Carvin SX-200D

2 channels, 100 watts, dual 12" speakers, digital effects, see other reviews of SX200D. Would prefer if the effect were more versatile, but what can you expect for $440?

I play this with two jazz boxes and the amp plus the guitars equals the best jazz sound I've ever had. Sounds just like Mark Whitfield's set up. I've also cranked the distorted A channel with my Alvarez solid body - it sounds extremely good. I don't think any style player will be disappointed with this amp - rock, blues, jazz, country - it can do it all. Bottomline - low noise at high volume, loud as hell, great distortion (very similar to a tube amp), great punch and clarity on the clean channel.

Instead of a 1 I'll give it a 5. Let me explain. When I received the amp and turned it on the first time, there was a little pop and puff of smoke. The amp worked off and on for a while, cutting out regularly. Finally at a band practice, it went out completely and never came back. So I had to send it back and get a replacement. I give it a 5 here instead of a 1 because of what happened in the next graded area - Customer Support!!!! Let me say this, the replacement is working fine and I hope it continues to do so. Therefore, I can't give it a high rating until I know it's not going to fizzle out on me.

Impeccable customer support. I called Carvin after one month of ownership and they GLADLY took back the defective amp and sent a brand new replacment. Get this - they even paid for the shipping I had to spend to send it to them. They also shipped my replacement back to me via 2 day - they had to. I live on the East Coast and this amp came from the West Coast much sooner than it did the first time. From the time I mailed the defective amp back to the time I received the replacement was around a week and a half. We're talking from Coast to Coast. Now that's Customer Support; plus, they are very nice at Carvin. Other companies could learn from Carvin's example here!

They would get a 10 if not for the first defective amp, but that could have happened with any new amp from any company. Just my bad luck to get a lemon. I've been playing since 1985 and have owned countless amps and guitars, including Yamaha, Traynor, Marshall, Galien Kruger, Gibson, Ibanez, Martin, Kramer, etc. I would replace this amp (already have). As far as solid state goes, this amp is king of the hill. Only my old GK 250ML comes close in quality and sound. The only other criticism is the effects settings - very limited, but more extensive than on most amps. Most amps you get only reverb, but here you get chorus, flange, echo, and delay with limited settings. Fortunately the settings they supply are useful. You can't use multiple effects, but if you're like me the basics they supply are good enough. It gets a high 9!

solid state, headphone thingy, line out, some other crazy stuff.
Pretty alright if i say so. I wish it was easier to clean blood off the tan covering, though.

I use an epiphone sg rip off and i play the most annoying type music you could possibly imagine. Basically its slide guitar in drop d to give it that tone that everyone knows so well. The amp works damn well. Better than everybody elses piece of crap amp in my band.

I throw this thing around everywhere. I bang it against walls, i throw it down steps, i even threw it off a bridge into a river once. it is pretty durable. i could gig it w/o a backup because i dont have a backup.

oh ive. dealt with them. i called them up about some buzzing on my amp (which was because of the cord i was using) and i got some guy that sounded like Otto from the simpsons. he was all like "dude! its the wiring in your house, mannnnn. try it at you buddiiiies house and it will be coooolll." but then just tried a different cord and it worked. so those carvin guys dont know what their talking about.

Its all good. I just played a gig last night and this thing was great. we were only onstage for 10 minutes before getting kicked off, but we really rocked. especially since our lead singer was reaallly high. but it was the amp that really made the show great, not the monkey suit i was wearing. the band after us asked to use our amp, and i was all like "sure man, wreck it up." so they played some fruity hippie crap and it still sounded good, even though there was blood all over the amp from my playing. So the amp is pretty alright.

100 watts of reliable, solid-state power, two 12" British Series speakers, built in digital effects, two inputs, two channels (clean and overdrive)effects loop, and headphone jack. This amp is very versatile. I can get amazing clean sounds as well as smooth overdrive. This amp is really good at getting crunchy, high-gain sounds though. The built-in effects are slightly noisy when cranked but they sound pretty good. I really love the active tone controls because you can get almost any sound out of it. This amp is also very loud. It is hard to get it really quiet. The only thing i don't like is that you can't use the internal speakers and extension speakers at the same time.

Right now I am using a very good Yamaha with three single coils that will be replaced very soon. It is a great amp for playing anything from country to metal(hell yeah!). The effects are a little noisy but thats not a problem because i nevr turn them up all the way. The clean channel stays clean at very high volumes unless of course you have the bass cranked up all the way. The distortion is very good ranging from smooth, soft, overdrive to warm, crunchy, metal sounds.

Very sturdy. The tan covering has some dents in it from being too soft, but thats about it. I would definately gig w/o a backup.

When I didn'tget a footswitch with the amp, tey were very helpful and gave me a free one which came in a few days. They are very friendly and helpful. The amp has a one year warranty.

If it was stolen i would definately buy another one. I compared it to marshall valvestates and it totally blew them away! very good solid-state amp!

100 watts, two 12" speakers. Has two inputs, one used both channels, the other only uses clean channel. It comes with $30 footswitch with switches channels and turns effect on/off. The built in effects sound good, except they only have presets which you can't change, except the amount of effect.

I use a Strat with the standard pickups and play rock- mostly punk,metal and "grunge." It sounds good and it's versatile, especially for the price. The active EQ helps a lot. It's loud, I've never turned it up past half volume in my bedroom. Distortion sounds good, especially at high volumes, probably because this amp has "tube-simulating circuitry."

It would seem very reliable, it's solid-state. The wood used seems very strong.

Never dealt with them. I forgot to send in my registration card, but if it needs to get fixed I'll see if Carvin will still fix it. If they don't, they won't have me as a customer again.

I've been playing a couple years and this is my first non-practice amp. This is a great deal for only $450 for with shipping and footswitch. I like the way it has built in effects, because I hate cords.

This amp is a 100 watt, two channel combo amplifier with a digital effects unit built in. It has two 12 inch, what Carvin calls "British Series speakers". I've just recently bought the amplifier and after two weeks have just about dialed it in to where I want it. The effects unit is simple, but if you don't get the free footswitch from Carvin, buy their standard FS-22. The amp takes a little getting used to but once you figure out how to manage your sounds, its beautiful. The only lacking feature is nitpicky on my part but I would love to have a seperate reverb that is not mixed with another effect.

I play several different styles of music and I demand that my amp and guitars sound just like I want. My guitars are two cheap charvels that I've rebuilt the electronics on. Don't get me wrong, the guitars I have play well and have great tone, I just would rather spend money on a good base and build it how I want it. I use dimarzio pickups in one and seymour duncan pickups in the other. The one with Seymours has a huge sound and is raunchy. The one with Dimarzios, I use for the clean sounds and the light drive sounds like The Rolling Stones. This amp has proven itself to be versatile in giving me just about any sound I want and can figure out how to dial in. The dsp effects are pretty good as far as onboard goes. I played an amp before that was known for its built in chorus and this one absolutley sings. Like I said the whole trick is to dial it in just right. A little goes a long way on the level of the effects. If you give it just a little reverb and turn the overdrive down, you can get a great growling honky-tonk sound. There's endless combinations, when I first got the amp from the factory, I was a little apprehensive, it didn't seem to have the depth I was used to but once you work it, you can get incredible from it. The volume and clarity on this amp are astonishing. I didn't figure I would hear much difference at volume on this amp, but it drives with more volume and remains clear with much more dynamics. I am impressed with the range of sounds and the quality of sound from this amplifier.

Haven't had enough time with this amp to judge.

The people at Carvin I dealt with were helpful and knowledgeable. The transaction was smooth, right up until the amp arrived. The delivery person said I got one of two packages. The amp arrived but the free footswitch did not. That wouldn't have been a big deal except that I was planning on using the amp two days later and had it shipped 3 day guaranteed. I called but the only help I got was an explanation that this is a popular item and it often goes out of stock. I didn't go into the fact that no one had told me it was out stock but he did tell me that it would be along in a day or two. That really didn't help but I borrowed a friend's pedal and life goes on.

I have come to love this amplifier and the tones it produces. I hope it stands up to the reputation Carvin carries here and in other circles of musicians. This would be a ten but after playing the amp for a few weeks, I noticed a buzz from somewhere in the cover. I haven't as yet addressed this with Carvin but that is for another time. The amplifier has top quality features and sound. I did a lot of research before buying it and it scared me to death to gamble on a mail order amp I had never played before but I trusted what I saw and what was posted here and am not disappointed at all. I could be a Carvin man for a long time. This amplifier fits my needs in every song, note and expression that I use it for and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

Got this amp through Carvin,basic solid state with DSP effects(sucks),Effects loop,2 channels,out for recording.

This amp is noisey just sitting there the hum is noticable to no end.The amp sounds OK in my opinion,distortion factor is laim I use a Boss HM-2 pedal to get a good metal tone.Clean channel is great though it's probably all this amp has going for it but I don't use this much playing metal.It's loud my neighbor from 3 blocks away heard me playing the amp full blast so the next door neighbor must hate me.I'd get something else if your into playing metal as I am this amp don't do it for me in that respect.I'll definitly get something differant for my next amp probably a mesa boogie Tremoverb.

I had this amp for almost 2 years and it never fell down or left the house for that matter,plus I have a cover on it that I got with the amp.Now it don't always work when I first turn it on the DSP effects don't work most of the time either does the effects loope.I'll never buy one again and don't recomend anyone else to buy one either.Total shit box,I'm very disapointed in this amp.

Have yet to contact them yet nor would it help since the warrenty expired.

Total peice of shit,after reading some of the things other people wrote about this amp has me woundering what they consider to be good.But the again it could just be bad luck on my part.If this amp ever got stolen the only regret would be the money I'd be out of.I'd definitly spend another 1000$ for something better.

2 x 12inch "british" speakers two channels digital fx built in

i play a fender strat with carvin single coil pickups. i like the sound of this amp. nice clean tones & nice tube like distortion too. i was very impressed with the tone of this amp untill my band buddy brought in his carvin tube (tweed covered) amp. boy, his really sounded thick & juicy compared to my amp. we were both using strats.ever since then i detect a bit of thin papery sound in my amp!!

no probs

i always get carvin shipments fast. but then again thier factory is only 400 miles away. i live in northern california.

good amp at great price. digital fx are nice,but other than level, there is no adjustment for them. the bass,mid,treb, and presence controls really work well. you can really fine tune your sound with them. very good distortion channel.

Basic combo amp features. Digital effects (chorus, echo, reverb, flange) but only one at a time - not too practical, but see 'Sounds'.

A) Just got the amp yesterday.
B) Out of the box and into a jam sessiom, playing a Tokai 56 Strat and Heritage Les Paul (played with drums, bass [loud] and two other guitars). This amp kicked absolute ass, even nice feedback.
C) After initial disappointment that digital effects weren't available in combination, I found the most incredible Robin Trower sound by cranking the Chorus level. The distortion rocks.
D) Very nice clean channel - it will get crunhy at higher levels.
E) VERY LIGHT AMP
F) Ucking great guitar amp for $429.00 - free footswitch & $20 cover.

Just got it yesterday - who knows.....

WHen I ordered it I wasn't told it was back-ordered. When the other things arrived (footswitch & cover) there was a note about the backorder ..... VERY DISAPPOINTED .... but when i called back they were responsive and upped my 3rd day delivery to next day air (about $60) or could have upgraded my amp for a better price.

I'm 39, been playing since I was 7. I play Rock like Iggy Pop, like to jam to Zappa grooves, Trower, Soundgarden. I owned a Mesa Dual Rectifier wasn't happy with it (????) I am going to buy a mega amp soon and this was an in-between purchase, but so far I may just get another one of these and eq it enough to have a wall of sound. It could definitely hang in a gig situation.
This amp is light and loud, perfect for rock, definitely good for funk (real funk you bastards), actually capable of any semi-pro gig in any genre. I played the Paradise club in Boston a few years ago with a SX200 and it worked well.
Not a Marshall stack, but for what it is, it's a 10.

Bought it in early 1999. This amp is very versatile. I play a little of everything, from rock to country, and it serves them all well. This is two channel amp, clean and distortion, channel switching on the face and by footswitch, effects loop and headphone jack. It also has built-in digital effects. The delay is a bit limited (all preset with no adjustments other than level), but the rest (chorus, reverb and flange) are very nice. The only additional feature I could think of would be more control of the effects, but for the price it can't be beat. Comes in two models, the 100D with single 12", and this one the 200D with 2 12" speakers. Sound is incredible. Good quality at high and low volume and everywhere in between. Clean channel is very clean, distortion is the best I've heard in a solid state (may even compare to some tube distortions). The only reason I give it a 9 instead if a full 10 in this category is that it's advertised with dual channels that can be used simultaneously (that means at the same time), for example with electric on distortion channel and acoustic on clean. This works well, but if you want two clean channels at once, the overdrive level turned down loses all the gain on the distortion channel. I can't get a pure clean sound out of both sides, at least not that I've found so far. It also has a line out (1/4") that gets good sound on clean settings, but is a pretty gravelly on the distortion. You are better off to mic the amp for distortion settings. Other than those very minor quirks, this is a great amp for the money... and even for a lot more money!!

I play a California Fat Strat with various effects, as well as a Martin D35 with piezo saddle pickup and Fishman preamp through this amp. The fender gets great sounds all the way around, both on clean and distortion. The acoustic on the clean channel gets a pretty close to realistic sound, especially if I crank the mids down on the amp and on the preamp. Let's put it this way, it's good enough that I can take the control of my acoustic sound out of the hands of the sound man by running it through this amp and letting them mic it flat. This amp is VERY LOUD!! in a good way. It cranks a lot of volume for its size and price, and sounds good all the way up.

I've had it less than a year, so it's hard to say, but it is very sturdily built. I think it will take a lickin and keep on.... well you know.

I ordered it on line. Pretty basic, and shipped very fast. I am very happy!! I also lost my manual, but was able to download one from the web-site. Carvin has the internet deal pretty well covered. Check it out, I think you'll be impressed www.carvin.com

If you want a high dollar sound, but don't have a high dollar budget, this is the amp for you. I researched a lot before buying, because that is the position I was in (no high dollars here!). I have been more than ecstatic with my decision to buy this amp. It is really a sweet little box, and looks good too!! (tan vinyl with black accents). I am 41 and play rock and country, but my son is in a punk band and borrows it all the time for his rhythm guitarist. It work for all styles I guess!! Buy one, you won't be sorry.

This amp can do any kinda music you want it to do, you can do funky 80's style to your heavy metal! personally i play alot of led zeppelin & RUSH & man this amp i swear was made for it, theres really nothing on this amp that i wish was already there, the brittish speakers inside aren't gunna blow either hahaa i take this amp to gigs, & night clubs where we play & believe me its loud enough by far & it also sounds good when its turned up loud so dont worry about the sounds qual.

im using some cheap Harmony guitar thats shaped like a Les Paul, its not really a bad sounding guitar but damn, the amp makes it sound great! the amp isn't noisy at all, even with pedals hooked it with it, thats what my old one used to do, the amp has a Flanger, Chorus, Reverb & Echo there OK i guess but the only one that i dont already have in a pedal is a reverb thats that good. the amp also has overdrive, if you dont hook the guitar in with any pedals u can use the overdrive for a great distortion!

ive never had a problem with it, it look like it'll be ok though :o)

Man, Carvin has such nice people working there phones, i call them alot just to see if the amps comeing & i think i made a few more friends, the warrenty is one year, i ordered it online <www.carvin.com

ive been playing for about 4 years, ive used alot of amps & of course this is the best one iver ever used,if i lost this amp or some bum stole it, ide prolly get the same kinda cause its an awsome price & an awsome amp! ok, if you have a chance to get this amp, please get it, cause the price is great!