Carvin V3 and other amps

Sloan

Sloan

Sounds like shit!
Oct 22, 2006
5,072
0
36
Atlanta, GA
www.sloanstewart.com
I just sold a guitar and have about $500-600usd to spend on gear. Right now, I just have my trusty Ampeg VL-1002 for my rock tonez. It's a marshally style sound. I really want to mess with some more high gain action, like thicker mesa-styled tones.

I've heard a few clips of the Carvin V3 and it seems like it can cover a lot of ground, but I would like to hear from anyone here that's had experience with one.

i'm definitely gonna get something used.

currently looking at:
Carvin v3
5150
6505
JSX
selling body to get cash for mesa nomad or roadster
 
I'm currently playing a V3 (using mainly a Jackson V with a Full Shred in the bridge). I like it, especially for the price, but I do have to say that it seems to be less versatile than it looks on paper. The EQ switches mostly just seem to boost a ton of midrange (according to the manual they change the knobs' frequencies, but this doesn't seem as noticeable), and two of the three channel sub-settings are very similar (the high gain and normal ones for the loud channels, and the bright and normal ones for the clean channel) so it's more like you have 4 options instead of 6. The EQ and presence controls are also kind of weird, and seem to interact in ways I'm still getting the hang of.

But on the plus side: the distortion and clean channels both sound good, it has plenty of gain but sounds tight even when you crank it, having two separate distortion channels is great, and the programmable effects loops are really handy. I tried a JSX in the store and like the V3 better, but don't have any experience with 5150/6505s.
 
Well I gotta level Morgan, that's the first positive thing I've ever heard about the V3 - I talked to a guy at NAMM last January who was a Carvin endorsee that said he had gone through like 4 V3's before jumping ship to Laney, so that doesn't bode well about their reliability. Plus, I've never heard anything impressive from 'em clip-wise; they look good on paper, but it seems like a wild card to me. Sloan, as far as live versatility goes, you can't beat the 3-channels (one of which is a most gorgeous, god-like clean tone) of the JSX, so that's my vote!
 
Indeed - oh, and Sloan, I notice you mention the 5150 and 6505 seperately; far be it for me to call you a n00b, but in case you didn't know, for the FOUR MILLIONTH BILLIONTH QUADRILLIONTH TIME, they're the same amp. :)
 
i know they're the same!
i basically mean that whole series 5150/5150II/6505/6505+
THE PEAVEYSESES

i'll probably blow all my cash on computer upgrades, but if not, i think the JSX is winnar.
 
I got mine used in mint condition with a road case and brand new JJ tubes for $850 shipped on ebay, so you should be able to track one down for a good price! And computer upgrades, come on, lame... :p
 
Oh man there is always a good deal on 5150s to be had. They go for relatively cheap and sound great. For versatility you can't beat the JSX, just don't expect to get anything other than polished tones from it. That's the only reason I got rid of mine for the time being is because I could not get a raw guitar sound from it, everything sounded polished and perfect from the start. Some of my friends said I'm crazy for holding that against the amp...but the fact is that sometimes you need a raw type of sound and you can't go backwards from polished, but you can polish a raw sound.

Like Marcus, I have only heard mixed reviews of the V3, most of them being not so great. The clips and videos I have seen didn't impress me enough either to consider it a contender, especially not amongst certified veterans like the 5150. My friend is a Carvin freak, owns three guitars from them, a Legacy, some of their PA gear...and even he doesn't like the V3, if that means anything to you.

You basically said exactly what you want when you mentioned you wanted Mesa style tone... get a Mesa man. A Roadster is one good ass amp. I know its expensive, but you know damn well you'd be happy with it. It has a ton of knobs though that would make me cringe, I personally want a Stiletto Deuce :)

~006
 
As far as reliability goes, I'm pretty careful with my stuff and haven't taken it out "on the road" aside from a few out of town shows. It does definitel feel kind of lightweight in terms of physical construction (but my previous amps were a VTM120 and a V-4, so I might have high standards). I bought it because I wanted something with 2 or more decent channels, loop switching, etc. - the JSX was more expensive and didn't blow me away, the Ultra+ heads always seemed overpriced on eBay, and I'd heard such bad things about the 5150's clean channel.

I've actually been thinking of switching to something simpler with better distortion and fewer bells and whistles since it turns out I don't really need all the live switching and stuff as much as I thought I did - maybe a 5150 after all, or an Engl rack preamp. As the gear turns.
 
Still loving it man! I'm almost afraid to say it around this bunch, but I've been thinking about getting a 333XL as well or a 6262 or something :lol: But I may snag an Engl e530 first...who knows...

I've been in contact, loosely on my end, with a rep from Bugera about getting some kind of endorsement (as if they weren't cheap enough haha). He's been excited about a bunch of projects that I have sent him mixes of where I used the Bugera exclusively for the guitar tracks. I think it would be pretty funny if I got a Bugera endorsement deal.

~006
 
Haha, don't be dissuaded by the knobs on the Roadster, Mike - they're actually all just treble/bass/mid/presence/volume/gain knobs, it's just there are 4 channels that each have 'em (not like an Engl Savage, for example, with all these "crunch," "lo/hi gain," "contour" etc. options per channel, or a fucking VHT with its two gain controls, that always struck me as both pointless and offensively confusing :loco: )
 
Damn, I'm gonna try to save up to maybe $1500, since there's so many options at that price point.
I'll probably be using this head live too in cover bands, so having a nice "non-metal" distortion/overdrive would be beneficial.

So far, I'm leaning towards the JSX since I really like all the 5150 work I've heard here for heavy recording and it seems versatile enough for just about any other genre.
 
Dude, $1500?! Are you buying a cab as well as a head? Cuz if you want a JSX, I reiterate:

Metaltastic said:
I got mine used in mint condition with a road case and brand new JJ tubes for $850 shipped on ebay, so you should be able to track one down for a good price!
Click to expand...
 
I know, brah!
I'll probably try real hard to get a JSX for super cheap, like 5-600. May not happen, but we'll see.
I'm in no real hurry except it's hard for me to hold onto money - I have to keep from impulse buying cool looking guitars on ebay and food. lol.

I was thinking $1500 because then some options from MESA, ORANGE, and KRANK open up. I've liked every Orange I've heard live so far, but not real sure how well they would suit a recording situation as well.


I CAN NOT COMPUTE ALL OF THIS.

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Yeah, I won't deny, I'm pretty fascinated by Laney as well - Opeth's "Ghost Reveries" is one of my favorite guitar tones of all time (I LOVE crunch), and it's almost all Laney...
 
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