I've been looking for a combo amp so I don't have to haul a half stack around and ended up getting the carvin sx 300. This is an incredible amp. It's 100 watts loaded with 2 x 12" Celestion G12T-75's, 3 channels, tone and presence controls for each channel and built in effects. I was surprised when it arrived since the website stated that it was loaded with 2 x 12" Celestion seventy 80's. Channel 3 is clean and it's absolutely crystal clear. One of the best cleans that I've ever heard from an amp. Channel 2 is overdrive and has 2 types of tones that can be changed by turing the "blues" switch on or off. The on position produces an overdriven classic rock/blues type sound. The off position yields a more scooped, higher gain tone better suited for hard rock/metal. Channel 1 is high gain and there is a switch to add gain and scoop the mids. This channel is great for metal. It reminds me somewhat of the gain that you would get from a 5150. You can crank the amp and everything remains clean. I'm really not into the built in effects but these actually aren't bad. They can be set for each channel and turned on or off with the footswich, which also switches between the three channels. The downsides to this amp are that the high gain channel is quite noisy when the gain is turned to about 7 or greater. However, a noise gate takes care of that. Plus you probably don't need to go much higher that that anyway. Also, I would like to have control of the "blues" switch on channel 2 via the footswitch. Overall it's a great amp with plenty of versitility.
Just got a Carvin SX 300 (review)
- Thread starter scooter
- Start date
Marty Horne
New member
Re: Just got a Carvin SX 300 (review)
Scooter,
I wish you good luck with your new amp. I had a SX 200 and had nothing but problems from day 1. Sent it back to the factory twice and it still never worked right. Finally sold it cheap with full disclosure. Hopefully Carvin has solved some of their past problems.
Scooter,
I wish you good luck with your new amp. I had a SX 200 and had nothing but problems from day 1. Sent it back to the factory twice and it still never worked right. Finally sold it cheap with full disclosure. Hopefully Carvin has solved some of their past problems.
Marty Horne
New member
Re: Just got a Carvin SX 300 (review)
The amp would suddenly drop down to inaudible volume level and all the high end would disappear (as if you turned the tone control on your guitar all the way off). The factory "fixed" it twice and it still had this problem. That was enough aggravation for me to never buy Carvin again.
The amp would suddenly drop down to inaudible volume level and all the high end would disappear (as if you turned the tone control on your guitar all the way off). The factory "fixed" it twice and it still had this problem. That was enough aggravation for me to never buy Carvin again.
