CARVIN GUITARS USED UPGRADE
CARVIN GUITARS USED SERIES

To my ears, it favors hard rock and blues sounds more than it does extreme metal, though you can definitely get some shred sounds here with the extra gain switch on the overdrive channel. Though the X-100B has always been celebrated more for its clean sound than its distortion, I think that anyone who gives the overdrive channel a fair hearing will be impressed. The bright switch added some usable tones as well though I would personally opt not to employ it, but I like a warmer sound. It responds well to the amp’s tone controls, though I didn’t really find a reason to employ the 5 band EQ. The headroom is phenomenal and it maintains its basic sound at even painful volume levels. If you’re looking for a loud stage amp that can be used on either its own merits or with your effects pedals, look no further. It’s one of the purest, loudest, warmest clean sounds I’ve ever heard from a guitar amplifier. Everything good you’ve heard about Carvin’s clean channel is true. The X-100B has been revered for years for its clean sound particularly, so I decided to focus on it first.

CARVIN GUITARS USED UPGRADE

The 4×12 cabinet comes standard with four GT12 speakers, though you can upgrade to Celestion V30 speakers for a slight upgrade, which I chose to do.

A master volume with switchable boost is included as is a five band graphic EQ that can be assigned to either the clean or lead channel. The amp features a shared EQ section with controls for bass, mid, treble, and presence along with a master reverb control. Three AX7 tubes drive the preamp section. While it comes stock with four 6L6 tubes, the amp can take 6L6, E元4, or 5881 power tubes. Since Carvin now offers their amps in a variety of different coverings, I opted for the “White Bronco.” The amp head itself is a dual channel 100W amp that is switchable to 50 and 25 wtt settings. I tested a X100B half stack complete with a 4×12 cabinet. The newer models are an attempt to capture the magic of the originals (with some slight modifications). Carvin discontinued the X100B line for years, but have recently reintroduced both the head and 2×12 combo version. Artists as diverse as Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, and Craig Chaquico swore by the Carvin’s wide array of versatile sounds. Usually, the featured amplifier was Carvin’s X100B amp head. Throughout most of the 1980’s, it was pretty much impossible to read a guitar magazine without seeing large ads for Carvin guitars and amplifiers.

CARVIN GUITARS USED SERIES

If you want a guitar amp that can cover a lot of territory with a price that won’t back you into a corner, it’s hard to beat the X-100B series from Carvin.

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