 | Download Example 1 Flat - tube disengaged, no drive level, all EQ settings at noon. |
| Download Example 2 Contour EQ - tube engaged, contour at noon, two midrange controls at 2 o'clock |
| Download Example 3 Tube/drive - tube engaged and drive at 11 o'clock, all EQ settings at noon. |
| Download Example 4 Flat - tube disengaged, no drive level, all EQ settings at noon |
| Download Example 4 Contour/EQ - tube engaged, contour at noon and two midrange controls at 2 o'clock |
| Clips 1-3 recorded with G&L L-2500 5-string bass with Black Diamond roundwounds using the neck pickup in active mode. Clips 4-5 recorded with '74 Fender Jazz with Fender flatwound strings slightly favoring the neck pickup. All clips were recorded with a Shure BG 3.1 mic placed about 6" in front of one speaker, into a Blue Icicle and then into GarageBand on a MacBook. | |
| Watch Video Review: Click for full-size video | |
A Two-Finger Carry
Enter Carvin’s new flyweight bass amp, the BX500, a 500-watt, Class D amp with a switching power supply, all rolled into a package that weighs less than six pounds. When you first pick up this amp, you might think it’s empty inside. The BX500 is a little wider and deeper than most of the ultra light amps out there these days—a trade-off for all the features that Carvin had to pack into its 3”x9”x14” metal box. There’s no handle on the box, so I’d have to say it’s a two-finger carry. There is a rackmount panel available, too, but a rack case would weigh more than the whole amp!
Changing Tonal Colors
The BX500 is a tone chameleon—chock full of options for altering its basic sound, making tones available that are quite different from its native sound with everything set flat. For tone shaping possibilities, the BX500 starts with the usual Bass and Treble knobs, offering 12dB of cut and boost on each. If that doesn’t do the job, you can get a quick tone fix with two bands of semi-parametric EQ offering broadly adjustable frequency centers.
Going one step farther, the BX500 offers a 9-band graphic EQ that’s switchable by either a front-panel toggle or by a footswitch plugged into the back panel. This can be a handy feature for soloing, for EQ’ing two different basses, or for changing up your sound for different musical styles. But there’s still one more EQ option: a Contour knob that scoops out your mids (around 350 to 500Hz) for slapping, or just a warmer tone. The specs show up to -15dB of mid cut, but I thought it was a subtle-sounding control, at least up to the halfway point when the real scooping begins.
Beyond tone, two more options let you make changes to the character of your sound. Somehow, with all that’s going on, Carvin was able to fit in a 12AX7 tube, which is switchable in/out on the back panel. I tried this feature with a few different basses and thought it was very subtle, more a difference in the feel of the attack, along with a bit more fullness on the bottom end. Because it’s all-or-nothing, you’re not able to get a tube grind kind of sound from it.
Which brings us to the second character bender: a Drive knob. Once again, don’t go to this knob for distortion, but for changes in both gain and harmonic content. Although this has a variable level control, you will probably notice the change of gain more than the change of the actual sound. I thought that between a quarter and halfway up, the Drive knob added some grit, growl and attack. To use it, though, the master volume must be lowered to compensate.
The Master Volume control does a lot in its first quarter turn, so that once the drive gets much beyond half, you barely turn on the master before getting plenty loud. If I had my druthers, I would make the master level turn up more gradually, so that it would still be usable when turned halfway up with the Drive knob in use.
Yes, Master
Unlike most amps, the BX500 has a Master, but not an input gain control or an input clip light. Instead, there is an active/passive toggle switch that pads down the input a little bit. The manual doesn’t have the spec for this, but this switch doesn’t produce a big change in volume and seems to accommodate active or passive basses in either position without changing the instrument’s tone.
Some might criticize the DI on the BX500, since it is pre-EQ only (most amps offer a choice of pre or post). I think it’s fine the way it is, especially with a front-panel level control. In most venues, the sound tech wants you to plug into an external DI box, sending just your instrument to the board, and generally prefers a pre-EQ send, since there’s a full-spectrum signal to work with.
Clean power is important, since nearly all contemporary bass amps use a solid-state power amp that gets ugly when distorted. If you want to add distortion to your sound, you do it via an effects pedal. The power output of a bass amp depends on the speaker load it sees. In general, a cab rated at 8-ohm impedance draws less power out of an amp than a 4-ohm cab. For the BX500, that means you’ll get 300 watts from an 8-ohm cab, the full 500 watts at 4 ohms (either one 4-ohm or two 8-ohm cabs). If you’re a slapper or play with a heavy attack, you’ll appreciate the one-knob compressor that lets you get the most out of the amp without distortion. I found the compressor to be reasonably smooth and effective. With just one knob, it’s easy to adjust on the fly.
Very few amps are rated for operation below 4 ohms, because they tend to overheat—a 2-ohm load is very demanding on an amp. Carvin found a way around this, with a switch that lowers the voltage sent to the amp so that you can run the amp at 2 ohms safely. Set up this way, the top power rating is still 500 watts, but if you happen to own a couple of 4-ohm cabs, you really can use them both together. I have never seen another company adopt this innovative solution.
A Four-Ten Cab To Go
The review amp came with Carvin’s BR410N cab, which uses Neodymium speakers and is rated at 4 ohms and capable of 1000 watts of power handling (an 8-ohm cab is also available). Happily, the construction is all birch plywood rather than the super-heavy, less durable MDF or particleboard. There are front-to-back braces made of the same material inside for better stiffness. Carvin chose a relatively unusual sealed cab design, which produces a smoother sound spectrum, usually at the sacrifice of some low end and efficiency. (Carvin rates the cab’s efficiency at 106dB at 1 watt, but I’ve yet to find a cab rated that high and would just say that it’s “reasonably efficient.”)The front grille of this cab is made of sturdy perforated steel, and the cab is covered with a tough, vinyl material that comes in various colors. Unlike most cabs, Carvin chose old-school metal corners. More common are plastic corners that lock for stacking cabs. The metal corners don’t lock, but can take a lot of punishment without cracking. There is a beefy metal carrying handle on each side that will no doubt hold up through years of hauling, although the carrying position felt a little awkward. Caster sockets are already installed at the factory, so if you prefer to roll your cab, just add a set to your order. At a spec’d 65 pounds, this cab is relatively easy to manage either way. Many conventional 4x10 cabs weigh in at 90-plus pounds.
The back panel has plenty of places to plug in, with two 1/4” jacks and two Speakons. In addition, the panel includes a six-position Attenuator switch (5 levels plus off) for the titanium horn tweeter.
Dialing In For Live Action
What does this rig sound like? Set flat, without the tube or drive, the amp sounds clear, but not particularly deep, and not adding anything distinctive to the sound coming out of the basses I tried it with. To give it a close listen, I first plugged in a set of studio headphones (no speakers) and worked with the EQ sections. The headphone jack doubles as a tuner out and as such, a few parts of the amp are out of the circuit, including the master volume, graphic EQ, effects loop and the mute switch.
In this mode, headphone volume is controlled by the active/passive switch and the Drive knob. My test basses, a G&L 5-string and a Jazz-style fretless, each sounded good through my cans, with high clarity and minimal hiss. The Drive knob did little to change the character of the sound, but the range of the Contour knob between noon and 3 o’clock was helpful for dipping the bright or honky mids. Beyond 3 o’clock, the sound was seriously scooped. Bumping the lower midrange knob, centered at 200Hz, added a good thump to the sound, while increasing the high-mid knob, with a useful 900Hz upper midrange, could easily add some needed bite in muddy rooms. In all, the headphone output will make for a pleasant silent practice rig, but because the effects loop is out of the equation, you won’t be able to play along with music this way. I was a little disappointed at this, since even basic practice amps allow music to be inserted from your iPod.
Switching to the BR410 cab produced much of what I’d heard through the phones. The amp delivered good punch and mids, but lacked the depth I’d hoped for. In a studio jam session with two guitars in medium-sized combo amps plus a drum set, the rig easily held its own, creeping the Volume knob only to about 9 o’clock before I had all the sound I’d ever need (of course, the G&L has probably the hottest signal output around). Bumping up the low-mid EQ knob quickly added the kick I wanted. With my Jazz-style bass sporting active EMG pickups, I was able to get a wider range of volume settings because of its more normal output level.
The cab sounded tight and well-defined throughout its range, never showing a hint of weakness, even as I crept the master up toward noon (at which point, the others were pushing their fingers into their ears). Turning the Drive up to about noon added some aggressiveness to the attack. Because the parametric midrange controls did their jobs so well, I never got into the graphic EQ at that session. For most situations, I would use it mainly for creating a second bass sound, or for adapting the amp’s basic setting for a gig with two vastly different sounding axes.
The Final Mojo
The combination of the Carvin BX500 and the BR410 proves to be a potent rig for a variety of electric bass gigs, allowing all the volume and tonal flexibility you’d need for unsupported gigs up to medium size, and likely serving all your gigging needs once you’re in the house PA. If you gig or rehearse in a place that provides a house speaker cab, it’d be a dream to roll up with your bass in a gig bag and the BX500 stashed in a heavy-duty, padded nylon carrying case like the one Carvin offers. As a player, my main wish for this rig would be to have a Master Volume with a wider range of usability, say between 9 o’clock and 1 o’clock. A player facing a variety of gig sizes might want to pick up something like Carvin’s BR210N and BR115N cabs to gain greater flexibility in rig sizes. But if you need a one-size-fits-most rig, the BR410N is an effective solution at under $1K.
Buy if...
you're looking for a relatively light, loud rig with good clarity and flexibility.
Skip if...
you like an amp that can add grit to is sound, or if its headphone practicing options don't meet your needs.
Rating...
Street BX500 $419; BR410N $529 - Carvin Guitars - carvinguitars.com |
When Brandon Hagen broke his arm a few years ago, his life changed in an instant. He’d been fronting Boston indie rock outfit Vundabar since 2013, and suddenly, he was unable to do the things he’d built his life around. Recovery came, in part, in the form of a custom guitar prototype built by Mike Baranik of Baranik Guitars. Hagen deconstructed and rehabilitated his relationship to the 6-string on that instrument, an experience that led to Vundabar’s sixth LP, Surgery and Pleasure, released on March 7.
On tour supporting the record, the band appeared at Grimey’s in Nashville for a performance on March 11, and PG’s Chris Kies caught up with Hagen to hear about his journey and learn what tools the guitarist has brought on the road. As Hagen tells it, his setup is less about expertise and received wisdom, and more about “intuitive baby mode”—going with what feels and sounds good in the moment.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
An A1 B4
Hagen’s No. 1 is this Baranik B4, a custom job that he received two days before leaving for tour. Hagen’s arm was broken when Vundabar was playing a festival in California a couple years ago, and Baranik, a fan of the band, stopped in to see them. He offered to send a custom prototype to Hagen—who was new to the field of boutique guitars—and the B4 was born, borrowing from the Baranik B3 design used for Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson and the Hofner 176 played by Jamie Hince of the Kills. The guitar helped Hagen fall back in love with guitar as his arm healed.
Hagen was searching for Strat-style clarity and jangle but with a hotter sound, so Baranik put in Lindy Fralin P-90s in the neck and bridge positions, plus a sliding, unpotted gold-foil pickup in the middle, wound by Baranik himself. A wheel control on the lower bout beside the traditional pickup selector switch lets Hagen blend the pickup signals without outright switching them on or off. Along with traditional master volume and tone controls, the red button beside the bridge activates a Klon clone pedal built into the back of the guitar. Hagen used a Klon on every track on the new Vundabar record, so it made sense to have one at his fingertips, letting him step away from the pedalboard and still create dramatic dynamic differences.
Hagen uses Ernie Ball Slinky strings (.011s), a step up from the .10s he used to use; he was chasing some more low end and low mids in his sound. His guitars stay in standard tuning.
Jazz From Japan
Hagen also loves this 2009 Japan-made Fender Jazzmaster ’62 Reissue JM66, which splits the difference between classic Fender chime and a darker, heavier tone.
Blending Fenders
Hagen’s signal gets sent to both a Fender Hot Rod Deville and a Blues Junior. He likes to crank the Junior’s single 12" speaker for a nastier midrange.
Brandon Hagen's Board
Hagen runs from his guitar into a JHS Colour Box, which adds a bit of dirt and can be used to attenuate high or low frequencies depending on which room Vundabar is playing. From there, the signal hits a Keeley Compressor, EHX 2020 Tuner, EHX Pitch Fork, EHX Micro POG (which is always on with subtle octaves up and down to beef things up), Boss Blues Driver, Way Huge Swollen Pickle, MXR Carbon Copy (which is also always on), and a Boss DD-7—Hagen loves the sound of stacked delays.
Price unveiled her new band and her new signature model at a recent performance at the Gibson Garage in Nashville.
The 6-string was inspired by the J-45 she bought at Nashville’s Carter Vintage Guitars after she was signed to Third Man Records, where she made her 2016 ice-breaker album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. But her affection for Gibson acoustics predates that, going back to when she found a 1956 LG-3 in her grandmother’s home. The guitar had been abandoned there by her songwriter great uncle, Bobby Fischer.
“I played it for years before I found my J-45,” Price recounts. “At Carter Vintage, I tried a lot of guitars, but when I picked up that J-45, I loved that it was a smaller guitar but really cut through, and I was just really drawn to the sound of it. And so I went home with that guitar and I’ve been playing it ever since.”
“Having a signature model was something I had dreamed about.”
Of course, Price was also aware of the model’s history, but her demands for a guitar were rooted in the present—the requirements of the studio and road. The 1965 J-45 she acquired at Carter Vintage, which is also a cherry ’burst, was especially appealing “compared to a Martin D-21 or some of the other things that I was picking up. I have pretty small hands, and it just was so playable all up the neck. It was something that I could easily play barre chords on. I could immediately get everything that I needed out of it.”
If you’ve seen Price on TV, including stops at Saturday Night Live, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, you’ve seen her ’65. And you’ve also seen, over the years, that part of the soundhole’s top has been scraped away by her aggressive strumming. It’s experienced worse wear from an airline, though. After one unfortunate flight, Price found her guitar practically in splinters inside a badly crushed case. “It was like somebody would have had to drive over this case with a truck,” she relates. Luckily, Dave Johnson from Nashville’s Scale Model Guitars was able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
After that, an alternative guitar for the road seemed like a requirement. “Having a signature model was something I had dreamed about,” Price says. Friends in her songwriting circle, including Lukas Nelson and Nathaniel Rateliff, already had them. Four years ago, a tweet asking which women they thought should have signature models appeared, and one of her fans wrote “Margo Price.” Smartly, Price tagged Gibson and retweeted. Codey Allen in Gibson entertainment relations spotted the tweet and agreed.
The double pickguard was chosen for Price’s J-45 because of its symmetry, as a nod to the Hummingbird, and due to her heavy strumming hand.
Photo courtesy of Gibson
“The neck is not quite as small as my J-45, but it is just a bit smaller than many J-45s fives, and very playable no matter what size hands you have.”
“And so we began our journey of building this guitar,” Price says. “I debated whether it should be the LG-3, which I still have hanging on my wall, or the J-45. I went to Montana and visited their [acoustic] factory and sat down with Robi Johns [senior product development manager at Gibson acoustic], and we ultimately decided that the J-45 was my guitar. Then we started talking about the specs. We did pull from the LG-3 in that the body of this signature guitar is a bit smaller. It still has a really loud, clear sound that rings through. The neck is not quite as small as my 1965 J-45, but it is just a bit smaller than many J-45s, and very playable no matter what size hands that you have.”
The pickup that Price selected is a L.R. Baggs VTC Element with a preamp, and she took a prototype of the guitar on the road opening for the Tedeschi Trucks Band. “I am used to playing with a really loud band, with drums and sometimes a couple electric guitars, and I wanted to make sure that this guitar just cut through,” she says. “It was really important to me that it be loud, and it cut beautifully. It’s got a mahogany body and scalloped bracing, which makes it very sturdy. This guitar is a workhorse, just like me.”
The Margo Price J-45’s most arresting characteristic, in addition to its warm sunburst finish, is its double-sided pickguard with an etching of a quartet of red-tailed hawks in flight. It’s practical for her strumming style, but it’s also got a deeper significance.
“We talked about all sorts of things that we could put on the pickguard, and I’ve always been a big fan of the Hummingbird, so what we did is a bit of a nod to that,” Price continues. “I’ve always been drawn to red-tailed hawks. They are supposed to be divine messengers, and they have such strength. They symbolize vision and protection. I would always count them along the highway as I’d be driving home to see my family in Illinois.”
Birds of a feather: “I’ve always been drawn to red-tailed hawks,” says Price. “They are supposed to be divine messengers, and they have such strength. They symbolize vision and protection.”
Photo courtesy of Gibson
With its comfortable neck, slightly thinner body, and serious projection, Price notes, “I wanted my guitar to be something that young girls can pick up and feel comfortable in their hands and inspire songs, but I didn’t want it to be so small that it felt like a toy, and that it didn’t have the volume. This guitar has all of those things.” To get her heavy sound, Price uses D’Addario Phosphor Bronze (.012–.053) strings.
Price says she and her signature J-45, which is street priced at $3,999, have been in the studio a lot lately, “and I have a whole bunch of things I’m excited about.” In mid March, she debuted her new band—which includes Logan Ledger and Sean Thompson on guitars, bassist Alec Newman, Libby Weitnauer on fiddle, and Chris Gelb on drums—in a coming out party for the Margo Price Signature Gibson J-45 at the Gibson Garage in Nashville. “I’ve been with my previous band, the Price Tags, for more than 10 years, and it’s definitely emotional when a band reaches the end of its life cycle,” she says. “But it’s also really exciting, because now, having a fiddle in the band and incredible harmony singers … it’s a completely different vibe. I’ve got a whole bunch of festivals coming up this year. We’re playing Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and I’m so excited for everyone to hear this new iteration of what we’re doing.”
With its heritage cherry sunburst finish and other appointments, the Margo Price Signature Gibson J-45 balances classic and modern guitar design.
Photo courtesy of Gibson
