bassdrummer Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 I live in Visalia, CA, and drove 3 and 1/2 hours south to the Carvin store in Covina. It was my first non-catalog, non-online, real life experience with Carvin. It was like heaven. I spent hours playing one bass after another, through one amp after another. Those finishes are absolutely gorgeous. I loved the sound and craftmanship of all the gear. Great service. I bought myself the "green amp" (AG100D) which was heartily recommended to me by members of this forum. It's a 3 channel, 100 watt combo with a 12" 200 watt woofer and a tweeter. You can run a guitar, bass guitar, and vocal mic through it simultaneously. And yes, it's green! Now I just have to save up for a Carvin bass while I learn how to play on my Ibanez GSR200. I actually preferred the sound and weight of the LB20 with the standard single coil J99 pickups as opposed to the upgraded pickup configuration ($60 more) J99 neck / HB2 humbucking bridge pickup. I still like the sound of a Precision bass, though; I wonder if Carvin would install split P pickups at the neck with a J99 at the bridge? Something I should have asked but didn't think about it till I was on the long drive home. And for my church, I bought the Red Line 600 amp head, a 2 x 10 Red Eye cabinet, and a 1 x 15 bass cabinet. And casters, too! The hardest part was trying to fit the big 15 into my tiny Toyota Echo. The salesman tried to help me load it into the front seat (it wouldn't fit through the back doors, much less the little trunk), but it took up so much room I wouldn't be able to shift gears. I couldn't even put the key into the ignition! I had to take it out of the box, right there in the parking lot, and wrestle it into a position I could drive with. Taking it out of the cardboard packaging made it just a tiny bit smaller, but it made all the difference. I need a truck! "All the world's indeed a stage, and we are merely players..." --Rush, "Limelight" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruiser_dup2 Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 bd, Sounds like a fun trip. I visit that Covina store some times; it's about half an hour from my house. Regarding the split P configuration you asked about, I kind of doubt they would do that. It seems like Carvin will not do anything that requires a change in the machining of the wood. They build to order with stock parts, but I don't think they will set up and machine a custom configuration. But it never hurts to call them and ask. Bruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57pbass Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 I own the first generation of the AG100D. I does not have the master volume and only one bank of effects. I have used it many times with an acoustic guitar player and myself on bass. Its a great sounding portable unit for an incredible price. I have also used it for a bass amp on small gigs. It has a very nice tone. www.danielprine.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamminJim Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Hey Bassdrummer, I like your story. I had a similar experience. I live in Virginia and took a chance on some Carvin gear by buying on-line. I picked up a PA800 power mixer and a pair of 15" speaker cabs. They have all performed up to my expectations. Last summer, I was in Huntington Beach visiting my wife's family and I decided to take the 20-minute drive to the Carvin store. I was amazed by the quality and range of their equipment. It was by far my best experience in a music store. Even though I wasn't originally planning to buy anything, I ended up leaving with an AC50 (acoustic 5-string bass). Since then, I've also picked up a 12" Carvin monitor. By purchasing the bass in California, I didn't pay sales tax and they shipped it back to Virginia for me (I did have to pay shipping, though). They also have a number of sales items in the store that are not advertised on the internet. My bass was almost $200 cheaper than the catalog price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beermouse Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Damnit, I thought this thread was going to be about whittling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassdrummer Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 Whittlin? Just one problem with my Carvin adventure--I brought my Ibanez along to see how it would sound on the amps, and took the strap off to use it on a Carvin bass. When I got home and opened my gig bag, there was my strapless bass . . . I guess Carvin got a little tip on Saturday. No big loss, I just bought another one -- cheap nylon job just like the one I left behind (sob) (sniff). ---- On Sunday we tried out the bass rig at church. I play drums, and we had a guest bass player (with a nice Warwick 5 string Thumb bass!) We were running late and didn't have time for a decent soundcheck, so the poor guy was so worried about being too loud (up till now we've only used a little Peavey Basic 112 50 watt combo in church) that he turned the volume down so far that I couldn't hear him -- and that fat 1x15 and 2x10 Red Eye stack was about 4 feet behind me! So after every song I'm turning around saying, "Turn it up a little!" And he was saying, "I don't think they have me running through the house system." So he wouldn't turn it up because he just thought I couldn't hear him in the monitors. I didn't care about the monitors, which I didn't have by the drums anyway, I just wanted to hear that monstrous rig growl! So anyway, after church, I broke out my "strapless" and plugged in. Holy cow, it sounded so good! Perfect tone. And the amp sounded good too . . . "All the world's indeed a stage, and we are merely players..." --Rush, "Limelight" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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