Carlsbro 50 Top Head

My Carlsbro is from 1973 (i believe), and it really has a look that reflects the era: simple, moddish, YELLOW! it has a "50" done in a neat eurostyle font. plus i like the fact that it has that plexi look to it, kinda like a hiwatt. I play many styles, but the sound I always seem to use is sort of a 70s-ish, T. Rex kinda sound, but nice and full like Rocket From the Crypt (the band with the perfect sound, in my strong opinion). I give it a nine out of ten because, well, it really doesn't have any "features" per se, but what it has is EXACTLY what i want and love: treble, bass, mid, volume. that's it. one channel. i use it for live shows and it's plenty loud. i mean damn, it's a british amp from the 70s, and it's loud loud loud. as far as wishes, i guess i wish it had a reverb knob, but that's nit-picky and i can make do without it, certainly.

I have a few guitars. The two i use most are a les paul jr. with P-90s and a tele custom with humbuckers. They allow me to get that distorted and huge but smooth and clear sound. i used to have two-channel heads where i just used the built-in distortion, but really, it just never suited me. so i like distortion pedals, mostly because there are so many available for a ton of different sounds. right now, my fave is a russian big muff (the russian one destroys the american one). since this amp is just one channel, i can get a PERFECT sound for what i like to play. really explosive. honestly. ANOTHER THING I'VE REALLY ENJOYED: when the volume is turned to twelve o'clock (with all pedals turned off), it begins to roar on it's own. it's a nice smooth distortion. only trouble is, it's REALLY loud. so here's the awesome part: get a marshall power brake (which allows you to turn your amp wide-open-all-the-way-up without creating an explosion) and crank it. you can get an excellent distortion sound. I LOVE IT!

Well, this thing is from '73 as far as i know, and i bought it a little while back. it was retubed just before i bought it, so i had that working for me, but really, this thing has held it together. it's older than me, and a lot prettier. it sounds as good as anything, really. like i said, i gig with it and it always serves me well. i'll give it a nine, just because i'm somewhat of a new owner to it (under a year) but given it's age, i think it's pretty damn reliable.

i've never had to deal with the company.

For the insanely low price i paid and the all 'round quality i get back, this is really the best amp i've ever owned (i've owned mesa, marshall, sovtek, fender). it would be silly to rate it at anything less than a ten. the only thing i wish it had is reverb, but i don't think that constitutes giving it a 9 or any lower.

I have 2 of these and 2 50 top combos one 2x12 ans one 1x12 all made around the same period (about 72 I think) i'll be fair you cant exaclty rate these on features because the dont have any 2 inpute volume treble middle bass no line out no fx loop zip squat nada just a totally awesome one trick amp I love it!

I play a 335, epi sg, gibson les paul and occasionally my mongrel strat thru a boss me50 if i'm not playing blues the things always deliver the goods If i'm playing a rock/metal gig its 1 or 2 heads on 4x12's daisy chained together once or twice i've used the stereo output on the me50 and split them up WOW! dont need any distortion fx these things break up like crazy all on their own I just use the modulation effects Idont think I can really describe the sounds they make. fire one up, set the tone controls at 12 o'clock and wang a chord and hold it the air seems to shimmer around you if I'm doing a bluesy or fairly quiet gig I use one or other of the combos with either the les paul or the 335 the small combo is brilliant for small laid back gigs and rou can get away with mic'ing it up for recording and you cant do that with many 50 watt valve amps! as far as noise goes these are all the quietest valve amps I have ever used the pots get a bit crackly if they arent used for a while but so do all pots. as for the sound the bes i an say is the other guitarist in the band runs a mesa boogie 50/50 and a quad and he's been trying frantically to reproduce the sound of the carlsbro with it so far with mch gnashing og teeth and no success for the last 6 months

All of our bands amp are serviced regularly by our bassist who is a vintage valve amp nutter and whenever we get a new amp it goes to him for a check over before its first gig so I have never had any problems gigging with any of them the 2x12 combo was a bit problematical at first mainly because some bozo had put some dodgy bits in it but a couple of days cursing and muttering from mick and it worked fine after that. He is a fanatic about it having the correct Philips capacitors and mustard caps and if humanly possible , mullard valves throughout This combo has been modifid a little though whe volume pot is a 1 megohm to make it more controllable troughout the range and it has been cathode biased rather than grid biased so the valves run hotter but that way I get more clean volume before the valves start breaking up I have used all of them without backup at one time or another. something I have never dared to do with any other amp

Carlsboro website is about as much use as a one legged sailor at a butt-kicking contest and they never answer their emails I live about 80 miles from them and cannot find a stockist of their stuff anywhere so I emailed them to ask who stocked thei gear in or around Birmingham cos I want a look at the new 50 tops, specially the evolution, been waiting 6 weeks so far still no reply

Ive been playing about 7 1/2 years ever since I had a heart attack and the doctors said I'd never work again, great it gave me a chance to do what I always wanted, spank my plank! I also own a lovely little 50 watt Kelly amp (like a selmer treble'n bass) which I use occasionally Ive been pretty much through the card with other gear fender, marshall,trace elliot tranny, hybrid and all valve and tied just about everything else the manager of our favourite music shop is great wander in try something out borrow it for a gig if we like it do a deal if not back on the shelf I finally found my first 50 top about 4 years ago and the quest was over, now I scour the country looking for them, I dont want to use anything else if one was stolen I would be out hunting down the theving git to tear off his arm and batter him to death with the soggy end

I am lucky enough to own 3 of these amps, 2 from 1972 (Hand wired) and 1 from 1975 (PCB wired).
I have had many amps, Marshalls, Hiwatt, Vox, Laney, Peavey etc. apart the Hiwatt these 50 Tops just about blow all the rest out of the water for pure Tone.
They dont have any features at all. Vol, Bass, Middle, Treble, and On/Off. Simple yes, but also simple to use, the Laney had a million knobs and took 1 hour to get a near decent sound, I just plug in an Go, with this I have ALL the controls on 10, running it flat out and control the volume from the guitar. Loud? just a bit, can keep up with my mates Marshall DSL 100 no problem. I dont need channel switching or flashing lights, just tone which it has bucket fulls. I am giving it a nine because the sound is the feature. Having reverb would have been nice just to play about with.

Sound, mmmmmm, well I sold a 1970s Marshall JMP Combo to buy another of these. I play classic rock, new stuff, even been known to some punk stuff. this does it all, what it gives you is a super warm valve clean sound, which from there you can colour, drive and totally distort to 4x12 heaven.
It just makes the natural sound of your guitar 50 watt louder.
It has that classic 70s sound, I use a 70s MXR Distortion + (which works perfect). bit noisy, but hey! it is running flat out.
For clean I use a US Strat, power I use a Gibson Les Paul Custom, but most of the time I use a US Strat with a Seymour Duncan Screaming Demon, Kinman Single Coil and Seymour Duncan Jazz Humbucker.

My Marshall died at two gigs, my 72 Top 50 has not.
I would not gig without a backup on a 30 year old amp, but I have used both going Stereo once.
My number 3 amp is not happy, but some muppet, messed about inside.

The company still supports it!!!, I asked for a wiring diagram and it was in the post free of charge in 2 days. Wow! and an email telling me the dates from the serial numbers.
Simple inside and so cheap to fix, Only 4 valves inside.

I have been playing about 25 years now and I guess I know what I like now. If it were lost or stolen I would buy another, I might anyway.
At one time I wished it was new, but I just noticed in a UK guitar mag (Namm Show, USA) that they have started making them again, no idea how much they would cost but would be nice to have a new one.

If you see a cheap one, DON'T buy it, tell me first.

This amp was probably made in the start seventies, It has a yellow panel with different coloured knops, and "50" written in Eurostyle Extended on it. (I've seen another amp like this, but with a sort of metal panel).
One channel, treble, middle, bass and volume, what more do you really need? A little reverb perhaps.
It has two ECC83 (12AX7) in the preamp section and two EL34 in the output section.
I use it with two 12" Celestion G12T75 speakers, this is a perfect setup for playing blues or rock.

I plug my Strat directly in to the amp, no stompboxes or anything. I set the bass to 2 o'clock, the middle to 1 o'clock and the treble to 3 o'clock the volume up to 2-4 o'clock, then I control the overdrive from the guitars volumecontrol.
When I play my Emperor Regent (a fullsize jazzbox)I set the bass to 3 o'clock, the middle to 11 o'clock. the treble to 1 o'clock and the volume to 8-10 o'clock.
The tone is warm, smooth and has rich harmonics, it brings out the best of any guitar.
The overdrive seems to come from the amp's output stage, rather than the preamp.
This amp is pretty noiseless, no hum or hiss.

I bought this amp at a fleemarket 15 years ago and I had all the tubes replaced shortly after.
I had the output tubes replaced two years ago, due to a broken tubesocket.
Considering the amp's age, I say it is sturdy as a mule.

N/A

I've had Fender amps, Ampegs, Peaveys and other stuff, but this one ends the discussion for me.
If it was stolen or seriously damaged, I'd cry bitter tears and i'd try to find another like this one, even if they are hard to find.
Buy, if you can find one.

This amp was made in 1972, same year as me. It's not versatile at all, but then versatility isnt what i want anyway. The controls are treb/ mid/bass/ volume, and there's only one channel. I play at full volume, which with this amp is only slightly less than my Marshall JCM900, and at this volume this amp produces the most amazing overdriven tone. Really clear, perfect for that late '60s Cream sound. Add a Rat pedal and a Cry Baby and it's full heavy rock territory. Very warm sounding, a bit like an old Marshall.So it depends what you are after - features no, ROCK yes!!!

I play my trustworthy Les Paul with p-90s through a Rat, Crybaby and old boss delay. I play heavy rock a la Free, Zep, AC/DC, and this amp is just great. I swing between this and my JCM900, and still dont know which I prefer! The overdrive just has to be heard, this is the greatest clean amp I have heard. Add the Rat and it's seriously heavy, like Mountain or Sabbath.

I had it re-tubed when I bought it, other than that it doesn't seem to have had much done. Been well gigged.

Overall a 10. One of the great lost British amps. With my eyes closed I'd be hard pushed to tell it from a late 60's Marshall. I'd recommend plugging straight in, cranking it up and blowing your mind, man!!!!!

A real old one. Built in 1969, with no mods done since. i play heavy rock a la sabbath/blue cheer/black flag, and found this to be the perfect head.one channel, no bull. treble/bass/mids, one volume knob and thats it. for a 50 watt amp it's incredibly loud, easily as loud as the marshall jmp1 i'd used previously (and a hell of a lot easier to get a good tone out of!)i opened it up and the build is EXACTLY the same as a marshall....same factory maybe? either way it is a very marshall sound, i guess a jcm800 would be pretty similar.

i use a gordon-smith sg with a emg81 humbucker, which i find a perfect match for the amp.i drive the amp pretty hard, and use a tubescreamer (ts7) to push it into crunch territory. i play small gigs, and find the volume ample without a pa. because i drive it pretty hard the "clean"sounds are a little rough, but thats part of the appeal of the amp. i've used it with a telecaster for blues too, again found it very toneful!this really sings!

i've had this amp around 3 months now and had no problems. as i already said it was built in '69, and other than new tubes it's had no other work done. it's case is the same as an old jmp, pretty robust though pretty heavy too. i'd definately gig it without backup, something i've never been able to say about my jmp!!

cant comment, no problems yet. anyway, this is from '69, so i guess the boys at carlsbro could legitimaly claim wear and tear....

this is the ideal amp for what i want, which is basically a loud heavy valve distortion sound. that said it seems suitable for blues too.i'd rate it as easily as good as a marshall, and if it got stolen i'd be devastated, because they're pretty rare and hard to replace. i love the simplicity of this amp, and the way it sounds the same no matter where i use it. i rate using 50 instead of 100 watt amps, theres very little difference in volume, and a 50 can be really cranked and pushed into valve overdrive easily. if you see one of these on ebay, buy it straight away. i cant believe valve amps from this period go so cheap!! it's the daddy!