Carlsbro TC60 1x12 valve combo

As per my original review of this new Carlsbro'Heritage Series' TC60.

I have missed a few things out so here goes with the chnages/additiona.

The 'stock' 12 Celestion speakeris a G12T-100 (not a Seventy 80) and has a great tonal range. I removed it and tried a Celestion Vintage 30 which also sounded nice but did not have the bass response, so the G12T-100 is now back in the combo.

Overall, I would say that this amp provides me with the power, portability and tone that I need for gigging and is also usable at home for rehearsal although I have a tendency to turn it up too high because it sounds better as it gets louder - this improvement is very noticeable and very easily achieved with just a slight master volume rise.

I've seen a thread where someone described the TC60 combo as looking like a huge retro transistor radio..I thinks that's very good and probably about right - It is certainly unusual in looks but it doesn't follow the crowd. How would one describe Fe**er combo's?
It's all subjective.

I can't believe that I don't have to change anything. I would normally expect to swap the valves or the speaker or both but this sounds so good as it is. I did mention that the EL34 power valves are made in China and if these valves sounded this good in my other amps I would use them again.

Overall, this Carlsbro TC60 112 all valve combo is everything I had hoped it would be.
Looks is something that we all have different opinions about but in most cases players say that valve powered amplifiers sound best. This is one of the best sounding amps I have used over many years. I'm not saying it has THE best tone, or is THE best looking etc etc, BUT, when you have all the power you need, a superb deep tone, portability and all in a reasonably sized package that should fit into the boot of most cars...I say it's a winner.

I wonder if Carlsbro would be in a much better position if this amp has been around a bit sooner and had been given more exposure in the media.

You owe it to yourself to try one - you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Carlsbro TC60 1x12 60 watt all valve combo. These new design amps were unvieled in 2008 and look to be short lived. As I write, the company website shows that the receiver was brought in from February 2009. Carlsbro have been around for ages and it will be a great shame if another British company goes under. I hope they find a buyer or the necessary investment.

Back to the Amp. Due to the above, there are very few (I've only found one)reviews of this amplifier but lets start from the looks. It is wierdly deceptive - the pics I saw make the amp cabinet look quite small but in fact it is not far short of a 2x12 in size. It is so plain to look at that you just have to be impressed, no bells and whistles here, just a really solid looking cabinet with a recessed control panel covered with a very dark brown tolex. The case is wider than it is high so it has a squat stance and looks good.The front grill is a tough, woven cloth in alighter brown with white piping around the edges. The top sports a single handle of the strap type. This gives a clue about weight. Whilst this is a beast of a cabinet, it can be carried in one hand - but for the sake of matching arm length I would suggest it is not carried too far. Mosty people (me included for this purchase) buy a combo amp for it's portability and this is a meaty, portable and very powerful unit. I would suggest that if this were a 2x12 it would be too heavy to manage without risk of personal injury.

The open back designe rear panel has an insert panel with a full metal grill to prevent objects getting into the rear or little fingers getting burnt on the hot valves.

The twin EL34's are made in China (like the amp - under licence) and a couple of large, heavy looking silvery glinting transformers in the darkened interior. The Celestion Seventy 80 speaker is apparently a custom model for this amp. 4 X 12AX7 pre amp valves finish to evident power section but the rest is contained in a very neat metal box chassis.

The 'TC' stands for Twin Channel and harps back to the early models.
The control panel sports one input on the far left, followed by the clean channel gain control. Next is a Channel select manual switch (the supplied footswitch overrides this when in use) followed by a gain for the 'gain channel' and a level control for the gain channel. Bass, Middle and treble, reverb send (licensed Accutronics spring reverb fitted) and then the master volume control. The far right of the panel sports the on and standby and a large red power light.

The back panel has mains lead input, 8 and 16 ohm speaker jacks, footswitch jack and a pair of switchable parallel/series send-return jacks for effects.

The front panel input is also a switch and unless a jack is plugged into the socket, the pre amp is muted so no hum at any volume when switched on unless you plug in a jack.

I am one of those players who uses a multi effect/simulation pre amp floor pedal and I take the output signal directly into the power amp section of the TC60 via the effect 'return' input on the back, bypassing the pre amp completely. This means that I have to plug an unwired jack into the front to 'switch' the front controls in. Without using the preamp, this means that only the reverb and master volume are active. All 'EQ'ing is done from my pedal board.

I am lucky enough to have a selection of guitars but currently using a Tele with a Lace T100 neck and a Fender Noiseless in the bridge.
I play original Indie/rock and the single coil pickups bring out the depth of the tone from this amp very well.

The amp is NOT noisy and the volume so a real shock - I also have a Laney TT50H and a Marshall TSL60 and this Carlsbro is one loud amp.

I can't comment on use of this amp a very high volume because it's hard to get it to that volume - half way is more than enough.

The clean channel is very nice with a rich natural tone and breaks up nicely when the 'clean' channel gain is raised. It meets the 'gain' channel at its lowest setting so you can dial the different distortion side by side. The distortion channel (2) goes way up, far exceeding my needs and possibly into metal territory.
There is a broad spectrum of sound from clean to high distortion and the tone of this amp shines through once the master is up over number 1 on the dial - Using just the power section (as explained earlier) I have to be very precise with the master volume setting because it is so loud at such a low setting that I can't use it in the house. Obviously you have more control if using the front input in a standard plug in and play scenario.

My rating of 9 for sound reflects my needs - I need a great tone from a powrful and responsive valve amp - I get it with this Carlsbro TC60. You just gotta try one of these - currently they are selling at a bargain new price at certain stores, probably because of the Company's volatile situation but these are unsung heroes and not many players will have seen or heard one - do yourself a favour before they sell out - they may already be a rare gem.

Can't comment on dependability as it's a recent acquisition but it looks so solid I will be confident to gig it.
I always have a backup.

Standard warranty of 12 months - the website still accepts registration of new units so I would hope any problems could still be reported and there will be someone there to respond. (Fingers crossed Carlbro survive this economic depression and that I won't need this service)

Playing for a long, long time. I Own three other valve amps, and one hybrid valve/solid state.
I am a rock guitarist who has moved to the more toppy Telecaster sound for Indie and whilst this amp has no pose value it has the look of an expensive boutique amplifier. The giveaway is the fairly large C badge with Carlsbro across the centre, mounted on the upper left of thje front grill. Even the badge is nice quality.

The front controls are like a top hat without the brim and have a simple white line on the side to indicate the setting position. This is okay if you are close to the amp and have the amp at an angle where you can see the white line - but if you are further away you can't see anything at all because there is no marker on the end cap of the control. This won't cause me any problems as I will only be using the master volume control and once I have set the volume, I can leave the amp alone. On a dark stage, the dark control panel facia with its dull gold lettering is very difficult to see.