Carvin X100B

made in the 80s .the5 band eq,&factory hot rod switch make this a great amp for metal and the rms selector is great for recording a cranked tone at a lower level

i play an 86 usa warlock with a dimarzio super distortion in the bridge and am always able to get whatever tone i want from gutteral distortion to a crystal clear clean tone ,and its loud ive never turned it up past 3

i had to replace the tubes and have it biased two times the first time was just because the preveous owner didnt take care of it and the second because the guy i brought it to did a hack job repairing it, but since then ive never had a problem.my frirnd also plays one and with reguler servicing has never had a problem

i got it used soi havnt delt with carvin much but i was able to get a new owners manual and foot switch scematics from them without a hassle

been playing for 10 years and this is my rig.as ive told my friends if i had the money for a much "better"amp i probably stick with the carvin it has served me well ind i love the versitility of the amp

Made in 1987 with the black tolex covering. 2 channels 5 band graphic eq etc.. you know the rest

I play either an ESP vintage plus strat with a seymour duncan JB or a neck thru charvel also loaded with the JB. I used to only use the gain channel until I wanted something else from the head i just wasn't getting... so I started using the clean channel which is remarkable with a boss metal zone pedal... now i have a great tone. my settings... presence 2 treble 2 mids 8 bass 6. with a slight reverse V on the 5 band eq... ok you could say i am pushing the mids... but people dont realize the guitar is a midtone instrument and instead of making it sound like something it isn't I prefer to encourage it's natural tone... what i get is a real "tube" sound.. i play a tube head and i want to hear the tubes damnit and the only way to do that is to push the mids.. another thing is i am basically replacing the treble with mids and i get a real smooth sounding high end instead of the brittle mid scooped sound I started with. I love this amp

I have had this amp since about 93-94 and it has never broken... i was getting some static from the 5 band eq... so i took it apart.. cleaned the connection for the chips on the eq and viola... it worked great again. I am not easy on equipment and this thing gets bounced around in my car all of the time between practices and gigs.

I did get a footswitch but that was back in 94... the guys at the carvin shop gave me a manual for the amp which was way cool. all my experiences have been good.. it's never broken down so i haven't really needed any support

My X-100B came out of the factory in the mid-eighties hot-rodded by carvin. The clean channel has a hybrid power section so it wont break up. The overdrive channel is balls-out, it will give you 80's metallica tone like nothing else (with EMG pickups of course). I play everything from jazz to metal and it has plenty of feature for me. Effects loop is pretty good. It has an awesome graphic EQ and active EQ controls. Good, quiet 2 channel switching, gain boos switch (very very useful). Reverb is just a little too sproingy in my opinion. The only thing is that you can only assign the graphic EQ to one channel, and the tone knobs are for both channels.

For balls to the wall metal tones I play a USA BC Rich mockingbird with really high-powered humbuckers, an EMG-81 in the bridge and an 85 in the neck position. The metal tone is the best I've ever heard. The only amp that matches it's insanely good and plentiful distortion is the Mesa Rectifier amps, the Marshall stacks dont't touch it. For clean and slightly distorted tones I like my Fender Strat that has a medium-power humbucker in the bridge. I play some jazzy and bluesy stuff on the clean channel, or the dirty channel (gain around 2). It's pretty good, but you dont get that bouncy tube tone, but that's probably because it's a 100-watt stack. This amp only gets noisy when you use it's stupidly high gain levels at extreme tone settings. Like for System of a Down (by the way, their guitarist actually uses this amp) I have the tone controls like this: Presence=5, Treble=7, Mid=4, Bass=7, then i turn the gain boost on and turn the knob to 6 and I have plenty of distortion without the extraneous noise. At high volumes you have to back off on all the tone controls a little bit because the amp gets too loud and the bass can get muddy and the treble can really cut you. The distortion is very versatile and can get very brutal. You can get Dimebag darrel attack, or super mellow blues tones. Oh yeah, for all you real music lovers out there, frank Zappa really like to use this amp in his touring rig!

I totally trust this amp. I never bring a backup, but I really think I should (just need the money for a Mesa combo!). the amp has never totally broken down. About 6 months after i got it, I started getting tube microphonics, and a lot of feedback at high volumes while at rehearsal. But I just changed the tubes (I think it had the originals) and it has been great ever since.

Never dealt with Carvin about this amp. I find that to be a good thing.

I've been playing since I was 9, and I'm 15 now. I don't mean to be cocky at all but I think I have a pretty good amount of experience. I can go to little guitar shops and impress the veterans of the instrument. Besides my previously mentioned guitars, I have some hollowbody japanese jazz guitar knock-off, an older Ovation Celebrity acoustic-electric, and a BC Rich Warlock (my ratty guitar). I love everything about this amp except for the volume at times. So I'm planning on getting a small, all-tube, 112 combo amp so that I can really push the tubes without being in an arena. If it were stolen, I would buy another one---unless I had the money for a Mesa/Boogie or one of those boutique amps (Bogner, Soldano, Rivera...).I've played that Crate Blue VooDoo thingy, and it was quite horrible. I find the carvin to be a little better than an unmodified Marshall stack. But any Mesa would show this amp how it's done. All in all it's a good amp that you absolutely can not beat for the money.

Manufactured in the early 90's (I'm guessing) because it has the EL-34 power tubes and the hideous grey carpet covering on the case. The amp is very versatile, great clean channel, excellent lead channel. The amp has channel switching (either manually on the control panel or with the FS-36 foot switch), effects loop, 5 band equalizer, lead gain boost (20db) and a bright switch on the clean channel. Features that I do not like: Only one set of tone controls for either channel (so they cannot be equalized independently), Control switch for designating the equalizer for either the lead or rythmn (clean) channel, again the issue arises about seperate channel equalization. I use the amp in my basement, the 100 watt output power is more than sufficient to rattle the house, as is the 50% power selection. This amp also has a 25% power selection to bring the volume levels down enough that the neighbors and police are not knocking on the door (not that you would ever hear them). This amp is extremely loud! This late version of the X-100 has 4 EL-34 power tubes and 3 12ax7's in the preamp. It uses active tone controls (and that is where most people mess-up when EQ'ing this amp) so you cannot just cannot dime the the controls and expect a good tone. Small adjustments of the controls equal big changes in tone. The 5 band equalizer is also an active circuit and again small adjustments mean big changes in tone.

I use mainly a Carvin DC-135 through this amp, and it sounds great. The amp is suitable for just about any musical style as mentioned in many of the other reviews. The clean channel is spectacular most review are in agreement with this. I think the lead channel is also nothing short of outstanding. The normal overdrive has a very Fenderish quality about it, especially when using single coil pick-ups. However, when you pull the lead boost you get distortion "O" plenty. The hi-gain boost has a Mesa Boogie type sound quality when these settings are used: PRES.-3, BASS-6, MID.-5,TREB.-8 and then use the EQ. to fatten or brighten it up as desired. Marshall tones can also be extracted as well: PRES.-7, BASS-7, MID.-6, TREB.-7. These settings are right out of the manual for the amp and I find them to be pretty acurate. So that is a starting point for guys that have had trouble getting tone out of this amp. Like I said this one of the best sounding amps I have ever heard. Typically I like the preamp gain set between 6.5-7, any more than that it begins to sound fuzzy. This amp also sound at its best on the 100% power setting, 50% sounds good, but the 25% setting gives the amp a thin sound. Unlike most of the newer amps with a half power setting that shut-down two of the power tubes, the X-100 reduces the operating voltage to all four power tubes to kill off some of the volume (That why the 25% setting gets vey thin because all you have is preamp distortion and no power tube overdrive) Also I use a Sound City 4x12 bottom with Celestion speakers.

No problems yet.

Carvin E-mailed me a circuit diagram and I downloaded the orinal manual from their website.

An excellent value for a used tube amp. Prices normally run 250.00-300.00 used. If you find one buy it. you cant go wrong.

2 channel, effects loop, 100 watt head

I use have 2 jackson ( a dinky and a kelly with seymour duncan heavy metal live wire pickups), this amp is crap, it is cheap but it sounds like crap. If play heavy metal DO NOT BUY THIS AMP!!!!!!! I bought this amp thinking I could sound like steve vai but NOWAY, THIS AMP IS A POS, I HATE IT. I'm selling this amp as soon as possible and getting a 2 channel 100 watt marshall jcm 800 head,(if anyone has one please email me). But this amp could be good if you donot want a amp that distorts a lot. After playing this amp I went right back to playing with my Peavey Bandit 112, that amp sucks too, so it shows you how much I hated this amp.

It hasa broke anything but i only had it for a couple of weeks.

I been playing for 3 years. If think you'll sound like steve vai on the flexible album, you should just keep your amp and just buy a DS-1 distortion pedal. This amp sucks. I play Steve Vai type music, so I know what I'm talking about.

I bought my amp in '91 or '92. Lots of features including effects loop, channel switching, adjustable power (25W, 50W, 100W), 5 band EQ (in addition to high/mid/low knobs). It's got more power than you'll ever need in a normal gig environment. I don't think I've ever had it above 5 at the full 100 watts.

I play an Ibanez RG550 and an Ibanez Jem777. My musical style is mainly hard rock/metal. This amp is very versatile as far as the EQ goes. The knobs for hi/mid/low feature cut and boost, and you have an additional 5 band slider EQ for more cut and boost. The clean is very clean, even at fairly high volumes. You can make the clean channel break up if you really try at it, but the volume it takes is much higher than you would normally be playing at. The reverb is above average. My only complaint is that there is just not quite enough distortion for my taste. Don't get me wrong, it has a lot of gain, but not the singing sustain I really dig. Other than that, it's totally killer.

Played great right out of the box. I have only had to replace the tubes once in over 10 years. It went through a phase for a while where it wanted to blow a fuse about once a week, but that only lasted a couple of months. I have gigged with it regularly over the last 10 years, and it has never left me high and dry. Never taken a backup with me to gigs, either. That's how much I trust it.

Not really had to deal with customer support too much. The only reason for the 8 was it took the amp about a month and a half to arrive (Carvin couldn't quite track it down after they shipped it).

Overall, this is a terrific amp for the price. Like I said, my only gripe was that it doesn't have quite enough gain to suit my taste. Other than that, the X100B is top notch.

made in late 80's early 90's. I love this amp for any style of music. it has channal switching and effects loop. i never use the effects loop. the best feature it has is the 5 band EQ!

I play a Les Paul standard. The apm is mot noisy(even at high levels) You can make many sounds from this amp. The clean channal always is clean, and the distorted is juast the way i like it. (reminds me of the same kinda distortion Adam Jones uses in TOOL) I have been playing for 12 years and this amp ranks up there with some of the best ive seen!

Very reliable! No problems yet!(7 years)

I love the guys at carvin, they are helpful AND THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!!!

This is a great amp. If you dont want to buy it at least check it out, Give the amp 5-10 minutes and work with the EQ on the ead channal(you will be hooked) GREAT AMP FOR THE MONEY!

This amp has a lot of great features... I love the 5 band EQ(you can get almost any sound out of it)Effects loop, channal switching pedal. I use the amp in my house or with my band. I has enough power for me.

I use a SG, 57 HUMMBUCKERS. IT SUITS MY MUSIC STYLE I PLAY A LOT OF INDIE ROCK ... NOT NOISY AT ALL. THE AMP CAN MAKE MANY DIFFERNT SOUNDS. THE DISTORSHION IS GREAT! AND THE CLEAN IS STILL CLEAN AT HIGH LEVELS.

vERY RELIABLE. I WOULD GIG W/O BACK UP NEVER BROKE ALMOST 9 YEARS OLD

THE GUYS AT CARVIN ARE GREAT GAVE ME A KNOB FOR FREE TO THE X100B AND THAT WAS 2 WEEKS AGO FOR FREE. THEY ALSO GAVE ME A POWER CABLE FOR FREE! VERY NICE GUYS

i LOVE IT... IF YOU CAN GET A GRREAT PRICE FOR IT UNDER 350$ GET IT!
CARVIN IS SOOOOOOOOOO UNDER RATED!

This is the same X100B everyone else here is yakkin' about - 3 12AX7s in the preamp, 4 EL34s in the power amp, 5 band EQ, three channels: rhythm, lead, and "Hot Rod", effects loop, etc. The coolest feature is the 25/50/100W power switch, which allows you to get maximum tube saturation even at (relatively) low power levels. Really, it has everything you could want! My only complaint is that it's UGLY - it has that grey fuzzy stuff on it, and not the black tolex that earlier models had.

I'm playing a Tele and a Strat through the amp - I play all kinds of music, but favor rootsy straight ahead rock'n'roll...the amp sounds great playing any and all styles. The first few seconds I played through it, I was sold - the sound blew me away, and reminded of the much pricier Marshalls, HiWatts, and Voxes. I notice a few other people who have reviewed this amp say they couldn't get certain sounds out of it - I don't believe that for a minute, because between the five band EQ and the treble, mid, and bass knobs, you can get pretty much ANY sound of it. I think those people just didn't TRY hard enough! The complaints about it not delivering enough distortion are bogus, too - this thing packs more of that than I (or anybody else) will EVER need. In fact, I think all but the lowest settings on the "Hot Rod" channel are TOO distorted! I'd also like to point out that this thing is also VERY quiet, as far as noise goes - even with my single coil pickups, I'm getting zero hum out of it. I can't vouch for the amp's ability to maintain a clean sound at high volumes, because I live in an apartment and don't dare turn this megaloud monster past 0.5 on the master volume knob!

I haven't owned this amp long enough to rate its dependability, but it seems like a very well-made amp, and I WOULD use it without a backup.

I have no experience whatsoever with Carvin and their customer support team, but I understand they're very helpful.

I've been playing for 15 years, and been through a slew of amps - this one is definitely a keeper! I love everything about it, except for the gray fuzz on the exterior I mentioned earlier! I also have an Acoustic G60T (Model 163), which I also love and have reviewed here, but I like the Carvin better - it has more features, makes less noise, and has an overall better sound. I think the Acoustic is slightly raunchier, which I like, but if I had to choose, I think I'd have to take the Carvin. Luckily, I don't HAVE TO choose, so I'll keep 'em both! And if either one ever gets lost or stolen, it WILL be replaced - both of these amps can be had dirt cheap, and they both sound absolutely fantastic!

-This is a 2 Channel 100 watt amplifier Pre-1988 w/ original 6L6GCs
-Active Parametric EQ (dedicated to either channel)
-Footswitchable effects loop w/ level switch(Carvin doesn't seem to be doing this anymore)
-Ohm switch, hi and lo inputs, 25%/50%/100% power settings, hi lead pull, bright pull on clean channel

The only feature I'd like that's not already there would be a bias control setup on the back panel. I saw this on a Fender Twin and think its a great idea.

Currently using a Gibson LP Std. Plus-->X-100B-->FX Loop Boss DM100 Analgo Delay Machine--> Carvin Legacy 4X12 Greenback Cab..

I've grown to love this amp after owning it for 2 years. It's great for hard rock, blues, and indie. It can get great 'barely breaking up' overdrive to hi gain rock. I wouldn't use this amp for metal. It can get a lot of distortion but I don't think its voiced for it. Get a Carvin MTS for that. Tough to describe sound but it has although adjectives you've heard when applied to that 'tube sound'. Organic, brown, blah blah blah...I love it and I'm using pretty good gear so its all relative.

Nothing gets a 10 even though I think this thing sounds awesome. My favorite guitar sound is Jawbox and Burning Airlines. It can get close but they use Marshalls and humbuckin' teles/jazzmasters (i think!). Distortion is Marshall-like, clean is not Fender-like. It sounds great but I finally got to play a Fender (the Twin) and hear about the legendary the clean. Well the legend is true and if I could by the left half of the Twin I would.

It's done tumbles in the back of my truck and nothing was wrong with it. I've bumped it into shit a lot, touched the tubes with my fingers, turn the stand-by and power switch on at the same time, let the amp run with no speaker load...Pretty much all the things that the Tech Heads tell you not to do...Well its got the original tubes and I gig and practice in band setting regularly with no problems so far.

I've had 3 experiences with Carvin and 2 were no good. First was my Legacy cab which arrived safe and sound, no problems. 2nd my uncle ordered a Legacy cab that arrived damaged. There was bowage in the wood on the side, dings and dents, and a large screwdriver size indention on the chrome corner which are protected by large styrofoam. Carvin claimed it was UPS's fault which it obviously wasn't (however shocking that may be) seeing as there were no intrusions anywhere on the box. It took a lot of hasseling and sending of pictures to get another cab sent without having to pay all that shipping back and forth even though it was their slip up. Thats the only major thing that I've been witness too and makes me question their 10 day money back guarantee. Where is the line drawn between 'what i just don't like about their gear' and 'hey! this thing was sent broken and I don't want it so I get screwed when shipping it back across the country'. The third instance was just when I ordered a bolt on neck for a project. I specifically asked the salesman if I could have inline tuner holes drilled the way they do (to get straight string pull) but have an unshaped headstock. I know its a weird request but he said they would do it, no problem, no extra cost. When I received it was just unshaped with no holes drilled. Nothing mentioned on the receipt that shows your order with options and special requests so the sales guy obviously just ignored me. I returned it and payed for shipping it back, and just didn't want to deal with their support after last time. I'm sure I could have got into a whining fit for my $20 back but at that time I wussed out and didn't want to deal with it. I should have!

I hate to get into a huge thing here but you also get different answers if you ask the same question to a different rep. For instance the structural integrity of 5 piece necks to 1 piece. You get the reps opinion instead of what Carvin's opinion is. If you have technical questions go to the Carvin board where the very helpful moderators answer quickly and honestly.

X100B was my first tube amp and it brought back the joy of playing guitar. Since, I've only bought tube amps and love em. I'm leaning towards building a rack set up and my Quad X can produce very close X100b sounds so I may part with this to get a 6L6GC 100 Watt Power Amp. I don't want to but how many 100 watt tube amps do you need?

I own a good amt of Carvins- a Vintage 33, Quad X preamp, DC150, Bolt w/ twinblades, and this. They're a good value and I recommend them highly even if you CAN afford a Fender or Marshall.