Carvin Bel Air 212

I am 56, and have been playing guitar for over 40 years now. My first serious rig was a 69 Marshall 50w head with slant 4 celestion cabinet used in my 70's band. Since then, I have had several amps. I mostly use tube amps, no effects, just reverb. I play blues, classic rock, rockabilly, oldies.
I had a Fender Hot Rod Deville, nice amp, heavy as lead, and the tone variations weren't that great. I then went to Peavey amps, Classic 30 great little amp, Crate Vintage Club 50 1x12 a good amp also, then the Valveking 50 okay, but a little too bright, and then a 4x10 Classic 50 nice. the major drawbacks of the peavey classics is the pre and post adjustments. You can get many tones by varying them but while playing it is hard to keep adjusting them. Then someone told me about the Carvin Belair. I researched in and then went online. found one right away on ebay and got t for $350 with cover. It is fairly new and in excellent condition. I have had it for 2 months now.
Let me tell you in all my years of playing, this amp blew me away immdiately. I played it for about 6 hours the first day and was amazed at the sound. the 2x12's are great. I used both channels and the reverb. I couldn't find any reason not to love it. I play semi pro now, gigging when my band can, older dudes, so we have families, etc. I would definitely trust it on a job, but always would like a backup in any situation just from experience especially with tube amps.
I paid $700 for the Hot Rod Deville and over $400 for the peaveys and this was a steal.
My main guitars right now are a Mex strat special edition with flame top and texas specials, sperzel tuners and cts pots. I also have a tele 62 reissue custom w/humbucker at neck and texas special at bridge, strictly vintage, maple neck, vintage slotted tuners, seafoam green..I just got an Ibanez AR 300 double cutaway with dimarzios and now this combined with the Carvin are incredible..
I will keep this amp a long, long time only to add a Fender blues deluxe to my gear eventually as a second choice now.
I don't know what all the negative feedback is about? maybe the older models had issues, but the quality of this amp is very good indeed in all aspects.
I would recommend it to anyone, especially those on tight budgets like most of us these days..

Not a Marshall, or intended to be one. It is a vintage copy amp, period and it is true to it's claims as such..much nicer than any other tube amp in it's range. period. Only reissue 59 tweed bassmans and old twins or mesa boogies can rank with this one. even peavey classics which are good amps also fall short.
Blues, great sustain and tone. Classic rock with growl distortion, not AC/DC, or Metallica screaming wall of stack sound but what the old blues guys got out of their silvertone tubes and whatever they could find back then.
ZZ Top songs like LaGrange sound perfect. even get the squeak when tweeked right..Billy uses a variety of amps, lately Crate, and Blue Voodoo's etc, even old Champs and I can copy him well..
Doors, Clapton, Stevie Ray, Roy Buchannon, Lowell George, Stones, etc. can all be copied with the Belair..very versitale.

I haven't had it very long, but judging from the overall quality and features, I think with proper care, it should last a long time. maybe replacing tubes is about it.

I haven't had the opportunity to contact Carvin. I know people that have had various other Carvin amps and they all liked them and no one ever told me any negative things about the company, etc.

I started playing at 11 and I'm 56, do the math!
I would definitely replace it if lost or stolen.
I simply enjoy playing through it everyday for hours sometimes, all my guitars..Better than the other tube amps I've had
Love all the features, even found a 2x12 matching cabinet, empty and am going to get matching speakers soon, can't wait to hear this mini stack in action.

I have the earlier version with the Carvin speakers instead of the Vintage 30's. All the features have been listed previously so I won't really go into it.

I don't know why some people knock the overdrive in this amp. I believe the Carvin folks make a number of other amps(Legacy, MTS, V3 etc) that offer up much more gain if that is what you are after. This is a vintage style amp. The clean is god like. That ultra high impedance input stage is wonderful-lets you put pedals into the front end without a lot of signal loss. The issue people have with the gain channel is rediculous. Yes, the overdrive is muddy after about 3 on the preamp volume, but that is what is cool about this amp. Set the gain for just a touch of grunt and then if you need more hit it with a tube screamer. It rips!! Sustain, chord definition is there if you don't overdue it. By the way, I find that single coils sound a bit better through this amp just for the plain fact that it doesn't hit the drive channel so hard.

Don't know about reliability. This is an older one and had an occasional volume drop when it was played for a long period of time. I swapped out the first preamp tube and the problem went away, hopefully that was it. I opened it up to get a look around, well built unit with good quality components throughout. The only thing that makes me leary is the tubes are mounted directly onto the circuit boards. There was some discoloration/residue on the tube pins at that point, don't know if the heat buildup caused this or what. I would watch that even though the amp is class a/b instead of a and doesn't burn as hot as say an AC30 amp.

They are a big company and do better than most. I like the fact that they stay in the USA.

Seriously, consider buying one of these. I got this off of ebay for $150. That's right, I know it sounds unbelieveable. The guy said it had an issue with the amp humming but he had no reverb tank in it and the level for it was set high. Duh. There's your hum problem. You don't get reverb without a tank in line. I just spent about an hour this morning playing through it with my USA Strat. Very inspiring, and I have a huge stable of amps in my basement at my disposal. For what it does and the cost involved you can't beat these for the price. You could gig with this and with a few pedals cover just about anything musically with the exception of say Cannibal Corpse/Slayer/Coal Chamber. Those type of bands wouldn't be seen with a tweed amp onstage anyway. I really like this one, and am keeping it until it or I die.

Mine is an earlier model,before they started using Celestion Vintage 30's in them.I've had it about 7 years.It has 2 channels: clean,and distortion.It has channel switching,as well as effects (reverb) switching.These are great tube amps,IF you are intelligent enough to understand these three little words: "vintage tube amp".It has all the features I need,which have been thoroughly described previously.I use it at home,at church in a praise band,and out at public performances playing old and original rock n roll.I've never been able to take the volume past 3 1/2 reguardless of the size of the venue.

Ok, here is where I'm gonna love telling you about this amp.It sounded really good with the Carvin speakers.I use LOTS of different guitars,each of which has it's own nitch with this amp.I have Gibson Melody Makers,USA Washburns WM4,WM3 prototype,CTS (best sustaining guitar I have including some amazing vintage Gibsons.Read my review on it here)Vintage Hagstrom Swede's,yada,yada,yada, all with humbuckers,that sound good thru this amp.I have vintage and re-issue Fender Strats and Tele's,that sound really good also.Some home built Strats that have SD hot rails,59,and JB jr's,all of which sound good with my Carvin.The clean channel (as stated MANY times before) is as good as it gets.Stays clean till you hit 7 1/2 to 8 on the volume,then you can get some usable minor distortion.But I cant feasibly go past about 3 !/2 without blowing the windows out of ANY size building.This is a great,clean,shimmery,VERY Fender-y sound.Now for the distortion channel.You cant really appreciate the full spectrum of what this channel can sound like till you get to about 3 on the volume.Set the "soak" (gain) knob at about 3 to 4,and you've got some wonderful vintage sounding distortion.Above about 4 1/2 and it starts getting a little muddy.It gets muddier,the higher you go.I never get above 3 1/2 any more,so it's not an issue with me.In church,and small venues I can barely get above 1 on the volume,without blowing everyone else away,volume wise.NOW HERE THIS!!! I was seriously concidering doing the Hasserl Mods to this amp to 'Open it up,and let it breath".It would also eliminate the upper volume/gain muddiness.But I cant play that loud anyway.It's just TOO LOUD!Then one day I brought home a Les Paul Melody Maker re-issue,with the dog ear p90 in the bridge.That guitar and this amp were made for each other.I hit a power chord,volume at three,soak at 3 1/2 and DAMN NEAR **** IN MY PANTS!!!! LOOKED IN THE MIRROR,AND LESLIE WEST IS STANDING THERE!!! AMAZING SOUND,INCREDIBLE CHORD DEFINITION!!! Every string sounds fantastic!!Needless to say,I would cut anyone's **** off who tried to modify ANYTHING on this amp.
Now just one more note: you wont get 80's metal crunch with this amp.I have to laugh my *** off at the idiots who ***** about this "vintage tube amp" not sounding like it's made for metal.IT"S NOT SUPPOSED TO YOU ****** IDIOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh yeah,just one more thing.I have had LOTS of other guitarists ask me how I'm getting that great sound.They will have a whole slew of pedals and effects processors,which have to constantly be re-adjusted,and try every new this or that.I really **** them off when I tell them that I dont use effects,and that if I needed effects to sound good,It means I cant really play guitar worth **** anyway.I also recently changed the speakers to Celestion Vintage Thirty's,and the amp sounds even better.Now,with that change,I can give it a 10

I've never had a problem with it.I just retubed it.It will get noisy if you leave the old tubes in too long.I always use it with no backup.I would never do that with a guitar.

I bought it used on Ebay for $375.00. I have bought other Carvin products direct.Whenever I needed support,Carvin has always been helpful.I will say that more than two or three amp repair shops have said that Carvins are built a little differently than other amps,and therefore,these shops are not familiar with the repair procedure.But any of the well known guys who have stellar reputations have said repairs would be no problem.

I cant play guitar.I've owned one for 35 years,but I still cant call myself a player.When I can play like Stevie,THEN I'll be a guitar player.Till then,I'll just be some guy who figured out how to create appealing sounds on a stringed instrument.If this amp were lost or stolen,I'd kill the ****** ,then set his dead body on fire.Then **** on what was left.Then I'd get another one,even if I had to buy it new.I'll never sell or trade it.I bought it before I ever saw any kind of reviews on it.I had a DC 127 guitar,and an AP11 loaded pickguard,both of which I thought were great quality.Thats why I bought this amp.

I purchased this amp in 2000, and have been using it exclusively for the past 8 years. I play a mixed bag of music, but mainly somewhere within the classic rock and/or alternative style. It has 2 channels (clean/crunch) with spring reverb and an effects loop. I play in a three piece band with drums and bass, so cutting through is definitely not a problem. I should mention however, that even if competing with multiple guitars in the mix, there is plenty of power and volume to spare. There is not an overabundance of features which lends itself well to its vintage appeal, and has a very straight forward layout. I don't use the effects loop nor do I use the crunch channel.

I use several different guitars including a Carvin SC90 with passive electronics, and humbuckers w/ coil splitters (neck/bridge). A Carvin DC150 with active electronics, again with humbuckers/splitters. And finally, a Gibson SG classic with P90's. This amp is equally adept at producing consistently warm and dynamic tones with any of the aforementioned guitars while allowing the individual tones of each of the instruments to be both heard and felt. The clean channel on this amp is simply fantastic. I have an array of effects and overdrives/distortions that I place in the signal chain in front of the amp which it seems to thrive on. My signal chain is as follows: Crybaby 535Q > guyatone ST-2 compressor > Pigtronix OFO disnortion > EH little big muff > EH Graphic fuzz > Rocktron nitro booster > Ernie ball passive volume pedal > guyatone NS-2 noise gate > EH small clone chorus > Akai headrush delay/looper. The amp has just enough clean headroom with a hint of breakup depending on how hard you hit the strings. If you desire more clean headroom, you can easily swap out the 1st of 5 preamp tubes in the "V1" socket with an ECC81 (in lieu of the 12AX7/ECC83 which I did experiment with for a while, but opted to go back to the original configuration to try and keep the volume down. I have changed out all of the tubes a couple of times over the course of the past 8 years which I purchased from Bob Pletka at Eurotubes...which made an outstanding sounding amp sound even better. (Kudos to Bob...thanks). The clean channel is clearly where this amp is "alive and breathing", which I feel is far superior to the crunch channel. I mentioned that I don't use the crunch channel on this amp. That is not to say that this channel doesn't sound good, but is probably better suited toward blues and I find this channel to be a little dark/muddy for my taste.I much prefer the sound of overdriving the clean channel over using the crunch channel. So much so, that I probably haven't even used the crunch channel in 5 or more years (the clean channel is that good). Also worth mentioning is the spring reverb which is very good, and unless you've got Dick Dale fever, should never leave you wanting for more.

As mentioned, I've been using this amp for 8+ years, and have never had a problem with it, and have never had a backup plan.

I've never had problems with any of the Carvin products I own, but have called with questions in the past and have found the staff to be very helpful and courteous.

I've been playing for about 25 years, and did much research prior to purchasing this amp. I haven't had the luxury of owning a multitude of amps over the years, so I can't provide comparisons in that way. But, I have consistently gotten positive feedback about my tone from other musicians, and I have certainly been pleased. If it were lost or stolen, I would definitely consider buying another, but after 8 years of use I'd probably be inclined to try something else (and would probably live to regret it). You'd be hard pressed to find any product better than those offered by Carvin...especially at the price they are offered at!! I have come to trust Carvin to produce high quality products at good price, and will continue to be an advocate for many years to come!!

Tube amp with stock tubes and two Carvin 100 watt V12 speakers. I have several guitars but usually play a Gibson ES-135 w/ P90 pick ups on it.

Rated 8 because: (1) Amp has a clean channel and a dirty channel with a toggle swith to go between the two. (2) One input jack for one guitar. Wish I had a foot switch to switch channels and it had one more guitar input.

It is a good looking amp. It is lighter in weight that I thought it would be. I use it for practice and have it sitting on top of a book case about ear level when sitting on a chair. Looks good in the room, kind of like an old radio (BIG old radio).

Rated 9: I heard more bad then good about the sound but I'm looking for a jazzy/bluesy kind of sound. I'm not planning on changing the tubes.

The amp sounds good with my ES-135 and P90s. Clean channel is very clean and the dirty channel is okay for me.

I don't crank it up. I did once just to see what would happen (it didn't blow up), it's friggin loud. Plenty good for a gig in a night club.

My opinion is it's not a amp for heavy metal types. It's great for the blues, southern rock, jazzy stuff.

Rated 10: Again I heard mixed results. It has to warm up and cool down properly. Hey, tubes are great!

Being a tube amp, don't recommend turning the thing off/on several times in a day. That would have to be a killer for sure at some point.

The cabinet is built well. The handle strap on mine is either pleather or leather, can't really tell. It's not a plastic strap/strip type thing though.

And, like everyone else, I recommend you carry this thing with two hands on the bottom. It's got TUBES in it! Of course, the tubes come out and are properly stored when transporting from gig to gig right! yeah ................ I know ............. good luck with that.

No opinion since nothing ha gone heywire yet!

Okay a 10 it is. This one has a permanent home with me.

As far as features are concerned on the plus side the amps clean channel is very clean and the soak channel has enough gain for general applications though not metal, etc. The extra speaker out is good for expanding the volume with a ext cab for larger venues or when you play with a drummer who just plays only loud, etc. I have the matching 212E exp cab from Carvin to play larger venues and or outdoors where the sound just goes out and falls off. I find this very usefull that I can use just the combo up to medium venues and can drive the amps volume up to 7 to really use the tubes, and when I need more I can then add the cab. (I've been frustrated in the past when I have had an amp that has enough power for the loudest venues, but can't turn it up past 3 or so for the average venue and can't drive the tubes enough for it's best tones) The adjustable ohms selection makes it easier to select from various ext cabinets. The line out is also good sounding to a PA system where the signal easy to work with. It also has a standard effects loop. On the negative side I do wish the amp had a 2nd input and the presence nob was on front with the other controls instead of the backside.

I am very eclectic with what I play. Blues, punk, country, folk rock, alt rock, gospel, so a good tone basic tone to build from was my main focus. The clean channel tone is in the Fender vintage camp though not quite as greasy. The drive on the soak channel is reminds me a lot of classic Who crunch. In short, the tones are quality and even a fellow guitarist listening will not notice it is not a real vintage Fender amp on the clean tones unless he or she really focuses. I am finding this amp to be a very good match for my Reverend Jetstream 390 guitar, a P90 3 pick up guitar. The tone controls on each channel have a wide sweep and are easy to work with. On the clean channel by adjusting the presence from 5 to 7 with the treble around 6 or 7, the mid around 3 and the bass around 4 I can get some Tele like twang. When I drop the presence down to 3 or so I can get more bell like Strat tones. Rolling off the presence to 0 gives the punchy P90 tone. From there when I roll up the bass contour on the guitar about 1/4 of the way and roll the tone nob on the guitar back off the treble a little, I can get a decent PAF immitation, (though a single coil guitar is never sound exactly like a humbucker or vise versa). The soak channel is about the same, though it has more of a Vox AC30 crunch than a Fender growl due the the choice of power tubes, EL84's. The reverb is effective but hides in the background more than most amps I've used, (been playing 25yrs or so, have owned Crate, Fender, Peavey, Marshall and Vox amps). I find this amp to be very versital sound wise without being complicated and find the sound tones of both channels to be quality vintage tube. The clean channel does start to break up when pushed on the volume at around 7 or 8 or so. Finely, it is relatively quiet hum wise, even with a single coil guitar.

The amp is very solid. No problems to report after using for practice and a few gigs. Too early to give it a rating in this catagory.

So far so good. Haven't spoken to Carvin yet about anything but their web site I find very user friendly. 1 year warranty.

I have been very pleased so far with everything about this amp and nothing has dissapointed. It has every thing I was looking for, quality vintage tones, solid construction, easy to use, flexability, volume levels that fit my uses, This is the first amp I can say if it were lost or stolen I would go get another one as soon as I had the money and wouldn't see it as an oportunity to look at others, etc.

Made in 2008,Great amp 4 rock and blues.clean channel and overdrive channel,effects loop,line out.Plenty loud for me to play with almost any band.

I plugged in a 335 copy,nothing special,and it sounds like what I was hoping for....A cheap guitar now sounds like an expensive guitar
very quiet amp even turned up half way I did not hear any hum or noise on the clean or overdrive channel

only pulled it out of the box today. Looks like it is a tank
so far so good

1 year warranty, shipped on time ,I ordered white covering it took 3 weeks to get to me

Ive owned a mesa boogie subway rocket<killer amp>line 6 <disposable>
fender 65 twin<great amp,very heavy> poly tone mini brute<plain jane
cool for jazz>
I love the bel air would replace if it were stolen

it was a bel air or a new gibson amp I was messin with at the music store I work at.The price of both was about the same I think I saved
50 bucks ,But most of all I got vintage 30 speakers and groove tubes
it sounds as good as the gibson or maybe a tad better.plus direct out
effects loop and a drive channel

2 channels, soak and clean, w/presence (excellent!) on the clean channel. Reverb on both channels, fx loop, ext cab out, etc. Plenty of features for me.

Ok, so this is where things got interesting...
For the first couple years I owned this amp I loved the clean channel but was not at all impressed by the soak channel...it was noisy, growly, overly distorted but not musical, and generally really muddy sounding. I play Gibsons as well as Fenders and they all sounded aweful on the soak channel. I picked up an Electro-Harmonix English Muff'n (great tube powered pedal) and this remedied that situation, but the reverb would still feedback at anything above 3. This was highly annoying and swapping out the tube (#4 12ax7) helped a bit, but not enough.
Then, after reading a bunch of reviews on various tubes, I swapped out all of my 12ax7's for Tung Sol 12ax7's (it had Ei's in it originally).
OMFG!!! What a difference!!! It is now a completely different amp. I no longer use the English Muff'n. The soak channel is now rich, creamy, thick, and beautiful.
I would stack it up against just about any other amp now. Even better since I also have a Carvin 212 ext cab in tweed that is loaded w/Eminence Governor and Private Jack speakers. I would have given it a 10, but for the crappy tubes that were in it before.

I've only had one problem, with the exception of those crappy pre amp tubes that were in it originally. The circuit board had a melt down once. It was not a major issue and my amp tech did a fine job (for not much $$) repairinf it. Other than that it has been a workhorse. BTW...it is very loud! Plenty for any gig that I'll have up to a good sized club.

Carvin has been very helpful every time I've contacted them. I bought the amp used w/o any paper work and they emailed me everything I needed (schematics, etc.)

I've been playing 30+ years and have owned quite a few amps, all of them tube with one exception (little practice amp). If it were lost or stolen I'd consider another one if I found a great deal, otherwise I'd look for a point-to-point handwired amp for the added reliability.
As for sound, I'm very, very pleased with this amp. The clean channel is bright, crisp, clean ala Fender, but if you crank the clean channel, you get a beautiful distortion, too.
Bang for the buck, I don't think you can beat this set up. It is a quality American-made product.

Very vesatile amp, two channel, footswitch for channel and reverb. Great sounding reverb. Plenty of power at 50 tube watts.

Sounds great. I absolutely love the cleans and the soak control allows very nice distortion after tweaking it for awhile. The reverb sounds excellent. I am using a MIM Fender Strat with a humbucker in the bridge. Sounds fantastic with the humbucker. Suits all kinds of country to classic rock. Not sure about jazz or new metal stuff. Great for classic music.

Amp seems very solid and high quality construction throughout.

Carvin is a great company. Amp is built solid...If ever a problem I am sure Carvin would take care of it.

I think this amp is just great. I have been looking for this sound for many years. I like Fenders and I think this is up there with the best.

mine was made in 2007, I bought it new from the Carvin location in San Diego. I was drawn to these amps for several reasons. the faux tweed is lacquered which gives it a more convincing vintage look. the controls are front mounted which i prefer to the top mounted ones since I like to tilt my amp back. and they are super cheap for an all tube amp made in USA. the Bel Air is 50 watt, 2x12, two channel amp with independent eq for each channel. it also has a tube driven, three spring tank reverb which is really warm and subtle, but can be dialed in pretty thick... but not fender twin thick. the cabinet is made of actual poplar plywood, not partical board which is a very nice feature. 4 EL84 power amp and 5 12AX7 pre amp groove tubes. there is an acoustic presence adjustment for the clean channel which enhances the highs. and , at 50 lbs, it's quite manageable to cart around to gigs. also has an external effects loop and a cabinet voiced direct out which is nice.

first and foremost, it's important to realize that this amp is designed around the idea of vintage type tones. those looking for a modern "scooped" sound will be very dissappointed. it's hard to believe that anyone would see the look of this amp and then buy it expecting heavily saturated metal tones. that is to say the look of this amp is NOT misleading.... it looks vintage, it sounds vintage. however, if you are of the classic rock / blues school of playing, you'll be in heaven. dial in Jimmy Page, Angus Young, Eric Clapton, Joe Perry, Billy Gibbons, Peter Green, alex lifeson ect. if these are the tones you're after, you will find them here. don't let all the reviews from users who expected to find modern distorted tones scare you off. anyone who bought one of these with those tones in mind should have done some research. again, with respect to the overdrive channel, if you are seeking tones simillar to the ones produced by the players i mentioned above, you will have no trouble finding your sound.the "soak" adjustment (basically the same as a gain adjustment) lets you go from a gently broken up, singing lead tone all the way to Angus and Malcolm approved crunchy open chord riffing. the clean channel is equally impressive. a couple of people here have metioned it sound like a cross between a Vox AC30 and a Fender Twin Reverb. I can certainly hear their point. it really has it's own warm, round tone though. from darker jazzy tones to fat blues with a bit of reverb, to sparkling country tones, it's all in there. the amp has plenty of juice to cut through the mix and the clean channel headroom keeps it clean until the very highest volume settings. for blues or classic rock, there is NO WAY you won't be able to find tones you'll love. I am granting this amp a 9 based on it's ability to produce vintage style tones as designed.

I have owned Carvin gear in the past without problem. this amp seems really well made and I can't imagine it falling apart on me. time will tell, but i have a good feeling about it.

Carvin is a direct sales manufacturer, but I live just a short drive from the San Diego location. I have found all the guys i've spoken with there to be super friendly and helpful. 1 year warranty.

these days there are a LOT of amp choices out there, many very reasonably priced. I think in selecting an amp, it's vital to know the sound you're after and make sure you're looking at amps designed to reproduce the sounds in your head. there are so many so called "modeling amps" out there that claim to sound like the vintage plexi, or the Mesa Triple recto, or the vintage Vox or Fender amp you can't afford. but, the truth is, no solid state or hybrid amp will sound and respond like an actual tube amplifier. the Bel Air is a great offering from Carvin that allows the average player to be able to create some really super, vintage type tones without breaking the bank. it got awesome vintage styling and awesome tone. and, made in USA!!! do yourself a favor and check one out if your a crusty old classic rocker like me.. or a young guy aspiring to become one!