• From: NH - USA
  • Registered: 2010-11-08
  • Posts: 149

Topic: Lets talk Carol Ann

Recently Ron (cindyron) was kind enough to have Jay (guytron) and myself over to check out his studio and try whatever gear we might be interested in within his collection... and it's a stunning collection. Words can't describe... within this sensory overload, i absolutely fell head over heals in love with a Carol Ann OD2. I did not know it at the time but this particular OD2 is the EL-34 100Watt version.

For those of you out there who have tried and/or gotten to know Alan's amazing amps I have a question for you. What do you feel the tonal differences are between the OD2 (EL-34) and OD2 (6L6) and the OD2 and OD3...? Or perhaps, a better question would be, why did you choose the 6L6 or EL-34 version, the 50 or 100 watt version and what do you think of the amp....? Is there a particular Carol Ann that you favor, perhaps not even an OD model?

On paper the 6L6 is allegedly more glassy (ala Fender) and not as gritty (Marshall) as the EL-34 and the OD3 is suppose to have more gain on tap than the OD2.... listened to every clip i can find but with so many different players, guitars/pickups, and lack of information and variables in play it is so difficult to know what you are hearing.

The OD2/OD3 does not sound like a Dumble clone to me, besides its not difficult enough to dial in to be a Dumble clone...  Nor does it come across as any Marshall I've encountered... it's definition and tone are something I've not experienced before and I'm having a hell of a time putting my finger on what I was hearing...

Very curious to hear your thoughts and experiences.

Thanks
Rich

havoc41's Website

  • Registered: 2010-08-27
  • Posts: 163

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

I'm curious to hear opinions on the difference in tubes on the Carol Anns as well?

3 Reply by NPB_EST.1979 (edited by NPB_EST.1979 2012-06-11 21:23:25)

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail wink
lol sounds like an awesome time!

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • Registered: 2010-10-27
  • Posts: 37

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

Awe, my favorite amps-Carol Ann. I have gigged a few different Carol Anns and loved them all. They get lumped sometimes as "Dumbles" but they fall much more on the side of Marshall to my ears...I'm fortunate to have JB 100 #9. Mine is an el 34 model. Joe and I own the only el34 models from what Alan Phillips of Carol Ann told me. My all time favorite lead tone is Joe's "Stop" recording and that was with an el34 I was told. I've also owned a Tucana with 6550's in them and it was a bit more forgiving to play and a softer feel. The OD3r 6l6 has chimey cleans and the OD sounds very nice also. I'd recommend test driving a few to see what YOU like.
With that said, A guy near me owned an older OD2 el34 and damn did it sound good... Great, great amps indeed!

Alan told me about Joe B's settings that he used for awhile on his JB 100 (only using the clean channel). When my JB 100 is set that way it is simply inspiring to play. I'm bummed Joe took the JB out of his arsenal. What a great amp it is IMO! I will say, however, that I've been fortunate enough to gig and record with a Van Weelden and it is such an awesome amp too. I can see how it blends well with Joe's Marshall and the smoothness and clarity of the Twinkleland is inspiring. I LOVE that amp too!!


NPB_EST.1979 wrote:

My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail wink
lol sounds like an awesome time!

  • From: Ridgeland, MS
  • Registered: 2009-08-12
  • Posts: 1,248

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

I used those "Joe" settings on the A channel of my OD3. That was a true pleasure! I'm trying to resist the urge to add a Triptik to the herd.

6 Reply by squawken (edited by squawken 2012-06-14 21:19:46)

  • Registered: 2010-08-27
  • Posts: 163

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

wishkahdaddy wrote:

Awe, my favorite amps-Carol Ann. I have gigged a few different Carol Anns and loved them all. They get lumped sometimes as "Dumbles" but they fall much more on the side of Marshall to my ears...I'm fortunate to have JB 100 #9. Mine is an el 34 model. Joe and I own the only el34 models from what Alan Phillips of Carol Ann told me. My all time favorite lead tone is Joe's "Stop" recording and that was with an el34 I was told. I've also owned a Tucana with 6550's in them and it was a bit more forgiving to play and a softer feel. The OD3r 6l6 has chimey cleans and the OD sounds very nice also. I'd recommend test driving a few to see what YOU like.
With that said, A guy near me owned an older OD2 el34 and damn did it sound good... Great, great amps indeed!

Alan told me about Joe B's settings that he used for awhile on his JB 100 (only using the clean channel). When my JB 100 is set that way it is simply inspiring to play. I'm bummed Joe took the JB out of his arsenal. What a great amp it is IMO! I will say, however, that I've been fortunate enough to gig and record with a Van Weelden and it is such an awesome amp too. I can see how it blends well with Joe's Marshall and the smoothness and clarity of the Twinkleland is inspiring. I LOVE that amp too!!



i believe you formally owned the OD3R that is on the market right now?  Got my eye on it, but I can't seem to make up my mind between that and a Triptik-R?

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:

My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail wink
lol sounds like an awesome time!

  • Registered: 2010-10-27
  • Posts: 37

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

Yes, the black top mount is mine. GREAT AMP! I honestly only sold it as we are moving the family to Austin, TX in a few weeks (job transfer and we just found out) and the move is costing well over $10,000. I decided to part with some gear to take the sting out of things! Plus, I too have a Trip'r coming so the OD3r could go. I literally just got  the OD3r and did not play it much. With that said, I really like it and would buy it back in a perfect world. I parted with my new Glaswerk's amp also. That one hurt too-great D style amp. I decided to stick it out with the Van Weelden for many reasons so the rest is history. 3 months ago I had 7 amps, I'm now down to 2. The Carol Ann JB 100 and the Van Weelden. Joe hooked me! LOL
Honestly though, I play them as they fit me so well. Joe's tone is very similar to what I've heard in my head all these years and could never figure out how to get there... That's why I gravitate to him so much. Though I'm certainly not at his level playing, his approach to the guitar and sound is similar to mine. My guess is many of you on here have a similar story, hence why we are here.



squawken wrote:
wishkahdaddy wrote:

Awe, my favorite amps-Carol Ann. I have gigged a few different Carol Anns and loved them all. They get lumped sometimes as "Dumbles" but they fall much more on the side of Marshall to my ears...I'm fortunate to have JB 100 #9. Mine is an el 34 model. Joe and I own the only el34 models from what Alan Phillips of Carol Ann told me. My all time favorite lead tone is Joe's "Stop" recording and that was with an el34 I was told. I've also owned a Tucana with 6550's in them and it was a bit more forgiving to play and a softer feel. The OD3r 6l6 has chimey cleans and the OD sounds very nice also. I'd recommend test driving a few to see what YOU like.
With that said, A guy near me owned an older OD2 el34 and damn did it sound good... Great, great amps indeed!

Alan told me about Joe B's settings that he used for awhile on his JB 100 (only using the clean channel). When my JB 100 is set that way it is simply inspiring to play. I'm bummed Joe took the JB out of his arsenal. What a great amp it is IMO! I will say, however, that I've been fortunate enough to gig and record with a Van Weelden and it is such an awesome amp too. I can see how it blends well with Joe's Marshall and the smoothness and clarity of the Twinkleland is inspiring. I LOVE that amp too!!



i believe you formally owned the OD3R that is on the market right now?  Got my eye on it, but I can't seem to make up my mind between that and a Triptik-R?

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:

My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail wink
lol sounds like an awesome time!

  • Registered: 2010-08-27
  • Posts: 163

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

Would you mind explaining what you see/hear as the differences between the OD3R and Trip-R?  I think I gravitate towards El34's, as I have a Black Cat that I absolutley love, which kind of makes me lean towards the Trip-R.

  • Devan
  • Devan
  • BONAMETAL
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  • From: Darwin, Australia
  • Registered: 2010-04-13
  • Posts: 1,304

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

On my Axe-FX modeller, I use the Carol-Ann OD2 model quite regularly (which was actually fine tuned by Alan from CA Amplification)... Always said if I bought another amp, it would be a Carol-Ann because of this...

JBLP Gold Top #129 - redubbed "#1 in Oz"

10 Reply by cindyron (edited by cindyron 2012-06-15 08:36:26)

  • From: New Hampshire, USA
  • Registered: 2010-12-21
  • Posts: 3,650

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

Devan wrote:

On my Axe-FX modeller, I use the Carol-Ann OD2 model quite regularly (which was actually fine tuned by Alan from CA Amplification)... Always said if I bought another amp, it would be a Carol-Ann because of this...

They are great amps...once you get one I would bet $$ you will ditch the modeller. Alan is also a great guy and knows all.
Cheers Ron

"Joe B saved my soul, forever grateful Ron"
"Some people dream of worthy accomplishments while others stay awake and do them"
Skinner #1,JBLP 145(aged),252, (unaged),#285HM, Bburst #026, Joes 052 BCC black LP, Strat> RT,EC Gilmour,Beck,Lenny LP> PK 83,CC#2,3,4,9,Amps>Carol Ann RAH JB-100 SN 001,JB100 Red SN02,OD2, OD3,Tucana 2&3 Triptix,Twinkle land, Plexi ,JB Jub, Jubs,Plexi,Satch,Two Rock>others
  • From: NH - USA
  • Registered: 2010-11-08
  • Posts: 149

Re: Lets talk Carol Ann

Had the chance to try the OD2 EL-34 and OD3 6L6 side by side... also chatted with Oz at Austin Guitar Works.

Disclaimer first... I don't yet have an intimate understanding of these amps so the following descriptions are really me meeting them for the first (or second time). Guitar was my 2001 R9 with Thobak SLE-101 pickups...

The OD3 seems to really shine with the clean tones an mildly overdirvien sounds for rhythm, the fender-ish sparkle was there and the note definition was great. It certainly has a fair bit more gain on tap than the OD2 but i personally found that with the gain up playing chords became more cloudy. Single note lines sounded amazing with all all that gain. Because of the configuration of the amp it would be very easy to have a clean channel, a dirty rhythm channel dialed with mid gain, and a screaming lead channel.

The OD2 did very well clean as well but as you can imagine it did not have that 6L6 thing happening, even with the sparkle switch engaged. Don't get me wrong, sounded great though. For the dirty channel, across the board the note definition was there at all gain levels and when pushed that marshall-ly EL-34 thing becomes more and more evident, that percussive punch seems more there. Engaging the boost on the dirty channel seemed to give a nice buttery boost to the mids, though not as much gain as the OD3

In speaking to Oz, he felt that the OD2 EL-34 is really Alan's flagship amp. We did talk about the "r" amps a bit too and he felt that these all sound great but are a touch more compressed. Oz indicated that the Alan's amps like certain speakers like the Electro Voice and G12-80's. He loves the Triptik for the heavier type of music he plays, he said he is in fact selling his Soldano after getting a Triptik.

For those of you out there hot for a Trip-R, BB Solutions says they'll have one in a couple weeks...

Now i just need a chance to get to know these beautiful amps all the more intimately  smile
Rich

havoc41's Website