Carvin AG100D

[JohnZ]

I could see a case for tuning the bass ports if the amp was always used for the same thing and you really knew what you were doing, but blocking them doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

I've had mine since they first started making them and it's been very useful over the years and I'd highly reccomend it for anyone looking in that exact price range. I'll use it whenever weather conditions are extreme or sometimes in band situations when were using a conventional PA (I normally use a Bose L1) as an amp for my Variax acoustic. Regular steel stringed acoustic guitars sound ok to me, although it's been awhile. I used it on the 15th for an hour or so to cover a gig that was supposed to be subbed (she had car trouble) and the nylon sounded pretty good through it. This Saturday for a New Years' rehearsal it'll be a bass amp. When it's super hot, like over 105 degrees for a pool or spa gig I'll use it over the Bose, GK, or Yamaha cause it's not as big a loss if I fry it. And fry it I have. First time was early on and I took it to the factory and they fixed it in a few hours......changing out the board....they really don't work on parts. Second time, the heat got to it and the effects went south so it went to The Amp Doctor in Riverside, Ca. where I went through the half hour tiraide from the owner about how crappy Carvin circuitry is before he agreed to fix it, and it has worked fine ever since. Basically the heat messed up many of the solder joints.

I'll continue to use it, open ports and all.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by masterquacker

That's so dumb I don't know where to begin....

A speaker system with a bass port tuned specifically for an acoustic bass guitar like the Carvin eh? So which one is it and where can I read the specs.

Or gee, might it be one of their small speaker enclosures with tiny 8" woofs where the bass ports are merely making up for the lack of lows 8" speakers have like the old Trace Eliot amps used to use? Like I said, it's such a dumb statement....

Yeah, some of us aren't very bright. I'm sorry to say the Daedalus W803 pair I use most often only have 8" woofers. They have a frequency response spec of 50Hz to 20k Hz +-2dB. Is that bad? Since I only use them for solo fingerstyle, and since the lowest fundamental frequency I generate is 62Hz, I guess that 50Hz response and the bass port in each cabinet is screwing up my sound, according to your unrivaled experience. And the Daedalus SC1203 pair I use on occasion, with a 12" woofer with 42Hz to 20k Hz +-2dB response and bass ports, would be even worse, huh? What's a good color for the duct tape? Would green be too noticeable? Gray seems so mundane.

[Brent Nelson]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

What's a good color for the duct tape? Would green be too noticeable? Gray seems so mundane.

Duct tape comes in COLORS?!?!?!? ; )

Brent

[Herb Hunter]

I just spoke to Carvin tech. support and they assured me that parts are made available. Items out of production for more than five years may or may not have all parts available. Regarding circuit boards, they don't sell them outright but will fix repairable ones and exchange those that aren't. It isn't necessary to ship back the entire amplifier. One could simply send the damaged circuit board.

[texas twelve]

In response to the original question, I can say that I would not rec. this Carvin amp. And not because it does not sound good; in fact, it sound incredible. You can get a great sound for an acoustic guitar out of it, vocals sound sweet, and at lower volumes the bass is really nice.

However, I have had TWO, yes two of them and they are as dependable as the weather. My first one started to cut out about three weeks beyond the warranty. I sent it back for repairs. They "repaired" it, and sent it back to me. Within 6 weeks it started cutting out again. I called, and really griped, and after about 15 minutes of "run around" the phone guy finally said, "let's stop the madness and just send you another."

Yeah, end of story, happy ending, Carvin rocks. Nope, the second one started doing the cut in and out literally 6 weeks after being out of warranty. I called again, and the phone guy started asking me questions that indicated that it had to be something that I did. They were so nice that they offered to pay for shipping to them, but the repair bill would be at least $ 135.

So, I took it to a local repair guy, and he said that he fixed it. I worked fine for another 9 months, and started the cut in out routine.

This is not a fluke. Go to >harmonycentral.com< and look at the reviews. I am not some isolated incedent. These amps are a crap shoot. Some, who have few problems, love them. But, there are quite a few guys like me who have had more than a few problems with them.

So, bottom line is, you may get one that is a gem. They do sound great, when they work, that is. But, you may get a POS.

[masterquacker]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

If someone modifies their speaker cabinet and likes the results that's fine. Yet here is an odd contradiction in bemoaning an amplifier's extended frequency response by saying that it was designed to give bass guitars "more thump" and then later stating that the a 15" speaker (with the potential for an even more extended frequency response) "will do much better at reproducing the lows of your guitar than that thumpy bass port on the Carvin".

The low E of a guitar is approximately 82 Hz. Tuning down to C would approximately equal 65 Hz. The 12" speaker in the AG100D extends below that so no advantage is taken of the 15" speaker's even deeper response and the added mass of the larger speaker could mean that the 12" speaker might have a better transient response.

We all have a right to our opinions here and readers benefit from a diversity of opinions and experience. Readers are free to decide for themselves which posts have more merit than others.

Do you know anything at all about a speaker's compression characteristics, distortion effects, time-dependent dynamic and tonal aberrations? Do you really think that studios keep monitors of various sizes around because they all sound the same (and any good monitor will give you at least 65hz to 20khz frequency response no matter what its size). Do you really think that guys like me or Danny Gatton or Roy Buchanan all say to get a Vibroverb with a 15" speaker because the 12" version sounds the same (old Bluebells have the same frequency response whether 12 or 15"). Have you ever in your life been in a studio and heard a pair of tiny NS 10's next to something like the UREI 813's? If you think a 15" speaker will sound no different from a 12" on acoustic guitar you just don't get it, and haven't played many amps.

And what on earth does a bass port tuned in such a way as to purposely bring out a bass guitar's fundamental lows (it sounds to me like around 200hz) have to do with a bass port on something that's meant to bring out more low end in general in a shelving characteristic? One produces a peak, the other a curve. Oranges and apples.

You and your other looser names can take your last paragraph to heart pal.

[masterquacker]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Yeah, some of us aren't very bright. I'm sorry to say the Daedalus W803 pair I use most often only have 8" woofers. They have a frequency response spec of 50Hz to 20k Hz +-2dB. Is that bad? Since I only use them for solo fingerstyle, and since the lowest fundamental frequency I generate is 62Hz, I guess that 50Hz response and the bass port in each cabinet is screwing up my sound, according to your unrivaled experience. And the Daedalus SC1203 pair I use on occasion, with a 12" woofer with 42Hz to 20k Hz +-2dB response and bass ports, would be even worse, huh? What's a good color for the duct tape? Would green be too noticeable? Gray seems so mundane.

I'll say the incredibly obvious once more for the slow class:

And what on earth does a bass port tuned in such a way as to purposely bring out a bass guitar's fundamental lows (it sounds to me like around 200hz) have to do with a bass port on something that's meant to bring out more low end in general in a shelving characteristic? One produces a peak, the other a curve. Oranges and apples.

[masterquacker]

Originally Posted by Herb Hunter

I just spoke to Carvin tech. support and they assured me that parts are made available. Items out of production for more than five years may or may not have all parts available. Regarding circuit boards, they don't sell them outright but will fix repairable ones and exchange those that aren't. It isn't necessary to ship back the entire amplifier. One could simply send the damaged circuit board.

Mike Goodwin runs the bulletin board for Carvin. He used to work in their Customer Service at one time. This is what he says in regard to parts/schematics:

If you take it to a local tech, Carvin will sell the parts. With most units, they'll also email schematics for free. But last I heard, they still had not released the schematics on the V3. (New product. I guess they didn't want anyone stealing the design and building it. They wouldn't send them or sell them to anyone for any reason.)

Carvin will sell - or ship for free if under warranty - individual components. They will not ship circuit boards, under warranty or not, whether you pay for them or not. I'm not sure why. I got several answers, none of which made much sense. Yeah, the "modular design" would be a much bigger plus if they could ship you the circuit board and you could just pop it in. The most common reason I heard was that the whole amp or mixer or whatever is printed on one big circuit board and then cut apart. If they take one part out of it, then the rest of it is useless. OK, that almost makes sense. But when stuff is sent in, Carvin's repair techs replace circuit boards. So that blows that reason out of the water. Arguing with the Customer Service rep or the repair tech won't help. Believe me, they wish they could send you a circuit board rather than getting the product back. But it's company policy and their hands are tied in that regard.

Almost all Carvin products have a flat rate for the repair. Ask the Customer Service rep and he can tell you exactly what it will cost before you ever send it in.

[masterquacker]

I have that video comparison done. If anyone wants it, PM me with your name and address and I'll send it to you on DVD. It's only three minutes.

I tape over my bass port for the same reason studio owners all over the world (including me until 1992) have taped toilet paper over the tweaters of their NS 10's for the past 20-years--it works. If I want a silly bass guitar fundamental frequency sticking out like a sore thumb on my acoustic guitar, I'll dial it in myself thank you very much.

BTW, if you want to see a bass port on an acoustic guitar amp that's actually supposed to bring out more bass end in a more shelving characteristic (in other words something that's useful to an acoustic guitarist just like a bigger speaker pushing more air would be) take a look at SWR's California Blonde. It has a huge port on the bottom that's built more like a bass bin--long and flat. that's a bass port worth having.

[Rejoice Music]

Okay fellas, I'm closing this thread due to some warranted complaints about violations of our forum Be Nice rule. Please review the FAQ section regarding this, and remember that one of the things that sets this forum apart from some others, is this rule, as well as the class of folks who choose to hang around here and observe it.

Happy New Year!