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.

Here's a nice 100 watt tube amp for mid to pro level players. It can do a wide variety of sounds with minor tweaking. Mine came retubed with Groove Tubes. I like the 5881's, have yet to try it with EL34's. Two channels, clean and scream. Effects loop. Onboard reverb is kind of neat, different from most spring reverbs I've heard and is Carvins own creation I have heard. It is a loud one, lots of power and you can drop to 50 watts if you want but only decreases the DB level by 3!! That's right, and if you know anything about wattage to decibel ratios it makes total sense, but the people who say when you switch to half power it is half as loud are not really understanding that concept. Anyway, this ain't electronics or physics class, it is music and this thing can be pretty musical.

Sounds are very good. Cleans are very clean, very little breakup at high volume on the clean channel. Overdrive channel is a lot of fun, the best place to start is turn the master all the way up and bring the preamp volume up SLOWLY!! The grind at the lower end is pretty Marshall like, sort of like a plexi in a way. I say LIKE because I have a couple nice older Marshalls and that sound is very evasive in other amps. This can get close and that is what Carvin does best, covers bases. The more you bring the volume up the gainier it gets, and I really like the gain at about 3 o'clock-Recto time! Sustains like a mother, hope your pickups are potted or you will be treated to bad feedback as opposed to good. Can get grainy but is great anyway, just sit back, palm mute and chug along to the metal hits!! Fun abounds in this amp. The lead channel is not as loud as the clean though, that seems odd. That's okay though, lots of volume/headroom to work with. Wish the effects loop had a level select like my Marshall 6100LM though, it is nice to run pedal effects through the loop without distorting the input level. This amp sounds great, gotta say it. I can't quit playing it!

I had a 3200 I bought from someone who forced the power tubes in without lining up the pin guides! Fried a few resistors was all. My tech replaced them and voila! Fired right back up!! That is impressive! That one got sold a while back. I found this in the used section of our local Guitar center, in new condition with a new set of GT tubes in it. Got it for $190, no kidding!!! Thanks Nate, I thought I would ebay it but have had so much fun playing it I am keeping this one!!

Carvin are decent people. They have to make money as well though, so cut them some slack. They try to take care of their customers, and do a very good job. How long have they been in business??? LONG time!!

I have everything a player could want-vintage Marshall, Fender, HIWATT, you name it. Every guitar group covered as well. Sometimes you come across one you really have fun with, and that is why I play music. It doesn't grind like my plexi does, but it is close and does high gain sounds really well. Great rock and roll amp with the capability of playing any other musical style. Love everything but the looks of it, that powder coated white chassis is just not right.

First off I'm guitarist of 26 years! I bought this used as backup for the guitarist in my blues band which I play bass in, I changed the tube to matched set of EL34's and re-bias the amp, only mode I did was change the LED on the clean channel to yellow!
other wise it has the same features as the rest...

The clean channel is clean smooth very versatile; the drive channel is good but was designed for metal hard core! Over kill!!
<p>
I was using Ampeg SVT-3Pro head but wanted that Ampeg SVT classic all tube tone, for the heck of it I tried my Fender USA bass with EMG J-bass pickups pluged into the MTS3200 running into my Ampeg 4x10 BXT cabinet WOW!!!, I also tried it through my cheap BSE4x10 and did it come alive!!!<p>
Yes it's only 100 watts RMS all tube amp but compared to my 450 watt @ 4ohms SVT-3pro it just blew it away!

time will tell!

great people very helpful

I have owned more equipment then I can list over the years and carvin is no better or worst then the rest as every manufacture has there good bad and ugly. I have carvin PA mains TR1502 ad the are fantastic I also had RL600 bass head which sorry carvin but lack tone as it had it's own sound which is good for originals but not for cover band as you will lacking the tone needed. Sorry but Ampeg bass amps such as V4b and SVT classic to name few are the driving tone that made history! and yes the MTS3200 guitar tube amp used as bass amp head can reproduce that tone! Now if Carvin would get in the running with Traynor who makes 200 watt all tube bass amp head, and produce 200 or 300 watt all tube bass head using some of the MTS3200 circuitry and make the tone stack suited for bass they would be ahead of the game.

great features as listed by others!

Tone is versatile and as any amp head it also depends on the cabinet you play it through not all amp heads or cabinet sound the same???through Marshall with V-30 sounds great through Marshall with seventy 80???s not so great??

still going just changs your tube as needed...

very nice people!

just all out great sounding and well built amp!

The features on this head have been goe over a million times. No need to do it again

I own several heads. 3 Marshalls and a 5150. Picked this head up from a friend for 300.00. I tried to talk him out of it but he has his heart set on a 5150 lol. This is a 50th anniversary edition and already has good Russian EL34's installed. The clean as mentioned by everyone else is amazing rivaling my Twin. The dirty is mean but I back it down a tad to sound more Marshallesqe on steriods. Absolutely love this head. Would ad will take it on a gig

Only owned it for a day but my friend got trouble free service out of it.

Never needed them.

I have been playing for 28 years in numerous cover and original bands. I already mentioned most of the amps. I own several more along with about 18 guitars. I would prolly by it again if one crossed my path. A lead boost would be nice.

dual channels with seperate EQ, footswitchable channels and reverb.also has effects loop. USA Made,more power than I'll ever use

Clean is to my ears as good as, Maybe Better than fender. Overdrive will go from mild breakup to all out metal. I sold my JCM 900 for this and still prefer it. The JCM wouldn't give me the sparkling, punchy clean that the MTS does. I play in s christian southern rock style band and in the worship band at my church,therefore I need versatility as the worship tends to be less intense. this amp covers both bases well. If you get one be sure to get the British series speakers, they are carvins best. check out the reviews.

Never had a problem. some other reviews have complained about sound quality, but some of them bought used amps, maybe off EBAY. and the tubes may have been changed. You start messing around like that then its no wonder that you have trouble. They come stock with 5881's although it does have a bias switch to use others.I gig my equipment but I also baby it.

OK this is the only downside to owning any Carvin..If it breaks then your gonna be out shipping to California. they dont have any local repair centers. still I'm ok with it. My AG 100D messed up once and they had it for about a month. they were very friendly and courteous

playing 36 years. ownlots of gear.definatly would replace Usa made all tube amp for around $700 what a deal

The features have been noted before. The footswitch was optional, which I purchased. This is a basic amp that doesn't have too much to it. 1 channel is clean and the other one is dirty. The Presence control on the clean channel is nice, but that'll be covered in the Sound Quality section. Compared to most modern tube amps with 3-4 channels with multiple settings on each channel, not to mention features like individual EQ's, reverb, presence and so on for those channels, the Carvin is simple on a 2nd grade level. That's one of the reasons why I bought it. I didn't need much more than just 2 channels, and so that's what I got. The only feature that sucked was the footswitch. It's noisy and there is a very loud pop when going from one channel to the next. Very bad.

The clean channel is very crystalline and sparkly. Adding presence is actually a little too much for my taste, as I prefer a warmer, rounder tone. But if you must have absolute clarity for your notes the Carvin delivers on the clean side of this amp. Add a Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive or any other OD that lets you blend the distortion with the clean channel and you'd have yourself a very articulate set-up. The highs get spiky at worst though, so back off the treble a bit or it will kill you.

That feature carries over to the distortion setting. I found the gain from the amp a little tinny and I had to trim back the treble to about 2 o'clock to rein it in. With an A/B selector to another amp, the Carvin was very noisy at higher gain levels and volumes. I think there are reasons this amp is so inexpensive, and it goes beyond being sold direct and the reported quality of its wiring and insides as stated by other reviewers.

Carvin has started putting Groove Tubes in its amps instead of Sovteks or whatever unknown tube had been in there before, so that is an improvement. The 6L6's give it the more, "American," sound that helps with the clean channel and is probably what makes the distortion channel a little light on the low end. Through a Marshall cab the Carvin beefs up a tad, but through the 2x12 available in the catalogue, which is open-backed, it is very bright. Not being a fan of that tone I started playing with options and found that running the amp into both the Carvin and Marshall cabs created a balance. I also started running a Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde to create distortion. I didn't want to do this as I'd prefer using the amp's gain, but for my taste the Carvin didn't deliver the midrange and bass I desired. On the other hand, that's not to say the tone of the gain channel is bad. Some might like a brighter tone. It's just not my cup of tea.

I've only had the amp for a few weeks. I have no idea what could happen to it other than damage from moving. I don't have a band at the moment so stage abuse isn't a factor currently.

I haven't dealt with Carvin.

I've been playing for 13 years, and the other amps I own are a Peavey Classic 30 and a Marshall MKII with a JCM900 2x12 cabinet. If the Carvin were to be lost I'd probably just save up and get a Mesa Boogie, or possibly a Peavey, or maybe even that new EVH head. I like the simplicity of the amp and its clean channel. It's very easy to operate and that's all I wanted for messing around. The footswitch sucks and the distortion is just okay. If I compared it to other products I'd say the Carvin is up on the level of Crates and some Peaveys. It's a little better than Crate but not as good as the recent Peavey models. It does not compare to what Mesa Boogie has been putting out lately and even Marshall's getting back in gear with some stuff. The Marshall AVT series is about on the level of this amp. If you're serious just save up and get a better amp, but if you don't feel like dropping a lot of cash and want to fuck with a tube amp you can shape with some stompboxes or preamps, then go with the Carvin.

This is a follow up to my earlier review called " What's that noise."
I have to eat some crow. I had originally thought that the amp could not cut through. I replaced the preamp tubes, but it did not make much of a difference. What made the difference was the cab. I usually play thorough a pawn shop peavey, but after plugging it into a brand new mesa cab, holy cow, this thing unleashed. So looks like I have to buy a new cab.

Even though I was able to get it to sound great through a mesa cab, I still had some hum and noise. My friend thought it was normal, but I thought it was a little excessive.

This model was made around 2005, before they came stocked with the groove tubes. 2 channels, and is pretty pretty versatile, compared to a jcm 900. Good for old style metal, but not good for super distortion style metal. The distortion is very smooth, almost like a suped up tube screamer, but does not have much bite.

The clean channel is very good, and will probably reflect the instrument you are playing.

Here, is where the problems start.
The amp has a great distortion, but very bassy, with little or no presence. No matter how I adjust the knobs, the eq does not change much.The reverb only slightly changes, also. Same with the presence knob. I get a decent tone, but do not cut through the mix. Leads get totally swallowed up.The sound just seems stuck in the speakers. I am going to start trying other cabs, but can not afford any right now.I have tried with a cheap epiphone, and a 67 reissue gibson v. The 4x12 is an old peavy with sheffields, that I picked up at a pawn shop.

After very little play, I had to replace a tube because of a very loud glass breaking sound. Now, I have out of control hum. The amp also picks up a staggering amount of noise in my apt. It sounds like a waterfall. At first, I was excited to have a Carvin because their guitars are such high quality, but I am not so sure about their amps.

Carvin support has been great, but the warranty is only a year. If able to, I probably would send this head back.

I have been playing about fifteen years and have had a jcm 900 and a 5150.(Not sure if that amp had original tubes.) This head breaks up alot nicer and the lows are tighter than the 5150. Way more versatile and probably more gain than the 900. At first, I really bragged up this amp, but I am starting to get tired of all these noise and sound issues. At this point in time, I probably would not buy it again if it was stolen.

Can't determine manufacture year. The Carvin MTS 3200 is very versatile. I have read reviews here stating otherwise, in that the user claims to be getting little or no variety when tayloring the amount of distortion with the DRIVE pot. The only thing that i can think of that may cause this, is the use of EL34's in the power section since they have a propensity for being "hot" and high in the mids. I find the eq very responsive and since I use some 5881's in the power section, the DRIVE is very responsive as well. It can go from slight clip to full on saturation and anywhere in between.
Power? It's loud enough for two amps. I play it at 50 watts usually.

THis amp is pretty capable of making any sound I can think up. I really like it. I play this over my '65 Showman, and a Hiwatt head..
It sounds enough like both of those amps if I want them to, plus it has a beautiful and full, long tailed reverb.
The distortion is very sweepable. From just a touch of grit when attacked with gusto, to that heavy metal bottom heavy chunk. It'll do whatever you want it to.
I don't play any certain style of music. I just play whatever I want.
THis amp is versatile enough to cover me whatever tonal or stylistic road I choose to take. I notice some noise when playing single coils. but that is expected.

I just bought it, so I have no idea as to this unit's reliability. But, Carvin has a good reputation for solid engineering, and good builds. I suspect this amp will last a long long time. Feels very sturdy.

I have played for 20 years. I own lots of gear.
If it were lost or stolen, I would buy another. It's a great amp especially for the price. SUpposedly, it lists at around $1100.00, but is available from Carvin at around $700.00.
THat's a deal for what it is capable of. Lots of volume, controls that work very well (eq and presence), Options (choice of bias for EL34's or 6L6/5881, voiced line out, and effects loop).
Nice amp.

This amp was made in 2005. Nice sound on clean, ripping sound on lead channel. Has a good effects loop. I wish I had held of and bought a V3 for the extra versatility, but I can wait another 6 months. I use this amp for practice and gigging...one badass cranker. I have to give it a 10, because it has all the features one would expect from a 2-channel tube amp. Plus reverb...oh yes and a bias switch to go between EL 34's and 6l6's. Very nice.

Snarly distortion that covers most of the rock realm and an excellent shimmering clean tone. I play rock, metal and blues and can pretty much get the sounds I need from this amp. Also it's pretty quiet.

All my guitars are equipped with EMG's, so that may be why I get such excellent distortion from this thing.

Hasn't broken down yet, so far so good.

To Eric down below...you said replace the tubes with EL 34's and re-bias the amp? It has a bias switch on the back! You mentioned that your tubes keep frying...maybe you need to flip the bias switch to match your tubes. That's the ONLY thing I can think of that accounts for you frying tubes in a couple of days.

Nice guys. I haven't had to get any customer support per say, but when I ordered the amp, they were very helpful and professional.

I've been playing for about 25 years. I own too much shit to list. If this amp were stolen, I would buy another since it is so cheap, OR I would spend a few hundred bucks more and get the V3. Either way, I would need to get this sound again.

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.

This is a 50th Anniversary Edition head which I think came out somewhere between 2001-2003. 50/100w switchable, ohm selector 4/8/16, auto bias switchable EL34 or 6L6, dual channel single input (footswitchable), 2 cab outputs, cabinet voiced direct out, effects loop, footswitch jack. From left to right on front panel:Master Reverb (spring)(footswitchable), Lead 1 presence (unusually useful); then Clean Channel controls: Treble, Mid, Bass, presence push button, volume, channel button; Lead Channel controls:Treble, Mid, Bass, Drive, Volume. This amp has everything a player needs, nothing fancy..just very well thought out and useful.

My main guitar is a Godin LG with Lindy Fralin P90s, TonePro bridge, Sperzel locking tuners and graphite nut. I also play a 77 LP Custom stock and a stock 59 Melody Maker. It is plugged into a 8ohm 4X12 cab with an X pattern of Celestion G12-60/G12-80. I plug straight into the amp.

Once I found the right tube combination for my tastes: Sovtek 6L6WXT quad (these are great tubes..don't let the "Sovtek" fool you) with a full set (5) JJ ECC 83S preamps, I was extremely pleased. Tone is full, creamy, piano like tones that respond extremely well to your pick attack, probably the best response to pick attack I have seen, and felt, in my 40 years of playing. If you've ever felt the sound through your fretboard you know what I mean. This is a very stimulating amp. The clean channel is astoundingly pure and bell like with great push when you attack it. The presence is actually useful and gives a true sparkle to all notes. Fender has nothing on this amp when it comes to clean.
The lead channel..wow. Anyone before me on this database that says this amp has no drive must be seriously challenged. Goes from clean (near the clean channel) to very strong brutal drive that remains totally articulate, you can hear every string tone in a power bar chord. Capable of anything I can throw at it, and just because I'm one of those "old timers" doesn't mean I don't understand or can't play music from this century. This amp will do what you want, whatever that is. Of course you might actually have to play the guitar, if you rely on your amp to cover your inabilities then this isn't the amp for you. It will output the sweetest (or dirtiest) tones you've ever heard but you have input them first.

Also can produce some VERY pleasing blues.

Switching out the preamps with Jan/Philips 12AX7 tubes and an AT7 in the power drive spot (#5) gave a more relaxed type of drive that some people might prefer. I haven't found a quad of EL34 tubes that I like for this amp yet but when I do I'll let you know. They, of course, will give it a more British type of tone. The Sovtek EL34WXT set had a strange overtone that might be a faulty tube and a set of Groove Tubes just didn't do it for me. I'll keep looking.

Hard to say at this point but Carvin makes pretty solid amps. It is very well made.

Don't know

Like I mentioned before. I've been playing a long time. I've owned a lot of amps from Fender, Marshall, Peavey and many others. Mostly vintage tube amps but also some tubeless. This amp compares very well to brown and blackface era Fender amps when it comes to clean, it totally blows them into the weeds with it's drive. The drive is sweeter and can be more brutal than a Marshall tube amp. Hard to describe the difference but it's smoother, creamier and more capable of responding to your picking than either. Understand that I plug straight into the amp and am comparing them in that manner. I would think that a good tubescreamer into the clean channel would be extremely sweet, I just don't own one right now to try it.

This amp is fairly versatile, though it lacks a third (or fourth channel) for the different sounds, but based on its two channels, the uses are infinite. I do wish it also had a master volume control, and also a pair of earplugs to go along with it, but i'll definitely sacrifice those qualaties for an amp that is loud enough for any venue, any situation.

Oh how pretty the sounds are that come through this amp. The stock tubes are not the best, but they will get you some pretty amazing tones. Put some better tubes (JJ's) in and this thing will purr like nothing you've ever heard. Absolutely pure cleans, great, thick blues tone, great rock tone, and metal that will melt your face off. The best I've heard any amp ever is a standard tele in middle pickup position through the clean channel. Makes me want to cry. I play mainly metal, though, with a 7 string ibanez, and believe me, this amp will do metal like you want it to. Personally, i've got it hooked up to a legacy cabinet, and I like the vintage 30's with it a lot. It doesn't sound like any other amp out there, (it sounds better) and it has a character all its own.

This thing has ridden many a time in the trunk of my car, and rattled around with toolboxes, drum hardware, and who knows what else, and it hasn't even got a dent in the covering. The innerds of the amp are like a fortress, too. This baby will take your punishment and love it, though it's always best to take care of your equipment.

Carvin is always very good and prompt in delivery and help. Their online forums are a great place to get advice about your gear.

To give this amp any less than a 10 would be a freakin' shame. I've had mine for about 2 years now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Couple it with an eq pedal for lead boost, and this thing is perfect. Again, I do wish it had a master volume control, but perhaps a THD hot plate would work better anyway. I like this MTS better than any marshall I have ever played, and its versatility puts it above all but the Mesa Road King head, which costs vastly more. For the money, and for the tone, there is no better amp.

super versatile! epiphoneSG korina thru this AMAZING head with 6L6's in it into a marshall 1960 cab with vintage 30's. between neck/bridge pickups and a little tweaking i can get any tone from jazzy clean with good reverb,attack-sensitive crunch,hear-every-note-yet powerful distortion, all the way to balls to the wall metal type distortion.
i like to keep it simple:guitar-cord-head-cab. nothing in between, no noise or hiss,not even fully cranked up. feedback when i want it,otherwise quiter than a mouse. useful 50watt switch. i like the full tone/power better tho.
only feature i wish it had is a master volume.

i play in a punkrock band, no chugchug, mainly good clear distortion, sometimes darker bluesy-QOTSA tones for leads,sometimes crunchy open chords.
i like to play everything tho. i can get into a jazzy chord progression or switch to screaming metal with just a bit of tweaking. this thing does it all,granted that you got a decent guitar and good speakers and,well know how to play. the clean breaks up at higher volumes but then again it's VERY sensitive to how you play, which is key in a good amp. stays clean for arpeggios and then breaks up nicely in a warm creamy crunch tone...
if you're into hardcore-metal tones (not really my thing) you can get those too no problemo, but for MY tone i don't scoop the mids by all means (wouldn't make much sense to have vin30's and then scoop the mids no?) they're actually just as high as the treble and keep the drive between 2.5 and 3. then crank the volume to 10. you gotta hear it.

bought it used, never had any problems yet. it's heavy and sturdy (is that a word?) backup is always nice if it's an option. it's not for me and i don't go to sleep thinkin "what if it dies on me?" i go to sleep with my ears having mutiple orgasms. if you're on tour just bring an extra set of tubes. i give it a 10. it's a tube amp. tubes WILL need replacement but that's no reason to complain.

bought used,so..

been playin guitar for 11 years,piano for 6. this beast has the tone,the volume,the gutshaking tone i had in my head, plus everything else i might want. i have this grin on my face as soon as i plug in, it just makes me happy. when and if i have the $$$ i'll buy a lespaul or a 335, don't need any FX,racks,preamps,screw all that i don't need anything else. screw paying 4 times as much for a name. like i said keep it simple with quality gear. if stolen i'd buy TWO more. try one if you get a chance, i recommend a 4x12 cab with celestion vintage 30's. you won't be disappointed. btw,i'm not payed by carvin, i just happen to be enamored with this damn thing so much i wanted so show some LUV.
talk about value? you just can't beat this.

-50/100 Watt Switch (I personally prefer the 100 watt)
-5 12ax7a Preamp Tubes (Sovtek's Stock)
-4 5881 Power Tubes (Made in China, but are switchable for 6l6GC's and EL34's <--Marshall Tube Amps use the EL34's to the best of my knowledge, but I'm too lazy to google that in.)
-4/8/16 Ohm Speaker Switch (2 Speaker Inputs)
-Footswitch input/Effects Loop (Goofy in my opinion)/Line out
<-Power-->Standby-->Master Reverb-->Lead Presence<-->Treble-->Mid-->Bass-->(Presence Switch for Clean Channel)-->Volume<-(Channel Selector Switch)->Treble-->Mid-->Bass-->Drive-->Volume<-->(Guitar Input)->
I own a 2005 Model of the Carvin MTS3200 Head and am still constantly tweaking knobs in search of a sound that I like for more than 10 minutes. I play a lot of different artists music and am always able to achieve their sound if I play around with the knobs enough, guitar volume/tone, speaker types, my hands. If you know how to manipulate all of your equipment, yes even your hands, then there shouldn't even be a complaint about this amps "versatility", maybe just about your playing ability.

Playing a Gibson Les Paul Junior Special Plus with a 490R in the Neck and '57 Classic Plus in the Bridge. This guitar angers me to no end but I love it nonetheless. Some days we get along and other days I just want to quit play all together. This amp sounds pleasing to my ears especially on the clean channel and this is before I've even changed the tubes. Currently have it mickey moused up to a solidstate Marshall 2x12 cabinet with some sort of celestions--vintage 30's or greenback's but some less known model. The amp still sounds great but the wattage on the speakers is only 25 watts a piece and they're both connected individually so there is a lot of early breakup that annoys me, but that will be fixed when I plug it into my cabinet with Eminence Legend 125's. Cheap speakers but what's the point in paying $100+ for celestions when you can get your own sound through a different less popular brand. I paid $160 and have no complaints besides the fact that I don't even know how good they could sound if they were in a real cabinet rather than one I made myself. I play every style of music that my brain can transfer to my fingers. This amp does fine with it all.

I've only had the amp 2 weeks so I don't know about reliability yet. I hope to rely on it and not have to send it in for repairs. I want to keep it in pristine condition. Might hook up a fan to blow on the tubes to increase air-flow and just cool the electronics down.

Never dealt with them. 1 year warranty. Hope I don't need to use it.

I've been playing for 10 years and hate that gear costs so much damn money. How the hell did Townshend, Clapton, Page, Vaughn, Hendrix get all of their shit. They either bought it cheap as hell back in the 50's, 60's or had it handed down to them. I would do anything to be able to live when all of the great music was being made and just watch some of my favorite bands play and watch them to help learn how to refine my abilities. Unfortunately music today is disappointing to say the least and all I can say is that it's only going to get worse, until it inevitably rises to an extreme high like it was back then. I hope I live long enough for hear the change in people's opinions of what good music is. So overall this amp is going to be my tool to try to recreate music that is soulful and moving like it used to be.

I bought this one off ebay its a 2001 model, However it is my 2nd one that Ive owned the 1st was new in 2000. I got the bright Idea that I always wanted a Marshall, so I sold my carvin and got a JCM 900, What a mistake. I owned the marshall 8 months and then went back to carvin. Awsome and I mean AWESOME clean channel and reverb. 2 chanels clean and od make operation simple. It will do country, jazz,blues,80's style. rock duties very well .I dont know about metal ( new Metal) though.(possibly).

use fender, prs,wolfgang,axis also kramer and carvin guitars. I play christian praise and worship these days and its clean channel will just shimmer especially with a strat. Its not as noisy as my marshall was and some of that is just the nature of tube amps. I actually prefer the distortion channel over my line 6 modeler

NEVER had any problems.

Once I had an AG 100 D acoustic amp and it was solid state .It had a part go bad in it and had to be sent back to carvin. they were on it imediately and were professional and curtious.. The only down side to owning a carvin is.if you need it fixed You have to ship it to california and it will cost you shipping both ways. I emailed them and asked why they dont set up stores in dallas / denver,/nashville / atlanta or some where where the east coast and midwest could have better access to them. they said it wasnt in their plans.

I have played over 30 years and owned several makes of both high end and cheap guitars and amps. To me Carvin is KING. NO one has a better value for your hard earned $. Especially their guitars, they blow away PRS and Gibson. If youve never played one an Ibanez Wizard is probabally the closest neck feel that I can describe. Yes I am A CArvin user for life...

Bought new in 2005. I play 80's shred and heavy metal. 2 channel amp with loop and a killer clean and killer distortion channel. The amp came with Sovtek 5881's and Sovtek ecc83(12ax7). The amp has a bias switch so you can use either EL34 OR 5881'S. I bought Groove tube EL 34's but they sounded wimpy so I tried Svetlana's from my Marshall dsl 100. The amp sounded killer but a bit dated for me so I put the 5881's back in and all the beef came back. I also put JJ 12ax7's and the sizzle was there. The amp really responds to tube upgrades. I also removed the front face plate and cut it out and added a open grill to increase airflow. It serves two purposes, cool factor to see all those valves glowing and to cool the inner electronics and tubes.

I use a Fender HM that was signed by Greg Howe with A Gibson humbucker open coil from a Les Paul classic and a Warmoth strat with dimarzio pickups. I play the shred is dead stuff and some newer music such as Tool and Disturbed. My Krank handles the later of the two better but not much especially on the leads, this amp has a killer lead tone with tones of harmonics that literally jump off the neck. You have to play with the knobs alot to tighten up the bass but just crank it up and it starts to smolder. The amp rally blazes. The clean channel is killer with a single coil neck pickup. Very responsive and alive. However with the EL 34's it looses some of the fenderish tone but to be expected they are brit style tubes. The distortion is really nice but next to my Krank rev 1 the brutality factor of the 3200 goes away but for lead playing and nice fast riffing the Carvin hold ground.

No problem other than a hum at idle that was fixed when I swapped the v1 1st gain stage preamp tube. It all works fine and the channel switching is quiet.

I have dealt with Carvin for 15 years and have never had any problems. They aim to please and offer killer bang for the buck.

Been playing for 30 years and have owned Marshalls,boogies,tophats,soldano's and Laneys. For the money this amp wins hands down, it has alot of features and good tone. It also has a internal bias pot so you can tweak it in perfectly. I ran the tubes a tad hotter and the tone just got better so if you want to tweak you can just make sure to ground everything cause things can kill ya.Check out Gerald Weber tube amp basics and bias meters, they taught me all I needed to know to tweak on amps and do minor repairs and tube swaps. The only thing I did not like at 1st was the hum and the flubby bass but new tubes fixed that.

Bought new in '04. 2 channels yada yada. Built in reverb but I use my G-Major for all my effects. I have only used in 50 watt mode (more than enough umph since I always mic it) I play rock. Everything from the Beatles to Alice in Chains and Metallica. It will do all of this and more. Changed the all the tubes to JJ's and use E34L's.
Play all types of venues. Last weekend we did a huge Harley store grand opening for bikers and such, packed up, drove accross town and played a show at the double tree inn for 250 blue hairs. We went from Man In The Box to Stand By Me in 40 minutes and the Carvin did it all.

My main guitars are a '76 les paul custom and a '91 prs with stock p\u's. I run a '76 crybaby and a TU-2 tuner in front and a TC Electronics G-Major through the effects loop. My cabinet is a straight front Carvin Legacy with Celestion Vintage 30's.
First of all I bought this head after reading the reviews here and did as everbody said and changed the tubes to EL34's. That made this amp a hot-rodded Marshall with more clarity. Then after going to eurotubes.com I took Bob's advise and changed all the tubes and went to E34L's. Now this thing just rocks! It really has it's own voice. I can't really describe it but it IMHO is the perfect sound, the one I have been looking for. Now tone is like cars, there is an ass for every seat. But my ass loves this seat. Great clean channel. The gain channel goes from dirty to nasty and everything in between. I don't really try to copy the tones from the artists we cover, but I do need a amp that can chunk and scream and this does this. I can play Johnny B Good with the gain at 3, then kick some Guns and Roses with the gain at 6, and then rock some Enter Sandman with the gain at 8 without changing the eq and never losing clarity, never getting muddy in the mix, and always great musical tone. I have played everthing from small crowded bars to the big stage opening for major acts with this head and it never does anything but impress me and everyone else. I even played a gig last weekend for a convention that the average age was 50 (what were they thinking?), turned the volume down to 2, gain to 2, and with my PRS in the single coil mode, played Beatles and Brown Eyed Girl type stuff very quietly and we sounded like a lounge band. Wow. Now they want us every year. Let's see you do that with a Mesa.
I owned a modded 5150 and a Marshall JCM2000 DSL when I bought this. Both great amps but didn't nail that sound in my head. When I got done with the tubes in this, I played a weekend show. Monday the 5150 went on e-bay and I sold the Marshall to my bass player. This cut through the mix so well that even this ego driven guitar player couldn't complain about the guitar being buried in the mix (well maybe every once in a while lol). And the tone, well you know.
Noise has never been a problem.
Now this amp will not hide shitty playing. It will stick out. This is a very articulate amp. That's probably why Vai plays Carvins. This doesn't have the Mesa mud to cover up flaws. I cuts through the mix so if you screw up, not that I ever do lol, it sticks out. But that isn't a bad thing. That to me is part of the reason I like it so much. If your chops are honed, it sounds like it.

I don't gig with a backup and probably never will. Solid as a rock for this weekend warrior.

Haven't had a problem but I have purchased pa speakers since because of the helpful service. The guy I talked to really helped us with getting the perfect speakers and amps for our arena. Now we have the best pa in town. The sales reps are musicians-big difference

Been playing for a few years. I have owned all kinds of effects and amps.
I have never played a Framus or Bad Cat or whatever else, but I dare you to put any $2000 amp up to mine and justify the difference in money. But until I'm rich and famous, who really cares.
If it were stolen, I could take the insurance money and have another at my doorstep in 5 days, and I would without a doubt. I do wish this amp came with roadies lol.

OK, everybody knows what this is by now... 2 channel all tube, reverb, bias switch, 50/100 watt switch etc. It is LOUD though, in a studio, I had it on 50 watt and couldn't really crack it over 2. Granted the only time I used 4 recording we were playing heavier stuff and that sounded good. But it neds a good amount of volume to really saturate it.

Lets get this out of the way first... I work in a very large music store. No that does not make me better then everyone else but I have had constant bombardment of gear for 2 solid years now. Tube heads are like sports cars. Stock, they're good, tweaked out a little bit, they can get real nasty! I have had a chance to play Soldano's, Bogners, tons of Marshall Mesa, Peavy, VHT, Bad Cat, Top Hat all these "boutique" amps that cost stupid amounts of money, and I do tell you, the Carvin is a GEM when it comes to a damn good platform. The stock tubes do make it a bit fuzzy, el84's sound better; I like 6L6's in mine. Personal Preference. DONT SCOOP YOUR MIDS!!! Sounds shitty no matter what you do, what amp you play, what guitar you play, etc. my eq is like B:8 Mid:6 Tre: Varies. Just roll it up from the bottom until your sound opens up. I use an Ibanez SZ w/ gibson p/u's (490, 490T), A old Gibson explorer, and a RG, and I can easily get that sweet singing sustain, just need a little volume nudge. Oh, the clean is sweeet out of the box too.

It's Carvin, kinda like Peavey.... Drop it off a building, it'll work.

Dealt with them once on a PA Cab. Left a message, they got back. Went well.

This amp best compares to a XXX or a 5150. It doens't Compare to those platforms like a PittBull, or a Tri-amp, but it's not meant to. It kicks a Mesa's ass. Anyone ever actually heard those things...? They really rely on their name! Anyway, always remember that you can tweak it to get any sound you want out of it, and that being said, it's a true badass.

The MTS3200 I have is used with EL34s tubes in it. The two channel all tube head is all I really need. I was thinking about buying a Peavey XXX, but I am in love with Carvin equipment and a die hard Carvin user. A third channel would be a bonus (I have ask Carvin to consider this on their next head) since our band does covers I need a less distorted crunch tone to go along with the full distortion channel, but I make due turning back the volume knob on the guitar. A lake of a master volume doesn't make me regret buying this head. I plug in a GNX3 (using it just for effects)into the fx send and return of the amp and use the output level on the GNX3 for a master volume and this works wonders.

Playing thru many guitars (loaded with Carvin C22 pickups...best sounding pickups ever used) the MTS3200 is oooozing with some the best sounding clean tones and warm, chuncky, thick distortion. Put the distortion channel gain between 6 and 7 and this will turn any bad day into a sweet, I can't put the guitar down even though the wife is screamin and the kids are turning dinner into some type of floor art... type of tone!!!! I was thinking about buying a B-52 head, because of the price, and a third channel which is almost useless (from what I have read) I decided to stick with my boys at Carvin and pay almost $300 less than a B-52 for a quality built head that sounds as good or better than a $1200 Marsh... !

I can only say that all of my other gear from Carvin has never failed.

Never had to use the support.

I have been playing guitar for about 15 years and I have owned almost every piece of Digitech and Peavey product out there (minus any Peavey tube head). I use to play through a Digitech 2112 (another great peice of gear)going into a MosValve amp and that was an awesome sound. Now, the MTS3200 simplifies my life buy not having to carry a rack full of gear to try to get the ultimate sound. I can tell you all one thing...I will never own one of those big company name tube amps. I love Carvin for what and who they are. I can only hope that Carvin doesn't go and get big heads and think that they can sell something just because their name is on it.

Holy s@#t! This thing could power (4) 4 x 12 cabs easily! I got this MTS used off of ebay and I couldn't be happier. I have been wanting this head for years. The distortion is as good as anything I have heard. I play in a cover band and I add alot of fx here and there. The fx send/return input/outputs help out in this department.

I play though a Carvin Tele with humbuckers and Epiphones Les Pauls. The amp only wants to feedback (at my choice) at extreme gain settings. I have a Peavy Classic Chorus 212 and this is uncontrollable at high gain settings. Just go to the Carvin site and listen to the samples.

I just got this amp so I don't know how reliable it is, but I can tell you that every Carvin product I own is as good as they claim. I own subs, and guitars, and many DCM amps that Carvin makes; they all make me a very happy user of Carvin products.

I never had to use the support.

This is pretty much explained in all other posts. Its a 100 watt RMS all tube driven head with outstanding tone and sound. It has two channels - clean and crunch, reverb, normal ther settings and truly exceptional gain. I play it through a matching 4x12 Carvin Cab. Feature I really like is the ability to switch from 100 to 50 watts....gives tube saturation at lower volumes. Don't believe the negatives you might hear on that feature. The amp is still loud but the saturation comes at noticibly less volume.

The sound is great. The clean sound is very good and it goes all the way to simply brutal distortion ( a good thing!) I read some folks did not think it was loud or had enough gain. Unbelievable...the amp is pro quality and sounds fantastic.

I play a Gibson Les Paul DC Standard, Mex Standard Strat and a Ritchie Blackmore Signature Strat through it right now. I also have a Carvin DC 127 and EVH Wolfgang that I have not tried through the amp yet.

You can play any style through this amp. I compared this amp to a new all tube Marshall (which was twice the cost) and a more competitively priced 100 watt solid state Marshall and this amp blows both away - no comparison. I was originally after a Peavey 5150 but this is just as good at half the price.

NO Issues...I've had a week and the amp worked perfect out of the box.

No issues...amp arrived on time as promised.

Can not beat this amp. I hate to say for the price because it is truly as good or better than the pricier marshalls or peaveys. Bottom line is this is a world class pro qulity all tube driven amp that is solid, versatile and has great tones accross the entire sound spectrum. It is a great amp and the price (about $1000) for an all tube american made half stack is awesome. In comparison...I tried out the 100 Watt Marshall solid state (new) half stack ($750)and it is a good amp but when I evaluated it against the Carvin I immediately took it back to Guitar Center - no match.

I also own a Line 6 AXS 212 combo...Bought it new 8 years ago. Thats a good amp and I've been happy. Again, no match for the carvin - this amp is at the next leval.

I've been playing seriously for 8 years. I play hard rock and metal mostly - Deep Purple Family( Purple, Whitesnake, Rainbow), Led Zep, GNR, ACDC, Scorpians, Van Halen Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi etc...and this amp easily delivers.

If stolen I'm calling Carvin for another the same day!!

I love the sound, the killer looks, and the quality of this amp. Nothing beats all tube power - don't kid yourself and this baby is the most affordable.

One last point: I like buying quality and most of the gear I own sounds good and does what the manufacturer says. For example, that solid state marshall I compared to the Carvin did sound good and worked well...same with the Line 6. The Carvin just sounded better. The sound improvement is worth the additional $200. I read in amazement how many really negative reviews I read about amps and top quality guitrs like say a Gibson les Paul Standard. So be careful when reading reviews....many of the real negative ones about the sound come from hackers who can't play. Likewise....watch out for the infactuated buyer who says all is great.

I?m writing this review in Portuguese to brazilian guitarists.
Amp de 2004, anniversary edition, comprado diretamente na loja nos EUA. Comprei usado o cabe?ote e a caixa 4 X 12. Confesso que comprei totalmente sem conhecer o som desse amp pois o pre?o estava imperd?vel (mesmo!). O amp ? vers?til o suficiente para v?rios estilos. Eu diria at? que ? vers?til para TODOS os estilos. Tem todos os recursos que eu procurava num cabe?ote: 2 canais com equaliza??o independente, footswitch (? opcional de f?brica, mas o meu veio com o foot), loop, chave 50/100 W (eu uso em 50W), chave para 6L6/5881/EL34.
Usa 5 v?lvulas de pr? e 4 de power. Reverb de mola tipo "tail" (pelo que eu pesquisei ? um tipo de reverb mais longo). Tem ainda uma chave de presen?a para o canal lead (que varia os "mids" para mais grave ou agudo)

Inicialmente o som deixou um pouco a desejar. Eu gostava do clean. Bem claro e limpo, principalmente com strato. Testei o canal lead com strato (american standard) e les paul (Epiphone standard). Testei com pedal, testei com pedaleira e n?o me agradava. Embolado demais. Graves demais. Sei l?. Troquei ent?o as 5881 que vem de f?brica por 6L6 (pretendo colocar EL34 mas ? que eu tinha essas 6L6 de outro cabe?ote Giannini). A? a coisa mudou! O som sujo ganhou mais defini??o e punch! S?rio! S? posso pensar 2 coisas: ou as 5881 que vem com o amp s?o muito ruins ou as 5881 n?o s?o o tipo de som que me agrada. O amp n?o faz muito ru?do nem com o ganho quase no toco. A distor??o ? brutal, por?m eu me arrisco a usar at? o n?mero 5 mais ou menos. A equaliza??o ? muito sens?vel. Uma mexidinha de nada no bot?o de agudos e fica agudo pra kct. Ele tem muito TUDO: Muitos graves, muitos agudos. Coloco por exemplo os graves quase no zero e ainda assim sobram graves. Isso ? um problema, a dificuldade de timbrar. Mas a partir de um momento que voc? acha uma configura??o confort?vel fica tudo uma beleza. O canal limpo N?O distorce com volume alto (talvez quando eu colocar as EL34 ele distor?a um pouco). Eu dou nota 6 com as 5881 e nota 9 com as 6L6. Espero poder dar nota 10 com as EL34.

N?o tenho como ter um "backup" e acredito que para a maioria dos m?sicos brasileiros, ter um outro equipamento pra servir de segunda op??o caso ocorra algum problema com o equipamento principal, ? quase imposs?vel. Os impostos e a falta de vergonha na cara das lojas aqui (digo falta de vergonha na cara pois mesmo quando o d?lar est? em baixa os pre?os de instrumentos mant?m-se altos e ? muito comum nessas ?pocas de baixa do d?lar os bons equipamentos ficarem em "stand by" pelas importadoras, ou seja, guardados at? que o d?lar suba e eles possam colocar a venda e obter lucro maior).
O amp nunca deu problema comigo (estou com ele h? duas semanas) e pelo estado geral eu diria que nunca deu problemas algum com o antigo dono, j? que nenhuma pe?a foi trocada da configura??o original de f?brica). Me parece ser muito bem costru?do. Bastante s?lido. Tudo em compensado e pe?as em metal. Me passa mais seguran?a que muito Marshall por a?.

N?o sei. Moro no Brasil.

Toco h? uns 10 ou 12 anos. E j? tive alguns valvulados: Laney, Giannini. E alguns transistorizados: Meteoro, Peavey. Esse sem d?vida o equipamento mais profissional que j? tive. N?o poderia comprar um Marshall cabe?ote e caixa que aqui no Brasil sairia, usados, no m?nimo uns 6000 reais (um JCM 900, que nem ? l? essas coisas). Portanto fico extremamente satisfeito de ter tido essa oportunidade de comprar um amp americano em estado de zero, por um pre?o muito em conta. E, ainda por cima, de excelente qualidade sonora e de constru??o. Recomendo.

Se fosse roubado o cara teria que vender esse amp pra outro pa?s, simplesmente porque n?o existem muitos Carvins por aqui e eu reconheceria o meu facilmente. Se fosse roubado eu n?o poderia comprar outro porque teria dificuldades de achar. Aqui nas lojas brasileiras ? oito ou oitenta: Ou s? tem solid states ruins ou hibridos. Os valvulados, em geral s?o cabe?otes de 8000 reais ou mais. N?o h? uma pol?tica de mercado aqui que valorize o m?sico com renda de classe m?dia. Ou voc? compra um solid state barato ou s? vai encontrar um cabe?ote car?ssimo. Ou um combo valvulado mas com pot?ncia baixa e ainda assim caro. ? por isso que os hand mades aqui tem se proliferado. E eu desejo boa sorte a todos os hand mades. Eu mesmo vou encomendar um hand made personalizado em 2007 (o cara tem tanta encomenda que o meu amp est? agendado pra ser constru?do daqui a 2 anos!)

I have a 2001 MTS 3200, Which is stocked with sovtek tubes(I checked). I bought the amp before I ever had used one, so I was taking a gamble. I was shocked by the clean channel. I know that can be a bit of trouble on some tube amps. I must say the lead presence on the head works great for getting the spanking clean I love to use. and being able to disengage it from the clean channel is great for my style. I do like the fact that each channel has its own EQ. Im glad there is no preset resonance. It has enough bottom end for me. and then some. I play through a cab loaded with Vintage 30s. I would love to see the amp have a low and high mid knobs. But I will say the midrange and all setting on the EQs of both channels work great, no extreme volume or gain jumping like some older marshalls do. I would buy another one if I lost this one. I have not replaced my original tubes, they sound great to me and I will when the old ones die, put groove tubes in the preamp section Electro Harmonix tubes for power, I am very happy with the features on my head. I sound like MYSELF and not trying to copy anyone else. I gave up the hero worship when I was 18. I do not run my effects loop, only for my decimator. I am happy with the features of my amp.

I use a range of sounds, I like the fact I can back off and get a sort of JCM 800 sound, but the amp has more gain than most Marshalls I have played through. I use a MichaelKelly Patriot Phoenix, loaded with a seymour duncan Jazz neck and a Screaming Demon(hate the name) in the bridge. all of my guitars from my Telecasters are loaded with duncan customs and a 59 at the neck, a tele with emg tele pickups and a korena explorer with a dimarzio Norton at the bridge and a PAF Joe in the neck. I have had no problem with noise out of my amp. Ive rarely used the decimator on my head. I play alt rock and metal as well as some classic rock, and I can get all the sounds i need out of my head. I learned from my 18yr old days. of not jacking the gain, you loose definition. I run medium gain pickups, then I can kick in the gain a bit and come up with a better sound. no chainsaw here, but you can get it from the head by jacking the gain all the way up, its versital to me, Ive never had my clean chanel distort at high volumes. And after 5 years of owning one Ive tried them all. It may not be for everyone who wants to sound Scooped, but if you want that horrible bedroom metal tone with no mids. You can waste a good head doing that with the MTS. Recorded, the amp is full of bite but nice and smooth through Vintage 30's Its has the snarl, but it is a totally diferent beast when recorded, dont be fooled. Im very happy with the sounds, I get, Im running a line 6 MM4 only for modulation effects. and it works great. I let my head do the work, like anyone should instead of a processor. I have never needed to use a distortion pedal with this amp. its has the balls you need.

I have not had to have my amp fixed yet. When I do play out I keep A Vamp on for backup. its never given me any problems. Im sorry if it seems to be that good , but Its never been serviced and I have used this amp for some pretty long marathon sessions. But I must say I am VERY careful when transporting my head and taking care of it. So I have had great success with reliability. and I have loaned it out many times for people to use as a backup and when there heads are down, seem to make them want to buy them.

I have only had to deal with carvin once, they sent me a legacy booklet with the amp,but I found out if you put el34in the head it basically is a Legacy and thats coming from a Carvin tech. my head had the one year warranty. but I work with a guy who is an engineer he fixes all the amps in our area. so I do not have to send it off to be repaired. alot of people in West Virginia play tube heads, and our guy can fix them all. so I never have sent it off to Carvin, but thier Customer Support is great and they are very patient with me. When I have dealt with them.

I give the amp a 9 overall. if it was stolen I would buy another one in a heartbeat. It is the only amp I own, besides the Vamp. I chose the amp for price for once but doing my reasearch, it was worth it. I wanted a 5150 back in the day and a marshall, but now im glad I found another company that was as good as Carvin. I have found my tone, Im not trying to copy Zack or Randy or Eddie, I wanted my own tone, guess it comes with age but get over the hero worship and play for yourself, you can buy your favorite players gear down the the last pedal , I wont make you as good or sound like them, its in thier hands. and for God sakes, Scooping out your MIDS SOUNDS HORRIBLE, as well as cranking your gain, doesnt make you heavier, just an ass. use your ears. PLEASE

Mine is the 2003 Aniversary Head.
5 12ax7's
4 5881's
2 channels the regular for the head.

I don't play metal, but this amp was good enough for me to buy.
Played on tour with a friends, and loved it.
Out of the box the tone was kinda tame.
The power tubes would not let the amp sing like it wanted to do. IT was frustrating to get it to the full 100 watts, no headroom

Changed the tubes to this.
1 EH 5851 in V1
3 EH 12AX7's in V2 - V4
1 EH 12AT7 in V5

4 power tubes JJ 6l6's

now the amp sounds like a mix between a vintage fender, and marshall.
it's amazing to get those high gain tones with a vintage tube screamer.

One thing that i love about this head is the reverb. One of the best amp reverb i have ever heard.
It was noisy, and microphonic when i got it... but i changed the tubes and all teh problems went away.

Never had trouble except the tubes.

never had to use.

I've been playing for 8 years or so. In a few bands touring and not.

I'd definately recomend this amp if you're willing to put some time into finding an excellent tone.
With some tweaking, this amp is lovely.

IF it was stolen, i'd buy another.

Mine is a 2003 50th Anniversary Edition.
It is an all tube amplifier. (4 power @ 5 preamp tubes)
This amp suits my styles of playing extremely well. I play classic rock, jazz, contemporary Christian, and heavy Christian rock. This is a two channel amp. Clean and Lead channel. It has a switch on the back so that you can use either 5881/6L6 or EL34 power tubes. It also has another switch to change it from 50 to 100 watts. Very versatile. I tried several other amps before purchasing this one.
(Mesa's, Fender's, and Marshall's.) Each one had it's strong points but over all the Carvin just covered it all. It has a very sweet clean like the Fender is known for and a distortion that I feel is much more soaked and sustaining than a Marshall or Mesa.

This amp sounded very, very nice right out of the box. Carvin did an excellent job when they designed the MTS3200. I did however make a change that made an incredible difference in the sound of this amp. Like so many major amp companies do, they also used a less expensive tube in their amplifier. I changed the power tubes to Svetlana ("Winged C") 6L6's and the preamp tubes to Electro Harmonix 12ax7's. I know music is so subjective. What one person loves in sound, someone else doesn't. I am just giving this information to try and help. I tried so many different combinations of tubes. I mean countless. When I tried this combination, it blew me away. I have had so many people comment over how sweet this amp sounds, clean is distorted.

So far I have had no problem.

I have called Carvin for several things over the years from guitars to amps to sound equipment. They have always been very helpful and courtious.

I have been playing for about 25 years. The guitars I use are a Taylor 410 CE Acoustic and a Fender American Series HH Strat Hardtail. My effects consist of a Boss CU-2 tuner, Boss CH-1 chorus, Boss Mt-2 distortion ( Modded by Keeley ), Boss DD-3 delay, and a Boss NS-2 noise suppressor. If it were stolen I would definately buy another.

I bought this amp used on Ebay, according to the seller it needed new tubes, but was in over all good condition. its your pretty standard set up 2 channels, reverb, etc.

its Rebiasable which is nice, it can use EL34, 6L6, or 5881 type tubes, i put in a pair of E34L tubes which are cleaner EL34s with more bottom end, and it plays them fine in the EL34 setting without needing a manual bias job.

it can switch from 4 power tubes at 100 watts to 2 power tubes at 50 watts as well if you want.

ill give it a 7 because i feel its about normal for an amplifier as far as features go.

im not sure how it sounds stock with the 5881 tubes but from what i hear it has a lot of bottom end and a really good clean with those tubes (people say comparable almost to a fender twin clean)

like i said above i put in E34L tubes which are EL34s with approx. 20% more headroom and a tighter bottom end.

My band plays our own style of laid back Alt/Rock with songs requiring a glassy clean and a warm marshall esque crunch as well.

This amp feels like its inbetween a Marshall and a Mesa...more bottom end than a marshall but not as much bottom end as a Mesa and a bit higher gain than a marshall but not as high gain as a Mesa.

As far as the music i play goes, it falls in pretty perfectly with the sound that i wanted, i play it through a Hartke 4x12 cabinet with Celestion G12H80 speakers.

The clean is really good sounding, really glassy with a lot of headroom and the crunch can go anywhere from Weezer (around 3-5 gain at about 3 volume) to 80's shred metal (high volume high gain, but back off the bass knob a bit)

over all the sound with the E34L tubes is what you would expect from a boutique amplifier, that costs 3 times as much.

it seems solid enough, was gigged a lot before i got it, inside was dust free and clean, very well built, tubes are held TIGHTLY, TIGHTLY, TIGHTLY took me forever to jiggle them out.

it seems like a very simple amp on the inside, pretty basic and probably pretty easy for a tech to fix if it ever had problems.

I've dealt with Carvin before having bought from them a lot over the years, although i wouldnt deal with them online or over the phone unless you have to. if you live in california and have the luxury of going in person you will probably get the best customer service.

if i ever had problems with it and lived in another state, id probably just take it to a local amp tech instead of ship it cross-country to get looked at.

great great amplifier, from what i hear though change out the Sovtec 5881's that it comes with for a better tube type, its easy and i hear that people like the sound a lot better. I'm using JJ ECC83s in the preamp and JJ E34Ls in the power amp, sounds great.

I'd recommend this amp to anyone who is looking at buying one used in good condition.

My buddy brought his Soldano over yesterday and we jammed for most of the day and he thought the amp was a killer deal at $300.

If i were to put its worth alongside other amps, id put it next to a marshall JCM 800 and Mesa Dual Rectifier. It really is that good.

Bought used on a pawn shop I don't know the year it was made. Features were already described here. But anyway, it's a 2 channel amp with reverb.

Clean tone is very good, very clean and bright. Overdrive is a little fizzy and thin with the stock tubes (5881). I hope EL34s and a rebias helps it. Good for nu-metal tones, but not much else.

I don't know yet. It looks reliable. No opinion.

I never called the phone support. I checked their website and it's scary to say the least. They have a discussion board to ask questions..but you cannot say anything negative about their amps or mention other products or they kick you out. It's just praise, praise praise...LOL A nazi company. I was there for one day and my comments were deleted because I said something about the distortion being really thin and shitty.. they didn't like it LOL ... how about making a better amp then???

If I ever have a problem with this amp I will take it to my local tech in NYC. I wouldn't want to ship it cross country to CA anyway..

The amp is pretty good. It needs some tweaking, probably some new tubes. I bought this to be a back up for my Marshall 1987.
I won't even bother comparing it to the Marshall it doesn't even come close but the Marshall costs over agrand. This is more of an entry-level amp, for nu-metal kids who want to rock. LOL The legacy is more of a real amp. The X100 is very good also.

I use it with a Marshall 4x12 and a Guild SG copy. I'm trying to get a 70's heavy rock tone like old Sabbath, but so far everything coming form this amp is too scooped and thin. Maybe EL34s will help. The clean is great and the reverb is good too, so hopefully I will be able to tweak the distortion or I may just add a pedal to the clean channel.
Great for the price, but buy it used, save some $$ (they sell for real cheap used) and avoid dealing with Carvin at all costs.

So here's the bottom line about this amp:

THIS AMP SOUNDS GREAT CLEAN BUT THE DISTORTION NEEDS MAJOR IMPROVEMENT!
IT IS NOT A MARSHALL KILLER, MAYBE EQUAL TO THE 900 BUT A REAL PLEXI WILL EAT IT FOR LUNCH!! EVEN A 2000 WILL BE BETTER.

oh and also:

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE AT THEIR ONLINE BOARD. IT'S MANIPULATED BY THEIR EMPLOYEES BUYERS BEWARE!!
GO THERE AND TRY IT IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME!! THE RUDE CARVIN EMPLOYEES WILL KICK YOU OUT.
WAKE UP CARVIN, THERE ARE OTHER PLACES WE CAN TELL THE TRUTH
THANK YOU HARMONY CENTRAL

this amp is really clean, and the distortion gets mean!! i crank the gain to full, scoop the mids to about 2, put treble at 8 or 9, and put bass at 8 or 9. without a boss ns-2 though it gets pretty noisy at high levels. but the noise supressor solves that. and this amp can wail. kinda wish the clean channel would break up a little bit. but all aside from that its pretty damn sweet

i use a gibson sg standard with stock pickups and the amp sounds sweet and i also have an old 80s kramer beretta with emg hzs in it which are slightly less noisy but it really doesnt matter with a noise supressor. anyone who doesnt have one should get one they are the greatest invention since slice bread. i play mainly hardcore/metal so i would really say im kind of biased on the variety cause i pretty much just crank this thing. but sometimes ill play along with metallica and the clean sound they have is easy to acheive with a little reverb on the clean. the presence switch also makes the amp sparkle but i feel its a bit much, cause ill hit low e and its pretty loud, but as soon as i hit a high e the volume seems to double which is somewhat unnatractive, but who cares i hardly ever use clean. honestly lots of people look for the sparkly clean and this amps clean is definately crystal clear, but i would like some breakup

i would never use any amp at a gig without a backup, especially a tube amp no matter how reliable, thats just asking for it... but ill say ive never had to resort to my back up... thank god... its a crate blue voodoo 120. i have literally had no problems and ive been a proud owner of the amp for about a year and a half now. carvin seems to make quality products. especially PA equipment. and their basses are sweet too. however i would probably never purchase a carvin solid state head.

only time ive worked with them is to buy stuff, and of course they are friendly... they want my money right? when i ordered this head though they accidentally shipped me a 300 watt club loudspeaker. that was supposed to go to someone in texas, he probably wasnt too happy with carvin... supposedly the only way to get stuff serviced is to send it to carvin... so hopefully tube maintenence is the only service itll need, cause i dont wanna pay that kinda shipping since i live in georgia

ive been playing 8 years. i own a gibson sg standard and an old 80s kramer berreta and i used to own an epiphone les paul standard (sold it too my other guitarist) i also use a shure wireless, a big muff pi ( too bring out solos) a dunlop crybaby wah 535q, an ibenez delay pedal, and a boss ns-2 noise supressor, and a boss tu-2 tuner, however im seriously thinking of going all rackmount, and just using the wah, and maybe the big muff for extra volume/gain. i love the distortion on this amp, and the fact that it brings out notes, instead of hiding them like other high gain amps. this amp is real sensitive, so boys, if you buy this learn how to work the intonation of your guitars, and dont play sloppy cause both are pretty obvious. i only wish this amp had a master volume. but the 50/100 switch kicks ass cause tube saturation at low volumes helps a bunch when writing songs in the bedroom. this is a solid amp to buy new, and i hear that on ebay you can find some pretty kick as deals on them as well.

mts3200 1987
no.style Ray von van halen pop metal 80 rock
2 channels switchable, effect loop, line out
effects loop input pod to control the volume so
effest don't effect over all out put volume.
tube amp. I have two diods burnt out on preamp
which gives me no volume and breaks up at five on master volumes



need to fix before I can really tell if it will work
for my needs

can't tell yet

ebay

30 years.
many out board gear, old ada 2fx, me-6,beringer delay
zoom gfx 707
i need to find out rating on the diods that blew up to
replace them.

I posted a review before...many have listed the features. It could still use a master volume...perhaps a 3rd channel...nothin' a boost won't take of though. The reason for the repost is that I changed the tubes.

I replaced the 5881's with JJ E34L's. This amp is much better than I thought it was before. With the E34L's the amp warms up big time. Seriously a huge difference. The sound is somewhere between a Mesa and a Marshall...seriously! I love it...unique, with tons of gain and growl. If you love rock and roll...try some E34L's in it. So good for leads.

tubes!

People at Carvin have always been good to me.

If you like a JCM you'd really love the sound of this thing E34L's.

i think thats been pretty much covered. definitely needs a master volume.

i run my own custom hand made guitar.with custom wound dean pickups.play pretty much older metal and rock. Iron Maiden,Judas Preist,Metal church,AC/DC and i run an older Ampeg ss412as cabinet with the stock eminence speakers. this thing rocks.i changed the 5881's for el34's because of a volume problem i was having on the lead channel.do this and you will wake a sleeping giant. this thing has fu@##@$%^&^& volume.and it woke the drive right up to.

i had some problems with it at the begining. lead channel at any kind of volume would shift up and down and wasnt very responsive so like i said i replaced the 5881 tubes with el34's.i also replaced the stock 12ax7's with mesas.as far as gigging goes ive only gigged it a cuople of times im more of a hobby musician and only play outside of my home when my buddies regular guitar player cant make the gig because of his job. but still have not owned long enough to really rate reliability.

been playing about 10 yrs and i used to own a couple different peaveys an old reknown and a vss20 mini stack. also an older vox 100 watt head and an older marshall cabinet.all of which were decent amps.if it were lost? i dont know how this would happen id purchase another one, for the money you cant go wrong. if it were stolen, well lets just say he would have to be a pretty smart person and i dont know to many smart theives.i did test drive a gk a crate and a randall before purchasing this which i did purchase used off ebay got the head and cabinet for 550.00 which i thought was a pretty good deal. i would also like to mention as far as effects go i really only used a flanger and a distortion pedal of which neither one i use now with this amp beause it sounds sooooooo goooood raw.

2 channel tube amp with OPTIONAL footswitch, efx loop, tone controls.

Clean Channel is wonderful. Clean for days, headroom galore, rich and smooth. None Better, period.
Distortion channel is nice and thick, ut is worth noting that to get this amp to realy sing you have to crank it. As with almost any 100watt tube amp, they don't start to sound really good until you get the voltage hitting those tube plates. At low volumes the distortion channel doesn't sound too good but crankit and it is a beast.

Well, I've had to have the tube sockets resoldered twice, last time did the trick apparantly. Had to have the tube sockets "retentioned" for the power tubes as 1 was glowing red intermittently and that fixed it. And had to replace the trans because Carvin didn't tell me in the manual that I had to have speakers plugged in when using the line out, apparantly that isn't a "proper" load. I have to admit it sounded prety darn good when the trans went out though.

. Now if you bought this head and being a novice at tube amps or electronics would you know to hook up speakers? No because they specificially OMIT that part in the manual. Here is what Carvin tells you to do in the manual.
"REAR
PANEL 15. SPEAKER JACKS Two 1/4a?? SPEAKER JACKS are featured to operate several speaker systems at the same
time. Calculate the total speaker impedance based on parallel wiring as both speaker jacks
are wired in parallel. Select the IMPEDANCE SWITCH for the correct impedance.
16. SPEAKER IMPEDANCE SWITCH The IMPEDANCE SWITCH offers the selection of 4, 8 or 16 ohms to match your speaker
system. The correct setting for two 8A? speakers or cabinets would be 4 ohms. Select the
proper impedance. The impedance of the MTS3212 combo amp is 4 ohms. In the case
of adding another 4 ohm system such as Carvina??s VE212 4 ohm extension cabinet, keep
the switch at 4 ohms as the amp and power tubes are designed to work at 2 ohms as well.
17. 4 TUBE 100 WATT OR 2 TUBE 50 WATT OPERATION
For maximum output power, be sure the power tube selector switch is selected for 4 TUBE
operation. For lower overall levels and early power amp clipping, move this switch to the
22. AC POWER & FUSE The detachable AC POWER CORD supplied is designed to operate with one type of voltage
(the European 230V export model uses a CEE-7 plug cord set). Check the rear power
cord label for the proper voltage and fuse value. Make sure the cord is securely inserted
into the back of the unit. Plug the cord into a grounded a??3a?? pronga?? power source. No
attempt should ever be made to defeat or use the amp without the ground connected.
The FUSE (some models have circuit breakers) is located within the AC power cord receptacle.
To check or replace the fuse, remove the power cord, place a screwdriver under the
a??FUSEa?? cap and pull the fuse holder out. The fuse type is a 250V Slow Blow SB 5 x 20mm
rated at 3A for 120V & 1.5A for 230V models. Do not use fast acting fuse, only a SLOW
BLOW (SB) type fuse will work.
HELP SECTION
a) FEEDBACK FROM THE LEAD CHANNEL
GETTING STARTED QUICKLY If you are like most players, you probably want to plug in your new amp and get started
playing it right away. You can read the rest of the manual later to learn the finer points of
operating your amp. In order to get started you will need your MTS3200 amp, a 120 or
230 AC grounded power outlet, your instrument and a standard guitar cord. With the amp
turned off, you may now plug it into the proper AC voltage.
Now turn all the volume and drive controls off and set tone controls at their mid center position.
If you have purchased the FS22 foot switch, plug it into the rear foot switch jack for
switching the channels and reverb. Note: The channel SELECT button must be in the OUT
position (CH 1) for the FS22 to function (a hum will be heard if ita??s in the wrong position).
Now, turn the power switch and standby switch ON. Allow 60 seconds for the tubes to
warm up. Gradually raise the volume controls and re-adjust the tone controls and your
ready to go. The brass knobs can feel hot after the amp has been on awhile. This is normal
because brass conducts heat while plastic does not. This will not cause a problem for the
controls. Please call if you feel your amp is malfunctioning. Occasionally tubes are damaged
in shipping." http://www.carvin.com/manuals/MTS3200.pdf
Now they don't mention speaker cabinets but figure you are too stupid to know you need to plug it into an electrical outlet, ironic.

Fine amp and meant to be PLAYED LOUD. Kicks the 5150 in the ass and then gives it a wedgie and drags it around the room by it's tightie whities laughing while the 5150 whimpers and begs the MTS to stop picking on it. Only prob is the manual, it ASS-UMES you are tech savy and know you are supposed to hook up speakers. (OK sure most do but hell they tell you to plug the damn thing in, if you don't know that then it stands to reason you might not know that you need to plug in speakers or even what an extention speaker cabinet is for. ) They also fail to tell you that you have to have a speaker cabinet hooked up when you use the line out............................ Carvin is negligent and irresponsible in this regard. The amp isn't the problem, it's the attitude of the people at Carvin when you point out that they may have slight imperfections and don't dare go to the Carvin BBS and complain. good grief.

The clean sound lacked sparkle and the distortion channel had very very little gain. I've seen stomp boxes that are more versatile.

The clean sound was dull and muddy and the distortion channel and very very little gain. I've never seen a tube head with so little to offer.

It works just sounds like crap. I even put new tubes in there thinking the tubes were shot. It sounded the same. I called Carvin back and they said that's just the way it sounds so I sent it back. I can't believe anyone would release a tube head with so little to offer.

Carvin's customer support overall is crap because they won't send you replacement parts for a broken amp or anything. I had a mini pa from them that crapped out after 2.5 years and all they wanna do is take some money off of a new one. Who wants a new amp from Carvin when it dies after 2.5 years of very sporadic use?

Repair guys all over hate carvin because they won't send out replacement parts to them. Carvin wants all the repair work themselves so who the hell wants to ship something all the way to California for some inflated flat rate when you live on the east coast. It can be the smallest problem and carvin wants like 135 screw that! So yeah between their stupid policies and horrible sounding head they get a crap rating.

100 watt tube amp. The amp is a couple of years old and is much more versatile than I originally thought. I consider myself an eclectic rock guitarist. I dabble in all sorts of music. I fiddled with it and got some good sounds out of it, then I read the manual and that helped a lot more. The key to getting great distortion out of this amp is to have to the lead volume up real high, like somewhere around 7-10 and then adjust the gain and the presence accordingly. Seriously a wicked distortion. I found that the amp had a switch on the back to cut the wattage to 50 instead of 100 and found this really helpful. It actually doesn't affect the actual volume the amp is capable of creating as much as it does where the sound distorts. It works for breaking up the clean channel a bit. If you want it to break a little easier.....then don't turn on the presence switch. This amp will pull off a lot of different sounds, but you gotta know how to dial them in. The one thing I really wish this amp had was a second lead channel, nothing a pedal won't correct.....but still.

I play a BC Rich mockingbird with some kind of Seymour Duncan in the bridge. I'm not sure of the exact pickup, but the highs on it are a bit much....so the treble on the amp is set nill. The amp can give plenty of feedback when it's distorted, but keep your hand of the strings and it'll stay nice and quiet. The clean channel will distort a little and sounds real nice with the reverb all the way up. I love reverb and think the distortion sounds great with it too. "How brutal is the distortion?".....what a lame way to phrase a question. The distion is isn't brutal, it is Cruel. Seriuosly though, this amp has a real full distortion, with plently of the fuzz and none of the mud. You can hear all notes and subtleties clearly with the distortion cranked, unlike some british counterparts.

Can you depend on it?well..... it is a tube amp..... That aside the MTS has been a loyal companion. I'm not always as nice to it like I should be, but it's always fired up and blasted, with one exception. A little while back it did die on me. I replace the tubes and the amp was born again. In fact, when I came back to it after a whole week of not playing ( I was scrapin' together the dough for tubes) I fell in love with it again. The lower score applies to the fact that it is a tube amp.

I went to the Carvin store in Santa Ana to buy some new tubes. The guys there were total dorks, but they were plently helpful. New tubes were a bit pricey....and Jonny did hurt a little in the wallet...so it goes. I realize that it is not as easy for people who live outside of Southern California to have relations with Carvin. I feel sorry for all that dwell in the rest of the country, for not having a Carvin store to go to......and other stuff. =P

Hmmmm, I guess I've been playin' guitar for some time now....somethin like 9 years. Long enough to distinguish crap from junk and junk from quality. This amp is QUALITY! (The price does not suggest this, but it is). The Les Paul is a decent guitar, but you know how much better the old ones play, back when someone put some love into makin' them. Well it's kinda like that, you can tell someone(s) put in a lot of love when they designed this amp. As a Korean guitar is to an American (not meant to be patriotic) guitar, as a solid state is to a tube amp, is how most of the competition is to the Carin MTS, it's just better(completely subjective, right?).....and that does include amps with Union Jacks on them.

100 watt all tube head. Effects Loop. Reverb. Clean channel and Lead channel, both with their own EQ. Presence button for clean channel. Presence knob for Lead. Bias Switch for power tube types [EL34 or 5881/6L6. 12ax7 pre-amp tubes. All the basics, plus some extras.

When i first got this amp, it was just to hold me off until i could get a new head. I wanted a Peavy 5150. $100 from my bands old singer. They are $650 or so on Carvin's website. yea. deal and a half. The head is probably 5 or so years old. The tubes tat were in it when i got it [6 months ago] were generic russian 5881s and sovtek 12ax7 pre amp tubes. It sounds decent. but the volume was NOTHING. jsut to hear myself over drums i had to be on 8! thats through a 4x12 cab too. So i got the message from an agel in my sleep to get new tubes hah. I bought some affordable Fender tubes. 6L6 and 12ax7. the volume was improved. the sound was relatively the same. The volume started to drastically start to decline. wonderful. BUT, one day i look at the back of my head...the Bias switch was on EL34. ugggh. i didnt effin touch the bias switch. it was either the guy at the music store that i took it too when i get the tubes, or someone in my band. tsk tsk. but anyway. i figures the bias problem fried the powertubes. SOOO i got together some money and when to Falcetti music mall and got me some Mesa/Boogie Tubes all around. They are wicked affordable too. i dont know why. $7 for a preamp tube instead of $14, and $28 for a pair of power tube instead of $40. 6L6s and 12ax7s again. As soon as i put these bad boys in, i heard a world of change. The volume was nice and loud as hell. The sound was a lot gainier. in a good way. The distotion on this amp is effin nuts. I play in an emocore band and we have mosh breakdowns, so the chug chug 5150 tone is the standard. This thing reaches that, and more. I use EMGs in my Gibson SG and my Epiphone Les Paul. but dont get me wrong here. I also use an Epiphone LP with stock pickups and the distortion is still more powerful then most military firearms. Seriously i can kill babies with this shit.

The clean channel is nothing special. not bad, not spectacular. my EMGs effin kill the clean too. Im selling both my EMG rigged SG and LP for a gibson les paul studio. The distortion wont be sacrificed much, and my clean willbe tons better.

Considering its 5 or 6 years old its not too bad. I had problems with the sound just randomely cutting out a while ago, the volume being half it should be, and the distortion being a vomitting mess. But once i got new tubes it was fine. Sometimes it acts up, and sound weird if you dont let it warm up enough. I used to turn it right on and shit with the old tubes. im sure that killed em along with the bias switch being on the wrong setting. Let this thing warm up for a good 5 minutes, this thing is a beauty.
Its built like a tank. not as heavy as a 5150, but its still a blunt object that could wreck your enemies.

I havent ever dealt with carvin, considering i dont have the warranty stuff on this crap [the head and the matching carvin 4x12] but my bassist used to have carvin stuff and they caterred to him like slaves. wicked good with sending parts and stuff. i need to shampoo and condition my hair.

why the hell is rod stewart playing on my playlist. So yea, id say this amp is great. Itll stand up to a 5150 especially if you have EMGs. but even without, this thing cranks. You can get a sick distortion either way. and the clean channel is better then the rhythm channel on a damn 5150. Im getting my gibson les paul studio soon. then ill get a cab perhaps, cuz i think the speakers in my carvin cab are starting to go. I was goign to get a peavey XXX or 5150II soon, but i think ill keep my carvin til have the money to just throw around $1000 for a new head. yea i cant pay attetion anymore.

2003, bought new from carvin. i use it for a few different projects,
mainly for a really heavy hardcore band. i LOVE the dirty channel on this thing. those who say they can't get a decent dirty sound out of it must be kidding. i can really get a brutal, scooped, thick, heavy, distorted tone or a really messy fender-ish neil young sound.
i use mostly les pauls & sg's with it, through 2 marshall jcm 800 4x12 cabs. my only complaint is that i wish the clean channel would break up a little better at higher volumes, but then it wouldn't be a clean channel...

seriously, i love it. i got my first one used, traded a marshall jcm800 for it. a few years later i got an offer to trade it for an original 5150, what a mistake. i had to buy another mts from carvin. it sounds amazing. i can get any kind of sound out of it, from jcm800 crunch to neil young reverb madness to all out kiss it goodbye high gain madness. the bass end is killer. again, i wish that channel 2 was not clean only, but i only felt that way after owning a 5150 for a year

built like a tank. i've owned a ton of amps over the years, and the 2 of thses things i have owned are the only ones that never had any trouble, besides the maintainence stuff all tube amps need. the first one i owned had the original tubes in it and i played it a few years without changing them, no problems at all.

carvin was great when i called them asking if they offered a rack-mountable version of this head. they reccomended some flight case manufacturers.

love this amp. if it were lost, i'd have to get another one.
in fact, i am considering buying the combo version to play at my house. carvin makes some killer products for very little money, i have sold a few of my friends on this head!

features are what everyone enlse said.but i love this amp and they way i have set it up anyone who plays through it loves it.
this amp is extremely responsive to tube changes.and different speakers.YOU HAVE TO FIND THE COMBINATION THAT WORKS FOR YOU!

i use a custome built strat with fender custom shop fat 50's neck and middle and duncan lil'59 in the bridge and a custome curly maple top les paul with duncan 59's. i play everything.classic rock metal blues and jazz.it covers it all.SET UP PROPPERLY!
I use ruby tonebone adapters with el84's,it makes the clean channel breakup like my super reverb did.
a marshall blues breaker overdrive on the boost mode makes for more distotion on the lead channel and srv sounds on the clean.
i used to own a booie and a super reverb and A/B box but i got tired of all the gear lugging.
this amp with the RIGHT TUBES AND SETUP AND A GOOD EAR replaced all that gear.
anyone who does not like this amp has no patience.
chang tubes,different brand and gains.YOU CAN FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IN THIS HEAD! PERIOD

never had a problem,don't need a backup but always carry spare tubes.

awesome support ,response within a day.

i had one stolen ! a combo.
i went through marshalls mesas and fenders and could not get the versatiliy this amp has.
i replaced it with a head.
i would replace it again hunt down and kill the culprit this time.

Bought it new from Carvin in 1997 with a cover and footswitch for $700

Just found a site to get schematics from, going to give it one more try before dumping it on Ebay.

Used it (while it worked) with both single coil and humbucker pick-up type guitars. Pretty versatile, was only able to put about 12 hours of play time on it before it died.

This is where it gets ugly. Right out of the box the amp made some groaning noises and the reverb didn't work. Made several calls, had parts sent out twice to attempt to correct the problem. Ultimately had to ship it back to CA.($40 shipping each way), got it back in 3-4 weeks. Played on it for about 12 hours before something burn't up (smelled like burning toast). Got disgusted and put it in the closet.

Lame

Be prepared to ship it back to the factory for repairs, although now there are schematics available for it so getting it fixed locally may be an option.

I have a variety of amps, two Fenders (twin and a quad), ART DST-830, oh yeah and a dead Carvin MTS 3200. If the Carvin were stolen I would laugh my ass off at the idiot that took it, and Hell No about buying another Carvin anything.

This amp was made in the Carvin factory in San Diego California. I mainly play 80's metal such as Metal Church, old Metallica, Death and can get pretty good Yngwie Malmsteen tone out of it. It has 2 channels Clean and Lead. It has channel switching, effects loop, but no head phones jack (why would you need one playing through a stack?) It has eq's for both channels a master reverb but no master volume which would be nice but not needed. Its all tubed, 5 pre amp tubes and 4 power tubes. The stock tubes are pretty good. A kool feature is the 50/100 watt switch.

Im using it with a Gibson Les Paul Classic with stock pickups. Its very versitle, you can get a great clean channel, and good blues crunch and an awesome full out metal tone. Not to noisey, just as noisey as any other tube amp cranked. The clean channel no matter how loud doesnt really break up with is nice for me but some may want that distortion tone when the cleans cranked. The lead channel can go from a soft crunch to a good heavy distortion.

I gig it without a backup. The amp has never broken down. Its built great and I dont expect any major problems.

Carvin is great. This was my first tube amp so I had some questions when I got it and every person I talked to hepled me out. Also the guys on the discussion board are awesome, if you have a question id head there and ask them theres some really smart guys in there. When I got it I had a problem with my v4 tube. I called Carvin and they sent me 4 new ones free, hows that for service.

Ive been playing for 3 years. I also own a Peavey Bandit 112, a Carvin DC 400, a Gibson Les Paul Classic, a Cry Baby Wha, a Boss Metal Zone. If it were lost or stolen I would go get a new one. I love the clean channel and the lead channel good to, I run a SD-1 in front of it sometime though for a solo boost. Dont really hate anything. I mainly choose this because of the price. An awesome amp, I like it just as much as my friends Marhshall.

This is to update an earlier review.
You have to tweak this amp like you would a 5150.
If you leave the "Treble, and Presence" knobs where you would with most ampsthen you will get a very brittle, bright sound.
Having said that,I leave the Presence off, and the Treble at 3. My sound is stil pretty bright. With these tweaking suggestions I am able to achieve a great dirty tone. It has a Mesa style bottom, but with a vintage Marshall type of midrange.
The clean channel is good, but not as good as my blackface Fender that I A/B it with.

My Rig:
Robin Savoy.Alamo TOnemonger.Fender Tele.
Samson airline wireless
EH Memory Man
Ibanez 7 band EQ
Boss TU-2 Tuner
A/B
A:Fender Bassman and 4x12 cab
B:MTS and Carvin 4x12

Rock Solid

Amazing

I think it was made in 99(not sure). I play everything from hard rock to italian wedding music and this amp has been perfect for all. two channels dirty/clean both of which are as good or better than marshall/mesa/fender,,,you name it. an effects loop which I use always but it would be nice with a loop bypass. it has no head phone jack which a lot of users complained about but what I don't get is,,,why buy a hundred watt amp for your headphones???? I wish it still had the graphic equalizer like the XB used to because that was far more effective that the usual parametric equalization. I never use the 100 watt 50 watt switch because to be honest,,,, I couldn't really notice any difference.

I use an oddysey and a carvin guitar both with carvin SD22 humbuckers. the amp(as I've already said) has not disappointed me playing any kind of music. it is totally quiet at all times but I did have a problem with the reverb spring picking up vibration and making the amp feedback but once I figured out what was causing it I was problem free. this amp can be as clean as clean gets or as dirty as anyone with over 15 with ear drums could possibly want. I have not had this amp up to 10 in either channel and can't possibly imagine when or where I would need to. this amp is ??ucking loud!!

I've had this amp for close to 5 years and just today as a matter of fact I replaced the jack for the effects loop send. considering its had cords in and out of it a million times, thats not bad,,,AT ALL!!
other than replacing the 5881's with EL34's, and this was only cause I wanted to try the EL34's, the amp has had zero problems!! ZILCH!!
the other guitar player in my band uses fenders pretty much exclusivly and has had his amps in the shop on a steady basis. In fact,,he borrowed my old carvin XB60 once and loved it!!

I have been dealing with carvin for over 20 years now and customer support is second to none!! the employee's are knowledgable friendly and very generous with thier time, I've never had to sit and wait on the phone cause all operators are busy!! over the years I've bought from carvin,,a guitar,,XB60 amp,,mts 3200 amp,,XS200 amp,,2 mics,,mic stands,,tuner,,chorus pedal,,sperzel machine heads,,6 channel PA system,,12 channel PA,,numerous SD22 pickups and probably other things I'm forgetting!! All shipped up to canada and delivered to my doorstep, cheaper and QUICKER!! than my local music store!! As for the warranty?? I'm sure its quite good but honestly I don't know!! Carvins gear is built so damn well I've never had to use a warranty.

I've been playing guitar for over 33 years and in that time I've tried just about every guitar amp there is out there. of course there are a number I haven't tried, mostly cause they are very small and localized company's and next to impossible to get where I live.
ie DR Z,,bogner,,univalve etc

and whereas there are plenty of amps that can be as good, and maybe, just maybe even a little at some things, that certainly doesn't come even close to justifying spending three or four, even five or six times as much money to get one!! if my mts 3200 was lost or stolen I wouldn't hesitate to buy another, only this time I would probably go for the steve vai legacy model!! :-)

Two channels, sweet cleanest of the clean, with a presence on off button. dirty channel, basic high, low, mid, with a lead presence. Effects loop i haven't used. foot switchable reverb.

The clean channel is sweet and tasty, as good as it gets from a stack. Enough said.

The dirty channel i feel gets a really bad rap. Mainly from kiddies who think peavy bandits sound wicked and reckon Korn rocks.

I originally wanted a 5150 but bought this baby coz it was so damn cheap. Like half the cost if the peavy. Loved it in the shop then took it home and was less then happy. To may ears it was ok for 80's metallica but not for the mega gain stuff of today. I got an SD-1 which saved the day but then i got sick of running a pedal into the front-end of this amp. Of course at this stage i hadn't been able to play the thing cranked!!! What a revelation.

These are the most important things to remember when tring to get a brutal sound from this baby.

Leave the reverb on but turn it to zero. The shitty buzzy tone comes from switching the reverb off with the footswitch. Leaving it on kills the buzzy stuff and gives it some mid range push. nice.

Run the EQ conservativly. A big mid scooped, high bass, high treble set up will sound like ass. When its cranked i find that this works well

Presence - 3/4
Treble- 6
mid- 5
bass - 5

this will still have a big low end but with a meaty mid range

Get some hardcore pickups. I have a cheapo jackson Ps-1 with EMGS and they do the job nicely. The MTS isn't as high gain as some other amps (but still has plenty) and a high gain pickup will help the tone no end.

You really don;t need to hit this thing with a tube screamer for anything other the a volume boost for solos.

All in all this has a wicked tough guy hardcore sound and pick squeals will leap of the neck.

Never had a problem, theres a consensus that it prefers some types of 12Ax7s to others but im not the guy to ask about this since my amp is stock.

theres a really big online family for carvin stuff. lots of helpful people on the message board. I live in Australia so I don't know about the factory support but the place where i bought mine were really good to deal with.

If it were lost or stolen i'd look at other options (whole wouldn't take the chance to spend some time perving at gear?) but would glady get another one.

This amp is one of those Bang for your buck champions of the world.

two channels, all tube, 100w or 50w output switchable between 4, 8, and 16 ohms. nothing out of the ordinary. effects loop, foot switch, emulated output. as allready mention the footswitch only toggles the reverb and has nothing to do with the effects loop, not a drawback really but did they really have to tease us by writing "effects" next to the switch? I play alot of rock/metal type stuff and really its all I need in a head.

I play either a jackson sl-3 soloist that has a duncan distortion at the bridge or a godin lgxt which has a duncan custom custom custom, or so they call it. Overdrives beautifully with the gain all the way up and the volume at 80% about. emits a hum at this volume, hum eliminator should fix that. i play it through a marshall 1960 cab and it sounds really great.

the distortion is somewhat of a british/californian bastard child type tone, slightly different then what you'd expect but i dig it in a big way. really crunchy for the drop-d type licks but spongy enough for a nice lead, one of the few amps out of the many i've tried that does a good rythm and lead tone. sustains nicely but not over-saturated like alot of tube amps, very responsive to the touch.

clean channel is a bit odd, maybe mines broken i'm not sure. for one, it's pretty kick-you-in-the face for a clean channel, not what you'd expect. its also way louder than the overdrive channel, which kinda sucks if your trying to set up a dynamic volume type effect between the two (ie nice pretty clean riff followed by something sinister and brutal).

in all its not exceedingly versatile but it gets the exact tone i want, and that's all i could ask for.

reverb has acted funny since i got it. if i have it turned up at all i can hear it echoing over my tone even with it switched off. other than that its real sturdy, just as good as any other amp if you ask me.

I've called them up a few times, and I gotta say I was pretty impressed each time. Every time I've called i've gotten some one on the phone ASAP, no hold no wait. They were able to answer my questions and willing to take the amp back in a second if there was any reason to suspect an issue. No stores i can go to to get service done locally, but i'm willing to bet its faster sending the thing out than dealing with the locals, and their guys really know their stuff.

For the price it's simply impossible to beat. With all the money I saved I got a pile of stompies. I've compared it right up against several randall heads, the peavey xxx and 5150ii, and the marshall tsl100. this thing could beat or keep pace with all of these and for half the price. 'nuff said.

Made in 2001. Works for my styles which ranges from classic rock, hard rock, but mostly grind/death/black/thrash metal. It works for all of these for the most part, but after its modified it can do it all. The effects loop is a nice feature, but its completely useless to me considering there is no way to bypass the loop as mentioned by other people here. I suppose this might be nice if there is one thing like a parametric equalizer or noise eliminator/filter you keep on all the time. The FS22 pedal that comes with it has a button that says Reverb/Effects on it, but it only turns off the reverb and does nothing to the loop.
=====My #1 piece of advice=====, replace the power tubes to EL34s. If you check out the review of the smaller combo version of this amp, just about everyone in there says this too. This was the best thing I ever did

For some reason, mine didn't sound good at all with the stock Sovtek 6L6 power tubes, the distortion had way too much of the high frequency "sizzle" and scraping and when the presence and high frequencies were turned down to get rid of that raspy drive sound, the amp no longer had any balls; no crunch, just a generally bad feeling playing on it. It only sounded good after I played it for hours with drums and bass so my ears were already somewhat tired and damaged so that I couldn't hear the "sizzle" anymore. Since I didn't have any money this is what I had to settle for, but to me it was still better to play this way than to use a pedal. However, 900 dollars for the half stack, 58 dollars for a new set of power tubes, 70 dollars for shipping, and you are still spending less for an entire setup than you would for a single 100 watt marshall or mesa head. So get a carvin half stack, modify it, and use the extra money you saved and buy a sweet guitar or some better pickups for your existing one. Or for that matter, buy another carvin half stack and an output switcher to make up for the fact that it only has 2 channels.

One important observation is that when I have the EL34s in there I still have to turn the presence almost all the way down to get rid of that sizzle, but when this is done, its beautiful.

I think it is amazing that everyone had exactly the same reaction as my first impression of the amp when I first played a note through its clean channel. This is the best clean channel I've ever heard!! Its true; this amp is just worth it for the clean. So yeah, you might say death metal doesn't really need it, but guitar isn't my only instrument and I definately appreciate the response and feel of the clean channel. It just glistens like a violin in Carnegie hall! Well that might be extreme, but you get it. It reminds me of the shadows' guitar sound although they used fenders.

I can most definately depend on this amp. I've dropped it once, and gigged it many times, never even had to replace a tube because of a defect. I've had this amp for over 2 years now and have used it mercilessly at full gain almost every day.

Independent of tubes, this is the BEST made tube amp I've ever seen. The wiring and tube sockets and electronic work inside is so clean and precise, nothing half assed about it. I'm not surprised that its lasted so long and taken so much punishment.

They responded to me quickly and answered my questions honestly. They didn't try and lie to me about common problems and complaints they've had which is something that is very important to me.

Despite not having 3 channels or not having a very useful foot pedal when it comes to the effects loop, or having a terrible stock distortion sound and feel, this is easily offset by the fact that you can put better tubes in it that change the sound dramatically, and coax the sound you want out of it. Oh yeah the price. So you only get 2 channels, well for the price of a marshall or mesa, get 2 carvin half stacks and a line switcher and get 4 channels and a full stack out of it. I'm not joking or exaggerating about this. A JCM800 on musiciansfriend.com costs $2099 US, and 2 carvin MTS3200s would be 1800 dollars, add 70 for shipping, 120 for 2 new sets of power tubes, then add in the cost of some cables and a line switcher, and you are around the same cost!! Fantastic value is right.

Tube 100W head switchable to 50W, 5 preamp 12AX7A tubes with either 4 EL34's or 6L6GC power tubes with switchable bias. 2 channels: 1 clean (with a great gritty sound with the volume turned up), 1 overdrive (with gobs of gain). Accutronics spring reverb, 1 input, an effects loop and a line out - everything one expects in a quality tube head.

I use an ibanez ax with a Dimarzio super distortion and PAF pro and 1meg volume and 500K tone pots. My band plays modern rock and this Head fits the bill perfectly. The cleans are nice and bright and the overdrive is thick and smooth with an amazing full sound that allows the guitar to play itself. I can describe it simply by saying the sound is alive. I use Sovtec 6L6GC power tubes and electro-harmonix 12AX7A's. The head has a great modern sound with the 6L6GC's. I use it with the carvin legacy c412t cab which is a slant cab with vintage 30's. It is the perfect match! I was thinking about the marshall 1960A, but the GT75's sound too brittle to me and the Mesa recto cab is out of my price range. The c412t cab sounds every bit as good as the recto for distored guitar and better for the clean. I use a Marshall supervibe pedal and a Guyatone MD3 pedal in the effects loop and a boss tuner, morley pro wah, and marshall jackhammer (for a "3'rd" channel sound) before the input. There is only a normal tube head amount of hiss that isn't even noticable unless it is the only piece of gear on. This head is LOUD! I only ever use it at the half power setting.

I've played it out a few times and practice with it regularly with absolutly no problems. It is built solidly and I would only expect to change tubes every now and them.

Don't know

I am the vocalist/guitar#2 in the band and have played guitar for 4-5 yrs. I care about tone and this head/cab combination provide it. Carvin is a great US company. I would not hesitate to buy this amp again if anything happened to mine.

What everyone else said

Well I picked this baby up yesterday used for dirt cheap with the matching cab. I played at the guys house and it sounded kinda weak. Cleans were good, but distortion wasn't too saturated. I play heavier music ala AFI, NOFX,... so I wasnt too sure, but it was still a deal so I was going to go for it. Come to find out the guy was actually a bass player and was given the amp. It hadnt been played for over a month. So, when i got it home i cranked it and after about 10 minutes of playing it started to wail. This baby screams and is loud. I play it through my american strat with jb jr in the bridge through a 5150 cab and i love it. I would consider the distortion the cross between a marshall jcm 2000 and a rectifier, sweet and smooth with just enough grit. the clean of course is amazing. Turn back the gain and volume and you can also get great crunch as well. It doenst quite have the balls of a marshall dsl (which i used to own before it was stolen) but for the price c'mon. i would have paid much more for the head alone. Also, don't listen to the guys who say the distortion is weak on this amp, because its not (crank gain to 9 or 10 and youre way over the top). I was afraid of this before i bought it and im extremely pleased now.

so far so good

This actually does compare to the marshall dsl like i said above, with a sweeter clean channel. Nor for metal definetely, but every other kind of rock is covered. Reverb is weak but i usually lay off the reverb anyways. I dont know what else to say, but if youre considering this amp, its an incredible deal for a remarkable amp.

All tube 100w (can be switched to 50w) head with 5881 power tubes (6L6's) Comes with a footswitch with reverb and channel switching ability. L O U D. 2 channels (clean, lead) with independant eq's for each. Master reverb for both channels. I would've liked seperate reverb for each channel too...so a very solidly built and designed amp loses a few points there.

I play this through a Carvin 2x12 cabinet and with an Ibanez USA Custom guitar. That's it. I love the gain (drive) on this head. If you ever read a review by some know nothing that says this cannot get a brutal distortion...laugh it off. I can get the brown sound of EVH on "4" on the drive. (4 also seems to be a good level for many nu-metal bands such as the Vines and the heavier White Stripes songs)I can get a BRUTAL Testament sound on "8". The clean channel is AMAZING. Better than the Mesa Boogie F-50 imo. Having an independant eq for both channels really helps as I like more mids in my clean...

Made with plywood not particle board. Steel reinforced corners. No plastic anywhere except maybe the led lights. Seems very durable but I haven't dropped it so.... :) Will be used as my live amp w/o backup.

N/A ... amp arrived in perfect condition.

I looked at the Marshall TSL 2000, Mesa Boogie F-50 (both head and combo), Carvin Legacy, Marshall JCM 900, and a Classic 50 by Ampeg*(*I belive...this was the worst..that much I rememer) Of all those amps I'd say that the Carvin MTS 3200 is closest to the Mesa Boogie F-50 in sound...but for more than $400 less. I'd definately recommend this amp to anyone without hesitation. Tubes are where it's at and this head represents the most bang for the buck.

The amp features are nice, I like the fact that there is no Master Volume knob, and the tube clipping from 50w to 100w for those late night practices. The amp plays all styles that I go from, from classic rock, to 80's metal and Nu Metal. Some people don't like the 2 channels on the face, but why do you need more than that? Both are easily switchable by the footpedal. I use this amp around my house and I take it to gigs as my primary...with no back up. But to sum it up, GREAT features!

I'm using a Zakk Wylde Les Paul this this. And that is it. The amp totally is in competition with Mesa and the 5150. My favorite sound setting from this beast : Presence-10, Lead-Treble-9, Lead-Mid-0, Lead-Bass-4, Lead-Gain-10... The amp gives great rock sound, even with stock tubes! Just play around with the EQ, and you can get any kind of sound you want basically!

Since I bought it, its been my primary.

Buy this amplifier! If you want that pissed off sound, or clean peaceful sound, or anything in between, you can get it with this amp!

Features are good. Amp is sturdy and well built. Knobs are heavy. Switches are fine. Footswitch works. Options like 50/100watt switching, 6L6 / EL34 capability is nice.

Like everybody says... Clean channel is beautiful. Shoot a preamp through it for overdrive and it sounds good. Dirt channel sucks bigtime. Would have been nice to have 2 clean channels instead... or... of course useable drive. The high EQ is very extreme as it goes from nothing to shrill crappy noise very quickly. I keep it close to zero all the time. Bass and Mid have good shaping qualities.

2 weeks into its use, the high pot started to piss out on the clean channel. Whatever... so what... it was a bad pot. I didn't want to hassle with sending the amp back so Carvin sent me a replacement pot for free and said it wouldn't void my warranty if I installed it myself. It was kind a pain in the ass to do so, but it's done and the amp works fine. It gets very hot which spooks me a bit... but such is the nature of tube amps.

Carvin was very cool when the pot problem arose.

Not sure what year, but it's the 50th anniversary edition. This amp is EXACTLY what I needed and wanted when I got it, and still is after almost a year of owning it. I play guitar driven rock, or heavy alternative I suppose, even though now days that's kind of misleading as a lot of Nu Metal is termed that as well, so I guess think Foo Fighters, Catherine Wheel, Sugar, Therapy?, Swervedriver, etc... and ya get the idea. The crunch channel is perfect for what I need it for, thick, crunchy, and pushing lots of wind so to speak. The clean channel IS cool too, though I've never been a "clean freak", the tone is great, even more then probably what I need.
Of course it has a switch pedal that also controls the reverb ( decent reverb too ), and I wish it also had the option of a bypass for the effects loop, but no biggie, I'm not much of an effects guy anyways, just the straight amp sound with a chorus, delay, etc. is pretty much what I like. There's no headphone jack, BUT, a cool feature is the direct line out that's 'cabinet voiced', which is great for house sound at a gig, or even for recording. I use this amp at practice, for shows, recording, and to annoy my neighbors! This amp is plenty loud enough, I rarely get up past 3 and usually it's cutting through with the band at 2, so it rocks. I give this amp a 9 with the only drawback for me being the deal with the effects loop, if ya had the option of a bypass, then it'd be a 10. And no, I'm not concerned about a danged master volume knob, I find those annoying, and prefer my channels as they are, with individual volume control.

I'm mainly using an Epiphone Les Paul Standrard, along with a couple other Epi's ( which in my opinion, are, when made right, better then the modern Gibsons ), with the stock pickups, which I got lucky with, cause Epi pickups can sometimes be a crapshoot, but these rock. The amp suits my style just fine, whether it's the ol' quiet/clean thing, or the straight ahead rock tunes. The amp is pretty quiet, not a lot of hum, even around them pesky florescent ( think I spelled that right ) lights, & not even radio signals when doing shows round here, where there seems to be a lot of radio towers near the part of the city where a lot of clubs are as well, go figure.
Ok, to sum up what this amp is and isn't I'll put it like this.... The clean channel is great, even at loud volumes. The crunch channel goes from almost clean to waaaay heavy, depending on the gain setting, I keep mine at around 7. And to give an example, here's a bit of history. I had a Marshall 50w jcm800, which I had wanted for years! And finally got one, a mid 80's model in fact, which is what everyone I know considered to be the poop. Well, it was ok, but not THE rock monster that I'd been lead to believe it to be, it didn't have the balls I needed for the music, and was limited with just one channel. So after owning it for about a year or so I went looking for something else. Around this time the main lead player for my band got a Carvin Legacy, which I was greatly impressed with, and also around this time I happened upon the mts3200 in a shop used, so I did a straight across the counter swap and I be a happy man today! And just for the record, everyone that heard the Marshall all thought it was what a Marshall was supposed to sound like and thought I was a fool for doing the trade, until hearing the Carvin, then they shut up lol. So mark it down to personal taste, as I can get a sound quite similar to the jcm800 but go way past it as well ( and I keep it in the 50 w setting as opposed to the 100 w because that's all I need out of it ).

It's very dependable, and I HAVE used it without a backup before, even though I know that's not the best idea, the amp's given me no reason to worry.

I haven't dealt with them as of yet, but my friend has, and they were great according to him.

I'been playing for about 20 years or so, granted, a lot of that time was playing bass, but always playing guitar as well, I just got tired of playing with guitarists that have that horrid thin, overly bright sound, and decided to do it myself, pushing some low end while running through an old Acoustic 4x12 with plain ol' emminance ( hope I spelled that right as well ) speakers. I also own a Crate djx112 as a practice amp/backup if hard pressed, and a Korg toneworks ax1. I would replace this amp without a second thought if it were to be lost, stolen, destroyed, etc..., then hunt down and seriously hurt the person who caused the loss. I love this amp beacuse it's what an amp should be, no hassles and 300 knobs to fart with, and like other reviews have said, it takes a little time to dial in "your" sound, but once ya have it, BUTTUH! The only reason for the 9 again, to recap, is for the effects loop prob, but it's pretty minor really, so I dig it baby yeah! And yes I'm a goof, but it's better then reading a stiff, boring, or worse, grumpy review. Slainte.

Two channels, One clean and one dirty. No master volume :(
blah blah blah You know by now what this amp has. Bought it used with Carvin 2x12 Br cab for $400.

Great clean channel. Sounds as good as any I've heard, Fender included, stays clean unless cranked at 10 in 50W. Lots of gain in lead ch., too much for my taste, but it sounds real good cranked. Not cranked it sounds too "fuzzy" thanks to diode clipping after the first drive stage. What never gets mentioned is the sounds this amp gets with low lead drive. I love to play this thing with the drive between 1 and 2 and different combo's of single coils, emulates Ric/Vox (Romantics-what I like about you) type stuff real well. My only problem is that the drive is touchy in that small range and its kinda hard to set it up sight.

I've only used this amp to jam with friends and play at home so it hasn't been abused. I haven't had any problems with it. I've had lots of Carvin stuff and it's all been very reliable.

Bought it used so can't comment on this experience. In the past they've been great to work with.

My wife let me buy a Carvin DC135 for fathers day. I bought this amp shortly after. If it were stolen I'd be bummed because I'd only get to play my guitar unplugged on the couch. I used to play bass in differet bands in the late 70's, early 80's (used a carvin bass amp then). People seem to either love this amp or hate it. I think it's hard to beat for the price. I'd like to mod the amp a little, I'd like a switch that makes the lead drive pot less sensative so I can dial in those different crunch tones, maybe I'll remove the diode clipping, but as is it is a real good amp that can do anything I need it too.

Only the clean channel sounds good. The distortion sounds like a you're in a farm with annoying bees buzzing around your head. It lacks what Marshall, Mesa, Laney, and even Line6(yuck)has in there distortion. I've spent one year noodling with the tubes, speakers and EQ tweaking and never got a good sound.

The thing crashed on me almost near the end of it's warranty.......i had it sent back to carvin and they said it was the tubes....bullshit! I swapped the power and preamp tubes to test it out and it was something else. After they repaired it I quickly sold it and am I happy as hell!!

Great customer support

everything that i've ever bought from carvin has turn out to be something i'm very disappointed within a 3 months. There stuff is overrated and by no means as good as advertised...maybe the legacy and a few other stuff. I've gotten the cyclops, bass, strings and a couple of other accessories and not to mention the MTS and after a couple of months of smelling the coffee.....their stuff is just crap! Never again will i ever buy their stuff. Go for what the pros go for the real stuff like Marshall, Laney, Mesa and etc.

Already covered in numerous reviews. No repetition necessary. Only feature think should be added with the exception of being able to switch out/ in the loop or just do away with it altogether but some like them sooo.

Guitars are a Tradition soulster w/ kent Armstrong Pickups (213 & 214k), An SG deluxe copy with Kent Armstrong Pickups and Recently a Carvin DC135 stock pickups which will remain in the guitar.
Effects, occasionally use a old digitech 2101legend but mostly none unless needed they are out of the chain.
Amp is quiet for a high gain amp especially setting next to a 5150 then it becomes glaringly obvious how quiet and good this amp sounds.
Grind, Death, Noise, metal core etc.
This amp can hold up against anything on the market and the clean sounds are likely the best available in todays market at any price. In the studio it was remarked by the recording engineer that it sounded "like" a Mesa rectumfrier (it definately does sound better in my opinion and while it can be described as similiar, they aren't the same), I can only assume those reviewers who thought the MTS sounded like crap had problems with the amp or just don't know what they are talking about, I have even heard people bad mouth Mavin Peele or Matchless amps so it really could be they just did not like the sound, each to his own but not liking the amp personally doesn't mean it sucks except to that individual) The distortion is rich and sounds really nice but it doesn't come alive until you get this thing cranked (like most)so if you live somewhere that you can't play loud, get a smaller amp. If you want to hear this amp go to mp3.com and look for _quell_ , you will want the 1 with the songs "requim for purity", etc.. The MTS can easily be heard in most of the percussive parts as well as any others, with close listening and the above info you should be able to hear the amp from the others if you have decent ears.
The 50watt switch on this or any amp is not going to give enough of a volume drop for apartment level playing unless you have some really cool neighbors, the spl diff between 100 & 50 watts isn't much.
Clean!!!! You just will NOT find a better sounding clean channel on any amp at any price, I could buy 1 of these solely for the clean channel and be very satisfied. This amp can cover virtually any sound from pristeen to brutal but it does take some time to get used to setting the controls. check it on mp3.com site or listen to the canned sound samples on Carvin site.
I did do some minor mods, (not necessary at all) in first bank of filter caps increased the capacitance and added a brute force filter circuit (torres), paralleled the preamp filter caps with oil caps and doubled the bias cap. This tightens up things and improves the bass response a little and the oils smooth and sweeten the tone. These are mods I do on most amps I own as well and they do not really alter the basic sound of the amp, as a matter of fact some could not tell an audialbe difference in the amp, some can but these type mods mostly come into play when an amp is dimed out anyway except the oils, you can hear that at most any level if you hear it. Minor Mods are subjective anyway so don't get hung up on that, others will tell you these mods are useless and for them they are right. Changing tubes is again personal preference, I recommend some NOS philips, rca's or tele if you can get them, and JJ' or svet output tubes if you can't get some NOS RCA 6l6's etc but the stock tubes are generally ok. Personal preference again comes into play but at least tube amps give you the options of altering your amps personality a bit easily be changing tubes, just don't ecpect miracles as some would have you expect unless the tubes you are replacing are defective or substandard.

While this amp is reliable there have been a few issues over the last couple of years. I have seen less problems with this amp than several which costed significantly more.
1, the effect loop jacks were bad. Carvin sent replacement parts right out and stated they had apparantly gotten a bad batch of jacks. I changed parts and no more problems there since. (the loop doesn't see much use anyway.)
I needed to resolder the preamp tube sockets (not uncommon for any newer mass produced amp) because the heater voltages were screwey and the occasional sound/ volume drop. Note the amp had been used extensively for over a year and dropped several times. No more problems. I have no doubt if this had been a 5150 it wouldn't have held up this well and I base that remark on experience

Excellent, called talked to tech,sent schematic and parts since I told them I could easily fix it and needed the amp.
Face it a lot of the complaints from dissatisfied customers is because for even for minor probs most people have to send the amp back to carvin. If you bought a Marshall from the local dealer and had a prob you just drive back to the local store and get taken care of and you're happy... If you had to pack it up mail it out and wait.... you would be pissed.
In spite of the above fact I give Carvin a 10, but if you ever need to call them about a problem "DO NOT" talk to a Sales rep or a customer service rep. ASK for a service tech, You will be much happier, they will know what they are talking about whereas the sales service rep likely won't know too much more than you and generally these peoples responses are scripted to some degree.... talk to a Service Tech...

I service this amp and have played it numerous times. I do not personally own it. If this amp were stolen it would be replaced in kind no doubt. This amp is not some techno amp loaded with bells and whistles, if you want that look elsewhere. It is a basic amp that does what it is designed to do extremely well, it is not trying to be a Marshall Boogie or anything else. I would recommend this amp to anyone. I love the clean and distorted channels and in between sounds, it really is versitle. It is not a toy but a basic professional amp.

100 watts through 4, 8, or 16 ohms, all tube. Made in 2002. The features of this head are great. Two independant channels with independant tone controlls, direct out, etc. The best feature of this head, and one that you won't find anywhere else, is the bias selection switch on the back of the head that allows for use of wither 6L6 (5881) tubes or EL34 tubes. Only thing missing is a master volume, but I like it loud, so it's not a problem for me.

My primary guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Studio with a Gibson 498T in the bridge and a Gibson 490 in the neck. My only complaint is that the stock tubes are cheap. It comes with Sovtek 5881 power tubes which are a little thin and not too powerful. I switched them out for Groove Tubes E34Ls tubes and the amp came alive. The pre-amp tubes are decent (5 groove tubes 12AX7 R) but I switched the V1 tube for a groove tubes 7025-Y. The 7025 has more high end and a brighter sound with more gain. With this setup, the amp is amazing. The clean channel is pristine even at the highest volumes. The dirty channel is full and round. It cuts through the mix of my band very well and has more than enough gain and power. I get no feedback, unless I want it. At lower gains the sound is perfect for any rock or blues, and at high gains you can shred with the best of them.

I haven't had any problems. It seems to be built well. The cabinet is made out of plywood, not particle board, so I would expect it to last.

I ordered the amp and it was delivered in less than a week. The sales person answered all of my questions over the phone. Carvin is a great company to deal with.

I've been playing for 8 years and I've covered many styles. I've played in bands from death metal and hardcore to Grateful Dead and Beatles covers. I own many guitars, Gibson, ESP, Epiphone, Dean, Tackamine, etc. I also play bass, Dean 5 string with EMG HZ's through a Hartke HA3500. I use the Carvin MTS as my main amp, but I also own a Marshall AVT 150H half-stack, a Peavy bandit 100 watt combo, and many practice amps. The only effect I use is a Cry-baby wah, but I own many, from boss stomp boxes to rack processors. If this amp was lost or stolen, I'd replace it with another one immediately. The only problem I had with it was the cheap Sovtek tubes, but after retubing with #5 E34Ls, the amp is great. It's also a great bargain. Even with re-tubing, it still costs much less than a 5150 (the Carvin clean sound blows Peavey away!), a Marshall TSL or DSL, or a Mesa-Boogie. With better stock tubes, it would be a definite 10.

50th anniversary carvin amp with 2 channels.

I can get more gain from a distortion pedal. I sent it back thinking it was broken and they said that's just the way it sounds. It only goes from clean to clean with a tiny shred of distortion. And the clean sound doesn't have much shimmer at all.

I sent the amp back to them because I was so disappointed. I even invited some guitar playing friends over to play through the amp just to laugh at it before I sent it back. You can't rely on Carvin amps either because I had an AG100 and the power transformer went after only 3 years of very sporadic use. They refuse to send a replacement part to me or any other repair person because they're greedy and they want all the repairs sent to them and they charge a flat rate of 135 no matter how small the problem is. I would avoid this company at all costs in the future.

They will not send replacement parts to any local repair person because they're greedy and they want all the repair jobs themselves. They charge 135 no matter how small the problem is. They're no help at all. Ask any local repair person who has dealt with them and they'll be happy to tell you all about it. I work for a pro sound company and we refuse to stock any of their gear anymore because they will never send our repair guy a replacement part to fix anything and we can't afford to spend 135 bucks every time something small goes wrong.

This is by far the lowest gain head I've ever heard. They should be ashamed to call this their 50th anniversary head. I don't think it has enough gain even for blues or alternative players. I'm happy it didn't work out though because I know carvin will never send a replacement part to me if something goes on it.

Features, same as every other one. I like all the features on the back of the amp: impedance switch, half power mode, etc., but I wish it had a 5 or 6 band eq like the old x100b's did and a master volume in addition to the independent volumes. When you switch back and forth between clean and dirty a lot in all your songs it's nice to have a master volume to bring them both up or down the same amount. I'd also really love it if there were a footswitch to bypass the effects loop.

My setup: Ibanez RG3120, Ibanez AS120, Fender Texas Special Strat > Q-Tron, Boss OC-2, Whammy, Crybaby Wah > MTS3200 > Legacy cab w/ V30's. This thing sounds pretty damn good clean and dirty. I play punk/hardcore with some funk and other rock elements mixed in. It does the job. The only knob I can crank all the way is the drive on the dirty channel. I would've liked a little more gain and crunch, but I'm happy with what I've got. The bright switch really livens up the clean channel. This amp sounds great across the spectrum for me. Only stuff I don't play is country. The one complaint I have here is the effects loop. All of my effects sound like crap when played through it. In the manual they mention a "loss of a few db." Well, lose 3 db and you've lost half your output power. So I'm forced to run everything on the front side. Not a major complaint, but why include the feature if it doens't compliment the amp well? I'll knock off one for the overdrive and another for the useless effects loop. I did talk to Carvin about the effects loop and they said it was a problem with mismatched tubes. Hmmm, I wonder who put those tubes in there, could it be the company that made the amp??

I bought this used and it arrived in beautiful cosmetic condition only a year old with the stock tubes, but the dirty channel didn't work. After a few conversations on the phone with Carvin I discovered accidently that one of the preamp tubes wasn't making contact in its socket. They were very helpful, although they didn't actually fix the problem and provided me with a schematic for the amp. They've always been helpful before, it's nice to actually talk to the people that work on the amps, not some dude that works in a guitar shop and doesn't know crap about how the product is made (just about every other guitar company) Would I use it without a backup? Of course not, who would? That's just asking for it. I'll bring my crappy old combo around just in case. I just wish they could fix the effects loop issue. Maybe when I put new tubes in I'll see a difference.

See above

Great amp for the money, clean and dirty. I'm glad I went through with the purchase. To everyone who complains about the overdrive not having enough gain... make sure the preamp tubes are making good contact in their sockets (while the amp is off of course.) It probably could use some more gain, but it doesn't sound bad. I play a lot of hardcore and this does the job. It basically sounds like the clips on the website just not quite as cruncy. It'll do the job until I can afford a Rivera, and I'll still keep it for a sturdy backup then.

Just came today,checked it out tonight with my drummer.It needs to be a lil louder,KT66 tubes perhaps it could be modified?Love the longtailed patented reverb,footswitch nice.100 watts of all tube power,seems a little bit less in my opinion.However the crunch is there if ya know what i mean you'll like it at the very least.FX loop,reverb on/off via footswitch,50/100 watt switch,EL34/6l6 switchable powertubes,some of the very best features in this box-o-crunch

The clean channel is the best i've heard in my 21 years of playing.I am killing a JACKSON DMKG and a ESP LTD Explorer,the jackson has EMGHZ pickups with an adjustable gain boost on it to push the CARVIN even a little harder and the ESP is housed with the SEYMOUR DUNCAN SCREAMIN DEMONS neck and bridge.For cabs i hurt the following with this amp,a PEAVEY cab with GL 35-watt celestions and a RANDALL cab with VINTAGE 30'S.No other fx but an old MORLEY WAH PEDAL.I am very capable of getting the sounds i need to play all the music i play which is heavy metal,funk,blues.This amp has a tone all of it's own not like a RECTUMFIRE,or MARSHALL,PEAVEY, or that over priced peice of junk they call UBERSHIT.I am very happy with my new purchase,all my friends gave the nod of approval so i'm siked

I slammed it hard into the wall as soon as i took it out to my truck by accident,I was very shocked to feel how solidly built this thing really is.So like i said just bought it tonight,so we'll see.I'm sure this will do fine

Let me assure you when Nick from their customer service department told me the amp would arrive today....He was not fucking around,great bunch of guys over there and i look forward to dealing with them in the future if neccessary!!!

I also run a small studio,motu,2 pc's,behringer board,condensor mikes,all monster cable,v-amp2,4-channel headphone amp,alesis ra-300 watt amp,2 pairs of monitor 1's,Randall half stack,ibanez bass,alesis drum machine so as you can see i am a busy boy.Have evrything i need to make music alone without having to rely on others.I would definetley buy another if it were lost or stolen.I did compare it to a Peavey XXX and the amp was awesome,but a 1,000 for an amp with no reverb? NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!Esecially a Peavey for that matter..I do wish it had either a master volume or 3-channels,other than that this amp has got it all.If you don't have alot of money or even if you do for this kinda price range you will absolutley not do any better,I have also heard amps like the bogner and some others that are alot more cash and do not crunch like this bad larry does.If your looking for a new versatile amp that does the crunch thing execptionally well and a clean sound to die for look no further CARVIN has the answer.

See previous review.

See previous review.

This is an update from my last review. I said I was having some problems with the amp's volume. Well, I took it to the Carvin store and it turns out the problem was not my amp but my home's power circuit, they were too many fluctuations on the power at my home and that was affecting the amp. I'm plugging the amp into a power conditioner now and the problem is gone. So let me move the reliability note up to 10 since the amp was not broken.

Well, as I said before, Carvin is a great company to deal with. When I called about the problem, they put in touch with the amp tech directly. Nice. Then when I took the amp to the store, the guy didn't say "leave it there and we'll check it" he said "let's plug it in right now and see what's going on with it". That's the kind of atittude I like. So we plugged it in and the amp worked fine. So we discussed about the wiring in my house and found out that was the problem. Very cool service indeed.

I've been using the amp for 4 months now and I'm very happy with it. I also noticed that this is not a very loud amp compared to a Marshall or Boogie. I just noticed that recently when I jammed with a loud drummer. I had no problem being heard though

50/100W all-tube head. 2 channels with independent eqs, Reverb and fx loop for both channels, auto bias EL34/6Lp, cabinet-voiced line out. Good enough for me. If you need more than that in an amp, you should get a programmable preamp.

I use it with a Warmoth custom strat with EMG SAs and mid-boost and an Ibanez Les Paul copy with an EMG Zakk Wylde set (81/85). The clean channel is pretty good. It doesn't have the punch of a Fender clean, but I don't care about that. I normally use the clean for soft arppegiated parts. It is pretty good for that. For clean blues solos that are better choices out there. The distortion channel is awesome. Pretty tight bottom and lots of gain. I use my gain at 6 for rythms and use an OD pedal for leads. I basically play heavy music and I play my songs only. So I don't know good it is to emulate other people's tone. But I like the tone I get from it anyway. Very heavy and focused.

I've been having some problem lately. When I use the amp at performance levels it works fine. However when I use it at bedroom levels (like between 0 and 1) the volume keeps going up and down, very weird. I will take it to the Carvin store to see what they tell me about it. I don't think its anything serious, it's just annoying. Other than that everything is fine.
right now I don't have a backup but I plan to buy a cheap solid state head as a backup just in case something goes wrong with the tubes.

Carvin is very helpful. I'm lucky because I live in the LA metro area so if I need anything I just drive to the Hollywood store. They have a great staff there. The website is cool too.

I've been playing for 19 years. My other gear is Warmoth custom strat with EMG SAs and mid-boost and an Ibanez Les Paul copy with an EMG Zakk Wylde set (81/85). I will buy either a Dean EVO or a Gibson Les Paul DC soon. Effects are a Boss OD1 pedal and a Dunlop Wha. I'm considering buy the Boss programmable EQ pedal now. I like my gear to be nice and simple.
When I was shopping for a new amp (to replace my old Laney head that I have to sell when I moved to the US) I tried all the amps under $1500 and this one was my favorite. Carvin is really good value for the money since they sell it direct from the factory. I'm really happy with the distortion tone, which is what I use 90% of the time. Maybe in the future I'll change the tubes and experiment with different tube types. But I'm happy with the way it sounds with the stock tubes on it, so it's not a big deal. What I like the most about this amp is that it sounds very unique. It's hard to compare it with any other amp. Sounds kind of like a 5150 but not really. It definetly does not sound like any Marshall, Mesa or Fender. This is a good thing because it gives me a lot of room to create a personal tone. And the fact that a full Carvin stack costs less than a Marshall head doesn't hurt either. Overall a great amp

50th anniversary Carvin MTS3200 head, 2002 model. As others have stated, one of the only major flaws is the missing master volume. I don't know how they could forget a feature as important as this, but whatever. Besides that, the only thing I could think of is possibly more ventilation. This thing can really heat up with the think black cover, and the little 3x10 inch space in the back isn't quite big enough. Otherwise, everything is great for the amp.

Ok, the first thing that I noticed about this amp was the clean. HOLY CRAP! I put my 450 dollar Epiphone through it, and wow, it was huge. It's one of the roundest, biggest cleans i have ever played through. I just love it. It's got a lot of highs, and a lot of lows. It takes a while to work out the tone, but theres a lot to work with. As for the distortion, though i have to keep the gain up to around 8 or 9, it drives very nicely. I play mostly rock and punk, and I love how the sound fits in with my band. It definately stands out.

I have also used the amp for jazz, and the sound is great for it as well. That's one of the major things that I love about this amp; you can use it for jazz, rock, metal, fuck, etc.

I haven't had any problems, and I have had it for about 5 months. I did manage to rip the coil out of the foot-switch cable...but thats because of my stupidity. Otherwise, everything has been great so far.

Whoa. I live in NJ, and I have to call CA. I thought it would be a big deal at first, but it was fine. I called to ask about certain specifications, and about some other products, and i didn't wait very long at all, and the guys are very knowledgable of the product. Carvin has some of the best phone support I have used for any type of product. When I messed up my pedal (all I did was pull the spring out) they sent me a brand new one, and didn't even ask for the old one back.

Overall, the amp has turned out to be even better than what I hoped. I would buy this amp even just for its clean. You can't beat the price. If you're looking for an origional sound, for a great price, go for the Carvin, you wont be sorry.

This is a 50th anniversary Carvin MTS3200 head, 1999 I believe. I bought it used in mint condition, and the 5881 tubes were swapped for Groove Tube EL34's. This amp excels in features, but also severely lacks in them. In terms of the rear panel, features are a big plus. I like the impedance switching, the direct line out, the bias switch, but most of all i love the option of switching between 50 watts (two power tubes) and 100 watts (4 power tubes). I keep mine on 50 all the time because when you have it on the lead channel the power tubes are pushed harder and you get a more intense distortion. However the amp lacks a master volume, which is a serious flaw in my opinion because it saves a ton of time with last minute volume changes at gigs. Plus I would have liked to see certain tone controls that the Marshall JCM2000's feature like a deep switch or a tone shift. Separate reverbs for each channel would also be a big plus. But we can't forget that important factor: price. Despite the lacking of features (which in my opinion is the amps ONLY weak point), this is an incredible value for the money.

I play this through a customized fender powerhouse strat with a seymour duncan invader installed in the bridge, dimarzio blues in the middle, and a dimarzio HS-3 in the neck. My secondary guitar is a Jackson DK-10. I like to play older heavy metal (80's metallica, etc.) and lots of punk. Occasionally blues and the sort. This amp can cover any sonic spectrum, but i'll get to that later.
The clean on this amp is worth buying it alone. For those people who say it sounds sterile, you have to swap those 5881's out! The EL34's give a better, fuller clean. The presence switch is nice, although I would have preferred a knob. But the switch works just fine. The tone controls on the clean don't change the sound all that drastically, but once you have the right tone dialed in, you're in heaven. Add a bit of reverb and it sounds phenominal. The reverb is absolutely fantastic because Carvin doesn't use spring reverb, but tail reverb which I believe is more costly but comes out sounding much better. Its what they use in studio recording according to carvin.

The distortion is the other factor. This is the biggest landmine for people deciding to try the amp. If you are looking for a thick full bodied and brutal distortion (while still sounding like you don't want to stick your head in a garbage can) you HAVE TO sit down with the amp for at least an hour and tweak, tweak, tweak. I forget what size pots Carvin use (I think its 500K) but a little teensy bit of a turn will completely change the sound, and you have to find the right sound for the right guitar. Another thing is that if you want a really good distortion, you have to have the right pickup! The distortion on my two dimarzio single coils is decent, but when you switch to the invader in the bridge, forget it! But if you're using an invader with that much gain, be prepared for feedback. You'll be blown away with tone that rivals a recto! The distortion is very tight and controlled, similar to a rectifier. It has a very modern sounding gain, unlike the marshalls which is generally a looser and more grainy sound. Its your choice.
The tone controls are suited well for the channel, but i don't recommend using reverb on the distortion. My only complaint is that the mids don't go as low as it should, it doesn't allow you to get that death metal sound. But if you really want that save your money and get a boss metal zone. Just keep your gain set below 8 and you'll be fine, since you need to let those power tubes breathe. Crank that amp past 5 and set the gain to your liking, but don't judge it with the volume at 1/2 and the gain at 10. It'll sound like crap.
But overall I can't believe i spent this little money on such a fantastic amp!

I've owned it a good 5 months and i've had absolutely no problems whatsoever. It's seen three gigs and every other band asked if they could use it. It was jostled here and there, but it stood strong. It's a tank. I am getting some microphonic crackling, but that might be due to a 12AX7 in the preamp, since it comes and goes.

Never dealed with them. Called carvin once to ask what 50th anniversay edition meant since they've been putting that on their amps for years. I forgot his answer but they seemed like nice people!

Overall, if you are looking for a tube amp with lush distortion and a fantastic clean, you can't beat a Carvin MTS. If you want the heavy ultra death metal that makes your ears bleed, but a pedal. Or a crate. If you want a rectifier for 1/3 the price, check this thing out. I definitely recommend it. I give it a nine because its not perfect, but i have yet to come across an amp that is.

Read the oter reviews. This is a basic tube head with the wrong tubes (cheap corner cutting) installed. The tubes Carvin installs give the amp a sterile sound. I'll buy a $200 crate if Iwant sterility in my tone. Also, the head comes with an ugly white face plate. It really looks cheap and clashy -- no aesthetics at all.

It does gainy distortion well but lacks in dynamic tone character. The clean headroom is present but not enough for a 50/100 watt head full of tubes. The mids sound like cardboard, and the highs get shrill, the lows begin to sound warm but end up muddy. Carvin needs to go with EL34's and get rid of those cheap stock tubes. Just to retube this this with good JJ tubes will cost $110.00. If i buy an amp for $650.00, I am certainly not ready to spend another $110.00 to make it sound the way it should.

I have heard horror stories. Mine is going back before it breaks. I tried it out for a couple of hours. I don't want to flirt with danger with this thing.

Don't believe the hype on these amps -- the Carvin Bulliten Boards are edited by employees that want to sell products and are contributed to by loyal customers that have only positive things to say about the gear they invested in. Notice that nobody has one single negative comment to say on thier boards. I guess the editors fixed that. I had this item shipped US 2nd day after being quoted a price of 59.97 for total shipping. They later charged me 89.97 for the shipping -- interesting that they can charge you something else after they have promised you a lower price.

Been playing for over 15 years and have had my fair share of gear. Nice amp if you don't have ears for good tube tone and could care less about reliability issues. Save your money and get a Marshall DSL or something comparable. I got a Randall RH100 for 299.00 that does the same things and more than this over-priced, over-hyped head.

See other reviews for this amp's features. I'm giving it a 9 because I'd really like to have that master volume knob. I bought the half stack used on Ebay for $500.

Three words: TOTAL CREAM DREAM. I primary play an American Deluxe Fat Strat (humbucker in the bridge), and the overdrive on this thing is out of this world. Not a ton of gain, but more than enough for most people. Thick, creamy, delicious. It's got tons of low end, but without getting muddy. Shimmering highs, cardboardy mids, all perfectly balanced with a few easy tweaks of the EQ knobs. Even with the drive cranked to 10, you can still pick out the individual notes of every chord. I mostly play hard rock and metal, and this is the amp I've been looking for the last 10 years. But wait, it gets better. The clean channel is where this amp really dominates. Puts a Fender to shame any day of the week. Huge, hall-filling clean tones just like you always wanted. If you don't like the way this amp sounds you're either a snob or an idiot.

I've had it for a month, couldn't really say yet.

I've never really dealt with them. I hear they're pretty good, though.

If you have the $900 bucks it costs to get one of these new from the factory, do it. Two weeks later you'll be sitting in front of it mouth agape, hands trembling, a single tear running down your cheek in awe of the sounds you're making. No, really.

2 channel, 100/50 WATTS all-tube, reverb, effects loop, speaker simulator, power tube switch (EL34 or 5881), headphone jack. This amp would be even better with another reverb knob for channel switching...and oh yes, a master volume.

I currently use a custom strat which has a Fender Jeff Beck neck, a very heavy strat-style body...ash wood I believe. The pickups I currently use are a PAF in the bridge, with a Dimarzio Air Classic in the neck. I have a 5-way toggle switch which allows some Telecaster-like tones in a couple positions. I must say I don't understand the negative reviews this amps been getting. Either they bought a lemon or the amp just needs proper tweaking...possibly the guitar they're using or they just plain don't know how to play music. This amp gets beautiful tones. The clean tone is LOUD and is capable of a wide range of tones. The drive channel is this amps real prize though. I should state that I switched out the 5881 and installed EL34's. I biased the amp myself...this is very important! Maybe the biasing was off on these other persons amps. If the amp is underbiased, you won't get the creamy thick distortion this amp is capable of. I bought the amp used so I went to the Carvin website and dl'ed the manual, which states how to bias the amp. Really simple for anyone with experience in electronics. I also put in new 12AX7 ECC83's. I power this amp through a 70's Marshall which originally had Greenbacks in it...I would recommend using Celestions Vintage 30's though. The amp really thickens up with these. I like to keep the drive on a notch above halfway and kick in my TS8 modified TS9 for more drive. Another possible cause of bad amp sound is the tube sockets. They may have to be retensioned otherwise the sound will be weak and noisy. This amp is also plenty loud...I don't know how loud 100 watts needs to be. But like I said...it cranks. A wide range of crunch is possible....its very nasty and very ROCK AND ROLL baby. Must be all those glowing tubes.

I haven't had any problems with this amp...like I said before, if yours sounds bad, take it to someone who knows how to make an amp sing. This amp was made to sound good and it does when setup properly. First thing I would look into is the tube biasing, and make sure your using a good speaker cabinet...loaded with V30's.

I called Carvin once when I was trying to bias my amp and he directed me to the manual which I downloaded...he gave me some good pointers...very helpful.

I'm very happy with this amp...especially for the price I paid. I would buy another in a heartbeat.

The features on this amp arent as good as I hoped. All of the standard knobs and buttons are there, but as far as FX go, there is only a presence and reverb. Presence really kicks in at about 2 or 3 but the reverb is always awesome. Now the set up is nice on the other hand is beyond my needs, but if ever needed, I know it will be there. Specs:
2 channel's clean/deistorion, going through 2 12" BR12 British Series Speakers
50/100 Wattage switch (very useful)
ALL TUBE: Four 5881 power tubes and 5 12AX7A Preamp Tubes

Need I more?

I use a Fender Jimi Vaughen Signiture Series, playing from nice blusey Hendrix Style to Slayer. This is is perfect in every way for my playing styles. NO Noise on either channel except when my Monitor is on. This is great for any type of clean playing music. I love the way the bass kicks in if you want it, but when it mix's with those clear ass highs its amazing. It has yet to distort on Clean, and I highly doubt it ever will. Now, about the distorion, for Tube Distorion I was expecting more, but since im stuck with it, its not so bad not having that Death Metal sound im used to.

Ok, I have only had this amp for about 3 weeks and here are the situaions, when it first arived the delivery "boy" droped it on the ground so damn hard I thought some of the tubes broke. Nothing Broke.
The way I used to have it set up in my room was tilted back a little bit until one day it fell backward slaming on the ground, I then set it to not lean so far back, then it fell forward. Nothing Broke. I have yet to take it anywhere but im not going to worry.

What can I say ordered online for the 2nd day air, got here the third day. Warranty is the thing, 1yr c'mon.

I have played many other amps, at one point I almost bought a shitty ass "Blues Junior", and this amp is by far the One of the best amps I have palyed. I dont need any other gear, I wouldnt want it no interfear with the Tube Sound. If my amp was lost or stolen I would probably shit my pants, then cry, then buy a new one. For this price and capibilties. Fuck yeah, in a second!

I do not own a Carvin MTS 3200 nor would I unless I could pick one up cheap and modify it. Let me explain.
The amp seems to have a problem suppling enough filiment voltage, especially when equiped with EL-34's. According to the Carvin supplied schematic, the filiment supply is rated for 5.9 amps. The (5) 12AX7's take about 300 milliamps a piece (about 1.5 amps total for the 5 in there) and, if equiped with 6L6's, as they ALWAYS are from Carvin, you add an additional 0.9 amps a piece (about 3.6 amps). 3.6 plus 1.5 is 5.1 amps. Not much of a problem yet. If you were interested in making this amp sound good (by installing EL-34's), your output tube filiment current draw will be 1.5 amps times 4 tubes, 6 amps! That's just for the output tubes. Now add the preamp tube filiment draw (1.5 amps) and your up to 7.5 amps total filiment current. To make matters worse, Carvin added 0.56 ohm fusable links before the bridge circuit in the V1 and V2 filiment supply. These tubes starve at typically 3.75 volts on their filiments! You cannot even see them glow! Without the filiments being at least close to design operating voltage the cathode does not get hot enough, not enough electron flow through the tube,and, the cathode gets stripped of it's coating causing premature failure.
The output tubes fare some better. The voltage on their filiments are around 5.5 volts with EL-34's and about 5.75 volts with 6L6's installed. What I ended up doing is:
1: I installed a 6.3 volt 3 amp filiment transformer (it's all I could find)in parallel with the filiment windings already there. This helped by about 0.25 volts, not a big improvement but boy does this amp sound better, the EL-34's do not seem to be current starved any more.
2: I removed (shorted)the 0.56 ohm fuseable links in the V1, V2 dc filiment circuit and replaced the 1 amp diodes with 3 amp diodes. The 1 amp diodes were getting noticably warm, not a good thing. The 3 amp diodes are fine.
After these two mods in the preamp circuit the filiment voltage on the preamp board is now around the 5.5 volt range, not up to spec but a lot better than what Carvin had originally.

This amp was loosing preamp tubes every 3 or 4 months and the output tubes kept going soft too soon.
I guess I wrote all this in the wrong spot but I think people should know about this because Carvin, at least for this 1995 unit, had some serious engineering problems. Like I say, If you keep the 6L6's in there and live with sterile sound, you may never notice anything wrong (although things are very wrong in there). The installation of EL-34's just pushes it over, way over, the edge. This amp was never designed for EL-34's, don't let the sales hype fool you anymore! It barely works with 6L6's!! You can make it work with EL-34's, but you will have to add these (or some better) mods to make it work. Probably a more robust filiment transformer with a 6.7 or so open circuit voltage would be the answer, I know they use to make them that way. That way the voltage is in spec under load.
These things come from Carvin with four 6L6's. Now you know why.

I just fixed this amp. After I added the Mods, it had that nice sweet, warm tone you get from EL-34's. Clean or crunch, this thing sounds good, NOW. It is not quite as good as my Marshall JTM-60 in tone but it is a great improvment over what it was. Like I say, for the right price. . .

Before I installed these mods, this amp was not reliable. I am only hopeing this improves, time will tell.

I E-mailed them about this problem but I haven't heard back. What does that tell you?

This could be a great amp for the price if it were engineered right. Too many corners cut for me to feel good about owning one.

I have already sent a review on a mts 3200. I like it so much that I wanted to buy another one. HOWEVER! My only request was that I have carvin install the el 34's before I buy it and I offered to pay te extra cost to do so. They refused to do it. All I can say is fuck you carvin you have lost a once happy customer and I will never buy another piece! I liked the amp better then boogies and price was not an issue! Now I guess Im buying a boogie. I wanted two heads that matched and the way that dork acted on the phone at carvin I will now go else where. Thanks for nothing you lazy asses at carvin! Its so sad.

I play '80s metal and melodic death metal like Iron Maiden, Carcass, and In Flames. 2000 Carvin MTS3200 tube head and full stack that I purchased from Carvin's Hollywood shop as a GIT/MI student before relocating to my native Arkansas. 2 switchable channels, effects loop, reverb, presence. Relatively few knobs, so it's easy to dial in a sound quickly. Would've loved a "vintage" and "modern" gain channel, as well as a switchable effects loop to use with my rack gear. Direct recording sounds sterile compared to a Shure SM-57, even in my acoustically incorrect house. Never use the tone knobs on the clean much, it's sparkly and nice, can get deep when it wants as well as high, but a bit sterile overall (I know that's kind of a contradiction, but it's the best way I can put it). Clean doesn't have much variation in sound. Not a very loud amp-shame because I love the sound. My other guitarist uses an old solid state 1981 Fender Stage Lead II combo and can blow me out of the water live in terms of volume, but mine has a much tighter, modern sound. Wish it would've been louder, even on 10 it's a great sounding amp, but be prepared to be drowned out next to a Marshall or Mesa. Bought it as a lower priced alternative to a Mesa Triple Rec, and it sounds, if not close, in the same vein.

I use currently
Jackson Kelly Standard 1996 model, tuned Eb, 9 gauge Super Slinkies, EMG 60/81
Jackson King V 1999 or 2000 model, tuned E, 10 gauge pure nickel Ernie balls (not wrapped like Slinkies), loaded w EMG 81, 89, push pull pot and BTC tone control

Jackson Dinky Reverse 2001 model, tuned DGCFAD, EMG SA, S, 81, expander midrange control on tone pot, Ernie Ball Regular Slinkies

Love the sound for rhythm, especially in moderate heavy tunings like Eb and straight D. Most younger players mistake gain for heaviness, and I just use my gain on 5 for rhythm, 7 for solos, scooping out mids, cranking bass and treble. I like a modern gain, Mesa sound as opposed to a grainy, overdriven Marshall one, and for that reason I bought the amp as an cheaper alternative to a Mesa Triple Rec.

Clean, as before stated, is wonderfully nice and crisp but a bit sterile. I just leave those knobs initialized and use my ART SGX 2000 Express for cleans and delays in the studio. Live I would use the head since I hate messing with racks live, but I wouldn't be 100% satisfied. Clean isn't very dynamic, but then again I use high gain pickups. Even the EMG 89 didn't match my Dinkies stock coils for vintage tone, but the SA/S's should blow those out of the water.

I prefer a tight, modern crunch (like Gardenian's "Soulburner", heavy as fuck, not noisy). For that the amp does a great job for its price, and handles a lot of overdriven sounds as you lower the volume/gain. Not much variety, however, as say, a Mesa Nomad, which was the most versatile head I'd ever had experience with. Solo sound is good overall, very Rhoads-ish, but I use my ART when I want more dynamics or fullness. Reverb is present in rhythm, I use it around 6 1/2 or 7, but not totally obtrusive.

Clean doesn't distort very much. I'm used to hearing my other guitarist's old 1981 Fender Stage Lead II's 250 watt combo distort at about 1 1/4, so the Carvin doesn't distort for its wattage. Distortion isn't necessarily brutal as much as it is defined. Layering in guitars and being sparing on the gain helps the brutality part.

Hard as hell to crank out harmonics, even cranked and with my '81's too. Feels like I have to dig into the strings too much. Getting a PB100 powerbrake soon for that, as I can't record at high volumes. Harmonics could be more responsive, as well as sustain longer. Cleans are very "...Justice for All" when initialized. Could be more dynamically responsive and Gilmour sounding.

Overall, the amp does what I ask of it (sounds so much better than the marshall DSL100 I tried in Guitar Center Hollywood), but I'll have to supplement it with my rack, powerbrake, and some different axes/pickups for different tones. A good "main" head.

Amp and cabs are sturdily built, but oddly not sealed that much inside. The head I haven't had a problem with, but when rehearsing I had to turn the gain and volume to 10 to be heard near my other guitarist's old Fender. One of the speakers blew, but Carvin returned it no problem in a couple weeks. Main complaint is how relatively quiet, if great sounding, the head is. A good studio tone, but live, go with another, louder head that can make the same sounds, like a Mesa.

Carvin are really great with their service. I've no complaints, as I was answered via email the same day.

Been playing since 96, and possess a GIT Journeyman's certificate, class of 2000.

I own/use with this:
an ART SGX 2000 Express preamp (good for some stuff, requires too much tweaking).
Alesis MEQ 230 (helps crunch come alive).
Shure mics and Tascam MKII8 cassette recorder for studio.

If this head were lost or stolen, I would severely miss it, but would save up to a). Purchase a Triaxis b) a Triple Rec and c) a Nomad 100 instead of purchasing it again. Then I'd collect a bunch of other stuff cuz I can't resist.

Love:
Tight, modern distortion that can be made more vintage with some tweaking (tightness comes with actives, I hate how passives sound like wet pud, even if theyre more dynamic).
Crisp, nice clean sound. Sounds "more digital" than most tube heads, that is, more clear, clean, less boomy, but also doesn't sound as sterile as digital.
Easy to go with live. Not a million knobs or buttons.
Fairly reliable.
Good sound for price, as with most Carvin heads.

Hate:
Low volume even when cranked.
Lack of a vintage/modern gain.
Fairly sterile and undynamic clean.
Difficulty of getting harmonics/sustain even cranked.
Fairly difficult to use with multi-effects processors. Of course I probably just don't have my ART set up right. The FX loop keeps everything quiet, but wish it was switchable so I could pass my rack sound through it without being colored by the amp. I use this head for now as my main rhythm, lead and clean sound, and use my rack stuff for specialized sounds.

Also hate direct recording output, sounds sterile compared to micing.

Compared it to:
MESA Triaxis, Mesa Triple Rec, Mesa Nomad 100, Marshall DSL 100, Legacy head, Crate GX-130C
Bought it because: sounded similar to Triple Rec's distortion, lower price. Played it and Legacy side by side for about an hour. Legacy is more "Marshall-sounding", but I like a Mesa tone. Would've had a Legacy had it been given to me, but I like the MTS better and the decision was easy to make due to Carvin's few amp head models.

Blew the shit out of the Crate, except the Crate had nice chorus/clean that doesn't work anymore. Hate that amp, immensely unreliable.

Not as grainy to me as the Marshalls, but not as loud. I'd rather be as quiet as a mouse and have killer tone than the grainy tones a lot of bands tend to have when they go live (as opposed to more compressed and tight in their studio work).

Wish it had:
Three channels, more dynamic clean, switchable loop, more of a variety of distorted sounds instead of just Mesa-ish or somewhat vintage when gain is reduced, more volume, more harmonic output, perhaps Celestions in the cabs.

OVERALL:
Great amp for price, like most Carvins. Expect to have to supplement it with other gear if you want a variety of sounds. Good head for more than just metal, as lower volumes and gain clean up nicely on the distorted side, although I'd rather have a Marshall on the rare occasion that I'd wanna play AC/DC. Carvin's cabs are nice cuz they handle big wattage loads, but theyre the only cabs I have experience with. I'll keep them around for my next amp head.

I have a 2001 mts3200.Playing hardcore and punk I needed an amp with plenty of nuts,and this baby has it.I don`t use the clean side alot but i`ll tell you it is way loud and crystal clean. I don`t use the fx loop at all,this is the only thing i wish it didn`t have. The only thing this amp didn`t come with,as all amps, was a case.I play in an old barn so things get ugly out there.The one thing it could`ve used is a little better e.q. on the dirty side but i`m not complaining for a $599 dollar amp.5 12ax7 4 5881 bias switch for el34 or 6l6.4 8 16 ohm switch it`s got all you need on the back side.

I play a 2000 s.g. with a emg 81.With this guitar and a dunlop crybaby I get every thing I need.The amp responds very well to my style.I replaced a Hoffman 100 wat for this amp,I was very critical in deciding on a replacement,tried marshall,boogie,peavey,line6,and on and on and nothing touched it,especially for $599.

Seven months later and no problems.Wish I could say the same for my rythem guitar players marshall,who has had two meltdowns in seven months.The mts3200 is a tank,I have a good feeling with it.I`m giving it a 9 so I don`t jinx myself.

Carvin is honest.Maybe that`s why they have been around for fiftey years.When I called I got straight answers,they even said I would have no need for their more expensive amp the legecy.

It get`s a 10 here.Been playing for twenty years,tried them all and even though I still have my hoffman it will never hit the road again.If this amp gets lost stollen or burnt to a crisp I`ll buy another for $599 any day.I`ve got nothing but raves from it even from my friends in Pro-Pain.The only thing left to say about it is check out the Carvin website they tell you everything you to know.

I bought this amp 2 months ago. $599.99.. All tube, selectable power tubes 5881/6L6 or EL34's, selectable power output 100 or 50 watts, 5 12AX7 preamp tubes, selectable cabinet ohms, 2 channel. Master reverb for both channels. LOT'S of features for an amp in this price range. I would have given it a 10 on features if it had two things. A master output for both channels and a seperate reverb for each channel. I would easily pay the extra for these features if they offered them. So I deduct one point for each.

I play an Ibanez RG570 with a Tone Zone in the bridge and a PAF Pro in the neck. I was looking for an all tube amp to replace my amp that was stolen. I had a Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier. I did'nt want to spend THAT much cash again. My style of music is metal, metal and metal. Not this nu-metal crap, but good heavy metal. This amp handles this style with ease. Plenty of gain. (My gain setting on the MTS is at 7, plenty of room to squeeze out more if you want) This is a high gain monster. I am so happy with this amp. I'm going to buy another head so I can run stereo. I've played a Soldano SLO 100 head and like the sound the MTS puts out much better. The clean channel is awesome as well. Clean all the way to 10!! I checked out a Carvin Legacy as well and it sounded great as well but the MTS had quite a bit more gain which is what I was looking for. Again, I wish it had a Master output control for the power amp, but that is an easy fix should you so desire.

So far so good. It seems very solid even though it is lighter than a lot of all tube heads. The light weight is due to the cabinet wood. It's light yet tough. Metal corners. Brass pot knobs. Very cool design. I have used it without a backup, but with ANY tube head, you should have a backup. Even though I've only had it for a couple of months, I'm giving it a 9 because I play 3 nights a week every week and no problems so far.

Very nice people to deal with. I called them to double check the idle voltage if I wanted to rebias it for EL34's They were very precise on their info. Most companies won't tell you that info. Just check out Carvins catalog. They give you more specs on their products than any other company. They know their shit! You know you are dealing with a professional company when you call them and you can feel confidence when dealing with Carvin. No wonder Steve Vai chooses Carvin.

I absolutley love the Carvin MTS 3200.....it is the ost awesome sounding amp I've EVER played and I have played a LOT of amps in my 23 years of playing. Marshalls, Mesa's, Crates, Soldano's to name a few. You can't beat this amp for the money or any other money for that matter.

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.