Carvin MTS3200

Same features as described already. 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 (EL34 in mine).

Nice features, though I wish it had a master volume. The effects loop works great!

I love the sound and am hugely impressed with the quality of this amp! Mine has EL34 tubes in the power stage, and is still using the factory GT tubes. I have heard that the sound is improved with replacement tubes, but even without having done that I'm impressed.

I am playing a variety of Es-335 & Les Paul guitars with various pickup types. I play either straight into the amp, or with lots of effects depending on the day. I am running the head into a 1960s Fender bassman 2x12 cabinet with new Eminence speakers (Ragin Cajun & Redcoat Patriot).

The clean is the CLEANEST I have heard, beautiful crystal clear bell like tones even when cranked. It outdoes the 1969 Twin Reverb I had, as well as my Hotrod DeVille, Peavey Classic 50 etc.

The distortion channel can produce a variety of tones, and is VERY sensitive to the EQ settings you use. You can drastically change the sound with a tweak of the bass, mid or treble. With full drive it reminds me of the Marshall JCM-900 Jubilee EL34 model amp that I had (but the clean channel on the Carvin is much nicer). Nice saturated distortion with a heavy bass thud when muting the strings. Beautiful sustain and feedback. An Ibanez ts-9 or Boss DS1 with drive turned down works GREAT before the amp for a little boost.

I play music along the lines of: U2, Trail Of Dead, Social Distortion, Interpol, Minus The Bear, etc. This amp is fantastic for any sound I have tried to get out of it.

So far so good.

n/a

I've very impressed. I've regretted selling the JCM900 EL34 amp that I had, and none of the other Fenders, Marshalls or Mesas I played had a sound that I was happy with. This Carvin is just what I've been looking for!

I've been playing since the late 80s. I've owned about 150 guitars, and close to 50 amps including 69 Twin Reverb, Fender Twin, Peavey Classic 30, Classic 50, Marshall JCM900, Hotrod DeVille, Deluxe, Pro-Sonic, Blues Jr, etc. I have played on many, many more as well.

Good features for a Tube amp 2 channels reverb impedance switch etc. very good for price.

Using carvin DC-127 with Dimarzio evolution pups play metal and hard rock suits styles perfectly. only noisy when cranked way up (expected) gates take care of that not a crap load of variety available like a modelling amp or whatever but for what it is I think it could cover just about any style music without sounding bad at all. clean channel has massive amounts of headroom even at highest volumes. Distortion is the Sweetest ive ever heard the only thing i can say is its all in the tubes pres and powers especially pre tubes for distortion this amp gives a very clear and true tube tone.

1998 model never had a single problem changed tubes in the power section once to E34l's and liked them a bit better although i think the 6l6 sound is a bit more suited for metal rhythm especially when cranked up loud. The 34's sing when playing leads really nice.

only dealt with them on the phone with questions about other products seem very kind and knowledgeable though.

been playing for 16 years own a peavey transtube 2x12 with built in effects and a schecter diamond series gutiar, would definitely but it or a Legacy or V3 if it died or got stolen or lost. Carvin really rocks never seen or heard anything buy them that looked or sounded bad.

Made in 2000, 50/100 watt 2 channel tube amplifier.

I've owned this amp for almost 6 years now, and it still amazes me with the amount of features for the price of this amp. It has 2 channels-clean and lead, effects loop, external bias switch (to choose between using 6L6GC/5881 or EL34 tubes), footswitch, 2 speaker outs, reverb, and a switch that changes the amp from 50 watts (using 2 of the power tubes) to 100 watts (using 4of the power tubes).

I'm playing a Fender Custom Tele with 2 DiMarzio humbuckers.

I'm gonna start from the top...

Clean channel - the best clean tone I've heard from an amp that costs less than $2000! I'm serious I bought this amp in 2000 when i was in 8th grade, and I still use it on every recording I do for clean tone. the clean channel has bass, mid, treble, and volume controls, and also has a presence switch that makes the clean sound brighter. The channel has very little breakup even at high volumes, and the eq on this channel is very sensitive, allowing you to customize your tone to however you like.

Lead channel - here's my only beef with this amp....basically you'd buy this amp for the clean tone. Don't get me wrong, the distortion channel sounds really good ESPECIALLY for an amp in this price range, but it just lacks personality in my opinion...just kinda boring sounding-lacks any brightness. The eq on this channel isn't sensitive at all, the distortion basically sounds about the same no matter where you put the knobs. A plus to this channel is that it has VERY little hiss, even for a high gain amp. Again, for the price, it CAN'T be beat!

I'm giving it an 8, because of the distortion tone. Still a very good amp, but the distortion just could be better.

Now this is the best part of the amp in my opinion...THIS THING IS A FREEKIN TANK!!!!! I've had it for 6 years now, its been on 2 us tours, and played many MANY shows, been tossed around, jossled in a trailer, dropped....AND IT STILL WORKS THE SAME AS THE DAY I BOUGHT IT!!!! If there was a higher score than 10 for the reliability of this beast, i'd give it a 12309498!

The customer support has always been very kind and returned my inquiries in a timely manner.

I've been playing guitar for almost 9 years now, I've owned countless heads, but I've always had the Carvin...it was my first head, and I'll never sell it! If it were stolen, I probably wouldn't buy another one, just because I have a Framus now, but I'd be pretty pissed. I'm gonna give it a 10 even with the mediocre distortion just because, at the incredibly, rediculously low price, you won't find a better amp...PERIOD!

A lot. See the features in other reviews.

The clean channel is the best i've heard!
The distortion channel is killer!
Man, I love this amp!
I just plug my Ibanez and play...
Sounds good with Les Pauls too.
The tone of the MTS 3200 is warm, smooth and has rich harmonics, it brings out the best of any guitar.
This amp is pretty noiseless, no hum or hiss.

I use a few boss pedals (a DS-1, hehe).
The reverb is a very good reverb.

Reliable? Totally, if take good care of it
No problems in 3 years.
It's a tank.

I don't know. Who cares? I don't live in U.S.A.

I've been playing for 10 years, and I've owned a Peavey 5150, and a Marshall JCM 2000. I've found this amp beats em' all.

This is a 100W monster.
I suggest you have a practice amp as well and use this for gigging and for practicing once in a while not every day.

Did i mention it is good value for money?

Brand new 06, This is my 3rd 3200 and I love them. I spent days trying to justify buying a new amp. I played boogies,kranks and marshalls and overall I just love the way this amp sings and grinds. The el-34 s sound better on the distortion channel but the 5881's are the best for clean. I wish the front was vented from the factory for better airflow but I modd my own. I play at home alot in a big jam room so its perfect.

I build my own guitars and worked at warmoth for awhile so strats and prs type of stuff. They all sound good on this amp. Clean is awsome, the distortion is sweet sounding and can get brutel. I use a 2x12 with v30 and a Marshall 1960a with 75 watters in it. Both sound great. Once again I love this amp and I just sent back a DSL 50 Marshall because it sounded thin cranked and the footswtch when going from clean to dirty dropped off the volume right when I needed it or it clicked and I cant tolerate that, thats crate stuff but my old JCM 800 is still god to me but they are hard to find and most are all chopped up from hacks.

NEVER HAD A SINGLE ISSUE WITH ANY OF THEM.

Never needed them

Been playing for 22 years. I own a Krank rev 1,Marshall JCM 800 and lots of guitars and 2 other Carvin mts3200 with different tubes and one has the voodoo mod. Not needed though. I bought the Carvin because way back I was being crusified by the IRS and was low on money so I bought one and loved it. Some amps take forever to dial in but the Carvin just comes right it. It aint the best at anything but its killer at everything. For the money its so worth it. Even my die hard Marshall freak buddy loved it. He's like that thing is BROWN BRO and he is a complete TONE FREAK. They are cheap off ebay but beware because alot of punks buy these and abuse them and think tube amps and solid state are the same and just mess them up and put tubes in that are not biased properly inn the right range. I know, I bought one off ebay and it had el 34's that were idling at 61 ma, total frizoid man, I set them to spec and the amp sounds killer to this day. The new ones are cheap and sound killer.

This is the 50th anniversary edition of the Carvin MTS3200 head. I play various types of metal and some jazzy stuff when I'm in the mood and this amp can take it all! Has none of that unneeded effects and knobs and you can dial in a tone you love right away.

Wow. This is where amp rules. The cleans are amazingly glassy clear and the distortion just rules. Even with the 6L6's it's amazing. If you're going for a more pure metal sound though, I recommend getting some EL34's and re-bias the amp.

I don't know about this one. I mean I love the amp and all but for some reason the amp kept getting messed up. The stock tubes in there getting going bad within days, and that's something that should never happen. It's happened with my previous head and I got another head in exchange but the problem happened with the tubes again. I don't know if it's the head or maybe Sovtek produced a batch of bad tubes and they happened to go in there.

Exceptionally good. They helped me out with everything, no questions asked. I would definately deal with Carvin again.

Overall, I gave it a 9 because of the reliability problems. I chose this amp because I've always heard such great things about it and when I tried it at NAMM '06, I fell in love with it! This is the first tube head I have ever owned and I can see why everyone loves that clear tube sound. If it was stolen, I would find the guy and destroy him! Nothing will keep me from having this amp. :)

2002 model, pretty straight foward, two channels, 3x eq on each channel. 100 watt model, I only run it on 50, plenty loud enough. Stock 5881's. I like simplicity, this amp is like that. I wish they would come out with a three channel version, I'd give a 10 if it had the third channel, a lead boost channel. Nothing a SD-1 won't take care of, it seems to like the Boss SD-1

I don't know why people aren't kicking down doors to get this head, Carvin got it right with the MTS 3200. Like all said before me, this is one of the best, if not the best clean you are gonna find. I let my Super go on Ebay a couple years back cause the Carvin outcleaned the Fender, hands down. Great reverb, good bass on the clean. Very workable. The distortion channel is great as well, I generally run it between two and four, great classic overdrive ala ACDC, Stones etc. Drive it above four and you pretty much can dial in any metal tone you're after. Very harmonic and responsive to your playing. To my ears this amp works well with the Boss SD-1 for a lead boost, tend to lose a little bottom end with the Boss but its the best matching I've found for a lead boost with the MTS. I use it with a Gibson Les Paul Standard DC with a JB bridge and 59 neck, bootiful. I also use a Gibson Les Paul Special DC with P-90's and a 40th Ann Fender Strat with Lace Sensors. If you can get past the hum of the P90's you can dial in perfect Stones in the 2-3 o clock postion. This head is damned near perfect, if it had a third channel I'd give it a ten. It has pretty good low end thunder as well, but I goose it just a little bit with an MXR Blue Six in the effects loop. Whatever your style, you can make this amp work for you. Someone a few threads back pointed out that this amp will bring your flaws foward and thats very true, it is very articulate and will expose you, especially with the Duncan JB and 59. I guess you get out what you put in. Its as good as anything out there, cept maybe the drake drive early 80's Marshall 2203's, thats tonal heaven. Oh I almost forgot, I use a Marshall 1960a cabinet with the MTS.

Hadn't taken a $%^& yet, I'll give it a ten.

Havent had to deal with them on any issues except getting me the head, hopefully I will never have to.

I've been playing 23 years now, been around and played thru alot of amps, Randalls, Marshalls, Fenders etc. I'm not gonna say its better or worse than any of the others, tone is subjective. I will say it can't be beat for the price, you will find the tone you are looking for with this head whatever your style, and you wont have to drop 2000 for a Mesa to get it.

Great little head... bought it to have as a "knock about" amp and it is turning out to be a real favorite!! My other amps are Marshalls so I liked the idea of 5881's as a change... but soon got sick of the "sloppy" sound so checked in a set of EL34's and WHAM... very Marshall :-) Plenty on features for a real guitarist... clean and dirty... there's more? Can plug into any speaker box, inject any main valves into the head, quiet FX send and return, simple and quick lay-out, solidly built!

My three main gigging guitars are my beloved Ibanez JEM 77FP, Gibson Les Paul Junior Special and an Ibanez Roadstar... I can dial up almost any sound/ style with this amp from jangly clean rhythms to full blown death metal with the big bottom thump. I mainly play blues/ hard rock and this is the "ducks nutz"... Even at extreme volumes it's not noisy and it stays clean all the way up! The distortion can pierce ears at 100 meters!

Although this amp doesn't appear to be as industrial as Marshall amps it still is going... I have absolutely flogged it at a jam with some friend out on a farm where I played bass through it into a 4x10" box where I ran it on "8" for seven hours... and when the 4x10 box crapped out we hooked up a 4x12 box and on it went... this was into the middle of an Australian summer (bloody hot) in a tin shed :-) Then the fatal error of running the impedence @ 4ohms instead of the required 16ohms... it god hot... very hot... but it is still going... being gigged every week end.... that's pretty reliable in my books!

Not very helpful... from the US side when I emailled them and asked about converting a Belaire to 240 volts... and the local blokes had no idea what I was tlking about when I contacted them about the same issue... they couldn't remove a 110 tranformer and replace it with 240 volt version :-) I've worked with amps since the late seventies and they would let me do it so I wouldn't kill myself :-) So no support really!

I've been playing live since 1975... I own Ibanez JEM's, Roadstars (a personal weakness for the upper models) and a Gibson LP Junior Special... I have a series of Marshall 50w combos (jcm800/ 900/ TSL 2000) If it was stolen I'd track the bastard and break his legs. I like this amp because it's a great live amp in any venue, sweet to grind tones, good reverb, LIGHT WEIGHT! (for a 100w head) I picked it up at a Cash Converters secondhand shop for 500 bucks and it has been money very well spent. I use it with a 500w 2x12 JBL AXE box and it can be heard at ALL times :-) All I wanted was a cheap loud amp and picked up a diamond of an amp!

Bought new in 11/2005. I feel this amp is versatile enough for the styles of music I play. I am in a cover band and also an original band.Features are just what I need simple and to the point.I thought that it sounded great right out of the box.

I have a Gibson Les Paul Standard, Carvin SC90 and a Jackoson soloist. I think that they all sound great with this head. I play Rock to hard rock. Nickelback to 80,90's metal.I was blown away by the sound of this amp. I thought that it had the compression of a Mesa Boogie and the tone of a Soldano. I am not saying this amp sounds like them but that the tones I got out of this amp are that good and I didn't have to go broke to get a kick ass amp.

I have only had the amp 3 months no problems yet. I would gig with this amp without a back up.

Any time I have spoken with them they have been friendly and helpful with my questions.

I have been playing guitar since 1986. I own some Boss effect pedals,Morley wah and Ernie ball volume pedal. If it were stolen I would get another one. For the price paid and the tones available from this head it's a great deal. Unless I got lucky with the one I received I would replace it for another one.

2 channels with separate EQs and vols for each. I found the knobs to function just as described in the brochure - the function of the presence knob and button are cool and useful just as designed. The clean channel stays clean all the way up. the drive channel is very versital. Mine was fitted with Mesa 12ax7s and 6L6s prior to my purchase. The 100/50 what switch is usefull. It has all the features a working guitar player needs and non that I don't see me using. Perhaps one nice-to-have-but-not-necessary addition would be a separate effects loop for each channel.

I play 2 Schecter CETs one with singles one with humbuckers - high output versital quality guitars. I play Rock, Blues - Deep Purple to Eric Johnson (well, I try). I had been playing a HR DeVille but was never happy with the clarity and punch. Was looking for a used 65 deluxe but to cheap to purchse. Found this used at GC and even-traded the DeVille. The clean channel could produce the fender sounds I was looking for, and then some. The drive channel gets all kinds of please rock lead tones. I spent 3 hours at the store experiementing with the head and comparing it to others and was never dissapointed. I find it hard to get a sound from the amp that I can't like and be inspired with - at quiet and loud volumes.

Down sides: Compared to the 65 Deluxe (which is what I was doing) The reverb is great, but could be deeper. The bass response on the clean channel is great, but could be deeper. I am happy with both these feature nonetheless, and really only is apparent in side-by-side testing. I have a Vintage JCM800 2203, and it can't quite nail the crisp clean-distortion, but not an issue for me. The distortion can have that clean top-end note definition though. The drive channel can get noisey when drive/volume/presence knobs are pushed - but I think this is what pushed-tubes do and does not degrade the usefulness of the drive channel.

Playing for 35 years. Have a nice but small vintage fender and a vintage marshall. I feel this amp is in the same league as these with its own unique sound and features. I plan for this to be my all-around workhorse amp because of its sound, features and construction. I hesitated getting one of these because I could not physically try one out without ordering it, even though the price was alluring. My chance to check it out at Guitar Center sold me. I love this amp.