Anyone play Carvin amps?

[Spivonious]

For a good way to hear the difference in EL84s and 6L6s, check out Mesa's F series amps. The F30 uses EL84s and the F50 and up use 6L6s.

Neither sound like EL34s, in my opinion. For an EL34 sound, check out a 5150.

EL84s break up very easily...sound very punchy to me.
6L6s have lots of headroom...sparkly highs, thunderous lows
EL34s have more headroom than 84s, but not as much as 6L6s...sound punchy but aren't super mids like EL84s.

[chrisolson]

I'd love to hear my F100 with EL-34's, but since they have the "fixed bias" deal, I'm kinda outta luck.

With that said, I have an amp with EL-84's in the Subway Rocket, and 6L6's with the F100, so I get a pretty good idea where the middle would be. I don't know that I'm missing too much. 6L6 loaded probably helps an open-backed cab anyway for a little "rounder" sound.

[jgcable]

Carvin generally bias's their amps cold which usually means you can do a tube swap with no re-bais necessary.

[ken361]

So you dont think I need a rebias on my belair?

[Maximum_Crunch]

I have a V3. It's a nice amp for metal.

[jgcable]

So you dont think I need a rebias on my belair?

no.. call or email Bob at Eurotubes. He is the Carvin specialist. He can hook you up with a drop in set to suit the tone you are looking for.

[lerxstcat]

I've had 2 Carvin tube heads, this is their Valve Master:



Great amp, very similar to a Marshall JCM 800, but more gain and probably more loudness!

My favorite Carvin so far is the MTS 3200, which is now out of production:



I have yet to try the Carvin Legacy and the newer V3.

I have the VM100 head Series II and love it! I didn't know the MTS3200 was discontinued; I found it pretty similar to the VM100.

I have also owned the VT-50 head (the head form of the Belair combo), an XV212 combo and several X-60 heads, and loved them all. The X-amps I did have to hit the drive channel with an SD-1 to get more gain and tighten up a slightly flubby bass, but with the OD they were great for metal, and the clean channels on Carvins are always beautiful sounding!

[ken361]

would putting a regular 12ax7 in the 4 or v5 postion in the belair help the sound any? I read that it could help the gain. I think it was the phase inverter they were talking about.

[jdr94]

I have the VM100 head Series II and love it! I didn't know the MTS3200 was discontinued; I found it pretty similar to the VM100.

i dont know how the vm100 II sounded but my old vm100 is nothing like my mts. could be the el34's in the VM i had vs the 6l6's i have in the mts.

then again i havnt played my mts in awhile. its been my backup for forever, but i've never needed it. i just play on it every once in awhile. now i gotta go home and plug it up and give it a little run time.

i've never messed with a V3 but i've heard em and those seem to have a good range of tones.

[lhrocker]

I had a V3, which is a killer amp. Lots of flexibility with it's 3 channels, midi switching, EL34/6l6 and half power, if I remember. I traded it to Toejam. Sounds great low or loud. Also had a Legacy, which is really way loud. Don't even bother at bedroom levels, but in on word, sounds very Vai.

[Grim]

I've got a V3 and I really like it, especially for the price.

[DonP]

Who replied to a two year old thread posting?

I'll ask a question: How big are the trannies in a V3.

I'll come back in two years to get the answer

[Grim]

Not me.

[jdr94]

ha ha. apparently i must be the dumbass that did it. dont know how i came across this thread. think i was lookin up carvin amps or somethin...

[lerxstcat]

i dont know how the vm100 II sounded but my old vm100 is nothing like my mts. could be the el34's in the VM i had vs the 6l6's i have in the mts.

then again i havnt played my mts in awhile. its been my backup for forever, but i've never needed it. i just play on it every once in awhile. now i gotta go home and plug it up and give it a little run time.

i've never messed with a V3 but i've heard em and those seem to have a good range of tones.

The main diff with the Series II is that they came with 6L6s and the switch to change tube types was on the outside back of the chassis instead of inside the head. I have actually owned both series but sold my Series I because I needed the money, didn't like the EL34 sound that much and didn't want to keep the one that I'd have to pull the chassis to change tube types.

Basically when they made the deal with Vai for the Legacy, well the Series II VM100 is VERY similar to the Legacy - as is the MTS3200. So they phased out the VM100 and cosmetically changed it for the MTS3200, but look at the amps and the layouts are really identical. Same basic preamp as the VT series as well with 5 12AX7 tubes. The VM100 even has the chicken head knobs like the Legacy, just black instead of cream like the Legacy and the VT amps. The Legacy is voiced a little differently, but look at the layouts of all these amps and they are almost identical except for cosmetic differences.