Carvin Catalog Archive • 1981

1981

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Highlights

Highlights from this catalog

Key products, features, and themes you’ll see in this issue.

X-Series All-Tube Amplifiers

The X-Series represents one of the most important amplifier developments in the 1981 catalog, establishing a unified all-tube platform that would define Carvin’s early-1980s guitar sound. Built around the X-100 chassis and expanded into multiple configurations, the series delivers high headroom, smooth sustain, and flexible channel switching in both combo and stack formats.

All-tube design with 6L6GC power section and 12AX7 preamp stages
Channel-switching architecture for clean and sustain tones
High headroom with controlled tube-driven compression
Hammond 3-spring reverb for deeper, more natural ambience
Available in multiple speaker configurations and power levels
Designed as a scalable amplifier family rather than a single model

Featured models: X-100 X-60 XB112 XV812C

X-100 / X60 Tube Amplifier Heads

The X-100 is the core of the X-Series and serves as the foundation for Carvin’s all-tube amplifier platform in 1981. With high output power, channel-switching flexibility, and refined tonal control, it delivers both clean clarity and sustained overdrive suitable for stage and studio use. The X-60 provides a lower-power version of the X-Series platform, maintaining the same tonal character and flexibility as the X-100 while offering a more manageable output level for smaller venues and controlled environments.

100 watt RMS all-tube amplifier (X100)
Four 6L6GC power tubes and three 12AX7 preamp tubes
Channel switching for clean and sustain modes
Strong clean headroom with smooth transition into overdrive
Built-in Hammond 3-spring reverb
Designed for both head and combo configurations

Featured models: X100 X60

XB112 Tube Combo Amplifier

The XB112 brings the X-Series tube platform into a compact single-speaker combo format, combining portability with the tonal depth of the larger X amplifiers. It is designed for players needing a self-contained system without sacrificing tube-driven performance.

Single 12" speaker configuration
Based on X-Series tube amplifier architecture
Compact combo design for portability
Balanced tone with strong midrange presence
Suitable for small venues and studio applications

XV812C X-Series Tube Full Stack

The XV812C represents a full-scale X-Series stack configuration, delivering the complete high-output tube experience through a multi-cabinet setup. It extends the X-Series platform into larger performance environments with increased projection and stage presence.

Multi-cabinet stack configuration
Based on X-100 amplifier platform
High-output system for large-stage use
Strong projection and wide coverage
Designed for pairing with multiple speaker cabinets

Featured models: XV812C X-100 C412 CV-H812

System 20 Super Concert Sound System

The System 20 family represents the upper tier of Carvin’s complete sound reinforcement systems in 1981, combining high-channel-count mixing, rack-mounted power amplification, and horn-loaded speaker systems into a unified large-scale solution.

20-channel system architecture for large setups
Integrated mixer, amplifier, and speaker system design
Designed for stereo or bi-amped configurations
Scalable from Basic to Concert and Super Concert formats
Suitable for large venues and complex live sound applications

Featured models: MX1608 DCA800 XC1000 1330-J

XC1000 Electronic Crossover

The XC1000 is a key system component that enables precise frequency control in multi-amplifier sound systems. Designed for professional applications, it supports both bi-amp and tri-amp configurations and plays a central role in Carvin’s modular reinforcement architecture.

Variable electronic crossover
Supports bi-amp and tri-amp system configurations
Balanced XLR inputs and outputs
Butterworth filter design for smooth frequency transitions
Peak level indicators for system monitoring
Designed for integration with Carvin power amplifiers

Featured models: XC1000

SBM215 Bass System

The SBM215 is a modular bass amplification system designed to deliver strong low-frequency output with flexibility for system expansion. Built around dual 15-inch speaker configurations, it supports both standalone and stacked applications for increased output.

Dual 15" speaker cabinet configuration
Designed for strong low-end response and projection
Modular system allowing expansion into larger stacks
Compatible with Carvin bass amplifier heads
Suitable for medium to large performance environments

Featured models: SBM215 SBM215-JBL BM115 BM115-JBL SC3000

Artist / Endorser Associations

The 1981 catalog presents a broad artist association rather than linking specific models to individual artists.

Notable associated artists include:
Larry Coryell
Roger Waters
Snowy White
John Cipollina
Wah Wah Watson
Deep Purple
Peter Tosh

Catalog Story

Inside the Carvin Catalog

The 1981 Carvin catalog builds directly on the 1980 foundation, but it reads with a stronger sense of definition in the amplifier section, especially where guitar amplification is concerned. The overall catalog still gives major weight to mixers, pro amplifiers, monitor systems, loudspeakers, and complete sound packages, but one of the most important changes in this year’s book is the arrival of the all-tube X Series as a fully realized part of the lineup. Carvin’s own history page calls out the new “All Tube” X-100 guitar amplifiers as finally available in 1981, placing them alongside the year’s other major new releases such as the MX1608, DCA800, XC1000, 620-M, and 840-M. That alone makes the X Series one of the defining additions of the catalog.

Compared with 1980, the 1981 catalog feels more settled and mature in its pro-audio architecture, but the X Series gives the year a distinctive amplifier identity that goes beyond the previous catalog’s mix of tube combos, stack systems, and reinforcement-driven product emphasis. The new X line is presented not as a side offering, but as a serious all-tube platform with the kind of response and sustain that would become closely associated with Carvin’s early-1980s guitar-amp sound. The catalog introduction for the all-in-one amplifiers describes these new designs as all-tube units that deliver strong power and warm sustain, and it notes that multiple models are built around the X-100 chassis, reinforcing that this is not a single amp but a broader amplifier family.

That is what makes the X Series so important historically in the 1981 book. The X-100 head is described as a full 100 watt RMS amplifier using four 6L6GC power tubes and three 12AX7 preamp tubes, with channel-switching versatility that allows either clean playing or a more saturated tube sustain through a relay-switched preamp structure. Carvin also highlights the new 3-spring Hammond reverb tank, specifically framing it as a more studio-quality reverb sound than older spring systems. This combination of high-power clean output, switchable sustain voice, and more polished onboard reverb helped define the usable, flexible, high-headroom Carvin sound that players would continue to associate with the brand into the early 1980s.

The 1981 catalog also makes clear that the X Series is broader than one head model. The all-in-one section says that eight models are offered in different speaker arrangements, with options using MagnaLab, Electro-Voice EV12L, or JBL E130 speakers. It further states that the single-12 models include 30 watt, 60 watt, and 100 watt versions, and that these designs are based on the X-100 chassis. That means the X Series is presented as a modular amp family with shared circuit identity across multiple cabinet formats and power levels, rather than as a one-off showcase piece. In practical catalog terms, that gives 1981 a more unified guitar-amplifier story than 1980.

Around that X Series centerpiece, the rest of the 1981 catalog continues to strengthen the professional sound side of the line. The MX1608 extends Carvin’s console range into a more advanced 16-input / 8-output format aimed at recording, remixing, and on-air use, while the DCA800 moves the pro power-amp line upward with higher stereo output, bridge capability, and fan cooling for sustained heavy loads. The XC1000 then ties that larger system thinking together by giving Carvin a more serious variable electronic crossover for bi-amp and tri-amp sound-system design. So while the X Series becomes the most character-defining addition in the guitar-amp section, it appears inside a catalog that is also becoming more technically complete from input console to crossover to power amp to loudspeaker.

The loudspeaker and monitor sections support that same sense of refinement. The 620-M adds a compact 2-way monitor below the larger 770 systems, and the 840-M introduces a more portable reinforcement cabinet that shares design logic with the bigger 960 family. These are not radical departures from 1980, but they do show Carvin improving the transitions between smaller portable setups and larger horn-loaded systems. That makes the 1981 catalog feel similar to 1980 in its overall structure, but more complete in the way product tiers connect to one another.

Overall, 1981 is best understood as a year of refinement and consolidation rather than total reinvention. The catalog keeps the same broad professional sound framework established in 1980, but the arrival of the X Series gives it a much stronger amplifier identity on the guitar side. That line would go on to matter well beyond this single catalog because it captures the sound Carvin was moving toward in the early 1980s: high-powered all-tube amplification with clean headroom, switchable sustain, onboard graphic control, and stage-ready flexibility. In that sense, the X Series is not just one more new item in the 1981 catalog. It is one of the clearest markers of where Carvin’s early-1980s amplifier voice begins to settle into a recognizable form

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Carvin Catalog Archive

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1981

Year: 1981

Brand

Carvin, MagnaLab, JBL, Renkus-Heinz, Heppner, Motorola, Shure, Hammond, Anvil, Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, Tammy Wynette, Deep Purple

Keywords

1954 Carvin Catalog, vintage Carvin, guitar amplifiers, bass amplifiers, electric Hawaiian guitar, steel guitar, tube amplifier, Baldwin Park California

Models

Carvin Models: MX1202, MX1602, MX1608, MX1202-EQ, MX1602-EQ, S600, SP600, S1200, S1800, MP506, MP600, MC600, MP1000, MC1000, DCA300, DCA800, DCM151, DCM301, XC1000, 620-M, 770-M, 770-J, CAB-620, CAB-770, CV62, CV77, 840-M, 840-J, 960-M, 960-J, CAB-840, CAB-960, CV84, CV95, 1330-J, CAB-133, CV130, R540-H, R540-J, SSD1800, XC806, CV540, CD1800-16, System 1, System 1-BAL, System 2-A, System 2-B, System 2-S, System 3, System 4, System 5, System 6, System 7, System 8, System 9, System 10, Basic 12, Concert 12, Basic 16, Concert 16, Basic 20, Concert 20, Super Concert 20, SV-1AB, SV-2S, SV3-4, SV-5, SV-6, SV-7, SV-8, SV-9, SVC-12, SVC-16, SVSC-20, SNK-6, SNK-12, SNK-16, PH15, PH50, XLR25, XLR50, DC160, DC160L, DC200KI, DC200K, DC200B, DC200C, DC200BI, DC200CI, DC12012, CM140B, CM140C, CM140L, DC150BE, DC150CM, DC150CE, DC150L, CM130CE, CM130BE, CM130CM, DC100C, DC100B, SH225, SH225S, DN612C, DN612B, DN640C, DN640B, LB50CM, LB50BE, LB50CE, LB50L, LB50F, HC10, HC11, HC14, HC15, HC18, M22, M22SD, M22B, TB6, N6, TB8, NE6, NM6, NE4, NM4, BN6, JP1, JP2, RL, RXL, R2XL, 3050, M3075, 3090, M6, M6 Mini, M6L Mini, M4, Kit 15, Kit 20, Kit 30, P1, P2, K1, S1, S3, S4, L11, I2A, C1, C2, WS1, E2, X-60, X-100, FS-35, E-220, CX-10, A-3, A-12, A-16, CTX-2, CTX-8.Third Party Models: Shure 588-SB-CN, Shure 588-SAC, Shure 565SD-CN, Shure SM58-CN, Shure SM57-CN, Shure A95UF, JBL E130, JBL 2461, Motorola 6016, Heppner 440.

Series

MX Series, Stereo Mixers, Monaural Mixers, Pro Line Professional Amplifiers, DCA, DCM, Professional Studio Monitors, Sound Reinforcement Loudspeaker, Bass Reinforcement Loudspeaker, Radial Horn, Sound Systems, Basic, Concert, Super Concert, DC Series, CM Series, DN Series, LB Series, X Series, Guitar Parts, Guitar Amps

Technology

16 input 8 output mixer, stereo mixer, monaural mixer, direct outs, post-fader direct out, pre-fader direct out, buss sends, 8 to 2 mix-down, talkback, control room monitoring, phantom power, active EQ, 9 band graphic EQ, 10 band graphic EQ, 7 band EQ, Hammond 3-spring reverb, balanced XLR inputs, differential input circuitry, full complementary power amp design, relay speaker protection, short-circuit protection, thermostatic protection, fan cooling, bridged mono operation, bi-amping, tri-amping, parametric crossover, Butterworth filters, horn-loaded port enclosure, sealed monitor enclosure, fuse-protected crossover, radial horn, Renkus-Heinz driver, JBL woofer option, piezo tweeter, all-tube guitar amp, 4-control guitar electronics, semi-hollow body guitar, Koa option, direct-sales factory model

Artists & Endorsers

Larry Coryell, Roger Waters, The Knack, Snowy White, John Cipollina, Wah Wah Watson, Deep Purple, Grey Star, Peter Tosh, Polinus Polycorpou, Rick Murrell, Kim Gardner, Jimmy Swaggart, Kingsman Quartet, Grand Land Singers

Search Tokens

Carvin 1981 catalog, Carvin MX1608, Carvin DCA800, Carvin XC1000, Carvin 620-M, Carvin 840-M, Carvin 960-M, Carvin 1330-J, Carvin R540-H, Carvin System 20, Carvin Concert 20, Carvin Super Concert 20, Carvin SH225, Carvin DC200, Carvin X-100, Carvin X-60, Carvin LB50, Carvin DN612, Carvin DN640, Carvin M22SD, Carvin SNK-12, Carvin PH50, Carvin XLR25, Carvin Renkus-Heinz, Carvin JBL E130.

Additional searchable lines

Example: Electric Spanish Guitar kits, Alnico pickups, accordion pickup, mid-century musical instruments.
Example: Electric Spanish Guitar kits, Alnico pickups, accordion pickup, mid-century musical instruments.