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Getting good tone from my Carvin R1010

#21
IIRC, plugging a different pre in the effects return will bypass the internal pre but come before the poweramp split/biamping/bridging options so you could still bridge or biamp from there.

Plugging in the poweramp 1 and 2 inserts would bypass everything and it'd operate just like a typical PA poweramp.

Plugging in the front, you'd obviously be able to blend both pre's but would have to watch getting the gain too hot.

It's been a while, may want to check that against the manual.

Pdf's for various revisions of that amp here.
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#23
will33 said:
Actually, those are coming as block diagrams, not users manuals. Could figure it out from that depending on how adept you are at reading circuit diagrams.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Found the users manual and am looking at the schematic right now. You know how you SHOULD be able to trace a signal path from left to right.....?:rolleyes:

EDIT: yeah, actually these are the detailed schematic diagrams. Would be much better if I had a simplified block diagram! If I am reading the schematic right, the inserts do not work at all in Bridged mode so my only option is to ensure I use a preamp with a crossover and two channels out or perhaps just use the effects loop if I am want to run this bridged.
 
#24
will33 said:
IIRC, plugging a different pre in the effects return will bypass the internal pre but come before the poweramp split/biamping/bridging options so you could still bridge or biamp from there.

Plugging in the poweramp 1 and 2 inserts would bypass everything and it'd operate just like a typical PA poweramp.

Plugging in the front, you'd obviously be able to blend both pre's but would have to watch getting the gain too hot.

It's been a while, may want to check that against the manual.

Pdf's for various revisions of that amp here.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Will is right here . I plugged my BDDI or RBI into the effects return . Besides having the poweramp split/biamping/bridging options the graghic also is in the loop . Works real well with that amp .
 
#25
Blues Bass 2 said:
Will is right here . I plugged my BDDI or RBI into the effects return . Besides having the poweramp split/biamping/bridging options the graghic also is in the loop . Works real well with that amp .
Click to expand...

OK, great! Was wracking my brain with the schematic trying to figure everything out here! Even came up with a harebrained idea of using the XLR with the Pre/Post switch in the "Pre" position to feed the input of the preamp and insert the preamp signal into the effects return. Actually, this may work quite well if I go with the ART Pro Channel I am thinking about but I also need to ensure this has sufficient gain to drive the power section. I have tried this with my ART Studio V3 and it cannot sufficiently drive the power amp.
 
#26
Try running your ART in front and use it for the majority of the tone and just use the Carvins pre as a bit of a "clean boost" to get the level up?

Or does the carvin pre thin out the sound unless it's out of the chain all together?
 
#27
Couple things on this. I have an old R600 that is the house amp my rehearsal space. Similar head that I run into a Avatar 4 ohm TB153. Lot's of power and bottom together.

First, where are you running your input gains? There's a clipping light if that goes on if input gain is too high. For typical passive P/J type bass it's right around 12:00 plus or minus a bit. Start there and make sure you're not clipping the input stage of the amp.

Second, these amps have a solid state and tube pre. The control next to input gain balances between the 2. Once you get the input gain right, you'll want to adjust this too. Clockwise is all tube, counterclockwise is all solid state. I've been running mine about 1:00 to get a little tube warmth without too much overdrive.

Ignore all the preshaped filters and you start with regular tone controls. You can use graphic to further shape your tone. The compressor is not bad but unless you have foot switch it's always on.

As others have mentioned, make sure your expectations are in line with a 2x10 cab. You should be able to dial up something that's punchy with decent lows but it's not a 4x10.

You should always run in bridge mode to take full advantage of both amps into speaker cab. Also, I've tried using an external preamp and I'm pretty sure there's no way to run just into the power amp in bridged mode because they have send and return on one connector. Every time I've tried it, power output is low. Effects loop may be your best bet if you want to use external preamp. Not that graphic is between preamp and power amp section.
 
#28
OK, I have an Eden WTDI on order. Lets see how this works with my Carvin.

As it stands right now, my band is going to upgrade the PA, add subwoofers, and run everything through the mains. Once we get to this point, I can just use the XLR out on the Eden preamp and use the Carvin combo as a stage monitor. That should lighten my load as well as producing a kick-ass bass tone! :D
 
#29
OK guys, I got some pretty good results doing the following:

1. I took the amp out of the cabinet and used it as a stand-alone head.

2. I ran it with two of my 4 x 10 cabinets for a 4 ohm load with the amp in "bridged" mode (1000 W)

3. I ran my ART Studio V3 tube mic preamp into the effects return to completely bypass the preamp section in the Carvin. I know I did this before but this time I guess I did everything right because I had PLENTY of volume!

4. Added in the signal chain was a Boss Compressor pedal for a guitar (not bass) that works OK but not totally great.

The result was pretty freakin' impressive! Had a really badass Ampeg SVT like tone (what I was going for) and played a really great gig!

I am still waiting for my Eden WTDI to come in which should give me a great preamp as well as some tone shaping and a compressor. When I plug this into the effects loop return, I should be good to go!

Looks like the achilles heel to this whole amplifier is the compressor and noise gate circuit. If I got a footswitch (which I do not have now), would this completely defeat these circuits? Right now, I have everything turned all the way down and I am still watching the "Compressor" light flashing on and off the same time I am getting that nasty, farty distortion out of the speakers!
 
#30
Looks like you're getting this sorted out. Keep in mind that the foot-switch only switches the graphic EQ and effects loop in and out.

I have to agree with you that the compressor and gate circuits can be troublesome. Unfortunately, they are always in the circuit. The instruction manual says that rotating the threshold knob fully counter clockwise turns off the compressor. From experience, I do not think this is the case.

Even when setting the threshold and ratio to the minimum I can get the compressor light to illuminate with high enough gain and EQ settings. Granted, with the ratio at 1.3 to 1 it's not much, but the manual is misleading in stating that the compressor is off. In Carvin's defense the manual does go on to explain that the gain/EQ/compressor interact with each other.

Since the input gain affects the level that the compressor sees I tend to back off on the gain until I see the compressor light stop engaging -- or at least only when I hit my loudest peaks. I kind of use the compressor light like I would use the clip light on some other amps. I don't think I ever see the clip light for the input gain light up unless I'm hitting the bass really hard trying to get it to light up.

I have been using an R600 or R1000 for at least 10 years, and it has a good powerful power amp (two really!) but the preamp is not for everyone. Like you, I have started using the effects return to run a separate preamp to the power section with good results. Since you are doing this too, you may still want to look into getting a foot-switch. With the foot-switch and a pedal that splits your signal (I use my Boss TU-2 tuner), you can have two separate preamp settings available at your feet. EDIT: If you do it this way, you have to plug a "dead end" cable into the effects send jack or you will be sending signal from both preamps to the power section when the effects loop is engaged. The dead end breaks the normal connection in the effects send jack, saving you the need of an A/B switch.



Good luck!
 
#31
Hey guys, just wanted to let ya'll know I got my Eden WTDI and it works absolutely awesome as a substitute for the Carvin preamp section! The combination sounds much better than my Behringer setup (which is now relegated to "Emergency Backup" use) and it is really easy to dial in just the right tone and not nearly as noisy as the Behringer (one of the big positives regarding the Carvin).

Now I need to get a rack case but I am putting this to the test with our next gig tomorrow!
 

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