what genre of music do carvin amps play well with?

[C4PT4IN INSANO]

So i just saw an amp brand called carvin but don't know if they're any good with certain types of music, or just everything in general. Anything you know is appreciated.

 

[rob2001]

So i just saw an amp brand called carvin but don't know if they're any good with certain types of music, or just everything in general. Anything you know is appreciated.

I've never thought of Carvin as genre specific. For that matter, I've never thought of Fender, Marshall or Vox as genre specific either.

 

[Chris Hayden]

I've owned two of Carvin's solid state guitar amps over the years and had problems with both of them. However I have a power amp of theirs that I run my monitor wedges with and it's fantastic. I've never played any of their tube amps but I guy I use to play with used the Steve Vai tube head for years and loved it.

 

[blackba]

So i just saw an amp brand called carvin but don't know if they're any good with certain types of music, or just everything in general. Anything you know is appreciated.

Carvin has guitar amps for pretty much every Genre, but check out Steve Vai, Carvin has done the Legacy 1, 2, and now 3 over the years.

Carvin is pretty polarizing, generally you are either a fan of their products or not.

 

[big mike]

Posts deleted.
If you can't add something constructive, don't post.
If you can't respond in a civil manner, Don't post.

 

[Funky54]

You wont find a lot of folks who love them here cause they are not TGP snobbery approved. For the working man though, they are great. I have owned almost every vintage big name, highly sought after amp known. From Marshall, Fender, Vox, Mesa and Orange. The Carvins are well made, great value amps. They are direct mail order amps, so the snobs dont like them. Truth they are wonderfull full sounding amps. I have owned two, and both were great amps. The EL84 based 30 watt single 12 is fantastic. I place that amp and its 50 watt brother as one of the best grab and go small amps for the money. Its every bit as good as modern Fender, Crate, Peavey, or marshall in my mind. They usually are feature rich as well.

For under $300 used, you can find one with all tube El84's, two channel, loop, reverb, line out and foot switchable. Thats a lot for $300 used.

Currently one of my amps is a DRRI that is heavily modded with caps, speaker, tranny, tubes, even reverb mods, and a mid boost. Its a great amp...and far less versitle then a carvin 30 watt amp.

 

[Rusty G.]

Joe Walsh plays the Vintage Series:

http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps/vintageseries.php

 

[rummy]

Their tweed line is brilliant! I think they do the Fender thing well.

 

[weshunter]

Joe Walsh plays the Vintage Series:

http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps/vintageseries.php

does he have the head stacked on top of a combo? WTH?

 

[AudioEcstasy]

sound great for heavy/classic rock tones

 

[blackba]

does he have the head stacked on top of a combo? WTH?

Sure does, that is so he can sit on the cab that is the neck to the head/combo.

 

[Beast1972]

I own one of the RI X100B's, and once you get used to its quirks, it is definitely one of the finest sounding amps I've ever played through. Not as good as a boutique plexi clone, but it definitely has an awesome clean channel that works very well with pedals. Through a pair of V30s or a 4x12 it will blow the walls down for just about any type of music. One genre that Carvin seldom gets mentioned for is country, or country rock. Their clean sound is so pristine that I would think every telecaster player in the US would have one in their stable. Better cleans than any Fender, and that's saying a lot. It's my spare head now, but it is a close second to my main rig.

 

[cisspcism]

Carvin Belair and Nomad: Classic rock and the clean channel is really good
Carvin Legacy: Lead style playing very loose low end definitely Vai tone.
Carvin V3: Really is a metal amp or atleast thats where it shines
Carvin MTS: Decent amp can be a little dark would be for Rock and roll to metal, really good clean channel.
Carvin X100B: Rock n Roll

I have had all of them before but no longer do.

 

[rockon1]

You wont find a lot of folks who love them here cause they are not TGP snobbery approved. For the working man though, they are great. I have owned almost every vintage big name, highly sought after amp known. From Marshall, Fender, Vox, Mesa and Orange. The Carvins are well made, great value amps. They are direct mail order amps, so the snobs dont like them. Truth they are wonderfull full sounding amps. I have owned two, and both were great amps. The EL84 based 30 watt single 12 is fantastic. I place that amp and its 50 watt brother as one of the best grab and go small amps for the money. Its every bit as good as modern Fender, Crate, Peavey, or marshall in my mind. They usually are feature rich as well.

For under $300 used, you can find one with all tube El84's, two channel, loop, reverb, line out and foot switchable. Thats a lot for $300 used.

Currently one of my amps is a DRRI that is heavily modded with caps, speaker, tranny, tubes, even reverb mods, and a mid boost. Its a great amp...and far less versitle then a carvin 30 watt amp.

^ Aint that the truth! And every thread about a Carvin sinks faster than a lead ballon! lol! My Carvin V3M is one of the most versatile mini's ever produced and covers a lot of sonic ground. Ok back to our regularly scheduled sinking thread..... Bob

 

[tjinca1]

About 2 weeks ago I bought Carvin's V3m. Great tones and very versatile. I'm going back today and picking up their x100b for a more classic rock tone.

These suckers are made in the USA, built great, awesome customer service. Great quality at very low prices. The V3m is $599 for a 3 channel 50 watt tube amp, switchable to 22 and 5 watts (I think those are the #s), and the x100b is a 2 channel 100 watt, switchable to 50 and 10 (again, I think). Many pros play them, but not many TGP people do. I think it's because they only offer them from their couple of shops or online so you can't try them out unless you live close by.

 

[rockon1]

It lives! (the thread that is) Im home sick today and dont even feel like playing with this sore throat and headache. Got just enough energy to paruse TGP.
Wow going for the X100B too eh? Bob

 

[lp_bruce]

It lives! (the thread that is) Im home sick today and dont even feel like playing with this sore throat and headache. Got just enough energy to paruse TGP.
Wow going for the X100B too eh? Bob

And I'll bring it back to life.

Agreed with a lot of the above. I have a Carvin Belair. A really good clean channel (takes pedals well) and the dirty channel is nice for classic rock kind of stuff. Some people think it's muddy, but I like my dirt a little "dark". I use it for rock, alt.country, blues, americana, and it's always up to the task. Nice amp all around.

And for reasons that escape me, Carvin doesn't get a lot of love here. Not that it matters a whit to me, because I love mine and my audience seems pleased.

This is a few years old (band not together anymore), but there are four Carvins in this pic. Both me and the other guitar player are playing Carvin amps, the other guitarist is playing a Carvin guitar, and that's a Carvin bass. Obviously we should have gotten an endorsement...

Peace.

 

[Jaymz D.]

Word. This maybe gear page heresy.... but.....I think Carvin kicks ass!
For real. I got a Carvin Legacy 3 recently and I think it's an awesome amp and a great deal. Fantastic clean and dirt tones, fx loop options, great master volume, and even MIDI controlable. I am stoked! It was under a grand, sounds fabulous, and a very well made product. And they are in my hometown even!
OP, I think Carvin makes amps for many genres, go check out their website. \m/

 

[The Moar You Know]

Speaker cabs - Carvin excels. Truly. The tweed ain't real tweed - it's a vinyl print - but you can't tell from even three feet away. Got a great single twelve "vintage series" guitar cab from them and a bass cab that is fifty pounds lighter than my old SWR Goliath I - and it sounds better.

And they're cheap. And American made.

Now the bad part: their amps are too quiet. The guitar amps are not as loud as they should be for the wattage. Good tone, just not loud. The bass amps are ten times worse in that respect. They make a "1000 watt" bass head that my old 400RB can completely drown out. Worse, over the years I have had two of their solid-state power amps catch fire on stage. Needless to say, I don't have Carvin amplifiers on my stages. But I do have the cabs! Bass, mains and monitors all.

They also make very decent mixing boards.

So they're a mixed bag. Like any other company (when was the last time you saw someone using a "Fender" branded bass amp?). I'm pretty sure they are quite liberal on their returns, so it might be worth it, give it a shot and see what you think.

 

[efcywfqa]

I use to play with used the Steve Vai tube head for years and loved it.