Carvin Amps?

[redgibson]

Does anyone have any experience with Carvin Guitar amps?

I am thinking specifically the Nomad vs. Beleair in the vintage series. (they're the same, ones a 1x12, the other's a 2x12) They're American made, but I can't try one out in a store since they only have stores in California.

carvin links here:
http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps/vintageseries.php

[FrankenFretter]

Does anyone have any experience with Carvin Guitar amps?

I am thinking specifically the Nomad vs. Beleair in the vintage series. (they're the same, ones a 1x12, the other's a 2x12) They're American made, but I can't try one out in a store since they only have stores in California.

carvin links here:
http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps/vintageseries.php

I can't tell you anything about their current amps, but I had an X100B about 20 years ago, or so. It was a fantastic amp, very versatile and had a variety of good tones. Unfortunately, it was stolen, or else I'd probably still be playing through it. I have heard some not-so-positive reviews of their house-brand speakers, so if you do decide to buy one, the upgrade to a Celestion (if they still offer that) is probably a wise decision.

Best of luck!

-Sean

[guitardan777]

Does anyone have any experience with Carvin Guitar amps?

I am thinking specifically the Nomad vs. Beleair in the vintage series. (they're the same, ones a 1x12, the other's a 2x12) They're American made, but I can't try one out in a store since they only have stores in California.

carvin links here:
http://www.carvinguitars.com/guitaramps/vintageseries.php

I've owned all 3 models: Bel-Air, Nomad, and 2 V16's.
Built very well, never had a lick of trouble with any of them.
Beautiful Clean channel that can get gritty when you crank it up.
OD / Soak / Drive channel is nice for Blues / Classic Rock.
The V16 is a single channel 5/16 watter similar to a Blues Jr.
But, IMHO it kills the Blues Jr. cause it's got Gain, Vol, TMB and Reverb w/ the switchable 5/16 watt modes.
One of my V16's was converted to a head (sitting on top of my avatar) that I ran through a Carvin 4x10 that became my main giging rig. Plenty of power for small clubs without being mic'd, and did a handful of bigger stage / outdoor gigs and just mic'd it up......
All of the Vin series take pedals up front very very well....

There are some Hot Rod mods available for it that smooth out the Soak channel and brighten it up for those who think its too dark.

The only reason I don't have them anymore is that I started building custom amps on a part time basis and now own 2 of those.

Oh, and I've always bought the Carvin's 2nd hand at a great price but think that the new $$'s are very reasonable and a great value as in any Carvin product.

There are plenty of user clips and topics over on the Carvin BBS:
http://www.carvinguitars.com/bbs/

[otaypanky]

I have been curious about the Nomad and Vintage 16. I'd love to be able to try them ~