• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Carvin BX500: Pt. 3

#1,121
Update on my head...

Did the deoxit, with a brush. I wouldn't say I did it minimally, but I didn't soak the connections. About 4-5 passes with the brush trying to make sure I covered all the contacts.

The head ran for 3 hours with no issues at all. Yay.

Gig tomorrow night, and I'm going to trust that the problem has once again been resolved. Last time the fix lasted a several years :). I put a little more deoxit on this time, so hopefully it will last longer? Good news is every time the head cut out (even first time I was having this problem), it continued working. It didn't just totally crap out, so, much like a dead bass battery, if the problem occurs again I'll hopefully have some notice time to fix it again.

@fhm555 - if it's working, why bother? With the cover on, dust isn't going to get in. When I took my cover off to clean my contacts, it looked brand new inside. No dust or anything.
 
  • Like
Reactions: fhm555
#1,122
I'm just another spud trying my best to keep my stuff up and when someone who is an amp guy tells me I've screwed up I tend to get worried about what I've done. Granted, the pots are now all quiet and the amp now sounds so good, and has not done anything but work as it should since I replaced the tube and sprayed it out, and like yours, when I opened it up it looked perfect, no dust or anything at all for that matter. I'm sure I'm over reacting, but I really like this amp and would hate to think I screwed it up through plain ignorance, especially if it's something I can fix before it gets too far out of hand.
 
#1,123
Once you have covered everything in DeOxit, the cure is worse than the problems you have created. You certainly don't want to get alcohol or anything else all over in the attempt to clean what's all over already. It will just migrate the material around and get solvents into parts that were not designed to be washed or exposed.

Good thing it wasn't an expensive or collector amp. Maybe you will be lucky and it will continue to work ok for a while.
 
#1,124
Sad news... Saturday, at a gig that I felt confident not bringing a backup, the BX500 did me wrong :/. Middle of the first song it started cutting out intermittently, a quick reset between songs did nothing, another local bassist raced home to get me a head. Worst part of it which my drummer laughed about, was that whenever the amp cut back in - it didn't do it anywhere near the one (beat), so it sounded REALLY bad.

It was a bad enough experience that I threw the towel in. Called Carvin, stood on my head haggling (they're not the easiest to haggle with), and well... they offered me an "OK" deal on a trade in for a BX700. Considering I just bought a 110 combo, 2x15s, probably endorse them more than anyone out there, and was trading in a defective bx500, I wasn't thrilled with the discount - but I realize they're a business, need to make money, and don't owe me sheiit! My praises for their amplification weren't cuz I expected something in return, I really love my Carvin gear, so yeah... I dropped a few unplanned for bucks on the bx700.

I only pray to the powers that be that there are no issues with this. I read of only one person who had the 700 start cutting out on him. But that was enough to rattle my peace of mind. I'll have to bring a backup for the first couple of gigs, but I'm feeling pretty good that there aren't going to be any issues.

Would love to hear input from anyone who's gotten a bx700. I understand that the extra 50 watts at 4 ohms isn't a huge deal, but I'm kinda excited about the back lighting :). Lemme know yer thoughts if you have one. Thanks.
 
#1,127
OK. So the jury is out on whether I'm an idiot or not regarding amplification. I need some help here, with 2 things.

First: I received my bx700 and I've been testing it out in the house. I never use my BX500 in the house. I notice the fan on the bx700 is constantly kicking in. Pretty much running all the time. Is this normal? I never noticed that with the other head?

Second, and this is the part that hurts a bit: When I first hooked up my BX700 it crackled and sounded like the problem I had with the bx500. Didn't totally cut out though. I checked all the cables, and it seemed there might be something going on with either the speaker output, or the cable. I hooked up another quality cable I have, and same thing. Started sweating a bit, grabbed another cable- still crackling. I had one more speaker cable and gave it a go. Problem solved. No amount of twisting, bending, jiggling caused a problem. Bottom line, I had 3 frikken speaker cables that were for sheit. So now, the big question....

Could those speaker cables have been the cause of my bx500 going into protect mode? I'd test it in the house, but I can't do that loud enough to rattle the amp to see if it were vibration or something else that caused the problem :/. Actually, the bx500 doesn't cut out in the house. And didn't cut out at a rehearsal where I may very well have been using my only good speaker cable. I plan to keep the bx700, but the amount they're giving me for the trade in on the 500 is a ridiculously small amount, so I'm actually considering keeping it as a backup.

In short, I don't trust the bx500 because I don't believe it would go into protect mode due simply to a faulty speaker cable (I after all had 2 speakers connected, also). Could that have caused my problem? And what's the deal with the fan? Thanks.
 
#1,128
Are you using 1/4" cables or twist lock speak-on? I'm no electronics wiz but, I could see a cable shorting out throwing the amp into protect mode. How old are the current bad cables? If they are speak-on should be an easy repair if problem is at the ends.
 
#1,131
Passinwind said:
Yep, that would be a case of the protect circuit doing exactly what it was designed to.
Click to expand...

If this is so, then why can't I get the amp to kick off by jiggling the bad cable and/or plugging and unplugging it while I have the amp on? There seems to be no ryhyme or reason to it's going into protect mode and cutting out.
 
#1,132
Joe Nerve said:
If this is so, then why can't I get the amp to kick off by jiggling the bad cable and/or plugging and unplugging it while I have the amp on? There seems to be no ryhyme or reason to it's going into protect mode and cutting out.
Click to expand...

Good question Joe. Intermittent faults are a bear to diagnose, and just because a bad cable could cause that problem doesn't mean it actually is doing so. The BX500 I had would stay in protect if there was no tube plugged in, yet Carvin sells lots of them that come that way from the factory. Made no sense, but I just rolled with it. In your case, you can at least eliminate known bad pieces though. Just curious: did these cables have actual Neutrik Speakon ends, or something more generic?

You should never hot-plug into an amp in any case, BTW.
 
#1,133
Not speakon, using regular cables as I'm also using Carvin bottoms which have no speakon connection. The newer head has one speakon (which doesn't double as a qularter inch), and one quarter inch which struck me as really odd. I had to order a speakon to quarter inch, and an adapter for emergency sake :/. What's the point behind doing that? Isn't it a downgrade from the BX500s 2 speakon/quarter inch inputs?

Ya know, as much as I love this amp and feel almost addicted to it... this issue and the fact that Carvin wouldn't give me a reasonable trade in offer is putting a bad taste in my mouth. Or maybe I'm just in a really rotten mood today :).
 
#1,134
Joe Nerve said:
Not speakon, using regular cables as I'm also using Carvin bottoms which have no speakon connection. The newer head has one speakon (which doesn't double as a qularter inch), and one quarter inch which struck me as really odd. I had to order a speakon to quarter inch, and an adapter for emergency sake :/. What's the point behind doing that? Isn't it a downgrade from the BX500s 2 speakon/quarter inch inputs?

Ya know, as much as I love this amp and feel almost addicted to it... this issue and the fact that Carvin wouldn't give me a reasonable trade in offer is putting a bad taste in my mouth. Or maybe I'm just in a really rotten mood today :).
Click to expand...

I can't remember the last cab I owned that didn't have a pass-through connector, in which case one Speakon output on the amp is all I've ever wanted or needed. 1/4" jacks are a fail in my world (excepting guitar amps), but obviously a lot of people do still use them. There are a number of things about Carvin's business model that rub me slightly the wrong way, but I did enjoy the BX500 when I had it and I gigged with it pretty often. Best of luck, and I wish I had a magic bullet for these things.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joe Nerve
#1,135
Got my new BX500 in the mail with an extra 15 cab tonight! Love it!!!

-ScottM
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    787.3 KB · Views: 75
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    626.1 KB · Views: 69
#1,137
BX500 SOUND CLIP:
I think it turned out OK for an off axis cell phone recording. Signal chain as follows;
USA Peavey Millennium 5plus > Carvin BX500 > Genz Benz NeoX 212T
(Bass is strung with D'Addario coated nickles)

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: scottm
#1,138
FWIW on the crackles and cutting out. I had no problems for 2 months with mine, I used it nearly every day. But then it would cut out, I'd power down and then it would be OK. Then the crackling started. A local repair place replaced the tube and no problems now for over a year. I do carry a screw driver and extra tubes, but never needed them. BTW seems like a silly problem to have since the tube doesn't appear to have any real function in the sound.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back