Carr Sportsman Black Gator Amp Head #0685  From Carr

We know those sounds from countless guitar-driven hits of the ’50s and ’60s, laced with everything from toothy, biting twang to snappy, glassy chime enabled by those classic Fullteron amps’ transition from tweed to blackface. The Carr Sportsman captures it all in one versatile and eminently playable package, exuding tones so sweet you can stop turning back to tweak and just let your calloused fingertips dig in and enjoy.

While fusing the purity and clarity of an American reverb amp of the mid ’60s with the more aggressive dual-6V6 output stage of the late ’50s, Carr extends the Sportsman’s vocabulary with a fully usable Volume control, a wide-ranging Mid knob, and a Headroom control—the secret weapon that helps you bridge the decades. With the bonus of Carr’s delectable tube-driven, long-spring reverb, the full package makes for a lot of sonic splendor at your beck and call.

Rarely does one 19-watt, single-channel, 1x12" combo do so many things so well, but the Sportsman’s sonic purity and the chameleon-like capabilities of its control complement merge for a ton of versatility. From scooped rust-belt funk and R&B cleans, to stinging edge-of-breakup Chicago blues, to snarling Tex-Mex grind, and even a nod toward trans-Atlantic crunch and wail, it’s all there with just the twist of a few simple controls.

Of course, Carr’s next-level design and high-quality construction help to squeeze maximum sonic juice from the Sportsman, too. The circuit is fully hand-wired, point-to-point in the Carr tradition, using high-end and military grade components to ensure unprecedented signal clarity. Coupled with a hand-crafted, Birch multi-ply combo cabinet and ’70s style fixed speaker baffle for optimal resonance and character, the total package results in an expressive amp with utterly playable dynamics.

The Sportsman — pulling no punches on a bold sonic frontier.