Carr Amplifiers El Moto

PTP, two channels, half power switch (I think?), three way gain level knob, gain switch on OD channel, that's about it. A fairly straight forward amp.

The amp over all is very touch sensitive. It reminds me of a Matchless in a lot of ways, except the Carr sustains better.

The clean channel is really nice. Very fat and juicy. My only complaint is that it's not 100% clean. There is some distortion to the notes when you dig in hard. Blues players will dig that, rock players might not.

The OD channel is pretty good. You can comp a pretty good plexi or hot rodded JCM800 sound with this thing. Just flip the switch and you?ve gone from one to the other. A very good sounding amp (and I?ve tried them all). My only complaint about this channel is it?s rather noisy with the gain high.

Seems built fairly sold. All PTP. If there is a problem it should be easy to fix.

Never contacted them

I?ve owned a lot of amps; Matchless, Diezel, Bad Cat, Bogner, VHT, Marshall, Mesa, etc. I can tell you, if you?re looking for a really good two channel amp with the Marshall mid range voicing, that can do blues to classic (and even modern rock if you don?t mind the noise), there?s not much else in this price range. This is one of the most touch sensitive amps I?ve ever played. If you play a lot of leads, check this out.

I have every amp. I buy everything that sounds good. That is what I get paid to do. Record the best guitar sounds. This does not cut it. Over hyped. Not as lush as people make out. A real average amp. I'd rather a DR Z for half the money and twice the tone. Germino and Bruno make these guys look like amatuers. I give it a "5" since it is not horrible.... it just can't compete with the competition.

I would be sure to try a Bruno and a Germino Lead 55 before making any decision. The DR Z is even better!!!

2001 Carr El Moto with Fx loop(optional feature), Two independent foot-switchable channels
Zero Feedback Circuitry
Channel one: vintage punch
Channel two: seventies crunch to modern sustain (two gain levels)
Cutting Edge Ultra-Fast recovery diode rectifier.
88 watts - EL34 based output stage
4, 8, and 16 ohm output impedance selector
Point to point wiring with George L cable. Check out Carramps.com for more info.

This amp has ended my search for tone. It was pricey $2000.00 but consdering the tone and quality construction well worth it. It nails the vintage Marshall sound on channel two and has a very Fendery tone on channel one. Not a high gain buzz machine but perfect for blues and classic rock!

Had it only one month but with a lifetime warranty, no worrys.

Great Customer service! I purchased it and realized there was no manual/ warranty card. I called Carr amps and they sent one out within days. Steve Carr even sent a note thanking me for my purchase.

This is the most money I have spent on a amp but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

El Moto is an extrememly versatile amp (head) for my music, which is raucous rock and roll. It features 2 channels of 40 watts (cathode bias) or 55 watts (fixed bias). There is bias selector so I can choose whichever sounds better thru the cabinet at that particular point in the set. Also,the output transformer is powerful enough to eliminate any ohm-matching worries,i.e., I can play an 8 ohm cabinet with the amp set at 4, 8,or 16 ohms...again whichever sounds best to me then. Another interesting feature is the "grind" selector; a 3-way switch that acts as a governor on the output tubes. "1" is a tight sounding, thinner choice....sharp and tight. "2" is where I leave it mostly and is noticably more open sounding, but with an edge that satisfies an AC/DC craving, depending upon my guitar choice at the time. It's somewhere between the Young bros. and Clapton as he sounded with John Mayall. "3" is closer to a Billy Gibbons sound with the tubes at this point entirely unimpeded. It's very open sounding and bluesy and probably the most natural sounding position. If I'm spending alot of time on this "grind" switch, it's because I've never encountered anything like it on any other amp. El Moto is a brand new model for Carr Amps.

Being the only guitarist in a very aggressive rock and roll band, I find the fuller Gibson-type sound to work best, although I get a lot of use from my Telecaster as well. El Moto is well suited to my style and environment. The amp is quiet and light weight compared to my Marshall JCM 800, which now sits in the closet since discovering El Moto. I had the occasion to visit Steve Carr(manufacturer) for a routine Marshall tune-up when he asked if I'd like to try something he'd been working on...El Moto. It was in the prototype stage and he was eager for feedback on it. I happily obliged. At the time the distortion channel was slightly off to my taste. It was a little too like an aural version of crushed glass when what I wanted to hear was more like broken, jagged chunks of glass. In short, it was real smooth and I wanted a little more violence in my tone, so I told him. I ran into him a couple weeks later and he invite me back for round 2. He'd made slight changes based on my feedback and suddenly El Moto was everything I wanted. He asked me to roadtest it and give him more feedback. I found that the distortion channel was as close to perfection (with room for variation) as anything I'd found. The JCM 800 was no match and sounded somewhat shrill by comparison. El Moto possessed a richer, thicker and somehow deeper distortion that still kept a keen edge with no sacrifices. Something as ephemeral as guitar/amp tone is damnably difficult to put into words and tends to come off as ridiculous....sort of like some descriptions of wines. It's all a matter of taste. I found that the 2nd channel has a smooth tone that sounds best when cranked up and the "grind" on 3. When the ohmage is mismatched in addition to that, the variations in tones are many and all satisfying. El Moto has a familiar, but individual and unique sound. It cranks like a Marshall or an old Hiwatt, it has a touch sensitivity like an AC30 and a warmth like an old blackface Super Reverb, yet it is none of these and all of them at their best. I first used it with a Kustom 2x15 cab., them tested it thru Steve's 4x12 Marshall cab., finally arriving at a Carvin 4x12(EV)cab. So far this is the best for me and I'm still experimenting. Some say the EV speakers are clinical and cold for guitar, but not so for El Moto.

So far I've not had a problem with this amp. It's well made, all hand wired and I've used it everytime without a backup amp. For me it's very portable as well weighing cosiderably less that my JCM 800, as I said before. This was also noticed by my bandmates. From what Ive come to know of Steve, he's very quality control oriented.

Everyone at Carr Amps is very friendly, helpful, and open to feedback in my experience. They really know what they're doing and seem to enjoy talking about it. As far as I know, the amps are under lifetime warranty to original owners. Can't beat that. Makes me wish I owned this El Moto, but it's still on loan for "roadtesting". Not being a technocrat myself, they are certainly patient with my questions and their explanations of the amps workings are clear and easy for me to comprehend.

I've been playing for almost 20 years and have been thru the gamut of amps from something nameless to Marlboro, Peavey, various Fenders, Marshall, Vox and now this El Moto. Some amps sound better with certain guitars, but I've found that all my guitars sound damn good with this amp. Some which had been put away for a while have again seen the light of day since EL Moto came on the scene. If it were stolen or lost, I'd cry because it isn't mine. What I'd like to try next is running two of them at the same time. That's the only thing I can think of that would sound better. Looking back at all my ratings so far, it seems ridiculous that I've rated this amp so high, but there's really nothing bad to say about it. That's a rare state of affairs these days. It's plenty loud, nice-looking (reverse trapezoid), light-weight, sturdy, very well-made, full of variations in sound, touch-sensitive. It rocks! I think it goes for about $1900, but as I said, combines all the attributes of my favorite common amps and adds something more, so if your tired of guessing about amps and just want cut thru the crap and get something fine, then that seems worth it to me. I've paid more for other equipment that I that proved to be far less interesting.