software

Can you please tell me about it? Thanx.
(Sound clips welcome)

PS: N O T the combo ... the head!

Wait for Xeromus and B2D...

*raises hand*

B2D seems to love his. I have a love/hate relationship. One day I can love it, the next day I hate it. I'll say this, it's retardedly loud. It definately has it's own type of character, almost too much. The problem with this amp is it's really hard to describe. You almost have to try one out to see what it's all about. I use it with the Legacy 4x12 cab with V30's. Anything in particular you want to know?


Originally Posted by Xeromus

Anything in particular you want to know?

Yes, now that you've asked.

1. Is it reliable? Have you used it on gigs or tour?
2. Can you switch the voltage between 110/220V?
3. How many speaker outs does it have? Does it have a 16 ohm output setting?
4. Is there an FX loop? Series or parallel? Does it have volume controls for the in and out?
5. What are those little push buttons on the head?
6. What does the footswitch do? How is it connected to the head? (VERY IMPORTANT)

There are several reasons why I'm considering this head. The main three are:
1- Playing shows in Europe is looking more and more like reality at the moment, and I need something I can bring over and beat the crap out of without worry.

2- I would like a decent backup rig for gigs.

3- I am looking for another amp to add some more flavour to my recordings. I sold my Engl/Marshall rack off because the tone wasn't flexible enough for me, but I wouldn't mind having a head in the fold that can do the powermetal thing again, so long as it can do the other stuff. I have discovered that I prefer heads over rack preamp/amps.

I'm leaning towards a Legacy head, as well as a Matamp 1224.


Originally Posted by TwilightOdyssey

I sold my Engl/Marshall rack off because the tone wasn't flexible enough for me,

Whaaa? I thought you loved those things. Ben, this is very un-British of you!


Originally Posted by JammerMattWhaaa? I thought you loved those things. Ben, this is very un-British of you!

LOL ... fer powermetal it was great, but compared to my Rivera and JCM800, I didn't quite like it as much. Even on the CD, I only used the rack stuff for the harmony parts, not for any main riffing.

So you're looking into a Carvin Legacy... very cool. Well lets see what can i say about it?

If you like Steve Vai's current tones a lot, you'll probably like this amp a lot. The Legacy IS a big part of that sound. But it's a big part of the sound less in the way of how the amp actually sounds but more so in the fact that it lets all the little nuances of your playing come through. Its VERY sensitive to everything. If you're looking to get that kind of tone, you'll only really get into that Vai zone with the amp, a hot overdrive or distortion pedal feeding it a boost, and high volume. An ash strat with heavy strings will sound radically different than an alder strat with Hot Rails and 9s on it. Its one of those amps that really emphasizes the difference between players AND the gear its seeing.

That being said, if you're looking for a huge, fat, bold, expressive tone it's a WONDERFUL amp for crafting your own sound. It really does not sound like a Marshall or a Fender at all. Its go its own thing going on. Some highlights:

1. The lead channel. A lot of people get surprised by this amp because it has much less inherent distortion than you'd think for what Vai does. This is for two reasons... one is that Vai prefers to let his pedals do a good amount of work WITH the amp, and the second is that the gain structure is built so that rather than all-out gain what you get is a HUGE, fat, chunky, bold, authoritative sound. Its probably the ballsiest amp I've ever heard. It feels very different too. You know how tube amps get very liquidy feeling when the power tubes are red-hot and cooking? Harmonics popping out left and right? Well thats what the Legacy is like all the time! It's a very liquidy smooth quot;compressedquot; feel that seems to facilitate fast and expressive guitar work. My other guitarist uses a Strat with 12-52s (I use 9s and 10s) and when I played his guitar it felt like the guitar dropped a guage of string. Notes just seems to fly off the fretboard. It's like having a hint of a real good compressor on all the time. It's a very easy-feeling amp to play and not stuff or hard at all like some old marshalls and fenders can be sometimes. My settings vary a bit with the guitar I'm using but the drive generally sounds best when set at 6 or 7. You get the best sounds there and if you need more the amp is designed to accept hot pedals to enhance the sound. Plus the amp cleans up VERY well when you turn the guitar volume down. ...I was playing my friend's Tele thru it yesterday (no pedals expect a delay in the FX loop) evening jamming on some classic rock tunes and we played Sunshine of Your Love... I've never heard a Tele do Cream so well. hahah. Not to say it was Clapton-woman sound but it worked so damn well because like I said just the right amount of gain and compression with huge fat smoothness. In summary its a VERY different beast from what most people are used to and it DOES take some playing with it to get used to the different character but I like this thing more and more every day.

(contd)

(contd)

2. The Clean Channel. Again, fast liquidy articulation, big, fat, bold, and defined. The twist here is that you get extra snap and high end clarity from the increased treble range. Its like a Fender tube amp on steroids. Take Vai's clean tone from quot;The Boy From Seattlequot; and thats pretty much what a Strat will sound like through it. Its a beautiful tone to build off of and a joy to play with. This is one of the few amps i like playing through with zero effects because the tone is so much fun to play and enjoyable.

3. Other stuff... The reverb is GREAT. Fender quality IMO. The control pots are 1 mega-ohm (rather than 250k) and sealed so they have a wider control range AND do not interact with each other. Series effects loop, you can use 6L6's, 5881s, or EL34s with it. The amp comes stock with Electro Harmonix EL34 power tubes. Ohm-selector switch makes cab matching easy, 1/2 power switch is available. The footswitch will switch channels and turn the reverb on and off. the ftsw jack on the amp is a standard 1/4 phono plug that switches from the tip for the channels.

4. Brendan's tricks. The stock Sovtek preamp tubes don't sound all that great and their weaknesses are REALLY exposed on the dirty channel. Some GT12AX7Rs or JJ high gain 12AX7's really bring the amp to life. Thats about the only special thing Ive done so far for it. Also this is a very dark, fat, smooth amp so it tends to like medium-to-hot pickups the best (although it sounds good with anything) that are on the bright side. I tried playing with speaker selections but the stock Vintage 30s seems to blend with the amp best. I've got a V30 coming from krankguitarist and an Eminence Wizard on the way, but in the interim I'm using a Marshall 1960BV that belongs to my friend and it sounds wonderful.

I also use a Dr. Z Airbrake attenuator with it because without one this amp is ridiculously loud. You gotta have it at about 5 to get it to really start to shine and at that level without an attenuator you'll get the cops called on you REAL fast and it makes bartenders and club owners/soundmen all frowny faced. With the attenuator on it its aaaaallll good.


Originally Posted by TwilightOdysseyYes, now that you've asked.

1. Is it reliable? Have you used it on gigs or tour?
2. Can you switch the voltage between 110/220V?
3. How many speaker outs does it have? Does it have a 16 ohm output setting?
4. Is there an FX loop? Series or parallel? Does it have volume controls for the in and out?
5. What are those little push buttons on the head?
6. What does the footswitch do? How is it connected to the head? (VERY IMPORTANT)

1. I've only had it for about a month, and it's seen only three gigs in that so I can't really say how reliable it is yet. I've not heard of any pertinent problems with it from other users though. It IS very solid-feeling and the back of the amp is well-protected, though. My only real disappointment was lack of shields for the preamp tubes but they're stuck in there pretty tightly.

2. No.

3. It has two speaker outs and a 3-way switch that will let you select 4, 8, or 16 ohms.

4. There is a series effects loop, and it does not have volume controls for the send and return.

5. One of the buttons selects the channel manually if you're not using the footswitch, the other is a presence boost for the clean channel.

6. The FS22 footswitch will switch channels on the head and it will turn the reverb on and off. It's connected via a 1/4 inch jack that uses a ring/tip setup. I haven't figured out what the ring and tip are each devoted to yet, though.

Any other questions?

B2D, that was a really informative post! Er, posts!

I'm going to call Carvin and see about the 110/220V issue, since that's critical.

Thanx much!!


Originally Posted by TwilightOdysseyB2D, that was a really informative post! Er, posts!

I'm going to call Carvin and see about the 110/220V issue, since that's critical.

Thanx much!!

Yer welcome. As for the voltage, I'd probably ask about them selling you one of their export/Euro models from the factory.

Carvin sell amps in New Zealand (230V), so you're probably in luck.

This was the other amp I seriously considered before I got my 5150 2, but since I had no way to demo it I decided to go for the quot;surequot; tone. B2D your review is really givin me the GAS I had for it back. Can anybody vouch for the quality of the combo?

I tried the combo but got the head for the speaker cab switchability. The only thing I can really note about the combo is the fact that the back can be open OR closed on it. It's loaded with two V30s. And it kicks ass and is just as loud as the head is.