Carvin Bel Air 212

I bought this Bel-Air used, I think it was made either in late 2001 or 2002. It has two channels, with a shared reverb. Pretty basic two-channel one clean one dirty amplifier, details have been covered in previous reviews.

I'm using an ESP Strat with humbuckers and a Guild Bluesbird with Duncan '59s through the Bel-Air. I am also running it through a Carvin Legacy 2x12 cabinet with one Greenback and one V30. The music style I play is mostly post/space rock and I like to throw in a pedal and play hardcore/grindcore once in a while. The amp honestly doesn't really suit either of those styles very well. The clean sound is very nice! But the EL84 is a bit too thin-sounding for me, I prefer the bigger, rounder tone of 6L6. I think that is just a characteristic of EL84s, but I like the sound of an AC30, and an AC30 this amp is not. Neither channel "breathed" like my Carvin Legacy head that I sold this for. I also have an Ampeg V-4 head that I feel is much more touch-sensitive and responsive, and just sounds a lot bigger. The fact that the Bel-Air is an open-back 2x12 and not closed-back makes a big difference here. I really don't like the stock speakers it came with either, the amp just sounds a lot better when running through the extension cab. The GT12s sound very BOXY and cardboard like to my ears, and this is accentuated mostly on the soak channel. Also, something I realized is that this amp REALLY favors the sound of single-coil pickups! If you are a blues/rock player that enjoys using single-coils, then this amp is a 10. If you play other styles (indie rock, hardcore/metal) then this amp probably isn't for you. The distortion isn't very brutal at all. I honestly don't like the sound of the soak channel one bit, so I keep the gain very low and run a boost pedal through it and like those tones much better. The volume on both channels is very workable, unlike my Legacy head which was either way too loud or way too soft. Not an expert on reverb, but it sounds nice. The clean channel will begin to break up if you crank it, but it does have a great amount of headroom, and even moreso when you have hot pickups.

However, I hear that if you change the tubes to JJ EL84s, it will make this amp sound worlds better. This reviews how the Bel-Air is stock, though.

I bought this amp used and have been lugging it to band practices for the last year. It hasn't let me down yet!

Carvin is very friendly. I went down there and told them I needed a power cord because I lost mine, and they gave me a new one no questions asked!

I've been playing roughly five years, and have been through a few different amps (Carvin Legacy, Marshall Valvestate, Yamaha/Soldano T-50, Ampeg V-4). The real reason I bought the Bel-Air was because I needed an amp with a great sounding clean channel in a 2x12 combo form, and the Bel-Air appealed to me. It is a great amp, especially for the money, but I've decided that it just doesn't suit my styles completely. Again, if you play blues with single coils this amp just sounds incredible. Me, I am looking for a bigger, more organic sounding clean tone that is more *3D*. And the soak channel sounds terrible for any other style than blues to rock, honestly. I think that with a good tube change and speaker change, this amp could definitely see some improvement, but all in all the sound just doesn't suit me. It's a good amp for what it is, and I probably should have considered other options before buying it. That said, anyone looking to buy a used Bel-Air?

Features have been well documented below. IMO the featues are perfect. It has separate EQ for each channel, presence for the clean channel and very thoughtful placement of the controls. One suggestion to Carvin would be a light to indicate which channel you're using. It looks great if you're after a retro/vintage look and is fairly lightweight compared to other amps in the same class.

I have three electric guitars... a Carvin Bolt, a Carvin SC90s and a MIJ Fender Strat. When I bought this amp I was looking mostly for a good blues amp. Something that can get a great clean to a SRV bluesy crunch and beyond.

The clean on this amp is great... excellent... as good if not better than any Fender I've ever heard. It's got a really good vintage tone all of it's own. It is extremely loud and has a ton of headroom. I bought it used and immediately replaced the tubes with JJ's recommended by Bob at Eurotubes. The tubes perked it up a bit but the Clean channel was already pretty good. I bought them mainly to bring the lead channel to life.

It didn't work. I am still amazed that an amp that has such a good clean tone has such an awful, crappy, muddy, sterile, unusable lead channel. I have tried & tried to get a lead sound I like. I've turned the knobs left and I've turned them right. I've tried different guitars and tried using a pedal in front of it but I just cannot get a sound I like. I'm a pretty big Carvin fan but I really don't know how anyone can justify the money on this amp unless you only want a Clean sound. There is plenty of talk of modifying the amp on the Carvin BBS but IMHO you shouldn't have to modify an amp out of the box except for maybe tubes. I'm giving it a 4 because I can't get the tone I was looking for. I'd give it a 1 except the Clean sound is great.

Two weeks after I bought the amp I took it to an audition. About 45 minutues into the audition I noticed an ungodly hum coming from my amp. I looked in the back and two of the four EL84s were in nuclear meltdown mode. The bass player lent me an amp to finish the audition with. It cost me $50 to get it fixed. It was a capacitor for the power tube section. About three weeks later the reverb disappeared. I took it back to the amp technician. He said it was the same (type) of capacitor. The amp uses approx 8 of these capacitors so we replaced them all. I haven't had any problems since. Carvin was very good about emailing me a schematic which probably saved me some money in repair costs.

Other than the schematic I haven't dealt with the customer service deptartment in regard to the amp. Beware though when you're ordering from them you may get someone that rode the short bus to school on the other end of the phone.

Overall I'd say I'm disappointed with the amp. Based on some of the other reviews here and all the ranting & raving about it on the Carvin BBS you'd think this was the best amp in the world. It isn't. I also own a Peavey Delta Blues 210. It is worth every cent I paid for it and the lead sounds I can get out of it blow the BelAir away. But hey, to each his own. To those interested in trying this amp I'd recommend buying it new from Carvin because of the return policy they have. If you buy it used you'll have a hard time getting your money back out of it. If you DO want a used one... let me know. If someone stole it I'd replace it with a Peavey Classic 50 2121BT.

Amp purchased new in fall 2000. Same as all other Carvin Belair 212's

Amp was OK until you change the tubes from GT Sovteks. I use mainly single coil guitars. Changing tubes to JJ from
Bob at www.eurotubes.com will turn this into a "new" amp. Totally woke up both clean and drive channels to the "sound" I liked. Amp was way to bright stock, much mor useable tone controls with JJ's. While no Super Reverb, this amp is great and I like it alot. For a smaller combo with 12's it's right up there.

Been Ok

Got a schematic from them no problem.

I've been playing 35 years and owned lots of amps, this is right up there as long as you go to NOS or good tubes like JJ's.

Standard features. Its a vintage tube amp, nothing unique about it.

I use a MIM Strat and a Carvin AE-185. I play Jazz, Blues, Rock - jam band like. The amp did have a rattle in it which bothered me. The Clean channel was good, I could get some great tones out of it with the Carvin, but I couldn't get the classic clean SRV strat sound out of it. I played it pretty loudly (around 5) and it didn't break up, but I have a feeling it wasn't loud enough for me.

The worst part is the distortion. At VERY low amounts of gain it was useable, but if you went much past 4 the gain or 'soak' was horrid. On the upper register of the neck the notes came through like fart, I can't explain it but it was just horrible. It was the same way when I plugged in my tubescreamer.

If you want CLEAN ONLY this amp will work, I rate the clean at about a 7 or 8. If you want any distortion at all, even with pedals don't look at this amp. I give the 'soak' channel a 2 or 3 in tone.

I know a lot of people love this amp, but thats especially after changing to JJs and doing mods. I want something that sounds good out of the box.

It had a slight rattle. But was overall quite well built. I have a feeling it could stand some damage

Carvin is helpful and friedly. My guitar shipped with a burt out 12AX7 and Carvin shipped tubes as fast as possible. It took a week unfortunatly because its cross country, but they were helpful.

WARNING: I'm not going to experiment much more with Carvin because I can't afford the $70 return shipping. I was convinced that the Bel-Air was the amp for me, but it didn't work out.

I've played 6 years, and I'm just getting into Tube amps. I fiddled around guitar stores for a few days and I ended up with the Fender Hot Rod Deville 4x10. The Gain isn't top notch, but with my tubescreamer it sounds really good. The Clean is just as good, and it gets better Strat tones if you ask me. I'm having trouble getting a good clean on my Carvin though. I think the Carvin PUs might need to be changed out for something better.

Basic features, somthing I wanted in an amp, tubes, gain, reverb, and volume. I like to keep things simple and this amp fits that requirement. It does have two channels, clean and lead/drive. effects loop, foot pedal for channel switch and reverb on/off. I use this amp for studio and gigs. Has plenty of power, loud 50watts. Played it next to my 50watt ampeg reverberocket head with 4-12's the carvin kept up nicely, I was impressed. This is the Bel Air with the older vintage speakers not the GT's. Overall the looks of the amp are very nice vintage style, nicely done tweed tolex.

I use a variety of guitars and pick-up combos. I have a gibson sg with two humbuckers(stock) and coil taps, a Les Paul with two humbuckers(stock), a telecaster with Lindy Fralin blues specials, and a Epiphone Sheraton II with stock humbuckers. The amp fits my style nicely, I like to play a variety of music from blues to country to jazz to rock, sometimes too many varieties of music. I feel this amp can work well in any of those styles.

The amp only seems to make noise when the guitars are around the computer other than that nothing noticable.

The clean chanel stays real clean for me even at higher volumes. I did however change out the tubes with JJ's sound on the drive channel was not as muddy at the lower volumes and a bit more defined than the sovtek's(I believe that is what was in it, I know some of them had the GT stamp over the sovtek stamp).

The distortion is basic head on tube crunch, it can vary from mild country with a bit of grit to bluesy cream then up the soak a bit higher a get some solid rock tone.

I feel I can depend on it, but it is a tube amp so take your chances if you may. I have not had any problems with it for the 8 months I have used it.

I have been playing about 17 years. I have the Bel Air, a Fender Twin Reverb, an Ampeg 4-12 reverbrocket and a small peavey(transtube). The Bel Air sounds very nice compared to the other amps and when hooked up to four speakers, open or closed back cab, it sounds extra nice. I feel the Bel Air is possibly the best amp I own. I have played a lot of amps through the years and haven't palyed any that outshine this one, they may sound as good/same as the Bel Air but hard to say any sound better. Good amp to purchase, if your reverved about ordering through the mail don't be, it took me a year to finally decide to order it, I am glad i did.

Purchased new from Carvin mail order in July 2002.
Nice vintage 50W 2x12 combo, and is loud.
Original tubes sounded terrible with my setup, and I almost returned it.
The effects loop did not work well with my setup for some reason (see below).
I did a lot of research, and wanted to try this amp to get a bigger, deeper, clean tone when needed, and a warmer, thicker, tube tone than my smaller 1x12 MusicMan.

2 channels are good, foot switch is okay but could use an LED as many others have suggested.
Dual inputs would be a nice addition also.
The plastic handle does not seem strong enough for the weight (catalog shows a thick leather handle), and it could use detachable casters like a Fender.
The chicken-head knobs are neat, but could be too easy to move the wrong knob when moving with fat fingers if the "points" are adjacent.
Otherwise excellent features and value for the $$. (SEE COMMENTS ABOUT TUBES!)

I play Strats with single coil pickups: DiMarzzio Fat Strats and SD Hot Rails in one Strat, stock pickups and a DiMarzzio Fat Strat in another. I play a wide variety of cover and original music, but enjoy 60's 70's harder rock and Hendrix, SRV, Trower blues rock styles.
Effects include an early '80's Tube Screamer, Cry Baby Wah, and a newer Zoom GFX-4.

BEFORE CHANGING TUBES: Rating 4
This amp was initially way too loud to get the blues/rock tone I wanted by pushing the power and pre-amp tubes.
I had to keep the clean and gain channel volumes on 1.5 max.

I was disappointed with the tone and drive of the gain (2nd) channel.
The soak preamp volume adds scratchy, gritty distortion, and I ended up putting the Treble control to 0 just to get rid of the high-end
raspy/buzziness from the gain channel. I was very close to returning the amp since I could not get a good sound at all.

AFTER CHANGING TUBES: Rating 10!

I talked to Carvin, and they said "that's how it sounds with single-coils".
I did a little more research, and worked with Bob from Eurotubes (http://www.eurotubes.com/). He gave excellent recommendations, and I ordered a complete set of replacement tubes from him for $75 (I figured it was worth a try, since I'd lose $80 in shipping if I returned the amp anyway). Bob was very accomodating, and sent them quickly since I had a gig a few days later.
NOW all of the raspy harsh crap tone from the original tubes is gone.
VERY nice and creamy overdrive from the Soak channel, and VERY clear, distinguished, defined tone from the Clean channel without brittleness. I can NOW get anywhere from a chicken-pluckin' "Hot Rod Lincoln" tone to "Sunshine of your Love" sustain, and use my effects to get Marshall crunch when needed.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND REPLACING THE STOCK SOVTEK TUBES!!!!!

I used it for the first time at a 6 hour outdoor picnic gig in the hot sun, with no problems.
I've used it 3 or 4 times since, in addition to basement practice.

No problems with anything so far.

Very good when helping track the UPS shipment.
No damage when shipped, as some users have reported.

Other users indicated that Support would work with you regarding tube and speaker issues, but the guy I talked to just went and plugged in a Strat in the back room to test the sound, and said "that's how it sounds, not much we can do". Very friendly, but not much help with my tone problems.
I would have sent it back if I hadn't found the Eurotubes website.
Carvin would get Zero returns on these amps if they invested a little more in better tubes, or else give customers better tips on how to improve the sound for use with single-coil pickups.

I have been playing Classic Rock and other styles in working bands for 25 years. I am partial to tube amps, and I just don't care for the digital stuff.
I've been using a small miked-up 50w 1x12 MusicMan tube combo for the last 15 years, but finally wanted something with more meat and volume without breaking up.
I tried the Fender Hot Rod DeVille 2x12, but found it to be too loud, have poor tone, and mushy overdrive. Not worth the $780, for sure.

OVERALL-
AFTER CHANGING TUBES, I LOVE how this amp sounds!!
SEE www.eurotubes.com for great advice from Bob:
The vintage look is uniquely great, and it appears to be a strong workhorse that can produce almost any tones for most styles of music.
You will still need an effects box for Marshall crunch tones, but otherwise you can get EVERYTHING else out of this amp!
I would definitely buy another if I lost it!
I'd never spend $1000+ for a Fender or other amp.
I never tried a MesaBoogie, but I bet this is as close as you'll ever get for less than $600!!

Bought in 1998.
The features are already documented.
I was using a Fender Vibrolux, which I loved, but which was not as
versatile as I'd like -- esp in the areas of overdrive and channel
switching. I didn't want to mod it, so I was looking for something similar, but with more features. I also wanted something with 2x12's,
instead of the Vibrolux's 2x10's, which tended to fart a bit when hit
hard.
The Bel Air was a foot-switchable 2x12, with an overdrive channel,
so it seemed like a good place to start.

I was pretty excited when I got the box delivered to work -- could not
believe how little it weighed compared to any Fender I'd owned. It
looked good, too.
I got it home, and plugged in one of my stock '70's strats. Everything
fired up as it should have done. Turn it on, and...
Ugh. Very squishy at the low end, very spitty at the high end. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the mids out, or the bass or treble to focus -- all honk and fur.
The clean channel wouldn't clean up, and I found it impossible to get
any low-E "clang" (that nice, tight, metallic clang of a clean Fender
when you whack the low E.)
Having said all of this, I want to quickly point out that I had no
previous experience using EL84-equipped amps. Carvin may not use the
best tubes, but the "problems" I was having are just characteristics
of the EL84. After playing through 4 or 5 other amps in the same price
range, I came to the conclusion that I just don't like the EL84 sound.
So, though the amp's sound was disappointing to me, I don't want to
scare anybody off.
I would probably really like this amp if it used 6v6 output tubes,
which are a little more focused-sounding, while still breaking up
nicely when pushed.
I did really like the sound of the reverb -- it was pretty understated
and smooth.
For me, it's a 5. For someone else???

It worked fine out of the box. I sent it back, though, so I'm going
to pass on this.

I've generally heard good things about Carvin's service, but let
me throw this story out, just as something to consider:
My guitar tech showed me a schematic Carvin had sent him so that he
could repair one of their amps. It was a completely illegible
photocopy, creased and half-destroyed before he even got it. So
hang on to the schematic you get with the amp -- otherwise you may
not exactly get a cooperative attitude from these guys when you
attempt to get your amp field-serviced. If you buy one used, ask
the previous owner if he still has the paperwork.
The documentation supplied with the amp is quite decent --
just keep it dry in the back of the amp for when you need it.
I personally have had no direct service dealings with Carvin, so
I'm offering no numerical opinion.

I've been playing 25 years. I have 4 Fender amps (Hot Rod DeVille,
Princeton Reverb, Quad Reverb, and 83 Concert. Many single-coil
guitars (mainly '70's Strats and Teles.)
The DeVille ended up being the amp I bought and kept after I'd
returned the Carvin. It has its shortcomings (wish it had Carvin's
reverb, for instance) but it gives me the low-end and high-end
definition I need (6L6 tubes.)
All in all, I just don't like the EL84 sound for my own playing.
Since that's the Bel Air output tube of choice, well...

This amp was built in 2002 and carries the richer celestion-like speakers rather than the VL12s from last year. Since I play mostly clean or with a small amount of gritty distortion, I have found the Belair to be perfect for my taste. The first channel sounds a lot like my '64 Twin Reverb, very clean, but has a slight more break in it. The second channel has the "soak" feature that overdrives the preamp tubes. This channel is great for "bluesy" leads. Since I use external effects only and do not add overdrive, I am quite happy what is on the amp. Since I mostly jam at home, and my gigs are at small clubs, the 50 watts are more than adequate.

I play a new american tele and a '70 strat (no humbuckers), and the sound is great both clean and with overdrive. I flat pick and finger pick, and the twang with the pads of my fingertips and the back of my nails is very natural and surprisingly bright through the clean channel. If you turn up the clean channel, you can give it a Deluxe Reverb-like punch and warmth. Granted, the Belair is not a Mesa Boogie, but you don't buy it because you're into metal or grunge. It's more like a vintage Fender (deluxe or super).

I've only had the amp for 2 months, but I've had no problems with it. I've gigged only twice with it, and without trouble.

I haven't had to use customer support yet, but when I bought the amp through one of their retail outlets, they didn't have the pedal, but told me they'd send it out as soon as it came. I received it express mail 5 days later.

I've been playing for 34 years, but have alternated between acoustic and electric. I own a '64 Twin Reverb, and a Line 6 Flextone II (which I plan on selling. I have found that one amp sound quality is good enough for me with modulation. Amp modeling is flat and artificial. If the amp were stolen, I would definitely replace it. For the price and the reputed reliability, it's the best I've ever had, and I've had a Marshall 100W, Hiwatt 50W, '64 Twin, '67 Twin.

Separate channels with different settings easy to operate and can change with footswitch or toggle switch on front of amp. Most features are spelled out below.

I play a early edition Charvel and switched the neck pickup to a single coil and kept the humbucker on the bridge. I was pleased with the amp and its performance for clean and blues leads and particulary impressed with the Keith Richards drive you could achieve on rhythm with the soak on 3. After 6 months or so I wanted to get a much heavier distortion and the amp didn't produce. I tried a Big Muff and for me it just killed the effects of the tubes. I went and bought a Mesa Boogie Solo Recto-Verb Combo for $1,300 and it is a beast. All the sounds are in there but it can be extremely overpowering. After another 6 months it became a little grating and uncontrollable unless I was really on top of my sound (which doesn't happen as much as I would like).
I went back to the Carvin and really enjoyed it. I researched tubes which I knew nothing about. Loaded in about $150 of tubes (main tube in V1 preamp is a Mullard)and the sound is remarkable. Everything I want in an amp including creamy distortion.
My favorite sound on the amp is still there, which existed with the stock tubes. Volume on guitar down (so I push the tubes more with the amp's volume), Channel 2 with soak on 5 and humbucker and picking ever so gently I get a beautiful chime with wonderful harmonics coloring the sound. Adn then I can add bite with pick attack.
Anybody want to buy a Mesa Boogie? Only kidding, it may be good to fall back on one day.

Never a problem.

Asked them a number of questions regarding tubes and they were very helpful.

Great amp. Can't wait to play it everyday.

2 footswitchable channels (clean and "soak"), separate EQ (bass, mid, treble) for each channel, master reverb (footswitchable), basic FX loop (no controls)--> based on tribal knowledge/common wisdom and my experience with this amp, any type of modulation or delay effect should be run thru the loop, as the front-end of the amp is somewhat sensitive about what you plug into it --> will take a wah and an overdrive pedal readily (I use Budda products in that regard), but is real "picky" about compressors (I tried a Boss, Aphex, and a Presonus - in standard guitar configuration, all three generated excessive noise, the Presonus being the least noisy); a "presence" knob that only applies to the clean channel --> brings out the really top-end freq's --> this would've been more useful applied to the "soak" channel, as the clean channel is already quite bright sounding (see "Sounds", below); pre-amp out, ext. speaker out, 4-8-16 ohm switch, 2x12" Carvin "Vintage" series speakers, 5x12AX7, 4xEL84 -- this amp is very responsive to different tube brands.

My set-up: Fender Lonestar Strat --> Budda BudWah --> Budda Phatman --> Carvin BelAir --> fx loop --- Guyatone VT-X tremolo --> Roland GP-8 (primarily for delay/chorus only - controlled w/a Rolls Midi-Buddy). Clean channel has its own thing going -- bright and chimey, let's the Strat sound like a Strat -- the EL84's really "hunker down" with the guitar volume up, so much so that I go without a compressor. "Soak" channel can be dialed into some nice overdrive, but is not suitable for my single coils -- too "dark" sounding, even with the amp and guitar treble up -- too much amp (past 7) treble, and this channel gets overly hissy. With a humbucker (in my case, a Duncan Pearly Gates) and the guitar's treble adjusted to taste, the soak channel is much more appealing, but it still has a "rolled-off" sound, akin to Jennifer Turner on Natalie Merchant's "Tiger Lily" CD. I've found it to be of limited use, but the clean channel with the Phatman more than makes up the difference. Both channels articulately reproduce the freq's they showcase - no flabby bass tones here -- however the clean channel can be "ice-picky" if you don't pay attention to the guitar's treble setting. That's one thing that I really like about this amp, though -- it let's me work the tone from the guitar very nicely. The reverb isn't what I'd call "surf" quality (doesn't have that warm, over-the-top Fender attribute), but is otherwise pleasing and plays well with delays. Volume-wise, I've yet to have to mic it, and that includes playing some good-sized halls -- highest volume setting I've played is 7. Other amps that I'm comparing it to (i.e., my point-of-reference): '65 Fender Pro-Reverb, re-issue Fender Super Reverb, Budda Verbmaster 2x10 (a spankin' amp!) and 1x12, Marshall 9001 rackmount tube pre-amp, and a Dr. Z 18 watt 1x12. It's hard to beat the value of the Carvin.

The footswitch broke early on; the reverb tank does not come in an enclosure nor is it secured to the amp -- it soon developed an annoying rattle due to the sonic beating it was exposed to -- I cannibalized a bag from another amp and screwed it down to the box and now it's fine. One of the power tube retainers (not the socket) vibrates against the tube and I keep having to re-tension it. I've had it for two years now, haul it around in and out of my car's trunk to weekly rehearsals and gigs and it has otherwise held up nicely. Nice weight and size for gigging.

Usually accessible and very easy to work with -- sent me a new footswitch w/in 2 days, no questions asked.

I started playing 30 years ago, started gigging 26 years ago, backed off it from 1980-1995, went back to the "woodshed" in 1995, and started gigging again about 5 years ago. The one thing I've learned (and this just my opinion)is that it doesn't matter how technically competent you are musically if your sound is not appealling to listeners, and there's more to sound than just technology (Uh, I guess that's 2 things I've learned ... cool). The Bel Air does a nice job of translating my style and limited technique into something that's pleasing to the ear, and it's tough to beat the price. Other amps may sound better, but (imho) not a $1000 better.