Carvin V3 micro amp

[oldguy]

Watch the vid, please, and let me know your honest opinions.
How do you like the cleans, the OD?
Has anyone played one of these?
Beacause I'm......I'm......uh..just curious, yeah, that's the ticket.
Just curious. :)

Thanks

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=V3M

[stingx]

This is my next amp. Still on the fence on whether to go head + cab or 112 combo. I've seen numerous videos since this amp caught my attention. Love the versatility it offers.

[Spudman]

That sounds really good in the distorted modes. I couldn't hear any of the dreaded fizziness that is usually inherent with many amps when they are naturally distorted at low volumes.

[Eric]

Huh. Upon first blush, I'm not the biggest fan of the distortion on that, but I'll give it another listen in the future.

[mrmudcat]

oldguy....I luv ya brother as do the boys, I have found my late birthday present......oh yea my wife, well I cant say she will luv ya after I blame it on ya!!!:socool

[jim p]

The watts numbers for the amp must be peak power and not RMS power. A quad push pull EL84 amp in RMS would be approx 34-35 watts, and then I guess they maybe run just two tubes for half the power in RMS that would be 17 Watts. For the lowest Watts out maybe they go to a single tube but a push pull transformer doesn’t work well for SE operation usually. On one Carvin amp I have worked on for low power they just limited the signal at the phase splitter. If that is how this is set up then cutting the watts will be similar to a master volume control so driving it hard at a low watt setting will be more preamp distortion then output distortion.

[oldguy]

Thanks for the opinions and information everyone.
Stingx, which ever you decide, I think it'll be a good rig.
Spud, that's what I thought also, "clean" crunch and distortion.
Eric, not everyone will like the same distorted tones, I appreciate your opinion, and thanks for taking the time my friend.
Muddy............OK, OK, I love y'all too, here's the thing.......if me taking the blame gets you the amph, go for it. I don't think your Mrs would come all the way up here to give me a black eye for being a bad influence on you.
jim p, thanks for the info. I didn't think 4 EL84's could generate 50w, but I honestly wasn't sure. I actually don't need over 30w for the few gigs I do occasionally nowadays. As for the preamp distortion, I've come to the conclusion OD and distortion either sounds good..........or it doesn't..........regardless of where it comes from. I thank you for taking the time, and for your insight and knowledge.

[stingx]

I was leaning towards a mustang III amp but I have the pod stuff and I really like how Carvin pimped this particular amp with so many options. I've debated several amps since late last year.

[tunghaichuan]

The watts numbers for the amp must be peak power and not RMS power. A quad push pull EL84 amp in RMS would be approx 34-35 watts, and then I guess they maybe run just two tubes for half the power in RMS that would be 17 Watts. For the lowest Watts out maybe they go to a single tube but a push pull transformer doesn’t work well for SE operation usually. On one Carvin amp I have worked on for low power they just limited the signal at the phase splitter. If that is how this is set up then cutting the watts will be similar to a master volume control so driving it hard at a low watt setting will be more preamp distortion then output distortion.

Jim,

I bet you're right on the power settings. Mesa/Boogie has been claiming 25W out of a pair of EL84s due to their patented Dynawatt(tm) technology. You can read about it here:

http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm

patent # 4,713,624

As for the 7 watt setting, Carvin could be either using pseudo-triode operation, or they could be grounding one of the power tubes' grid load resistors. As you know this would kill the signal from one side of the PI, but the power tube is still acting as a current generator which prevents the OT from saturating. So it could be a kind of pseudo-SE operation. It's hard to say without seeing a schematic.

I've see amps with a variable resistor/pot used for one of the grid load resistors to give variable lower wattage settings.

At any rate, it is a slick little amp and I wouldn't mind having one. It appears to be a competitor to the Mesa/Boogie Transatlantic amps.

[mrmudcat]

Yep ,my envy driven pursuit to voodoo's M.B.Transatlantic has left me hanging until now!!!:dude

[tunghaichuan]

Yep ,my envy driven pursuit to voodoo's M.B.Transatlantic has left me hanging until now!!!:dude

Yep, ideally, I'd like to have the new TA-30 alongside the Carvin to see what the differences are. It is too hard to tell from video clips played over my crappy lo-fi computer speakers. :(

[jim p]

I see what you are saying about taking the audio signal away from one side you will have balanced current at idle but you will go unbalanced with signal but maybe not enough to saturate the transformer. Still better than just the current of one tube going through the transformer. If the amp goes to triode mode for low watts and the amp has no feedback or you can kill the feedback with the presence control then the triode mode will be dark. Bad thing about the triode mode is the amp just as with feedback goes to a voltage output instead of a current output, so the watts to the speaker go down as the frequency rises. Because with current output (no feedback pentode) as the speaker impedance rises and the current stays constant the watts go up so the amp is brighter. With feedback the voltage is kept constant so the amp will not be as bright. With a triode having its transconductance dependent on the plate load as the reflected impedance goes up with rising frequency the tube gain will go down and it will make for a darker sounding amp.

[Monkus]

*&%^()_

Trying to decide between the transatlantic ta-30, or the tweaker 40 ... now this comes along....sheesh ! :mybad

[Blaze]

Wrote to Egnater to know the retail price for the Egnater Tweaker 40 Head .. It should Come out in Canada in August for around 599.99..

$599.99 for the head
$799.099 for the 1x12" combo
$399.99 for the matching 2x12" cab.

[Ascension]

I have had a lot of experience with Carvin Amps. First off I would go with a head as every Carvin 1/12 combo I have heard just sounded "small". It was the enclosure I flat do not like Carvin combo cabs except the ones with the Legacy or big V-3's.
The amps to me also look big time interesting.
However I'm spoiled because I own a Zinky Blue Velvet so anything else in the small amp vein is just not up to par!

[oldguy]

I have had a lot of experience with Carvin Amps. First off I would go with a head as every Carvin 1/12 combo I have heard just sounded "small". It was the enclosure I flat do not like Carvin combo cabs except the ones with the Legacy or big V-3's.
The amps to me also look big time interesting.
However I'm spoiled because I own a Zinky Blue Velvet so anything else in the small amp vein is just not up to par!

Hey, dude! Haven't seen you around for awhile, welcome back.

I've never been lucky enough to play a Zinky but they're supposed to be awesome.
That's a 2 channel with tank reverb, right?
Cheers