The Steel Guitar Forum

I talked with Bill Stafford at his booth and he was showing his new power amp made by Carvin. It is a 1000 watt amp and model # DCM1000. Do any other steelers use a Carvin Amp in their rack. It sounded great to me and was very quit. Acording to the specs it weighs 25 lbs and has a 3yr warrenty for parts and labor.

I do like a lot of power...but I think 1,000 watts for a single instrument is a little overkill! (Might be OK in a P.A. system where you're pushing a lot of speakers.) But for steel alone?

If you can never use it, ain't much sense in having it.

Bill said it was because of the headroom with the higher power. Actually I was looking at their 600 watt amp which weighs 20 lbs. Im going to flip a coin to figure out which one to get as the $ difference is $40.Some of the specs for the amp are THD at 1/2 power is 0.03%, Signal to noise Ratio is above 100db, damping factor >400.

Hey, Dan,
I presume that's 1000W PEAK -- so probably 500W RMS or so?
Also, I presume it's stereo, so, 250W RMS per side or so. Therefore, it's like playing through a pair of Session 400's.

Is this true?

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

Carvin rates their Power amps in Continous RMS for a 2 ohm load. Bill is using two 8 ohm Evans Cabinets in stereo so he has the potential to produce 225 watts RMS Continious per channel or a total of 450 watts RMS Continious. This is equal to the power output of 4 1/2 Fender Twin Reverbs, if you care to look at it that way, also with no distortion .

Any of you who has ever heard Bill knows that he goes for Quality, not Quantity. You won't ever catch him in a Volume race with anybody.

He is using the Rack Mounted Evans Stereo Preamp. He is Getting one great Tone with this combination.

The Carvin Power amps are probably the best bang for the buck out there and you get to deal direct with the Manufacturer, no problems with warranty service if you ever happen to need it. Nice folks with a great product and eager to please.

Here is the link to the specs for Bill's Carvin DCM 1000 Power amp

http://www.carvin.com/cgi-bin/get.exe?PAGE=adetail&CFG=2&SearchStr =(I.ItemNumber='DCM1000')+AND+(CID2='PWA')
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John

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by John Floyd on 04 September 2001 at 11:43 AM.]</p></FONT>

I've used a Peavey DPC-1000 for several years now and it is 500 wrms per channel.
But just because it's there doesn't mean I use it. My car has a V-8 in it and can do over a 110 mph but I don't use it !!

I don't think of it as reserve power either. And I don't call it headroom because I think that's a misnomer. Headroom to me is at the other end of the chain in the input functions. There you accept what the instrument is putting out with neither clipping or muddying it up.

I think the new Peavey 1000 steel (??) amp with a powered extension cabinet, both rated at 300 watts digital power, would blow my act away. I have a feeling that their rating of 300 watts on those units is really conservative and probably is closer to the 500 rating per channel of the DPC-1000.
and allows for the effect I am looking for.

I had a DPC-750 before this unit and the guy who had the 1000 said a 750 sounded better so I traded him even and my 750 was a few years old, his 1000 was brand new. Mike Brown at Peavey told me the difference between the two was a change in the Power Supply rate and everything else was the same. Newer things are to be found in the DPC-1400 which is the current top of the line in these Digital Power Converters.

Regards, Paul

I plan to order one. I looked at Bills, and I liked the looks, the size, and the price, and the weight. It sounded pretty good to me when he played it at low volume, but I'll have to turn it up here at home to see if it is a keeper.

Well I flipped a coin and it came up for the Carvin 1000 watt DCM1000. It should be here next week. I plan to use a profex for the input and out from the profex direct to the power amp without using a seperate pre-amp.

That amp should work well. I looked at them a couple of years ago but the used MosValve 500 came on the market and I traded a Session 400 for it. If I hadn't traded I may have bought a Carvin.

Dan, going from the Profex II directly to a power amp is the way the unit was designed to be used. The Profex II is a preamp/processor unit.

Folks, that is a very good amp. I did not purchase it for the "thousand" watts, etc. And I do really know how amps are rated. I have had a smidgeon of electronic background and here is why I purchased this amp:
As John Floyd stated, mainly it is the QUALITY and CLARITY of the sound. It is one of the fastest responding amps on the market today-bar none. High slew rates of 45v/us gives a superb transient response. High frequencies are transparent and open-even at extreme levels-if that is what you want-which I don't.Linear feedback circuits reduce distortion to near the theoretical zero limit, preventing any type of harshness which would lead to ear fatigue. Pleasing tone is what I like. This amp fully delivers flat transparent, unaltered sound which is especially important in the studio if you want the true reproduction of your guitar. It will deliver non-stop, continuous RMS power and you can drive any type of reactive loads-including 70V transformer distribution systems-if that is your bag.
Another big aspect for me is that the circuits are FR-4 Military Spec, double sided, through-hole plated, fire retardent glass epoxy.And it is totally modular allowing the end user to easily replace the circuits. For me it was the best choice on the market.
I did not get this for the power and I use it with the output at 225 watts RMS into eight ohms. And if I ever use even 40 of those watts I would be surprised. Again, good choice for me. Sorry this was long winded, but I saw that there was a need to know.
Bill Stafford.

Bill, your explanation is as smooth as your playing. I have been looking at Carvin amps for a while, but you made up my mind when I heard yours at St Louis. This amp has it all and at a price that blows the competition away. The 3 year warranty,variable speed cooling fan and 23lb weight are the best.

Hi Dan:
Glad you recognized a good and practical product. I have yet to get used to the settings on the Evans rack preamp. Much better than the Stewart I almost bought in Dallas this past March. Things alwayswork out for the best somehow don't they?
Anyway, enjoyed your company in St. Louis.
By the way, did you see the maker of the Anapeg eyeballing my guitar and especially the changer? Noel is a very nice gentleman and dear friend. He took me up and showed me the new Anapeg he was delevering to the new owner. beautiful work and gorgeous wood. Did not get to play it but did get a feel for the levers and pedals etc. The new owner had it really loaded up and some of the levers were really stiff. But, that is the way it goes in the pedal steel guitar world. The new owner was very proud and rightfully so.
Mitsuo told me he will build me a new one with some of the new ideas I gave him. Mitsuo went to Nashville to deliver a new D-10 to Gene Breeden" Studio-for his, Gene's, steel player by the name of John Heinrich. Ever heard of him? John is a great, great player and you will be hearing of him.
Thanks again, and do think about joining sour Deep South Steel Guitar and Musicians Association. Thanks. Contact Hal Higgins.

Correction---"our, not sour" LOL Too early in the AM

"Any of you who has ever heard Bill knows that he goes for Quality, not Quantity. You won't ever catch him in a Volume race with anybody".

Truer words were never spoken. I only wish I could have been there to hear Bill on stage...better still, to back him.

I got to try out a Carvin DCM1000 power amp today, with my Peavey Transtube Fex. I didn't like it. I've been looking for a lighter amp but it's not that much lighter than the MosValve 500 and the cooling fan is noisier. Also it's too "sterile". It is clean but it just seemed too bright (probably could have taken that out with changes in EQ) but compared to the MosValve500, the MosValve500 sounds like a guitar amplifier, not just a power amp - if you understand what I mean.

It appears to be made well and the specs on it are great.

<SMALL>it's not that much lighter than the MosValve 500</SMALL>

Then it must be quite heavy!

Jim, the Carvin site lists the amp at 23lbs. I'm not sure what the MV500 is exactly but it's pushing 40lbs. But, it was lighter but not much just lifting it and then lifting my MV500.

My Amp was delivered on Tuesday, but with all the things going on in our great country, I have not even opened the box.

I got mine and tried it out yesterday. I am using an Evans preamp and a Lexicon 100 effects unit. I think it is a passable amp, but I was not in awe of it. I think I will probably keep it, since I don't have anything else in the line of a rack mount amp, but If I get a chance to try something else, I will. It does not sound nearly as good to me as Herby Wallaces outfit. Of all of the rack units I've heard from the Pro's, Herby's has the better tone in my opinion.

Fred, Herby is using a MosValve (GenzBenz) 1500. It is basically the same as the older MosValve 500 that I'm using. For musical instrument amplification it's probably the best power amp on the market.

The only negative, if it is a negative, is the weight of the amp.

The specs on the DCM1000 are very good. This amp will produce what is put into it with great "clarity" and fidelity. It does not alter the input or "dirty" it up as most of our ears are used to hearing. We all have different "sounds" we hear from our amps and that is what makes the world go round. Speakers and cables, vol. pedals, speaker cabinets and probably a lot of other technical observations go to making the sound each player likes from his guitar. (Not to mention pickups either). So, if you want the sound you put into your amp to be faithfully reproduced, the DCM1000 will certainely do the job. I do not use any of the tone shaping devices because that is not the tone from my hands and guitar that I personally like to send to the power amp. I am using the new Evans rack pre-amp and the shading I get from that unit is quite satisfactory for my efforts.
Bill Stafford

I just hooked up the DPC1000. I don't have my speaker boxes yet, but with speakers just lying on the floor this amp sounds great. The clarity is such that I have never had before with any amp I have owned. I am just going from my guitar to the Profex and to the power amp without any preamp. The amp is also very quiet. So far ,so good.

quote:
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"John Heinrich is a great, great player"
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I think, I know him !? Long time ago he played some years in Berlin/Germany in the country-band "Western Union" and I never saw such a fast and perfect playing steel player.

Horst
Emmons P/P 10+10 / Webb 614E

I finally have my Carvin in the rack with the Profex. I borrowed a pair 15" Black Widow speakers from my buddy to get to try it out as I have not finished building the boxes for mine yet. All I can say the Amp is fantastic. The clarity is awesome and the sound is what I have been looking for. I don't play like Herby Wallace but I would be willing to bet this amp would sound as good as his does if he were to play thru it. Thanks to Bill Stafford for helping make up my mind to purchase this amp.

The Mackie amps, 1400i and 2600i are also extremely good reproducers with ample headroom. The 2600 will slew at >60 V/us. It's not so much the total power available, but the ability to kick it out on that very sharp peak and follow the input faithfully. 1 kw - 2 kw, will rarely EVER be used; but it's there when the need arises.