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Carvin head/cab ugh!
- Thread starter Jesi Di
- Start date
Sorry, but lots of Carvin love here and on these forums.
Correct.
Have owned Carvin heads and cabs since 1995
Currently still gigging two B1500's, a BX500, and a BX12 (2X12) cab.
Which specific head/cab model do you have?
Carvin has a very diverse line of bass equipment, maybe some of their other products would suit you better.
Carvin gets a lot of love from a select few, I'm not one of them either 
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Carvin br210-8 is the cab. The head was so bad I traded it in for a Behringer.
It unreliable, was always cutting in and out, the sound was fuzzy, not clean.
When I was looking around for repairs, I found a lot of people had the same problem and it was a hassle to get someone who was specialized in carvin locally. I could've drove 300 miles to take it to one, but it wasn't worth the hassle.
The head is what I had a problem with Carvin bx500, traded it in for a behringer. cab seems fine br210-8
Carvin br210-8 is the cab. The head was so bad I traded it in for a Behringer.
It unreliable, was always cutting in and out, the sound was fuzzy, not clean.
When I was looking around for repairs, I found a lot of people had the same problem and it was a hassle to get someone who was specialized in carvin locally. I could've drove 300 miles to take it to one, but it wasn't worth the hassle.
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Do you remember the model of the head? I don't think I have ever heard a Behringer that actually has clean headroom, but hopefully it's working for you! A fuzzy Carvin sounds VERY uncharacteristic, you more than likely had a dud. Carvin is defined by its clean, "neutral" headroom that is too sterile to some people. Since I mess with a bunch of pedals that color my tone significantly, that neutrality isn't necessarily a bad thing.
If you were playing with too much power going into a single 210, you might have broken the cabinet/speakers and that would definitely explain the cutting in/out and "fuzzy" or distorted tone.
If you were playing with too much power going into a single 210, you might have broken the cabinet/speakers and that would definitely explain the cutting in/out and "fuzzy" or distorted tone.
Carvin bx500 was the head.
The cab is not broken and working fine now with the behringer head.
Do you think it can malfunction like that without breaking the cab?
I think there was some kind of issue with the ribbon/power amp reported in the bx500's, but it's weird because the Carvins I've handled are bulletproof. Either way, glad you're happy with your current setup.
Wow! No repairs or any problems since '95! That's awesome! Wish mine were as reliable!
Thanks so much for your input! It actually is helping me a lot. I am still committed to finding out what went wrong.
Yes, there were lots of folks who had issues with the early BX500's and the ribbon cable was frequently the cause. I bought one used a few years ago and it took a dive on me during a gig. I haven't let that sour me on Carvin amps though because I know lots of guys have had no problems with theirs. As for the cabs, the BRX line is great stuff... I havent tried any of the BR cabs.
I love my new bx500 and 2 mbe 2x10s. Its a great lightweight setup. It works well for those shows where you are expected to load out fast. Im always the first one done in my band. Then i can go help the drummer.
