Carvin V3 ?

[migreeni]

Herrooo.

I was considering the Carvin V3. What I need is not exactly only metal, but some indierockthingy (Muse/Deftones) which needs bright cleans and sick distortions as well. does anyone have any experience of the V3? Pros and cons and other suggestions please, thanks!

 

[Metaltastic]

I heard one at NAMM and was NOT impressed (though I don't know what the settings on it were, and there sure are a fuckload of ways to shape one's tone on it), but more importantly I talked to a guitarist there who was formerly endorsed by Carvin and had 3 consecutive V3's die on him before he went the Laney route. I wanted one for awhile, having been suckered in by all the hype Carvin has surrounding it (not to mention the features, christ - a MIDI interface, two "smart" FX loops, footswitchable solo boost, etc.), but I'm really glad I went for a Peavey JSx instead (which has one of the greatest clean tones I've ever heard, by the way, and a fantastic "crunch" and "ultra" channel - I got mine for $800 on eBay in mint condition, and it's hard to get more reliable and rock-solid than high-end Peaveys; mine weighs more than my friend's triple rectifier!)

 

[Morgan138]

I picked one up recently, and so far I like it. I haven't really had it long enough to comment on long-term reliability though. The auto-switching effects loops are handy, and I like that both loud channels are totally separate, but have the same gain/eq options. I haven't even tried the adjustable solo boost yet - I have the second loud channel set up for more gain, less low end, a bit of chorus, and a little more overall volume for solos - but it seems like it could be useful if you don't mind carting around two footswitches. (or building a giant, two-cabled one?).

If I had to give you one complaint at this point, it that the many eq and presence controls seem to overlap and interact in less-than-obvious ways. I'd gotten used to the old-fashioned "if you want more of this frequency, turn this knob" model, but now I'm having to go through a lot more trial and error with this new-fangled thing.

I actually tried and considered the JSX too, but they were generally more expensive and I was already fighting the temptation to save money and just go with a Rockmaster+poweramp...

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I don't know I think I would rather have the legacy.

 

[Metaltastic]

Ditto, less to futz with

 

[Sloan]

Whaoh, that thing's a lot cheaper that I thought it would be!
Reminds me of the Marshall JVM, but I'm guessing this is voiced different.