Steve Carr and crew have done it again - the Telstar combo we just received has absolutely floored us. Small footprint, killer tones, gorgeous looks...sounds an awful lot like all Carr amps, no? What sets this little beauty apart is how its circuit "blends the sinewy harmonic assertion of EL84s with the deep, full control of 6L6s in a new and unique push-pull recipe." Not cool enough for you? How about the ability to use any local power tube with the EL84 without re-biasing the amp? (!!) Amazing.

What does this mean in plain terms? Put simply, you have the best of both worlds - the chime and gain of a EL84 and the girth and depth of a 6L6. Rated at 17 watts, we found the Telstar to have the perfect amount of volume for both home playing (thanks to a variable attenuator) and small club gigs. It can get loud, but never unreasonably so.

The Lean/Lush switch tailors the body of the tone, while the 53/58 switch changes the overall gain structure - and - the frequencies the tone control emphasizes. It sounds fantastic with humbuckers, single-coils, or P90s and there's a huge range of both clean and overdriven tones. We should also mention that the reverb circuit sounds incredible - deep, lush, capable of getting washy, but it always sits perfectly with the core tone and never overpowers it.

• Specs//Power--17 Watts, Controls--Volume-Tone-Reverb, Switches--Lean/Lush-53/58-Attenuator-In/Out-Power On/Off/Standby
• Construction//General--Hand wired point-to-point in the USA, Cabinet--Hand-Crafted From Solid NC Pine (In House At Carr) / Dovetail-Jointed & Uniquely Styled
• Components//Tubes--One 12AX7-One 12AT7-One 6SL7-One EL84-One 5881 (6L6GC type) that's Swappable For 6V6 or EL34, Reverb--All Tube Spring Reverb, Speaker--12" Carr Valiant, Transformers--Custom Carr Transformers (USA Made)
• Size//Dimensions--(W) x 17.5" (H) x 9" (D), Weight--39lbs

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The Music Emporium has been a fixture of the Boston music community since 1968. We're a shop built by musicians - players, luthiers, photographers, and gear obsessives - and that shapes everything about how we do business.

Every instrument we ship is inspected and set up by our in-house guitar techs before it leaves the shop.

We're a Fender Showcase Dealer, Collings' largest dealer worldwide, and a Martin Custom Shop Expert Dealer. Our showroom is at 165 Massachusetts Ave in Lexington, MA.

Questions about any instrument are always welcome. We're happy to talk gear.