The Sound
This is a fascinating amp for sure. I found
the tone controls to be very wide ranging with active circuits providing cut and
boost capabilities, although they were not
marked as such. When coupled with the 5-
band EQ, an amazing range of both clean
and overdriven tones were created. It was
pretty intuitive and I had no trouble getting tones that I thought were great. The
EQ can only be used on either the clean or
overdrive channel, not both simultaneously.
But after experimenting, I decided that the
clean channel really didn’t need the EQ
to get clean sparkling tones. As a matter
of fact, the clean channel was stellar. The
bright switch was not harsh or overbearing
compared to some other amps. The clean
channel had very high headroom and it did
not compress too much, even at higher gain
settings with humbucking pickups.
to fight this because they have too many
uneven harmonics which actually choke
the overtones. The X-100B overtones were
musically pure.
sounded tight—very loud with a balanced
frequency range.
Additional Features
The RMS power switch is an interesting
feature. Of course, when changing from
100 watts to 25 watts, some loudness drop
is apparent but not as much as I expected.
Usually compression is increased when
doing this, but again, it didn’t double the
compression when going to 25 watts. There
was a slightly noticeable effect, but not
enough to make the clean channel sag like
a rectified Fender amp. For my money the
100 and 50 watt settings were the coolest
and the reverb on this amp is spectacular. It
is deep and clear without being excessive or
overpowering. It has a long decay time and
does not get in the way of the notes played.
Even with the control on full, it was still very
deep and haunting, ala Peter Green.
Construction
Both the head and cabinet are well made
and carry the same vintage-style Carvin
logo, like the original models. The cabinet,
as well as the heads, are available in an
assortment of colored coverings. All cabinetry is premium multi-laminate plywood and
utilizes chrome corners for protection. The
speaker grille was black, expanded metal
which struck me as quite protective. The
overall construction seems good, practicable
and durable, yet proves a visually attractive
finished product.
The Overdrive channel could be driven into
big, creamy, fat distortion even without
using the gain toggle switch. If you are so
inclined however, that switch will produce
any amount of over-the-top sustain and
gain anyone would ever need. It was easy
to back things down on these controls to
get the traditional bluesy and classic rock
sounds for which this amp is famous for. The
guitar cleaned up well when turned down
even at high gain settings. By using the EQ,
more modern rock tones were there as well.
However, I didn’t hear the type of distortion produced by a Rectifier or Soldano. It
seemed to be a bit more open and even
bigger, but not as percussive on the low
end. However, the EQ really helped this and
also provided the boost in the bottom that
some players may require.
The Foot Switch
The four button foot controller is very versatile. It has the usual channel switch, reverb
on/off switch, effects loop on/off switch and
a fourth button that can be configured to
serve as a mute switch when changing guitars or a boost switch for lead volume. The
function of this switch is changed by using
the FS BOOST switch on the amp’s front
panel. LEDs indicate the function of the
switches, while components are enclosed in
a sturdy housing and should hold up to even
the heaviest foot.
Buy If...
you are looking for a killer half
stack at a great price or if you
need tonal versatility and a
great clean channel
Skip If...
you are looking for Boogie Dual or
Triple Rectifier-type tone for modern and down tuned guitar
Rating...
4. 5
The Cabinet
The cabinet is a closed-back, slant design—
though Carvin does offer a straight 4x12 as
an option—loaded with Celestion Rocket 50
speakers. Jacks on the rear could be utilized
for mono or stereo operations. The cabinet
is fitted with wheel inserts for easy transportation. The handles are metal and the fit and
finish was very good overall. This cabinet
Carvin
MSRP $1195.99 (head)
MSRP $1899.99 (head and cabinet)
carvinguitars.com
One thing I look for in an overdrive channel is the ability to produce “even order”
musically related overtones. This means
that when holding notes, the amp went
into octave sustain easily. Some amps seem
Our expert has stated his case,
now we want to hear yours. Log
on to premierguitar.com, click on
this digital article and share your
comments and ratings.
