Carvin MTS3200

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.