Carvin Legacy VL100

[dc27]

Thinking about getting one and had a few questions..

1. seen lots of people saying its not 'instant vai'. True or false and how close can you get without the whole axe fx system? Im after something similar to the tone from the jemini demo, obviously not counting the delay or the slight modulation there is on the signal.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrBLnB3ze5Y" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

2. if I plugged my ds1 into it, could I get a decent lead tone easily? (scooped mids, without any fizz, I had a H&K tubemeister and hated it)

3. does the clean channel take distortion pedals well? how is the lead channel?

4. Why choose this over say, a Marshall jvm 410?


Thanks for your help, hopefully you wont put me off! Or maybe you will, whichever is for the best

[paulh123]

hi,

ive had 7 legacys,currently own 3 and now build my own hand wired amp based on the legacy which sounds incredible.

1,every guitar players tone is in his hands so using any piece of gear wont make you sound like sv,but imho the legacys sound like vai but really need some fx in the loop to sound best.these amps are also real loud and do not sound that good at low levels,they are a medium distortion amp designed to give a good blend of preamp and power amp distortion and that means turning the amp up a bit to get it sounding its best.

2/3,the amp takes pedals very well,a ds1 makes a great lead boost/distortion for the overdrive channel.
scooped mids arent really possible as the legacy is all about the mids giving it a great lead sound.

4,i had a jvm at the same time as my first legacy,i sold the jvm as i prefered the legacy,the more i played the legacy the more i liked it which was the opposite to the jvm,the downside with the legacy is it can be hard to get a good sound when playing chords as the amp has a lot of bass/low mids.

bottom line is the legacys are pretty cheap to buy so its worth getting one just to try out.

[Jeries]

1.

I've said before Legacy isn't an 'instant vai'
However- i will say the Legacy model in the axe fx- IS instant Vai

Vai and many others use it just for effects. But I spend most of my time bypassing the effects and reverb and just using preamp/cabs to most recordings.

I'd say a legacy and a jemini wouldn't get you close to there-
I've tried it- i had legacies with ds1's old and new and keeley, tubescreamers regular/turbo/keeley/ blah blah exact knob settings from pics and videos- same guitars/pickups- not even close to Vai.

2. I don't think a legacy is very fizzy. It's also not a good SCOOPED amp
Between 1 and 2- i think you'd be better off with a Marshall DSL. It would get you closer to the jemini demo video AND scooped mids. I think the Legacy will make you want more gain and sustain than you can get out of it and you'll spend hundreds and be disapointed.

3. both channels take pedals well
the clean channel is amazing- but not worth keeping considering my other amps for clean- legacy cleans really blew me away in some ways.

4.
The marshall jvm is flat out fucking junk.

I've had two of them (one i got because i literally paid UNDER $200 DOLLARS FOR IT- and all it needed was a new $9 tube) [yes i literally bought a $3000 head for $209 in perfect condition)

anyway- they're awful amps- they're very expensive and have no resale value-
they sound awful- i've heard solid state marshall combos sound better
There's no tubes and feel and life into it- its the worst sounding marshall ever made- by far.
horrible value. if you're spending over $2000 get a Road King- thats a real amp.

Satriani's worst awful tone in the world is coming out of his JVM's its terrible.

Speaking of Satriani- A DS1 and a legacy clean would probably get you exactly satriani's tone.

anyway- The best amp marshall has made since 1969 is the JCM2000 DSL
I'd recommend it over a JVM any day

[dc27]

So I'm seriously about to pull the trigger on one of these.. but I'm hesitating since I have never played one and all the youtube videos are awful.

9/10 I use a distortion pedal (usually a satchurator) through the clean channel for my leads. Does the amp handle this well or not? I fear that it'll sound thin, shrill and not that great. I would totally do the vai thing of adding the pedal to the OD channel but I guess it just seems like hassle to me. U usually set my pedal tone controls around 12 o'clock, so pretty high and less reliant on the amp's EQ.
I play in a lot of settings, from heavy rock bands to funk/soul regularly, and I've heard the VL100 is pretty versatile. Do you think it could stand up to be my number 1 or any other recommendations? I'm a modern style player, but love classic tones, just a little beefier.

any advice will be GREATLY appreciated.

[Jeries]

dual rectifier

[dc27]

dual rectifier

Rectifiers suck. Although my alternative to a Legacy might be a Studio .22 preamp..

[Jeries]

i can name 2 people that use a carvin legacy

lit and steve vai

i can name 20000 people that use rectos

[dc27]

i can name 2 people that use a carvin legacy

lit and steve vai

i can name 20000 people that use rectos

And all of them sound exactly the same. Post grunge, mainstream, limp bizkit quality unit shifters.
Besides, the legacy is a signature amp. That's like saying an AFD100 is no good because only Slash uses it..

[Jeries]

No the AFD marshall is bad because slash DOESN'T use it

IDK why Slash and EVH put his name on- oh wait- i know why- money
Why they put their name on shit... and people buy it...

All of Slash is a late 60s plexi
All of EVH is a late 60s plexi
All of Green Day is a late 60s (or early 70s) plexi

the point is... they put their name on the EVH 5150 II or AFD, but they never made any hits with them..

----
on the recto- as many shitty numetal bands use them- there is equal number of classic rock or jazz or fusion or others that use them too
Carlos Santana, Foo Fighters, A lot of country guys, Lee Ritenour, Petrucci

The Recto's can do anything-
In fact..
I use a road king

Channel 3 & 4... have a VINTAGE setting which is basically a Marshall sound
on top of that the roadking has 6l6 tubes AND el34 tubes
SO i can run channel 3/4 on vintage with the el34's and get a better marshall sound than a real marshall


The legacy is probably the only signature amp extensively used by the artist who's name is on it... one of very few that is it in the studio...


And a $500 DSL will get you closer to Slash than a Vintage Modern and a AFD100

[paulh123]

i think it is ridiculous to suggest evh and slash never use there signature products.

i also question how you know all of slash is late 60`s plexi? i think its well known he also used a 80`s jubilee head and wasnt even sure which amps were actually used on AFD.

[dc27]

This still isn't answering my questions... does the Legacy take distortion well through the clean channel or not?

[dc27]

Also, what's the right price to pay for one? Theres one up on eBay now. Its been shifted around a bit and has appeared a couple of times, and now the dude is trying to sell it for £500 even though the guy he got it from had it at less than £400....

[paulh123]

hi,

the clean channel does take pedals well but im not a fan of distortion pedals full stop unless its as a boost for the od channel.

re price and the amp on ebay,
the amp on ebay is one of my old amps.
ive owned 7 legacys and normally pay £350-£450.

[dc27]

hi,

the clean channel does take pedals well but im not a fan of distortion pedals full stop unless its as a boost for the od channel.

re price and the amp on ebay,
the amp on ebay is one of my old amps.
ive owned 7 legacys and normally pay £350-£450.

wow that's a lot of legacies! I must ask, why go through 7 instead of keeping 1? is there that much difference between heads or..?
I guess if I pick one up for the right price I can try it out without losing anything. I'd still love the master volume mod put back in too

[paulh123]

hi,
i had 6 heads and a combo,the combo is so heavy it had to go,the other heads i bought and sold and usually made a little profit,i also ended up using a bogner ecstacy for a while so sold my legacies then went back to them.i now make my own amps including 2 legacy copies which i modified to my own taste.
the first legacy head i owned happened to be the best sounding by far it was an early model and the previous owner said it was the very first legacy1 in the uk,so i guess around 1999/2000.

the master volume mod is easy to do but imho not worth having as any fx/pedal used in the fx loop with a volume control will perform the same task,or just use a volume pedal in the loop.

a few years back legacy 1 heads were £550 new direct from carvin incl all taxes and shipping to the uk,a total bargain! i bought a used half stack(L1 head and 4x12 w/greenbacks for £500)
personal i would pay around the £400 mark although they can be hard to sell for top money so offers are usually welcome with buyers in my experience.