Double Bass Carvin MB12

[Gaolee]

After hijacking a couple threads asking about little Carvin combos, and a couple false starts on my part, I bought one, so this thread will be a way to repay the patience everyone has. It turned up yesterday, so I don't have much yet, but here are some initial thoughts:

1. It is absurdly light. I'm used to schlepping around amps that weigh up to 175 or 180 lbs, and have a combo that is probably 60 lbs at the absolute minimum. I thought about buying an Ashdown combo that weighs about 55 lbs, thinking it was a step in the right direction. This little amp is at least 25 lbs lighter. They say it is a 30 lb box, and I'm hardly Paul Bunyan, but it feels far lighter than that to me.

2. It is a nice, compact package that doesn't get in the way.

3. It hisses. I called Carvin and they told me that it is a high gain amp. High gain amps have a downside, and that downside is additional noise. It's not enough to be an issue while playing, but I'm used to amps that are anywhere from 20 to 50 years old, and they are all much quieter, if not dead silent. So, that was a surprise.

4. The EQ is flexible and works well. Until I have an opportunity to use the amp where a notch filter is important to control feedback, I won't know how well it works, but some experimenting with it makes me expect it will be effective without causing the sound to fall apart.

5. It is mostly uncolored. I haven't cranked it, and even cranked, I don't expect it to be particularly loud. The tone shaping works and doesn't turn to mush or turn the DB into a BG sound. It isn't an Acoustic Image, but it doesn't cost like an Acoustic Image, either.

With any luck, I'll have more to report in a couple days.

 

[rickwolff]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Matt Ides]

Congrats! I can't speak to the amp, but nice three-way box.

 

[HateyMcAmp]

I had an MB10 for a while that was really noisy, much louder than the GK and PJB class-d amps I've owned. Regardless, lots of things to like about the carvin microbass combos. Hope you are digging it!

 

[Michael Eisenman]

>200k input impedance. Might need an FDeck or an additional preamp for piezo pickups.

 

[Gaolee]

>200k input impedance. Might need an FDeck or an additional preamp for piezo pickups.

I think you are right. It sounded awful last night until I dialed back a lot of the high frequencies. Oddly enough, turning on the tweeter but dialing back the highs and cranking the bass got rid of most of the boxy sound. It still sounded boxy and cardboard on the E string down low, but not too bad. It was a useful sound instead of one that would make you run screaming from the room like it was to begin with. It reproduced the fingerboard slaps and clicks like I want it to, so that's good. I expect that the boxy sound is probably the piezo, since I have a Full Circle on the bass.

As far as the noise issue, it wasn't particularly apparent last night. Either it needed a little burn in time (unlikely) or it just isn't that big a deal. I also didn't have the gain up much, and used the master to get volume. It's louder than it should be for its size, so I didn't have to crank it up much to keep up with a fairly loud electric guitarist. I don't think it would work too well without FOH support with a bass guitar, but it may be plenty for smaller venues with the upright or the BG. I don't know yet.

I have no complaints, especially at the price point. I got it as a "scratched" one, brand new. I can't find anything on it that would make it a factory scratch and dent model, but I'm also not a tolex QC person. I'll put plenty of scratches on it over time, so no problems there.

There are still things I don't know about it yet, for instance, what does it sound like arco or what kind of signal will come out of a PA when it's plugged in that way. So, more to follow when I find out and use it more.

 

[Gaolee]

Ok, now a bit more. I got the Fdeck, and it tames the piezo honk nicely. The amp doesn't have the full, booming quality that an Acoustic 360 has with the DB, but it sounds plenty good enough for what I plan to do with it. It makes the bass louder, and with the Fdeck, I can use the eq to fine tune the sound instead of fight with the Full Circle. There's minor boxiness left in the sound. If there's a recording quality sound in there, I haven't found it yet. For rehearsals and gigs in places where the audience is busier dancing, drinking, and trying to pick each other up than carefully listening to the bass player, it is just fine.

 

[Gaolee]

One last comment about this amp. I flipped the switch to "active" and it sounds great. That was apparently the last piece of the puzzle with this little combo. Arco, pizz, and slap all come through just fine. It was a little weird at first, since I haven't had an amp that sounds so close to what comes out of the unplugged bass before. The combination of Full Circle, Fdeck with the HPF set just above 35, and MB12 set on the active pickup circuit with everything else set flat is just about perfect. Setting the HPF higher has a negative effect on the sound. It's amazing how sensitive to all of the adjustments you can make on both the Fdeck and MB12 the combination is. It sounded best to me with the least eq and filtering. MBOL for less than $500, including the discount for having some kind of cosmetic flaw somewhere on the MB12. I sure can't find the issue, but even at full price, it would have been MBOL for about $650. And even better, the combo amp weighs about 31 lbs.

 

[Gaolee]

One more tweak - boosting the bass a hair.

 

[Gaolee]

A little more messing with it - boost the bass just a little, cut the mids just a little. Cut the treble just a little. That was great for pizzicato and arco. Not so good for slap, but that may be a pickup issue. I don't have a clicky pickup. It kept up with a couple fairly loud guitarists and a reasonable drummer. For getting seriously loud, it's not adequate without an extension cabinet, and I don't have an extension cabinet. Yet. It also sounded good with the Fdeck feeding a wireless transmitter. The Fdeck was attached to the tail with a longish velcro strap. No permanent glue to either the box or the tail, but it was reasonably secure. It sure looked like a rat's nest of wiring, so that's a detail to work out. The nice thing about the Fdeck is that it's essentially a set it and forget it box under most circumstances. I haven't tried the wireless direct into the Carvin without the Fdeck yet. One more piece of information that might be useful - the bass is now strung with an Evah slap set. It's got gut D and G strings, and wrapped synthetic E and A strings. I don't remember if I mentioned that the bass is a plywood Christopher.

 

[Gaolee]

And now the latest on this one. Carvin had extension cabinets on sale, so I bought one. It doesn't seem to have changed the sound, but it sure is louder.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

Ok, now a bit more. I got the Fdeck, and it tames the piezo honk nicely. The amp doesn't have the full, booming quality that an Acoustic 360 has with the DB, but it sounds plenty good enough for what I plan to do with it. It makes the bass louder, and with the Fdeck, I can use the eq to fine tune the sound instead of fight with the Full Circle. There's minor boxiness left in the sound. If there's a recording quality sound in there, I haven't found it yet. For rehearsals and gigs in places where the audience is busier dancing, drinking, and trying to pick each other up than carefully listening to the bass player, it is just fine.

Have you tried adjusting the FC within its 90° range?

 

[Gaolee]

Have you tried adjusting the FC within its 90° range?

Yep. It is at 45 degrees for the time being. I haven't decided where I like it yet, but I think that's a bit better than 90 degrees.

 

[dday110]

Thanks for the updates! I currently have the MB15. MY dad has a MB10. I saw the extension speakers on sale and am thinking of getting a 2x10 to add to my 15. OR, maybe swap out the 15 for a MB12 and get the 2x10 extension... I do have a small micro amp from Carvin that could also work with just the extension cab. Not sure when the sale ends. Too many options to think about

 

[Gaolee]

I can say that the MB12 works well with a 15 extension cabinet. The volume increase is notable. It looks the same as the combo amp, and it is the same size. I don't know that I would go for an MB12 and a 210 extension. As far as I know, the 210 extension is only intended to be used with the 210 combo. Maybe the single 10, but I don't know for sure. They would probably work with other combos, but they wouldn't stack too well.