CARVIN ENGINEERING DATA
OPERATING MANUAL
12340 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128
(619) 487-1600 (800) 854-2235
www.carvin.com
Congratulations on your purchase of the SX amplifier. Carvin has been building guitar amplifiers
since 1949. They have been used by top professionals like; Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, Craig Chaquico,
Allan Holdsworth, Larry Carlton, Chet Atkins and other great musicians. Spend time with your
new combo and get to know it’s many sounds.
TECHNICAL DESIGN OF THE SX-DSP AMP
Designing the new SX meant incorporating the legendary Carvin Tube Technology™, DIGITAL effects,
and modern tone shaping technology, into a compact, rugged unit.
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING (DSP)
The SX-AMP is equipped with 16 of our favorite presets including chorus, flange, reverbs and delays, espe-
cially designed to compliment the guitar. Just turn the SELECT control to any of the 16 positions and increase
the LEVEL control to the desired mix volume, and enjoy the crisp, lush sound of DSP, without the compli-
cations of an external processor.
TUBE TECHNOLOGY™ OVERDRIVE CIRCUIT
Simulating both the smoothness and dynamics of overdriven vacuum tubes and using the reliability
of solid state technology has been a design goal of virtually every amp manufacturer in the business.
The SX Series truly captures the essential tone and character of tube distortion, thanks to Carvin’s inno-
vative Tube Technology™.
CLEAN CHANNEL
The equalization of the clean channel is designed to offer clarity to your instrument. Special mud-cut-
ting circuits eliminate the unwanted sounds in the 700 Hz range which normally take away the tone def-
inition of your instrument. You will also take notice of the channels 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. This control may not seem very effec-
tive, but it adds a glassy tone to your sound.
TONE CONTROLS
Many amps use passive EQ systems which allow “boost” only.The wide tonal range of the SX amp comes
from active BASS, MID and TREBLE tone controls. Take full advantage by setting them where they sound
best. These controls will not affect or color your sound when set at extreme settings, nor do they interact
with each other. The frequency of the bass control is set at 100 Hz while the mid control is set at 1.5 kHz.
The treble control is set high, at 8k Hz giving the SX it’s dynamic highs. Presence is set to give the amp
that extra “edge”, assuring that you can make yourself heard in the mix. Another filter rolls off extreme
lows preventing premature overloading of the speaker at higher volumes.
REVIEWS
Craig Anderton says “ The reason I find the Carvin SX amps so attractive is because you can get clean
sounds - clean enough to serve as a recording amp in the studio - as well as some of the sweetest dis-
tortion sounds I’ve ever heard from a solid state amp. It’s no small feat to please me in that respect; remem-
ber I’ve spent a lot of my adult life designing fuzzes to get the sound I want, since conventional fuzzes
sound too rough for my tastes. Carvin’s distortion circuit though is exceptional. A lot of folks claim to
give a tube sound; frankly, the Carvin sounds better than a lot of the tube circuits I’ve used - it’s almost
like the SX produces an idealized tube sound rather than a real tube sound”.
Pete Prown from Guitar Shop Magazine says “.. One particularly impressive-sounding transistor job is
Carvin’s SX100, which also sports an impressive price tag...The SX100 offers a surprising wallop of crunch.
Using the Overdrive knob, a player can dial in how much gain they want and, believe us, there’s a lot in
there. Turn that sucker up to 3 o’clock and you’ll get a nice, fat distortion—not that kind of crappy, paper-
thin distortion that you find on many transistor boxes—but a meaty crunch... Compare this fine overdrive
with the amp’s surprisingly low price and you’ll see why we wanted to take a look at this small beast...
SX100D
For your records, you may wish to record the following information.
Serial No._____________________ Invoice Date_______________
SX200D
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.
SX-100D & SX-200D CHORUS
COMBO GUITAR AMPS
MODEL SX100D & SX200D COMBO SPECS:
Speakers:
BR12 British Series 12” spks
RMS Power:
100 watts @8ohms
Output Impedance:
4-16ohms
Power Amp:
THD: Less than 0.1% @ 50%
Input Impedance:
1 Meg ohms
Channels:
2—switching
Tone Controls:
BASS: 100Hz
Overdrive Channel
MID: 1.5k Hz
TREBLE: 8k Hz
PRESENCE:8k Hz
Clean Channel
BASS: 80Hz
MID: 1.5k Hz
TREBLE: 8k Hz
PRESENCE:12k Hz
Ch 1 Sensitivity:
1mV for clipping
Ch 2 Sensitivity:
75mV for full output
Line Out:
1.5 VAC @ full power
USA Model:
120VAC, 130VA
USA Fuse:
2A 250V slow blow, 5 x 20mm
Export Model:
230VAC, 130VA
Export Fuse:
1A 250V slow blow, 5 x 20mm
Cabinet Size:
SX100:
19.5W x 10.25D x 17.5”
SX200:
H26W x 10.25D x 17.5”H
Cabinet:
7-ply poplar wood
Net Weight:
SX100:
30 lbs
SX200:
40 lbs
Warranty:
One Year
Options:
FS22
footswitch,
CV211
cover SX100
CV3212
cover SX200
76-10200 797
