Carvin MTS3200

Good standard features. One gain, one master volume, plus the usual volume, treble, bass, and presence controls on a 2-channel amp

I gave an earlier review whose specifics I would like to clarify. The amp sounds fine, although it is somewhat low-gain. In order to solve this, I use an attenuator, and suggested that all 3200 users do the same. But folks, be very careful using it or you can damage the power tubes.

In most amps you have two controls: the gain, affecting the pre-amp tubes. The other is the overall volume control, affecting the larger power tubes. Different companies label them differently, like "Distortion"' or "Master Volume", but they both accomplish the same things. By setting the gain up and the volume down, you can have lots of distortion in low-wattage situations, like a small club or bar. But since the 3200 is so low-gain, but powerful, it needs a second level of gain in order to get it to sound a bit more modern and responsive, yet quieter and controlable. The attenuator does this by putting a dummy load between amp and speaker, allowing you to crank up the volume control to add an additional soak of the power tubes.

What I meant to say before in my previous critique was that you need to be careful not to set the overall volume of the AMP above about 6 or 7 tops, or you could be sucking your power tubes dry, and they'll blow early. Once you've plugged in the attenuator, the knobs on it become your overall volume controls, and you can adjust them anywhere, according to taste.

The use of an attenuator is common among bands who need the flexibility of turning down or up, depending upon the venue's acoustics, using the same amplifier for both bars and stadiums, and/or have a low-gain amp, like the 3200. Of course, if you have a decent P.A., you can mike any size amp and get it to sound like a stack, so there are different ways to do it. This is mine. Again, BE CAREFUL!

Built like a tank

Ups and downs. Overall, ok....

Ok, for what it is. It works, and sounds good.

Standard tone controls plus one master volume control. Versatile enough.

I set the distortion on 7 to 8, but it does get fuzzy as it goes up. I can make it sound ok with the controls, very mid-heavy, but it doesn't have much in the way of gain. It needs a second volume control, like an attenuator. Get a hot plate or something similar, and watch this amp come to life! Don't set it too high or you'll squeeze too much juice and blow your power tubes. I put it on about 6 or 7, but no higher. With this set-up you'll match up to most other amps in terms of gain--very responsive, finally, and the attenuator allows you to calm the beast down for lower volume levels. Of course, a hot plate will set you back about $400.00. So much for saving money....

Built like a tank.

I've had an up-and-down relationship with Carvin support over the last 30+ years, but as long as you don't ask too much of them, they're ok. I'm sorry, but there is a certain level of dysfunction among the staff.

As long as you use the attenuator, the amp will do pretty much whatever you ask of it. I have yet to see a Carvin mainstream amp that didn't need to be tweaked, added to, or modified in some way to get it to do what I want. Nearly every stock Carvin guitar amp has a sort of signature mid-range tone--ok for tweeds in a blues bar, but not so great for serious concert work. I wouldn't pay over $300.00 for one, and for that price, there are new amps out there that are way more versatile (Believe it or not, my Behringer 2x12 combo amp sounds way better for less than $300.00, but it has its drawbacks, as well).

Not sure the year this was made... Two channel (clean and lead) all tube amp (a total of 5 12AX7 preamp tubes and 4 5881 power tubes), independent EQ for each channel, reverb, presence, switchable effects loop.

Instantly sold on the sound. The clean channel is fat, responsive, and three dimensional. Takes pedals well, but it's a little bit less forgiving on distortion pedals than my solid state amp was... in other words, switching to this amp was like a magnifying glass on my pedal chain... and poorly dialed in sounds on the pedals will be easier to spot than with a cheaper amp. A couple of minutes of tweaking later, and I was in business. Great sounds out of the clean channel, and the EQ is very well designed and more effective than other guitar amp EQs. By that I mean that it's more than subtle, but in a good way. Also, the Mid control is centered on the right frequency for heavy roack. It does a lot more than just cut or add honk. Very impressed with the tonal qualities of the EQ. Also tons of clean headroom on this amp, even with hot pickups (Duncan Customs). Loud? Yes, loud.

The lead channel is surprisingly good. This amps lead channel uses clipping diodes to introduce gain, as opposed to more tube designs that rely only on tubes for overdrive and distortion. Seeing as I regularly use clipping diodes in my signal path (distortion and overdrive pedals) this was no big deal to me. Fortunately, this amp exceeded my expectations in the gain department. Massive heavy rock gain. For those people who claim this amp to be too fizzy, it's all about the presence control. With the presence at 12 o'clock, yes it starts to get on the harsher side. But tone it down to about 10-11 o'clock, and you get a powerful roar that I was not expecting. If you need more gain than this, an overdrive pedal between the guitar and the amp will get you there. It will get buzzy with the volume low, but you gotta crank it to smooth it out. That goes for most tube amps anyway. The lead channel does have a ton of low end, but this can be tamed quickly with the EQ. Those who have given this a bad rating because of poor sound must have gotten a bad apple or had bad tubes. Because I'm getting nothing but goodness out of this thing.

I would gig without a backup, but then again I just got it.

Not yet. Hopefully won't have to.

Overall, a killer amp for little money. Couldn't ask for more.

Carvin MTS3200 50/100 watt head. All tube two channels amp with one input, two line outs,voiced cabanet for direct to sound card or p.a. and effect loop. It also has 50/100 switch and a bias switch so no need to pay a tech to bias for you.

I " was" useing it with a gibson 335 humbucker. I was looking for a tube amp with power but didnt have the money for anything in the 100 watt range so i got lucky when i bought this on ebay. I all ways thought of carvin as cheesy guitar low end amp company, but this amp suprised me. The clean channel is the super star here. Its not only loud but it has tone to boot! THe amp came with mesa power tubes so it kinda sounds like a mesa/marshell amp. The overdrive is ok for me but if you play metal and just use the amp as your drive i would look else where, but if use a metal zone or any other pedal you can get the sound you want. I play alternative rock and punk and this amp works great for me.

Like with any tube amp you have to handle with care, And you never really know when a tube will go out on you. So put some new tubes in it and you wont have to worry about it for a while. Thats the stuff you have to put up with to get that tube sound!

N/A

I sold this amp 4 or 5 months ago and im writing this review now so that should tell you i miss it :( Its a good amp I bought mine for 450 with the cab but like i said i got lucky. I sold just the head for 325. If i where buying this amp head again i wouldnt pay over 350 for it. if i was buying the head and the cab nothing over 500.

The features can be looked up on the Carvin web site.

I mostly play 80s metal. I have had this amp a few years, and I am doing my final review. Overall, I have not been very happy with this amp. When I set the knobs two 12 as a reference point it is just not a very good sound. As a standard rock amp, it might work, but as a metal amp it just won't get it done. At 5, the drive is a nice rock drive, but the trouble comes when you move the drive. past 7. In order to get a good metal drive, it must be set at least 8. If the drive is set past 7 this amp gets a terrible hum. It is basically useless after about 7. I already put new preamp tubes in it. Secondly, the sound of the amp is more of a fizzy type of distortion. I prefer a more throaty growl. The other guitarist in the band uses a Eganator Rebel 20, and it definatey outshines the 3200. The clean tone is great.

Pretty good except for that darn humming afte drive is set past 7.

1. Good for 70,s rock, not metal.
2. Fizzy style distortion, needs more growl and bite.
3. Horrible hum after drive is set past 7.
4. Beautiful Cleans
5. This amp is loud but does not really cut through when playing with a band.
6. Softer overdrive rythms ok, but no good lead tone; doesn't sing and scream.
7.Notice how many people instantly change to the EL34s. This could be an indicator that people do not like the amp's tone out of the box and are trying to find ways to make it sound good.
8. I really wanted to love this amp. I think Carvin guitars are absoulely aweseome.

I have a 2006 model and play mostly rock and indie. Two channels, footswitch selectable. The two features that sold me on it were a) 100/50 watts selectable and b) the ability to use 6l6s or EL34s. I don't use the effects loop, but it does take pedals very well.

I mainly play a Gibson SG Firebrand, but have played a variety of Teles through it. And I run it into a custom 1x10/1x12 cab, with an Eminence Ramrod and Eminence The Governor.

Clean Channel: Enough can't be said about the clean channel, loads of headroom with power to spare. It takes every pedal I plug into it and just sounds amazing. Delays, overdrives, chorus, phase, always sounds exactly the way I want it to.

Dist. Channel: I like the dist. channel on this amp, with my set-up. With the gain set between 4 and 5, I get a nice driving dist., great for rhythm or lead. It does get a bit noisy with a treble booster in front though.

This amp has been around quite a bit. Never had a problem with it, and have gigged countless times since I got.

I've only dealt with Carvin once. Emailed them to get all the info on this amp I could and they were nice enough to send me the manual in pdf form, even sent me a link to download the schematic.

I've had my amp for the better part of 2 years now and would def replace it if stolen, broken, or lost (even though they're discontinued now).

Bought the amp about four years ago on Ebay. Had a severe problem that can only be described as microphonic crackling that came intermittently on and off with use. Even after changing tubes (GTs 6L6 and AX7) the problem remained. Tried EL34s also, but same problem. So the amp basically sat in my closet for years. Recently a friend of mine borrowed the amp and resoldered the input plug. Voila - problem gone! So I can finally start playing the amp. Many reviewers have noticed the shoddy wiring on these Carvins. Just resolder some joints.

2 Channels - clean and distortion, effects loop. 100 watt tube head through a Cavin 4x12 at 16 ohms (wish the cab were 8 ohms).

The clean channel is phenomenal and versatile. Takes pedals well. You can use it solely on the clean channel with distortion pedals and get a great sounding amp. A TC Electronic G-Major on the effects loop sounds awesome. Loads of head room here and can get really loud without distorting. The spring reverb sounds great on this channel. I have a 73 Fender twin silverface to compare and must say it is a different sound. Not as trebly and widely diffused as the twin. Probably on account of the closed back cab also. Overall, I'd give the clean channel a 9.

The distortion channel is serviceable. It's not as loud as I sometimes need (when playing in a band with other 100 watters). It can sometimes get drowned in loud bands. The distortion channel is way too bassy. Sounds nice at low volumes (under 3), but gets really muddy and unclear at higher settings. Roll the bass off under 2 at higher settings and you'll cut through much better. From there, playing around with the controls, you can get a range of dark to trebly sounds. Pedals make the distortion channel noisy, so be aware. The Tube Screamer can give an extra lift to solos even if it gets a bit noisy. It a decent enough distortion channel, but I sometimes prefer pedals on the clean channel to get the sound I'm looking for. This gets a 6.

Since resoldering the joints, the amp is very reliable. I haven't had a single issue with microphonic crackling anymore. Played in band practice and jam sessions and it sounds pretty nice. Keep in mind, my band is serious about dynamics and spacing of instruments, so we don't play at extremely loud volumes. This helps the amp cut through with the proper setup. If you're in a loud band, you'll probably get lost in the mix. The circuit board and wiring are shoddy and you can end up getting an amp with major problems. If changing tubes doesn't solve that, trace some of the soldering and it may fix the problem. Without the wiring issues, overall, it is very sturdy and built like a tank. Should last a long time. It's a 5 because of the shoddy wiring.

n/a

Fender American Strat with Lace Holy Grail single coils. Pedal board has a Morley wah, Ibanez tube screamer, Boss distortion (the cheap orange one), Boss EQ, Boss Chorus, and Ibanize analog delay. G-Major on effects loop. I play everything, jazz, fusion, classic rock, worship...

I've been playing some thirty years. Mostly single coil Strats, PRS and Gibsons. ES-333 sounds awesome on this amp. For the price I paid on Ebay this is a tremendous value (so long as you can fix it and set it up properly). The clean channel is phenomenal. The distortion channel is useable. Just wish the EQ had been set up different. Don't get me wrong, at low volumes, it works just fine, but way too much balsy, muddy bass at higher volumes. The bass rolloff (around 1-2) is finnicky, but once set up nicely, you can get a very good sound.

Not sure when this one was made, I bought it used and the guy before me had it for a couple of years. The amp is pretty versatile, not as much as a 3 channel head, but for metal, this is all I need. 2 channels, switchable with a button or footswitch, effects loop, reverb, you dont need to hear all this again. I wish is had a separate reverb for each channel. I use everything this amp offers. It really is great for what I need. I mostly use this thing in my apartment, but I also use it to jam with friends. Certainly has way more power than I will ever need.

I am using this amp with a see thru grey Ibanez SZ720FM with a set of Seymour Duncan Dave Mustaine active livewires, and of course, a Boss NS-2 running through the effects loop. Running it through an Avatar 4x12 with eminence legends. I changed out the tubes as soon as I got it for a full set of high gain JJ's from eurotubes. This thing is a beast. It really does sound amazing. The sound I am going for is similar to Killswitch Engage and All That Remains. This amp nails it. Gets really tight on the OD channel. The clean channel is literally the nicest clean I have ever heard with the most headroom I have ever seen. Since you can pick this thing up cheap used on the bay, its worth it just for the clean channel. You really have to crank it to get slightly dirty overdrive on the clean channel, so if that is what you are after, but you dont need that volume, I would say go with something else. I dont use the reverb that much, but it sounds really nice, especially on the clean channel. The louder you crank it, the better it sounds. I did some test recordings with the volume on 1, because thats as loud as I can play without getting in trouble from the neighbors and my girlfriend, but take it somewhere else and crank it up loud, loud, loud, and BAM its even better...which is hard to believe in the first place. Excellent lead channel for metal. Can even get some nice lower gain, classic rockish tones...but I dont play that very often. Responds well to pick attack and rolling off the volume cleans it up nice. Gives you different tones with different guitars and different pickups. Sounds good at low volumes, but really shines when cranked. All in all, this amp is pretty damn good for the 350 I spent on it. Actually its really damn good for the 350 I spent on it.

I would take this on a gig without a backup. Carvin makes some tough stuff. My cousin has had come PA speakers from them that have taken a beating. They are at least 10 years old. Amazing stuff there. I would trust this thing without a backup, but I would probably take one anyway.

Talked to Carvin once when I ordered a new footswitch. They were pretty cool. Took them freaking forever to ship the footswitch though.

I have been playing for about 11 years. I have owned tons of gear, nothing super fancy. I Love this amp. The only 2, maybe 3, amps that I would choose over this are a Carvin V3, Peavey JSX (I am not even sure about the JSX over this one, now that I have had this baby), and a Mako MAK4, which doesnt even exist to the public yet. For 350, I would certainly replace this if it was stolen. I was ticked because I saw one go for 265 the week after I bought this one. Maybe I should have waited, but whatever...this is definitely worth it. I love everything about it, minus the global reverb. I do wish it had a master volume too. Would be a nice feature, but the V3 has one. I wish I would have heard about this before I bought my Crate Blue Voodoo 4 years ago. I bought that stack for 600 bucks. I got this head for 350, and I found the cab at guitar center. They sold me the cab and a Peavey XXL head for 400 dollars. I sold the head on the bay for 400...basically got this kick ass Avatar cab for free. Cheapest tube stack I have ever seen and it sounds absolutely amazing. Compared to the Crate, which was in a similar price range, this thing completely levels the crate. Its lighter and I would trust it more as well. Features are pretty comparable, other than the wattage switch and the option for different tubes on the Carvin. I was looking to get back into tube amps from a samson power amp with an effects pedal, and this was the cheapest one I saw. It had good reviews, I talked to some people on the Carvin forum, then I decided on this. I cant afford a Mako or a JSX, so this seemed like a good choice...I was right...it certainly was.

I bought this amp in 2007. Features are 2 channel (clean, distortion), and the others listed on this page. There is an effects loop, and a footswitch is an option but must be bought separately. 100W tube amp for a pretty low price, so you can't argue with that. The channel switching is very loud; chalk it up to the wiring issues I've seen highlighted by negative reviews of the amp. I hear a loud "bang" when I change channels either manually or with the footswitch. There is reverb and it's decent. The EQ is good, and I don't have anything bad to say about it. Very basic setup, but the channel switching is **** because of the very audible sound it makes.

I don't know who "Steve" is, but he's obviously just an idiot and is probably trying to bash Carvin by giving everything a 1. Go run a Crate with a Metal Zone through it if you want a bunch of distortion and no tone. Anyway, the clean sound on this amp is very good. Crystalline even. It doesn't break up until you jack up the volume past 7, and that's even with a Les Paul. Great stuff if you use single coil guitars or wish to have great, clean, clear projection. It also doesn't get in the way of a distortion pedal. The clean channel is kind of a blank pallet really, so you can do what you want to it to get good tones. The distortion channel though is a tad tinny and trebly for my tastes. 80s rock distortion comes to mind whenever I use it. Thus I use a distortion pedal (VS Jekyll and Hyde) for my dirty tones.

I haven't used the Carvin very heavily to rate its dependability. Based on that loud channel switch sound, I should have it looked at by a tech to fix that problem. I'm gonna have the tubes switched out due to regular maintenance, and because like most reviewers here I feel it would help a lot. Who knows what'll happen if I start using it more often.

Haven't dealt with Carvin's customer service. Heard they are good, and I've heard those who didn't have such luck. Based on friends who've owned Carvin gear, I'm leaning on the side of good. I can't rule out idiocy on the part of the customer, as most musicians are really, really dumb.

I've been playing for 14 years. I play rock, metal, and whatever. I like the Carvin because it was a cheap tube amp. I also wanted to try a Carvin product and see what they were like. It's not bad really, but I would like to have either the Peavey Valveking or Mesa/Boogie Stiletto.

Clean channel, distortion channel, reverb, presence, EQ for each channel, etc. Effects loop, power switch (50 or 100 watts), 5 preamp tubes, 4 power amp tubes. The amp is not at all versatile enough for me because it doesn't distort much at all. I can get more distortion out of a pedal!

This thing barely has any distortion at all. I can get more distortion out of the average pedal. I actually retubed it thinking that the tubes were old but alas same conclusion just a really crappy amp. To add insult to injury the clean channel doesn't even have that much shimmer to it. Sometimes ppl love amps that can only do 1 thing well like a good clean channel but this thing can't do anything well at all! Plus it's a 50th anniversary model. You would think that they would do something special for that but alas it's a dud. It was terrible. I had to return it immediately!

I've had numerous problems with Carvin products so I would think it wouldn't have been reliable at all if I didn't return it. I had a Carvin guitar fall from a guitar stand to the floor. Not a big fall at all and not with much force. The headstock came off and shot right across the room! Carvin wouldn't help me with that at all. They just told me to throw it in the garbage! Then I had a mini pa from them die on me after only 2.5 years of seldom use! Plus they don't play ball like local repair people. They'll never ship anyone a part because they want all the repair work themselves. So imagine you have a crappy product die on you and then they want a flat fee no matter how small the problem and you have to eat shipping time and costs to and from CA. Do yourself a big favor and avoid Carvin!

They never deal with local repair ppl and they want all the repair work for themselves. When my guitar cracked in half they told me to throw it away. These guys are horrible!

Hardly any distortion at all and a clean channel without much sparkle at all. All in all it was as useless as a solid state amp from the 80's.