Carlsbro 50 Top Head

the only features here are KILLER TONES! And that's all I want :)

this amp sounds incredible with my Les Pauls. I can get an AUTHENTIC Led Zeppelin tone with this great amp!!!!!

handwired. That's the best build quality

been playing for 19 years,had dozens of amps....the Carlsbro is one of my top 3 amps. The other ones are a Fender Bandmaster and a Sound City 50 Plus.

I have read here about people getting that amp for 160 dollars? Gimme a break....I don't believe it. This is no 160 bucks amp...it's one of the best you'll buy. Buy it ,if and when you find one

vintage UK amplifier,no frills,but killer tones! Mine is an original one,although the Reissue is supposed to be as good. I have bought it from a local store for 799 euros,and it's worth EVERY cent, it's the best amp if you want an old Marshall type of sound

Great Marshall 1987x sounds! And very,very loud! Sounds LOUDER than my 120 watts Peavey tube amp!!! Even though it's rated at 50 watts,it seems like 130 or something,it will take your head off.

vintage handwired head. I believe this is a Class A/B amp,sounds very much like a Marshall Plexi! Who cares about features? This amp was built to give the guitarist the best sounds possible!
I'd rather have that than having an amp with 25 functions that give me less than the BEST !

I use this amp with an USA Kramer Baretta with a Seympur Duncan Jeff Beck at the bridge,an Ibanez Tubescreamer,and two 4x12. That's all I use!
Then as I turn the amp up, I get some of the most amazing,high-class tones I have heard anywhere!
WOWWWWWWWWW
I have had many great vintage amps ,but this amp is definitely a keeper. It's got rare and although Carlsbro is making Reissues,there's always a certain magic about the original amps.

If you want a really loud,powerful,simple but killer amp,this is the vintage Jaguar of guitar amps!

VERY well built,all the parts are really high quality. These amps are a lot easier to repair than amps with printed circuit boards,and thus the repairs would cost less.

Made in `74 or `75
No features, as you know. Bass, treble,middle, volume, 2 inputs, loud and very loud.and thats it

I??playing an `77 Strat, and for spare, an 72custom tele(mex)
Effects: Deluxe Memoryman(no reissue) boss sd1, and boss ch1.
I play Ac/dc, Stones, van Morrisson, Cream and so on.
I`ve been playing for 23 years, and tried all kind of amps: Ampeg V2, Marshall JCM`s, Fender bassmann , Soundcity , Carlsbro TC, Musicmann and so on And the 50top beats them all, in my opinion. Its Clean and nice, for country or ballads, but with a bit of "pedal" it takes off, and beats all other amps I`ve played...

I`ve owned this amp for 23 years, and played 100+ gigs, and it never broke down. I had it recapped 10 years ago, "just in case" changes the tubes when nesceray, thats it

10 years ago, I needed schematics to recap, and mailed Carlsbro. They send me Schematics(regular mail) within few days, for an 30 years old amp!!! thats customer support.
Their forum these days, are very helpfull too

As said before, 23 years of playing, all sorts of music, anywhere, anytime.
If I lost my 50top, I would by one again, no matter the cost, in fact I`m about to my a 50top combo, wich is exactly the same amp, just in case....

Very basic single channel amp, 3 band eq and a volume control - it's that simple, but that's the joy of it. Nothing extreme, just beautifully clean and warm tone (assuming your tubes are okay!). All I wanted when I bought this amp was a good clean sound, all my dirt/fx/ comes from a few stomps, and so it's ideal. It's the perfect gigging amp for pretty much all the venues I play up to about 250/300 and then it's mic'd for anything else.

With a few pedals I can get everything I need from this amp. It's really nice clean and sparkly when worked to a reasonable level, but unless you've got the room or a power soak to crank it to the max, it won't do higher gain rock - obvious really. It is painfully loud on the couple of occasions I've turned it all the way up. I run mine through a Marshall 1936 2 x 12 cab which suits it very nicely (and I can just about lift!). Mine's very quiet, which again is no surprise given its lack of multiple gain stages. The pots have become a little noisy but it's over 30 years old! Some judicious use of switch/contact cleaner and it's fine.

It's has been fine for loads of gigs but developed a very horrible noise only a few weeks ago which was diagnosed as a dry joint on the PSU and very easily remedied. I always take a spare amp with me as you never know. I've had brand new, expensive amps pack up with the strangest faults, so it's just common sense to take a back up.

Not had to use it

I've been playing for way too long - nearly 40 years so I am pretty well experienced in the ways of amps. This is amp is terrific - wish I'd found it 25 years ago - would have saved me a lot of time and money! I have a couple of other 50-60 watt British heads - similarly simple, which I use as back ups. This is the best of those. If this were stolen, I'd try to find another - no question.

Mine is an early 70's 50 top head...two el 34 and two 12ax7's. features...pretty basic...the way I like them! Vol,treb,mid and bass...2 speaker outs..selection the ohmage and voltage selcetion & low and hight inputs....thats it and you don't need more...simple plug in a play.10 cause I am not a feature guy...less is best!The player can make it versitile!
Very rarely available in the USA...and not well know here...man, a lot of folks have no clue what thier missing!

I play vintage strats...with old school analog effects...tape echo, tube screamer, kord ovd, aramat tremolo and an ada flanger...This amp is well suited for those kind of effects!
Sound is amazing...with no effects, crank it, ring a chord and your there...breaks up nicely with clarity. Volume is less than most Brit 50 watters...perfect amount when set about 3/4 up...with out making the ears bleed! Noise...NONE!You hardly can tell it's on until you hit a chord.The quietest tube amp I have ever owner. Tone is old Marshall with it's own sweet flavor...love it! Think Black Crows or Neil Young's Cinnimon Girl! Sounds better than the sound city I sold, better than my A/C 30TB ...I still like my blackface fenders...but thats because they are different beasts.
I recapped the amp and made one small mod...these amps have a capacitor that is like having the presence wired on ten(a bit too bright)...I removed the cap and wow, it warmed up...A guy from the carlsbro site (forums)gave me that info...thanks Sixten!
Sound is as good as it gets! 10++++

Looked through it quite well and I have no worries! After 30+ years it's in great shape inside and out!

They reissued this head...so I suppose they could service it! Cost a lot to ship to the UK...I work on my own amps anyway.

Fantastic amp...I have owned bunches of well known amps...vintage mostly.This is on the top of my favorites list! Ebay got this one here...two years looking for one to pop up in the states...finally purchased from over seas...the amp cost around $430.00 but with shipping ended up a little under $700.00 us. Still a great price for what this thing does!See one...ask no questions and quickly fork over the cash...or better yet, email me!

this ia an all vavle 50 watt amp, 2x el34 and 2x ecc38 i think this is a re-model of the 70's version not sure, its got a yellow front with red dots on the silver knobs. This is very versatile, the most basic and easy amp to use ever, perfect for my style, that is alternative and experimental rock, ala pink floyd, the smashing pumpkins, radiohead. it is a songle channel amp and thats it, a high and low gain input and speaker out. it would be better if it had and effects loops but they all sound awsome through the front of the amp anyway maybe a bit of reverb aswell.

US start with seymour duncan little 59, AWSOME, the best clean i have ever hear din my life and ive played every amp out there, cant beat it! so warm and clean sounds like its coming from a cd such an epic sound! no noise no hum or his. this distortion is obtain by crankin the amp on almost full and BOOOM ul get blasted away its awsome best vintage distortion ever very punk and AC DC

Like a tank

had faulty tubes when bought, soughted an replced straight away went on forum almost instant reply cheers

AWSOME, buy it you wont be disapointed i dint hear the amp b4 i bought it coz i knew it would sound this good i love it

Hi everybody, I have all the Carlsbo schematics, if I can be of any help?


Website: www.chambonino.com

As far as I know, mine is a '74. Features? It doesn't lack anything the coveted M'shall Plexi has in features; two ins, and switchable impedence speaker outs - and tonewise it blows AWAY any M'shall I've played or heard, IMO. It does everything a vintage british tube-head should do. Probably doesn't deserve even an 8, but folks look at the overall rating when the Sounds (TONE) rating is really the only one that really matters (excepting inferior, unreliable junk).

Anything I throw at it sounds fantastic. I have about 20 guitars at any point - Gibsons, Hamers (mostly Daytonas, the superior US-Made Strat), assorted others - single/HB equally covered.

This amp's natural distortion, which shows up somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the volume knob, is about perfect. It is the quintessential (trying to get the point across, pardon the pretensiousness) output-stage distortion - tube's overdriving, transformer saturating - luscious british distortion tone.
A couple of the power caps have been replaced, sometime ago, apparently with very-near-to original spec. caps. The turret board, etc... is so elegant and simple - but there's magic going on there.

This thing has either the original, or very near-to-original, tube set. The 2 el34s are "Brimar" tubes, the 12ax7s are equally old - while not telefunken or other "elite" vintage tubes, these Brimars sound so damn sweet they may as well be vintage Mullards. They're still full of tone and volume, and must be 25 or 30 years old anyway.
Anyone know anything about this tube? I only use this amp for recording now and let it warm up for a few minutes, etc.. I baby it.

I would not use this amp on a gig - mostly to preserve the power tubes. The componentry, save the power caps, is all original, and (under heavy use) might not be too reliable at this point. It's never failed me in the three years I've owned it.

One interesting thing - this amp is stenciled with the name "Mother Earth" - apparently was used for a lot of recording over the years, as well as gigging in the '70s. Just after I +won+ the eBay auction for an excellent price (I _think_ about $300), the seller told me a well-known producer who was familiar with this exact amp contacted him and was willing to pay a lot more for it - as he'd loved it in the studio and wanted it for his own. Hah! It's MINE! :)

N/A
The company is around but don't believe in it's original incarnation - I tried to get schematic or any other product literature to no avail.

This is the perfect vintage british tube head, in the Marshall vein but (IMHO) even more special and rare.

Mine's a '75 that was overhauled by the guys at Carlsbro before I bought it. It looks immaculate. Features? I'll be honest and rate it down but the fewer the knobs the better I say. Single channel, 2 inputs (loud and louder), 4 coloured knobs and a pretty yellow panel. Perfect.

Ah yes. Sound. Tone. This thing throws bucket loads out. I've had Marshalls and Boogies and Fenders and Laneys but they all bow down in awe of what this little fellah can do. The only amp I've had that beats it for tone was an early 60s AC30. The louder input and a Les Paul is classic 70s rock territory. The other input keeps things cleaner - ideal for pedal users. To be fair it really just does one thing but it's the one thing I want it to do and I can't smile wide enough.

Built like a tank. I'll probably keel over and expire before it does. However it's nearly 30 years old valve technology so I'll keep the rating real.

Had no contact personally but they did a real good job for the previous owner in renovating its internals.

We all have differing opinions regarding what sounds good. Not everyone will like this amp. It's not got the huge distortion that metal players crave. It's not as sweet as a Fender Twin or as gnarly as a wound up Bassman. However, to my ears, this makes the classic early 70s rock noise that inspired me to pick up a guitar in the first place - and I'd have had a miserable life without that. I'd even rate it above non-master vol Marshalls although it's a close thing.

Ok then. Grey hair, wrinkles, big belly and a 50 Top through a couple of 2x12s. Yeah, that'll do me nicely.

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!