Carvin Ts 100 poweramp

I'm not the OP, but I did just get a new TS100 on Friday so I thought I'd spend a couple minutes sharing my thoughts, comparing it to my existing ART SLA2.

I'm at work so I'll keep this brief-ish for now.

To preface, I am a standard-tuning "metal guy". I play through a Genz Benz G-Flex 2x12 in stereo. Most of my patches tend toward the very high gain end of the spectrum. Several of my primary patches began their lives as Mark Day's patches that I tweaked slightly, primarily EQ.

Things I've noticed so far:

1. When I turn on the TS100, it makes a surprisingly loud "bonk" sound right behind the power button. I called Carvin and they say it's normal for this unit, that it's the power going to the transformer.

2. The TS100 has a very quiet fan

3. I tend to prefer the tones I'm getting when amp sims are turned ON

4. The TS100 is A LOT brighter -- more highs, more presence -- than the SLA2. I'm having to back WAY off the treble and presence, not just in my existing patches but even for default amp sims. And that's with the presence on the TS100 turned all the way down.

5. The TS100 sounds much fuller, clearer, more "hi-fi" than the SLA2. This has the logical (but unanticipated by me) consequence of making patches with reverbs and delays sounds much bigger and better.

6. The TS100 amplifies somewhat different low frequencies than the SLA2, which has required some Advanced Amp tweaking in order to pull out a little bit of "flub" from my patches but the overall fullness is improved.

7. With my Axe, I have previously tried: Obviously the SLA2, a new Velocity 300, a Recto 2:100, and a Boogie 20/20. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and I think I prefer the TS100 overall. It makes a couple of my favorite patches sound absolutely ridiculous. Too much gain and too punchy for a band situation, but so much fun for in-the-bedroom/studio playing. (I could easily tone down the patches if I needed to but I don't need to!)

That's all for now. I'll post again after I've spent more time with the TS100. As of this moment, I'm planning to keep it. My only concern is the treble. I'll need to spend more time on that to ensure it isn't going to cause too much listening fatigue.
 
TheVede said:
7. With my Axe, I have previously tried: Obviously the SLA2, a new Velocity 300, a Recto 2:100, and a Boogie 20/20. They all have their strengths and weaknesses and I think I prefer the TS100 overall. It makes a couple of my favorite patches sound absolutely ridiculous. Too much gain and too punchy for a band situation, but so much fun for in-the-bedroom/studio playing. (I could easily tone down the patches if I needed to but I don't need to!)
Click to expand...

Considering one of these or the Velocity 300 (new one) can you give a more detailed comparison between the two? Thx!
 
Finally got my DCM1540L in the rack and played through it a bit. For the record, Carvin replaced my faulty unit with very little questions asked and actually had one on a truck to me within about 5 hours of me calling customer service. I probably got my replacement before Carvin ever received the defective power amp. My observations so far:

1) Confirming what TheVede said above, the DCM1540L seems to have a little less going on in the high frequencies. Of course, I used to play with the presence knobs on my TS100 at about 2:00, so it wasn't neutral to begin with. I'm thinking it's more of a presence than a treble tweak, but I haven't edited any patches yet.

2) In spite of point 1 above, I wouldn't say the DCM1540L is any less articulate or clear. Hard to explain, it's just different.

3) I used to play with the TS100 volume maxed out and the Axe Fx output between 10 and 12 o'clock. I can get similar volumes with the DCM1540L volumes at about 12 o'clock. So, there's definitely no concern on my part about matching the volume of the old TS100 amp. Any time I'm tempted to go any louder in a live situation, I think about the time I stood in the line of fire of Doyle Bramhall's amp at an Arc Angels show. No need to get any louder for me or for the audience!

4) This is a very preliminary observation, but it seems like the transient response of the DCM1540L is better than that of the TS100. It isn't so evident doing palm-muted chugga-chugga chords, but fast lead lines seem to articulate better and the pick attack seems less mushy.

Anyway, I'm keeping the DCM1540L. The change in sound is a non-issue (and transient response may actually be an improvement). I've managed to consolidate my rack to a much more manageable weight (not just changing the power amp, but getting a shorter 5-space rack instead of a 6-spacer with an empty unit) and it just makes sense to keep it like this. I also travel an average of 2 hours to most of my gigs, so I feel better about driving around with solid state stuff, instead of a bunch of vacuum tubes getting jarred with every bump in the road. I will hang on to my TS100 as a backup, it's a great amp, just a little less convenient.
 
Natural Science

Thanks for the early findings, I might go this route myself I am satisfied with my DCM200L just a little light in the power department. Since I’m using FRFR cabs I rather stay SS with a fairly flat response.
 
Hey Natural, wich 5U spacerack are you using? I see alot of 6U space but not many 5U!
I only need 5 space: AxeFx, Carvin DCM1540L, Furmam power and my peterson strob tuner.
I should receive my axeFx in the next few days and I was also looking at the Carvin DCM1540L
and the Carvin TS100 (maybe the rocktron velo 300). After your review I'll order the 1540L for sure!

I also sold my orange 4x12 cab few weeks ago so I'm going to order an Avatar cab, a 4x12
with G12T75 and V30's in X pattern like a Bogner cab. Should I go mono 8 ohms?!
 
I'm using the Carvin road warrior 5U rack. It is not as deep as their other racks, which I didn't realize when I ordered it. But, once I got my gear in it, everything just barely fit. If you are using regular power cables, they will have to bend just a bit to fit the rear cover on. If you use right-angle patch cables, you can keep those plugged in too. The back won't fit on the rack if you're using XLR's on the Axe-Fx Output 1, though.

I just ordered a couple of right-angle power cords to give me a little more clearance in the back. It's not necessary, but I'd prefer to not have to stress the cables if I don't have to. I'm not sure how the right-angle cord with work with the DCM1540L, the binding posts might get in the way (couldn't find any left-angle cords that were short enough). Anyway, I'm pretty close to having a powerful, semi-lightweight rack where I can keep everything plugged up in transit except MIDI and speaker cables.

I'm pretty sure the power amp can handle several different resistance configurations (2, 8, 16 ohm) - check the user manual .pdf file on the Carvin website. I'm currently running mine stereo into 8 ohms per side. Supposedly there is protection circuitry that will shut the amp if there is no speaker load, or if something is wrong with the load. However, after my experience with the first poweramp blowing up on first use, I double checked the bridge switch and all my cables & connections before turning it on for the first time. Works great though!
 
The axe is 12'' deep and your rack is 13.2" deep, so with angle cable I should be fine!
I can't find the weight of your 5u space rack, i may buy an skb rack they are usually
around 10 lbs lighter than wood case.
For your patch cable you should buy George L cable kit.
You have 10' of cable with 10 right-angle plugs for around 70$ on ebay.
You cut them the length you want and they are great cable!
 
What I can tell so far from the thread is that the TS100 is a good poweramp to use with the Axe. I have a Fratomic powered cab and a stereo 4x12 V30 available. The TS100 is on sale for $600 which is not a bad price for a stereo tube poweramp. I am expecting it to arrive tomorrow and will power the 4x12 on one channel and a couple of Yamaha BR12 speakers on the other channel until I get a couple of passive Fratomics to use with the TS100.
I am not a pro but enjoy the wall of sound coming at me from all directions when I play at home. Sorry neighbours!
 
For high gain sounds mostly for rythm (rectifier, bogner uber, mesa mark) should I go CArvin TS1000 or CArvin DCM1540L
 
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Wow sounds great!
Like you said too much gain for in band situation but for solo riffin' sounds great!
Have you tried the DCM 1540L?
 
webstersp said:
Wow sounds great!
Like you said too much gain for in band situation but for solo riffin' sounds great!
Have you tried the DCM 1540L?
Click to expand...

Thx!

And, no, I have not. But I have tried a few other solid-state amps in its price-range: an ART SLA2, a Rocktron Velocity 300 (new model), and a QSC (new-ish model whose name escapes me).

My guess is that the Carvin 1540L will probably fall somewhere within the range of these other solid-state amps. If it does, I think you'll probably be really happy.

That said, if you primarily play metal rhythm, you might be a little happier with the the Carvin TS100. It takes my high-gain tones to places (possibly model-breaking places) that the solid-state amps I tried couldn't. And I like those places. A lot.
 
I got the TS100 yesterday and hooked it up to a 4x12 V30 cab. The sound is so warm! I was amazed at the clarity. The beast weighs a ton though :) I needed a third hand to bolt it to the rack. I am very pleased. I am running it with a powered atomic cab. Different sounds but together they are wonderful!
 
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