Carvin V3 Half Stack - Who has one?

[jgcable]

Look elsewhere bro. Played in a band where the rhythm guitar player used one live for close to 2 years. He is the one who sold it and bought the Quickrod. There is no comparison.
If you want to compare it to something.. the V3 to my ears... shares similar tonal characteristics to a combination of a DSL100 and a Peavey JSX.
Its generic sounding. Don't get me wrong.. the V3 sounds good and it has some nifty effects loop features but its not anything that you will come away saying... HOLY CRAP DOES THAT AMP SOUND GOOD. If you want an outstanding sounding all around great amp that won't kill your wallet and has amazing build quality you should get what I have been abusing for years live with never even a hiccup... The Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier Solo Series 2. Its 50 watts, its light, it sounds amazing. I get compliments at every show. Cheap used too. If you want more features get a Dual. If you want even more with more power.. get a Triple. They are all great.

[PowerTube]

Look elsewhere bro. Played in a band where the rhythm guitar player used one live for close to 2 years. He is the one who sold it and bought the Quickrod. There is no comparison.
If you want to compare it to something.. the V3 to my ears... shares similar tonal characteristics to a combination of a DSL100 and a Peavey JSX.
Its generic sounding. Don't get me wrong.. the V3 sounds good and it has some nifty effects loop features but its not anything that you will come away saying... HOLY CRAP DOES THAT AMP SOUND GOOD. If you want an outstanding sounding all around great amp that won't kill your wallet and has amazing build quality you should get what I have been abusing for years live with never even a hiccup... The Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier Solo Series 2. Its 50 watts, its light, it sounds amazing. I get compliments at every show. Cheap used too. If you want more features get a Dual. If you want even more with more power.. get a Triple. They are all great.

I'm not really a fan of Mesa's lead tones. Their rhythm and crunch sounds are okay but their lead tone just doesn't really grab me.

[toejam]

I like both from what I've seen. The price is right and so is the availability. But at this point I have major "Splawn fever" and anything else I buy will leave me wondering.

Then you're better off getting the Splawn if it'll just keep you wondering.

[PowerTube]

Then you're better off getting the Splawn if it'll just keep you wondering.

Yep. I'm afraid my fate is sealed.

[roodyrocker]

I agree with jgcable on the V3. It's not a bad sounding amp but my thoughts when I first played it were its average sounding. Amps like the Splawn OTOH make you go Wow! when it comes to the Mesa amps mentioned, I agree they can sound good. The problem for me with the Rectifier series amps is that the tone changes drastically at various volume levels and they tend to have a narrow volume range where that sweet spot is. My Dual Rectifier doesn't get as much play as it once did. If you were considering one I wouldn't spend the extra money on the Triple Recto. There is really no need. The Single or Dual works just as well. Or, if you want a Mesa that will kick the crap out of both of them tone wise, get a Mesa Mark 5

[jgcable]

I'm not really a fan of Mesa's lead tones. Their rhythm and crunch sounds are okay but their lead tone just doesn't really grab me.

Thats the secret of the little 50w single. You can turn it up and thats where all the lead tones are. Most people have dual or triples. You simply can't turn those suckers up unless you are playing arena sized venues with no PA system.

[PowerTube]

Thats the secret of the little 50w single. You can turn it up and thats where all the lead tones are. Most people have dual or triples. You simply can't turn those suckers up unless you are playing arena sized venues with no PA system.

But even a 50-watt is too much to crank for home playing. I'm hearing that the 2009 and later Quick Rods can be "attenuated" with the effects loop volume. Honestly, the Splawn tone has me hooked.

[Grim]

But even a 50-watt is too much to crank for home playing. I'm hearing that the 2009 and later Quick Rods can be "attenuated" with the effects loop volume. Honestly, the Splawn tone has me hooked.

Then the Splawn is what you need

I was a gear hoarder until recently. Have offloaded quite a bit -- My new modus operandi being "if it isn't what I want, then I don't want it". If I need to use tricks or hacks to make something work it simply isn't worth it. The GAS isn't worth compromising on. If you get the V3, it just won't be "right" until you get the Splawn. Something I experienced with my SG.

[PowerTube]

Then the Splawn is what you need

I was a gear hoarder until recently. Have offloaded quite a bit -- My new modus operandi being "if it isn't what I want, then I don't want it". If I need to use tricks or hacks to make something work it simply isn't worth it. The GAS isn't worth compromising on. If you get the V3, it just won't be "right" until you get the Splawn. Something I experienced with my SG.

I agree. The V3 is the type of amp I really want to like; it has a lot of features, it's priced very reasonably, it's attractive, etc.... But something tells me that if I got it, I would spend a year trying to convince myself that it was exactly what I wanted. And I would probably post on here and elsewhere about just how much I love it. And I might actually love it for about a month or so.

But then I would read a mention of Splawn and those old doubts and regrets would start seeping in again.

[BayRocker]

I agree. The V3 is the type of amp I really want to like; it has a lot of features, it's priced very reasonably, it's attractive, etc.... But something tells me that if I got it, I would spend a year trying to convince myself that it was exactly what I wanted. And I would probably post on here and elsewhere about just how much I love it. And I might actually love it for about a month or so.

But then I would read a mention of Splawn and those old doubts and regrets would start seeping in again.

Likewise, you could try to talk yourself into liking the Splawn just because you've heard just how great it is. I've had this happen many times where the masses love a piece of gear, I get it, and spend forever trying to like it, only to realize it is not for me. I do however agree that once you've planted a seed in your mind about a piece of gear, you will hear voices til you get it! Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[PowerTube]

Likewise, you could try to talk yourself into liking the Splawn just because you've heard just how great it is. I've had this happen many times where the masses love a piece of gear, I get it, and spend forever trying to like it, only to realize it is not for me. I do however agree that once you've planted a seed in your mind about a piece of gear, you will hear voices til you get it! Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Wow. So the voices talk to you, too?

You're exactly right. Since I haven't had the opportunity to actually plug into any Splawn, this could happen. I was never just crazy about my JCM 800, but to this day I don't think I've heard anything but rave reviews about it. I recently bought a Fender Mustang V half stack. The reviews were incredible on it. Some of the videos sound amazing. But once I realized that getting to the deeper options requires a PC interface, I sent it back for a refund pronto. And, the initial factory presets didn't exactly blow me away.

So if I could just have a chance to plug into a Quick Rod, one of two things will happen: I'll either love it and buy it on the spot, or it'll dispel the myth and I'll seek elsewhere. Same with the JVM. Same with the V3. One lesson I've learned is that watching videos doesn't begin to really give you the feel of an amp, and a lot of that has to do with the recording process. The demonstrator's voice might sound perfectly clear and with high audio quality, but...... music requires a lot more of the frequency spectrum than voice. So it can be very deceptive. It cuts both ways; I've heard crappy sounding videos where the amp probably sounded awesome in the room, and great sounding videos where the recording process made it sound great.

EDIT: This is also the reason why I greatly prefer to buy it through Guitar Center. As much as I gripe about them, they do have a 30-day return policy. If I get an amp and just can't warm up to it, I don't get burned and have the hassle of negotiating, selling it, shipping it, stressing over it. I can take it right across town for a refund, minus shipping. I think that the loss of the shipping charge is a small fee to pay for a chance to really test drive a piece of year.

[jgcable]

I wasn't trying to talk you out of the Splawn. I just was giving you an option regarding the Rectifier. Regarding the V3. You will like it. I liked it. I liked it enough to have the other guitar player in my band play it for almost 2 years. We sounded really good. At that time I was using a Randall with the 3 modules in it.
There is simply no comparison between a V3 and a Quickrod and frankly.. there shouldn't be. They are light years away on price. The V3 is a nice amp. Anything from Splawn is great.

[jgcable]

But even a 50-watt is too much to crank for home playing. I'm hearing that the 2009 and later Quick Rods can be "attenuated" with the effects loop volume. Honestly, the Splawn tone has me hooked.

Correct again... Like I have been saying for over 15,000 posts on the JCF... high gain high wattage tube amps have no place for home playing unless you can crank them. Using an attenuator is like putting a blanket over the speakers. I can tell you with first hand experience... a good quality 50w high gain tube amp like the Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier is the PERFECT amount of wattage for live use. I would NEVER consider using it at home in my home studio (which happens to be soundproof). I rehearse at home with a 15w Fender G-Dec 3 combo. For band rehearsal I use a 60w Peavey Triple X 1 x 12 combo. My high gain high power amps are covered in blankets and road cases ready for the next live show. You can attenuate the later Quickrod amps but I just don't see the point of shelling out $2000+ for an amp that was designed for live use and using it on a volume of 1 at home and expecting to get really good tone out of it. No high gain, high power, high wattage tube amp gets great tone at such low volumes. That's what modeling amps are for. THERE... I said it again.

[PowerTube]

Correct again... Like I have been saying for over 15,000 posts on the JCF... high gain high wattage tube amps have no place for home playing unless you can crank them. Using an attenuator is like putting a blanket over the speakers. I can tell you with first hand experience... a good quality 50w high gain tube amp like the Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier is the PERFECT amount of wattage for live use. I would NEVER consider using it at home in my home studio (which happens to be soundproof). I rehearse at home with a 15w Fender G-Dec 3 combo. For band rehearsal I use a 60w Peavey Triple X 1 x 12 combo. My high gain high power amps are covered in blankets and road cases ready for the next live show. You can attenuate the later Quickrod amps but I just don't see the point of shelling out $2000+ for an amp that was designed for live use and using it on a volume of 1 at home and expecting to get really good tone out of it. No high gain, high power, high wattage tube amp gets great tone at such low volumes. That's what modeling amps are for. THERE... I said it again.

All good points and I agree. This is another reason why I'm also very interested in the Street Rod, preferably in the head version. It's 40 watts and has a half-power switch. Personally, I've always found that most amps get better tone when left on full power, even though they don't open up as much. There's something about that headroom......

As of now, though, I think I'm done with the modeling thing. I believe that some company will totally nail it someday. From what I've heard, Kemper is very close. I currently play an old Flextone II in the living room and it sounds great at low volume. But it's not quite there yet. My Vetta II HD has never quite sounded "real" to my ears, no matter which of the endless combinations I've tried.

Based on what I'm reading about the Quick Rod, the newer models with the effects loop volume really are adequate for low volume playing. I haven't experienced this for myself but I'm hearing great things about it. One problem I've had with every single amp I've ever owned is that they sound worse when the volume is cranked. Seriously. My Marshall did. My Carvin X100B certainly did. In all fairness, I never did readjust EQ, Gain, etc...... for the higher volume, so that's throws a monkey in the mix. But anyway, I keep hearing that the Quick Rod really does have that "Splawn magic" when attenuated with the effects master, even though the power tubes really aren't working up a sweat.

I keep going back to my JCM 800, which sounded great with pedals except for the hiss. And when I was playing, that covered the hiss completely anyway. But here's the difference: My JCM 800 never sounded good when cranked, or at least not to my ears. So basically, I want an amp with the capability of sounding great when cranked, but which also sounds good at low volumes with some compromises, like the effects master, pedals, or whatnot.

[roodyrocker]

I still say its not true that an Attenuator necessarily sounds like a blanket got thrown over the amp. I still say if you get something like an Alex Attenuator for example, it sounds fine and turns an extremely loud amp into an actually gig able one I've used it many times on my Marshall Randy Rhoads amp and it works great. Some amps like the Randy Rhoads are so loud they're too much even in bigger venues. I've seen Paul Gilbert using a THD Hot Plate with his Rhoads amp. The tone was fine.
On the JCM 800 amps. They do sound good live. They don't have a ton of gain on their own but when slammed up front with a good pedal they respond well and have that legendary cut through the mix type of tone. If you're messing with it by yourself or at bedroom volumes its hard to appreciate this. But live they work out fine. I think that's why when we hear others playing one we think they sound killer, yet when we plug into them its harder to see what all the fuss is about. The other thing about JCM 800's is that they are a favorite for modders to hop up. So they're a good platform to start from for those who want to get a hot rodded Marshall sound.
Sorry for the detour, we now return you back to the Carvin V3