Carol-Ann Revo 100

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Just purchased a Carol-Ann OD2 100 watt (6L6) model from Cyndicate. I removed the Chinese preamp tubes, and installed a Tung Sol in V1 - LPS's in 2 and 3 - and a 5751 in V4 PI. This is the most incredible sounding MV amp in on the planet! I'm using a Klon Centaur at 9:00 (gain), 11:00 (tone), 9:00 (volume). The Klon acts as a mid boost/compressor. I can't compare the OD2 tone to anything really? It's a completely new sound as far as my hearing is concerned... I like that!

Thanks for the kind words !!

V3 is really biased for a 5751. The higher current tube is better at driving long cables in the efx loop....but hey if you have success and it works great for you how you have it, then I aint going to argue with that !! 5751 in a 6L6 PI works well, expecially if you want to kkep the ratio of preamp to power tube distortion favouring the preamp.

 

[jharpersj]

In case you guys want to hear some carol ann tucana clips in the rock vein I used a Tucana 1-12 combo, EV speaker, senh E609 and a Les Paul or anderson cobra for my cover/original band clips. The clips were to get us work not show off any guitar playing so keep that in mind but there is a bunch of different types of clips. The first live clip was not a carol ann all the rest were ! Plenty of gain.

check em out here

https://www.myspace.com/fightingfridayband

 

[jasonP]

Hey Allen welcome to the site! Great sounding amps you have.

 

[gibson5413]

I loved the high gain with delay clips. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Hi,

Yeah, Lisa mentioned this to me.

Email me the pics you have and I'll tell you exactly what we would need to do.
Don't post them on here though or any other website....cheers.
alan@carolannamps.com

If it's an 09 the transformers will be fine. The PT's run pretty warm, but this is not anything to get alarmed about. It causes no harm to them and yes some of the heat is radiated from the tubes . People don't always understand how transformers work and what is and what isn't OK. They still operate well within spec even at the point you can't physically touch them. If that wasn't the case there would be many Twin Reverbs out there that would be dead. The PT in your amp is running at 55% load on it's heaviest current carrying winding, the filaments.

Alan.

Just purchased a Carol-Ann OD2 100 watt (6L6) model from Cyndicate. I removed the Chinese preamp tubes, and installed a Tung Sol in V1 - LPS's in 2 and 3 - and a 5751 in V4 PI. This is the most incredible sounding MV amp in on the planet! I'm using a Klon Centaur at 9:00 (gain), 11:00 (tone), 9:00 (volume). The Klon acts as a mid boost/compressor. I can't compare the OD2 tone to anything really? It's a completely new sound as far as my hearing is concerned... I like that!

Thanks for the kind words !!

V3 is really biased for a 5751. The higher current tube is better at driving long cables in the efx loop....but hey if you have success and it works great for you how you have it, then I aint going to argue with that !! 5751 in a 6L6 PI works well, expecially if you want to kkep the ratio of preamp to power tube distortion favouring the preamp.

I was reading the manual last night, and I noticed that the 5751 does go into the V3 position. I don't know the year of the amp, but I suspect it's at least a 2009? It looks mint! The left-side transformer gets a little warm - but I suspect it's acting as a sort of heat-sink to the 6L6 tubes? More to the point: I was wondering if I could run a quad of EL34's in the amp, and just re-set the bias? I looked inside the amp ( I won't post any pics without your approval), and I noticed that it's loaded with 100K screen resistors. I'm wondering if this was originally an EL34 amp, with 6L6's loaded into it? I'm use to seeing 470 resistors in 6L6 amplifiers. Is there anything I can look for in terms of components that will tell me if it was originally constructed for EL34's? I would just submit the date-code, but the amp has no model number in its respective block - and no serial number in its respective block either. Lisa sent me plenty of info, and I do want to thank her for that. She mentioned that the later transformers bias can handle the EL34 power tubes... I'm hoping that this is the case with my amp. It sounds incredible with the 6L6 tubes - but I just love the "cut-through" attack of EL34 power tubes! I took plenty of pics, and also made a video of the interior workings of the OD2. Again - I will not post any of these without your approval - ever! If I need to send it in - I will. I'm thinking that the amp may be new enough that it may have already had a circuit update done?

I've owned Guytron, Zinky, Cameron/Marshall, Cameron/Carlsbro, Cornford (great amp!), Fortin, Bogner, Bray/Marshall... The Carol-Ann is it! A REVO is next.

 

[Digital Jams]

Welcome to the site Alan, just think of us as the hair metal section of TGP with less rules.

 

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Welcome to the site Alan, just think of us as the hair metal section of TGP with less rules.

lol.......

Cool...thanks....

I guess the amps kind of sit on the fence between the two. Some are more appropriate to this site, some to TGP.
Actually apart the the roll call thread, which is totally awesome and full of friendly helpful guys...I'm not liking the tone of some of the subjects and posting on TGP these days. Seems it has been infiltrated with folks with a serious chip on their shoulder.
I prefer to live and let live and not judge people choices. It's all about making music and having a blast doing it no matter what you use or what genre of music you are in to. We all have that one common goal.

 

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Thank you Alan. I will send them this evening... I'll try to load the ones I took with my iPhone also + the video.
I also want to thank you for getting my 72 Marshall Super Lead 100 running properly.

You're welcome. I answered your email. You are in luck.

 

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Hey Allen welcome to the site! Great sounding amps you have.

Thanks Jason.

 

[Tone Merchant]

Its been a pleasure working with Alan and the tones from his amps are beautiful. When Alan is at the shop we should have Carls full rig set up, which includes an OD2 and 100 watt Revo. Alan is going to bring me another OD2 and a 50 watt Revo.

 

[rick13]

Oh.... you will love the Revo as well as Alans other killer amps. Most people look at the Carol Ann Tucana or OD2's and think low gain Dumble stuff. Open them up and let them breathe and you will be surprised. Perfect mix of cleans with the ability to do high gain classic rock on the OD channel.
The Revo is probably close to the trainwreck in it's ability to clean up with the guitar volume, yet achieve really great high gain dynamics as you ratchet up the volume. Jubilee/Trainwreck/Komet is probably a great description
Rick

 

[Carol-AnnAmps]

Thank you Alan. I will send them this evening... I'll try to load the ones I took with my iPhone also + the video.
I also want to thank you for getting my 72 Marshall Super Lead 100 running properly.

You're welcome. I answered your email. You are in luck.

This is great news. Thanks!
Even if I leave it as a 6L6, should I send it in for any updates? I prefer the clean sound of the 6L6's, and the dirt sound of the EL34's. I'm thinking that the REVO head may be the EL34 ticket. Do you have CA 4x12's? I'm using a Cornford pine 4x12 loaded with Brit made V30's right now. Gets an incredible amount of low-end!
BTW - who was/is "Carol-Ann"? Just curious...

Carol-Ann is my ex-wife and still one of my closest friends. She is from America and the reason I originally moved here.

The name came about when I first moved to the US in 2002. All my gear was still in storage in England and waiting to be shipped. It was going to be 8 weeks and I had just got some dates with a band. All I had here already was my PRS, my GP-8 and a few cables. We had very little money so I couldn't buy anything and I knew no-one so I couldn't borrow anything. My main gigging rig at home in the UK consisted of a '67 JTM-50 and a 4x12. I picked up a speaker cab at a local music store and decided I would just build a clone of my JTM-50. I had been building and repairing amps since I was 15 years old, so it was no big deal. Well I built it and it cost a bit more than I had budgeted and to help avoid Carol being too upset I had a nameplate made for the amp with her name on it. Well she was still a bit miffed I spent so much, but it did smooth the blow a bit. Ironically no sooner as I had built the amp, my gear arrived from the UK....5 weeks earlier than it was supposed to.
So when I took the business full time in 05 the name just stuck.
The stress of running a start up business and our lives taking very seperate paths took its toll so we decided to get divorced last year before we destroyed what was left of our friendship....and Carol insisted I kept the name and wanted nothing financially from the business. She said thats your baby and you deserve it all.

So when I see posts on messageboards where idiots proclaim how easy it is to set up an amp building business...blah blah blah....it takes a lot of restraint not to respond. A few people in a 9/5 Corporate gig are clueless as to the sacrifices you have to make and think it's all fun and games playing guitar all day......All that said, I wouldn't want to do anything else !


sorry for the life story....but it's the answer to the name thing.....