Carr Amplifiers is a

Pittsboro, North Carolina Pittsboro is a town in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2010 census and 4,537 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Chatham County. The town was established in the late 18th century, shortly ...

, manufacturer of high-end, hand-wired

tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/electronica producers Arndt Rör ...

guitar amplifier A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic amplifier, electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a Pickup (music technology), pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce so ...

Critical reception

Carr's amplifiers are praised for their workmanship and high-end components; ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' said the Rambler's "layout and wiring are absolutely flawless." Russell Carlson in ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'' remarked on the Carr Rambler's "top-notch craftsmanship, hand-wired electronics and thoughtful, well-researched design." The Carr amplifiers with

6L6 6L6 is the designator for a beam power tube introduced by Radio Corporation of America in April 1936 and marketed for application as a power amplifier for audio frequencies.J. F. Dreyer Jr."The Beam Power Output Tube" New York: McGraw-Hill, ''Ele ...

tubes are compared to classic Fender amps; the Slant 6V, which offers 6L6 or 6V6 power tube options also has

12AX7 12AX7 (also known as ECC83) is a miniature dual-triode vacuum tube with high voltage gain (electronics), gain. Developed around 1946 by RCA engineers in Camden, New Jersey, under developmental number A-4522, it was released for public sale under t ...

and

12AT7 12AT7 (also known in Europe by the Mullard–Philips tube designation of ECC81) is a miniature nine-pin medium-gain (60) dual-triode vacuum tube popular in guitar amplifiers. It belongs to a large family of dual triode vacuum tubes which share ...

tubes, was praised as "an amazingly useful and versatile amp" and was a "''Guitar Player'' Editors' Pick" in 2009. The "exceptional" Vincent was praised for "its rich tone, variable power, and compact size." Many of Carr's amplifiers have switchable power outputs, adding to their versatility, according to professional reviews. Carr Amplifiers were praised for having the "retro good looks of the Elvis era" while offering "crystal clear sound" in their selection as a runner up in ''

Garden & Gun ''Garden & Gun'' is a national magazine focusing on the Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is Lis ...

'' magazine's "Made in the South" 2010/2011 competition. Ed King of

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...

, Joe Perry of

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

, Billy Gibbons of

ZZ TOP ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

, Jorma Kaukonen Canned Heat, Jefferson Airplane, Keith Richards of the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, Eric Johnson, Mitch Easter, Eric Clapton, Neko Case, Kaki King, Morgan Geer, Coco Montoya, Bill Frisell, Charlie Hunter, Johann Frank, Erick Walls, Paul Simon, Joe Walsh, Eric Johnson, Rick Miller of

Southern Culture on the Skids Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The band released their debut EP ''Voodoo Beach Party'' in 1984, followed by their self-titled debut album the following ...

, Bob Mothersbaugh of

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

, Jay Jay French of

Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in 1972 in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Their best-known songs include "We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song ...

, and Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline of

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

own guitar amplifiers from this "boutique brand". Founder Steve Carr said of the company: "We try to figure out the great things about forties, fifties, and sixties amps and throw in some new twists. But our amps don’t have a whole lot of knobs or switches. They’re super-useful but very simple."

Models

Carr Amplifier models include: * Mercury V (16 watts, 2 x 6V6's, Celestion Creamback M) * Lincoln (18/6 watts, 2 x EL84's, Celestion Creamback M) * Impala (44 watts, 2 x 6L6's, 5751, 12AT7, 2 x 12AX7, 1x12" Eminence Elsinore) * Sportsman (19 watts, two 6V6's, three 12AX7's, one 12AT7, 1x12" Eminence "Red-White & Blues") * Raleigh (3.5 watts, one EL-84, two 12AX7's, 1x10" Jensen Jet) * Viceroy (formerly the Vincent) (7/33 watts, two 6L6, one 12AT7, and three 12AX7 tubes, and a 12" Eminence speaker) * Rambler (14/28 watts, two 6L6 tubes.) * Slant 6V (18/22/40 watts, four 6V6 or 6L6, four 12AX7, and four 12AT7 tubes, and a 12" Eminence speaker) * Skylark (12 watts, switchable variable attenuator 1.2 watts down to zero, two 6V6GT, two 12AX7, two 12AT7, 1x12" Celestion A Type)

Notable players

* Joe Perry *

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music care ...

Ed King Edward Calhoun King (September 14, 1949 – August 22, 2018) was an American musician. He was a guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock and guitarist and bassist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 to 197 ...

Jay Jay French Jay Jay French (born John French Segall, July 20, 1952) is an American guitarist, manager, record producer and founding member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister. He is a columnist, author and motivational speaker who oversees licensing and i ...

* Eric Johnson *

Nils Lofgren Nils Hilmer Lofgren (born June 21, 1951) is an American rock musician, recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Along with his work as a solo artist, he has been a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band since 1984, a memb ...

Jorma Kaukonen Jorma Ludwik Kaukonen Jr. (; ; born December 23, 1940) is an American blues, folk, and rock guitarist. Kaukonen performed with Jefferson Airplane, and still performs regularly on tour with Hot Tuna, which started as a side project with bassist ...

Darrell Scott James Darrell Scott (born August 6, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He has written several mainstream country hits, and is well-established as one of Nashville's premier session instrumentalists. B ...

* Erick Walls * Johann Frank * Rodney Gene, Jr. *

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

Bob Mothersbaugh Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh Jr. (; born August 11, 1952), also known by his stage name Bob 1, is an American musician, singer, songwriter and composer. Mothersbaugh's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

*Rick Miller of

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case ( ; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case's singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a "flamethrower", "a pow ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

* Billy F. Gibbons *

Charlie Hunter Charlie Hunter (born May 23, 1967) is an American guitarist, composer, producer and bandleader. First coming to prominence in the early 1990s, Hunter plays custom-made seven- and eight-string guitars on which he simultaneously plays bass line ...

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist. He first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts, notably as a participant ...

* Will MacFarlane * Coco Montoya

References

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External links

Carr Amplifiers
Guitar amplifier manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in North Carolina Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States