Carlsbro Stingray Lead Head

I remember buying my Stingray Super from Macari's In Charing Cross Road in 1977! It's an earlier version than the previous reviewer's example, as it has no parametric EQ. Two channels; the master channel having reverb (spring- , of course!), tremelo and 'suzz' - all footswitchable - with T,M and B tone controls. The second channel; simply gain, T and B. Two 1/4 jacks for max 4 Ohn load, effects/PA loop in/out. The 70's original styling is still very reasonable!

Good depth of tone ranges with the (by modern standards) simple EQ. A noticeably active treble and bass boosting gives some useful lift into 'dull' cabinets. Each channel has a pair of inputs to give a choice of 'normal' or 'bright' (raised 1 kHz level, I think)to help cope with those absorbent drapes you get faced with sometimes! My '2x12' mis-matches the 100W 4 Ohm output into a 65W delivered into 8 Ohms. No obvious flagging at any point in the spectrum - very linear to my ear! The 'suzz' takes a bit of getting used to but can produce a gentle overdrive effect although you can't make it really 'scream' without externally induced feedback!

The amp only had a brief period of gigging in its earlier days and so aging is the main influence in its electrical condition. Many of the controls have needed cleaning to remove dust from the tracks of the pots. It's 100% functional still. The sensible trim arangement has kept all the corners tidy still.

Only recently (since re-acquiring the amp from a friend's long-term custody!)have I contacted Carlsboro for service assistance when some control knobs needed replacing (impact damage). They shipped them free! Can't complain! - although I guess I shouldn't shout about it! The capacitors in the power supply are still going strong (no massive switch-on 'plop's)so they must have used good quality components too!

I suspect there are still quite a lot of these things 'hanging around' in folks' attics and store rooms. Get 'em out, I say! With a bit of front-end work, they can be useful - if not exactly trendy these days!!

This amp was made in early 80's. I think it's 150 watts. I bought it almost new in 1986 (it had been lying around unused for years). It features two channels, one with bass, treble and reverb, the other with bright, bass, treble, suzz (extra distortion)with gain and sustain, reverb and last but not least, a parametric equalizer. The parametric features two dials, one to choose the frequency (from 75 to 1000 Hz)and the other to boost or negate it (+/- 20 somethings). It has 5 outputs (2 'normal', one pre-amp and two slaves). The reverb and suzz can be operated via a footswitch. As amps go its pretty much got all the flexibility I need so I'll give it a 10.

I play all sorts through it including an acoustic using a fly pickup. You can get just about any sound you want from it by messing around with the amp and guitar controls and especially the parametric equalizer, although it can sometimes take a bit of time to get it right as there's so many possibilities which can be a pain. On some settings the sound can be a really garbled with bass and treble interfering with each other which sounds awful, but that is I suppose a fault of the user not the amp - due to the laws of physics some sound combinations just cannot be! The suzz is really suzzy and when I play metal or punk stuff it sounds pretty damn awesome, and the reverb on full sounds like your playing down a mineshaft! The clean channel stays clean at least until very high volumes - my speaker (custom-made no make) is only 100 watts so I've never put the amp up to 11 so to speak. Because of that I'll be cautious and give it an 8 rating but it may well deserve more. The speaker you use with it also has a lot to do with the sound it will produce of course.

I've had it about since 1986 and it hasn't gone wrong so far but I have treated it rather kindly compared to most, so I'll give it an 8.

Never needed to contact Carlsbro, but I hear they're very helpful.

I have been playing on and off for over 20 years and love this amp - mainly because of the parametric equalizer and suzz effect. No other amps I have played have ever been quite so versatile and most can't get anywhere near such a good distorted sound without a fuzzbox. If it were lost or stolen I would be heartbroken as it would be almost impossible to replace - I don't think anyone makes amps like these anymore!? I have to give it a 10 rating until I find a better one in the same category.