Carvin R600 question

[ack]

Hey all,

Looking to upgrade my son's bass amp from his current Behringer 180W Combo to something with a bit more oomph.

There's a local guy selling a used Carvin R600 stack. The top unit looks like a 2x10 Combo with a horn that sits on a 1x15 cab.

I can find some info on the Carvin R600 head, and generally most folks seems to like them. I don't have a lot of time before I pull the trigger on this deal. He wants $500 - I haven't seen it or listened to it yet.

Good use of $500?
My son's band (guitar, bass & drums) are going to be playing small/medium sized clubs - they play mostly rock (Clutch, Ramones, Nirvana, and originals of the similar style).

I'm going to do some more searches in the meantime.

Thanks.

 

[xinsaneguitarzt]

500 is a good deal the 600 head ushally sells for about 250-300 used and the 15 cab sells about 200 use so he is getting a good deal plus the head is also rack mountable if u decide to use it in a rack system like my carvin 1000 same head just a bit more balls. i have it in a rack with a power conditioner, tuner, bbe sonic, and a compressor. but thats just my style. alot of people will talk bad about the redline stuff but i love my head the only other head id trade it for is the carvin 1500 but the 1000 is perfect for me now. good tone alot of power biampable built in limiter, compressor, great eq so id go for it.

 

[5port]

I've had my R600 for ten years now and still going strong. I'd say its a good price as that stack was $1K new. I use the same speaker combo and have no problem in a classic rock band. Of course you should always try for another $50 off

 

[ack]

Correction: The Head unit is a 2x10 and the cab is 1x18.

Owner mentioned that the unit is "2 ohms stable".
Not really sure what that means...any help?

 

[Jazzman]

One thing to watch out for, some of these R600 heads had issues with over-heating and going into thermal protection when run at 4 ohms. I had one of these and it was quite an annoyance. At 8 ohms you could run it as hard as you wanted with out any problems.

 

[ack]

One thing to watch out for, some of these R600 heads had issues with over-heating and going into thermal protection when run at 4 ohms. I had one of these and it was quite an annoyance. At 8 ohms you could run it as hard as you wanted with out any problems.

Much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[lobey]

2 ohm capable, but only per channel. Not getting all of the power doing it this way.

Invalid Link Removed

I do have the R1000, and despite not using it right now, it is a good head. Plenty loud.

 

[5port]

The R600 is a stereo head with two seperate power amps. When bridged it is capable of 600W (and runs bloody hot doing it). While running it bridged I've had my amp cutout once in ten years. You cannot run it any lower than 4 ohms bridged.

When run in stereo it WILL run at two ohms per channel 300W per channel. 4 ohms 250W, 8 ohms 175W.

Possible failures with the R600:

1) Ribbon cable connectors on the rear power amp back off from vibration. I put a piece of shipping foam behind each one.

2) crackel and pop then no volume from amp. Run a 1/4" phone jack thru the effects loop jacks and hit them with Deoxit. Run Deoxit thru all other jacks if amp is old. Little bit of Deoxit on the pots couldnt hurt. Only a small (very short burst) spray one time will do.

3) Never had my 12AX7 fail...shouldnt be a problem.

Amp does run much cooler in stereo mode and thats probably how the previous owner ran the stack. 18" to the LOW jack in rear and 2X10s to the HIGH jack in rear...bridge switch out (off). I run mine like this in FULL RANGE mode to get the most power out.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

edit: If you dont like the look of mouse fur Carvin will sell you the case to the BX600/1200 if you call (not listed on the site). Its the same size as those two amps.

 

[TJBass]

Got a link to that add? It may be mine! I have the same rig on CL in southeast missouri.

The head is 2 ohm stable. I've had two of these 600 watt heads over the years.

But your not going to go to 2 ohms with that setup as you cannot bridge those speakers. The 2x10 is 8 ohms and the 1x18 is 4ohms which would give you 2.67(?) ohms bridged. But the amp can only go to 4 ohms bridged.

You can run it biamped (stereo) but in full range mode. Its funny that this showed up. Same rig as mine, same price as mine....Bizarro world!!!!

Series I and II had a tube in the preamp, series III had a tube emulating circuit. Power out is 300 watts per side at 2ohms and 500 watts bridged at 4ohms. Never had any connector problems on either of my R600's.

 

[lobey]

Shoot, my bad guys. I totally just cut/pasted the link from my favorites. -1 to me.

I had the same problem with the pop/crackle on my R1000. Deoxit cleaner and a 1/4 cable fix that. I also heard of people putting expandable foam earplugs in their empty jacks to keep the dust/dirt out of them.

 

[TJBass]

Nope....not mine.....looks like it but seems like its got more wear than mine, Still a good deal if it works properly.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[5port]

Shoot, my bad guys. I totally just cut/pasted the link from my favorites. -1 to me.

I had the same problem with the pop/crackle on my R1000. Deoxit cleaner and a 1/4 cable fix that. I also heard of people putting expandable foam earplugs in their empty jacks to keep the dust/dirt out of them.

Thanks for clearing that up I thought I had a virus for a second

Earplugs in the empty jacks is a great idea!

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Just looked at the above link. If that is the add the OP was talking about that is the RC210 600W combo on top of the RL118. I bought the RC210 and used it as a combo until I couldnt take carrying 80 lbs around. I then seperated the head and bought a hard case and use it that way. This wont be a problem for a teen bassplayer though.

 

[bassplayer8953]

The R600 is a stereo head with two seperate power amps. When bridged it is capable of 600W (and runs bloody hot doing it). While running it bridged I've had my amp cutout once in ten years. You cannot run it any lower than 4 ohms bridged.

When run in stereo it WILL run at two ohms per channel 300W per channel. 4 ohms 250W, 8 ohms 175W.

Possible failures with the R600:

1) Ribbon cable connectors on the rear power amp back off from vibration. I put a piece of shipping foam behind each one.

2) crackel and pop then no volume from amp. Run a 1/4" phone jack thru the effects loop jacks and hit them with Deoxit. Run Deoxit thru all other jacks if amp is old. Little bit of Deoxit on the pots couldnt hurt. Only a small (very short burst) spray one time will do.

3) Never had my 12AX7 fail...shouldnt be a problem.

Amp does run much cooler in stereo mode and thats probably how the previous owner ran the stack. 18" to the LOW jack in rear and 2X10s to the HIGH jack in rear...bridge switch out (off). I run mine like this in FULL RANGE mode to get the most power out.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

edit: If you dont like the look of mouse fur Carvin will sell you the case to the BX600/1200 if you call (not listed on the site). Its the same size as those two amps.

^^^ Good advice on all points. I own one also (also an R1000) and they are good amps. Not without a few quirks (mentioned above) but they sound great, the 210/118 speaker combo works well with them. Hope it works for you!

 

[ack]

Thanks for all the replies.
With my limited knowledge of amps, I should probably opt for something that doesn't have a history of quirks.
To be brutally honest, if I was to go check this unit out, I wouldn't even begin to know the proper things to look for in order to detect any deficiencies.
I should probably buy new, get a warranty and learn the hard way.

 

[TJBass]

Carvin is good stuff, with the exception of my first series II R600 all my Carvin gear was used and I only sold it due to financial needs. I've owned 2 R600's (one is the RC210 combo), an RL410, an RL115, a V410, a V115, a Probass 500 Head and ofcourse the
RL118.

 

[GroovinOnFunk]

So, it seems to me from what everybody's said that Carvin is kind of a gamble. You can get a really well made one or a poorly made one. By that thinking then isn't it safe to say that your best bet is to buy a used Carvin? And that way if the previous owner never had problems, then chances are you got one of the good ones?

 

[vinxbass]

I use Carvin gear exclusively. IMHO, I'd skip the R600 and go for something new with a warranty. Currently I'm playing thru the Carvin BX500 with BRX10.4 and BRX10.2 neo cabs and have only had one shutdown since Feb 09'. Carvin gave me a brand new head after owning the first one for 9 mths, it was worth having the warranty. $500 is too much for an amp that had a history of problems that have been well documented here on TB. Save up and get something decent like I've got, it's worth it. Like I said this is just my opinion, YMMV.

 

[GroovinOnFunk]

But I can get the R600 with a RL210T cab for $250 and for that price I don't think I can find anything too much better. My limit really is at like $300 so...

 

[bassplayer8953]

But I can get the R600 with a RL210T cab for $250 and for that price I don't think I can find anything too much better. My limit really is at like $300 so...

If the speakers are in good shape the cab/speaker is worth 125-150 used, so you won't have too much into the head, if it has issues. Regarding the R-series, some had issues, many didn't. As with any used gear, you take a chance to save some $$$...hopefully.

 

[TJBass]

That R600 is going to put out 600 watts at 4 ohms, I think the BR210 is 4 ohms and is rated at 400 watts.....But I bet it can't handle it. The amps are great, its the speakers that don't live up to the expectation. I have a peavey Tmax head putting out 225 watts into a 4x10 Peavey TVX that would kick my R600 gig all the way up the hill.