Carr Amplifiers Imperial

Straight-ahead no B.S. one channel amp, no master volume. Treble, Mid, Bass, Reverb, Tremolo (Depth & Speed). Features a mid-boost toggle switch with a variable rotating dial to control the amount of boost. Pentode/Triode switch for power selection. Standby toggle switch as well. Accepts a footswitch to turn boost and tremolo off or on. No effects loop, but one can be included for extra $$$.

This is a 60-watt amp, switchable down to somewhere between 20-30 watts in Triode setting. It is not a channel-switching high-gain amp, but rather one excelling at warm and lush clean tones with considerable headroom. It's hard not to compare this unit to some classic Fender clean amps, including old Twins or even Pro Reverbs. The difference is that this amp doesn't have as pronounced of a treble range of those amps and tends to sound warmer. This amp can give all the treble anyone could want, but it does not sound like an icepick stabbing you in the eardrum as some older (and even newer) ones do.

Definitely an amp geared toward organic and rootsy styles such as country, surf, blues, and rock if desired. This amp works well with both single-coil and humbucker guitars. You will need an overdrive pedal to get distortion sounds, but the good news is that this amp accepts all types of pedal effects wonderfully. That was a requirement for me before I bought my amp. Another good thing is that since this is a clean amp, you can run all of your pedals directly into the front end without fears of placing certain effects before or after the pre-amp.

Excellent warm clean tones while retaining a certain "give" that really good tube amps seem to have.

Another 10, because I have been gigging hard with mine since its introduction with no problems whatsoever. I also own other Carr Amps and they have logged more than enough trouble-free hours in studios and on stages to deem them reliable amps. The interior design is meticulous, and I have seen tube repairmen at a clinic marvel at the cleanliness of the wiring.

There is no such thing as an amplifier that is immune to problems, especially if it is a tube amp. I would imagine that if Steve Carr's amps were to encounter any problems, they would be tube-related since any brand of tubes will undoubtedly have some that are microphonic or not working correctly. This would happen to any company. That said, I have seen Steve's shop and observed his thorough tube-testing routine, so I am confident that if I ever have any tube problems, they are easily fixed. Speaking of tubes, the Imperial does not require any biasing.

The review instructions say not to give everything 10s, so here is a 9. However, Steve has always been helpful to me and responds promptly to e-mails. He's also been gracious enough to allow me to test many of his prototypes in his shop, as I live about 30 minutes from his factory. Even if I lived on another coast, I would find Carr Amps to be a great match for my playing, and it is just an incredible bonus to me to have him living in my area.

I have been playing between 15-20 years and require a great amp for professional use. Steve is constantly refining his amps, and that is the mark of a tone-oriented engineer rather than someone who doesn't get it right the first time. However, if Steve misses on something, I've seen him re-engineer something to correct it. He also doesn't let things go into production until they satisfy his own sense of direction.

This review is not written with rose-colored glasses on, because there are little things on some of his amps that I might change, but that is a result of my quest for something that may be unobtainable. As far as what is on the market, Carr Amps seem to come closer to me than anything else at satisfying that elusive sound running through my head.

The Imperial is loud and clean while retaining the ability to sound lush at lower volumes, especially in the Triode mode. I believe the combo amp weighs in somewhere between 48-51lbs, which is not bad at all considering what this amp does and how it compares to other units of similar wattage. It is much more manageable to transport than an old Twin.

If you want a straight-ahead, no frills but well-equipped amp that sounds great with pedals, and doesn't exhibit some of the sterile and fizzy qualities of certain British-voiced amps, then I wholeheartedly recommend listening to an Imperial. I love mine and am totally satisfied with my purchase.

Though these amps are expensive, you get excellent craftsmanship and tremendous tone. That is worth paying for in my book.

This is a brand new amp that Carr Amps has just come up with. It's 60 watts/four 6L6 powered. It's point to point hand wired also. It's available in a 2X12 or 4X10 combo configuration. The prototype which I've been using is a 2X12 combo with custom made Carr speakers. The amp is a single channel amp but, it's got a footswitchable boost feature which definitely is a plus for fans of a channel switching amp. I believe it will have three modes of gain to choose from. The amp has a very nice sounding tube driven reverb and tremolo which is attractive to "Fender Style" amp lovers. The amp came with Svetlana 6L6's and nos Phillips 12AX7's and AT7's. It has a lot!! of clean headroom for 60 watts. The amp has no effects loop but I don't believe their is much need for one. If I needed any effects, every pedal I tried sounded great with it. (Klon, Barber Burn Unit, Boss DM-2 Etc..) Overall the amp isn't loaded with useless features, it's pretty basic. For someone like myself, it could end the search for the great amps of the past by giving us the same thing today.

This amp blew me away when I first heard it. I arranged a visit to the Carr Amps shop to pick it up and try it out. It blew me away then and now! I've always been a big fan of Blackface Twins. This could be the "blackface Twin" of the future. It's not that it's really designed to be, it just has a huge clean sound. It will breakup eventually but it doesn't get their until you are louder than the planes at the airport. It still sounds great then too. I'm a big fan of 6L6 overdrive. This amp still stays smooth without any harshness at really loud levels. You can get get dirtier than say, a stock Twin, thanks to the footswitchable boost. I've never really used it though. If I needed a little extra gain I used my Klon. A Tele through this amp is incredible. Enough said.

This amp is the first Imperial and it's built like a tank. I've had it on the road for six weeks playing with "George Jones" without a backup. It's also been used everyday either live or in the studio without a problem. It's great!

This is the kind of company which you can call and talk to the actual guy who built the amp. They've been great to me so far. I had a preamp tube go bad and they shipped me a new one overnight. That's pretty good customer support.

Overall I have to give this amp a great rating. It's durability has yet to let me down while on the road or in the studio. I hate to send it back to Carr while mine's being made. It has also given me some of the best tone and sound I could ever want. The amp may be pricey for some but you get what you pay for with a handmade amp of this quality.