Help Identify Old Carlsbro Bass Combo

[Stompbox]

Can anyone help with ths - does anyone know the model name/number, power output and approximate age of this combo - there is none of this information on the back of it at all.

My son bought it recently for £30 - it has a single 15" speaker & the cabinet is made so as to produce a "folded horn" which vents at the top of the front of the unit.

It has preset eq buttons & it actually sounds pretty good & has a powerful output. I know Carlsbro made a whole range of amp heads & amps based round the same power supply & output package - thay did PA amps, guitar amps etc. but this one has two heatsinks - I seem to remember the other 100 watt units only had one heatsink, so I'm wondering whether this is a 200 watt model?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[attachment=155857:Carslbro Bass Amp 001.jpg]

[attachment=155859:Carslbro Bass Amp 003.jpg]

[attachment=155860:Carslbro Bass Amp 005.jpg]

[stevie]

I think it's a Stingray. If my memory serves, it featured strongly in a thread on here about "The worst bass amp you've ever played" - or something like that.

Found it for you: <http://basschat.co.uk/topic/198205-worst-amp-you-have-owned-or-had-the-luck-to-use/>

Described by one experienced contributor as ".... the most toneless, lifeless waste of components I have ever had the misery of hearing. I hated the bloody thing."

I suspect this wasn't the answer you were looking for.

Edited February 22, 2014 by stevie

[ahpook]

Yep - an older-model stingray (there were green-fronted versions too) - I have a vague memory of them being 125 or 150W.

There was a time when every practice studio in Newcastle had one or two of these.

Not a mind-blowing sound IIRC but for £30...? It'll make him louder !

Edited February 22, 2014 by ahpook

[mart3442]

Stingray from the late 1970's. They later did away with the combo idea and rebranded the head on its own in the black and green livery.
My first "real" Bass amp as it happens.

[Stompbox]

Thanks guys.

I looked a the thread about "the worst amp you ever owned" suggested by Stevie - I had one of those Linear Conchord 30 heads in a metal mesh cage with a Selmer Goliath 18" cabinet as my first rig.

Very boomy & distorted, but hey - it got me out on my first gigs.

[gjones]

I had a slightly later model stingray without the folded horn part. I used to have to turn all the bass down because the speaker farted like an elephant if I didn't. I once played a 5 string through it, at living room sound levels, and the whole amp almost exploded before my eyes when I hit the B.

If I still had it, I'd give you £30 to take it to the dump for me

Edited February 22, 2014 by gjones

[MB1]

MB1.
Made in Britain
I had the Later Carlsboro Cobra 90 combo.
There mains only pedals were good (large though)
Carlsboro ADT .

[SPHDS]

Looking at the pics, (and dredging up some school physics lessons.....!) I believe that this amp is rated, power wise (as most of us would know it) at about 141.4 Watts....

Now for the physics bit.....as far as I remember...and I could be yapping up the wrong sapling.....!

To calculate an amp's 'power' (as most of us judge it...) you need the 'Root Mean Square' of the 'Peak Power' of the amp (which works out as 'Peak Power/square root of 2' (or 'Peak x 0.70711). Peak Power for the amp (I think...) is the 'Power Consumption' (as stated on the back as 200 VA) as 'Power (in Watts) = Voltage x Current' so 200 Voltage Amps = 200 W, and 200 x 0.70711 = 141.42

[gafbass02]

Wow that takes me back to archway studios in Leicester in the early 90's.

[Stompbox]

An excellent bit of maths & theory there - cheers.

[fonzoooroo]

I have (and use - for gigging - out of CHOICE!) one of the Marlin 1042 4 input PA heads AND a matching slave amp (which are likely to have an identical amp section - which both have 2 heatsinks - I run them through a Eden cab for double bass pub gigs)

It'll be due some new capacitors on the power section (Maplin do a suitable replacement, or ebay may be cheaper) ... worth doing if it's being relied on.

As for the combo, It's the speaker that lets them down, but it's a design that makes a lot of noise for a "low" power.

Bargain for £30... I toyed with buying the same beast as just a head off ebay recently for my (admittedly rather geeky) collection for more than that.

[xgsjx]

I used to have a Stingray guitar head back in the 80s that looked like this...



The redeeming feature was a big spring reverb inside it. You could lift the end up a couple of inches & drop it & it sounded like thunder!

I had one of those Cobra 90 bass heads too. It did it's job, but it was just a cheap head.

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='SPHDS' timestamp='1393122563' post='2376481']
Looking at the pics, (and dredging up some school physics lessons.....!) I believe that this amp is rated, power wise (as most of us would know it) at about 141.4 Watts....

Now for the physics bit.....as far as I remember...and I could be yapping up the wrong sapling.....!

To calculate an amp's 'power' (as most of us judge it...) you need the 'Root Mean Square' of the 'Peak Power' of the amp (which works out as 'Peak Power/square root of 2' (or 'Peak x 0.70711). Peak Power for the amp (I think...) is the 'Power Consumption' (as stated on the back as 200 VA) as 'Power (in Watts) = Voltage x Current' so 200 Voltage Amps = 200 W, and 200 x 0.70711 = 141.42
[/quote]

That's working on the assumption that the amp is 100% efficient, which no amp is. Power consumption will always be higher than power output - that's why it needs a heatsink.

[Qlank]

Would that be the 150w (with Carlsbro rounding up the numbers) version ? I had the later green one, sold it. A few years later bought another one. Had to replace the volume pot but couldn't find the correct value pot to put in it. Ended up putting a very low value pot in it and it sounded awesome. Best fuzz box I've ever had. Don't know what became of it. I spent a lot of time on the internet looking for one recently. If one came up for sale I would go for it. Used my original one with the matching 2x12 ported cab, that was heavy. To the OP, stick a decent speaker in there and that will be a tidy amp that costs the same as a few sets of strings. Tidy find.

[lefrash]

One of these was my very proper bass amp too when i was 16. I seem to remember it being extremely loud but perhaps im mis-remembering. Absolutely dreadful amp though. Sounded absolutely pish.

[Conan]

I had the green and black (chocolate?) version of the head. I actually thought it was OK, and particularly liked the push-button preset tone controls....

But I was only about 17 at the time!

[roceci]

Ah the Carlsbro 150 combo. I'm stuck with one cluttering up my studio right now. Picked it up off a guy from ebay who described it as perfect condition, got it home & the thing crackles like a b@st@rd even on 1. Can't shift it even for peanuts but can't bring myself to dump it cos it cost me £30! Cursed >