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New Carvin BX700 amp!

#41
It's cheap enough, you hardly need an excuse. I've got a BH250, a BX500, an MB fusion, and half the $ socked away for a mini mega head, and I'm still toying with grabbing a BX700. The only thing keeping me on the fence is that I own three Carvin bass amps, only one of them works....
 
#42
As it's 2 ohm stable, this might be a good option for me. I have an Avatar 210 that's 4 ohms and I'd like to stack a pair. I thought of getting two 8 ohm versions but really don't want to buy two more cabs. So, I could buy one more 4 ohm version and the BX700. :)
 
#43
Freddels said:
As it's 2 ohm stable, this might be a good option for me. I have an Avatar 210 that's 4 ohms and I'd like to stack a pair. I thought of getting two 8 ohm versions but really don't want to buy two more cabs. So, I could buy one more 4 ohm version and the BX700. :)
Click to expand...

You could also score a BX1500 for the same price of 499.00 (delivered new) and have dual 450w amps (2 x 450w @ 4 ohms each), one for each cab and each with it's own volume control....

:bassist:
 
#44
I'm a little confused by it honestly. I mean if they intend on replacing the BX500 with it then that makes sense but they still offer the BX500 also. If you already own the BX500 there isn't much reason to upgrade, the 50 watt boost at 4 ohms is not going to be very noticeable. At 2 ohms there is a significant increase in power but I would assume if you are the guy carrying around a lightweight class D amp you probably aren't carrying around the cabs needed to utilize 700 watts at 2 ohms.
And if you don't already own a BX500 and you are looking at their site you can get the B1000 or BX1500 for just 50 bucks more.

If GK feels there isn't room for the 700RB and the 800RB and so they discontinued the 800, then how does Carvin think there is room for all of their amps in the same market? :confused:
 
#45
jeff7bass said:
You could also score a BX1500 for the same price of 499.00 (delivered new) and have dual 450w amps (2 x 450w @ 4 ohms each), one for each cab and each with it's own volume control....

:bassist:
Click to expand...

I agree this would be a more versatile setup for the same money.

Companies like Carvin and Peavey kind of annoy me that they change their lineups so often. :hiding:They just shovel out new amps all the time never hardly improving on what they already offer. Its why I am so impressed with the GK 800RB or the Hartke 3500, these amps have changed a little over the years but they have become classics and have stood the test of time, and whether you like them or not you know what to expect from their amps.
 
#46
sxaxsx said:
I'm a little confused by it honestly. I mean if they intend on replacing the BX500 with it then that makes sense but they still offer the BX500 also. If you already own the BX500 there isn't much reason to upgrade, the 50 watt boost at 4 ohms is not going to be very noticeable. At 2 ohms there is a significant increase in power but I would assume if you are the guy carrying around a lightweight class D amp you probably aren't carrying around the cabs needed to utilize 700 watts at 2 ohms.
And if you don't already own a BX500 and you are looking at their site you can get the B1000 or BX1500 for just 50 bucks more.

If GK feels there isn't room for the 700RB and the 800RB and so they discontinued the 800, then how does Carvin think there is room for all of their amps in the same market? :confused:
Click to expand...

I thought I read somewhere that the BX500 and the BX1500 will be discontinued as soon as supplies run out, thus the cheaper price. I was told that there were only a handful of BX500's left from a CS guy at Carvin. The new models offer some improvements over the original ones, not totally a remake of both, but some upgrades like more power, pre/post switch ( on the 700 ), and the 2 ohm capability not limited to 500 watts. The B1000 is one I really don't get; 600 watts at 4 ohms is pretty common these days.
 
#48
jnewmark said:
The B1000 is one I really don't get; 600 watts at 4 ohms is pretty common these days.
Click to expand...

Yeah but 900 watts at 2 ohms is not common and the reason the amp makes sense is because some people don't like complicated EQ sections like the ones on the BX series. Also the BRX line of cabs are all 4 ohms each.

Yes the BX500 and BX1500 are going away and the new ones are an improvement, all good in my book.
 
#55
IMG_20140827_231342.jpg IMG_20140827_231531.jpg
Just got this one and fired it up today! So here's a few shots of it IRL. SO. MANY. TONES! I haven't even messed with the 9-band EQ on this guy yet. The gain knob adds some tasty grind to the tone. It doesn't overdrive as hard as Ampeg, but it's quite nice. The on-board compressor pretty much eliminates any of my want for one in pedal form. This thing seriously packs some punch. My Avatar 2x10 is 4ohm, so it's getting 550W. I only played it about 1/2 hr or so, but I'm really impressed thus far. :bassist:
 
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#57
BassikLee said:
The only thing keeping me on the fence is that I own three Carvin bass amps, only one of them works....
Click to expand...

My Carvin amps have been reliable. Current list.

DCM1000
DCM1000L Class D
DCM1204
DCM2004 Class D
BX1500 Class D

The DCM1000 took a tumble in its SKB case and became intermittent on channel 2. With the BX1500 the tuner out did not work from day one and thus the Effects Send. I never used either so I left it be. I was very disappointed that the BX1500 did not carry the same length of warranty as my DCM units I have to admit.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to get them both working. Opened them and I cleaned all the ribbon cable ends I could get at. That cured both units. I have to admit that I had put little credence to the reports of such problems with the ribbon cables. To those folk: My apologies! :)

I am posting this to encourage you to clean these cable ands or get a tech to do it if you feel you lack the skills. Hopefully they'll be a very cheap fix.

Edit: I would like to add that no piece of Carvin equipment has ever let me down on stage. They've alway performed admirablly.
 
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#58
Recently acquired one of these to relegate my old LMII to backup duties. Loving it so far. The two eq sections are a revelation. I use the parametric side to 'fix the room' and the graphic eq to get 'my' sound.

Quick question though. The website states the bass knob being centered @ 50hz and treble @ 10khz. Whereas the manual states the bass knob is 80hz and the treble is 12Khz. Which is right, anyone know?
 
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#59
Just got my BX700 today. carvins manual claims it has a boutique sound when set flay but that's not the case. Too dark no zing.( I play boutique active J basses)
With the contour switch at 11:00 it sounds pretty good. The amp rattled in the inside when i got it. Also the edges of the lid were very sharp and jagged.
When I was able to dial in some pretty decent sounds I decided to open it up to look for the rattle. Part of it were the long flat connector cables that were hitting the sides of the chassis. I zip tied them together and some of that rattle is gone now. But when I tap on the top of the lid something else inside the amp still rattles. I don't know what it is yet. I did file of the sharp edges of the lid while I was a it. That was really bad. The tube inside had no description or logo on it. I'm not sure if I should try a mesa tube or something like that.
Compressor is nice but on my basses that have EMGs it kicks in way too soon even when It is almost turned off. I have to back off on the volume on the basses quite a bit.The pots feel solid and the fan is very quiet.
My other amp is a Eden WT550. the slightest turn on the EQ gets dramatic results.I don't like that. Too sensitive. Seems like the knobs on the BX700 are more forgiving. And again ,it really did not take me very long to get a good sound out of the amp. I did have to engage the graphic and turn up the high treble slider a bit to get my "Marcus" tone. The rotary treble knob seems to be voiced at a lower frequency ( even though both say 5K)
So that's my take on the amp so far.
 
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#60
Hmmm, the finish and build on mine is fine. No rough edges and no rattles. Perhaps contact Carvin. Also, I'm pretty certain the graphic eq sliders on mine have centre detents.

I agree with you, it's a slightly dark sounding amp, which is fine with me, I'm not into sparkly zingy top end. Sounds similar to my markbass LMII, but with far more flexible eq.
 

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