today.
Sounds great except for the warbley buzz I get with the tube engaged. I think I read someone else had this problem too.
Already scheduled for UPS pickup for replacement.
Strike one
A while back, I too had a funny noise coming thru that I didn't have before (sort of high pitched whirling, as described by Unclekebm. He seems to think it was an interference from the fan motor to the tube circuitry). The only thing I did different was moving this amp into a different room, obviously plugged into a different electrical circuit. Returning the amp back to its original location, quiet as usual. Long story short, it seem that both my satellite converter and DVD player was causing this noise. Only after unplugging both would the noise stop in that room. Go figure....these BXs must be sensitive. Or, my converter and DVD players are crap. Ill go with the latter, since Ive been experiencing issues with this converter box for quite some time now and the DVD player only cost me $8 brand new, on clearance at Walmart.
- Dec 18, 2000
- 13,201
- 340
- Disclosures
- greenboy designs: fEARful, bassic, dually, crazy88 etc
Yeah, careful guys, not too diagnose to quickly. Certain items plugged into the same circuit (or built into them in the case of dimmers) can interact with tube circuits especially. In fact, sometimes a transformer in another item can start humming and you'd swear it was the amp until you put your ear up to the item with a transformer in it.
Spooky Voodoo.
Spooky Voodoo.
You guys got me to open up the box again and plug it in in a different room - didn't fix anything
I spoke to a Carvin tech who asked if i had an extra 12ax7 lying around. He seemed to think it was a bad tube. We settled on swapping the amp out.
I can't give you a comparison BUT over the last year I have owned, a LMII, a LMII with 12" cab, I forget the model number, an F1, a shuttle 3 and a shuttle 6. yes and then an Acoustic B200H and an Acoustic B600H. I still have the Acoustics and will sell them off. The others either got taken back or sold off. I like the Carvin best out of all, not just for the sound but the features. IMHO only.
Chris P.
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