STEVE CARR’S REPUTATION FOR developing inspiringly original circuits is
highlighted by the new Bloke, which is
designed to deliver classic Brit-rock tones,
but without following any existing blueprint.
This Bloke generates a stout 48 watts
from a pair of EL34s run at a relatively
low 320-volt plate voltage. “The EL34s
will last a very long time in this environment,”
Carr relates, “and the lower voltage
sound is very rich in midrange. Also,
this allows folks to run 6V6s in the Bloke
for 22 watts if they want.”
The Bloke is laid out inversely to most
“channel-switching” amps, using a shared
Drive knob for the preamp’s first gain stage,
but with two independent and differently
voiced Loudness controls with a shared
three-knob, cathode-follower tone stack
following it all. The configuration might
seem odd on paper, but is quite intuitive
in use. You can also flip the “clean” channel’s
Hi/Low switch to achieve gain levels
equivalent to the “lead” channel, but with
a different sonic character
A roam around inside the Bloke reveals
a complex, hand-wired circuit constructed
across several tag strips and true point-to-
point connections, with silicone sealant
applied on wires and components to
aid rigidity and quell vibration. The power
supply includes heavy filtering from large
Sprague electrolytic caps—one of several
steps toward low-end solidity—while
popular Mallory signal caps populate the
preamp and output stages. For all this,
the Bloke is housed in an open-backed
cab that’s about the same size as a Deluxe
Reverb, and doesn’t weigh much more. The dovetail-jointed solid-pine cab sports a nifty
floating grille that fronts an Eminence-made
Carr Elsinore speaker. The speaker outs and
3-way impedance switch are located on the
underside of the chassis, which is also where
you’ll find the effects loop jacks if the amp
is equipped with that $400 option.
Tested with a variety of guitars, the Bloke
issued a mighty roar for such a compact amp,
and proved itself to be a fine alternative to
a half-stack for anyone seeking overdrive
tones that wave the banner of the Union Jack.
With Drive from 2 o’clock to max, it’s really
a medium-gain amp by today’s standards,
with a distinctly vintage-sounding voice.
But even so, the Bloke offers delectable and
extremely willing harmonic feedback even
at lower Loudness settings, and it sounds
chewy, rich, and toothsome throughout its
wide spectrum of lead tones. Clean sounds
are great at lower volumes but veer toward
crunch very quickly—a compromise of that
shared Drive control—but as Carr confesses,
this is far more of a lead amp, and personally,
I love it this way. Tons of fun to play,
with a midrange body and low-end girth
that belies its size, this is one Bloke I’d be
delighted to hang with!
SPECIFICATIONS
CONTACT Carramps.com
THE BLOKE
PRICE $2,450 street; $2,850 with
optional effects loop
CHANNELS 1 (with two footswitchable
Loudness levels)
CONTROLS Drive, Hi/Low Loudness, Lead
Loudness, Treble, Middle, Bass
POWER 48 watts with EL34s, 22 watts
with 6V6s
TUBES Three 12AX7 and one 12AT7
preamp tubes, two EL34 output
tubes
EXTRAS Dual speaker outs with 4/8/16Ω switch, optional effects
loop. Footswitch included.
SPEAKERS One 12" Carr Elsinore, made
by Eminence
WEIGHT 47 lbs
BUILT USA
KUDOS Extremely well built, powerful,
and dynamic. Two distinct
and footswitchable flavors of fiery rock tone.
CONCERNS Limited clean tones.