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Carvin MB15 Combo Opinions?

SpeakerJones

SpeakerJones

Jan 24, 2019
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#1
Hi, new to the forum. I'm primarily a guitarist and drummer, but have been known to play bass on occasion. I own a bass, but not an amp. I also do a lot of home recording, and I'm looking for a little bass rig that will primarily live in my basement and get used for occasional jam sessions, rehearsals, and possibly for recording if I want to get a mic'ed cab sound. I think the sweet spot would be a 1x15 or 2x12 with 150-300 watts or so. Craigslist and Facebook are filled with the usual Peavey TNT/TKO combos, Crates, Fender Rumbles, and even one Ampeg BA115 (older one) within or close to my budget. I happened on an ad for a Carvin MB15 combo in very nice shape, with a cover for $200. The size and weight (31 lbs) is attractive to me, and it seems to have a good feature set. I'm not going to gig with this thing regularly, but portability is always nice. 200 watts into a 15" and tweeter of some sort. I don't have a lot of experience with Carvin gear beyond one of my first bass players who had a Carvin head and cabs that sounded good (to 20 year old me) and lasted for years of tough gigging conditions. What say you? Snatch it up quick or go for something else?
 
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#3
Nice combos, great EQ section. I gigged many times with an MB10 sitting on an Avatar SB112 so it pumps at 250w with 2, 8 ohm cabs, if you need it. With the MB15 you won't need it. They sound great. Only problem is they aren't fixing them anymore so if you have a local guy that fixes amps, might be good to ask him first.
 
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#4
I'd check around in the carvin schematic archives and see if they are available first. They seem to be really spotty about that. If you had a problem later, I doubt any reputable tech would touch it without one. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.
 
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#5
Jaco who? said:
I'd check around in the carvin schematic archives and see if they are available first. They seem to be really spotty about that. If you had a problem later, I doubt any reputable tech would touch it without one. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.
Click to expand...

There is a schematic available. Looks like the BX250 is the actual amp section. I have a couple of great local amp techs who I'm sure would do their best to fix it if it dies. But honestly, unless these are known to be unreliable, at this price and for the amount of use/abuse it will see I'm not too worried about repairing it down the road.
 
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#6
There's risk in everything used. If the Ampeg or Peavey craps out, it might be more to fix than it's worth also. The BX250 amp section, which is what it is, is a beauty. A true chameleon. Just good clean tones. Warms up nice with the DRIVE and boosting the low mids with FREQ set at 100, like this. If you plan on recording it's probably the best choice.
https://images.reverb.com/image/upl...90,w_620/v1466280291/vhtqcdk2toop9jvb9aa4.jpg
 
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