Carvin Legacy?

[narad]

Well, it's 2024 now and any talk of these amps seems to have long died out. I was curious what people that of them in retrospect? Mostly thinking about the v1 or v2, sometimes popping up for pretty cheap prices.

My impression was that they were trying to be cheaper XTCs, and I already one, so if that's the pitch it's not so interesting. But if it had it's own thing going on... hmm...maybe?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I don't think these were XTC based really, they didn't seem to sound like it. I had a I and II, didn't bother with the III. They were okay.

These are like stupid cheap now, I assume if they were worthwhile they'd hold some sort of value.

Steve is going to sound like Steve no matter what he plugs into, so I don't think these had any special sauce.

Folks bought them because they were cheap, had a decent spec sheet, and of course were signature amps for one of the greatest guitarist to ever do it.

 

[spudmunkey]

Even when the 3rd version came out, the one with the bent sheet metal shell, and even when they were visible on stage, there was seemingly almost always someone who'd spot a v1 plugged in somewhere a bit out of sight. It was interesting that the V2 was a collab with Ben Fargen, but even with that pedigree, Steve seemed to eventually circle back and stick with the V1.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

This was also G-System era Vai, after that around the world A/D/A conversion front and back that's all you really heard.

By the time the III came out it was pretty much all AxeFx.

 

[narad]

Interesting. I seem to prefer the V1 is the youtube sound clips as well. A little bit more Marshall upper midrange to it I guess, but love the look and layout on the V2. Probably I shouldn't bother I suppose.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Even when the 3rd version came out, the one with the bent sheet metal shell, and even when they were visible on stage, there was seemingly almost always someone who'd spot a v1 plugged in somewhere a bit out of sight. It was interesting that the V2 was a collab with Ben Fargen, but even with that pedigree, Steve seemed to eventually circle back and stick with the V1.

He never even tried to hide it and clarified later on that he was just so familiar with the V1’s in a live setting that he didn’t feel the need to change it up.

I think they may have been made more at Carvin’s urging than Vai wanting to develop it, he only used the Lead channel in the V1, which is why he put so much effort into ensuring that rolling back the volume would clean it up. Despite the Legacy having one of the best sounding clean channels I’ve ever heard, Vai never used it live.

Fargen was there from the very beginning, Carvin mentioned his name in the original write up of the Legacy when it launched and Vai was talking about him in interviews.

I was in high school then and was already saving for a new amp, I was in peak Vai fanboy days then and when I saw the Legacy head was a whopping $800 or $900, I shit my pants.

A 17 or 18 year old RevDrucifer playing in a nu-metal band at a YMCA-


I had the original Legacy cab with the Greenbacks. Totally regret selling that rig now, but I was coming out of my Vai fanboy days and getting into heavier music.

 

[RevDrucifer]

I don't think these were XTC based really, they didn't seem to sound like it. I had a I and II, didn't bother with the III. They were okay.

These are like stupid cheap now, I assume if they were worthwhile they'd hold some sort of value.

Steve is going to sound like Steve no matter what he plugs into, so I don't think these had any special sauce.

Folks bought them because they were cheap, had a decent spec sheet, and of course were signature amps for one of the greatest guitarist to ever do it.

I disagree with the Bogner bit, he went straight from using Ecstasy’s to designing the Legacy and both amps have that dark Marshall thing going on where no matter how much you crank the treble, neither amp will do the Marshall clang thing, but you’re not going to escape that ‘boosted Marshall’ sound from either amp, either.

Even the Shiva has a lot of common ground with the Legacy.

 

[Crungy]

One guitarist I played with ages ago had what I'd assume was a V1. I don't recall what he was using for pedals at the time but most likely a Fulltone Full Drive because those were just becoming the next big thing for pedals.

He generally had good tone and the main thing I remember was that amp was loud as balls... Looking back I'm guessing the taper on the master must not have been good because he had it on 2 max through a 4x12 and it was insanely loud. He went through a bunch of other boutique amps (Bogner, Soldano, others in sure) and that one always seemed loudest.

 

[Drew]

Well, it's 2024 now and any talk of these amps seems to have long died out. I was curious what people that of them in retrospect? Mostly thinking about the v1 or v2, sometimes popping up for pretty cheap prices.

My impression was that they were trying to be cheaper XTCs, and I already one, so if that's the pitch it's not so interesting. But if it had it's own thing going on... hmm...maybe?

I'll concur that they never really sounded like an Ecstacy to me - that thing had a very distinct sound to it, sort of a darker "color" to the tone, and his ALS/original G3 live album tone is very different than what came before or after. I'd put the Legacy closer to a Laney or modded Marshall, or maybe original Mesa Mark/no graphic EQ sort of color - ton of low-mids, bright but not super fizzy, very "Vai." It's tough to say for sure because 90%+ of the times I've heard someone playing a Legacy it was going after a Vai like tone, but I did remember hearing a blues-rock band somewhere playing through one and it did a pretty good mid-gain rock tone, but the overall color was still there and I don't know how versatile they'd be in practice.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I played a V2 for a while. Loud and clean, excellent pedal platform. I used it in a sludgy post rock band. The drive was fine I guess, I didn't really use it. They're based on the x100b is my understanding, also loud and clean, with an awful drive channel.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

@RevDrucifer you're right about the clean channel. If Carvin was good at anything it's their clean channels. Their gain channels in my opinion?... Nah. Lol. The Legacy only felt good for liquidy lead stuff and less so for anything else. From what I understand though that's just the Carvin amp sound since the X100B; a very fuzzy character that doesn't hold together for clearer, tighter rhythm stuff. The V3 I tried also sounded like that and woof.

With that said the Legacy cabs were also great for being cheap and easy to find and loaded with Celestions.

Speaking of the Bogner's; Vai's sound was best in the mid-'90s when he was using that Bogner/Egnater setup. After he went full Carvin it never sounded as good.

 

[RevDrucifer]

@RevDrucifer you're right about the clean channel. If Carvin was good at anything it's their clean channels. Their gain channels in my opinion?... Nah. Lol. The Legacy only felt good for liquidy lead stuff and less so for anything else. From what I understand though that's just the Carvin amp sound since the X100B; a very fuzzy character that doesn't hold together for clearer, tighter rhythm stuff. The V3 I tried also sounded like that and woof.

With that said the Legacy cabs were also great for being cheap and easy to find and loaded with Celestions.

Speaking of the Bogner's; Vai's sound was best in the mid-'90s when he was using that Bogner/Egnater setup. After he went full Carvin it never sounded as good.

Agreed on all points.

When I had the Legacy I was doing covers and we did a couple Pantera tunes, I had a 31-band EQ in the loop that take off bypass and had a lot of stuff notched out in the low mids/mids to get the amp tightened up.

I also use to crank the shit out of it, like the volume on 6-7, and used a delay in he loop to control the volume of the whole rig. I remember it being ‘tough’ to play until it was cranked to a certain point, not as unforgiving as a JCM800 or older Marshall, but not a lot of sustain/compression lending a helping hand.

And yeah, my favorite Vai era is ‘93-‘97, for the playing and the tones. I can’t remember if I got my Legacy before I heard Vai playing one, he only used it on one song on The Ultra Zone, but I was probably way too much of a Vai fanboy to think anything negative about it back then, but that was the beginning of the end of me loving Vai tones.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

I remember it being ‘tough’ to play until it was cranked to a certain point, not as unforgiving as a JCM800 or older Marshall, but not a lot of sustain/compression lending a helping hand.

My Legacy 2 made me a much better player because there was very little to cover my slop, especially once I hit it with some drive. Huge dynamic range, but you had to be able to control it. Peak "t0an is in the hands" shit.

 

[penguin_316]

Super random, but I’ve been researching these as well for months. V100 seems to be where it’s at…

 

[TimSE]

Got myself some NAM profiles for a VL100 and Vai tones. Its pretty incredible and defo the best lead tone Ive ever used. Too thick for riffing so I use a Mesa Dual Rec for chugs but lead and jamming is VL100 all day now.

 

[RevDrucifer]

Got myself some NAM profiles for a VL100 and Vai tones. Its pretty incredible and defo the best lead tone Ive ever used. Too thick for riffing so I use a Mesa Dual Rec for chugs but lead and jamming is VL100 all day now.

When I had mine in high school I used an EQ in the loop to cut/shape the mids for when we’d Pantera/metal covers, then bypass it for wanky guitar shit.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

Got myself some NAM profiles for a VL100 and Vai tones. Its pretty incredible and defo the best lead tone Ive ever used. Too thick for riffing so I use a Mesa Dual Rec for chugs but lead and jamming is VL100 all day now.

FWIW I played Riffs through a VL100 for quite a few years using a RAT+Pharaoh into the clean channel, but if you're using modeling I guess there's no reason not to use a different amp.