Browne Carbon X — Dual Bluesbreaker Overdrive
Browne Amplification returns to the channel with the Carbon X — a dual Bluesbreaker overdrive born from a collaboration with David Ryan Harris. Welcome back to Edge of Breakup.
In this episode the Browne Amplification Carbon X Dual Bluesbreaker Overdrive takes center stage — into the Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" via the Boss Waza Tube Amp Expander.
In Browne Amplification's words:
"The Carbon X was born from a simple question posed by David Ryan Harris — 'Can this be done?' The answer ('probably?') led to a journey of innovation and experimentation that resulted in the Carbon X. Imagine the fusion of two blue sides, the classic Carbon sound elevated to new heights. Stripping the right side of some of its sheen and headroom, we unleashed its grittier, raw essence and added a touch of sag, letting it unleash its barbaric yawp into the world of tonal richness. To perfect the art of stacking and gaining it up, we introduced a high cut to the left side, taming the top end with surgical precision."
The Carbon X is a dual overdrive housing two distinct variants of Browne Amplification's Bluesbreaker-circuit Carbon overdrive in one enclosure with two independent footswitches.
Right side: the grittier, rawer Carbon voice. Stripped of some headroom and sheen compared to the standard Carbon, with added sag — a looser, more pushed, more organic character. This is the more aggressive of the two sides, explored from 01:47.
Left side: the more refined Carbon voice, with the addition of a 3-way high-cut switch for surgical control over top-end content. The three high-cut positions allow the left side to be voiced from its natural brightness down to a mellowed, more vintage character — essential for controlling harshness when stacking. Explored from 04:49.
Both sides stacked from 08:01 — the architecture intentionally designed for stacking, with the right side's sag and grit feeding the left side's high-cut refinement. Into a pushed Benson Vincent from 09:21. Additional features: soft-switching, adjustable startup state (which side or combination is active when the pedal is first engaged), and an internal switch for use with a looper.
David Ryan Harris has worked with John Mayer, India Arie, and numerous other major artists. His request and collaborative refinement across multiple prototypes shaped the final Carbon X voicing.
🎛️ Browne Amplification Carbon X: https://www.browneamplification.com
🔊 Benson Amps: https://www.bensonamps.com/guitar-amplifiers
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🎛️ Browne Amplification Carbon X | Dual Bluesbreaker | 3-Way Hi-Cut (Left) | Sag + Raw Voice (Right) | Soft-Switch | Stackable | DRH Collab
🔊 Benson Amps Vincent 2x12" | Boss Waza TAE
Recording: Universal Audio Apollo x4 | Ohma Ribbon | Lauten Audio LS-208 | Royer R10 & R121 | Ableton Live 12
