Carvin R1000, R600 Owner's Manual

R600/R1000 RED LINE SPECIFICATIONS:

Output Power R600 R1000

8Ω THD < 1% 175/175w 225/225w
4Ω THD < 1% 250/250w 350/350w
2Ω THD < 1% 300/300w 500/500w
8Ω Bridged THD < 1% 500w 700w
4Ω Bridged THD < 1% 600w 1000w

Input Impedance (passive input) 1MΩ

(active input) 200kΩ

Pre-Shape EQ. Low Boost: +8dB @ 80Hz

Mid Shift: 250 Hz or 500 Hz @ 10dB

Hi Boost: +6dB @ 3kHz

Main EQ. Low ±12dB @ 100Hz

Mid Sweep ±12dB @ 200Hz-2kHz

High ±12dB @ 6kHz

Graphic EQ Freq. ±12dB @ 50, 80, 125, 250, 500, 800, 1.3k, 2.6k, 5k
Compressor

Variable Threshold Range (-10dB to -35dB)

Variable Ratio Range (1.3 to 1) to (5 to 1)

Noise Gate Variable Threshold Range off to -30dB
Crossover 12dB per Octave Sweepable 200Hz to 2kHz
AC Requirements 120VAC 60 Hz or 240VAC 50 Hz optional model

Power Requirements R600: 700VA, R1000: 1200VA
Dimensions (no cabinet) 3 1/2” High x 19” Wide x 10” Deep
Shipping Weight with SV2 Duratuff II™ cabinet R600: 30 lbs. R1000:36 lbs

Warranty One year parts and labor

CARVIN ENGINEERING DATA OPERATING MANUAL

76-4000 0801

12340 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128

858.487.1600 800.854.2235
www.carvin.com

For your records, record the following information.
Serial No._____________________ Invoice Date_______________

Congratulations on your purchase of the Series III RedLine bass amp. Your
new amp has been totally redesigned from earlier Series I and II releases.
Enhancements come from the new internal construction using SMT (sur­face mounted components). Design changes include the new 12AX7 Tube
Emulator (no tube maintenance), noise gate, compressor, high current Twist­Lok speaker connectors, adjustable Direct Out and separate preamp insert
jacks. While all the internal circuits have been changed, the classic outer
panel remains the same as one of the leading designs in pro bass amplifi­cation. This manual covers the R600 and R1000 head, Cyclops and Red
Eye combo amplifiers.

GETTING STARTED QUICKLY

If you are like most players, you probably want to plug in your new amp and get started
playing right away. However, with a full featured amp like the R600/R1000, the setup must
be right or you will experience unsatisfactory results. Before you start, be sure your amp
is plugged into the correct AC voltage.

1. Plug your bass guitar into the ACTIVE (bass with preamp) or PASSIVE (bass with no bat­tery) input jack. With your bass full on and playing hard, be sure the CLIP led next to the
input jacks is not flashing (very dim flashing is OK) or preamp distortion will result. Use
the ACTIVE input if your instrument continues to cause clipping.

2. The INPUT GAIN control should be set at the center “0” position. The AMP 1 & 2 and MASTER
VOLUME levels should be set at their center “5” position. If these setting are too loud, then
bring down the MASTER VOLUME. However, the GAIN control should be kept at “0” or higher
for the best signal to noise performance. Note, the GAIN control does not turn the input off.

3. Set the COMPRESSOR & GATE to their off position. Read about their functions later.

4. Set the LOW, MID SWEEP and HIGH tone controls to their off center “0” position. Adjust
later after you are more familiar with the amp.

5. Set the 9 EQ bands to their “0” center positions and adjust later if needed. The EQ switch
is used to defeat the EQ.

6. Set the guitar’s level full on and turn the master VOLUME OFF. Now, turn the amp ON and
gradually raise the master VOLUME (set the input GAIN at “0” & the AMP 1 & 2 at “5”).
Re-adjust according to the desired volume. Never try to get full power by pushing the input
GAIN control to its maximum while keeping the AMP 1 & 2 and MASTER VOLUME levels below 5.

7. Your tone shaping should start with the PRE-SHAPE filters. You can use the tone con­trols and the 9-band graphic EQ as more tone variation is required. It is not recommended
to add a lot of bass if the pre-shape bass filter is used especially at high levels because early
clipping can occur. Use moderation when dialing in tone.

8. Use the built-in COMPRESSOR to limit peaks. This will help you get more power from
your system by keeping the amps from clipping.

9. Biamping the CYCLOPS combo or any large bass stacks requires careful balancing of
the AMP 1 & 2 controls. These amp controls power the woofer and midrange/tweeter inde­pendently. Double check to see that the speaker’s components are plugged into the cor­rect amp jacks. If the cables are reversed (feeding the wrong speakers), the BRIDGE switch
is inadvertently pushed in, or the front BIAMP switch or X-OVER frequency is incorrectly
set, your amp will not perform correctly. Carefully checking these items will help prevent
service calls.

10. Need more power? Even though the R600/R1000 is a powerful amp, adding more speak­ers is the only way for substantially more output. Every time you double your speakers, your
acoustic output goes up by a factor of four. This is far more efficient than trying to add 4
times the power especially when speakers become less efficient when driving them harder.
Bridging your amp into a 4 ohm system will give you more output. However, speakers can
be be damaged from high power or the amp will go into “protect” if loaded below 4 ohms.

Hopefully, this will help you get started. Have fun exploring the many new features and sounds

of the R600/R1000. Take your time because you’re new amp has a lot of potential if properly setup!

RECEIVING INSPECTION

INSPECT YOUR UNIT FOR ANY DAMAGE which may have occurred during shipping. If any

damage is found, please notify the shipping company and CARVIN immediately.

SAVE THE CARTON & ALL PACKING MATERIALS. In the event you have to reship your unit,
always use the original carton and packing material. This will provide the best possible pro­tection during shipment. CARVIN and the shipping company are not liable for any damage
caused by improper packing.

SAVE YOUR INVOICE. It will be required for warranty service if needed in the future.

SHIPMENT SHORTAGE. If you find items missing, they may have been shipped separately.
Please allow several days for the rest of your order to arrive before inquiring.

RECORD THE SERIAL NUMBER on the enclosed warranty card or below on this manual
for your records. Keep your portion of the card and return the portion with your name and
comments to us. You may register your warranty online @carvin.com/registration

DESIGNED FOR TOURING

Every R600 & R1000 is made from heavy-duty 16 gauge steel that is galvanized before
being painted to prevent rust. All internal cabling is neatly tied and harnessed. Every cir­cuit card is MIL SPEC, double-sided, through-hole plated, fire retardant FR-4 glass epoxy.
This insures that the solder flows on the top, bottom and through each hole of every com­ponent, preventing components from shaking loose. Toroid transformers are used as they
are the engineer’s choice for greater power supply current while reducing weight and mag­netic “hum” fields.

SERIES III WITH TWIST-LOK SPEAKER CONNECTORS

R600/R1000 HEAD/RL6815 CYCLOPS/RC210 RED EYE

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS

1. INPUT GROUP

Two 1/4” phone jacks are provided to accommodate both passive and active instruments. The
PASSIVE input is to be used with bass guitars with standard high impedance pickups. This
high impedance input offers 8db more gain than the ACTIVE input jack. The ACTIVE input is
to be used with instruments that contain active electronics. The INPUT GAIN knob is used to
set the input level and the BLEND knob controls how much signal is mixed through the “TUBE
EMULATOR”. The red CLIP LED indicates when the input is close to clipping. To avoid clip-
ping, reduce the bass level, GAIN knob or use the ACTIVE input jack.

2. PRE-SHAPE EQ

The PRE-SHAPE EQ is useful for dialing in your tone quickly. The LOW BOOST switch pro-
vides a 8dB boost at just under 80Hz. This is useful for adding some depth to the bottom- end
without bringing up the lower midrange. The MID SHIFT switch offers two different scooped
mid selections. In the IN position, the amp has a 10dB cut at 250Hz. Depressing this button
raises the cut frequency to 500Hz. The HI BOOST switch offers a 6dB boost at 3kHz. This can
provide good high frequency compensation when using 15” or 18” speakers with no tweeters.

3. MAIN EQ TONE CONTROLS

The main EQ tone controls consists of a low shelving control, a sweep midrange control and
a high shelving control. The LOW EQ control provides the overall shaping of the low frequen­cies. The action of this control has been carefully matched to the response of the bass guitar.
The MID SWEEP controls perform as a semiparametric EQ over the mid frequency range. The
MID GAIN knob provides a boosting or cutting action at a relatively narrow band of frequen­cies. When the EQ GAIN knob of the MID SWEEP controls is set to “0”, the mid sweep will
have no effect. To boost or cut a specific frequency, rotate the MID GAIN knob clockwise (right)
or counter clockwise (left) respectively. The FREQ control knob is used to select the center
frequency where the boosting or cutting will occur. The best way to become familiar with the

MID SWEEP control is to set the MID GAIN knob at either full cut or full boost and rotate the
FREQ knob over its range of frequencies. Listen to the results and experiment with different

levels. The MID SWEEP EQ is a powerful sound shaping tool which usually requires some prac­tice to get the best results. The HIGH EQ control knob is designed to cut or boost the high fre­quencies of the bass guitar. Boosting with this control is useful for bringing up the very highest
harmonics of the bass, which is especially useful when slapping or popping. Note: boosting
the high frequencies can result in increased hiss, especially when using tweeters. This is normal.

4. COMPRESSOR

The COMPRESSOR of the RedLine Series amps is designed to limit the peaks so the volume
level is more constant. This allows greater average power to your speakers without the power
amps clipping (distorting). The R600/R1000 two knob compressor with THRESHOLD and RATIO
controls is more flexible and precise than a single control unit. The user can dial up the exact
amount of compression desired and at what level they want the compression to begin. The
THRESHOLD control knob sets the point where the compressor kicks in. In the OFF position,
the compressor has no effect on the sound. Rotating this control in the clockwise direction
lowers the level where the compressor turns on. The compressor indicator LED shows when
this threshold is obtained, thus showing when the compressor is on. The RATIO knob is used
to set the amount of compression once the threshold has been reached. When this knob is
swept all the way counter clockwise (left) the unit is set for a mild compression. As the knob
is rotated clockwise (right) the compression ratio increases. The range of available compres­sion ratios is 1.3 to 1 in the full counter clockwise position and 5 to 1 in the full clockwise posi-

tion. The compressor is interactive with the input gain knob and the volume knobs on the bass
guitar itself. Lowering the volume feeding the compressor will reduce the amount of com­pression and raising it will result in more compression. To get a tight limiting sound which is
often nice for slap style playing, set the RATIO control to the full clockwise position and bring
up the THRESHOLD knob until the desired reduction is realized.

5. NOISE GATE

The noise GATE reduces the noise caused by the pickups. To use the GATE, mute the strings
with your hand and raise the THRESHOLD control knob until the amp’s noise is turned off and
the green LED turns off. The GATE will turn the amp on as the bass is played. The INPUT
GAIN will affect the gate setting.

6. ELECTRONIC X-OVER (BI-AMPING)

The electronic X-OVER is used to set the amp for a bi-amped configuration. When the BI-AMP
/ FULL RANGE selector switch is in the “OUT” position, the amp is in the bi-amp mode. To

select the crossover frequency, rotate the FREQ control knob until the desired frequency is
obtained. Try 800Hz. A bi-amped system allows the user greater control over the tone of their
bass rig. This allows speakers designed for specific frequencies to be utilized to their fullest
potential. NOTE: BI-AMPING DOES NOT NECESSARILY DELIVER THE MOST VOLUME FROM YOUR SYSTEM.

7. GRAPHIC EQ/EFFECTS LOOP

The nine band graphic EQ has been designed with the center frequencies most requested by
professional bass players. This EQ can be used to fine tune the tonal content of the amps output.
Since the graphic EQ is controllable with either the optional FS22 footswitch or the EQ switch
on the front panel, it can be used to develop a second sound from the amp. Musicians that
play more than one bass on stage will find this useful to get the sounds they desire out of each
instrument. The footswitch selectable graphic EQ can also be useful during passages of a song
when the bass needs to punch through the mix. A GREEN LED indicator located along the side
of the EQ signifies when the graphic EQ is working. The YELLOW effect loop LED labeled EFF
LOOP indicates when the effects loop is turned on. Note: the EQ switch on the front panel
overrides the the footswitch. So when the graphic EQ is off, it cannot be turned on with the
footswitch.

8. OUTPUT CONTROL GROUP

The output group determines how the RedLine amplifiers interfaces with other gear and speak­ers. The POWER AMP CONTROL 1 & 2 controls the volume to the individual amps. These are
used to balance the low and high cabinets when in full range or bi-amping modes (stereo). To
set the balance, bring up the AMP 1 (LOW FREQ) knob until the desired volume level is reached.
Now bring up the AMP 2 (HIGH FREQ) knob until the desired balance has been achieved. The
master VOLUME control sets the overall volume.

9. POWER / PROTECT (RESET)

Push the upper portion of the POWER SWITCH to turn the amplifier on. If the power indica­tor LED is on but no sound is coming out of the speakers, the amp may have gone into one of
its protection modes. To reset the amp, turn the power off for one minute and then turn the
amp back on. If the problem persists, check for; a) The speaker impedance is too low for the
bridge output (4 ohm min.) or normal outputs (2 ohms min. per amp) b) bad speaker cable,
c) damaged speaker or, d) blocked rear fan intake.

HELPFUL HINTS

1) POOR BIAMP SOUND: The speaker cables from AMP 1 (woofers) and AMP 2 (tweet­ers) have been reversed, AMP 1 and 2 level controls are not balanced or the X-OVER
has been set at an incorrect frequency. (start at 800 Hz).

2) NO SOUND FROM AMPS 1 & 2: The rear BRIDGE switch has been inadvertently pushed in
or speakers plugged into wrong jacks.

3) NO HIGH FREQUENCIES: Tweeters or midrange drivers have been damaged from to
much power.

4) WEAK BASS: The speaker systems are wired out of phase to each other. To correct,
reverse the wires on one speaker connectors.

5) DIR XLR HUM: Try switching the rear GND LIFT switch IN or OUT. If the hum is not elim­inated, use a 600Ωline input transformer cutting the input ground on the connectors (Pin 3).

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Twist-Lok cables are recommended for your bass rig because of their high cur­rent capacity. While the standard 16 GA 1/4” cables will work OK with your system,
the CARVIN 12 GA Twist-Lok cables will allow you to gain as much as 20% more
power at high power levels extracting every watt from your RedLine bass amp.
The very short 1/4” cables will work for the RC210 and RL6815 combo amps.

FULL RANGE MODE:

The FULL RANGE mode of your RedLine bass amp works well with separate bass
and full-range speaker systems. Instead of using the Bi-Amp mode, you can simply
run AMP 1 into your bass speakers and AMP 2 into your full-range speakers using
the natural crossover frequencies of each speaker system. If you need deeper
bass or more highs, just turn up amp 1 or amp 2 for a balance sound. The front
panel X-OVER switch must be pushed “IN” for the FULL-RANGE MODE.

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS

SPEAKER CONNECTIONS