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New Carvin Micro bass combo amps!

#181
I have recently moved into a new apartment, and I came to the realization that I really didn't have a small personal practice amp. Playing Carvin basses almost exclusively and hearing great things about the B series stuff (and having a friend very happy with his BX1200), I deicded to pick up an MB12.

I must say that I'm extremely impressed with this unit so far. It's very clean and hifi sounding. The sound quality of the head section could easily be compared to the stuff being put out by Markbass and Genz Benz, IMO. I played it in a room that most amp gear, even very high end gear, generally doesn't sound good in. I love my Mesa 400+, but this amp has me seriously considering perhaps picking up one of their high watt heads for times when I want gobs of solid state power.

I agree with Craig about it really shining with an extension cab. As already stated, this thing doens't have a huge low-end extension, as it shouldn't with the small cabinet size. I tried it with an Aguilar GS112 and was pleasantly surprised at the added tonal dimension and volume with an extension cab. Also, kudos to Carvin for allowing the internal speakers to continue working when an extension cab is connected. One of my biggest pet peeves are combo amps with extension speaker options that turn off the internal speakers. Having to bring more external speakers to compensate for the lack of internal speaker functioning totally defeats the purpose of using a combo amp that can be simply augmented with a similar sized box.

There is one design flaw, however, IMO. I think it would have been nice if Carvin built a removable panel over the amp section of the box. While well-built knobs and jacks can take some bumps, these amps have switches that could get bent or broken if the amp is moved or gigged a lot. Not a big deal, but you have to be a little more careful when transporting the combo. A vinyl amp cover would probably help, but I think a simple cover would have been nice.

While I got this amp for personal practice and perhaps rehearsals, I know one gig where we have quiet stage volume and adequate PA support that I may use this amp on with the Aguilar extension cab.
 
#182
I am considering purchasing a MB15 with the thought of sitting it on top of my Avatar B210 when and if extra juice is needed. I have read plenty of reports about plugging into a 1x15, a 2x12 etc with good results.

I imagine the MB15 into a B210 would do fine, but would like to hear somebody's experience with this combo.
 
#183
Joe Nerve said:
So these micro amps intrigued me enough to sell my $600 Fender 250 combo (for $300) and give em a go. Was on the fence for a while w either these or the GKs. Went with GK because of the added wattage and ability to neatly stack a 2X10 on top of a 15. Used them at one rehearsal, immediately regretted selling the Fender, returned the amp and cab the next day.

Still want one of these though but have to get settled with the fact that it's going to be for a practice amp only, and the occasional acoustic gig. Why am I posting this? Not sure. Trying to talk myself either into it, or out of it. :) A little part of me is dreaming that I'll be able to take it to a small club and have it hold it's own with a loud drummer and a marshall, but I know I'm kidding myself. I'm pretty convinced that the only way I'm ever going to get sound I like is with a cabinet that has some heft to it. Been through my share of neos... but these things are so damn cute.... and I love my bx500... and money in my pocket is always on fire.... sheeesh....

gonna hold off a little longer. just venting to cool the cash a bit. pay me no mind.

anyone do a gig/volume comparison of these with the GKs yet?
Click to expand...

I'm surprised as to how many gigs my bassman 250 has handled. I've played every genre of music with this thing and mostly no pa support because of the size of bars in Mendocino/Lake County , Ca. It does a better job than I ever thought and really shines for r&b , soul, classic rock, country, and even reggae. When we won the battle of the bands last year , it's what I used and even though I let the sound man use it as a backline, all the other bass players insisted on using their own (LOL!). I've also had a gk1001. I moved up to a rbi/crest ca9 setup from that and I wish I'd kept it . Things were so much easier with the gk and they are LOUD for what they claim their rms is on their amps. Nothing better than underselling and overproducing !
 
#184
Kind of a general question about Class-D amps and Carvin gear too. I am a fossil that grew up playing through an Ashley preamp, homemade crossover and then into a 300W/Side QSC pwr amp. Cabinets were varied, but large.

The Class D thing is intriguing to me because I am a fossil and my back isn't what it used to be. Even though I am now practicing through an old Fender BXR300 head I soldered back together (was broken when bought) which is making the rig even more compact, these little 6-12lb 300 watt jewels are really catching my eye for back preservation.

Is the Carvin stuff pretty good? does it sound sterile or does it have some warmth to it?, can it compare to (or even surpass) the other market regulars like the Little-Mark or the Ampeg PF series head?

Thanks all
Willy D
 
#185
Country/western bass setting for bedroom practice. Wouldn't want to push too much volume with this setting (obviously), but it does give a nice deep, balanced tone without sounding boomy or peaky. This gives you an idea of what you have to do to overcome that tiny enclosure.

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#187
LOL, strangely enough, this is the setting that most closely approximates the balance I get when I run flat into an Avatar B212, which has great bass extension. The price you pay for having something that'll fit into the passenger seat of a mini truck. It's my audition box. I don't use it for "real work."

By the way, I've got a cheap 100 Hz 12 dB/octave low-pass filter coming in from Parts Express. The MB15 box falls off a cliff at 100. I'm going to connect the LP between the MB15's speaker out and my sealed 2.6 cu ft extension cab. The idea is to keep midrange away from that cab in order to minimize the weird phase/delay effects I get in that region from running two dissimilar cabs in the same range. Will I still be running two dissimilar cabs in the same band? Yes, but now only sub-100. But I want to hear what happens. WinISD tells me (indirectly) I'll need to have the 2.6 extension about a foot forward of the MB15 for things to line up timing-wise. Ah! A convenient place for adult beverages!

(Can't help it -- I'm a tinkerer and that's the only reason I'm doing this. But maybe Bill will hop in and tell me whether I've gone totally off the rails.)
 
#188
Willy D said:
Kind of a general question about Class-D amps and Carvin gear too. I am a fossil that grew up playing through an Ashley preamp, homemade crossover and then into a 300W/Side QSC pwr amp. Cabinets were varied, but large.

The Class D thing is intriguing to me because I am a fossil and my back isn't what it used to be. Even though I am now practicing through an old Fender BXR300 head I soldered back together (was broken when bought) which is making the rig even more compact, these little 6-12lb 300 watt jewels are really catching my eye for back preservation.

Is the Carvin stuff pretty good? does it sound sterile or does it have some warmth to it?, can it compare to (or even surpass) the other market regulars like the Little-Mark or the Ampeg PF series head?

Thanks all
Willy D
Click to expand...

Not sterile at all. I own both the BX250 and the Ampeg PF-350. The Carvin has a mid-presence and punch to it while the Ampeg sounds more “scooped” and deep.
To get the Ampeg sound is just a matter of twisting knobs. You will love the BX250, especially for the sale price. Even if you don’t, shipping it back is cheap because it’s so light.
 
#189
craig.p said:
Country/western bass setting for bedroom practice. Wouldn't want to push too much volume with this setting (obviously), but it does give a nice deep, balanced tone without sounding boomy or peaky. This gives you an idea of what you have to do to overcome that tiny enclosure.

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Click to expand...

Man that's just crazy setting right there!!


:confused:
 
#193
craig.p said:
LOL, strangely enough, this is the setting that most closely approximates the balance I get when I run flat into an Avatar B212, which has great bass extension. The price you pay for having something that'll fit into the passenger seat of a mini truck. It's my audition box. I don't use it for "real work."

By the way, I've got a cheap 100 Hz 12 dB/octave low-pass filter coming in from Parts Express. The MB15 box falls off a cliff at 100. I'm going to connect the LP between the MB15's speaker out and my sealed 2.6 cu ft extension cab. The idea is to keep midrange away from that cab in order to minimize the weird phase/delay effects I get in that region from running two dissimilar cabs in the same range. Will I still be running two dissimilar cabs in the same band? Yes, but now only sub-100. But I want to hear what happens. WinISD tells me (indirectly) I'll need to have the 2.6 extension about a foot forward of the MB15 for things to line up timing-wise. Ah! A convenient place for adult beverages!

(Can't help it -- I'm a tinkerer and that's the only reason I'm doing this. But maybe Bill will hop in and tell me whether I've gone totally off the rails.)
Click to expand...
Well, parts came in this morning so I gave it a try. What a difference from simply hooking up the cab and keeping it in the same plane. The tone sounds a lot more even now, the bass (i.e. the REAL bass) is much stronger and much more solid-sounding, and the weird volume and tone changes as I move from note to note are completely gone. Things simply sound "right." Some of this might be due to the physical cab alignment per WinISD but I'm really not sure. All I know is that I got a ton of improvement for chump change.

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I tried both in-phase and out-of-phase connections. This is a second-order low-pass filter, but I have no corresponding second-order high pass filter on the MB15's internal driver, so I don't know which polarity is "correct." That said, the out-of-phase connection sounded vastly superior. It produced huge, massive bass. The in-phase connection, on the other hand, seemed to have some suckout down in the bottom end. Could be the former is flatter, while the second is giving me a hellatious bass bump. I really don't know. I do know you want to run second-orders out of phase when you're running real crossovers, but I don't know what the rule is when you're low-passing one driver but letting the other one run full-range and using its inherent bass roll-off to provide the necessary high-passing. Or maybe the rule is Don't Ever Do That.

The bottle on the right in the first pic was part of my test of the bottom cab as a holder for adult beverages. None was consumed either before or during this highly scientific test.

No, really.
 
#196
I just bought an MB15 with matching extension cab. The amplifier had a defective 15" driver, so I swapped it with the one on the extension cabinet. It had a rattle esecially noticeable at low volume, like the coil was scraping or something. Carvin sent a new driver and now everything is fine.

The cabinets are very well constructed, with tight joints and upostery, no air leaks or rattles. The amplifier has way more power and volume than a normal practice amp. The shortcoming is that it has very little bass extension. It is like a really loud Crate 8" 10 watt practice amp by itself. With the contols set at flat, it has no right to call itself a bass amp. With the knobs twisted all the way and coupled with the matching ext. cab it sounds decent to about low B.... on a four string. Below that it gets progressively more funky. Pretty much everything Craig has posted is right on the money.

For the price ($648 w shipping and ext. cab and no colors; $702 w/colors) you could do better sound wise. Without the extension speaker it just sounds too funky in my opinion. I like it because of look of the little stack, the custom colors, and made in USA. I knew from the size of the cabinets and the type of driver that it wouldn't go all that deep, I just wanted something that was well made and a little different than the usual black combo amp, or cab with a head on it. In my opinion you will probably be disappointed unless you have an extension speaker to go with it, or jack into a good pa for some low end help.
 
#197
MB15 with matching extension cab response curves.

Here are some graphs with the pc mic used. It is not calibrated, but seems to be about right. It gives you some idea of what to expect.

Here are the 6 bass strings' fundamental resonance in standard tuning for reference:

B=30hz E=41hz A=55hz D=73hz G=98hz C=130hz.

Measurements were taken in a 3/4ish space environment at about 1 meter and were similar at 2 meters.
 

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