Carvin V3M Experiences?

[Big Al]

I got a Carvin 3VM amp last week and have had a problem getting a good chunky metal sound out of the amp. I have been reading on the Carvin forum and it seems like most of the users replace the tubes but it is mostly to address the fizzy sound of the amp. I am no so worried about the fizzy sound, just trying to get a descent high gain sound. I have played it through a Mesa Rect (V30s) and a 5150 4x12 cab.
Has anyone bought or tried this amp and what was your opinion? Can it do a Metallica Masters of Puppets type of sound?

[jgcable]

I got a Carvin 3VM amp last week and have had a problem getting a good chunky metal sound out of the amp. I have been reading on the Carvin forum and it seems like most of the users replace the tubes but it is mostly to address the fizzy sound of the amp. I am no so worried about the fizzy sound, just trying to get a descent high gain sound. I have played it through a Mesa Rect (V30s) and a 5150 4x12 cab.
Has anyone bought or tried this amp and what was your opinion? Can it do a Metallica Masters of Puppets type of sound?

I have a V3 so I think that qualifies. Its a great versatile amp but if you are looking for a chunky high gain metal sound out of it you might have chosen the wrong amp. It has a high gain Marshall type gain. Its on the loose side of things when it comes to amp tone. Sounds to me like you are looking for a tight chunky metal tone that would be suitable for palm muting chunky rhythms and a tight focused bottom end.
Thats not a V3 in stock form. 6L6 power tubes will give you that type of tone. A Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier into that 5150 cab will do it. A 5150-II will do it too. So would a 6505+ and even the Triple XXX. Certain Engl amps will get you there. So will the Soldano SLO100.

[Big Al]

Thanks jgcable! That is just what I needed to hear. I did not want to give up too early on tweaking the amp but I just cannot get that tight low end.
I am currently using a 5150 (with a BBE 422) so that is what my ears are use to hearing and this amp was not even close to getting that sound. I need a 3/4 channel amp to cover the songs we play and was hoping the V3M would be an inexpensive fix but it is just not working out. I have thought about the 6505+ and how I could use it with my existing amp.

[tomanyjacksons]

I've heard, hence not a known fact, that they don't sound exactly alike. My band had a second guitar player for awhile last year and he ran a BBE Sonic Maxi to get bottom end in his sound. Made me want a V3 bad at first and then when we played together then I burried him in the mix. EQ, EQ, EQ....... Carvin does make some nice stuff.

[markD]

part of the problem is that the V3M uses EL84 power tubes. those tubes just don't stay tight as they get hotter. think of an AC30 or a matchless DC30 - great rock amps that have a crunch based on the power stage. the V3M is obviously not of the AC30 world, but a tube is a tube, and the EL84 is what it is. personally, i hate them because of the looseness. yes, you can EQ it, but know that no matter what you do once those tubes reach a certain temperature and you crank the amp to a certain place, the inherent characteristic of the EL84 is going to ake over.

[toejam]

I've heard, hence not a known fact, that they don't sound exactly alike.

I own both, and they do sound pretty similar, even though the V3M has EL84s. The biggest difference, really, is the regular V3 has a global master EQ for bright/mid/deep that affects all three channels.
The V3M can achieve a tighter sound, but you have to really dig in and mess with its EQX switch and three-way intense/thick switch. But like Mark said, there is a certain characteristic to those EL84s.

[Big Al]

I have tried working with the EQX switch but it's like I have to dime the treble to compensate. Guess I will spend a little more time with the EQX & thick/intense switches.

[Kempo Bulldog]

There is a pretty good video on you tube where someone spends a lot of time going over this amp. It's really long but it might help you hear the range of sounds you can pull out of it and how to get them.

[jgcable]

to my ears, the closest sounding amp to the Master of Puppets rhythm tone is a Mesa Boogie Single, Dual or Triple Rectifier.
I know that Metallica used Mark series Mesa amps to record the album but thats with studio magic on top of the amps tone.
The Rectifiers pretty much nail that tone right out of the box. I was in a band that played the entire Master of Puppets record live. We played that music live before Metallica did. We used Rectifiers and Mesa cabs and we nailed that tone.