Can the Carvin V3 Do Metal Tones?

[@koreykinsey4324]

Upon viewing the vid, "thanks" isn't nearly enough. Aside from a shout out, you gave a comprehensive answer , addressing ALL of my concerns(with video...answering each question...one by one...wtf?! That's service!) regarding the amp. Hell, you even put a mock "Fear Factory-esque" clip...in a mix, nonetheless, in there for me. Thank you so much.

[@LeonTodd]

My pleasure man, I needed to revisit this amp and your questions were a great way to do it.

[@Beegpapijimbo]

I've got a Carvin V3MC and it's such a tremendously versatile amp. I treat it more like an amp head shaped like a combo with an optional speaker, almost always run it through dual 2x12s and use the internal speaker for practice or if I need a portable amp.

[@johnarcher9480]

Absolutely LOVE the V3! Most versatile “non-modeling” amp I’ve ever had. They come a bit bright. Swapping the EL 34s for 6L6, and the preamp tunes for JJs and upping the bias makes this thing super fat! Much better low end, without so much brightness. I found “intense” was best for 5150 tones, center was Marshall tones, and think for rectifier tones. The master EQ is very important as well. There is SO much shaping you can do with this amp it’s easy to get a little lost. Rest assured, it can play well with very low tunings (A) and any other tunings.

[@robertwalker843]

Swapping to 6L6 power tubes and biasing it hot definitely takes the V3 to new territory, much fatter with better highs, I've had mine since they first came out and the tone still amazes me today.

[@minus9us677]

luckily i got a few V3's before they stopped. the only amps i enjoy live. they got 2 midi switchable loops, dont have to tapdance. just a delay with drykill in the parallel loop. gate in series. and all channel switching, boost, loop 1 and loop 2, and led's inside, with one midibuddy pedal. :)

[@ChannelForty2]

Love your vids brother! I just found one at a pawn shop for 450, this video makes me think I should go ahead and pick it up! I like the way it sounds!

[@empirelight5477]

There is a ton of tone shaping in the power amp section with the Bright, Mid Cut and Deep pots. I usually keep the toggle in the preamp to the center position with the EQX on. The amp feels very alive and tight but still thick and cuts through well although it can easily over saturate and sound buzzy and thin.

[@LeonTodd]

Yeah there's so much flexibility on tap, not to mention the smart fx loops and midi control.

[@guidedbyechoes]

I love your ability to get good tones. So when you can't make this amp sound good then I know it's the amp's problem.

[@RequiemDead]

I had one before I got my Egnater Armageddon. Was a great amp!

[@jroc6166]

How do you like the Armageddon compared to the Carvin V3.

[@stevenmgyori3826]

Thanks brother, nice tones and demonstration, helpful to many!Be well!

[@koreykinsey4324]

Thank you, bro.

[@chadpietsch4683]

I picked one up in 2015 for $500 to add to my selection Ive never regretted it and frankly it took over the show. I pretty much exclusively use this amp now. It is a pretty ridiculous amp for Thrash and Hardcore. Although I do run a G string noise box its so aggressive. I have the regular V3 but I did notice not long after I bought it, the fill in guitarist for Napalm death I saw a couple months later used the V3M. I can easily understand why. He also had a sweet SG with active neck pickup and a passive on the bridge which was cool and unusual

[@thereverendofrock1863]

Threw in the Dogman riff from Kings X! Awesome!

[@LeonTodd]

Killer album

[@riffsnreviews]

Sounds sweet !

[@thinkingjack]

I’m picking up the V3 cab Gonna throw it under my orange dark terror If I can find this V3 head I’ll be super happy because it sounds really damn great!

[@xthexadvantagex]

Put a boost and a noose gate!

[@johnarcher9480]

No need for a boost, but a gate can be useful with the gain up.

[@howesguitars]

Carvin made great amps. Its too bad they went out of business.

[@LeonTodd]

I know :(

[@rayvandragon]

Great guitars too...

[@nomorebs]

@@rayvandragon the guitars are still available, just called Kiesel now

[@Knightmare-gz9ls]

They listed a cab for sale today. They might be coming back. Plus they have released a couple pedals 🤘🏻

[@mikejripley1738]

They. Just changed to their namesake keisel

[@Brutalharmon]

Kings X Dogman riff !! Good stuff

[@JonDeth]

I always kick myself for not buying one. They were the most affordable head around several years ago and weren't built in China. *Now, every all tube head out there with substantial wattage is almost always well over a thousand dollars U.S.*

[@FistOfRuin]

Kings X ❤

[@Nicestik]

Would love to hear this amp through another cab maybe something with eminence wizards or something.Great demo.

[@johnarcher9480]

I had a cab with Wizards and Swamp Thangs. The V3 sounded amazing!

[@superdave2112]

I love mine. Since channel 1 & 2 are identical, I use one for thick and huge, and one for crisp and bright. I bought mine used from a fellow that bought it new. He got a 4-12 with it with their factory speakers, which sound great with it. He also gave me an earlier 4-12 with V30s. Although I like them clean, they are too fizzy for me with high gain. Sorry they are gone.

[@97warlock]

wow, a guy 10 ,miles from me has this amp for 300 bucks!! sounds killer.

[@francismcfadden3305]

Do you know what yours is biased at? And are you using EL 34s or 6L6s? Mine doesn't sound nearly this good lol

[@MichaelDespairs]

If you like this tone then go for it but look into 5150, 5150 II, 6505, 5153 or even free plugins for your computer if you have an audio interface. 5150's sound, record, and feel great to play. This Carvin feels so clamped down it hurts to play.

[@johnarcher9480]

Seriously?!?! Clamped down? What are you using for a cab? These things come from the factory very bright. I swapped tubes to darken the tone a bit. Best amp I ever heard live.

[@MichaelDespairs]

@@johnarcher9480 I wrote this comment for players looking for an amp to do metal tones. I want to caution them against buying this amp when there are better options in my opinion.

[@giovannizaccuri]

Hi. Im not a professional, thats the starting point. I own this amp since... 15 year maybe? Ok, i NEVER be able to get out a convincing metal tone without using a lot of pedals. But im hearing you got a fucking good metal tone with the stand alone amp. Should you suggest me a modern metal setting for this amp? i mean, a starting point for global eq, and a main set for the channel switch. Probably ill never get a good sound (i mean, your playing technique are awesome, ill never get near like that so...) but even a satisfying sound to play with... Thanks for your videos! Bye!

[@deathlust666]

Sounds closer to a newer dsl imo

[@battleship.walking]

Bought a carvin v3 will it handle bass guitar?

[@neepathius7]

whats funny is the amp was made for metal im sure to compete with mesas and peaveys of that time. they should be asking can it do cleans lol

[@johnarcher9480]

It can!

[@metalhead6659]

I figured it could.....

[@odyssey21thcentury31]

Carvin is a step ahead in high gain amps, honestly this is the most versatile amp I ever heard, unfortunately the price too is a step ahead

[@jorge0358]

I'm a little late, but you can find them used for around the 400 dollar range

[@RtroyD]

These heads were $899 new...lol....other brands with comparable features were 2 to 3 times as much

[@thinkingjack]

Just found one on fb marketplace and it went for 250$ Unfortunately it sold but I picked up the 4x12 slanted cab it came with. Here’s hoping to find it in the future

[@mississippisnowplow]

Dogman!!!!

[@thegodslayer8545]

I hear a Zakk Wylde fan !!

[@jeffsmiley3213]

What was the name of the band the full mix at the end was in "the style" of?

[@LeonTodd]

I tried to do a (very tame) Fear Factory thing

[@jeffsmiley3213]

Awesome! Thank you very much!

[@ironblast5]

From what I understand carvin amps are biased very cold and will bennefit from being rebiased

[@williamking8684]

i agree re biased my mts 3200 to about 135-140 more or less much improvment as they come at 100

[@johnarcher9480]

You are correct!

[@kidthunder1311]

Awesome demo man. Now I am going to trade my 5150 combo for one of these. Were you playing on full 100 watt or the hald power setting? Would you say it is as loud as dual recto?

[@LeonTodd]

It's loud! I was on 100W here from memory.

[@FFGG22E]

turn the treble down

[@jcalzada74]

I had the v3m 50wts it sucks

[@chisco971]

How much is this amp?

[@bobsmoot5106]

alan brito It’s not available new anymore. Carvin split into Carvin Audio and Keisel guitars in the last five years or so. The guitars have gotten much prettier and more custom, but the prices have also sadly gone up. The amp division basically got axed. Carvin Audio is a mere shadow of the gear behemoth that was Carvin.

[@Knightmare-gz9ls]

Carvin released a new cab today. So they might be coming back but used they full size 100watt head is around 4 to 6 hundred. Seen a half stack go for 850. They made a mini head at 25 watts but the big head can be power cut down to 50 and 25 so I never understood the mini head.

[@AllofJudea]

How much are you willing to spend? I've got one

[@chisco971]

@@AllofJudea I was justo curious, someone wanted to trade it for my Egnater Tourmaster combo amp but that amp is long gone and sold, I purchased a Peavey 6505 and a Mesa

[@AllofJudea]

@@chisco971 You probably made the right choice. It's a weird amp. I've had it for a loooong time, and as I get older all I want are pristine cleans and smooth over drives. I don't have much use for high gain and if I do ill use a pedal

[@RezaKhan2024]

Carvin amps were better than their guitars

[@TallSomeone]

It's not deep enough.

[@godsinbox]

deeper deeper deeper more deeper

[@aGabay]

Too much controls and options make this amp a pain in the ass to dial in, and even when you got there, it doesn't sound good enough. I think the same about Mesa amps, they CAN sound good but it takes a long time. And they are definitely not my cup of tea.

[@LeonTodd]

Different strokes for different blokes I guess. If you don't want many knobs to tweak there's plenty of options in that realm too.

[@aGabay]

Of course. But this over-complication of stuff that I see in gear in the last 10 years really doesn't do anything good for tone.

[@LeonTodd]

Sometimes having a limited palette leads to more expression. The number of knobs is generally inversely proportional to tone, but there are always exceptions.

[@aGabay]

I can testify that one of the best amps I've heard was a 59 Vibrlux I loaned from a friend for a recording sessiom. 1 Volume, 1 Tone, and tremolo controls. Tone from heaven. Another example - a few years back a friend was looking for a new hi-gain amp. We tried the Jet City 50 watt head and it was just plug $ play, great tone without too much dicking around. When we tried the Mesa Boogie Mark V, it sounded pretty good but the fuckton of knobs and features on both front and back panel, made it pretty much a pain to dial in, and still it didn't sound as "natural", so my friend just told the salesman - "The Jet city which costs a lot less sounds way better".

[@LeonTodd]

A Mark V is indeed a hard beast to tame, since the tone stack is pre gain and you need to use the GEQ and B/M/T controls. Still, gotta love the JC tones!

[@RoyBelmont]

did i hear some kings x?

[@LeonTodd]

You know it

[@raycoghill6577]

Dial that in better dude......sounds like frying eggs....that amp sounds wayyyyyy better than that dude....wth lol

[@raycoghill6577]

Wayyyyyy to much highs man...cant heRthat killer tone it has for all that high sizzle

[@tedmich]

it does sound that way but I suspect he's not miking and recording it correctly, I think he just got in on the camera mic.

[@johnarcher9480]

6l6 tubes help that as well. Stock, it was a little bright for me, but properly biased 6L6 tubes make this thing a beast

[@ryanlindsey3174]

The absolute worst person to ask about metal tone!

[@davidfaustino4476]

Ooof everything here sounds terrible.