Carvin TN100 Tone Navigator Preamp

Mine was made in about 2004, but had a software upgrade in early 2006. At this price point, it's hard to imagine getting more versatility in a pre-amp. Effects loop, cabinet-outs, tone controls (6 of them total!) 4 "voices", 100 programmable pre-sets, 4 effects - 2 at a time, all work well, and produce huge variety of sounds and effects.
I have a couple of gripes: 1) The "clean 2" channel is not voiced effectively and does not have enough gain to effect a bluesy breakup that might be pleasing. 2) One of the effects, I think the reverb, should be able to be set outside of the maze of internal effects, allowing 3 effects at a time. 3) Each effect should have individual level settings. 4) Many of the settings have +32 to -32 ranges, despite covering maybe a 20 dB range. Plus or minus 12 or 15 is probably more appropriate. (But I'm nitpicking!)
This unit is best used with a simple midi-switch like the midi-mouse. The simple Carvin switch doesn't cut it.

I have about 15 electric guitars, strats, LPs, a vintage 1963 ES-345, Parker Fly Mojo, 3 Godins, DeArmond Starfire, an Ovation, etc. Mostly I play clean and Bluesy stuff from the 60's and 70's. But, essentially, this is a tough subject- If you can't find things you like among the presets, - a common problem, I bet - here's what I advise:
Go through them "all", i.e., 1-49 or 50-99 and find a few that have something you like. For instance, I liked the chorus on the "Everlong" and "JC-120" and I thought a couple of settings were vaguely Fenderish or Marshallish in voice. Make some notes and start overwriting settings starting with 50, so you keep the originals in 1-49. Make 3 or 4 similar ones, like 50-53, to start. Set several with the voice and gain/volume/tone/sweeps you liked and start working with the tones and don't be afraid to swing that dial! Make "BIG" changes and play with it a LOT! Hold on to what you come up with for 50 and then set 51 the same. Then play with 51 for more gain, more effects, more mids, or whatever you want to tweak away from the basic setting. I have some great Fender Deluxe type sounds from low gain scooped "crunch" channel settings; I was eventually even able to get a really Tweed-like clean tone from "clean2" but you'd never guess the settings I ended up with. I had to use the tone sweep at 6K to get some "sparkle" and pegged the presence as well, but it works. It all works if you spend some time and are logical about it. (and keep a spreadsheet,- see reliability below.) Also, I always hook up a delay pedal, because many of the effects I like are chorus on chorus or phase on phase, etc. Spend time, your work will be rewarded.

This is where it all falls apart. I held off on writing this review- for a year,- just in case....
After about 100 hours in my clean living room hooked up to a QSC PA amp and a pair of EV SX-300s, this amp started to do strange things. At first, I could recover by re-booting it once, or twice.... But then it just crapped out and started throwing random settings out that had nothing to do with what was selected. I sent it back to Carvin, and they fixed it and upgraded the software for $195. Based on what I know now, this should have been a recall.
It has worked well since then, maybe 250 hours(?) but now it is starting to do it again. No way a non-gigging hobbyist should have such trouble. At least I know that if I send it back again, all my presets will be lost again, BUT, I wrote them down! My ancient Quad-X, my Roland Blues cube, my Traynor YCV20WR, nothing has given me so such trouble,- or any trouble!

Carvin is very helpful. They'll fix it, but it'll cost you, and if you live at a distance, it will take some time. I would have given them a 9 or even 10, but they did not tell me how common the problems were, and I think $195 was too much for a "fix" which is really a design flaw.

I've played for almost 40 years, but am no pro. I have had Gibson amps, Fenders, Traynors, Rolands, Voxes, Crates, and a Carvin Quad-X preamp as well.
I like this SS preamp a lot. Carvin should upgrade it and make it more reliable and re-introduce it, WITH AN EXTENDED WARRANTY. It has too many good qualities to give up on.
I originally compared its features to the more expensive Marshall JMP-1 and Mesa Triax (both of which I played trough), and bought it for it's lower price, comparable features, and PRESUMED Solid State reliability! (And actually, there are really some noticeable similarities to the much more expensive JMP-1.)
You can really make it sound pretty much however you want if you spend some time. Many settings are indistinguishable from "tube-sound". It's really good in that respect.
Three of the voicings are super. You can get squeaky "Fender" clean from clean1, great crunch, broken-up Fender, and Marshall voice from from the Crunch channel, and all sorts of low to high gain stuff from the distortion channel, which can be slightly noisy, though no worse than most.
My suggestions: The "clean2" is vaguely tweed sounding, but that's of limited use since you can't get any breakup. This channel should be revoiced with something like a Blues Deluxe or Super Reverb in mind. The amp should have the reverb on the "front", and add tremelo to the internal effects. And do away with -32 to +32 settings, that's absurd. I think the internal effects are decent, but they could be better. If I were Carvin, I would not program 50-100 with repeats of 1-49. Instead I would have groups of 5. Call 50-55 "Blackface" and program them similarly to be like Fender Deluxes or Twins. Call 56-60 something else similar to Marshalls, etc. Call 61-65 "Quad-X Clean", and 66-70 "Quad-X Crunch". (The Quad-X has some super sounds.) This is more logical for reprogramming purposes, and most everyone will appreciate this. And also- volume equalize them all, including the ridiculously loud pre-programmed Gambale presets!
If this were stolen, I'd call Carvin and ask what I should expect in terms of reliability if I replaced it. I *think* they'd be honest. I'm not sure I'd replace it unless it was a Gambale II !!

Features? This thing is loaded with features, every tone you can think of can be obtained by this Pre-amp. Everything is mega tweekable ??? there is a button for; Pres, Treb, Mids (with two sweepables), bass (also a bass boost if ya need it), Gain, Distortion, Crunch, Clean 1 and Clean 2. A total Tone tweekers dream ??? but, its also very easy and straight forward. Just hit the button that you want to tweek and then turn the knob to the desired taste and BAM! Built in effects that are very clean but, also very simple straight-forward. It also has a stereo effects loop for those who want more sophisticated effects. Midi in/out/thru, and Built in Cab voiced line outs that totally Rock!

I have to say that the Tone Navigator is the most dynamic, and responsive amp/pre-amp I have ever played thru. And this is coming from a guy who used to be a tubes only guy. You know the type, TUBES = TONE period. Well, I have to say that the new Carvin SX series got me to re-think that, and then theTone Navigator totally changed my mind. This pre-amp is just absolutely amazing ??? every tone you can think of can be done by this pre-amp. The Tone is GREAT! and the feel? Well, like I said it is the most dynamic and responsive pre-amp or amp I have ever played thru. Turn down the volume knob on the guitar and the pre-amp cleans up beautifully. Pick attack, harmonics everything is there.
Check out the demo sample I recorded here:
http://www.km-guitarslinger.com/Sniffinthezone.wma
About the Demo:
" I recorded this with Guitar and Drums (no bass). The cleaner guitars and the Heavy Guitars are all from the same patch. I wanted to show how well the Tone Navigator cleans up when rolling back on the Guitars Volume knob. I just used the Guitars volume knob and backed it off and it cleans up very nicely. Then for the Heavy riff' in I turn up the Guitars volume knob and BAM! Heavy! (and the gain on the TN 100 is not all the way up). I used the WAH on all of the Solo/lead work to add a more vocal sound. I recorded Direct using the Tone Navigators cab voiced line outs. Anyway's, It was a really Quick thro together recording so there are some rough spots but, it gives you an Idea of the responsiveness of the Tone Navigator. This Pre-Amp is the most responsive and dynamic pre-amp/amp I have ever played thru - it is just simply amazing.

I think Carvin had a couple bugs to work out with these units (as do most companies with a new product) but, I believe they have it nailed down now, and all the bugs have been worked out. I have had this unit and have had absolutely No problems with it at all.

Carvin has been Great! the Customer service is top notch, and they always seem to be willing to go that extra mile for you. Excellent customer service.

Excellent!

2 X TN100
2 X LEGACY HALF STACKS

ALL BROKEN!!

Good if it works.

none

none.

This is a follow up to my previous nice review.
The TN100 worked for 2 weeks then it broke on me. I asked for a replacement from Carvin.
Two weeks later I got a replacement with the exact same issues!

The tone navigator would change presets by itself in the middle of playing.
The Characters on the screen would either disappear or go all messed up.
The sound would go from nice and clear to really boomy.

I also ordered a Legacy half stack from Carvin. The first one was broken out of the box.
All the tubes were blown.
The replacement they sent me worked for a week and same thing. All the tubes blew.
This is all by the way sitting in my professional studio. Not Gigging.

On top of all this I ordered an XB75 5 string bass. They double charged me for it and it tool me ten days of yelling over the phone to resolve the issue. Only after 10 days Carvin admitted to fault.
After the poor customer service and lack of quality I then decided to send back my 7 strings in which Carvin refused despite all the trouble they had caused me to issue a full refund for.
So in other words I ended up losing $400 for NOTHING!

Thank you CARVIN for the waste of time and money. Keep up the great work of ripping off the common customer and making only nice gear for your endorsers.

Many great features and the direct speaker simulator out is the best. Better than any modeler out there.
This thing will cover any style with the RIGHT guitar!

I use this in my studio going direct into my Motu 828-I-Mac dual core into Apple Logic pro using the 1/4 inch stereo cabinet voiced outputs. AMAZING!
I have had every modeler on the market. EVERY SINGLE ONE! I even have the top of the line direct boxes including a Palmer PDI-09 loadbox/cabsim. Used it with many tube amps but still wasn't happy...
Hooked the TN100 and was blown away by the presets!
Anyone who says it doesn't have enough gain for heavier stuff is tone deaf! Of course id you plug in a Fender with single coils it ain't going to be exactly heavy..D'UH!
There is a setting that simulates a Mesa Rectifier and it is amazing and I have the gain turned down half way and it is enough gain to cover IN FLAMES through Pantera.
Then again my two CARVIN custom seven strings are amazing guitars so they do contribute to the sound.
The effects on this unit are also great and what a great clean sound!
This is the best direct unit I have ever used, bar none.

It will stay in my studio in a rack so I don't see any issues.
Carvin has a fantastic customer service though so I am not worried.

Carvin have been extremely fast with my orders and questions so I have absolutely no complaints.

I have been playing for 18 years. I am a full time professional guitar teacher with my own music school. I have worked for TV companies and played with several artists so I have been through tons of gear!! I am a fan of direct recording and have been searching and searching...
here it is! GO FRANK GAMBALE AND CARVIN!

carvin.com for complete features. It's extremely versatile!

I mainly play jazz and use semi-hollow body guitars. I was able to dial in a very nice round warm clean channel without difficulty. Add a tad of the onboard reverb and wow...great clean jazz tone. I'm using it with a Carvin DCM1000 poweramp into a Carvin 212 cabinet. I mainly play clean and this setup is very quite in terms of noise. The chorus isn't the best, but it does just fine. Flanger is a bit strange to me and the echo is good but the control is pretty week...not precise. But, don't buy this preamp for the onboard effects. You can do better with other effects. This preamp is all about the basic fundamental tone that's stuffed into this 1 space unit. Gobs of tone...awesome cleans, overdrives AND distortions. There's good amounts of distortion there for hard rock/metal but a boost or distortion pedal in front will send it into total mayhem if that's what you're going for. This preamp is very versitile...has great functions and even the direct outs into the mixer sounds REALLY good.

I've had this thing serviced once by Carvin. Had a little glitch but a software update did the trick. It's been very reliable since. I'm never 100% confident in any digital gear. But, I am 100% confident in Carvin as a whole.

I love Carvin! They took care of my TN100 when there was a problem quickly and professionally. The CS rep I dealt with was extremely cool and professional. Carvin, in general, is just a great company to do business with. I've been a longtime Carvin user and they have always been there for me.

Aside from the little problem I had this tone machine is just incredible...especially for jazz and fusion duties. I'm a very happy user and have even sold a number of tubed gear that I had been playing for quite some time. I didn't need to sell it to buy my TN setup. I'm just extremely satisfied with the TN's tone that there was no point in keeping it all. To have something sound so wonderful without having to screw around with tubes and all the maintenance that goes with them...it's a dream come true. Frank and Carvin...hats off to you guys. It's definitely a preamp to be proud of!

You know them by now.

It sounds really good. IT has almost enough gain to do heavier metal styles but it runs out when you almost have enough. I don't likwit with boost pedals however.

The cleans are pretty dull.

The modulation effects are terrible.

The eq'ing availability is sweet.

I pretty much like how it sounds but im getting a different one. When i compare it to my "cube of crap" 15 watt SS marshall, it 'feels' terrible to play through.

It broke down within the first six months.

I've heard of ALOT of tech problems with this preamp.

Carvin will take care of it/you.

This rack preamp is very very good! You can edit your sounds just selecting the parameter button and moving the "Adjust" knob. Once you have reached the sound you want you only have to press the button "Save" and it's done

Well my setup is:
Guitars: Gibson les paul Standard Plus and an Ibanez RG
Amp: Peavey Special 212 Transtube loaded with Sheffield Speakers.

This preamp goes right in the amp's poweramp, and it's sounds great.

It's a very silent unit, it make a little noise only on heavy crunch and ditortions at high volume. I don't need any noise gate anyway.

You can edit your sounds adding or removing Chorus, Reverb, Delay, and Flanger. Only 2 effects can be added to the same sound. All the effects sound well.

With a little effort and patience I got the sounds of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Dream theater, Nirvana and Guns n Roses...just to say that this unit is very very versatile

I play metal and hard rock and I must say this unit is what i was looking for!! Before buying it i tried the JMP - 1 as well...they both sound very well, but I loved this much more, because u have some effects and cause it's much more versatile. This is the rack unit I needed!

I can play and record on the computer connecting this unit and it can go right into the mixer, if u can't use the amp.

Mine came with all the normal features you can read about on Carvin's website. Mine was unique, though, since it had a nice 10" horizontal scrape on the top panel out of the box. :(

Horrible. Absolutely horrible pre-amp. I'm more of a "clean" player and don't use much overdrive/distortion. So, I will only comment on the clean sounds...horrible. I quickly went through the presets (boo) and decided to create my own patches from scratch. I spent a week straight with this preamp running it into several tube and solid state power amps (including a 90's Carvin T100...awsome power amp!) and about a dozen different cabinets. Nothing I matched the preamp with did any justice to the sound...totally dull, lifeless, uninspiring. The direct recording sound is even worse. It's a shame I have to give this preamp such a bad rating since I loved my old X100 heads, XV212 combo, and Quad-X preamps. I don't try to cop other peoples tones. Instead, I look for my own. I don't care who manufactures gear or if they use tubes, transistors, digital modeling, etc. If it sounds/plays good to me then none of that matters. But, this preamp was a total let down for me as I couldn't dial in even a decent clean tone...now that's pretty bad. Thankfully, I was able to return it back to Carvin for a refund.

Seemed to be build well enough I guess. I only had it for a week so I can't comment on it's longevity.

Very good! I've only needed to call them once and that was to return this preamp. They issued me a refund with no problems. Thanks guys!

Been playing guitar for over 20 years. Played a bunch of amps, preamps, yada yada. Carvin make excellent amps and wonderful guitars in my experience. I was so pumped to buy the Tone Navigator when it came out only to be completely let down. I love Carvin as a company...been a fan as long as I've been playing. Owned many Carvin products over the years. This device is the worst thing I've experienced from Carvin to date. If you're looking for a Carvin pre-amp...save some cash and buy a nice used Quad-X. It definitely puts the TN to shame IMHO.

Lots of buttons to cover up the lack of sound it produces.

Don't be fooled with the distortion capabilities. This is fine for fender guys and such, but hard rock-metal this is a joke. Also a suggestion for Carvin. They could of improved the analog sound by driving it 12ax7 tubes. You would think for $500 that they would have, but still would not be acceptable since it lacks distortion.
If they cut the price in half it would be worth it. I am being fair by not rating this section since it is geared towards a different style of music than Me, HOWEVER, slapping 'recto' into the descriptions and tone is a HUGE Fraud!

never had a bad carvin product.

Always helpful when I have called on other products of theirs.

over priced!

2004 analog (solid state), digitally controlled. Dual mid sweeps. 4 voicings (clean scooped, clean flat, crunch, distortion). Effects loop (parallel, boo).

This preamp has nowhere near the tonal versatility it claims. The effects should be left out and the price should be reduced, as they aren't too useful.

Uneditable Frank Gambale presets? Waste of memory.

The cleans are lifeless, and the distortion is nowhere near enough to play rock or metal. I had to actually buy a BOSS SD-1 to put in front of it to get the gain I wanted. Boo.

This unit is quite quiet though, and the Dual mid sweeps would be nice it the unit sounded remotely good.

Sold after 2 months. However.

Unit started with odd parameters and required a reboot several times in order to make it work properly.

Carvin does have the best customer support. Period.

20 years playing, would not buy one again (in fact I sold it).

The Amp is very versatile especially when you start playing around with the mid sweep controls.
The effects built into it are standard chorus,reverb,delay and flange, the flange isn't all much good.
Would be better if it had a tuner built into it.

I was looking for something to give me that Gambale sound he used to have when he used mesa boogie amps, and even though this is not a Boogie the mid sweep controls can very closly copy one.
I don't think much of the preset patches on it, even Frank Gambales own, but after playing around with it I have got the sound I want.

I haven't had chance to gig mine yet but seems to be well built.
I am going to buy and fit mine into a rack so it should be a lot safer then.

Never dealt with carvin.

I would strongly recommend this amp to anyone looking for a very specific distortion sound, and don't be put off by the pathetic preset patches, spend time with the mid sweep controls.

2004 Carvin TN-100. I own a number of Carvin guitars and amps. I dropped a bundle of money over the years and always received excellent made gear, from Carvin. I am however, shaking my head over this piece of gear.

I ordered this amp/processor with great anticipation and rather then be negative I'll give my two cents, with humility. For the past 40 years I have played all styles. I have played with the old rocking Coasters to hillbilly jazz fiddler Vassar Clements and with trumpet great, Winton Marsalis. Because my band backs up such a variety of musicians I need my gear to do as much. I have to say with sadness the TN-100 won't be on tour with me.

Rightfully the TN-100 should be made into a floor unit. With the present sound library it should be priced comparatively to maybe a Zoom processor unit. In all fairness to Zoom they actually have a better variety of sounds then does the TN-100. The TN is clean and quiet and offers some tweekable distortion, EQ and a few effects like reverb, chorus and phaser, end of story.

Don't know.

Carvin has always treated me well in this department.

If you need a well made instrument, shop Carvin but if you are a hardworking musician on a budget looking for a good preamp/processor this is not the unit to buy.

For a good overdrive pedal see Analog Mike. He does amazing things with an Ibanez Tube Screamer. Roland GT-5 works well and can be found used for a couple hundred on ebay.

Go to your favorite guitar players web site and see what he or she is using, then look on ebay for the deals.

Carvin shame on you for the price and limited functions on hand. Please put it back in the oven add some more spices/effects, control functions and let it cook a little longer.

I'm a composer/performer, mostly on the classical guitar but due to mid-age crisis, the fact that the electric guitar with processors makes for powerful sonic statements and the fact that I never really resigned myself to only being a classical guitarist I have been into gear again. I've been playing for 35 years and have an MFA in composition/performance. I'm an egg-head with blood and guts.
I mostly use a Brian Moore i1p, has a piezo bridge, a Gibson Firebird VII, what I had when I was a kid and a handmade Brian May with a gaagle of vintage pickups. I also use two digitech TSR-12 and 24 a parametric EQ for the piezo, a Jamman (in a GNX3) all run into a small but powerful PA. All goes into a Sampson 1602 Line mixer.
The TN-100 is fully MIDI controlled and this was my original reason for getting it. I have enough processors to make what I need and the TN-100 has two digital processors concentrating on chorus, reverb and delay and to me it was superflous. There are also two extra midrange controls besides the regular bass, mids, treble and presence. There are two clean a crunch and a distortion function for each preset. All is accesed by the clearly laid out front panel. On the back there are two outputs with one of them speaker cabinet emulated for my use with a mixer. This is a full featured package, I've been tweaking it for only a few days and I can't think of anything I would need that it doesn't have. It's a tweaker's dream.

The TN is based on the SX-200 solid state tube emulated head. I am a tube man. I previously used a Boogie Studio 22 but eventually picked up a SX-200 combo because it was cheap and I could use it for my classical guitar amplification in small spaces. To my surprise the SX-200 is a kick-ass combo both clean and dirty. Beyond my expectations and I am no longer a tube-only guy.
So speaking to an extremely friendly and informative Carvin person, finding out it was based on the analog SX series I bought.
The TN goes beyond the SX in sound. The two extral mid range control, with a frequency select and amount makes the amp sound beautiful. With the two clean options, one scooped, it will make the sweeted and stringy sounds you can imagine. The crunch and distortion, with the two extra mid controls, is the best I've ever heard. You can get total saturation and a Boogie like crunch so it easlity replaces that preamp I used. You could use this preamp for any style of music and it is dead quiet.

Well, this aspect really doesn't apply yet but I will base this part on my previous experience with Carvin gear. Never fails.

As well, Carvin is there for you with informative and helpful people. They never fail.

I would replace this preamp in a heartbeat if it were stolen. It is simply the best for me! I'm a picky Moe, if you read my reviews at New Millennium Guitar, I spend much time picking things apart. My ear is a biological wonder, if I may toot my horn but I say this only to further focus the fact that this is a marvelous sounding preamp.

1. Probably made in 2004.
2. I play hard rock, blues and country professionally. This is a very versatile rig for all.
3. It's a stereo rig I run through a 100 watt Carvin Stereo tube rack amp and a Marshall 4X12 cab with 25 watt Greenbacks. Plenty of power and sound for me.
4. This rig has more features than I use but the tones and patch selections are unbelievable. I'd spent thousands of dollars on amps and effects to try to produce the tone and sounds this thing does in one rack space. The tones are just incredible. The sweeps and sweep levels allow you tweak your sounds to studio quality. I've sold all my former gear and this rig is now my sole source of sound.
5. I can't speak

I run a Gibson Les Paul Classic, a Strat Plus with Lace Sensors, and a Music Man EVH through it.

No noise. The fan in the Carvin Tube amp is the only noise you can hear and even that is barely audible even at full throttle. I have no complaints about the majority of the effects, but then I don't use much of them. If you want clean with full rich deep tones you want this rig. I've never heard anything so beautiful except for what Eddie Van Halen can produce with his gear.

I've gigged with it for about 8 months in 24 venues and its worked and sounded perfect every time including gigs outside. I know I'm taking a hell of a chance gigging without a backup but this things been knocked around and fallen over in the rack case from atop my 4X12 cabnet and nothing's hurt it yet. If I get a backup it'll be a duplicate of the exact same set up I have now and nothing else.

Great customer support. Angel was the dude who hooked me up. Great guy. Gave me about every discount imaginable. I walked out of the shop with a Road Warrior case, a Carvin 100w tube amp, a Carvin line conditioner with rack lights and the Tone Navigator for $1,100.

Been playing for 20 years. Tried a bunch of different stuff seeking the illusive tone. If it were stolen I wouldn't buy anything else but the exact same set up again. I love it. There's nothing I hate, dislike, or am irritated about. It's just all cool to me.

This is a new Artist Signature preamp designed in conjunction with Carvin by fusion great Frank Gambale.

It's a SS, digitally controlled analog preamp. No algorithms or simulated tones. It has 119 presets or "patches". Numbers 1-20 are Gambale's own personal favorite presets, ranging from various "clean" patches to a few of his favorite high gain sounds. Numbers 21-49 are Carvin's own creations, and here the tones are a little more varied. Now you start dipping into some wilder sounds as well as many vintage sounds.

One thing you won't see here is any amp modeling; nor will you see anything utterly insane such as Line 6's, errr, "Insane" modes. All the tones except for "CRZY TRAIN" (a bizarre, wooden sounding thing I just don't get) are quite "traditional" and very useable.

Patches 50-99 duplicate patches 1-49. All 99 of these patches can be tweaked and/or completely redesigned by the user to suit his tastes. Patches 100-119 are Gambale's presets again, only here they cannot be altered.

Any patch that's been altered by the user can be restored to the original presets via a handly little "Utilities" control.

This unit does not come with any Carvin footswitching ability, though one could opt for very limited footswitching from Carvin via their optional FS22 footswitch. Better to just go ahead and get a midi footboard, such as the $80 Rolls MP128 Midi Buddy, which is what Gambale uses with the TN100. This footboard has ten available footswitches per bank, with twelve total banks.

The Tone Navigator also includes a fine array of effects, including Delay, Reverb, Chorus and Flange. These effects can be tweaked any way you want them and you can apply up to two effects per patch.

The Tone Navigator's main claim to fame, it's raison d'etre, if you will (borrowing from Frank there...), is its incredible variety of EQ-ing options. Aside from the usual Master Volume and individual volume, treble, presence, mid and bass controls the TN100 also features a double mids sweeping feature that allows you to double sweep both the level and the frequency of the mids.

This is key to the TN100. It's what gives it such incredible tonal variety.

I'd give it a perfect score for features, but for two things:

-The footswitch board should come with the unit, and Carvin should build it.

-While the effects sound killer, I'd like the option of being able to add all four to a patch, instead of only two at a time.

I've been playing off and on for about twenty years, either blues or guitar instrumental stuff. SRV, Hendrix, Page, Vai, DiMeola, yada yada.

I'm not a pro. At this point in my life it's just a hobby.

Been mostly playing this TN100 through a Legacy 3/4 stack (with Celestion V30s, not the older model Greenbacks), a DCM1000 power head and either a crappy old Strat or an Ibanez JEM7VWH. I originally tried this set up with an all tube TS100 power head but I decided I wanted more than 50w per stereo side and since the TN100 isn't a tube preamp I don't feel there's any sound degradation in going with a 1000w SS power head.

Tried 'em one after another and I can't hear any tonal difference. Sure can hear the volume difference though!

With all the available EQ options there's really nothing (within reason) that the TN100 can't do. Again, no, you won't get full on man-overboard-alligators-attacking-each-other-in-a-vat-of-jello Steve Stevens style FX crazyness but other than that, yeah, whatever you want. Tonally, whether you want Wes Montgomery, Robert Cray, Allan Holdsworth or Dimebag Darryl, it's in there. Also, the sounds are simply gorgeous. Forget the whole "Dude, but does it sound like tubes?" question. Yes, it does, and who cares anyway? It's a lead guitar player's dream come true, with all the pick attack you could ever want and harmonics aplenty on the gain channels. The sustain is endless. Whatever, whenever, however much...you decide. Since Gambale has such a strong jazz background it also is really beautiful sounding on the clean channels. Bright and chimey or warm, smokey and drinks clanking in a dark jazz club brooding, it's in there.

There's also zero extraneous noise from this unit, especially when paired with the DCM1000. If you want musical feedback, it's there for days. All you could ever want. If you DON'T want any extra sounds, it's dead nuts silent.

Isn't that what matters?

No way this category doesn't get a perfect score.

I've only had it a couple months so it's hard to say but it's SS and it's a Carvin so I don't see how anyone could hope to purchase better reliability.

Put it this way: While I won't give it a score I'll be shocked if this thing craps out on me.

By and large, in terms of customer service, I'd rather deal with Carvin than with any other guitar company. I've been on the phone with them so much recently, ordering so much gear, that I was bound to find the odd bad egg amongst their CS crew.

And so I did. Still, all in all, the good far outweighs the bad. Mostly, I think their CS is flat out remarkable in this day and age.

If this thing were lost or stolen I'd definitely want another one. I'd never get to play it much though because prisons don't allow rack mounts in their cells and I'd probably be in prison for what I did to the guy who stole it...

I think that in terms of pure function and tone there's nothing extra I wish this thing had, aside from what I already mentioned above. However, just to shut up the whining purists (of which I'm one, actually), I suppose I wish this thing were all tube. Problem is, Frank Gambale designed it and he has very pointed opinions concerning SS vs tubes.

One nice thing is that I got mine before Carvin raised their price on this thing. I bought mine for $449 and it's now $599, and easily worth twice that.

The reason I chose this product is simple. I drove down to Hollywood and played it in one of Carvin's stores. I simply think it'll be difficult to find anyone who won't want this thing after they've spent some time playing it.

I don't even like rack mounts. I like knobs, on heads, sitting on top of cabinets. I'm pretty much a moron. I like simplicity.

Doesn't matter. This thing is actually easier to use than a normal head, once you take a weekend and set up your midi board with your presets. From then on it's one touch footwork, only you have a bazillion channels and an equal number of FX presets, instead of a traditional head's three or four channels.

It even looks pretty cool, what with its blue LED lighting. Oh yeah, did I mention that it costs less than half of most any decent head, while giving you way more variety and zero maintenance hassles.....all while NOT being some cheesy sounding modeling amp?

Just get one. You'll love it. You likely won't need anything else, other than maybe a G Major if you're really into tailering your FX. If your ears work even a little bit you'll love the Tone Navigator.