Local Music Gear Feature Story
Written By: Jac Harrison
Recently it has come to my attention that I am no “spring
chicken” anymore, and I'm starting to look at my gear differently. A few years ago I wouldn't have thought twice about the weight of my gear when buying an amp, but after lugging around my Bogner Alchemist 2x12 for the last 6 months, it has crossed my mind more than twice. One of the things I have always took pride in as a guitarist is my tone -- it is my signature. I have spent countless hours dialing in what I believe to be the best possible setup for each of my guitars to maximize and showcase their unique tonal personalities. For me to even think that I would consider buying an amp based on it's portability made me cringe -- but at the same time needing to visit the chiropractor after a rehearsal kind of changed my mind. Now I was not going to settle for some wimpy amp that was portable, I wanted a kick ass amp that was dripping with tone -- that just happened to be portable. I deiced that I was going to get an amp head vs a combo and then build an extension cab around it. One of the may qualities I enjoy about my Bogner is her versatility. I can get from a clean silver-face, to a crunchy tweed on channel one and vintage British to 80's hair metal on channel two -- so it was very important that found an amp that would give me similar tones.
The first thing I did was go to every local music store to see what they had in stock, even Satan's asshole (Guitar Center). With that said I will never buy anything from a Satan's asshole (Guitar Center), but I will go into one and demo gear before I order it from an independently owned store. I would never want a retailer to have to pay a restock fee if I do not like the gear or even worst, get stuck with it. After playing every amp head in every store I found nothing that was light weight and had the tone I was looking for. I was extremely disappointed after my first attempt -- so I asked each store to keep an eye out for anything lightweight with tone that came in on a trade -- and to call me first when it did.
After about two months of searching and playing every amp head that was under 40 lbs in every music store in central NJ, I was able to find a used Carvin V3M head. This amp is amazing! It weighs only 19 lbs and came with an amp bag that has a shoulder strap -- score! Not only is it lightweight, but it was dripping with tone. The V3M is a (3) channel all tube head that is powered by (4)12ax7's & (4) el84's that can be ran at 7, 22 or 50 watts with it's built-in power altimeter. To say the least I was very happy that I found an amp that fit my needs. The best part was the price. Now I don't kiss and tell on used gear, but you can get this amp head new from Carvin for under $600. After playing the V3M through a 4x12, a 2x12 and giving her a quick once over -- I took her home.
Written By: Jac Harrison
The first thing I did was go to every local music store to see what they had in stock, even Satan's asshole (Guitar Center). With that said I will never buy anything from a Satan's asshole (Guitar Center), but I will go into one and demo gear before I order it from an independently owned store. I would never want a retailer to have to pay a restock fee if I do not like the gear or even worst, get stuck with it. After playing every amp head in every store I found nothing that was light weight and had the tone I was looking for. I was extremely disappointed after my first attempt -- so I asked each store to keep an eye out for anything lightweight with tone that came in on a trade -- and to call me first when it did.
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| Carvin V3M |
See the full demo of this amp from Carvin - HERE -
When buying a used tube amp there are a few thing that I always do to make sure that the amp is in full working order before I bring it to a rehearsal or a show. The last place you want to find out that your new gear is not in full working order, is when you need it to work. To start I plugged the amp in and let her warm up for about 20 minutes -- I then did a temperature test by running my hand on the top of the amp. If the amp is hot to the touch (not warm), there could a problem that needs to be addressed -- also look at the tubes to see if they are all on.
On a side-note, keep in mind that you never know what the previous owner did in regards to mods -- I like to keep an eye on used amps as they are warming up for the 1st time. Look for smoke and fire -- both are bad and can result in the amp going boom and or setting fire to your home.
Now that she was warmed up -- I played her hard and loud. I ran through ever setting using the amp face controls and foot switch for about an hour. I then let her cool down for a few hours and turned her back on to make sure she still was working. Once everything checked I let her cool down and I changed her tubes. Now some guys will tell you that you do not need to change the tubes unless one pops. These are the same guys that only change their strings when they break. A tube's lifespan for maximum tone is about (500) hours or (2) years. They may still work -- but they will sound flat and your amp will not perform the way it was intended to. This is why you will hear some guys say that their amp just does not sound right or sound like it use too. Personally, I change my tubes every 18-24 months on my rehearsal and venue gear and before every studio session on my studio gear. I may be nuts, but my amps always sound amazing. |
| JJ's El84's |
Vacuum Tube Install time - 15 minutes/1 beer.
Tools and supplies needed - Phillips head screw driver (to take the amp cover off ) & 1 beer.
Buy replacement tubes to get the most out of your amp -HERE-
Buy replacement tubes to get the most out of your amp -HERE-
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| Billy Gibbons Trainwreck |
When you buy this V3M new through Carvin, they recommend using their sealed 2x12 with (2) Celestion Vintage 30's. So; once again I called my local music stores and found a sealed 2x12 slant at a repair shop attached to a store in Edison NJ. The great thing about buying used extension cabs is that they are dirt cheap since the previous owner has probably damaged or completely blown the speakers -- just know going into it that you will need to buy new speakers.
One of my personal choice for replacement speakers are Celestion, and the fact that Carvin as the manufacturer of the amp recommend them was great. I have always found that Celestion speakers truly capture the sound that they claim. I have been a greenback player for years, so I was excited when John from Celestion said that he was going to send me (2) of the brand new V-Type 70 watt before they were even available to the general public. I had the chance to play a set of the G12M-65 Creamback's using Billy Gibbons Trainwreck at the NY Amp Show this passed June, and I have not been right in the frontal lobe since -- so I was pumped!
The day the speakers arrived I was quick to install them in the 2x12 sealed slant, and after 10 minutes I was ready to plug her in and play. I immediately noticed a difference in the tonal properties between the Green & Goldback setup I was using from my Bogner to the V-types. The V-types have more of a punchy crisp feel apposed to the loose warm feel I was use to. They felt more like a ten inch speaker with a large bottom end than a 12. Knowing that the speaker would "loosen up" with age -- I ran my i-pod through her for 48 hours playing everything from SRV to Pantera and then played guitar through her for 10 hours ( 7 at low volume and 3 cranked in a rehearsal studio). Her characteristics changed slightly, but she still has that bright punchy feel to her. Now there is nothing wrong with the way v-types sound at all -- in fact I prefer them to other speakers I have played that offer that "modern vintage" sound. To me if I had to sum up their feel and sound it would be a vintage "pawn store find" in England where the original amp manufacturer was dabbling in what we refer to as a modern tone today. The Carvin sounded great with this speaker setup for a heavy rock, jazzfusion or metal -- but could also be used for pop, pop rock, and texas blues with their never ending headroom on the clean channel.Celestion is one of the best, if not the best speaker manufacturers there is. If the V-types are not your cup of tea they have many different styles of speakers for every genre and style of play. If you are looking to capture that prefect sound, just pick up the phone and give them a call -- you will be happy you did.
Speaker Install time - 10 minutes/1 beer.
Tools and supplies needed - Phillips head screw driver & 1 beer.
Read about the V-Type -HERE-
So over all I am now happy with my new setup. I have an amp that is portable and sounds amazing. The best part is instead of paying a $50 co-pay to my chiropractor every other week, I can now spend my money on important stuff like beer.
My Advice:
Have fun with your rig -- try new tubes and speakers until you find what makes you happy.Read about the V-Type -HERE-
So over all I am now happy with my new setup. I have an amp that is portable and sounds amazing. The best part is instead of paying a $50 co-pay to my chiropractor every other week, I can now spend my money on important stuff like beer.
My Advice:
Posted 09/2013
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