Carr Amplifiers are famend for his or her construct high quality and vintage-inspired tones. Not one to relaxation on his laurels, founder Steve Carr regularly pushes the envelope with designs that seize the essence of his favourite classic amps. His newest is the Bel-Ray.

Accessible as a stand-alone head or 16-watt 1×12 combo, its three-way toggle swap accesses three traditional British voicings; labeled V66, the primary is designed to carry the chime of a classic Vox “High Increase” whereas H73 gives the crunch of a Hiwatt DR103, and M68 the punch of a ’68 Marshall plexi.

Underneath the hood you’ll discover a pair of EL84s, two 12AX7s and an EF86 within the preamp, together with an EZ81 rectifier. The highest-mounted panel hosts knobs for High, Mid, and Bass, a tremolo enter with adjustable Pace and Depth, and a knob that controls an attenuator that switches out of full energy and limits output alongside a spread from zero to 2 watts. The cab homes a punchy Fane F25 speaker.

With a Tele plugged in, V66 mode introduced the signature chime and jangle made well-known by Vox amps, however providing a smoother tone with extra muscle and richer harmonics. The Beatles and the Yardbirds could be proud. Change on the bias-modulated tremolo and the Bel-Ray oozes wonderful depth, pulling notes ito a wealthy, pulsating swampiness.

The M68 voice with a Les Paul yielded thick, aggressive tones with enhanced low-end punch and midrange growl. With the Stage knob (output) turned up all the best way, it presents crunchy tones worthy of favourite classic-rock anthems.

H73 sat within the center, with a good, vivid, punchy sound that reduce like a knife. Energy chords rang open and clear with glorious string-to-string definition and readability. All three modes have been extremely responsive, with a tactile really feel and glorious maintain, even with clear tones.

No matter the place its controls are set, the Bel-Ray has a vigorous “pushed” really feel that will increase with observe bloom, maintain, and dynamics as Stage is turned up. Carr’s intelligent Excessive/Low swap allows you to select between a direct quantity blast within the Excessive place or a smoother taper with more-precise management when set to Low. The attenuator’s highest setting, in fact, isn’t as punchy or dynamic as full energy, however nonetheless produces inspiring tones at whisper quantity.

The Carr Bel-Ray is soulful tribute to sounds that formed rock-and-roll historical past, delivered with authenticity.

This text initially appeared in VG’s April 2024 problem. All copyrights are by the writer and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.