Guitar Amps
Carvin's guitars amps underwent a significant change in the middle
of 2005. With the exception of the Vai Legacy models, all
Carvin amps were now loaded with Celestion speakers (Legacy amps had
been using Celestion speakers since their inception).
Cosmetically, these amps were the same as their 2004 predecessors,
however, even with the new speakers, almost all guitar amps and
speaker cabinets were reduced in price.
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the pictures for larger versions. |
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Towards the
end of 2005, guitarists were treated to the all-new V3, an amp that
had been rumored for over a year. The V3 is a 3-channel tube amp,
capable of running at either 50W or 100W @ 4, 8 or 16 ohms. It has 5
12AX7 preamp tubes, 4 EL34 output tubes (6L6GC/5881 capable) with a buffered
effects loop and MIDI in/thru connections. The V3 head was priced at
$899.99. Also offered were the 412VT (slanted) and 412VB
(straight) cabinets, which were loaded with 4 Celestion G12T-75 speakers for
$499.99. The V3412 half-stack, including the V3 head and 412VT
cabinet, was $1349.99, and the V3812 full stack, with the V3 head and
412VT/412VB caninets, was $1799.99.
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The Vai Legacy
series were unchanged for 2005, although the VL212 combo was
moved to the same page as the VL412 and VL812 stacks. The
VL100 100W head dropped in price to $799.99. Although the
head dropped in price, the stacks rose slightly, and the VL212
combo remained the same as 2004.
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The MTS Series
amps were now equipped with Celestion G12T-75 speakers, versus
the Carvin GT12 speakers that were used in previous years.
The MTS3212 combo dropped in price to $699.99. The
50W/100W MTS3200 head also dropped in price, to $599.99.
The MTS412 half-stack rose slightly, to $969.99, and the MTS812
fill stack remained the same, at $1299.99.
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The Vintage Series
models also came equipped with Celestion speakers in 2005.
Despite these new speakers, the prices remained the same, or in
the case of the very popular 112 Nomad, actually dropped.
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The SX Series were
all equipped with Celestion Seventy 80 speakers, and the prices
on all SX models dropped - in some cases, substantially.
The 3-channel 100W SX300 head dropped to $299.99 from $399.99 in
2004. The SX300C 3-channel 2X12 combo dropped $100 also,
to $299.99. Similar reductions were also in effect on the
SX50C, SX100C and SX200C combos. Even the SX3412
half-stack and SX3812 full stack came down in price for 2005.
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The Frank Gambale
TN100 Tone Navigator Preamp was unchanged for 2005, and the
price remained constant at $499.99.
The TS100 100W
tube power amp was unchanged, but did drop in price to $499.99. |
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