1-12 combo #35 Listen to one classic American guitar recording after another and you’ll hear what so many have in common: the sweet, juicy sound of the tweed and blackface eras. Capable of both delectable clean tones and harmonically rich tube overdrive at real-world volumes, amps like the late-’50s tweed Harvard, Deluxe, and ’60s blackface Princeton Reverb provided a springboard for the Carr Skylark. The new Skylark Special continues that tradition, adding increased versatility and enhanced sonic depths to the time-tested design of the original model. The Skylark generates 12 watts from a pair of 6V6GT power tubes, but it does far more with that platform than any of the classics that inspired it. By expanding the tone stage with a super-handy Mid control and adding an extended-range Presence control, Carr has given the Skylark far more sonic flexibility. A Hi/Low gain switch and onboard attenuator enhance the drive and output capabilities exponentially, allowing a smooth transition from tweed-to-blackface, and further suiting the amp to a myriad of playing situations. Additionally, Carr has added its popular H73 setting—the Hiwatt-inspired tone section introduced on the Bel-Ray model—to the new Special design, introducing the option of a bold and punchy British voice, selectable on a two-way mini-toggle. The Skylark’s acclaimed, tube-driven spring reverb has been enhanced for optimum lush, multi-dimensional atmospherics. The redesigned, retro-styled cabinet is now made from lightweight, premium-grade, Baltic-birch plywood, reducing the total weight while better focusing tonal projection. An EZ81 tube rectifier takes the place of the previous fast-recovery diodes for a more responsive, tactile playing feel. Added together, these features make for an extremely dynamic and expressive combo that’s beautifully suited to the studio and club stage alike. It’s all put together with the top-shelf parts and construction that Carr is famous for, using military and aerospace-grade power supply components, an added nine more Jupiter signal capacitors (more expensive, but they sound great), and resistors inspired by the golden age of tube amps, all rendered with true point-to-point wiring. The Skylark — primed to fly when your tone needs wings.
