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Carvin BX500: Pt. 3

#281
The BX500 worked great for the jam the other day. The guitar player told me he was going to be loud so I brought both my 4x10 (SWR) and 2x10 (Carvin) cabs to run at 2 ohms with the BX500. Half way through the jam, I unplugged the 4x10 and just ran the 2x10, it was plenty. With both cabs, I don't think I made it passed 2 and with just the 2x10 I bumped it up to around 3 and bumped the 80hz just a fuzz and it sounded the same as with both cabs at 2. This little thing is really loud. I think it's as powerful as my Shuttle 9.0.

All the guys wanted to know what all my rig consisted of because it sounded so good. Told them it was just all Carvin stuff and the one SWR cab. Thinking about getting a Carvin 4x10 to match it all up now.
 
#283
That's cool, I'm digging it too. Has Carvin been making bass gear (SB5000, BX500) this good all along or have they just recently upped their game to this level?

I'm still torn between my Shuttle 9.0 and BX500. One day I will like the voicing of one better than the other, then switch the next day. I tend to follow the "Highlander process" for gear, (There can be only one!) but in this case I guess I will keep them both. Good to have backups I guess and I can easily throw both in the truck for gigs and such.
 
#284
Jarrett said:
Has Carvin been making bass gear (SB5000, BX500) this good all along or have they just recently upped their game to this level?
Click to expand...
Apart from the occasional hiccup (early-life BX500s for example), Carvin's always made good stuff, more or less on par with the rest of the industry at any given time. I still have one of their 250 watt bass heads from the '70s and it's still in service. Their tube guitar amps were/are outstanding. Their 2x15 Altec-loaded bass-reflex cabs sounded great, and their 1x18 folded horn was easily the equivalent of the 301, i.e. a frickin' monster that could fill any size club with zero PA support. Yes, I heard all that kit personally. The problem is that Carvin's always sort of "flown under the radar" because they don't have a physical retail presence, brand mojo/mystique, pride of ownership, and so on. The web and all the BBS sites have helped, though, and so people are beginning to find out. There are finer points to all this, but that's pretty much the gist of it.
 
#285
ulynch said:
Tuesday's practice adds a second guitarist and half-stack. Then I'll decide if I need to add a second 212 cab.
Click to expand...

Update: Plenty of volume with the BX500 and a GK 212MBE, playing aside two guitar half stacks and a loud drummer. Finished the night tonight with the master at almost two. Almost.

I'm really impressed with how bright, punchy, clear and articulate this thing is at high volumes, and with plenty of headroom. Played fast fingerstyle, I can feel the attack of each note from the other side of the room.

Grain of salt: I've played loudly through a half dozen amps total, so my basis for comparison is limited. Also, the last time I played at volume with a full band was 20 or so years ago.
 
#286
Well my BX500 is on it's way to the Carvin repairman. It's quit working intermittently. I've tried swapping basses, cords and it is still doing it. It's coming from the head. Carvin said that all their techs are out this week so I won't be able to get an answer til sometime next week. Hopefully I'll have an anwser by next week.
 
#296
Out of curiosity, I did a quick A/B demo of the DI out on the BX500 versus my Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0. I'm using a Carvin SB5000 bass in each of the amps, then out to my computer. Since the BX500 is pre out only, I set every thing flat on the Genz Benz for comparison. This may be an issue for some, but I run pretty flat on my EQ settings anyway so a non issue for me personally.

The clip has four riffs repeated. I tried to keep the technique consistent so there is not a lot of inflection in the clip. On the recording, the BX500 comes first, then a short break, then Shuttle 9.0 follows, etc. Interested to hear what you think of the sounds of each:

Link Removed
 
#299
Jarrett said:
Out of curiosity, I did a quick A/B demo of the DI out on the BX500 versus my Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0. I'm using a Carvin SB5000 bass in each of the amps, then out to my computer. Since the BX500 is pre out only, I set every thing flat on the Genz Benz for comparison. This may be an issue for some, but I run pretty flat on my EQ settings anyway so a non issue for me personally.

The clip has four riffs repeated. I tried to keep the technique consistent so there is not a lot of inflection in the clip. On the recording, the BX500 comes first, then a short break, then Shuttle 9.0 follows, etc. Interested to hear what you think of the sounds of each:

Link Removed
Click to expand...

I dig the Carvin tone, personally. Thanks for the comparison!
 
#300
I have allways prefered a live line from the back of my preamp in to the board rather than a filtered DI you do get a little more noise but you retain "Your Sound" that we work so hard to achive.
I did own a BX500 for a short time and now have a S9 but I have to admit the BX500 DI sounds better in my opinion.
 

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