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Carvin R600 question

#21
1st all common sense would tell you not to try to run a 600 watt amp into a 2 x10 enclosure, and have it sound like anything, cranked up. The R210 would be decent for starters, but will need another cab...1 x15, 4x10, 2x10, or 1x18...to sound like it was meant to sound, in a band environment. I know there are those who claim their 2 x10 is all that for a band situation; I haven't seen one yet that can stand up to a 4 x12 Marshall tube-driven half-stack, cranked up to stage volume. My Carvins: R600, R1000, BX600...thru 2x10 & 1X15 (Carvin cabs) will.
 
#22
well, i just got it... ended up being $260 when all was said and done. I got it kind of late so haven't spent too much time on it yet (stinkin' neighbors).

from what i've heard, i can definitely say it's a big upgrade from what i had before.

I completely agree I need to get another extension cab for it. probably get a 15 and then use the hi-freq/lo-freq feature. My head is spinning trying to figure out ohms and watts. The 2x10 says it handles 400 watts but the head puts out 600 watts i thought... I guess I'll have to do some more reading on it.

@ bassplayer8953 what kind of 1x15 carvin cab are you using?
 
#24
If all I'm using is one speaker (until I get an extension I only have the RL210T), then what's my output like?
What does the 15" i get have to be in terms of watts and ohms for the amp to handle it ok?
I'm either going to get a 1x15 or 4x10. I like the thought of 6x10. But I gotta get some bottom somewhere right?

After playing through this amp some more I have decided that it is undoubtedly a big upgrade from my Hartke Kickback. I definitely need another speaker though. I can tell that already and I haven't even played this bad boy in a band setting.
 
#25
I had one the 210 combos with the R600 head in it.
Great amp. I got literally one of the last ones when they (Carvin) were closing them out.
If we are in fact talking about the 210 combo, be VERY carefull. IF...you are by chance playing a 5 string with active electronics, It likely will NOT handle a low B.
Mine could not, and I blew a speaker.
95% of the time I had a 15 below it and I bi-amped.
That is the way to go.
 
#26
Gecko 5 said:
I had one the 210 combos with the R600 head in it.
Great amp. I got literally one of the last ones when they (Carvin) were closing them out.
If we are in fact talking about the 210 combo, be VERY carefull. IF...you are by chance playing a 5 string with active electronics, It likely will NOT handle a low B.
Mine could not, and I blew a speaker.
95% of the time I had a 15 below it and I bi-amped.
That is the way to go.
Click to expand...

Mine's not a combo. R600 head with RL210T cab.
And as it so happens I traded my 5-string for a 4-string (not because of that but...) so it seems like I'm good.
 
#27
It breaks down like this...

If you buy a 4X10 and its 8 ohms you'll run it in bridged mode and get 500W out. If you run a 4 ohm 4X10 bridged its 600W out.

Running in dual mono:

4 ohm 1X15 channel A 250W...8 ohm 1X15 175W

4 ohm 2X10 channel B 250W...8 ohm 2X10 175W

Both channels will give you 300W at 2 ohms.
 
#28
5port said:
It breaks down like this...

If you buy a 4X10 and its 8 ohms you'll run it in bridged mode and get 500W out. If you run a 4 ohm 4X10 bridged its 600W out.

Running in dual mono:

4 ohm 1X15 channel A 250W...8 ohm 1X15 175W

4 ohm 2X10 channel B 250W...8 ohm 2X10 175W

Both channels will give you 300W at 2 ohms.
Click to expand...

THANK YOU SO MUCH! that's exactly what I've been trying to figure out.
 
#30
GroovinOnFunk said:
well, i just got it... ended up being $260 when all was said and done. I got it kind of late so haven't spent too much time on it yet (stinkin' neighbors).

from what i've heard, i can definitely say it's a big upgrade from what i had before.

I completely agree I need to get another extension cab for it. probably get a 15 and then use the hi-freq/lo-freq feature. My head is spinning trying to figure out ohms and watts. The 2x10 says it handles 400 watts but the head puts out 600 watts i thought... I guess I'll have to do some more reading on it.

@ bassplayer8953 what kind of 1x15 carvin cab are you using?
Click to expand...

I was looking for a pic I have, showing my rig(s). In each case, Carvin head, 2 x10 cab, 1 x 15. R1000, R600, BX600 heads, with cabs to match. The only exception is on my 1 x15's, I have 4: Carvin BX, Carvin RL, Peavey BW w a Carvin driver, & Peavey BW stock. Not a lot of difference, sound wise, between them. Peavey's tend to sound a bit deeper, the Carvin BX, with a horn tweeter, is a bit brighter. But in each case, the head & 2 x10 would be lost, sound-wise, without the 1 x 15 holding up the bottom end.

Watch what you're buying, if you wind up going the 4 x 10 route. Most of them are 8 ohm, and this would land you up with more watts directed to the high channel (4 ohm 2 x 10) than to the low channel, where you need the power.

BTW, when hooking up a 2nd cab, try the "full range" setting on the front of the amp, instead of bi-amping. I find the full range setting gives a louder more powerful tone (which I prefer) as opposed to splitting the channels.

If I can find the pic of my wall of Carvins I'll edit this and include the pic.
 

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#31
bassplayer8953 said:
I was looking for a pic I have, showing my rig(s). In each case, Carvin head, 2 x10 cab, 1 x 15. R1000, R600, BX600 heads, with cabs to match. The only exception is on my 1 x15's, I have 4: Carvin BX, Carvin RL, Peavey BW w a Carvin driver, & Peavey BW stock. Not a lot of difference, sound wise, between them. Peavey's tend to sound a bit deeper, the Carvin BX, with a horn tweeter, is a bit brighter.

If I can find the pic of my wall of Carvins I'll edit this and include the pic.
Click to expand...

that would be awesome to see for sure!
 
#33
bassplayer8953 said:
Up there now. I had to "borrow" this back from my posting on the Carvin forum; I had a hard drive go bad and take a bunch of my pix with it. The Fender bass on the right is the one in my avatar.
Click to expand...

holy sh!t dude, that's nuts. :bassist::bassist::bassist:

are you endorsed by Carvin???

You don't run one bass into all three amps do you? That would be something.

Your setup under your R600 head though is exactly what I'm lookin for.

What's that big boy called under the 2x10s?
 
#34
The R600 is at the top of the middle stack. The 2 x 10 underneath it is a V210T, from the early 90's. Ported, to the back of the cab. The 1 x 15 beneath that is one of the Peavey cabs. My R1000 runs the stack to the left, all RedLine stuff from the late 90's/early 2000's. The "modern" stuff is to the right, BX series.

Regarding running more than 1 stack at a time: No, I use only 1 amp at a time, although I have combined 4 speakers...2 - 2 x 10's and 2 - 1 x 15's...to see what the 1000 watter would sound like, with enough speakers for it to put our the full 1000 watts. ...I thought the earth moved......:bassist::bassist::bassist::D

I acquired most of the pieces over time, like you, buying when the prices were right. I don't have all that much in those amps, except the one on the right, which I bought new, for about 900. One of the stacks used to be at our practice space...until the practice space moved to my basement. Fortunately, I have a big basement...and an understanding wife.
 
#35
bassplayer8953 said:
The R600 is at the top of the middle stack. The 2 x 10 underneath it is a V210T, from the early 90's. Ported, to the back of the cab. The 1 x 15 beneath that is one of the Peavey cabs. My R1000 runs the stack to the left, all RedLine stuff from the late 90's/early 2000's. The "modern" stuff is to the right, BX series.
Click to expand...

Oh, then yeah, I was referring to your R1000 stack with the redline cabs. I need to find an inexpensive 1x15 and quick though... Just gotta keep my eyes peeled on craigslist I guess.

That's an awesome setup you got bassplayer8953... I'm envious. But like you said, when a good deal comes up, I'll grab it. I definitely heard everybody's comments on going for the R1000 over the R600 but the deal I ended up with was just too nuts to pass up on.

Thanks for all the great input. I'll be coming to you if I have any questions on my setup if you don't mind. I feel like a kid who just got an awesome shiny bike for christmas but all I know how to ride is a tricycle. :hiding: I mean, I haven't had too many opportunities to play out of anything other than my little hartke combo haha. The world of stacked amps awaits me.
 
#36
There's a RL 1 x 15 @ GC Peoria Il for 149...that's what I paid for mine. Shipping would probably be a killer tho...Carvin's 1 x 15's have worked well for me. And the PS15 (driver) seems to hold up well also. I haven't fried one yet. Unlike those $$$ Peavey BW drivers. I went through several of those throughout the years, finally gave up and bought a Carvin driver, slapped it into the Peavey cab, and been good ever since.
 
#37
bassplayer8953 said:
There's a RL 1 x 15 @ GC Peoria Il for 149...that's what I paid for mine. Shipping would probably be a killer tho...Carvin's 1 x 15's have worked well for me. And the PS15 (driver) seems to hold up well also. I haven't fried one yet. Unlike those $$$ Peavey BW drivers. I went through several of those throughout the years, finally gave up and bought a Carvin driver, slapped it into the Peavey cab, and been good ever since.
Click to expand...

That's great advice. Thanks
 
#40
Ok, so today I went into a studio and plugged my R600 head into a Peavy 4x10.

So here I was, really really excited. My brand new amp going out of a really nice cab. I turn up my bass. I turn on the amp. I wait 30 seconds. I play... nothing... I play some more... still nothing. I crank every knob on the damn thing all the way up... still nothing.

So finally I asked everybody else to stop playing for a bit. Sure enough there was actually sound coming out of the speakers but it was quite soft. With nobody else playing I could get it loud enough with the gain and master volume all the way up but shouldn't I be able to hear myself in a band setting???
Is that because only 175 watts goes out to an 8 ohm speaker? If I had run that one 4x10 in Bridge Mode would it have been a lot louder? I didn't know what the watt capacity of the cab was but it was 8 ohms so in Bridge Mode it would have gotten 500 watts. My guess is it could've handled it as it regularly has a Mesa Carbine 6 hooked up to it.

Is my amp busted or is it really just a wattage thing?
 

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