Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

[Xeromus]

I have very little playing time on it still, and haven't been able to crank it yet.

the construction of the head and cabinet is top notch, and it comes with electro harmonix tubes. A nice change from groove tubes. It is very mids and bass heavy, and the lead channel has a very plexi/jcm800 feel to it. It's very hard to describe the lead channel. But it does SRV, AC/DC, and can nail those tones pretty well. You really have to fiddle with the knobs to get the whole spectrum of sounds available. The clean channel is simply amazing. Last night I changed tubes in a friend's Fender Blues Deville and was blown away by that amp. Clean and dirty are so tasty. So I had a basis for comparison. The Carvin legacy has marshall and mesa cleans beat. It's articulate and warm, not harsh or brittle. The presence (bright) switch is a nice feature too.

It's definately not a metal chugga chugga amp. but that's not to say it can't do it. This b!tch is loud! And it growls with high gain. One analogy I can think of is say the difference between the JB and Distortion pickups. Comparing a legacy to a marshall is similar. Marshall is bright brittle and crunchy, like the sound qualities of a duncan distortion. The legacy is full rich and warm. I know it's not a good comparion because pickups and amps are two different animals but it's only an analogy.

I also have yet to try a tube screamer on it. I think I'd like the lead channel to be more crisp but I haven't given it enough time yet. My ears have to get used to it.

My crate V-series amp has a very marshall sound to it, but is very bright and is a 1x12. My ears just have to compensate for the amp difference.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

Thanx for the review. Keep us posted. Can you make any clips?

You have to crank it so that you can put the ROCK in Rochester ... D'oh!!

 

[FretFire]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

*rimshot*

But because of the lame joke, the snare head busts .

Nice score on the Legacy man, definitely keep us up to date and get some clips if ya can .

 

[gt5litre]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

Congrats on the new amp. Good looking and I am intruiged about the amps tone. I have been thinking about getting that same amp; recently saw a 1/2 stack go on Ebay for 650-700 dollars.

I do have afew questions for you. How is it on the 1/2 power setting? Does it sound fatter and more compressed than your V-Series? Also, are the pots and jacks attached to the PC board and are the tube sockets mounted to the board or the chassis?

I asked about your Crate because I have the 2X12 combo and it works great with Strats and Les Pauls, but it does not like my RIC 360-12. I would guess the Crate does not compress a lot and an amp needs to do that for a RIC 12 to sound good through it. Also, RICs usually need a bright amp to sound there and you think the V-Series is bright??? Come to think of it, that amp can be bright depending on your settings.

Well I digress. More of your thoughts on the amp and its tone would be nice. Clips would be very nice. Enjoy that new amp mang.

Brent

 

[Xeromus]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

Thanx for the review. Keep us posted. Can you make any clips?

You have to crank it so that you can put the ROCK in Rochester ... D'oh!!

Don't EVER quit your day job to become a comedian! :laugh2:

I'll get some clips up eventually. I'll have to find a day when my downstairs neighbors aren't home and I'll record to nuendo with an SM57. Or, when I'm in the studio again, I have access to the studio at school so I can crank it as loud as I want there and record. Gotta love soundproof rooms.

 

[gt5litre]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

I recall reading that the tone controls have a wide-range. I believe Carvin uses 1M pots, where a Fender, Marshall and others use 250K pots for bass and treble. Also, Carvin sets there controls at frequencies that vary from those normally used.

We need clips, clips and more clips.

Brent

 

[B2D]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

^^^ This is true. Carvins pots are 1M sealed typed and do not interact with each other, as well as being tonally centered around frequencies that are very different from the usual fare. For instance, the treble control is set at 15K!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

^^^ This is true. Carvins pots are 1M sealed typed and do not interact with each other, as well as being tonally centered around frequencies that are very different from the usual fare. For instance, the treble control is set at 15K!

the Legacy (and maybe other Carvin amps as well) use what is called a Baxandal tone stack...actually it is a modified Baxandal tone stack...it works very different that anything else out there...Dano amps have them as well as some older amps that are more Hi-Fi like...these type tone stacks seem to work well with high gain (if you take the time to get used to it).

 

[mrid]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

Dano amps have them as well as some older amps that are more Hi-Fi like...these type tone stacks seem to work well with high gain (if you take the time to get used to it).

IIRC, Hiwatts, some Oranges (maybe Matamps?), and some Ampegs have the Baxandall tone stack as well.

where a Fender, Marshall and others use 250K pots for bass and treble.

Actually, it's 25k, I believe. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

IIRC, Hiwatts, some Oranges (maybe Matamps?), and some Ampegs have the Baxandall tone stack as well.



Im unsure about the Hiwatts...but the Orange, Matamps, and the Green amps as well as some of the Ampegs had this as well...you are right my friend!

 

[Xeromus]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

update:

It sounds like a hot rodded plexi.

That's good and bad. It has a ton of mids and I wish it had more gain and could get more crunchy. I don't know if you can play metal on it. I don't see it as being a very versatile amp.

On the other hand, that gives it a very unique tone which I also like. I've got to mess with it some more.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

update:

It sounds like a hot rodded plexi.

That's good and bad. It has a ton of mids and I wish it had more gain and could get more crunchy. I don't know if you can play metal on it. I don't see it as being a very versatile amp.

On the other hand, that gives it a very unique tone which I also like. I've got to mess with it some more.

Nothing a few pedals can't fix . Plus it gives you an excuse to buy more gear.

 

[FretFire]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

Vai uses Boss DS-1 pedals with the Keeley Ultra Mod.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

I seem to remember the one I played had a similar amount of gain on tap to the 5150.

-Which raises the question: how much gain do you need?
-Followed by: do you really not want to cut through the mix?

 

[Boston Joe]

Re: Carvin Legacy review, part 1: first impressions

I have an old X-100B and run an SD-1 into it. If you like the tone of the Legacy, the SD-1 should give you that extra boost for clean, fluid leads with a percussive edge, and plenty of crunch for rythm; and yet not severely alter the sound. The key with Carvins is that they sound great cranked up-- but, they are VERY loud (the X-100B can peak at 250 watts depending on the cabinet configuration).