Carvin V3 head

[Rocky]

The one I played sounded fizzy and weak.

 

[fdesalvo]

I played on a few years ago at the Carvin showroom in Santa Ana, CA. It's way tighter than a Recto and very cool sounding. But the usual caveat concerning Carvin Amps: I don't suspect its build quality is anywhere near approaching reliable.

I don't see a problem with a smaller OT, because it could lend itself towards some nice saturation, but for a PT...hell no.

 

[Tubegear Junkie]

What I read on the Carvin forum- seems the V3 is prone to problems.
There's alot of posted topics about problems.
I would go there first and read before buying.
I have heard sound clips of the V3 and it does sound frizzy.
It's said to be Carvin's version of a Mesa Boogie. :roll:
I really don't see how.

 

[sixstringmonk]

I've played one and it is kinda like a tight recto but not compressed. The tightness is more because of the EQ curve. I think they are fizzy especially at low volumes. I think they are really killer for the price, but I have yet to hear a recording that has won me over.

If you want to try one, you can order a new one from Carvin and take advantage of the 10 day trial. You really can return the stuff with no questions asked. If you get it and you don't like it you can simply fire off and email to Carvin and they will give you return instructions. I do think however that you have to pay the return shipping ($50-70).

As far as build quality goes, there were a couple design flaws with the original batch (midi problems and RF interference problems), but they've sorted that out now.

 

[nathan28]

The other guitar player in my band has a v3, he has had it in the shop twice since he bought it in november. And when i crank up my Mesa Roadking, after an hour his amp overheats. But when it works it sounds pretty good. No where comparable to a mesa. You get what you pay for in this world period.

 

[MrMason]

I just sold my V3 (kinda sorta), I had it for over a year. Sounded great, I originally had one of the first run (always a possibility for problems regardless of manufacturer) for a few months and it did have a problem. The replacement has been running without a hitch for over a year though. Most Carvin amps are reliable regardless of what people may say. The TN100 I've heard has a lot of issues, but I've seen several Carvin amps go for 10+ years with no problems. I have a Legacy, and it's been going strong for about 6 years now. The guy I'm selling the V3 to gigs every weekend, blasting the amp at 7 Master, never overheated or anything. Small transformers? I don't think so :? I'm sure Mesa's are heftier, but Carvins are just fine. Carvins are factory direct, if they sold in stores they would sell for about 75% more than they currently go for, don't believe the "it's cheaper, it must be crap" thing. Carvins have their own sound though, so you may or may not like it. I do, personally.
Anyway, the V3: they're VERY picky with cabinets. I was running mine through a 4x12 loaded with BR12s. There's a little fizz, but it's definitely not a week sounding amp. It needs volume to sound full, I used a G-Major in the loop to turn the amp up and turn down the output on the G-Major, that worked well. It's a completely different sound than a Recto, so don't expect that. It's more mid heavy, will do it's own "chugga chugga" thing and still sound great for solos. The amp needs a lot of tweaking, but just about any tone you could ever want is inside this amp.
The reason I'm selling mine, is because I wanted something with a different "feel" to it. The V3 has a good feel, just not what I'm after. It's hard to explain, touch dynamics and all that good stuff. Try one out, you might like it: it DOES take a lot of tweaking to find your sound though, keep that in mind.

 

[castlerock]

this is an old post but i thought i'd throw my 2 cents in. =]


i bought my V4 back in july of 07. i thought the distortion sounded fizzy too and was a little disappointed. i managed to dial out most of it but that fizz was still there...and that's just not what i like in my distortion. i found some great tones but that fizz... so for most of the year, i used a vox tonelab in the clean channel when i wasn't just playing around with the amp.

recently i ordered some JJ's from eurotubes and put them in last week and THE FIZZ IS GONE! the sovtek tubes that come with the amp just sound brittle in the high end to me but the JJ's fattened out the overall tone and gave the distortion sound a good, heavy crunch. if you can find some old GE 12ax7's, one in V2 will give it a nice "marshally" crunch that sounds really sweet. i hear RCA's sound great in it too.

so if the fizz bothers you, all you have to do is change the preamp tube in V2. that's the tube for the drive on both distortion channels. it helps to replace V1 too but if you like the tone the sovteks give you then leave it in there. personally i like running GE's in V1 and V2 but i save those. the JJ's sound great too. ;-]

if you like the new metal sound with the heavily scooped mids, the JJ 6L6GC's sound GREAT in this amp. i went with those to check them out but i think i'm more of an EL34 guy.

don't let the talk of fizzy distortion put you off as that can be easily fixed. for 1500 bucks and the cost of tubes i have an extremely versatile crunch machine.

 

[EvoLove 34]

What I read on the Carvin forum- seems the V3 is prone to problems.
There's alot of posted topics about problems.
I would go there first and read before buying.
I have heard sound clips of the V3 and it does sound frizzy.
It's said to be Carvin's version of a Mesa Boogie. :roll:
I really don't see how.

i own one and wouldnt say its supposed to be like a mesa boogie. its a really aggressive sound amp. it can get fizzy if you try to dial in too much high end with the treble/presence/bright knobs. there is A LOT of high end potential here, so you have to choose where you want it at. the presence knob adds a lot of edge and sharpness and fizz when you dial up high amounts on the treble knob.

i personally like to use the presence knob at 0-1 and use higher levels of treble/bright knob. its really not your traditional presence knob.

also, i wouldnt say its any more prone to problems as the boogies i see here. there are just as many problem topics on this forum as i encounter over at the carvinbbs.

like with any amp, a good tube upgrade helps greatly.

what i did was to throw a 5751 into the v2 position and put some Ruby EL34BSTRs in the power slots.

the fizz thing is probably the most common V3 complaint. but from my experience, after playing some dual and single rectos in guitar center, i wouldnt say its any fizzier than those.


but too each his own. i really like my v3. but like any amp its not for everyone. the cleans are pretty good. not fender or lonestar status but still great.