Just tried one out. The amp sounds way better than ttk makes it sound. It can easily get fizzy. Eq is very sensitive one wrong turn will lead the sound in a different direction. Takes time to tweak but overall a real great amp. Saving up to order one.
TTK you are becoming a shred god. You have gotten soooo muck better in the last couple of months its amazing. By the way the tone at the start of the vid was sick man. I totally dig the V3. Love your stuff man. Keep up the good work. And I don't like too far away from NJ. I would love a Tone Lounge tour man. Maybe you could make a contest to give one away!!
I am loving the new video quality - the video images are very crisp and sharp. I first noticed it a couple of vids ago. And I am also loving the fact that I "just" got ADSL2+, so loading the video doesn't take a 1/2 hour :) As for and an increase in audio quality, I'm sure there has been, but, with the low budget speakers I have, I can't really tell the difference. Cheers.
No, like I said back in the 80's/90's.I had alot of time with them and thought to start it back up again with that feel. I tried finding a clean one . Yeah, sure , for a bundle .For the price this thing kicks it pretty good. My favorite rips on this are with a git that has a single bridge BKP Aftermath. Brutally clear.Thanks for all the vids. Cheers.
I have a V3 halfstack with vintage 30's.I'm really pleased with it. Its really versatile. I've only scratched the surface of the tone variations. I'm not real big on zillions of settings but this one just seems to come together for me whatever I have been looking for. Metal to bluesy stuff. Its just odd not needing pedals for real heavy overdriven sounds at any volume level. It just sounds more "real" if that makes any sense.
I own one of these amps and I have to recommend that you put some 6L6s in the power section and put a Tung Sol 12AX7 in the V1 spot of the preamp and the amp will sound a lot better. Great tones and licks btw, but if you want to try something different, my suggestion will make the V3 sound totally different.
@ChaserHUN I noticed the master volume is turned way down. I would say it's mostly preamp distortion we're hearing. I'm sure it sounds way better with the master volume turned up like most tube amps.
I love my V3. There is definitely a pronounced mid-frequency that is very prominent, but not once has it bothered me. Always thought it made it cut through the mix very well.
Sounds great through my little speakers on this MacBook Pro! These are on sale right now for $799 with free foot switch, and free shipping, a great deal, no doubt. Just not in my budget at the moment, ha.
Great review, i love this amp. I would like you to make a review for the carvin legacy 1. Well i suggest this because want to buy either a V3 or Legacy but i am really confused about which is best for me. If you know something about this comparison that would help me to decide which amp should i pick would be really appreciated. THANKS TONE KING ;)
So, you still have this thing? It's been my dream amp for many years, so I finally ordered one. The metal tones I hear come out of these are insane, and I'm done buying a gear and onto engineering and building my own equipment after this point. *There was still no way getting around buying my dream amp.*
@lmsjr Hey Tone King great video as always! I play a seven string and I'm looking into getting one of these. Do you think this amp could get clarity and be able to handle the low B?
The Tone butcher! This amp does not sound like this if you use the knob with some sense. Notice when he rolls off the gain knob you hear notes. Eqx can make or break your sound as well. V3 is a great amp.
ToneKing!!! I love your reviews, brother. You always cover all the bases of these amps, effects and guitars. I only have one critique and maybe it's just my crappy speakers, but all these amps sound very similar to me. They come across a bit stale and processed sounding and either on the bright or dark side. You have some kick ace gear, but maybe a new mic or play with mic placement to really capture that live sound would help. Maybe an iso-booth. Other than that, keep em coming. \m/
Hey TTK, I'm a metal guitarist and was looking at the v3 to upgrade from a peavey valve king. I'm not the typical metal guitarist that's just looking for high gain. I'm looking for an amp that has a good amount of gain but that has a great clean channel and overall character to its tone. I would like to have something that i could play slayer or cannibal corpse and go play a blues gig with the same head. Could you give me your opinion on this amp with what i'm looking for in mind
The problem comes in trying to define tonal variations on You Tube. You can go to all the V3 demos and they sound different. Worst thing is you have to order it. Best thing is they will take it back no questions asked if you don't like it. I looked at so many beat up used JCM800 Marshalls and high priced. I owned a 2203 100 wattt lead JCM800 with full stack in the early eighties and a 2204 50 watt lead JCM800 on a half stack mid 80's into the late 90's.Long gone.I am really digging the V3.
@marthajam i was not dissing the tone king at all iv been following him for over a year i love what he does, he's a great guy and gives great reviews. i was just giving a suggestion to try and give a recorded tone cause amps sound diffrent in a mix when recorded yeah know. thats all and tone king ur a fucking great person and im jealous of ur collection hahaha
@rockfreak611 well i prefer a more saturated distortion. besides i have a fender amp so i have to keep it low because even one tiny move higher makes it blast out. im not in a position where i can make a ton of noise :/
@lmsjr Did I win? I caught that right away. That is cool. No more 'POP'. As far as the amp is concerned, I'm sold and I'm a bass player. I would like to hear it with a reverb pedal.
TK...you should make another video without diming the gain so much. The gain all the way up really drowns out what you are truing to do as a demo on this amp. I had one of these and liked it and for me my personal favorite was to turn the gain up to the sweet spot not dimed which is about the 1 o clock position on that amp. The master section on these is really what makes this amp shine...along with its price. Currently own a Legacy 2 half stack...
TK, I've been trying to compare this Bad Boy to the Mesa Dual Rec. I didn't realize that each channel has 3 flavors except ch3 which has 2 flavors. Hmmm, I could get 2 of these. LOL
The video quality is awesome, I am not satisfied with the audio though. You have all the gear I wish, the sound is still too "digital" too me. What is your signal chain? Do you use any mixer/powermixer after the SM57? What software is used for recording? Maybe you could try another cab as well, cause I think the amp itself is a kickass.
Is this mic’d or cabinet out? Sounds like you’re playing on the neck pickup with a lot of bass on it. Can’t say I’ve ever heard a V3 sound like that. Good demo though.
@lmsjr true i thought it was a good sound but i mean like a recording in a mix that has been mixed and mastered cause though the amp sounds great here it changes in a mix. thats all i was saying?
tone u should with u amp review recording a additional audio that is recorded in a daw and mixed a mastered to give us a sound of what it sounds in a recording. just a thing i think might sound good
@JonDeth who in the fuck prefers a metal zone pedal to amp distortion? I almost agreed with what you were saying when I thought you were talking about tubescreamers and other boost pedals, but who uses distortion pedals and has good tone?
I think he forgot to turn off the vocal mic. From the reflection, his hand never went to the vocal mic as usual. And when he finished playing he started talking without turning on the vocal mic. Unless he has a foot switch for the vocal mic.
I hear what your saying, this amp has got to be the king of multiple personalities on youtube. Like you said, every video sound different, but that is probably a good thing because you can hear the different ways to eq it. You really got rid of all of those amps for a V3?
hey anyone want the tone secrets for this amp email me, and i will share some insights and tricks on how to make it sound better than this! i know how to get the best sound from this amp... and yes a tubescreamer in the front end does help... theres a way to use a boss supressor that will make this thing slay... email me if you have this amp and i will help! awesome job tone king! you show this thing off how it should be! wide range of sounds from u! tricky to get the best sound, but worth it!!!
I've been watching this amp for quite some time now (I'm a Carvin fan). Is the amp this "fizzy" in real life? Or was this something that just got picked up during the recording?
The ToneKing may not live by his name but he trys, he just likes more Drive than anybody else! And hey the dude has a arsonal wall of amps to choose from. I want the Boogner Shiver amp he might have or does he! Probley only low&mid buget amps or does he.
Hmm, this is disappointing. I can see why Jeff and his dad split off and gave their brother/cousin the audio side. Kiesel is doing some incredible work lately, whereas this is a case of "you get what you pay for" it is an 800$ 100 watt tube amp, so it has price on its side, but I think the V3M is better. Thank you for the video!
The reason the amp is so fizzy is because the channel volume is really low, as is the master volume. The channel volume should be a lot higher to open the amp up while the master volume is lower to lower the overall volume.
Yep, you are absolutely 100% right!!! Most people have no clue how to get tone out of a tube amp, you MUST open the power valves to get tone otherwise you get this, fizzZzzZzzzzZz
@tony93666 Right. But as I am watching all videos on the internet, all videos are screwed up in the same way. I am comparing the sound to other youtube accounts. I am sure, TTK can do it better and get a more crisp sound.
@SomethinWild - re: "the sound is still too "digital" to me" you're watching/listening over the internet - there's no way to do it non-digitally. A vid on youtube is NEVER gonna be as full, warm & in your face as real life.
@bchewdown Don't. bronxandrew is totally right; this amp has no definition in it's tone. It sounds...ok? If you were playing grunge, but it sounds totally compressionless. There is no tightness in the bottom end and mids. I don't know if 3 tubescreamers could tighten this amp up...
Check out gillenh2o's videos about this amp, he pinpointed the reasons for what you heard on this video and fixed it. This is a killer amp, I know its hard to believe from this video(no offence Tone King, it's not your fault), but it does kick ass. There is just some very specific tweaks that need to be made, and they are very minimal as far as the amp is concerned.
This doesn't do much justice for this amp's sound, the presence is up too high (which is making that fizzing sound) and there might be a little too much mid-cut (which is making it sound thin). The amp does sound good, look at demos of the V3m- it's modeled just like the V3 except smaller.
@vampreen12356 ... Dude, give the guy a break. He's not the 'Recording king'. He's just giving us an idea of what this sounds like.....Watch more videos and get used to his style. I personally have bought more then a couple of things he has demo'd. Thanks TTK!
@evilpinkfreud Agree 110% ... Although the Carvin isn't huge money, I've never understood why somebody would chunk down serious coin for more expensive amps and then run the damn thing thru a $100 overdrive/distortion pedal. I've seen plenty of bozo's spend 2k+ for an amp and then in turn run it thru a gain pedal. Stupid
Agreed with emcitement. It's fuzzy sounding and really lacks any kind of desirability whatsoever. Maybe it's just the settings on here but this really sounds terrible.
this doesn't sound so good. the prescence was never really ever changed. if he hept it at like 5 and use his hand to make the overdrive, maybe it would sound ok.
Just tried one out. The amp sounds way better than ttk makes it sound. It can easily get fizzy. Eq is very sensitive one wrong turn will lead the sound in a different direction. Takes time to tweak but overall a real great amp. Saving up to order one.
TTK you are becoming a shred god. You have gotten soooo muck better in the last couple of months its amazing. By the way the tone at the start of the vid was sick man. I totally dig the V3. Love your stuff man. Keep up the good work. And I don't like too far away from NJ. I would love a Tone Lounge tour man. Maybe you could make a contest to give one away!!
this amp RAWKS! thanks, TK, for all you do!
I've been gigging the V3 for about 5 years now. The real fun starts when you get that master volume knob above 5, so give that a shot!
Cool vid, TK.
I am loving the new video quality - the video images are very crisp and sharp. I first noticed it a couple of vids ago. And I am also loving the fact that I "just" got ADSL2+, so loading the video doesn't take a 1/2 hour :)
As for and an increase in audio quality, I'm sure there has been, but, with the low budget speakers I have, I can't really tell the difference.
Cheers.
Me likey! Great looking and sounding amp! Looking forward to checking it out.
No, like I said back in the 80's/90's.I had alot of time with them and thought to start it back up again with that feel. I tried finding a clean one . Yeah, sure , for a bundle .For the price this thing kicks it pretty good. My favorite rips on this are with a git that has a single bridge BKP Aftermath. Brutally clear.Thanks for all the vids. Cheers.
I have a V3 halfstack with vintage 30's.I'm really pleased with it. Its really versatile. I've only scratched the surface of the tone variations. I'm not real big on zillions of settings but this one just seems to come together for me whatever I have been looking for. Metal to bluesy stuff. Its just odd not needing pedals for real heavy overdriven sounds at any volume level. It just sounds more "real" if that makes any sense.
I own one of these amps and I have to recommend that you put some 6L6s in the power section and put a Tung Sol 12AX7 in the V1 spot of the preamp and the amp will sound a lot better. Great tones and licks btw, but if you want to try something different, my suggestion will make the V3 sound totally different.
@ChaserHUN I noticed the master volume is turned way down. I would say it's mostly preamp distortion we're hearing. I'm sure it sounds way better with the master volume turned up like most tube amps.
Thanks for the demo! 🤘
No, like I said, I had those amp's back in the 80's/90's.I was looking to get back to that feel. I'm overall pretty pleased with the V3 for the money.
I love my V3. There is definitely a pronounced mid-frequency that is very prominent, but not once has it bothered me. Always thought it made it cut through the mix very well.
Tons better than a Marshall cabinet :D !!!! Greetings from Colombia!
FUZZY MESS. UUUGGGGHHHHH TURNING MY GUT INSIDE OUT!!!!!!!!
Sounds great through my little speakers on this MacBook Pro! These are on sale right now for $799 with free foot switch, and free shipping, a great deal, no doubt. Just not in my budget at the moment, ha.
id go for bugera and save some dollars
Great review, i love this amp. I would like you to make a review for the carvin legacy 1. Well i suggest this because want to buy either a V3 or Legacy but i am really confused about which is best for me.
If you know something about this comparison that would help me to decide which amp should i pick would be really appreciated.
THANKS TONE KING ;)
So, you still have this thing?
It's been my dream amp for many years, so I finally ordered one. The metal tones I hear come out of these are insane, and I'm done buying a gear and onto engineering and building my own equipment after this point.
*There was still no way getting around buying my dream amp.*
@lmsjr Hey Tone King great video as always! I play a seven string and I'm looking into getting one of these. Do you think this amp could get clarity and be able to handle the low B?
Awesome video King!
The Tone butcher! This amp does not sound like this if you use the knob with some sense. Notice when he rolls off the gain knob you hear notes. Eqx can make or break your sound as well. V3 is a great amp.
ToneKing!!! I love your reviews, brother. You always cover all the bases of these amps, effects and guitars. I only have one critique and maybe it's just my crappy speakers, but all these amps sound very similar to me. They come across a bit stale and processed sounding and either on the bright or dark side. You have some kick ace gear, but maybe a new mic or play with mic placement to really capture that live sound would help. Maybe an iso-booth. Other than that, keep em coming. \m/
hEY GREAT VID MAN....CAN YOU TELL ME IF I CAN GET THE SAME QUALITY SOUND WITH THE MICRO HEAD V3? Thanks
Hey TTK, I'm a metal guitarist and was looking at the v3 to upgrade from a peavey valve king. I'm not the typical metal guitarist that's just looking for high gain. I'm looking for an amp that has a good amount of gain but that has a great clean channel and overall character to its tone. I would like to have something that i could play slayer or cannibal corpse and go play a blues gig with the same head. Could you give me your opinion on this amp with what i'm looking for in mind
Like surf guitarist of the 60's and their reverb...YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH DISTORTION \m/
The problem comes in trying to define tonal variations on You Tube. You can go to all the V3 demos and they sound different. Worst thing is you have to order it. Best thing is they will take it back no questions asked if you don't like it. I looked at so many beat up used JCM800 Marshalls and high priced. I owned a 2203 100 wattt lead JCM800 with full stack in the early eighties and a 2204 50 watt lead JCM800 on a half stack mid 80's into the late 90's.Long gone.I am really digging the V3.
@marthajam i was not dissing the tone king at all iv been following him for over a year i love what he does, he's a great guy and gives great reviews. i was just giving a suggestion to try and give a recorded tone cause amps sound diffrent in a mix when recorded yeah know. thats all and tone king ur a fucking great person and im jealous of ur collection hahaha
good, pretty clear sound. but, i think the distortion is a bit too round, bold, farty kind of sound. or is it meant to be like that?
@rockfreak611 well i prefer a more saturated distortion. besides i have a fender amp so i have to keep it low because even one tiny move higher makes it blast out. im not in a position where i can make a ton of noise :/
Was considering buying one until I heard this. Sounds about as bad as you can make an amp sound.
Tone King..You Rock.This v3 is ok,but I am picking up an X100B today.It smokes the v3 in my opinion.I'll post some sounds when I get it.
@lmsjr Did I win? I caught that right away. That is cool. No more 'POP'.
As far as the amp is concerned, I'm sold and I'm a bass player. I would like to hear it with a reverb pedal.
TK...you should make another video without diming the gain so much. The gain all the way up really drowns out what you are truing to do as a demo on this amp. I had one of these and liked it and for me my personal favorite was to turn the gain up to the sweet spot not dimed which is about the 1 o clock position on that amp. The master section on these is really what makes this amp shine...along with its price. Currently own a Legacy 2 half stack...
If you turn the presence to 2 and the treble up it gist rid of the fizziness. I've had this amp for 2 years and its a brick house work horse!!!
TK, I've been trying to compare this Bad Boy to the Mesa Dual Rec. I didn't realize that each channel has 3 flavors except ch3 which has 2 flavors. Hmmm, I could get 2 of these. LOL
The video quality is awesome, I am not satisfied with the audio though. You have all the gear I wish, the sound is still too "digital" too me. What is your signal chain? Do you use any mixer/powermixer after the SM57? What software is used for recording? Maybe you could try another cab as well, cause I think the amp itself is a kickass.
Take a look at his settings: Treble, presence and bright are very high. So much highs cause fizziness
Is this mic’d or cabinet out? Sounds like you’re playing on the neck pickup with a lot of bass on it. Can’t say I’ve ever heard a V3 sound like that. Good demo though.
i think i'm in love.
@lmsjr true i thought it was a good sound but i mean like a recording in a mix that has been mixed and mastered cause though the amp sounds great here it changes in a mix. thats all i was saying?
BONE CRUSHING!!!!!!!!!!!! \m/
@rockfreak611 my amp is actually clearer quiet. once i go past about 3 or 4 on the volume it starts turning into more of a crunch didsortion
tone u should with u amp review recording a additional audio that is recorded in a daw and mixed a mastered to give us a sound of what it sounds in a recording. just a thing i think might sound good
@JonDeth who in the fuck prefers a metal zone pedal to amp distortion? I almost agreed with what you were saying when I thought you were talking about tubescreamers and other boost pedals, but who uses distortion pedals and has good tone?
I have this amp and i love it!
@lmsjr cool, and ill check the others later after school
I think he forgot to turn off the vocal mic. From the reflection, his hand never went to the vocal mic as usual. And when he finished playing he started talking without turning on the vocal mic. Unless he has a foot switch for the vocal mic.
I hear what your saying, this amp has got to be the king of multiple personalities on youtube. Like you said, every video sound different, but that is probably a good thing because you can hear the different ways to eq it. You really got rid of all of those amps for a V3?
@ezurcher1976 That guy has some SICK demos! I've only seen one that was o.k.ish every other one was insane.
do you think this amp is cool for metal music?
hey anyone want the tone secrets for this amp email me, and i will share some insights and tricks on how to make it sound better than this! i know how to get the best sound from this amp... and yes a tubescreamer in the front end does help... theres a way to use a boss supressor that will make this thing slay... email me if you have this amp and i will help! awesome job tone king! you show this thing off how it should be! wide range of sounds from u! tricky to get the best sound, but worth it!!!
I've been watching this amp for quite some time now (I'm a Carvin fan). Is the amp this "fizzy" in real life? Or was this something that just got picked up during the recording?
The ToneKing may not live by his name but he trys, he just likes more Drive than anybody else! And hey the dude has a arsonal wall of amps to choose from. I want the Boogner Shiver amp he might have or does he! Probley only low&mid buget amps or does he.
Hmm, this is disappointing. I can see why Jeff and his dad split off and gave their brother/cousin the audio side. Kiesel is doing some incredible work lately, whereas this is a case of "you get what you pay for" it is an 800$ 100 watt tube amp, so it has price on its side, but I think the V3M is better. Thank you for the video!
The reason the amp is so fizzy is because the channel volume is really low, as is the master volume. The channel volume should be a lot higher to open the amp up while the master volume is lower to lower the overall volume.
Yep, you are absolutely 100% right!!! Most people have no clue how to get tone out of a tube amp, you MUST open the power valves to get tone otherwise you get this, fizzZzzZzzzzZz
That and the presence is too high because on the Carvin amps the presence control is linked with the gain on the amp
+JKGuitar100 very true. I get tones like you wouldn't believe out of this amp. It holds up against my 3120 and phantom
Kyle Barker Yeah Carvin amps are easy to get a bad sound out of but if you know how to dial them in holy shit!
What case is that head in?
@tony93666 Right. But as I am watching all videos on the internet, all videos are screwed up in the same way. I am comparing the sound to other youtube accounts. I am sure, TTK can do it better and get a more crisp sound.
@SomethinWild - re: "the sound is still too "digital" to me"
you're watching/listening over the internet - there's no way to do it non-digitally. A vid on youtube is NEVER gonna be as full, warm & in your face as real life.
i could have sworn the "deep" channel said "derp"
XDD
This is an amazing amp, but I'm sorry, the Tone King you are NOT...
Does not sound thinny fizzy like most haters say about V3!
@bchewdown
Don't. bronxandrew is totally right; this amp has no definition in it's tone. It sounds...ok? If you were playing grunge, but it sounds totally compressionless. There is no tightness in the bottom end and mids. I don't know if 3 tubescreamers could tighten this amp up...
Check out gillenh2o's videos about this amp, he pinpointed the reasons for what you heard on this video and fixed it. This is a killer amp, I know its hard to believe from this video(no offence Tone King, it's not your fault), but it does kick ass. There is just some very specific tweaks that need to be made, and they are very minimal as far as the amp is concerned.
Those are some really nice amps, too bad they cost as much as a used car!
what is this thing about 900$ pretty dam affordable like everything carvin
Individual Channel volume needs to be minimum at 2 o clock otherwise it is terrible, like any other amp.....
Next up... THE LEGACY!
...Right? =D
This doesn't do much justice for this amp's sound, the presence is up too high (which is making that fizzing sound) and there might be a little too much mid-cut (which is making it sound thin). The amp does sound good, look at demos of the V3m- it's modeled just like the V3 except smaller.
@vampreen12356 ... Dude, give the guy a break. He's not the 'Recording king'. He's just giving us an idea of what this sounds like.....Watch more videos and get used to his style. I personally have bought more then a couple of things he has demo'd. Thanks TTK!
Carvin is a great company, but I'll take a Fryette Sig X, or a Framus Cobra, or Mesa Dual Rec.
wow - the price on this is only $849!!!!!!!!!!
sounds a little fizzy for my liking
@evilpinkfreud Agree 110% ... Although the Carvin isn't huge money, I've never understood why somebody would chunk down serious coin for more expensive amps and then run the damn thing thru a $100 overdrive/distortion pedal. I've seen plenty of bozo's spend 2k+ for an amp and then in turn run it thru a gain pedal. Stupid
the tone king needs to work on that fuzzy tone lolz
Turn your master up and your channel volume down please.
@lmsjr Send the guy the V3 for noticing..... \m/
yeah too bad they will cost me two weeks pay, but they are worth it.
This sounds so fizzy and baaad :S It's sound like my 10W practice amp, ever worse :S
Agreed with emcitement. It's fuzzy sounding and really lacks any kind of desirability whatsoever. Maybe it's just the settings on here but this really sounds terrible.
dude your tone is flabby you need to boost it
Check out some of fearedse's amp demos. Much better than this. He's just really good at getting great metal tones.
Yikes,double post
this doesn't sound so good. the prescence was never really ever changed. if he hept it at like 5 and use his hand to make the overdrive, maybe it would sound ok.
turn the drive down dude too much fizz lol
i rather get the peavey 6505 plus..
Boss Metal zone through my crate sounds better than this, seriously.
Man you made this amp sound like shit. Doesn't sound anything like this fizzy muddy rubbish
the gain is kinda mushy.. i dont like it