I've played about 5 shows and several rehearsals w/ mine now. Love it! It replaced an 800w rack. 
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Carvin BX500: Pt. 3
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
Just for the heck of it, I recently pulled out the first bass I ever had to see what it sounded like on my bx500. It's a POS 1988 Squire II p-bass with dead Rotosound rounds from '88... and yes, it's made out of plywood, seriously. I just plugged it in and used the settings I usually use with my MTD Heir, but I switched off the "Active" setting. It sounds pretty freakin cool! Back when I played the Squire, I only had a 30w Peavy combo and the whole package just sucked butts. However, with the power of the Carvin, the crap bass actually gets thumpy like a p-bass should. The MTD is in the shop for a setup/restring, but I'm having a whole bunch of fun with the old Squire now that I have a good amp.
I guess my point is: good quality amps really can make bad instruments sound better, and now I have first-hand knowledge of that fact. Drag out your old plywood, boys!
I guess my point is: good quality amps really can make bad instruments sound better, and now I have first-hand knowledge of that fact. Drag out your old plywood, boys!
Anyone ever figure out if there was a fix other than sending it back to the factory for the dropping of volume/cutouts/low B rumbling?? Im in Canada, so I cant ship it back (well i could but it would cost me just as much as replacing it) but I want to replace it anyways, with a BX1500 I think.
its annoying to the point where I have a bass gig on June 30th, and I think im gonna either borrow another amp or something, I dont trust this thing live right now =[
(its just mine, I bought it off ebay early on so must of been sold one that still had the early jitters unfortunately.. Other than this issue, I love it, and hope the BX1500 is similar)
its annoying to the point where I have a bass gig on June 30th, and I think im gonna either borrow another amp or something, I dont trust this thing live right now =[
(its just mine, I bought it off ebay early on so must of been sold one that still had the early jitters unfortunately.. Other than this issue, I love it, and hope the BX1500 is similar)
I don't think i've heard of that one being a problem. Sounds like there may be something else going on. I would first discount everything else. Try a different bass, cabinet, power source, cables, etc.
Rumbling, a lot of times, can come from the tube. Try switching out the tube and see what happens.
Rolled the dice today and ordered one, just too many people that say its great. Should have it by the weekend.
Try bypassing the tube and see what happens. Could be a bad tube that shows up with the low lows. Just a shot.
mine is fading in and out after only 10 hours of use. Happens with or without tube preamp engaged. Anyone else having this issue?
I'm having EXACTLY the same problems. Rumbling on the B string and it dropping in volume by about 50% and then coming back. Happens with or without tube preamp engaged.
Mine is a brand new unit. (5 days old) with less than 10 hours on it. I don't think I can trust it.
Did you call Carvin for a replacement!? As with all electronics, some are lemons. Carvin will help you.
I contacted them online. I'll give them a day to respond and then call tonight or tomorrow if I don't hear back. I'll probably get a refund and get a genz shuttle though. Don't recall reading about any issues with those.
Might wanna check the boards again - I remember them having the same issues with their class D amps. My Genz Benz NeoPak let me down several times.
!? My point wasn't to disparage GB, it was to point out that every manufacturer has its issues. I'm not sure I understand the sky-is-falling mentality related to a single failure, especially when you have the chance to make it right for free. SMPS amps are still relatively new to market but let's face it, all electronics manufacturers have QC issues regardless - I'm guessing that despite the ~5 people in this thread who've reported issues in this thread there are thousands of BX500's which have never had an issue.
I've had Sony and Denon brand consumer equipment fail on me but I still own products by both brands because both fixed their issues. We get gear from Dell @ work which is dead out of the box but we keep buying it because on the whole it is very good stuff and their return policy is excellent. It happens. Just call Carvin and get your defective unit swapped out for a new one, then move on.
I've had Sony and Denon brand consumer equipment fail on me but I still own products by both brands because both fixed their issues. We get gear from Dell @ work which is dead out of the box but we keep buying it because on the whole it is very good stuff and their return policy is excellent. It happens. Just call Carvin and get your defective unit swapped out for a new one, then move on.
It's a single failure for me but there are literally dozens of failure reports if you check here and on google. SMPS amps are not relatively new. AI has been doing it for years.
I checked on Talkbass and Google for iAmp problems and found several as well - you'd be hard-pressed to NOT find someone somewhere having an issue with some model of amplifier from any company using these tools. And yes, SMPS is a relatively new technology in the world of amplification. The "relatively" in this case being in comparison to tube and Class A/B, etc.
I've seen a lot people posting over an over about an issue they've had - 5 or 6 posts about the same problem. This may contribute to the impression that there is a huge amount of these amps with problems.
I also wonder whether the 2/4 ohm switch is leading to problems for people who don't understand how it works.
I also wonder whether the 2/4 ohm switch is leading to problems for people who don't understand how it works.
But the problems don't seem to be with the P/S with the carvin...It seems to be preamp problems from what I've read.
