Carr Amplifiers Imperial 212 Combo

My Imperial was built in 2003. Gorgeous, with green tolex. I had auditioned several of these, including a head and cabinet version that they made for a while but stopped making a few years ago. It is very straightforward - one input, one volume, class A. IT SOUNDS FANTASTIC!!! I have drooled over this thing for a while. Is it versatile? No, you could only play good music through it, rather than crap, so I guess if you consider that to be versatile...The reverb is lush and deep and quiet. The tremolo is amazing, though it does not get the super choppy "helicopter" sound that some old Fenders and Vox'z get. The Boost funtion is great and really useful. Not having an effects loop may bum some people out, but I have tried MANY effects in front of it and it sounds great. It is almost 60 watts, so is very loud - not a sit-in-your-bedroom kind of amp, though it does sound really good at bedroom volume, this baby needs to get wound up and breathe a bit. A separate etension cabinet output would be nice.

I play Teles and Strats primarily. I also have a Gibson with a humbucker. They all sound alive and tight with this amp. It is quiet and clean and very big sounding. This is not a metal amp or a high gain saturation type amp. It is is very clean and mellow and articulate amp. Think of Chris Isaak's old lead guitarist Jimmy Wilsey (Wicked game etc...) It nails that tone - reverby, smooth, clean, but not STERILE like a Roland JC120 or something. If you like psychomelodramamtic stuff like Floyd, or The Church or U2, this amp is phenomenal. If you like Linkin Park, Puddle of Mudd or anything like that, then get a Peavey or a Randall or a Crate until you graduate from high school. This is a PLAYERS amp and will be appreciated by someone who has tried everything else and has been disappointed. This amp will not break up and sound farty like old Fenders. It will break up nicely when switched to triode mode (28 watts) This might be the most used wattage for small gigs, bedroom, recording etc.

Built like a tank with the best components available. I've had crappier amps than this last for 20 years, so I KNOW this will have no problems.

Fantasic. You'll probably talk to the owner, Steve Carr, when you call. Super nice and helpful.

I am fortunate to have the money to buy pretty much any amp I want, and the ears to appreciate them. I have tried LOTS of amps looking for an amp that will not break up. One with massive headroom in a compact, portable package an I think I've found it. I A?B this amp in a clean/dirty setup along with a THD BiValve (which I also LOVE!!!!)and this setup gives me every imaginable sound and endless combinations.

This is a simple master volume amp (no separate gain control) and if it were 1971 instead of 2003 it would get a 15+ for having power output selection (pentode/triode), reverb, tremlo and a boost. I suppose there are some who could imagine wanting more but why would you in this kind of amp. I gave it a "7" but as a compliment. It does WHAT IT DOES with very very few peers.

This thing sounds incredible, period. It is a high powered 6L6 combo amp with the ability go from around 45 watts to around 28 watts. If you want massive clean headroom, this is the amp for you, if you love the Marshall E34 sound with heavy power amp distortion or Mesa Boogie pre-amp saturation, this is not your amp.

Seems to take pedals very well. On the higher powered pentode mode, I use Fulltone 69 & Fulltone FD2 pedals with incredible results. Please note that this is a professional giging amp, not a bedroom air guitar amp. It is LOUD for a combo and needs to be to bloom. If you play small stages, at home with neighbors, or small studios, you might do better with the Imperial's smaller cousin the Rambler. Like any loud amp, it sounds like a dog on 1 1/2 but amazing at 4 1/2. I seriously wonder if other people reviewing this amp negitively knew what they are buying or played it loud enough to get a sound out of it.

This thing is built to stand the test of time. As with a few other of the top boutique builders out there, the amp is point-to-point hand wired with top components. I gig and rehearse regularly with it (about 2-6 hours a day/5-6 days a week) and have no problems. I don't bring a back-up unless I'm touring (tubes break on tour).

The people at Carr have equals but no one surpasses them in this catagory. I called one day to ask about the power output differences between the Rambler and the Imperial and Steve Carr picked up the phone and took the time to answer all of my questions and pose some at me to help me pick.

I set out to buy a 6L6 amp with the best vintage tone and reliability I could find for some reasonable amount of money. I tried everything, but just fell in love with this amp and bought it on the spot. I've been playing for nearly 20 years and this is the best equipment purchase I've ever made. REALY. I found amps in its class (Bruno I also like very very much) but nothing came close price wise. Also, and this is a very big also...the Imperial was voiced to sound incredible with Groove Tube 6L6s, NOT NOS RCAs. That means you can re-tube for a fraction of the cost and get back to your sound without dealing with the NOS can of worms. Because the Imperial is a class A amp (that means the tubes are always at full power, running all the time when its on-like vintage Fenders), you could re-tube every 6-12 months, so the NOS is a big one for me. I simply don't want to spend $300 to re-tube that often. A number of boutique amp builders voice their amps for NOS because they believe it gives the amp "mystique" (read=higher cost) aimed at the collectors crowd. Carr is building great sounding amps for professional players who know the difference.

Construction on this amp started in November 2002 and I took delivery in January of 2003. This amp is worthy of being the only one you carry around to the gig with you. Gator makes a roll around case for it that's not too expensive. Has just the usual necessities-some good EQ, reverb, vibrato, Pentode/Triode switch, standby, only one input-but that's about it. Doesn't really need an effects loop because you can inject any quality front end effect you want and it's heavy, heavy. . . . . . . I would like a direct out, but miking is fine too. Also two inputs, but I've been using a A/B switcher and it's fine.

This Imperial is basically replacing a Fender Bassman I bought in '66. Yeah, it had been a while! I like the idea of two channels, being relegated to a Strat a lot of the time to play synth sounds with a Roland pickup and guitar with the Lace pickup simultaneously, in a progressive rock setting without the keyboard player we desperately need. I was looking for an amp with a lot of clean headroom. I use a Zoom GFX-8 for multi effect chunk/distortion/reverb/delay/etc. and want to clean it up at times to fill and backup our girl vocalist. Tried a Hellhound from Reverend-nice amp, but no low end to speak of, the Bassman has tone, but not enough power, tried a Deluxe Reverb-low power, Marshall-not clean enough, Victoria tweed- overpriced and disappointing, tried miking and running through the PA, etc. If you just don't feel good about what you're playing through, it's hard to inspire yourself or anyone else. We play classics and the absolute latest hits so versatility was mandatory. Later, I tried a Carr Rambler at the local shop and loved it, but still wanted more power-and the Imperial does it. This amp is very clean up to a point-and you can make it breakup too. It's not like with a Fender-when you are sounding great at 3-4-then at 5 it sounds like goose farts-and at 6-7-8
it's not getting louder- it's getting mushier. There's not any definition. Not so with this Imperial. Even my neck pickups on humbucking Gibsons- ES335, Les Paul Classic and SG are useable and not gritty to the point of mush. Gives the Strat more balls for lack of a better word. On Pentode, tone controls mid-way, volume at 7, reverb, boost and vibrato off, it's a clean machine. Dial any of those other things in, you get crunch, saturation and even feedback. You pick. I always preferred good quality distortion on the front end and clean headroom on the amp end. But then again there was the Matchless DC-30 that had me thinking $3000 wasn't too much for an amp.
Unlike the other reviewers I'm not crazy about the vibrato. The reverb would be more versatile with a depth control as well as intensity. It's single channel and that's OK, but would do good with just one more input for us guitar teachers, but then everyone needs their own amp, right? This amp seems to make your guitar sing-it's a pleasure to use. It's not the lightest amp I've ever carried around, but it's not bad--it's do-able. Get casters or a a Gator case.
Lighter than a Peavey Nashville I use for pedal steel, or the Bassman. . . . . . . .

Having gigged many weekends on end for as long as we can remember, some tolex might get mussed once in a while-but amps of quality just keep on going. For instance, the '66 Bassman and hopefully this Carr amp. It's built as well as we remember they used to make them, just more expensive. I 'm pretty sure this amp will long outlive me.

Well, it's the first time I've ever spoken with the owner and chose my amp specs over the phone. Other than that-I've not dealt with customer service. I think they will stand behind their work. I think it's a lifetime warranty to the original owner. . . . . but you have to send it back to the factory.

Hard to find another loud, clean, and toneful amp out there-believe me I've tried a lot of them and either sent them back or sold them on eBay. I almost got another one for the practice room right before leaving on vacation for $1100! My wife got me around the neck and said we're spending it on the trip!
I bet I'll never get that chance again. I don't know if this amp is for everyone, but if you've got a little EXTRA change, you won't be disappointed. This amp puts out blistering tone at levels that gets the neighbors to call the cops. Think I'll go fire it up now. . . . . .

Simple, Simple, Simple. Tremolo, Reverb, Boast, EQ, Pentode/Triode, EQ, Volume.

Phew, it was a stinker. While being responsive, it sounded dead and lifeless. A very open sound without any punch whatsoever. Not bright enough or warm enough. I chose my Fender Hot Rod over it, for goodness sake. Maybe it was just that mine was a lemon, because I am willing to try out another, possibly a Rambler. Every other Carr Ive ever heard has made my jaw drop, this one however was depressing.

Mine was used, so even though it had rattling tubes, thats not what youd get with a new one.

Steve Carr is a great guy, I think the fact that I wouldnt have one of his amps was what was worst about taking it back. Very informative, helpful, and prompt.

I Dont know if buying this amp is the best idea. The tone is inferior to so many other amps Ive heard that cost a third of this price. So, save your money and get somthing else.

If you know what you want and don't require channel switching or preamp distortion, then what else would you need with this model? Vol 3 tones reverb and 2 knob tremolo. Really easy controls reminiscent of great classic amps. Utterly simple to use on a stage or studio.

Wow. I was taken with this amp upon first hearing it and continue to be richly gratified by what it does for me. I can't stress how refreshingly simple this unit is because I just plug in a few pedals and off I go. Plus the reverb is nice and warm so I don't feel like something is missing. I can get really deep surf sounds or a nice and fat dryer vintage sound easily. What I love about this Imperial is that it takes a great clean sound and makes it feel solid and beefy without shrillness. I can run a single coil or humbucker with excellent results. I am just tickled with this amp because I've been looking for something like this from other boutique companies without luck.

Sure feels solid. I haven't personally opened up my amp but I have seen the wiring in other examples and just don't see how it could get much better. Yes it has George L's in there so that speaks something of the attention to detail. Just a great simple tube design that should be easy to service.

Mr. Carr is pleasant to talk to and has answered all of my questions in a friendly manner.

Again just a real pleasure to play. I won't be selling this one.

This was fairly new (believe 2001). Good features. I likes the triode/pentode switch, and the footswitch boost was nice. The tremolo was a necessary feature for this amp, somehow. In all other ways, it was just an amp.

I played this with my favorite guitar, a Reverend Slingshot Custom (3 P90 strat-style semi-hollow guitar), right next to a DR.Z Maz and a TopHat Club Deluxe. My findings? The tremolo is very nice, sounding really really nice. But even so, while it seemed equal to the Dr.Z, it was dull-sounding even while being pushed hard compared to the TopHat, which I found to be very shimmery/sparkly. While a very nice amp in many ways, the TopHat beat it in all tone areas. There was no hard-spots that really jumped out at me, it just seemed uninspired next to the TopHat.

Needless to say, I didn't buy it. The comparably-priced TopHat was the runaway winner of the three amps I played with for over an hour. It does have a good creamy tone and some definitie dimensionality, and the tremolo is cool, but when it's next to an amp that is shimmery and swirly and alive, this has to fall short of TopHat, Alessandro, Matchless, Fargen, Bogner, etc. A good amp, but not a god-send. For the money, Fargen and TopHat will serve you better.
Keep working at it, though! I'm sure these amps will get there someday!