Carvin X100B Repair & Choke Install

[@buzzedalldrink9131]

if you get an original one, change all the electrolytic caps change the IC chips and you will have a good sounding amp. Channel is one of the best you will ever hear with a properly serviced amp. If you find an old one and play and think it sounds bad that’s because it needs to be serviced.

[@ki4dbk]

Love this!!!! I love my Carvin x100b!!! I put 5881's in mine.

[@fenwick_don]

thanks i have a 1981-82 version of this amp with Carvin branded tubes. and you are right about the power setting. the earliest ones had 60% or 100% power switch. also various circuit board revisions. best to run these at 100 watts and use an attenuator to save tube life. my 88 x100a blew up the two outta four el34s within 6 months using 50% power for bedroom / practice volume.

[@rds1882]

nice job on the repair. i have ond of these amps. olayed it for several years. mine had a cold silder joint making it produce a statjc/rattle at higher volumes. opened it and found burnt spots like those from previous overheated resistors and repair. apparently it was a thing with these amps. ive seen workaround mods to prevent this on youtube vids in the past. other than that issue they seem to be solid amps. mines still going strong. graat post.

[@thevelointhevale1132]

I have the X60B from the same early period as this model ... this is the same model that Zappa and Vai toured with - they used this amp for their Clean Sounds. I would say this Amp has some of the nicest Cleans on any Amp I ever heard ... Fender Cleans easily as good. With the Reverb and the use of the high headroom 6L6's ... THIS is where this amp really shines. The dirt and crunch end of this Amp is NOT good however ... very messy and farty. However ... this amp is GOLD as a clean amp set up to run pedals in front of ... and THAT is precisely how they should be used. I have thought of getting mine re-biased for EL34's but why ruin the amazing CLEAN this thing does ... it will never be a Marshall 800.

[@SanFranciscoFatboy]

spoken by a true owner.......... i had mine 25 yrs....i put a vintage rca tube in V1...... it seems to really appreciate good pre-amp tubes...... u r right, it is the cleans...especially with the presance knob dimed :)

[@Mountainrock70]

I have used my 2 original 1980’s x amps on 25 percent no problems. Ive had nothing go out in either of them other than tubes .Both are very well used.

[@holdensshop1183]

Good to know! I don't have much experience with this amp, so I was mainly speaking from a theoretical stand point. Most tubes used in guitar amps like higher voltages to allow electrons to emit from the cathode to the anode easier. 40 volts just seemed really low to me I guess lol. But hey, if it works, it works!

[@Mountainrock70]

@@holdensshop1183 its not a voltage drop its a drop in amperage which only affects the watts. The voltage stays the same unlike using a variac. The amp switching is 25,50 and 100 watts.

[@theofficialdiamondlou2418]

@@Mountainrock70 agree.

[@eddieleija]

Awesome job !

[@MuscleDad420]

Is there any methodology to leaving what I assume to be the choke resistor (10w resistor at R121) in along with the choke transformer? Increased filtering? If you recall, what was the model choke? Is it the one available from Mercury Magnetics?

[@djstatix26]

Did u ever install a choke? If so, did you bypass r121?

[@djstatix26]

Ive got the 1986 version of this amp. Bought it second hand. Doing some repairs on the PCB and everything seems to working fine now except when i switch power from 25, 50, to 100 im not getting a noticeable increase in volume. It kinda stays at the same level. From 50 to 100 i hear a kind of loud pop sound like its trying to get to 100% for a millisecond but the volume never gets any louder..

[@buzzedalldrink9131]

hopefully you got the amp figured out. I have an original with the 25 50 100 switch and they work great ! In 25, you can put the thing on 10 without hurting your ears very versatile amp, but it needs to be serviced in order to get the proper sound People buy an old ones and they say it sounds bad. Thats because they don’t do any service to them. Goood luck with yours.

[@radakinryder2741]

I have this exact amp and the power light is on but it is not sending any signal to the cab whatsoever and tubes aren’t getting warm at all. Any ideas?

[@holdensshop1183]

Are the tubes glowing? if not, might check for a blown fuse first

[@nigel900]

Got one. I wouldn’t consider it a “Metal” guitar amp. They are known for having some of the cleanest tube sounds of any tube amp, (on channel 1). The gain channel, to my ear, was a big disappointment.

[@zipchtkdn7804]

Beast rock and metal amp with a maxon green or red pedal..

[@voxpathfinder15r]

So do you think the choke improved the tone over stock?

[@holdensshop1183]

Some. It seems to be a little bit tighter IMO.

[@voxpathfinder15r]

Did you like the tone after you fixed everything up?

[@holdensshop1183]

I liked it more than I did before lol. I like my Bugera more though. The bugera amps have a bad rep, but they can be great with a few mods.

[@larryn1875]

@@holdensshop1183 I had a Bugera V22. read about mods, went to mod mine and it was all micro-soldered micro-components. How do you mod those?

[@holdensshop1183]

Larry N my Bugera doesn’t use SMDs (surface mount devices). Everything is through-hole. BUT, I have replaced SMDs before. A magnifying glass, fine point soldering iron, and a steady hand will get it done. The resistors will have a alphanumeric values that you can cross reference online.

[@TheTheratfarmer]

carvin x-100? Basic desighn, made in the US. Celetion speakers.