tsp17 Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 Good news: New (used) Carr Rambler arrived at my house today! Excellent! Bad news: I am almost 2,000 miles away at a business conference. Wont get home until tomorrow night. Bogus.
Steiner Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 I'll bet the Mrs. is hammering out a 12 bar blues right now. Congrats!
schundog Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 Congratulations, Tad! I'd definitely consider a Carr if, you know, I didn't need a....car. Truth be told, I'm just too stinkin' cheap. Enjoy that baby once you get home! Pics and clips are a bonus, of course.
yoslate Posted March 8, 2013 Posted March 8, 2013 Good news: New (used) Carr Rambler arrived at my house today! Excellent! Bad news: I am almost 2,000 miles away at a business conference. Wont get home until tomorrow night. Bogus. This is on the scale of those kinds of torment one reads about in Greek mythology....
tsp17 Posted March 8, 2013 Author Posted March 8, 2013 This is on the scale of those kinds of torment one reads about in Greek mythology.... LOL. I thought I was timing it perfectly and it would arrive Friday just before I got home. After my last amp shipping debacle (amp was totaled) I just hope it is there in one piece!
tsp17 Posted March 8, 2013 Author Posted March 8, 2013 Congratulations, Tad! I'd definitely consider a Carr if, you know, I didn't need a....car. Truth be told, I'm just too stinkin' cheap. Enjoy that baby once you get home! Pics and clips are a bonus, of course. I got a great deal on a 2006 that a shop had on consignment, but even deeply discounted after negotiation was still more than I thought I would ever pay for an amp. I figure if the tone isn't worth it in the end I can sell it for what I paid, I will have gotten to see what it is like to have an amp like this one, and go out and get something less expensive. My wife would like that.
tsp17 Posted March 9, 2013 Author Posted March 9, 2013 First impressions: Really well made, beautiful amp with great attention to detail and professional production. Controls are HIGHLY interactive. Tone shaping galore. Took a little bit of time to explore and get my desired tone out of this lovely creature. very responsive. I understand now when folks talk about the 3D sense of the tone. Very dimensional and complex if you dial it in that way. Overall tone is exceptional, and exceptionally clean at lower levels, then softens around the edges a little as you move the dial, either on the amp or the guitar. Leaving the amp up and modulating your guitar volume is very effective to create subtle creaminess. Really a wide range of tones available especially with the Pentode/Triode switch. Pentode mode is like having a Blackface Princeton Reverb or Deluxe Reverb with a little Twin mixed in. it runs 6L6's off a Princeton-like circuit (i think). Interesting mix. Triode is a little more like a Tweed era. Earlier breakup. Nice tone there, but I al all over the Pentode mode. Speaker is the Eminence Wizard, which is highly articulate, a good speaker for htis amp for sure, but as a jazz player it is a bit sterile to my ears. I'll probably swap that out for something warmer. Cannibis Rex, or maybe a L'ill Texas to lighten the load a bit. Other suggestions are welcome. the UPS box, clearly took some hits, which may explain: Trem not working Lots of tube rattle which also seems to be creating low end distress, rumbling in the bowels. Seller has been very cooperative. Taking it to my amp tech this weekend to give it the once over. Hopefully a little tune up, maybe a re-tube and new speaker and it will be THE ONE. maybe...
Blunote Posted March 10, 2013 Posted March 10, 2013 I've been impressed with the tone and quality of WGS speakers. They seem to rival other more established brands for less $. Make sure you check them out. And, great review. I'll have to check out a youtube & hear how they sound.
Gitfiddler Posted March 10, 2013 Posted March 10, 2013 Nice score, Tad. Who would have thought that a new Rambler would be so desireable. Those were some ugly cars...now great amps.
tsp17 Posted March 10, 2013 Author Posted March 10, 2013 I've been impressed with the tone and quality of WGS speakers. They seem to rival other more established brands for less $. Make sure you check them out. And, great review. I'll have to check out a youtube & hear how they sound. thanks. i'll look into WGS.
tsp17 Posted March 20, 2013 Author Posted March 20, 2013 Amp doctor called today. All done. A couple of new tubes (short bottle 6L6), a fixed trem connection, and good as new. I'll pick it up tomorrow night and have an updated review over the weekend. I also ordered a Cannabis Rex as a more suitable speaker for me. Tame the mids and highs and fatten up the bottom. I can see the stock Eminence Wizard as a great speaker for clean pickin' and strummin' but I'm after something a little darker, jazz tone. The wizard is very mid and high oriented. More to come...
tsp17 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Posted March 21, 2013 Got the Rambler back. New power tubes (TAD short bottle 6L6), trem connection repaired and overall clean bill of health. Now, I know it is standard to make a big fuss about how blown away you are by your new [fill in the blank with "amp" "guitar" "pedal"]. But... Wow, this amp is AMAZING. I see now what all the buzz is about Carr amps. My Heritage 575mh never sounded so good, even with dead old strings (will change tomorrow after work). So much life and dimension. My Comins sounded great too. It all just came alive. Tone is so shapeable that I find myself keeping the tone pots all dialed pretty far back just to keep notes a bit under control and not jumping right out of the amp and start dancing before my eyes. It is still a little bright for my taste, with a bottom end that does not quite capture my imagination but more experimentation with tone shape may change that. The top three strings are really hot and 3D and the bottom three somewhat less so. Again more play with the highly interactive tone controls may even it out and I'll also put the Cannabis Rex in this weekend to darken it a bit and fatten the bottom. Oh, did I mention the tremolo? Never heard anything like it. Hard to imagine a sweeter, lusher more natural trem. Reverb is very good as well, but the trem...wow. Anyway, the self loathing for the totally unjustifiable lay out of this kind of cash on a single amp may just be overwhelmed by the joy of playing it. Time will tell. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
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