Carvin X100B

I have 2. A 1987 with 6L6 tubes and a 92 with EL34 tubes. The EL34 is a spare backup.

I hot rodded the lead channel with a Torres kit, added a master volume, and added an input jack on the back. I use the amp for rock leads (I have a GCX audit switch that switches amps in real time). It is LOUD. I sometimes use the clean channel in place of my 65 Deluxe Reverb. The head is very versitle and is solid.

Two mods I wish ALL manufactures would do is a MASTER vol on the power amp stage and rear inputs that makes cabling from a rack easier. Once you understand the purpose of a master volume you'll never go back!

I bought a new Carvin 4x12 cab and it's great.

I use a hot rodded Tele mongrel and the X100B rocks with it. I play rock and blues and the amp cuts through when I need it.

I bought it out of a pawn shop with no tubes for $150. Re-tubed and sent it back to Carvin for a tune up. They replaced some small stuff that was broken (a slider on the graphic equal.) and tweaked it. So far no problems (7 months)

I found Carvin's customer support to be good! Prompt service and resonable rates for out-of warrenty units. BAse on my expierence I bought a Carvin PA, a rack power amp, and two 4x12 cabs.

I've been playing over 20 years. I have a Fender Deluxe Reverb '65 reissue, a ton of rack stuff, a Roctron Chamelleon powered by a Carvin HT150.

Th X-100B head is heavy! I would buy one again (In fact I have a backup on hand should this one stop!)

The foot switch uses an XLR connector and is very hard to find now that Carvin doesn't make them anymore.

Late 80's model. dual channel w/reverb + lead boost. 5 Band EQ and knobs. Selectable power out 100/50/25watt. 4/8/16 ohm selector switch. xlr preamp out. foot switch

Sounds like a hot roded Marshall! But better. Real fat and hot. I like that alot because my style is heavy riffs and single note phrases-the newer style metal. The clean sound is decent. I play through a straight front Marshall 4x12. One thing that I was'nt to happy with, was that it was'nt as LOUD as a Marshall. I lacks that 'put you through the wall' volume of the Marshalls. Dont get me wrong, it's loud, just not as loud as Marshall.

Just bought it used a week ago.

Ive heard mixed results here. I dont know, I havent dealt with them yet.

I've been playing for 15 years. And I've played Mesa's and Marshalls and this amp is just as good as them. I'd buy it again. This is a good head for the money absolutly. I would recommend it.

Basic 2 channel guitar amp. I run 6L6 power tubes in mine. Bought used about 10 years ago.

I play original hard rock/funk and this amp gives me good versatiliy for the price. In agreement with previous reviews the lead channel doesn't quite get over the hump as far as having that true singing characteristic. But running a TS-9 in front does the trick. I can get the Neal Schon-Santana ultra sustain that really cuts through. I also run the graphic EQ on the lead channel in a V curve, but I run it below the flat line so it compresses the sound. This does cut the overall output but I think it adds to the smoothness of my leads.

The clean channel provides a snappy response also. Great with my crybaby for that seventies Parliament funk sound.


Overall, you can do quite a bit of tweaking with this amp to shape your tone but you do need a little help if gain is where its at for you. It's not a triple rec. after all.

What can I say. I havehad this amp for about 10 years and it has never left me hangin'. It has been re-tubed at regular intervals.

My original channel switching pedal did crap out on me and the replacement I ordered was wired differently. It required some re-working to operate properly.

Carvin as a company has been a bit of a pain to work with. I guess when you only distribute yourself the distance provides a cushion for bitchy customers. They were little help when it came to the foot switch I bought from them.

Overall, I like the amp. It will do until I can afford that much desired Triaxis that I want. Luckily, I still have the original operation maunal with the techincal bits should I need to get it fixed. I am sure that Carvin would be of little help in that department.

It's like the 80s all over again. On amp EQ, and all the standard features you deserve in an amplifier. Came with an excelent footswitch to call the gain channel, FX loop, or reverb. 25%, 50%, and 100% power settings, good lovin'. A fun all around tube amp.

Em...'94 Hamer Chaparel and a '97 Strat Plus. This thing is all about sharp, clean tone. Cuts through your soul like a knife but if you're not careful it'll cut through ears as well. Don't think you can make a mistake and get away with it. The gain channel is pretty weak compared to the clean tone. I have sound guys yelling at me during sound checks to turn up my gain or turn down my clean but it just doens't happen...the gain doens't punch through. Even when it does it comes out muddy and it almost sounds like I'm playing clean tone through blown speakers.

The beast is like 13 years old and still works. when I push the button the light comes on every time. the imput jack is kinda sliding on me but it's cool 'cause it has two of 'em.

people suck. I'd rather buy a new amp.

it's a good amp to start off with if you're short on cash and think you're pretty rad with your fingers. I like the outer covering, it's fuzzy.

I bought this new from Carvin about 15 years ago (it was just a couple of years before they changed the Logo, but after the 'slave' feature[x-100?]. I bought the ampainly for playing very loud very hard stuff. I had two very comfortable channels, clean and wicked dirty, great hammond reverb, output selector (100/50/25)very nice eq layout (both graphic eq and very active tone selectors), and had an ohmage selection switch on the back that was a bit ahead of it's time. Also includes a boost/cut' switch you can set for the footswitch which is a very nice feature for leads, whithout having to hop around channels.

Two changes I would have liked would include the graphic eq being able to be used for both channels, you could only use it for the clean OR dirty channel, but there are some obvious reasons when you are using the amp why that was designed that way. The footswitch tended to be a little tight as far as the switch displacement was, at least for me, I tend to be a bit animated on stage and jump around abit so possibly chalk that up to my 'ham-footedness'

I used this amp almost EXCLUSIVELY for HARD stuff, (hardcore punk-rock) and all I wanted this thing to do was scream, and I was never disapointed. I almost always played pretty close to 8 1/2 or above and ran this head through a 4 X 12 Marchall cab with 4 Mesa Black Shadows. This amp screamed, I never used a distortion or overdrive effect and had just a Gibson SG and this amp overdriven to the sky. The clean channel also was very nice tight and bright at high volume.
I would dhose this amp every day of the week over any other head at my disposal for hard overdriven music. Can't say enough.

I have heard alot about the design of this amp, and it's vulnerability, cheap components etc....maybe I got lucky with mine but it has been all over the country on several US tours, and spent seven weeks with me in Europe on tour, and I never had a problem with it - and I am VERY hard on gear. For example at one show I took a misguided leap off of the stage misjudging the length of my guitar chord, I had the chord rapped aroung the head's handle as a strain relief and had my cabinet ontop of another Marshall cab. The head fell the full 6+ feet onto the stage and spilled the tubes everywhere. As it was the last ssong of the set and we were in the company of another band I didn't worry too much. Put the tubes back in the next night just for a lark and turned it on and didn't have a single problem, not even a new hum or buzz, and managed the nest 2-3 years with the same head with no doctor visit. So, I share this anecdote [and I promise it's true] for relative measure.

I had some sort of transistor burn out in it one time and the local shop replaced it for about $60. That's the only problem I had with the head in 10 years of heavy regular use.

Never had a need for customer support.

Been playing about 22 years, and used this amp with a stock 84 Gibson SG exclusively, to play Hardcore punk rock in a touring band.

I chose this head because I have always been attracted to the more 'renegade' gear that was out there, stuff you didn't see too often. Mesa Boogie was out of my price range, but everyone had a Marshall, I liked the graphic EQ, ohm selection and lead boost and was very pleased when I bought this amp new from Carvin.

This is a great head for very HARD overdriven music. Can't speak to it's other possibilities as that was all I ever used it for, but I will say that I kept it (and have loaned it out to younger musicians) because I like the OVERALL sound of the amp.

If you can find it at a good price, put in some GT 6L6's and a hot set of 12AX7 and I don't think you could possibly be dissapointed.

I wanted to update my reivew of 3/9/2000. The last two weeks I have been plauged by "gear/tone neurosis." Freaking out over how perceivedly buzzy this Carvin's gain sounded. Our rehearsal room is mostly cement, so things always sound brighter there than at a venue. Even factoring this in the amp was sounding way too buzzy...shitty. At rehearsal last night it was awful.....struggling to be heard over the drummer and just generally weak. I should mention I was using the lead five band EQ....note this works WITH the three EQ knobs. Finally I did a little tweaking....all I did was dial the bass knob from just under 5 to just over 6 and it made all the difference in the world. Added balls to the tone and smoothed out the buzzy character that almost had me trading this in for a JCM 800 2205. What you have to remember is that while this amp's gain is like a hot rodded Marshall, its eq section is wired like a Boogie...VERY SENSITIVE. This allows you a wide vareity of tones but this, plus the fact it works in conjunction with the five band EQ, means you have to spend some time tweaking. You can't merely dial up your scooped mid/smiley face on the five band and go....after you do that you must then go back and tweak the three knobs (including presence I have it on about 3) to achieve your ideal tone. Ideal EQ for gain will not be ideal for clean but the end result is worth it....hotrodded Marshall gain (assuming you have EL-34 which mine does) with Boogie EQ sensibility. You can easily compensate for this by adding a good EQ pedal in the loop for the clean channel. Take as much time with this amp as you would with a Boogie...I have had it since March and am just now getting the EQs set where they need to be.

I have had it for six weeks a pre-amp tube (Groove Tubes 7025) fried on my but I replaced it with a Sylvania 12AX7. Also the volume knob for the clean channel has busted....when you turn it to maximum or minimum it clicks past (like your locking gas cap). The Carvin combo I had did the same thing....could use better QC on the control knobs I will get this repaired it doens't impact use of the clean channel.

Dual channel, 100 watt all tube head. Effects loop and switch to allow you to run the amp at 50 or 25 watts. Separate EQ for each
channel...five band slider EQ for distortion channel. I bought mine used and it had three 12AX7s and four EL-34s (all Groove Tubes). Accutronics spring reverb. Unfortunately you cannot switch EQs when you switch channels so that's why I give it a 9.

This thing flat out rips. I have played some other X-100 heads that didn't have the quantity or quality of gain...I also had the XV-212 combo...very similar design and it didn't get half this gainy. I don't if it was modded or what...maybe it's the Groove Tubes or perhaps like Marshalls everyone of these is different. I run it through a Marshall 4x12 with 25 watt greenback reissues and it smokes...I was going to buy a late 1970s Marshall JMP MastrerVoluem and run a TS-9 in front of it, but this sounded better and was cheaper. The clean tone is great too...very full and articulate but it will break up with strumming at 25 watt setting. Reverb is nice and very lush. Overall gain is similar in characteristic to a higher-gain Marshall, but not quite plexi-ish. A bit more modern sounding...not quite like a Boogie, but. Definite has its own heavy vibe going on.

Just got it....the Carvin combo I had was fine. Some other people here on H-C have had problems with Carvin reliability I know where there are a couple of more used I might pick up an extra just in case.

n/a....I did call them for a footswitch they informed me they no longer made one for this amp but that I could have one made.

I have been playing for 13 years..most hard/progressive rock. I have had Marshalls, Boogies, Hiwatts, Ampegs, Groove Tubes. My favorite amp is the late 1970s Marshall JMP II Master Volume with a TS-9 in front but I needed something a little more versatile and cheaper. Like I said I have played other X100s that didn't sound this good...they didn't sound bad, they just didn't get this kind of gain. This one is special. A lot of thump and singing leads through a Marshall 4x12 with 25watt greenbacks (don't underestimate the importantce of speak/cab choice!!!). No this is not hand-wired like Boogie or Hiwatt but for the price...plus I like the gain better than any Boogie or Hiwatt.

loaded with features, eq, effects loop, channel switch, power switch. Wow what great tricks

Good clean sound, muddy reverb, wanker distortion

I don't own this amp, I repaired it for a friend. If I were a good friend I would have removed the board and hand wired a good all tube preamp for him. But he liked the amp as is so I fixed the problem.

They sent a schematic to me no questions!!!!

I woulden't hit a hog in the butt with this crappy low grade amp. The board is thin solder joints crappy, wire leads are too short to service the amp easily, cheap tube sockets, pots, jacks, not a heavy duty design.

i would guess that the amp is from 80s.two channels + lead/rhythm mode.tubes are (gt) EL34 and 12ax7.5-band graphic eq.pretty versatile unless you want to play heavy metal.

i have charvel guitar (i will get new guitar very soon...) and boss dual overdrive + super chorus pedals and i play rock music from progressive to blues (very badly...).even with poor guitar like my charvel, the amp has a big sound with nice low end. the clean channel is excellent and reverb is fine (maybe little muddy).amp sounds "soft" (in a good way) and does not have lot of distortion so heavy metal players should propably buy marshall...i use laney 4x12 cab with stock h/h speakers.

no problems at all. this amp is made to last...

no answer here im sorry...i live in finland (really far from the carvin company!!!)

i could recommend this amp to anyone that wants a big-sounding, versatile amp without pantera-distortion. i am happy with this amp, but if someone would steal it, im not quite sure what would be my next amp...

I think that I have one of the early models of this amp. The switch pedals connect via 2 1/4" jacks. Has the 5-Band EQ, two channels, two inputs (one of which isn't working on mine).

I play with a mid 70's Epi EA-235 with the factory pickups(very worn and warm at this point), and the sound is what I was looking for for Chicago style blues, and a little bit of heavier stuff. It's a little bit noisy at times, but after warming up a bit it quiets down. I haven't had this thing up too loud, so I can't speak for the higher volumes, I've cranked it and it sounds better and better as it goes though. The distortion gets me to that fat raspy blues that I was looking for.

I can't speak too much here, b/c I haven't had this amp very long. I have other amps that I do rely on, so only time will tell. As it stands, it works when I've needed it.

I have 2 opinions here:
1)I called Carvin looking for a manual, the guy was really friendly and got my name and address, then said that I'd be getting it in the mail. COOL!
2)I got an invoice saying that it was out of print (permanently). I sent them an email just trying to find out how I could get one, and got a reply that said something to the effect of "Badgering us won't make the manual appear, and besides it's easy to use what do you want from us?" Thanks guys.....

I've been thrilled wiht this amp. I looked for a tube amp for about 2 years (I always used solid states) and this had the sound I was looking for (and a nice price to boot). I recommend it.