Renegade 1x12 vs Carvin V3M 1x12

[ronmail65]

Has anyone heard both of these amps? I'm wondering how they compare. Like the Renegade, the V3M is chock full of great features and sounds pretty good on the YouTube demos. For a classic rock / hard rock player, I wonder which amp is better suited?

 

[hbucker]

I have limited exposure to the V3. But I have owned two Carvin amps and once spent a fair amount of time in their Santa Ana outlet when I lived in So. Cal.

IMO, Carvin amps are a great value, but tend to have some similar characteristics:

- They are very loud for their wattage rating.
- The clean channels have a lot of headroom. I'm not sure that even turning them up will dirty them up.
- They can be a "jack of all trades, master of none" in that, at times, they try to put too many features into the amp so they can be all things to all people. But they sacrifice any real character. Some people call it "sterile". I prefer saying they can lack character. This is what makes me suspicious of the V3. I much prefer a plug 'n' go kind of amp that has one or two "go to" tones instead of one that will make 100 so-so tones.

By contrast, the Renegade certainly tries to be several things to as many people as possible. But Bruce didn't throw everything but the kitchen sink into them. For instance, I wouldn't recommend a Renegade without a pedal if you want to do hard core Metal. For all of the Renegade's features, it still maintains a fairly simple, plug 'n' go feel to it. I never find myself having to tweak mine much between practice and gigs to find the tone I thought I had already set.

With the experiences I've had, I would go with the Renegade every time. But that's not to say Carvin "sucks" or anything like that. You might love the V3. And all of those features may be just what you need.

Good luck.

 

[Holtman]

I own a Renegade 212 combo and the Carvin V3M 212 cab. I can't say one is better than the other sound wise, they are just differant. I can tell you this, Renegade is a lot more versital. I have a Line 6 M5 in the effects loop, which I can use these FX on the clean an have a dry dirt channel. This makes the Renegade my gigging amp of choice at the moment. Not enough gain on the Renegade for some but I have been told my dirty channel is thick and crunchy! I play hrd rock music so I am happy with that complament(spell?). Clean on the Renegade is, hands down the best clean tone to me, I love it dry or with fx. On 18 w settings I can get good bedroom levels but I have to tweek the density and presence, no big deal.

Now, the V3M. I have gigged with this amp and was f'n blown away! Just because it has a 7w setting this is not a practice or bedroom amp. So, if anyone is thinking of getting one for their apartment, look somewhere else! There is an fx loop, BUT, it is always on if you have pedals in the chain. After owning the Renegade, this is a downfall. I have everything in my loop on my amp, so my pedalboard is minimal and no tap dancing. 2 cables to my renegade- 1 from pedalboard and 1 from f.s. Anyways, the V3M, once you put the master to 4, 5 or higher this amp is a monster. Clean channel is ok, I spent a lot of time tweaking. The dirt channels are identical and I think they are great. My chan. 2 is set for almost an ACDC tone nd my Chan. 1 is set to taste for a hard rock tone. This amp is very bassy and you really have to be careful with the treble and presence, can get fizzy, especially at lower volumes. When I play a show and want to plug into an amp and go (of course I will always have a wah and tunner on the floor) I love to use this amp. I dont even need to bring the cab because I can go direct into the house if they have a good sound system and that makes things easy considering the size of the V3M.

Finally, in conclusion! Considering the versatillity of the Egnater, I would pick it over the V3M, if I had to, but I don't and I will never get rid of either amp, the are my favorites! At the moment, I do bring the V3M for back up at shows, because it is 19 lbs. and I need no cab. Sometimes I decide to use that instead. Sorry for the rambling but there is my input.