Impala Instructions
Thank you for purchasing a Carr Impala amplifier.
The Impala takes inspiration from a central 1960s workhorse, The Blackface Bassman. We
harnessed the guttural, clean vibe then expanded this stalwart with all Tube Reverb, a super
usable Master Volume, and The Carr Voice. The result is a new amplifier, full of life and
determination – The Impala.
Please take time to familiarize yourself with this manual.
Volume
– Adjusts the loudness and drive of the amplifier. The Impala has an extended
range volume control and you will find you can sweep from sweet and clean to very
distorted.
Treble
– Varies the top end from dark to bright.
Mid
– Varies the midrange frequencies and is very interactive with the Treble control. For a
60s American tone, set the Mid to the ‘68’. The tone becomes more aggressive as you
advance the Mid past 1 o’clock. When the Mid is set near full, the Treble control’s effect is
more subtle.
Bass
– Varies the low end from lean to full. To retain clarity, turn the Bass down at higher
volumes.
Reverb
– Controls the amount of reverb sound from none to deep and lush. The Impala
uses an audio taper pot for reverb. The effect is very subtle till you hit 12 o’clock on the
dial allowing great control over the amount of reverb.
Master
– The interface between the pre amp and the power amp on the Impala. For the
cleanest sound, set the Master to Full and set the Volume control low. For thicker clean
tones, set the Master to 11 o’clock and the Volume to 12 o’clock. For overdriven tones, set
the Volume to 3 o’clock or higher and set the Master to the desired listening level. Higher
Master settings will bring in more output section overdrive when the Volume is set high.
Standby
– Set the amp to Standby (switch baton
down
) before turning on the power switch
(see
On-Off-On
below). After 1 minute of warm up, switch the Standby baton
up.
The amp
is ready to be played. Using the Standby switch every time the amp is turned on will prolong
tube life.
Note:
the Impala uses a very large pre amp power supply capacitor – it will take
about 45 seconds for the pre amp to come up to full volume once Standby is in Play.
On – Off – On –
Selects between two ON positions and the OFF position (middle). The two
ON’s are wired in opposite phase of each other. If you receive a shock from another piece of
equipment (a microphone or another amp) that is not properly grounded, or if you hear
static, switching to the opposite ON may solve the problem. This is sometimes called
“switching polarity”.
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