Carvin BELAIR, NOMAD, VINTAGE 16 Owner's Manual
VINTAGE16 SPECS:
RMS Power: 16/5 watts
Output Imp: 8Ω
Input Imp: 100,000 ohms
Tone Controls: BASS: 80Hz
MID: 600-700Hz
TREBLE: 11k Hz
Sensitivity: 1mV for clipping
16mV for full output
Preamp Tubes: 3—12AX7’s (dual stage)
Power Tubes: 2—EL84’s
USA Model: 120VAC, 300VA
USA Fuse: 1A 250V slow blow, 5x 20mm
Export Model: 240VAC
Export Fuse: 1A 250V slow blow, 5x 20mm
Cabinet Size: 16W x 17.75H x 8.5”D, 31 lbs.
Cabinet: 7-ply poplar wood
Warranty: One Year
Options: CV16 cover
CARVIN ENGINEERING DATA
OPERATING MANUAL
NOMAD & BEL AIR COMBO SPECS:
Speakers: One/Two Celestion G12 Vintage 30 12” spks
RMS Power: 33 watts Vintage 33, 50 watts all others
Output Imp: 4, 8 & 16Ω
Input Imp: 100,000 ohms
Tone Controls: BASS: 80Hz
Both Channels: MID: 600-700Hz
TREBLE: 11k Hz
Ch 1 Sensitivity: 1mV for clipping
Ch 2 Sensitivity: 16mV for full output
Channels: 2—switching
Voiced Line Out: 1.5 VAC @ 100 watts RMS
Preamp Tubes: 5—12AX7’s (dual stage)
Power Tubes: 4—EL84’s
USA Model: 120VAC, 300VA
USA Fuse: 3A 250V slow blow, 5 x 20mm
Export Model: 230VAC, 300VA
Export Fuse: 1.5A 250V slow blow, 5x 20mm
112 Cabinet : 19.5W x 10.25D x 17.5”H, 44 lbs.
212 Cabinet : 26W x 10.25D x 17.75”H, 56 lbs.
Cabinet: 7-ply poplar wood
Warranty: One Year
Options: CV3212 cover, FS22 footswitch
76-10302C 0705
12340 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128
800.854.2235 carvin.com
For your records, you may wish to record the following information.
Serial No._____________________ Invoice Date_______________
212 Bel Air™
NOMAD, BEL AIR COMBO & VINTAGE16 GUITAR AMPS
Congratulations on your purchase of the VINTAGE TUBE SERIES all tube amplifier. Carvin has been building tube guitar amplifiers since 1949. They have been
used by top professionals like; Joe Walsh, Chet Atkins, Jeff Beck, James Burton,
Jorma Kaukonen, and many other great musicians. You will discover that these
amplifiers represent a significant sound improvement over conventional tube amplifiers. Spend time with your new amp and get to know it’s many sounds.
TECHNICAL DESIGN OF THE VINTAGE TUBE SERIES
The VINTAGE TUBE SERIES is 100% tube design—no IC’s, FET’s or transistors. The design
criteria was to build an all-tube guitar amp that sounded better than anything else on the market.
This meant that the VINTAGE TUBE SERIES was going to be totally new from the ground up
and that it was going to be an all tube design.
DYNAMIC EL84 POWER TUBES
Premium EL84 power tubes are selected for their excellent saturation and power soak characteristics. Just like early VOX AC30 amps, EL84’s are used for their ideal transconductance delivering a tight bottom and soft drive with superior definition.
HIGH IMPEDANCE GUITAR INPUT
Carvin has long known about the effects of miss-loading a guitar pickup which can cause
high frequency loss. The VINTAGE TUBE SERIES guards against this loss with its ultra high
input impedance. Also, we considered the capacitance of the average shielded guitar cable
which can reduce the high frequency response of your guitar pickups. Unlike other amplifiers, we purposely avoided adding capacitance anywhere in the preamp to control high frequency oscillations. Instead, we controlled oscillations through careful component layout
and lead placement allowing its shimmering highs to be reproduced.
CLEAN AND SOAK CHANNELS
The equalization of the clean and soak channel is designed to offer clarity to your instrument. Special mud-cutting circuits eliminate the unwanted sounds in the 500 to 700 Hz
range which normally take away the tone definition of your instrument. You will also take
notice of the clean channels rear PRESENCE control which adds acoustic voicing to your
instrument. This control boosts only the guitars very highest harmonics which are in the
10k Hz range instead of the normal 3K Hz of a bright switch.
TONE CONTROLS
The T-Bridge passive BASS, MID and TREBLE tone controls offer a wide range of tone settings. Take full advantage by setting them where they sound best. Your sound may not be at
center (5 on the dial). Instead, the treble and bass may need to be at 10 while the mid control at 0 (or) the treble at 1 and the bass at 10 depending dual or single coil pickups. These
controls will not affect or color your sound when set at extreme settings, nor do they interact
with each other. The greater range of these controls comes from the high impedance 1 meg
sealed pots (most guitar amps use 250k pots). The frequency of the bass control is set at 80
Hz while the mid control is set at 650 Hz. The treble control is set at a very high 11k Hz giving
the VINTAGE TUBE SERIES it’s dynamic highs.
REVERB
The FS22 footswith for the long tailed REVERB system in the VINTAGE TUBE SERIES switches
only the reverb “send” leaving the tail of the reverb to decay naturally, the way it’s done in
the studio. A special pre filter eliminates the spring “boing” normally heard in other systems giving it a “lush” sound. The all tube reverb system offers vibrant clarity with full depth
reminiscent of the sixties tube amps. Guitar Player magazine rated this system as one of
the best they have heard. The Vintage 16™ does not have the footswitch option.
RECEIVING INSPECTION—read before getting started
INSPECT YOUR AMP FOR ANY DAMAGE which may have occurred during shipping. If any
damage is found, please notify the shipping company and CARVIN immediately.
SAVE THE CARTON & ALL PACKING MATERIALS. In the event you have to re-ship your unit,
always use the original carton and packing material. This will provide the best possible protection during shipment. CARVIN and the shipping company are not liable for any damage caused
by improper packing.
SAVE YOUR INVOICE. It will be required for warranty service if needed in the future.
SHIPMENT SHORTAGE. If you find items missing, they may have been shipped separately.
Please allow several days for the rest of your order to arrive before inquiring.
RECORD THE SERIAL NUMBER on the enclosed warranty card or below on this manual
for your records. Keep your portion of the card and return the portion with your name and
comments to us.
GETTING STARTED QUICKLY
If you are like most players, you probably want to plug in your new amp and get started playing it right away. You can read the rest of the manual later to learn the finer points of operating your amp. In order to get started you will need your VINTAGE TUBE SERIES amp, a 120
or 230 AC grounded power outlet, your instrument and a standard guitar cord. With the amp
turned off, you may now plug it into the proper AC voltage.
Now turn all the volume and drive controls off and set tone controls at their mid center position. If you have purchased the FS22 foot switch, plug it into the rear foot switch jack for switching the channels and reverb. Note: The channel SELECT switch must be selected for channel
1 for the FS22 to function (a hum will be heard if it’s in the wrong position).
Now, turn the power switch and allow a few minuts for the tubes to warm up then turn on
the standby switch. Gradually raise the volume controls and re-adjust the tone controls and
your ready to go. Please call if you feel your amp is malfunctioning. Occasionally tubes are
damaged in shipping.
Nomad 112™
Vintage16™
c
FEATURES
CELESTION
SPEAKERS!
FRONT PANEL
1. GUITAR INPUT
A standard 1/4” input jack feeds both channels through using the SELECT channel switch. Use a
professional quality guitar cord no longer than 25 feet. Typical cable capacitance should be under
50pf—the longer the cord, the greater the capacitance (you can measure this with a capacitance meter).
A long cable with high capacitance will reduce the overall treble response from your pickups.
2. CHANNEL SELECT
Set the channel SELECT switch to the desired channel. Channel 1 is designed for clean playing
while channel 2 is designed for overdrive/sustain. For the FS22 foot switch to function, set the channel 2 SELECT switch to the channel 1 position.
CLEAN CHANNEL 1
3. CLEAN VOLUME 1
Use channel 1 for clean playing. Thanks to special mud-cutting circuits that work between the frequencies of 500 and 700 Hz, your guitar tones will be full and vibrant.
4. CLEAN—BASS, MID & TREBLE CONTROLS
You can start at 5 on the dial for each of the tone controls. However, these settings do not represent a normalize (flat) sound. You need to set them where they sound best! Most musicians like
to reduce the MID’S between 1 and 4 for deeper bass and crisper highs. If your sound is too bright
with single coil pickups, you may want to keep the rear PRESENCE control off.
LEAD CHANNEL 2
5. SOAK—6. LEAD VOLUME 2
To get the Vintage overdrive, keep the VOLUME 2 (VOLUME for Vintage 16™) down until you have
determined your final gain level—think of this control as a master volume. Turn the SOAK control
up until you get the amount of overdrive you’re looking for. The setting will vary for the same amount
of overdrive depending on the pickups used—single or dual coil and the setting of your guitar. The
Vintage 16™ low wattage allows you to turn up both controls to get different distortions.
7. LEAD—BASS, MID & TREBLE
To start off with, set the BASS, MID & TREBLE controls at their center (5) position. These controls
are to be set according to the type of pickups used (dual or single coil). It’s normal to decrease the
BASS at higher playing levels.
MASTER SECTION
8. MASTER REVERB
Set the REVERB control for the desired amount (this works in both channels).
9. POWER INDICATOR LIGHT
As the amp is turned on, the red pilot light will illuminate.
REAR PANEL
10. AC POWER & FUSE
The detachable AC POWER CORD supplied is designed to operate with one type of voltage (the
European 230V export model uses a CEE-7 plug cord set). Check the rear power cord label for the
proper voltage and fuse value. Make sure the cord is securely inserted into the back of the unit. Plug
the cord into a grounded “3 prong” power source. No attempt should ever be made to defeat or use
the amp without the ground connected.
The FUSE (some models have circuit breakers) is located within the AC power cord receptacle. To
check or replace the fuse, remove the power cord, place a screwdriver under the “FUSE” cap and
pull the fuse holder out. The fuse type is a 250V Slow Blow SB 5 x 20mm rated at 3A for 120V &
1.5A for 230V models. Do not use fast acting fuse, only a SLOW BLOW (SB) type fuse will work.
The Vintage 16™ uses 1A slow blow for both 120 VAC and 250 VAC models.
11. POWER SWITCH
The rear POWER SWITCH is to be utilized as the master ON/OFF switch. The front panel light will
illuminate when the amp is switched on. (The power switch is on the front of the Vintage 16™.)
12. STANDBY SWITCH
Use the rear STANDBY SWITCH If you are taking a break. This turns the high voltage off, increasing the life of your power tubes while keeping the power and preamp tube filaments on for immediate use.
13. ACOUSTIC PRESENCE
The rear ACOUSTIC PRESENCE control adds a sibilance to the high frequencies of your guitar. Most
presence controls work in the 3k to 4k range. However, the VINTAGE TUBE’s presence starts at a
very high 8k Hz delivering 10 dB at 12k Hz and continues to 20k Hz which extends all the upper harmonics of your guitar. The amount of sibilance will depend on the speakers used. To keep both
channels totally independent, the ACOUSTIC PRESENCE is switched by relay only into clean channel 1. The effect of the ACOUSTIC PRESENCE will seem ever so slight, however, the result is added
sibilance only to the ultra-high frequencies.
VINTAGE TUBE SERIES FRONT & REAR PANEL CONTROLS
FUSE
2
5
31 6
4
BEL AIR & NOMAD
10 11 12
13
14
Press firmly until cord clicks in.
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