Groove Mama Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 So. It came today. Amp? What amp? I don't see no steenkin' amp! Queen of the Quarter Note "Think like a drummer, not like a singer, and play much less." -- Michele C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 I'm having trouble posting the pic's directly because I'm challenged. Here's the link to the photo album: http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=8343488016/a=6975638_6975638/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/ So the rout on the J-bass is just over an inch deep, total depth of the wood is 2 inches. I've got to do a little sanding, then hit it up with some tung oil, and reassemble. The new pots came in, so some soldering will be involved. Back to the amp: It sits on top of an LM12 really well, and vice versa. Wife has a paint pen that is the same shade as the tweed, and I'll use that to make a "V", "T", and "B" on the appropriate knobs. Master volume is easy to find because it's off to the side all alone. Peace Paul K Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 You're not challenged. You can't post pictures directly to this forum. You can post the pictures by using a link to another place the internet where you've managed to upload the picture, but I don't think that works from Snapfish. (at least it didn't work when I just tried it.) p.s. the amp looks great! Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted December 18, 2014 Author Share Posted December 18, 2014 It needs a mute switch. My kingdom for a mute switch. Are you listening, Carvin? Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Ok. So not important for you electric bass players. But for you upright players: this amp has a little switch for piezo pickups with a real high impedance so you don't need a preamp for your piezo equipped upright. Important for me because my ukulele and 12 string guitar have piezo pickups that I put in, but no preamp. You see, I was just kind of experimenting with these but found they made it into my solo act rather quickly. To get around the tin sound I put them through my multi-effects floor pedal and did some creative EQ'ing. But on this amp I just hit the Hi-Z button, and the shrillness is tamed. Rock on! It fixed a problem that I didn't even really know I had. Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted December 28, 2014 Author Share Posted December 28, 2014 I used the amp at a jam session; I use the term jam kinda loosely here. Guitar, bass, drums, and aux percussion mostly doing songs that are in my solo set. And the guitar player is a monster; he can play anything at any time in any style; was a treat to play with him. Too bad he winters in Costa Rica and won't be back home till late April. So it was much tighter than what a jam session usually ends up to be. Sweet. I was pleased with the amp. Playing with a full kit I needed to add another 12" cabinet; no surprise there. If it were to do bass-only duties, I'm more convinced than before that the 15" bass version would be better. But it fills the niche I needed filled. Rock on. Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 So the amp has a bunch of gigs under it's belt. On bass: Competent and easy to use for the kirtan jazz chant thing I do on bass. Plenty of volume and articulation. The on board reverb and chorus is exactly what I wanted. Nothing else to plug in. Rock on. Solo gig: Same thing. Reverb and chorus on guitar was plenty good: a guitar buddy who has good ears gave the guitar sound a thumbs up; as good as when I was using the Digitech floor pedal or my Magicstomp pedal. Vocals clear and crisp, competent reverb. I paired it with a Carvin LM12 (it's a two way plastic-cab PA box) which I put on a stick. I could hear myself just fine, no feedback problems. Plenty loud for the venues involved. I could reach the business side of the amp to adjust knobs easily with the amp placed on a keyboard stand. But I do need to paint on a big V, T, B, and E on the appropriate knobs: it's impossible to see the labeling. Tuner/headphone out is after the preamp volumes, but before the master volume. So I can record my sets and change the master volume without messing with the recording. Right on! Quibbles: A mute switch would be seriously useful. Breaks were an issue: what to do? Kill the volume? Turn off the amp? Undo the mic gain switch and unplug the guitar? Just be careful? I've created an effective hack, though. A patch cord from on the effects loop--When I unplug the send side then all is muted. Plug it back in, and it's back to normal. No pops or loud ugly noises when I tried this at home. The amp cover is a PIA. The amp has two bottoms, depending on how you set it up. So to put the cover on the amp has to be with the handle on the side of the cabinet. Then, when you set the amp down in the wet parking lot to unlock your car, you have to set the amp down on the side of the cover instead of just the amp bottom bumpers, since, well, the handle is now on top. And when you carry it by the handle, the cover rides up funny since the open end of the cover is now on the side instead of the bottom. Cumbersome. Unrelated, I had a short somewhere in my Shure headset mic some time ago. I found that Shure will fix these things for a flat fee. Instead of fixing it, they sent me a brand new one of the newer model! Rock on! I used it once, and it's just perfect for the solo thing. No mic stand or mic, way less visible cables. I set the music stand rather low, and with my dedicated reading glasses instead of my no-line bifocals everything was exactly perfect-- no head position restrictions, and a much more friendly presentation on the bandstand. I had to rig my Swirly-gig cup holder to fit the music stand, but it worked. And with the headset mic instead of mic stand, you don't hear that "CLUNK" each time you put your drink back into the Swirly-gig. Now how much would you pay? Really, really. With no foot pedals, fewer cables, and no mic stand, my presentation is just so much cleaner. And my gig bag is lighter. I'm happy. Peace Paul K Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Malone Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I've been thinking about a headset mic and looking at a Shure. Which model did they send you? Wally I have basses to play, places to be and good music to make! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcadmus Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Unrelated, I had a short somewhere in my Shure headset mic some time ago. I found that Shure will fix these things for a flat fee. Instead of fixing it, they sent me a brand new one of the newer model! That's the kind of service that keeps customers coming back. Good for Shure. "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcadmus Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Are you listening, Carvin? Based on my experience, no. And that's all I will say on the matter. "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenfxj Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Yo, check out the remarkably admirable restraint on jcadmus! Push the button Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 headset mic and looking at a Shure. Which model ? Wally The SM35-XLR. It's the same as the other SM35, but they add in the preamp that snaps into the mini-whatever connector into the regular XLR connector. So you can use the same headset in a wireless rig by unconnecting the preamp thing, or as a wired rig while using the preamp thing. http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/sm/sm35 The old one was the wh30-xlr. Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Malone Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 Thanks Paul! My one concern about a headset is dynamics that are done with a regular mic moving back and forth. Are you using yours wired or wireless? Wally I have basses to play, places to be and good music to make! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 My concern with a headset mike is that I'm going to turn to the guitarist next to me and make a private comment and the whole room will hear me. I've built a footswitch to turn my plain old regular mike on and off. (Shure Beta 58). Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Malone Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I remember when you built that Jeremy. Wally I have basses to play, places to be and good music to make! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted January 18, 2015 Author Share Posted January 18, 2015 Thanks Paul! My one concern about a headset is dynamics that are done with a regular mic moving back and forth. Are you using yours wired or wireless? Wally I'm using it wired. The other positives outweigh this mic technique thing for me. Indeed, you can't back away from the mic, but the mic is a little off to the side so the really loud parts aren't quite so loud. And the whistle part on "Me and Julio" come out just fabulous. I sit for the solo gigs. But with the headset mic I can get up if I want to, and I did. I'll do more of that in the future. Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted December 9, 2018 Author Share Posted December 9, 2018 OK, so this fella has caused me grief. And since Carvin has gone tits-up, there's no/little service. Here's the long term review. OK, so in order to get a good bass tone I had to do a big-league scoop of the mid's, or add another speaker cab. And that's because while I was troubleshooting the woes to follow, I found that the inductor wasn't in line with the woofer. The lines to the woofer went directly to the speaker, and the inductor mounted inside the cabinet was connected to the woofer with only one line. As such, the inductor did nothing and the mids went to both the woofer and the midrange. This explained the Big Wonk. I hooked it up the right way, and it now sounds the way it should. Rookie mistake by the Carvin people. This might explain why they went tits-up. The issue that caused me to find this problem is an intermittent loud as hell white noise that would go away sometimes when I re-booted the amp. Noise was/is independent of the preamp controls and can be cut/boosted by the main volume control. Carvin was no help in fixing this, but eventually offered to sell me a new old-stock module for way too much money. No thanks; one boat anchor is enough. All Carvin aid was like pulling teeth. E-mails if answered at all only addressed the first of three or four questions, if any were addressed at all. At any rate, a third party amp repair guy said that the problem was most likely in the effects portion of the amp, which he said cannot be bypassed/defeated/unplugged, or repaired by him. I figured out a work-around that has so far worked at home, but I'm scared to test it on a gig. What I do is connect straight from my pedalboard to the effects loop return, thus bypassing the preamp and effects engine. So another way to bypass the effects engine might be to buy the goddamn foot switch which turns off the effects remotely. But I kinda don't want to put any more cash into this unit. Maybe troll e-Bay for a used unit for cheap? I'll maybe research how the foot switch is wired, as maybe my Digitech foot switch will do the trick. Details as they develop, for both of you reading this. Peace Paul K Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzilla Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 Sorry to hear about the problems. Carvin gear and service had always been good to me. But obviously my endorsement doesn't mean crap when you're the one suffering a breakdown. "Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion) NEW band Old band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcadmus Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 I had a miserable customer service experience with Carvin -- PM me if you want the gory details, but it was basically like dealing with a clown college. Have to admit there was a fair amount of freude in the schaden when they took their sign down. "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butcherNburn Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 I was sorry to see Carvin, as it used to be, go. I was looking for an amp when it was apparent something was going on. My customer service experience wasn't too bad. Had/have a 1992 PB150 10" combo. Under warranty the speaker went bad for no reason. I was able to convince them to just allow me to do a speaker swap so I didn't need to ship the whole thing. After 10 years or so the amp portion died. What I liked about their combos was that they were a head and cab put together and not a single unit. I contacted them and they couldn't service it but sent me the schematics and suggested a local repair shop. I never got the head fixed but still use the 10" cab. My 2001 LB75f, never had to contact them. No issues. It sits in the closet with less than 20 hours play time. I never took to a fiver, I should have looked for 3 string model which would have suited me better. I have to admit it is a gorgeous beast though. If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted December 15, 2018 Author Share Posted December 15, 2018 Digitech foot switch works to turn off either effects engine 1 or 2 or both. Problem is that the foot a switch is momentary connection; you have to hold the button down. But bonus is that I can maybe figure out which of the two engines causes the problem and still use the other effects engine. Then wire together a TRS 1/4" plug with the appropriate leads shorted out and keep it permanently plugged into the foot switch jack. Sure wish this wasn't an intermittent problem. And just livid that I've got to be smarter than the guy at Carvin. b-N-b: I also had a Carvin PB150 that I used for quite some time before selling it. It worked very well for me also. Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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