I'm looking for help.  I have a CARVIN RC210 (600 watts  in a 2x10 tilt back combo).  Neither my Excel or my Spoiler sound right through this amp, no matter how much I tweak and fiddle with the EQ.  But both basses going through my David Eden stack sound like heaven, and then some.  Since I'm not yet ready to part with the Carvin, does anyone out there in Alembic-land have an Alembic/Carvin combination working successfully?
Thanks.
 
Ellery

I hate to say it, but I think you answered your own question.  I couldn't get a decent sound out of my Carvin gear either.  I ended up selling it off and buying an SWR Baby-Blue combo (2x8 and tweeter) that is incredible for smaller gigs.  For larger gigs, I have an Eden Highwayman and 410XLT.

Back when I had a Spoiler and a Baby Blue, the two got along like chocolate and peanut butter. I'd recommend that combo, with the BB sitting atop and powering an EV B-115M, which is a 15+10+horn cab, for situations where more volume is needed.
I'll go out on a limb and say Carvin has a reputation for being good on paper but, in practice, lacking magic.

some amps just dont do it for alembics,(no matter what)some are great for them,what i would do is just use that amp strickly for the p-bass only,(any amp will work for a fender).

One of the interesting things that happened after I got my Excel, was I discovered that I had a nephew that was rapidly becomming an avid bass player, and his cheap J-Bass immatation just couldn't cut it anymore.  So I gave him one.  The others are in the process of being sold in order to generate the necessary cash to purchase an Alembic Fretless of some sort.
So the Carvin looks like it's going to my nephew, also.  
Ellery

I played for years with an SWR Redhead.  Sounded fine.  Then I went to an SWR SM500.  Sounded better.
 
Now I'm running my F-1X thrtough a Crown XS500.  Splendid!!  The bottom end is way more pronounced, especially my B string.  And I haven't lost anything off the high end.  With the SM500 I often had to compromise one end or the other, even with the F-1X on the front end.
 
Peace,
James

I'm very happy with my sound, Swr 350 amp and 2x10 and 1x15 Mesa cabs, I've never tried anything by Carvin, but I've heard some mixed reviews.
 

I'm very happy with my sound, Swr 350 amp and 2x10 and 1x15 Mesa cabs, I've never tried anything by Carvin, but I've heard some mixed reviews. I was thinking about ordering one of them Carvin bass kits, 5 string frettless with active electronics. Has anybody around here done that ? If so, is it worth all the work ?
 

I'm also very happy with my Alembic/SWR combination - with my fretted 5 Rogue and WM12 + 1x10 extention, that is.  I am less than thrilled with this amp with my fretless Brown Bass, though.  I just can't seem to get a good high-mid sound without it sounding tinny.
 
I was thinking of trying a more full-range, uncolored sound (AI Clarus w/ Acme B2) or saving my pennies for a F2B.  What do ya'll think?  Is there a good amp for both a fretted 5 string with a maple neck and a fretless 4 with a mahoghany neck?
 
Kevin

Kevin,
On the Rogue, do you have the boost switches on all the time? If the BB has Anniversary electronics, that's a totally different sort of tone shaping.
Also, have you tried different extension cabs? The WM12 can sound sweet, but I'm not sure of the 10 extension cab. Try a Son of Bertha 15: move a little more air with the extension, and let the 12 do the talking.

Also, I seem to recall something else Adriaan had said somewhere in the archives about SWR WM12's and the Aural Exciter...... ahhh yes.....  
http://club.alembicguitars.net/Images/393/6720.html?1071845216  About half way down the thread...Maybe that will help.....
Good luck!

FWIW, I'm using a Carvin R600 with my Alembics and get a great sound. The Carvin is driving an Acme Low B 2 which is one of the best cabinets I've ever owned. The other best cabinet is the Acme Low B 4 which I have! I don't use the graphic equalizer in the amp at all, and I keep the other eq controls as flat as possible. I have to admit, I've been toying with the idea of an Eden head for the Low B 2, maybe after I've paid for the upgrades to my Orion. Good luck, Ellery!
 
Reid Raymond

Reid, thanks for the feedback.
Since the amp that you're using is the same one that is in the RC210 tilt-back, then there really remains only one possibility. It is the 2 x 10 tilt-back that does not reproduce the sound that I want.  One thing that I have not tried was to connect the Carvin head with the Eden cab.  I'll do that this weekend and post the results.

Has anybody around here ever get one of them build it yourselves Carvin bass kits ?
Are they any good?

I'd definitely be interested in hearing how the Alembic/Carvin/Eden mix sounds. Eden gear has its share of addicts and evangelists just like Alembic and Acme. I am a died-in-the-wool Ampeg fan to tell the truth, my big rig is an Ampeg SVP-Pro into QSC2402 into the Acme Low B 4. One day I've got to try the Alembic FX-1, though.