Carvin Legacy

iDunnoMang

iDunnoMang

New member
hello, i was looking at the carvin legacy as my next amp. it seems like its suited for me perfectly.

i was wondering if anyone had personal experiences with this amp ? i would appreciate honest feedback, good or bad.

thanks a lot :)

EDIT: 2x12 combo in particular
 
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Re: Carvin Legacy

I played one when i was at the Carvin shop in Los Angeles a year or so ago.

It's a decent amp but it's way too loud for most folks needs. It isn't as gain-intensive either. Don't get me wrong; it isn't squeaky clean but it' really an amp that needs to be pushed at high volume to sound good.

What sort of placesa are you looking to be playing with it?
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

Skarekrough said:
I played one when i was at the Carvin shop in Los Angeles a year or so ago.

It's a decent amp but it's way too loud for most folks needs. It isn't as gain-intensive either. Don't get me wrong; it isn't squeaky clean but it' really an amp that needs to be pushed at high volume to sound good.

What sort of placesa are you looking to be playing with it?
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I agree, even the combo needs an attenuator unless you are playing the Sahara Desert on a regular basis. Not a low volume friendly unit.

Cranked it does sound quite nice.
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

In that price range, especially used, it's not bad. I'd probably opt for a Marshall DSL 50 instead. If you can spend a little more, I have a feeling the new Peavey Satriani amp would be better, although I haven't tried one yet. This is the best time to buy used, tho, since the Christmas season is usually when the the best used gear comes up for sale. Lots of motivated sellers!
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

Rumor has it that they will be announcing a Satriani combo amp in the near future.

...if you can wait until the next NAMM.
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

There is a good sound clip of the Legacy on Chris Snyder's amp clip page (unfortunately I don't have the link handy here at work).

To me, it doesn't sound as good as other tube amps in the same price range..except when it's Vai playing through it ;) Of course this is all subjective, but the Peavey 5150s and XXX's sounded much nicer to my ears and are roughly the same price, IIRC.
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

I had mixed feelings about it...

Pros: creamy, articulate, defined sounding clean channel, versatile tube/power switch options (can switch from el34/6l6 tubes and 50/100w), good reverb. Something about the way the amp is engineered makes notes just JUMP off the fretboard and facilitates fast, synamic playing. A very "elastic" or "liquid" feel... Gearjoneser tells me that Bogners have this too.

Cons: VERY loud from both the wattage AND the way the pre and power amp is voiced. Needs an attenuator to be managable at low levels. I found it to be a tad muffled on the distortion channel unless i was using bright and focussed sounding pickups like a JB or a DiMarzio Evolution.

In short, i thought it was a good amp and would probably suit a few people... but not me. I opted to buy my boogie and if i had to buy another amp I'd save up and get a Bogner Ecstacy 101b... the ones that Steve used on the 1st G3 tour :D

Plus there's those stories flying around that Steve's Legacys are heavily modded by Reinhold Bogner himself.
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

Skarekrough said:
Rumor has it that they will be announcing a Satriani combo amp in the near future.

...if you can wait until the next NAMM.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure it's not a rumor. I saw a news article on it a while back but i can't remember where. Plus it just makes plain good sense to come out with a combo version. EVH got his...
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

I have a feeling the new Peavey Satriani amp would be better,"

Yes, i was thinking about that. i believe the next NAMM is january. looks very promising. im an impatient guy though, but if i really dont find anything...

Any other alternatives i should be looking at? im playing this thing in my house, and small to large gigs. i would get an attenuator if it was too loud, so thats not too much of an issue. also, OD Isnt a huge issue, i probably wont be using a ton of it. getting a DS-1 super in the near future as well.

i was also looking at THD univalves. built in attenuator.

also yeah, kind of a need a combo, or a cheap head ( by cheap i mean 700 dollars ). used is fine, but im probably buying new.

would prefer tube as well, i have a solid state already, i want to explore the world of tube amps.

how much is this Bogner Ecstacy 101b? i figured bogners were way out of my price range ( 1000 $ ~ )

also, i want the amp to be able to go for gigs without miking, but i want to also be able to get a good sound from it at home without breaking down the house. i live on the second floor, so i cant put it on a pillow, it will bleed right through to the bottom floor.

yeah i was looking at mesa's. ill go look at that Marshall DSL right now.

Thanks for the input! :)
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

I played a legacy at a band rehearsal when they were new out. I thought it did a reasonable job of getting the Vai mid-high gain tone, but the example I tried was noisy as hell.
 
Re: Carvin Legacy

iDunnoMang said:
i was also looking at THD univalves. built in attenuator. :)
Click to expand...

I think the Univalve would probably be the opposite of the Legacy, as far as volume goes. You might try the THD BiValve instead, if you like the univalve sound. It has a lot more useable headroom. Also both the univalve and BiValve are single channel amps, so you only get overdrive either with your volume knob or a pedal, depending on your style.

That being said, I highly recommend mesa amps. In My experience they are the most reliable mass produced tube amps.
 
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