What If....... Carvin Amps Had Survived...

[Murphy Slaw]

I still get emails from them, but I just delete without opening. Still disappointed I suppose, even after all these years.

I was in a rock band in the 90's, we did an all original album/cd project and toured a big chunk of the Midwest promoting it and re-cooping our investment and "living the life".

We had quite a bit of Carvin gear. Bel-Air tube amps, R1000 bass rig with the 4;10's, and p.a. gear as well. I was a Marshall guy back then, but Carvin had a huge presence on our stages.

At the end of that turmoil, I decided to "go acoustic" and ordered the AG100D because there wasn't a heckuva lot of acoustic amps around at that time, and we'd had very good service with our Carvin gear. I did several gigs with it, and it actually worked quite well, never failed, and it still works TO THIS DAY!

I've gone Bose for a chunk of my acoustic gear and will sometimes add a mixer and some other old p.a. gear depending on the size of the venue. I even add the old Carvin to the mix from time to time because it's now, after all those years, kinda vintage with it's green vinyl and such.

I know some of you owned these rigs, along with the 200 and 300 versions and I still see them getting respect in the acoustic community and it makes me wonder. What would/could they be up to in the acoustic market had they continued to actually design and build acoustic gear in the U.S.A. ? (Not the re-branded stuff they market now.)

[rmp]

I never even paid attention to the acoustic amps TBH

Was in a band with some of their PA gear though and one of the guys had a few of their Electircs, one of them was a pretty pricey - for the time - "custom" shop model. It was a fine axe.

But yea,, their sound gear we used and abused.. a lot like Peavey stuff. Took a serious beating, and yet kept on working. Buy it once, run it into the ground.

Hmm.. maybe why they went under me thinks?

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

I still get emails from them, but I just delete without opening. Still disappointed I suppose, even after all these years....

I was getting into the local live music scene just as Carvin was going under. Was just about ready to buy that glorious AG300 when they shut down. Dang!

I now have a variety of Bose and EV gear, mainly sticks, but still wish I had the Carvin.

[westview]

Still have my AG100D in working condition.
Two PA amps in working condition. 750 watts and 1000 watts.
Two mixers. 12 and 16 channels.
Custom guitar (DC 150).
Two power conditioners and equalizer.
Two 15in. PA speakers and 12in. monitor speaker.
Various mic and guitar stands. PA speaker poles.

Gee, didn't realize I had so much Carvin stuff. Most of it is over 20 years old.
I use to live near one of their outlet stores. Even have a Carvin jacket.

Been waiting for things to break down, to justify getting modern stuff.

[CASD57]

I had a Carvin TL60 (tele) in Koa that I attached a Roland Synth GR ?? I forget... Loved that guitar...
But we were a Peavey Band when I was in Country..
In the Rock band I went to tubes...
I had a Carvin amps off and on... Like a Belair But mainly Fender Tube amps or heads w/cabinets

I think if they could of done more in the credit/payment department like GC they could of survived...
I mean its mail order...if you set up 45 day return and financing it just makes it easier to try things out

[Brent Hahn]

Carvin is still (barely) around. Their 1X12 sealed guitar cab is a bargain, even if you toss the driver that comes in it.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by westview

Been waiting for things to break down, to justify getting modern stuff.

HAHA!

it probably wont...

so just go buy some stuff already!

[Mandobart]

Nearly 50 years ago I bought a cheap Japanese P-bass copy and put a Carvin pickup in it. Worked great for 4 years then I joined the navy and don't know what became of the bass.

About 7 years ago I bought a Carvin AG300 amp and played through it a lot. I did a lot of searching and checking and trying out a bunch of different amps before I picked the AG300. I still think it was the best combination of features, sound and cost available at that time. I did have one weird issue with it that popped up just as the warranty was ending. Carvin fixed it at no cost to me.

Since then I haven't been gigging much so I rarely use the amp now.

[ghostnote]

I always thought their stuff was good. It was quality equipment at a reasonable cost - rare in it’s day. I still have a Carvin 1x12 tweed cab that sounds great no matter what goes into it.

[capefisherman]

I gigged for quite a few years with the AG100 and then the AG300 for a few more - even bought their extension for the 300, in matching brown "leatherette." Sharp looking and as someone here said, very very nice set of features and I consistently received compliments on the sound from other musicians while running various K&K-equipped Martins through it. I do know the 300 had some issues with some examples: losing volume and nasty (unintended) distortion after being on & played for a few minutes. My 100 had that problem after a couple years and I had to send it back - at my expense from Cape Cod to CA. The repair was no charge, even though it was out of warranty BUT in spite of asking them straight out what the issue was, they would not respond.

I sold that one locally and bought the 300 w/extension cab and it worked just fine for about three years, doing gigs (low/moderate volume) just about every weekend at a local cafe and various other places, wedding ceremonies, gallery openings, private parties, etc.

However, one of my students bought one after hearing mine and within a month of so of owning it he too had the same bad sound experience (an almost modulating hissing/distorting sound...wish I could describe it better....). He did not go to the effort of shipping it back even though his was still under warranty. And I recall reading on this forum and also UMGF of people having the same issue, Carvin fixing it, but never owning up to what the problem was. Just strange....they obviously knew they had a problem with significant numbers of both the AG100 and AG300 but they never acknowledged it (!?!).

Then the Bose S1's appeared on the scene and it turned out to be just about perfect for the type of gigs I do in the warmer months: lots of beach wedding ceremonies and outdoor parties where there was no power available and the battery power of the S1 was a godsend. I now own two if the S1's and between their relatively light weight and amazing sound I pretty much abandoned my good ol' AG300 and ended selling it AND the cab to someone on this forum I believe. He was/is a pastor of some church in Texas if memory serves.... I've wondered from time to time whether or not he's still using it. (If you are that guy and after reading this, I'd love hear how my AG300 is holding up and if it still sounds as wonderful as it did when I shipped it to you....?)

While I'm still mostly pleased with my two S1's, reading this thread has inspired me to contact that former student and find out if he still has his defective one. If so, I may very well try to buy it from him and hope I can find some amplifier wizard around here or even in Boston to fix it. I do very much miss my AG300 for it's amazing depth of sound; the weight of it, not so much. But at least in my rear view mirror the sound, features and very good EQ to sculpt the sound would make it a worthwhile investment. If that all come to pass I'll post a review here of the repaired amp and how it compares to my Bose S1 Pro's.

Gonna email that student right now......

Gene Bourque

Cape Cod Acoustics

[Nymuso]

When I get bass gigs I have a Carvin 842 that I use as a head for various bass enclosures I have. The bass itself is a Carvin LB 75.

Hey, good stuff is good stuff.

[Rickenbacker1]

Still using a Carvin AG 200 with the extension cabinet . About once a year I get the idea I want something else …….Still haven’t found anything to fill my needs .
Bought mine brand new in the Silver / Snakeskin ….little wild.

[rrgguitarman]

My Carvin AG300 is a keeper, I do wish that I had bought the extension cab for it.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by CASD57

I had a Carvin TL60 (tele) in Koa that I attached a Roland Synth GR ?? I forget... Loved that guitar...

I keep this TL60T (alder/maple) with Roland pickup at the studio. It is quite handy. I call it my "Swiss army" guitar.

Bob

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

What If....... Carvin Amps Had Survived...

I have often wondered this myself. 6-7 years ago I bought an AG200 in their awesome Country Western finish. It was a great little amp, very clean and PA-like with just the right amount of features for our acoustic duo. It ticked a lot of boxes at the time and provided great tone. I wish I had purchased the matching extension cabinet as they 'went under' shortly after I bought it.

Their business model, while great for the buying crowd, was probably at least in part the reason for their demise. Had they stayed in business I think they would likely be still making great amps that are smaller, lighter, and maybe even have rechargeable batteries along the lines of Elite Acoustic's offerings. Who knows, they might even be offering a great 'stick' system like so many others out there!

Here's a couple photos from a NAD review I did of my AG200: