[lbpesq]

In speaking with the folks at Carvin, they suggested that the DCM200L be set at full volume and use the preamp to make adjustments, regardless of the volume desired. In my opinion this makes the Carvin sound even better. The Carvin replaced a Mesa 50/50 in my rack. The Mesa may have sounded a little better, but it was HEAVY and a PITA to move.

And, to be honest, I don’t think the audience really notices the difference. I think a lot of the finer points we love to discuss go over most people’s heads. It might be blasphemous heresy, but I just don’t believe the people partying and dancing notice any difference between reverb pedals. Only the obsessed gear geeks like us!

Bill, tgo

[wpmartin1979]

I own both the Carvin 200L and a MosValve 962 and there is no comparison. If you A/B the two the MosValve KILLS the Carvin ... I mean it sounds much better. The MosValve amp is heavier and much louder (also needs a fan to cool
It although the fan is quiet) though and doesn’t work as well at lower volumes.

MosValves are amazing. Use that presence knob. Gig volume about 11 oclock on the pres, home playing about 1. sweetness

The MosValve is unbelievable! Yeah that presence knob is what it’s all about, definitely sets it apart...a marvel of engineering really! It’s really loud though.

I feel that the MosValve is a real sleeper, I mean I scoured Reverb every day until one popped up then pounced on it, because I had read some threads about how great it is, but there is currently one for sale and no one has bought it yet after a couple of days. If they only knew how good it was it would get snatched up in a second, I mean for $250 it’s an absolute steal. It’s an amazing amp. At this point I’m sure the guy would be open to offers.

https://reverb.com/item/38666109-tubewo ... t=38666109

I found the 200L to be a great solution for playing at more manageable volume levels and it’s portability and weight make it a real sleeper. When I bought my FYD I noticed that Dan Lurie uses one. When I mentioned the MosValve I’m not sure he was aware of what it was.
But if the 200L is good enough for Lurie ...

I actually prefer the HT150 to the 200L though - it’s just more musical to my ears. Since the FYD is so heavy anyway the extra weight doesn’t concern me because the rack is already heavy.

Maybe the “D” in Carvin’s DCM series stands for Class D?

I would love to hear the MosValve A/B’d with a MC50!

[wpmartin1979]

In speaking with the folks at Carvin, they suggested that the DCM200L be set at full volume and use the preamp to make adjustments, regardless of the volume desired. In my opinion this makes the Carvin sound even better. The Carvin replaced a Mesa 50/50 in my rack. The Mesa may have sounded a little better, but it was HEAVY and a PITA to move.

And, to be honest, I don’t think the audience really notices the difference. I think a lot of the finer points we love to discuss go over most people’s heads. It might be blasphemous heresy, but I just don’t believe the people partying and dancing notice any difference between reverb pedals. Only the obsessed gear geeks like us!

Bill, tgo

I agree Bill! Yes the 200L sounds best cranked, which is interesting. There’s no way you could crank the MosValve, it’s an absolute beast. The HT150 is good at around noon.
What makes me and my opinions even more pathetic is that I don’t even play for an audience. I just tweak out on getting the best sound I can for the sake of my own enjoyment...at least during COVID, but that might change in the future

[Jon S.]

Interesting. I've never cranked my DCM200L beyond halfway. I'd be scared to do it (it's freaking LOUD).

[Jon S.]

... to be honest, I don’t think the audience really notices the difference. I think a lot of the finer points we love to discuss go over most people’s heads. It might be blasphemous heresy, but I just don’t believe the people partying and dancing notice any difference between reverb pedals. Only the obsessed gear geeks like us! ... Bill, tgo

QFT

[tdcrjeff]

I would love to hear the MosValve A/B’d with a MC50!

Waldo used to say he thought the MosValve was the closest to a Mac (not sure if it was specifically an MC50) of any of the power amp options.

[Gr8fulCadi]

I would love to hear the MosValve A/B’d with a MC50!

Waldo used to say he thought the MosValve was the closest to a Mac (not sure if it was specifically an MC50) of any of the power amp options.

Owning both at one time, the Mosvalve was very enjoyable to play and sounded very convincing of a McIntosh. I did sell it and kept the mc250 but not due to tone, just didn’t need it really.

I believe he still has a MosValve in his lineup from what I can tell. I’m at a point where I just play the Waldo modded Twin through its own power section and no longer tap the pre. The mc250 now resides in the family room for tunes.
I also sold the SMS. Just don’t need all this gear.

[Jon S.]

FWIW, for many years, my power amp of choice was the Rocktron Velocity 300. I loved its definition and reactance controls. I sold it, though, because I wanted to lighten my load, replacing it with my DCM200L. I still miss the Rocktron's tones at times but not its extra weight.

The Rocktron, I felt, sounded closer to my MC50 which, re: my unit and to my ears, does not give a particularly "scooped" tone. Neither did the Rocktron (though you could force it there using the controls). My DCM200L, in contrast, is , compared to both, relatively thinner in the mids. This is why I leave its EQ Expand switch always off (the EQ expand cuts the mids by 4 db, accenting the bass and treble, thereby slightly scooping the tone).

[wpmartin1979]

Interesting. I've never cranked my DCM200L beyond halfway. I'd be scared to do it (it's freaking LOUD).

Yes when it is bridged it gets WAY too loud, I keep the level before noon.
But for bedroom levels I found that setting it at 60W setting into one speaker, then turning the levels most of the way up and then adjusting the preamp to the sweet spot sounds good .. the sound opens up just a bit that way IMHO ... where this things seems to shine is in its versatility to be used efficiently at different output levels... I’ve only been messing with it for a couple of weeks tho, it was another rare find that I jumped on when I saw it pop up.

[wpmartin1979]

FWIW, for many years, my power amp of choice was the Rocktron Velocity 300. I loved its definition and reactance controls. I sold it, though, because I wanted to lighten my load, replacing it with my DCM200L. I still miss the Rocktron's tones at times but not its extra weight.

The Rocktron, I felt, sounded closer to my MC50 which, re: my unit and to my ears, does not give a particularly "scooped" tone. Neither did the Rocktron (though you could force it there using the controls). My DCM200L, in contrast, is , compared to both, relatively thinner in the mids. This is why I leave its EQ Expand switch always off (the EQ expand cuts the mids by 4 db, accenting the bass and treble, thereby slightly scooping the tone).

I read very good things about the Rocktron but couldn’t and still can’t find one anywhere... oh well I’ve amassed quite the power amp selection already anyway and will be thinning them out once I decide on my final setup. I’ll probably go with one setup for at home and one that will work best for playing out.
Before recently getting into Jerry tone chasing I never paid too much attention to gear, was only focused on playing and learning, and I still dedicate an hour a day to learning something new - been working on Sugaree - just getting all the triad shapes under my belt all over the neck and figuring out how Jerry weaves those triads together ... it’s so simple yet so complex - it’s taking me a while but I’m getting some good licks under my belt
In terms of gear i’m now like a kid in a candy store trying to find my favorite flavors of gear, it’s all new to me so it’s super exciting, lol ...I’m sure the excitement will wear off once I get back to socializing tho ...

[Jon S.]

That's thought provoking. I'm running my DCM200L now bridged into a single 8 ohm JBL E120. That's 200W of output! Maybe I should go back to stereo into both of my JBL-loaded 1X12 cabs with the rear impedance switch in for 60W per channel. I don't want to try the latter using just one cab. I blew the DCM200L I had before the one I have now when I did exactly that and then, in an inebriated state, forgot and turned up both channels!

[wpmartin1979]

That's thought provoking. I'm running my DCM200L now bridged into a single 8 ohm JBL E120. That's 200W of output! Maybe I should go back to stereo into both of my JBL-loaded 1X12 cabs with the rear impedance switch in for 60W per channel. I don't want to try the latter using just one cab. I blew the DCM200L I had before the one I have now when I did exactly that and then, in an inebriated state, forgot and turned up both channels!

Oh shit! Thanks for the heads up!

Well could you just plug in both speakers and keep channel two all the way down unless you wanted to add it to the mix, that would be safe , maybe I’ll do that.

[lbpesq]

I run my DCM200L after an Alembic F-2B stereo preamp and into two 1x12s loaded with K120s. I jumper channel A of the preamp into channel B, (the old Fender trick), and go out in stereo to the Carvin. I then tweak one channel to accentuate the highs and the other to accentuate the lows. I can then play with the relative volume of the two speakers to get the mix I like. This weekend, I plan on adding an Alembic SF-2 Superfilter to the mix. With little music to play in these Covid times, it seems I'm simultaneously working on expanding my big rig, and contracting my small rig. What else is there to do?

Bill, tgo

[lbpesq]

I had some time today to check out the Joyo American Sound and the Valeton Coral Amp for about an hour. I tried both in front of my Quilter 101 Mini Reverb/Blockdock 10tc, and again going into the effects loop return on the Quilter. Both pedals seemed to work as both an OD going into the front and as a stand alone preamp going into the effects return/power amp section of the Quilter.

The Joyo sounded fairly decent, much better than one would expect for under $40. I could see it being used both as an OD and as a backup preamp. Useable, but nothing spectacular.

The Valeton, OTOH, blew me away. A bunch of good quality sounds. I could definitely see this as part of a very useable mini rig. I wasn’t specifically looking for Jerry tones. I play mostly rhythm in both my Dead and non-Dead bands, but take a lead now and then, especially in the non-Dead band. The lead tone I go for is more similar to Santana’s - full saturation on the clean side with lots of sustain. The setting on the Valeton for the ENGL Savage 120 really nails it. I’ve never heard of an ENGL Savage 120, so I don’t know how close the tone is, just that this tiny little pedal sounds great on this setting.

I want to put a mini pedal board rig together. I’m looking at the Powerstage 170, the Carvin Mach 100, and watching for a 110v version of the Harley Benton GPA 100. I’m thinking I may want this Valeton in both rigs. At its modest price, I may just get another so I don’t have to hassle swapping the pedal between two boards. Joe Bob says two big thumbs up!

Bill, tgo

[wpmartin1979]

Yeah for a gigging musician who plays to crowds such as yourself I wouldn’t put the American Sound in that category of quality as a first tier piece of gear at all. I hope my review didn’t make it seem like a $40 miracle. I do feel with the rights settings it gets a pretty good Twin like tone though for its price.
For something road worthy for a main rig I would go with a Shift Line all the way!

That said, I’m glad to hear the Valeton stuff is good. I tried the Katfish auto way and thought it sounded good for its size and definitely for its price!
Not as good as the 3 Leaf Proton in my book, although the three leaf is more $200 range.

Keep us posted on the mini rig Bill, I’m curious to find out what you end up going with!