Grace
Grace
Carstens Amplification® and Billy Corgan have combined creative talents to change the guitar amplifier game. Versatile, articulate high gain and supreme tone.
The acclaimed Grace amplifier is offered with limited availability
Custom color of red, or cream will incur a lead time.
Click here to get on the list!
Brian Carstens has long been working with the Smashing Pumpkins as an amplifier technician. In late 2018, Billy Corgan and Brian began discussing an amp collaboration. Billy expressed, in over 30 years of creating music, “I have never played a high gain amp that I like.” Billy’s lofty request: for Brian to make him an amp with an unheard of amount of gain, high headroom and distinct tone. Brian got to work, and the Carstens Amplification® Grace amplifier was born. Billy was so blown away by the Grace that this custom project turned into this signature Billy Corgan amplifier — Billy’s first and only. To really understand why Billy Corgan calls the Grace “a game changer” and “a real step forward,” take a listen.
This extremely versatile, 100W, single channel amplifier offers a staggering amount of articulate high gain, yet is exceptionally responsive to changes in your guitar volume and attack. As such, your Grace can go from clean, crunch to breathtaking overdrive with the turn of a volume, or gain control, or by just using a lighter touch. The Grace has a wide open 3-dimensional tone and very high harmonic content that help to make it sound unlike any other amp on the market.
Each Grace is completely handwired using premium components, including specially designed, hand-wound Mercury Magnetics transformers. The result is a beautifully open and immense 3-dimensional high-gain overdrive with incredible note separation.
All are handmade by Brian Carstens.
Specs:
Tubes:
4 x EL34
4 x 12AX7
Controls:
Gain, Treble, Middle, Bass, Master Volume, Presence, Bright Switch, Headroom (now moved to the front panel)
Completely handmade/hand-wired in the U.S.A by Brian Carstens
Custom cabinet handcrafted in the U.S.A
Specially designed, hand-wound Mercury Magnetics transformers
Optional tube buffered series FX Loop
Mercury Magnetics power cord
Premium capacitors
High grade vacuum tubes for low noise and peak performance
Powder coated/silk screened, high quality aluminum chassis
Selectable 4/8/16Ω speaker output
No printed circuit boards
100W
“I literally can’t think of another amp where I would be comfortable saying I am just going to play this one amp all night”
“This amp f***ing rules!”
“It’s awesome! I love how much gain I can lay on it and it stays clear. Takes pedals really well too. Amp fucking rocks!”
“These amps are crushing!”
“This amp is a miracle! I don’t know how you did it. It is the whole package! ”
“I think it’s a fantastic amp! The {Headroom} pot at the back it really gave an interesting range of response. I think you’ve done fantastic work with this amp!”
“This amp is absolutely incredible. I cannot believe how single coils clean up so well on such an aggressive gain setting. I have been looking for an amp like this for a long, long time. Thank you for creating this!”
“It has heaps of gain on tap, a super responsive EQ with a tone that is very full but clear and articulate, none of the harshness that some production high gain amps tend to have, and none of that flubby boomy bottom end. The thing that really stands out is how much gain can be pushed, yet the notes stay incredibly clear, defined, and you could pull out a lot of the detail of the individual notes. For lack of a better description, it has a ton of “note separation”, Something I had not heard before to this degree on a high gain amp, even including Friedman, Bogner, Diezel, Mesa, etc ”
“Billy was right, you are a genius! I went from playing straight metal to The Rolling Stones just by dialing back the volume on my guitar!”