All user reviews of 4/5 for the Carvin Vintage 16

This is a tube amplifier, made by Carvin. There is a single 1/4" input as well as a footswitch input. There are 16 watts of power, but there is also a mode that allows you to use a lower 5 watts. There are controls for volume, soak (which is similar to gain), bass, mid, treble, and reverb. The amp is 16", hence the title.

UTILIZATION

This amp is a pretty easy one to get a good sound with. There isn't really much room to mess around with tone controls or gain knobs so everything tends to sound relatively raspy gritty. This is a good thing. I really like the way it responds to an overdrive pedal, as this amp tends to allow even distorted tones to ring out above the sound of a band. While it's not enough to carry it through a venue, you'll be able to clearly hear yourself over a drummer and bassist during rehearsal.

SOUNDS

This amp is pretty easy to get a good sound out of. Its clean tone is superb, and simply dialing in the right eq tends to be all that it takes. I also like switching to the "triode" mode, which only uses 5 watts and gets a raspier, relatively more aggressive tone. This is as easy as hitting a switch in the back. The tone is always very clear unless the soak is cranked, and even then, the notes will ring through. With a good overdrive, the amp really kicks, and is capable of some serious rocking.

OVERALL OPINION

I really like the tone of this amp the most, I think that it's a great sound for blues and light rock players. With a good overdrive pedal, the amp can really rip, and it sounds great with most Single-coil pickup guitars as well as those with humbuckers. I really like this amp a lot, and look forward to trying more Carvin products in the future. This is a great amp for practicing and rehearsing with a small ensemble.