Description
VG+ condition • 30w Combo Amp
Great Sound • Rare
Designed for Bass, but used as Guitar Amp
Comes with 2 baffle board configs.
This is a rare amp from Carvin from the mid-to-late ’50’s.
Here is an analysis of the amp by Ryland Buller:
“This is a unique, old Carvin #666 amplifier. The Model #666 was offered in 1956 and 1957.
The amplifier uses a 12ax7 input tube (a vintage Telefunken is installed). The Driver tube is A 12AT7 and is also a vintage
Telefunken. The power tubes that are installed are 5881 types and are modern Sovtek. The power tubes are cathode biased and
measure at 80% and 85% plate dissipation respectively. The Tremolo driver tube is a vintage GE 6AV6. The rectifier tube is a
vintage Sylvannia 5V4. The original speaker baffle with the amp has 4 X 8” Jensen P8R C6422 speakers and the original wiring.
More recently, a modern baffle was installed with a single Jensen NEO 12-100 speaker. The tremolo circuit has a footswitch jack, but has no footswitch.
This amp circuit is in mostly original condition however a 3 prong grounded power cord has been properly installed and the capacitors in the
tone circuit have been replaced with orange drop 715p types. The speed control in the bias vary tremolo circuit appears to not
have the full range of control and is likely due to out of spec capacitors in the circuit. Some intermittent crackles and noise are
noticed at times which is to be expected due to the original paper and paper/wax coupling capacitors still in the circuit. It may be
necessary to replace some of these in the near future and they could fail at any time causing DC leakage, which could lead to tube or
transformer failure. The original electrolytic filter capacitors share a similar disclaimer. The tube sockets are original and seemed to
possibly be dirty or lacking in tension. I did a quick cleaning of the sockets and it solved any intermittent cutting out issues for the
time being. The amp does sound very good with its own unique voice somewhere between a tweed Bassman/Plexi, Supro, and
fender tweed. The mic input has a lot of gain available and the amp can get quite dirty while still remaining very tight sounding
without “flubbing” out. The amp certainly has “the mojo”.
Comes with newer excellent cover.
*Yes, we can ship this amp, but take note:
Amplifiers should never be shipped as an entire unit, because they aren’t able to withstand dropping without damage. And.. if you don’t pack the components separately, the shipping insurance will not pay for any damage!
They can be shipped if partially disassembled and packed separately. This means the speakers, chassis, and tubes are all removed from the cabinet.
Speakers are shipped in a box, the cabinet is shipped in a big box, the tubes are individually wrapped and shipped in a box, and most importantly, the chassis is very carefully padded and packed separately. And in the case of this amp, there is an “extra” baffle board with the original speakers that ships separately.
The final shipping cost with insurance can be $350 to $450.
