Get your Carr Telstar Amp from Humbucker Music, the largest dealer for the past several years with many Carr Amps for sale and in stock at all times!
The new Carr Telstar amplifier is the latest in a long line of very successful and popular amplifiers from Carr Amplification, but this offering from Steve Carr is quite different. In fact, in all the years of Humbucker Music selling amps we've never seen anything like this. It's a rare occasion that an amp builder causes us to squint and scratch our heads, but that's exactly what happened when he first told us about the Telstar. An output section with a single 6L6 and a single EL84 running concurrently? What!?
Steve explained to us that early Tweed push pull power sections used a circuit design that was not balanced so well. Rather than "improve" the balance, Carr realized he could use the deficiency as an asset to create a new push pull class A flavor. And that he did! In fact, you can use any octal power tube along with the EL84 without re-biasing the amp. Each power tube type has its own vibe. 6L6s yield a fine all around tone so they chose that type for the stock tube. While honing the concept they discovered 50s era large octal 6SL7 pre amp tube type sounded by far the best compared to modern miniature tubes (12AX7 etc) in their non-symmetric phase inverter circuit. New production Tung Sol 6SL7s are their favorite and are stock.
The Telstar sound can easily range from haunting rich cleans to creamy overdrive. Shading from clean to overdrive is all in the fingertips plus the attenuator allows you to grind at sane volume levels. Carr's Lean/Lush switch lets you tailor the body of the tone. When really pushing the amp or when you want a more astringent vibe Lean is where you want to be. For thick and deep bass especially at lower volumes Lush is best.
Tweed amps possess simple yet effective tone circuits which have a more midrange forward sound compared to the Black Face scoop we are all familiar with. Carr has taken this simple tone configuration and extended its range while offering extra clarity and dimension. The 53/58 switch changes the frequencies the Tone control works with and the gain structure before the Tone circuit harking back to the evolution is circuitry thru the 1950s at Fullerton. The Telstar tips its hat to these Mid-Century designs while being its own amp and taking tone to the future!
The Telstar is packed with everything Steve Carr and the team at Carr Amplification has learned in the 20 years they have been in business.
Use any Octal power tube with EL84, no biasing!
Dims & Weight: Coming soon!