Carvin MTS3200

It is a 2001 model, ive had it for about 4 months now, this is my first review. Its a 2 channel 100/50 watt amp, effects loop and reverb are included, loop is not switchable though. I rarely use the reverb because it makes the distortion channel sound like poo. The amp is loud, but not brutal. If i need louder i would mic it. oh yea its tube.

I use a gibson les paul studio with a seymour duncan jb in the bridge (my fav guitar in the world).It comes pretty close to the sound in my head. Over all it has very good dynamics. I really dont understand why people are complaning that it doesnt have enough gain for metal. Jesus christ this thing has more gain than a recto, i know ive played one. The sounds i can get out of this amp are pretty damn close to the ones i hear in my head/ fav records. As for the clean channel its so awesome. Clean all the way to 10, if anyone is looking for a clean amp i would get this one before fender, and not have to take out a loan.
All i can say is its a great sound, perfect for modern or classic tones.BTW it sounds good cranked. I give it a 9 because nothing is perfect and tone is subjective.

This is where the points fall. The first mts i got crapped out at a friends house. I sent it back and got a new one, but for a month or 2 before i got to take it out again it got me worried. I dont have a backup so its kinda scary. I wouldnt buy it again though. The new one works fine.

The company really cares about there customers. when i called to ask about the probem they sent me a new one without me even sending the old one back, credit card collateral though. Very nice people.

ive been playing long enough to know good tone when i hear it, and this has good tone. Its also a really good deal which carvin could easily charge twice as much for. i wish they didnt waste time on a reverb though.

I got this half-stack about 3 or 4 months ago so it's probably a 2000/01 model.
Here's the details:2 channels - clean and not clean. Both have low,mid,high. Gain channel has a gain and presense control. The clean channel has a presense button. It's got an effect loop and an ohm selection switch. One of my favorite features is the 50/100 watt selection switch. The only thing I wish it had was one of those solo knobs like on the Mesa Rectos but it was an 80 dollar fix. I'll explain later....

Alright, I use Squier Std Strat with a DiMarzio Super Distortion and PAF Pro, Essex Flying V, and a Essex LP Junior. I play Metal/Punk/Grunge/Rock type stuff and I think the amp is just perfect. The clean channel is great sounding. I mean it's just flat out amazing. It's got a lot of head room too. I don't think I've ever gotten it to distort. I should point out that I don't use the amps reverb and I'll tell you why in a second. The gain channel reminds me of a Mesa crossed with a Marshall while still having individuality. This is my ideal amp for my styles. I've heard a lot of people say you can't do Metal on this but that not true. I'm a huge Metallica fan and if you have a nice hot bridge humbucker, like a 500T, you can get a great metal sound. The amp is also very quiet which I like. Now, to the reverb. I don't use the reverb because when it's on it really changes the sound of the gain channel. If you plug in the footswitch and turn the reverb off on it it sounds amazing. It put this high buzzsaw type sound to it that I like. The only effect I use is a BOSS EQ pedal though the FX loop as a solo boost. I turn the mids and the volume up on it and it works just great.

I've never had a problem. I've been gigging with it for the last 3 months and not one problem. For now I give it a 10... but I suppose time will tell...

Carvin has always been very helpful. When we went to order a PA a few months ago they were out of the one we wanted so they sent us the model up at no charge. Great people.

I've been playing for about 5 years. I also own a Fender HRD and Deluxe 112 Plus. I'd replace this amp in a second if it were lost or stolen. The one thing that I got hung up about a first is that it didn't sound like I wanted it too. But it seems that as the tubes broke in it started to sound better and better. You cannot beat this amp for the price. I used to want a Mesa Recto but not anymore. I've gotten so many compliments on my tone and 3 other friends of mine have bought either the half-stack or combo after playing mine. This amp gets me the sound I've been looking for. What more could I want?

this amp rocks. it costs half the price of a mesa/boogie but sounds jsut as good if not better the gain channel is amasing i play a gibson gothic explorer throught it and is sounds ausome. never have i see an all tube amp for that price have such ausome gain!!!

sounds great see above!

it rocks

I bought this amp to replace a rather useless Peavey Bandit 112. The Bandit was fine for what I had been most recently using it for (home practice in an appartment). However, I have been recently involved in a band again, and I needed something that sounded good and had enough power to reach the folks in the cheap seats. I wanted something with a good amount of gain, since I play hard rock. THe Peavey 5150 was an obvious choice, however every one I tried had serious buzz issues. I wanted something with more crunch less buzz.

This amp is a 2001 Carvin MTS 3200 head. It's got 5 12AX7 preamp tubes and 4 5881/6l6 Power Tubes. It has 2 channels, a clean and dirty. An effects loop, Cabinet Voiced Line Out, a bias switch so you can change the bias range to utilize EL34 tubes...etc. As far as power goes, 100 tube watts is MORE than enough for anything I would ever need it for. If I needed more power, I'd friggin mike the thing.

There are two very minor issues that I have with this amp. #1 - The amp's knobs are in reverse order from the MTS Combo....and the Combo has the right order. For example, channel one is on the right and channel two is on the left. If I were chinese, I might apreciate this reverse listing....but i prefer to read things from left to right. #2 - This amp could use a master volume to control overall volume for both the clean and dirty channels, but as long as you dont let that bother you, it's so minor, it's almost not worth mentioning.

This amp sounds great. Like I mentioned before, I was looking for a high gain tube amp. I had looked at the Peavey 5150s, the Mesa Boogie Dual Rec's and the Marshall DSL 2000s. I had decided to take a chance on Carvin's MTS for a couple of reasons. The Mesa's had a very broken up distortion and at times they sounded muddy as hell. The Marshall's were lacking in the bottom end and gain and were they were quite pricy, to boot. The Peavey 5150's, as I stated before, were extremely buzzy...no crunch...and not alot of usable gain.

Like I stated before, I play hard rock and some classic rock. I needed something versatile enough to give me van halen style high gain but at the same time, gear back and get a smoth clapton tone. This amp is THE perfect choice for me. I can go from Stevie Ray Vaughan + Eric Clapton to Eddie Van Halen + John Petrucci in a turn of a knob or two. The distortion is smooth and usable, from the 1-10....not like on the Peavey 5150, where anything past 5 is useless.

There have been a lot of mention of clipping diodes used in the signal path of the MTS amps. If that's the one thing swaying you from buying an MTS, keep in mind that Marshall, Mesa, Fender, Peavey, Crate.....they've all used clipping diodes at one time or another in their amplifiers. Trust your ears, not some Alt.Guitars.Amps boutique amp snob. you'll be better off.

Oh...Not to take away from in by mentioning it last, The Clean Channel is the best clean channel I've ever heard on ANY amp...ever. Nothing compares to it. And for that reason, this sucker gets a 10 on sound. Without the Clean channel, I'd give it an 8.

Um...can't say much in this category. I've heard bad things about carvin amp reliability....but this is my second Carvin amp....and I've loved em both. Never had a single problem with any of them.

Carvin gives a year warranty on this amp...I think. Regardless, they've been fantastic during the sales process....since at one point I was torn between the legacy and the mts. They were quite helpful in determining my needs and pointing me in the right direction. My one complaint with Carvin is that litered among their extremely knowledgable sales people, are a few real idiots. So you might have to call, and if you get a real 'winner'....hang up and call again.

I've been playing for over 15 years. In my amp history, I've owned a Peavey Bandit, a Carvin SX 200 and an Ampeg VH-150 Head. This amp, so far, has been perfect for me. It's got *my* tone....which is something I landed on by accident. If this amp were stolen, I'd probably buy another one....maybe give the legacy a try instead. The one thing I REALLY loved about Carvin was the price. You simply can't buy a tube head at that price, from any other company....unless you go the beat-to-shit used route. If this thing breaks down, dies, or gets stolen...I wont feel that someone stole my wifes engagement ring. I'd like to add a Line6 Flextone amp to my gear....since the Flextone will give me incredible amp versatility...and I can keep the Carvin at home for recording and those 'special gigs'

All i cna say is Wow! I sold my Marshall DSL for this thing and I am so happy. I have now owned a Fender, Marshall, Crate, and Peavey head. This is my last buy ever! This thing is beautiful. I though my Marshall was it, but the distortion and depth of this amp makes my Marshall sound like a Gorilla Amp. I bought the Marshall for the name, and I bought this one for the sound. Save yourself HUNDREDS of dollars and get a BETTER amp. The clean channel is so warm it is incredible. You could use this is the house for yourself or take it outside and play a gig for the whole neighborhood. It is LOUD and clean all the way through. The BEST Tube amp I have ever owned. I have Groove tubes in it and play a Les Paul Standard and a Jackson model 6. They both sound great.

Great sound. Great Clean and great distortion. Incredibly versatile. If you play Blues or Metal, this amp can do it all. No humming or popping EVER! Clena and warn. Blows my Marshall out of the water! Sometimes use a BOSS MT-2 and Digitech RP-200. Clean and no humming or any noise of any kind. Sounds great through and through.

Never had a problem. Never gigged it, but I am sure it could stand it. Built like an Iron horse! Sounds great and never lets me down.

Never needed support, but I hear they are great.

Been playing for over 15 years, and this is the BEST piece of equipment I have ever owned and I try EVERYTHING! It is awesome. I will never SELL it!! It is mine forever!!!

This is a 2000 model, spring reverb and when you turn it off it wont cut the "tail" of the reverb so it sounds more natural. 2 channel, master reverb knob, lead channel presence. I replaced the factory 5881 tubes with EL34s from groove tubes so it sounds really nice now, before it had a little noise and was putting out a lot more mids, also sounded a bit muddy with the 5881s. I wish it had separate reverb and presence knobs for both channels.

I play a modified Ibanez RG270 (modifications were all new duncan pickups and original floyd rose) I play hard rock, punkish stuff this amp seems to suit it quite well, although i would have liked the clean channel to be a bit sharper sounding. I've played rockabilly type stuff through this using my middle singlecoil and the treble all the way up and it will make your ears bleed but i think thats the only way to get that type of sound...now, if you want pantera style stuff that is just awesome on this amp, if you turn the drive all the way up and try to palm mute it, it doesnt even sound palm mute theres so much getting picked up in the amp.

I only had to replace the power tubes once so far thats cuz 5881s kinda suck in this amp, and yea i would gig without a backup, i've left it on for quite a long time in a semi humid room and it hadnt dampened the sound or anything at all, seems to be real sturdy also.

no need to deal with them, 90 day warranty on it if that helps at all?

Overall it can kick a lotta ass if it needs too or it can be as delicate as spoongebob bunnypants? I chose it cuz its all tube, sounded good, cheap...(i'm 17), and also because my friend baught the R1000 bass amp and that sounded superb so i thought i'd give it a try

This is a follow up review to an earlier post.

Well, for almost two years now I have been gigging with this amp. I recently made some mods to mine, and it absolutely kills!

Although I have always been more than happy with this amp, I found out that the British Series speakers in the matching cab are a serious weak point. I replaced them with Celestion Vintage 30s, and sheeeeeot, this amp came to life! I can hear overtones and dynamics I could never hear before. The V30s are crisper, clearer, louder, and have a detailed response the BS Carvin speakers just don't have -- they are just too dark sounding. The difference is night and day, and now the amp sounds better to me than anything else I've ever played. Change them speakers!

In addition, I also replaced the original 5881 power tubes with Electro-Harmonix EL34-EHs. This changed the character of the amp in a big way. To me, the EL34s sound more musical than the 5881s. The 5881s are more grainy and more hi-fi sounding than the EL34s. This, of course, all comes down to personal preference. I like the smoother, thicker sound of the EL34s....and they are cheaper than 5881s to boot.

All said and done, I made a few mods and made an already great amp a fantastic one. The sound of this amp turns heads and raises questions every time and every where it is played. The reliability has been perfect as well. It makes a jackass out of the guys who spend $3000 on an amp head and have nothing more to show for it than I do.

Peace in the 'hood!

THIS IS NOT A TEST! If you are serious about your playing you really owe it to yourself to try one of these heads.I have a 1998 MTS3200 head that I bought new from the factory.I play mostly modern experimental rock and fusion sort of stuff and this amp really cuts the STRANGE CARGO thing upside down!All the stuff you like:clean and lead channels {footswitchable}I dont use the effects loop{it has one}because it tends to pick up a bit more noise than I like.I drive this with an A.R.T.SGX2000 Express into a pair of Marshall 1960ax cabs and it's more power than I can stand! Using earplugs is the only way to hear what this thing is really about.I re-valved it with the Groove Tubes E34LS and 12ax7a's and the tone just sings.Get with the program Carvin!Start shipping all your tube amps with Groove Tubes.I dont really care for the sovtek or the 5881 sound {which are supplied with the head}but re-valve this puppy and you are in for the tone of your life.Footswitchable effects loop acts as a 6db gain boost when not in use.Almost as much fun as the dirty channel!

I use this with primarily humbuckers on a bunch of custom guitars and always have more than enough gain.I dont want to use a power brake as it will just eat tubes faster than playing wide open all the time.Playing arpeggio's in the clean channel is very well articulated and crisp:the notes ring true even at faster speeds.I play alot of tetra harmonies and arpeggio's and alot of very fast lead lines and the tone is very balanced and powerful.The lead channel is sooooo brutal:it will turn your hair gray.The grind of the amp is very gradual but as you increase the drive,it gets a real liquid metal sort of roar.The clean channel is definitely more than enough gain and grind for most of my applications,this wide open sounds better than alot of Fenders and Marshalls lead channels.The lead channel is simply the most brutally hohnest amplification I've ever heard.Anything you can throw at it times a hundred.REALLY saturated.I use the clean channel with single coils for rythym work sometimes and am able to get a real nice jangly sparkle off of my Fender Amer. Deluxe Telecaster.It can get really chunky and fat too @ the higher volumes.I also use alot of different effects and the realism is really outstanding.The delays,reverbs,ring modulations,phasers,flangers,etc all sound genuine and authentic.The on-board reverb on this amp is a bit thin for my taste,I usually use it in addition to the SGX to really fatten it up.By itself it is kinda light though.

Never had any problems with it or Carvin's customer service dept.They have been very helpful and knowledgeable regarding technical clarification of certain things.I dont use this for gigs:it is strictly studio equipment but I would'nt hesitate to use it at a gig without a back-up.I give it a 8 here to give the benefit of the doubt to performance applications.

I never have had a problem with the customer service,they are very knowledgable and helpful.Sometimes they get so busy that they aren't always prompt.2 year warranty parts and labor {not including tubes}

I am definitely getting another one of these to stereoize my rig.The rest of my studio includes about a dozen guitars,ten tube amps of various makes and models,and about 40k's worth of recording equipment{
consoles, processor's, synths,15 piece drum kit,etc,etc....IF this was stolen I would definitely try to replace it if it was still available.
I played everything on the market at the time including Marshall's, Fender's,Soldano's,Matchless,VOX,Groove Tubes Soul-o-matic,Ampeg,Mesa Boogie,blah,blah,blah, the only thing I liked was going to run me close to 2 grand for the head alone!SO, not being one to throw money or prestige around like the nearest nerfball,I opted for the Carvin Head and am so very grateful I did.The most real value built in on the market right now.If you must throw your weight and money around for the sake of status or conformity,get a Trace Elliott Speed Twin,or the Marshall TSL 100 or even the Soldano,but real value always speaks louder to me than any supposed reputation ever could.I have been playing guitar for twenty five+years and have no intention in stopping now or anytime soon.The Carvin head represents the best in advanced engineering coupled with a vintage respect for quality and that pretty much says it all.

Purchased in 1998 from carvin.Very cooltone when cranked. Not gonna get into the features, enough of them on other reviews. I use this amp every day cranked between 7 and ten. All i can say is nice. For those reviews that bash this amp for having bad tone. All i can say is you need to learn how to play. If more gain is needed then most likely these people use the noise to cover what they can't do.Sorry! i just hate these little grunge punks that popped up over the last 10 years and call them selves musicians.Learning three chords and not learning how to tune a guitar first is not someone that i would be taking advise about tone from! Again sorry,todays music is a joke to me. Anyway, this amp is used with a carvin tweed 212 that i won from them. (thank you very much) and a home made 212 loaded with green backs.Guitars used are..... Gibson firebird, gibson nighthawk stanard, american standard strat, carvin sc 90. I've got the tone covered for rock and blues! Rock mostly 60's through early 80's. The best times in music for raw tube tone.I have swapped out the 5881's for el34's. To me it was a major step forward in classic hardrock tone!! Squashy sounding,creamy and compressed.

Use humbuckers and singles. The overdrive sounds great with the gain between 5 and 7, volume on 6 to 9, presence off. this knob is kinda nasty. Everything else pretty much is a mood thing.The clean is very clean but if you crank it past 5 with a strat, SRV's lenny comes pooring out.

Oh boy. When i recieved the amp it did not work! I managed to located a cracked solder joint on the board and repaired it myself. It worked for a while, made some wierd noises once in a while then lost power. I said screw it and sent it back. They found more cracks but repaired it extended my warranty and this things going on two years of high volume abuse. the damages were frustrating but i don't blame carvin. I blame that noncaring bunch of dorks known as ups. Can you ever get anything in the mail unbroken these days? I would never travel without a backup. I don't care who made the amp!

Nice enough people if you don't get one of those kids on the phone. They took care of me fine. Sucks that there so far away. Need an east coast store please!!!!!

I have been playing for about 15 years, Im not one to buy amps every year i had been using some peavey stuff but i needed a thicker and more classic sounding amp. Its won't do what a mesa rectoverb will but what it does it does well. And the best part is that you can buy 2 of these heads for the price of 1 recto. Im gonna buy another one soon if that says anything. She's an old hotrodded marshall for $600.00, not bad. I play alot of hendrix, ted nugent, SRV, Gov't mule, allman bro's old and new blues, robin trower, some old metal etc. What can i say? This amp has what alot don't and that is one hell of a alot of tone for the money.If your tight with money, Go buy one anyway!

I bought this amp direct from Carvin in either 97 or 98. It is a 2 channel 100 watt head with reverb, effects loop, line out, 5881 power tubes stock with a bias switch for EL-34's. The amp came with a Carvin 412 cab with stock speakers. The amp is far better than lets say a 2700.00 Soldano.

For the style(s) I play this amp is supreme. Only at the highest gain settings was any real noise apparent. Sound wise it goes from crunch to fuzz in 0-60. The clean side is the best I've heard in an amp such as this. Mated with a Zoom 505 thru the FX loop some really superb high tech processed sounds come alive. Alone this amp excels at pure unadelterated tone. A real bargain for those not looking for a bargain sound. In other words, you get a Caddy for the price of a Corolla. The lead channell in conjuntion with your guitar's volume makes for a good crunch to lead transition without leaving anything behind. The clean channel absolutley will not break up without some persuasion from a TS-9 or Expandora set for stun. The reverb is great. Full out this amp is a tone terror with the highs, presence, and gain maxed but be warned, the volume is earth shattering. At any voloume this amp sounds great.

This amp can take Mike Tyson for 15 rounds with nary a scratch. As an example, my bass player once ran the head full up (with out my knowing) direct thru a board with out the speaker in place. As anyone with half a brain knows ruuning an amp such as this with no load without a power brake would spell certain doom, but alas the Carvin walked away laughing. I've had this amp for close to 3 years now and it has gone thru many a long night live and it still has the original tubes in it.

Never needed it.

To keep a long story short, please see my Marshall JCM 900 2502 review. However, in short, this amp cannot be beat by some of those other guys. I bought this amp soley on word of mouth from one of our engineers in the studio who had one. I haven't looked back since.