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Carvin Redline 600

M

Mike Money

In Memoriam
Mar 18, 2003
7,100
17
38
Bakersfield California
Disclosures
Avatar Speakers Endorsing Hooligan
#1
So I walk into guitar center today, promising myself I would not fall in love...

I go over to the basses, and see that they have a pretty nice selection this time around. They even had a Marcus Miller...


I was browsing the amps, and I see a Carvin Redline 600 on top of an Ampeg 6x10 Classic... I was like "Hrm..." So I go grab the nearest Jazz, and plug in... I was expecting a mediocre tone, at best... but this thing rocked! I had the volume on the Jazz cranked, the amp's gain at half, and the volume at half, and there was no clipping at all... It sounded beautiful...


Anyone else have any opinions on these things?
 
#5
bridged , 4ohm mono = 700watts of kickin' bass ...
i've had my redline R600 combo { w/ tube preamp } for about four years , and it has not let me down yet .
though i would imagine using six 10's , it would sound better than my two 10's . i mainly use mine as a practice rig , but i have used it { head only} with my Avatar cabinets as recently as last weekend { i'd really like to try the 1000 watt version } . :cool:
 
#6
I owned the Carvin RC210 (the combo with the R600 head in it) and it was a great combo.

I pulled the head out and used it with a variety of cabs for quite a while. But I had too many electronic issues with it and it was in and out of the service department. I got rid of it. Not because of the sound as I thought it was a GREAT sounding amp and plenty loud...I just had problems with mine.

I don't think that is indicative of this line of amps though...I have not read about reliability issues with them...I think I just got a bad one. I thought about getting another one recently, but went with a Hartke 4000 instead.
 
#7
The 0x said:
It's the series III ones that have the bad name.
Click to expand...
No they don't. You may not like them, and that's cool, but there is no general "bad name" out there as far as I can tell. I think you're overstating your case a little. I am fairly familiar with these amps and have owned both. The Series III actually sounds quite a bit like the Series II in most respects. Slightly better. IMHO, if anything.
 
#9
Richard Lindsey said:
No they don't. You may not like them, and that's cool, but there is no general "bad name" out there as far as I can tell. I think you're overstating your case a little. I am fairly familiar with these amps and have owned both. The Series III actually sounds quite a bit like the Series II in most respects. Slightly better. IMHO, if anything.
Click to expand...

I've read tons of reliability problems with them. :hmm:
 
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#11
The 0x said:
I've read tons of reliability problems with them. :hmm:
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but you have to take that stuff in context. For instance, I've had nothing but bad experiences with the reliability of Ampeg SVTs (such as having them blow up on me in the middle of a big show--not pleasant, trust me), and so has my brother, who's also a bassist. Does that, by itself, make the SVT a bad amp? No, because that's just a couple people's experience out of many.
 
#12
The best thing one can do is look at ALL the reviews...consider the sources and get a general feel for what the product has to offer, both the good and the bad.

I've read and written alot of reviews and if you have 50 reviews on a product and most come out favorable, but a few had problems or did not like the sound, consider the variables.

The Carvin R600 is a great sounding amp given three things...the type of cabs played through and at what ohms...the type of bass played through it...and most of all the bass player themself...and their ability to get the most out of an amp.

I've read some reviews where all say it sounds great, they list what they use for a bass and cabs. Then one of the reviewers gives it a bad review...no mention of whether or not they used an 8 ohm cab (less power), or whether or not it's some ancient 15" home made piece of junk.

Find a general consensus first, then play through it if you can. If generally there are favorable reviews, check it out further (in person if you can play through it). If generally most reviews question reliability or sound, or volume...then perhaps you should avoid it.

The Carvin R600 I had sounded fabulous and was very loud. I played it through the Carvin 210 cab (in the combo) and it sounded great. I needed more volume, so I took the head out and used it with Peavey 410 and 15" cabs. Sounded even better and it was very loud and clean.

I just had a bad experience with the electronics...that does not mean they are all bad. Every product made has a few in their line that are bad. That's just the law of averages.
 
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#13
Opinions vary, but after owning several Carvin products I had experienced a multitude of reliability problems. Everyone's experience is different and I only judge based upon my own personal experiences, and with Carvin it was much less than stellar - Q/A problems I haven't experienced with other brands I've owned.

That being said, the Carvin DCM2000 power amp I used and drove hard was reliable like a tank, though it did develop a physical rattle due to the poor design of the front faceplate. Not a problem if you keep the amp in a rack on the floor, but inside a rack sitting on top of a bass cab, it was a no-no.
 
#14
I have had good luck with the R600. I have a series two that I use with a 2x10 mostly, but I have used it with 2 10's and a 15 and 2 10's and 2 12's and I have had nothing but good exeriences. I like that fact that it is cheap power that has a good tone.

I have played mine on more gigs than I can count and I have never had a problem and I always push it hard.
 
#16
I loved my Series II R1000, but it was the first big amp I ever played through, so it may have biased me towards it's sound. I beat the crap out of it for about five years, and I did have some reliability issues. Some of it I could fix by cleaning it out and spraying contact cleaner all around. Twice I took it in to the only repair shop in Nashville that will work on Carvin stuff. Each repair got a few more months out of it. I miss the overhead and punch now that I'm down to a LMIII.

I wonder if I should try to repair it again...
 

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