Guitar Player Editors Pick

Originally printed in the April 2016 issue of Guitar Player. Reprinted with the permission of the publishers of Guitar Player. Copyright 2016 NewBay Media, LLC. All rights
reserved. Guitar Player, 1111 Bayhill Dr., St. 440, San Bruno, CA 94066. T. 650.238.0300. Subscribe at www.guitarplayer.com
Originally printed in the April 2016 issue of Guitar Player. Reprinted with the permission of the publishers of Guitar Player. Copyright 2016 NewBay Media, LLC. All rights
reserved. Guitar Player, 1111 Bayhill Dr., St. 440, San Bruno, CA 94066. T. 650.238.0300. Subscribe at www.guitarplayer.com
GEAR
reverb dialed in anywhere from subtle to surf’s
it there at the flick of a switch when you need it.
up splashy—but I think I enjoyed the lead channel
Perhaps the Lincoln won’t give you the gut-
even more. This option, which Carr says “makes
thump of a bigger combo or stack, but it’ll get
the Lincoln the highest-gain amp we make
you rockin’ just fine in a packed club on a Friday
right now”—packs a surprising roar for such an
night, while delivering great dynamics at man-
unassuming amp. Gain levels rolled easily from
ageable volume levels in the process. The dual
pushed-Vox to pseudo-plexi to JCM800 hair
reverb controls also proved handy for dial-
CONTACT carramps.com
metal roar to floored-Vox Brian May-like vocal
ing down the splash in hotter lead tones with-
PRICE $2,830 with black covering; wail—all easily nailed on the fly thanks to the
out having to switch it off entirely. All in all, the
extra footswitchable boost and a very usable
Lincoln is a cool and superbly functional amp,
Master control (which is dedicated to this chan-
one that offers a boatload of fun for any player
CHANNELS nel alone). While the attenuator isn’t the most
in need of a compact, versatile, and easy-to-
transparent I have tried, it’s still handy to have
use 18-watter. g
.
S P E C I F I C AT I O N S
LINCOLN
$2,980 for two-tone covering
CONTROLS 2
Rhythm channel: Volume, Treble,
Bass, Normal/Bright switch. Lead
channel: Drive, Tone, Master,
Carr Lincoln
POWER 18/6 watts
T ESTE D BY DAVE HU NT ER
TUBES Four 12AX7s, two EL84s (solid-
High/Low gain switch. Reverb 1
and Reverb 2 (individual levels
for each channel). 18/6 attenuator switch
state rectification)
CARR HAS BEEN ON A MAJOR RUN
are presented as an 18-watt, dual-EL84 engine
smaller feet at the rear of the cab’s underside.
with its lower-wattage offerings in recent years.
behind rhythm and lead channels, with inde-
Inside the chassis, the Lincoln displays Carr’s
for rhythm/lead channel switch-
The Sportsman and Skylark are American-lean-
pendent Reverb controls for each, and a built-
usual mix of point-to-point and turret-board
ing and lead high/low gain. ing combos that quickly won a broad fan base.
in attenuator to cut the output to 6 watts. All
circuit construction, all hand wired using top-
Built-in attenuator reducing
Now the newly released Lincoln aims at EL84-
that, and it’s done with admirable simplicity,
notch components, with a few small printed
powered British flavors. The inspiration for the
which is Carr’s trademark.
circuit cards used for switching functions only.
EXTRAS Two-button footswitch (included)
output to 6 watts.
SPEAKER 12" Celestion G12M Creamback
WEIGHT 40 lbs
Lincoln came from a 1964 Vox AC10 combo
The finger-jointed, solid-pine cab is entic-
I tested the Lincoln with a Stratocaster, a Les
that Steve Carr recently acquired, but since this
ingly compact for a 1x12 at 24" x 16" x 9". Nift-
Paul, and a Thorn SoCal C/S with staple-top-
BUILT USA
maker doesn’t copy anything, the Lincoln is in
ily styled, too, with an integral dual-fin speaker
style GT90 pickups. The rhythm channel was
KUDOS Unique styling and superb build
no way a clone. “I took all the vibe elements I
baffle and several options of basic black or
crisp and bouncy when kept shy of breakup,
quality. A surprisingly versatile
liked in the AC10 and incorporated them into
custom two-tone covering (one of which we
and enticingly chimey and chewy when pushed
and great-sounding grab ’n’ go
something brand new with lots of features that
see here, at a $150 upcharge). The box houses
slightly beyond, with a voicing that confidently
combo. Particularly good lead
expand the tone palette by a huge amount,”
a Celestion G12M Creamback speaker, which
roamed territory ranging from blackface to Top
Carr explained. “I wanted to retain the sim-
you should hear clearly on stage thanks to the
Boost (although its circuit topology isn’t pre-
plicity and ‘just the thing you need when you
use of high-quality Analysis Plus speaker cable,
cisely either). It’s an extremely agile performer
need it’ honesty of that old amp.” The results
and to the slight tip-up provided by the use of
in and of itself—especially with the excellent
100
G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M / A P R I L 2 0 1 6
tones.
CONCERNS Built-in attenuator is not especially transparent.
A P R I L 2 0 1 6 / G U I TA R P L A Y E R . C O M
101