20W of all tube power, uses two 12AX7s, and can use 6l6GC, 6L6WGB, 5881, El-34, KT77,KT66, or 6550 power tubes (ships with 5881s or 6L6GCs), Volume (with push pull bright switch, Treble, Bass, SAG, limit and power scaling controls, galactic grounding system and DC elevated heats for ultra low noise, Switchcraft and Neutrik Jacks, Ultra Long life filter caps, Mallory and Panasonic tone caps, a special resistor selection for the lowest noise and best tone.

Custom Made Transformer Set, Switchcraft Jacks, Marlory 150, Vishay, and Panasonic Tone caps, high quality tube sockets, 12ft power cord, Ultra-long life filter caps, special resistor selection for great tone and low noise, finger joined pine cabinet.

“Carl,

It hasn’t been that long, but enough time has passed to experience this thing you made.  It is an amp but arguably it is a sound machine. A time transporter.  Pure cleans like nothing a digital amp I own can reproduce.  I play classic rock and Jazz so for those who don’t I get this may not apply.  But if you want to be transported to 1950-60 for my ears, I have just received the ultimate ticket.  Thank you for the choice of speakers you made.   We talked and I told you my music preferences and what I play and listen to.  I can only surmise you took that into advisement and delivered my amp with the Weber 12 AF125S that would best match.  Right on!  

It is a wonderful thing to experience  myself becoming a better player because ai can hear myself through a “real amp”.  I know the digital stuff has become amazing but I am a simple minded bloke  I suppose  and this club pro does it for me.

Its impossible to explain and believe me I tried all the non-tube stuff first because I have huge investment in - all tube audio gear -and love it but felt that the digital music stuff had finally gotten there.  Well.. . I got a true tube amp and you will have to pull it form my dying arms.  It’s better, different, there is a leaning curve but - a soon as you figure it out, you're sunk.  I don’t care.  It’s better? it’s cheaper?.  I don’t care this is it! Boom,.  thanks Carl.  

How do you do this? IDK.  Please build me a a Champ clone “

David M.

“Carl the amp arrived today. Love it! Thanks man!

Greg”

“Let me preface my comments by saying that I am not a professional musician or a true guitar amp expert. I’m an electrical engineer by vocation and enthusiastic amateur musician that plays as much as I can. Like so many others, I am a dedicated guitar tone chaser. I aspire to play a variety of genres spanning bluegrass, blues, clean jazz, classic rock, hard rock, and funk. 

Over the years I’ve used amps from Carr, Fender, Marshall, Milkman, Fishman, and Vox. I currently use a ’65 Fender Princeton and a ’18 Carr Raleigh as mostly clean tone low volume practice amps, a ’65 Fender blackface Deluxe Reverb as a classic tone machine with excellent reverb and tremolo, a ’12 Carr Rambler as a modern take on the FDR with a 12/24 power mode, and a ’16 Carr Mercury V for a British/Marshall vibe (with a variable 0-4 watt power mode and a 16 watt mode). I went looking for a classic 1958-1960 Fender Deluxe Tweed 5E3 style amp with less mid scoop. The true vintage Fender 5E3 tweed amps are rare and coveted as some of the best amps ever built. They have become precious well beyond my budget. The true vintage 5E3 Tweed amps I did try had a fantastic warm tube tone with a lovely full mid, but also had high ambient noise, limited clean tone range before breaking up. 

My research led me to Carl Carrasco and Carl’s Custom Amps. I was impressed with his positive reviews by loyal customers and with his nuanced understanding of a huge cohort of classic amp circuit designs. Iconic amp talents like Leo Fender, Alexander “Howard” Dumble, and Steve Carr honed their craft servicing amps as Carl has done. Most importantly, I was impressed by his commitment to building the best hand-built amps possible and the TONE that his amps produced. 

I cold called Carl and explained what I was looking for, fully expecting it to be a “null set” with reality.  I wanted 1) classic Fender Deluxe Tweed 5E3 tone with full mids / less mid scoop, 2) much more clean headroom, 3) the ability to get an overdriven tube amp tone at much lower volumes to protect my hearing, 4) ultra-low electromagnetic interference noise through high quality grounding and shielding throughout, 5) high quality hand build.  

Carl was in the final stages of creating his “Club Pro” amp.  It perfectly fit my challenging spec. He agreed to build “Club Pro” #1 for me with a 2x10” speaker configuration and a custom “Chicago Blues” blue Tweed.  He delivered it on time and within budget with good status updates along the way. 

I’ve been using this amp daily since I received it. I have not turned the power on any other amp since. There is just no need to. If I had to choose one “desert island amp”, “one amp to rule them all” it would be Carl’s Club Pro 2x10. The Club Pro incorporates a “London Power Scaling” (LPS) circuit with a limit dial and power dial: turn the power up and limit down and you get endless clean tone with near zero background noise; turn the power down and the limit up and you get superb overdriven tube amp tone at any volume. I don’t know what alchemy Carl’s LPS implementation is doing, but it the end result is fantastic.  The Club Pro also has a 3-way “voice” selector switch: a clean jazz position; a more gain but less bottom end position; and full on classic Tweed Deluxe setting.  There is also a SAG control that is just set to taste.  It's subtle, but adds a little SAG/compression. I tend to like it most of the way up to smooth things out. It is most pronounced when playing cleaner. To me, the foundation for any amp is 1) the speakers, 2) the tubes, 3) the grounding.  The 2x10 Club Pro came with a set of high quality Weber speakers with Alnico magnets, Westinghouse old stock tubes, and exceptional attention to proper grounding and EMI control. The result is the best amp I’ve ever used. Full stop.

I’ve run a variety of instruments, pickup types, and pedal chains through the Club Pro. I’ve tried it with Fender and Seymour Duncan single coils, Gibson and Seymour Duncan humbuckers, Lollartron filtertron-style, and Gibson and Radioshop UK P90s. I’ve tried it with pedals from AnalogMan, Fulltone, Hermida, J Rockett, Mythos, Strymon, TC Electronics… I’ve yet to find a rational input to the Club Pro that didn’t sound excellent.

The net is I’m not an easy grader and I am massively impressed with Carl’s Club Pro. If you are in the marketing for a versatile, highest quality, modern take on a classic Tweed-style amp it merits serious consideration. In a blind test between a Club Pro and a true 1959 Fender Deluxe Tweed I would choose the Club Pro!”

Chris R.

Note: Thanks for Chris for taking the plunge on the first Tweed Club Pro!