Carvin Legacy Combo

1999 Model, VL212 Combo, ALL-TUBE. I bought this amp used on EBAY.. I was told that the stock Celestion Greenbacks didn't hold up well to the output power, and were damaged. The previous owner replaced them with Celestion G12T-75's. Also the tubes were shot when I got the amp. The previous owner had Sovtek 6L6's in there along with some VERY noisy No-Name 12ax7's.. VERY poor sound!! I had the amp retubed with Electro-Harmonix 12ax7's, and 4) MATCHED EL34's.., WOW!!!

I run this 2x12 combo, with a Carvin Legacy 2x12 Extension Cabinet, and an 8 ohm THD HOTPLATE speaker attenuator. (believe me, you need it!!). The 2x12 cab has Celestion Vintage 30's, and I plan to buy 2 new Vintage 30's for the combo speakers soon.

Everything you need, and nothing else. VERY, VERY LOUD!!! (no joke)

I have a 2001 Schecter C-1 +, in Transparent Black Finish. I have several upgrades done. Pickups replaced with DiMarzio's (PAF Classic/NECK, and Air Zone/BRIDGE). Push/pull pot installed for coil-tapped bridge pickup. Cheap stock bridge replaced with a TonePros Metric. Ernie Ball strings (.09-.42).. I play classic rock (Black Sabbath/Rolling Stones/Cream), 80's-90's Heavy (Judas Priest/Iron Maiden/Metallica/Pantera/Slayer/Anthrax/Megadeth), '90s-present alternative rock (Nirvana/Soundgarden/Alice in Chains/Pearl Jam/Chili Peppers, I like Seven Mary Three / 3 Doors Down / SevenDust / GodSmack / Monster Magnet. WIDE VARIETY.. Only thing I can't nail is the REAL heavy stuff. Like Slayer, or Pantera. I use my Mesa/Boogie V-Twin, and Kerry King LEAPS from my speakers. Don't turn it above 4 1/2!! you won't EVER need to go any higher than that..

Never Broken Down on me yet. Excellent..

Never dealt with Carvin.. I hear they are great..

Been Playing seriously for around 10 years. Was shopping around, and ran across an ad in a magazine. This is TWICE the amp, compared to a Marshall TSL combo, with out all of the USELESS bells and whistles. Tried all of them (trust me), I spent 6 months looking/trying out EVERYTHING that Guitar Center had to offer..

I use this amp with a Schecter C1+, George L's vintage red cable, Boss Compression/Sustainer, Morley Bad Horsie 2 Wah, ToneBone Hot British 12ax7 overdrive/distortion pedal, Fulltone '69 Fuzz, Digitech Whammy (I only use the octave up, and the Divebomb), Boss Acoustic Simulator, Boss Noise Suppressor. I use the TC Electronic G-Major, in the effects loop. With the noise suppressor, and the gate from the G Major, there is almost NO unwanted noise (very minimal). Overall, I am very happy with my Carvin Legacy Combo.. It CAN'T be beat for the price..

I am a very critical dude when it comes to equipment, tone etc. The features on this amp are a pretty basic (but tried and true) setup. Would have scored higher if it had 2 things on it, a Master volume for the power amp and a reverb control for BOTH channels.

Trust me, this is a very high score. I would give it a 10. But like Harmony Central says, NOTHING is perfect. I play Ibanez RG 570's exclusively. Tone Zone pickup in the bridge and PAF in the neck. I cut my teeth on 80's metal, classic rock and metal. The Legacy NAILS it. In my younger days (I'm probably a few years younger than Vai himself) I searched for razor sharp, chainsaw gain. No more. Tone is the thing. Gain is no good without the tone to drive it. And this Amp is full of tone. I always played with 6L6 tubes. This is the first amp I've played with EL34s and will never switch back to 6L6's. The only thing I HAD to do was to replace the stck tubes with Groove Tubes EL34's. I love the 'verb on this amp, if used sparingly. I never use too many effects anyway. What I do is set the lead channel exactly how I like it, then when I want just a little extra gain, I run an Ibanez tube screamer. The clean channel is awesome as well. It breaks up at just the right spot! Plus, running the tube screamer on the clean channel I can nail SRV's sound. I wish the tubes sockets were of the ceramic type. I run this amp through a Celestion loaded Peavey 4X12 cabinet when I need to move more air. It sounds awesome. Overall, a well made amp. If it's good enough for Vai, it's good enough for me.

It hasn't broken down on me in the 6 months I've had it. I take very good care of my equipment. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

Have never dealt with them for service and hope I never have to. Cause that means something is wrong.

I've played MANY different amps and think this one will stay with me.

Already listed quite a few times so I will skip this part. If you need the specs...go to www.carvin.com. This ones has the older greenback speakers but my 4X12 Legacy cab has the newer V30's. Like most tube amps, they do not have bias leads in the back. All tube amps should have this and this one is no exception.

I use a Peavey Wolfgang Special, a Visual Sounds H2O, Ibanez DE7, and an Ibanez Flanger in the effects loop. This is an incredible amp for clean and distortion tones. I retubed and rebiased myself so mine sounds a little warmer than when I first got it two years ago. I have to admit, it was not what I was expecting from the amp in the beginning...loved it at first and then after a month it just seemed too fuzzy when pushed. Later discovered it was actually the Greenbacks. I think they would have been fine if I had a 4X12 cab but the combo of course only has 2. My Legacy (w/V30's) 4X12 cab makes a huge difference - much deeper bottem end and clearer tone when pushed. Very loud amp but I can get pretty good tone at low volumes. Cranked it is nice! Just don't stand too close to it anything higher than 3 on the volume. Good clean pedals sound great through this amp.

Keep in mind, not a Mesa, Fender, nor Marshall...I would say it is somewhere inbetween all three amps but a little closer to a Marshall JCM800 withouth the harshness. I haven't tried to swap out the power tubes for 6L6's but I did A/B an MTS with 6L6's and liked the warmthness of the Legacy better (not to say that the MTS is the same amp...they are not). The Legacy has a sound all it's own and is not for everyone. I actually thought about selling it when the Peavey XXX's came out...I A/B'd them and kept the Legacy. The Legacy can't get that high gain sound but the XXX didn't have the warmth (would still love to have an XXX though...very nice amp!)of the Legacy. Chords chime well (both channels) and single notes are just sweet!

The Legacy is a keeper...if I want a different sound I will have to get a new amp but keep this one for sure!

Gee...mine hasn't caught on fire yet so I guess it's ok! I know that several people complained about the reliability of these amps but I think they are full of it! I mean...they come on HC and bash the amp but never say anything on the Carvin.com forum complaining about it burning to the ground!

These guys are great! I bought the amp used and they were very helpful with questions and instructions on biasing the amp! Dr. Sound is right on! Very helpful dude. Email...phone...or forum -very helpful.

I think more people would own this amp if it weren't for the mail order thing but that's what keeps the prices down! I have been playing on and off for over 20 years and my favorite artists are EVH, Satch, Vai, SRV, Lnych...a lot of 80's bands.

This is a great two channel amp, switchable 50 to 100 watt power, able to change tubes from EL34 to 6L6 or 5881's. It has a presence knob for the clean channel which I think seems to thin the sound out too much but many people have seemed to find it to their liking. Separate presence chicken head knob for the dirty channel which adds a nice sheen but can again be over the top if over used. I am a regularly gigging musician and must say that the amp is loud, smaller clubs I have to resort to my lower wattaged Fender, but the bigger venues it is great to open it up a bit. Still really have not pushed either channel much past 4 in a live setting. Yes, it's that loud.

The dirty channel is amazing. Being a Fender amp man for years I have found that the 6L6's are great for clean but you can't beat an EL34 to really crunch up the channel. The distortion impresses me more with every show. It clean up well when you lower your guitar volume and Carvin calls this the "Vai Feature" like it was something special but doesn't every amp clean up when the guitar volume is rolled back? Granted this amp does it well but Carvin did not reinvent the wheel here. The clean channel is nice with humbuckers and a little thin and muted with my single coil strat, I retubed the amp with Svetlana power tubes and E-1 12AX7's which are a kind of Telefunken rip off. The amp breaks up earlier than I thought and I lowered my humbuckers a little. It breaks up a little as early as 4 but can stay pretty nice with single coils to 5 or 6. The amp is quiet overall. The reverb is nice but can be over the top and "boingy" if over used. (can't they all) Lastly, and overall it's a great amp and I enjoy playing it, however I just think I am a Fender man and love the 6L6 sound. Maybe I'll swap the tubes again. Also took the optional back off to open it up a bit and cut the midrange.

Amp has no problems, Carvin has been very nice with the exception of some punk know it all that actually knew nothing. I have owned it and gigged with it for about 4 months now without an issue.
I don't gig without extra tubes and a back up, I don't care what amp I am using. Things break, tubes are great but let's face it they are an antiquated technology that happens to sound great so we (guitarists) use them.

First one came shipped and I sent it back because I thought it broke up too quickly on the clean channel. Carvin mailed me a brand new one and apparently it's just the characteristic of the amp...the people that list the amp as breaking up around 7 I think are nuts. First of all if you got the amp that loud you must now be deaf and secondly it starts the break up around 4 if you are wailing.

I have been playing for 10 years, and 4 years in an original/cover band. We gig just about every weekend and I run a few extra distortion pedals before the amp. I have a Boss floor tuner, a Blue Collar Overdrive, a Boss metal zone and a boss delay. I have owned tons of pedals and gear and to date this set up is good stuff. I play mostly strats and teles but have some ibanez. Les Pauls is the next purchase. If broken I would get another amp but only because I am on a quest for new tone. I would not be buying something cheaper though. I am very impressed with Carvin. To end I would love for someone to contact me with their ideas on this amp especially if they swapped out the El34's with 6L6's, I'd like to know how it sounds.

First let me say that I have never felt compeled to do a review on a product. But right from the get go this is a profesional amp in all respects. As you have probably read in other reviews this amp is compatible with el34 tubes or 6L6's, wich makes this great for whatever you are looking for in tone. What I found to be a great feature is the open back or closed option. I love both for different reasons, but let me say this, the change is dramatic between the two. If your looking for a work horse that can do the job, this amp is it.

For years I have used a all tube 30 watt amp. I have gotten a lot of great compliments on my tone. The 30 watt amps that I use use 12ax7's with eL84 power tubes. I was a little concerned about a drastic change in my tone with the eL34's. The Legacy provides enough versatility to sound like yourself.....even better. This amp provides the tone I worked hard to find with the added punch I was looking for.

Has not let me down yet!

Overall this is a great amp. I have used everything from Marshall to Fender. This amp is a sweet machine. I do however recommend getting the combo unless you decide to buy the whole stack. I have the combo with the greenbacks and they sound great. I do have a old Laney 4 12 cab that I plugged it into and it rocked also. But I love the greenbacks. Signiture amps in my opinion can be cheezey. But in my long search to complete my tone I am proud to use this amp.

I purchased this amp in 2000, so it came with the EL 34 tubes and the Celestion G12M greenbacks - I think the newer models come shipped with vintage 30 speakers instead...Also included was a footswitch since it has 2 channels - clean and lead. Looking at the back of the amp it has an effect loop,line out for going into a p.a. - Bias switch which lets you run EL 34/6L6 GC or 5881's, a switch which lets you run 2 tubes at 50 watts or 4 tubes at 100 watts, and a speaker ohm switch.As far as tubes it has 5 12ax7s ( 3 sovteks and 2 groove tubes )....interesting - and 4 power tubes (sovtek EL 34)..

The guitar i ran through the amp had a 3 pickup config. ( 2 alinco singles and a JB humbucker at the bridge ). First off the V Leg is really loud so make sure you have the master volume below 3 or your gonna be buying some new windows...no joke - The overall tone of the lead channel with all the knobs set at 5 except for the master volume which was set at around 1.5 was real bassy with some nice high end and lots of midrange - not real crunchy tone...so I tweaked around and found some really nice tones, and if you like to play leads your going to love this amp.The only thing that was pissing me off was the fact that I couldn't scoop the mids out and get low E chunk speed metal thing going with the amp - so i broke out the ole ts 9 tubescreamer set the gain at 5/ bass at 6/mid at 1/treble at 8/pres at 3 ....this config took about an hour to find but once I did it was worth it - now the V leg was kicking out some real serious Slayer type dist.not exactly like a triple recto distortion but really good in it's own way - cool.Each of the guitar pickups character come through really nice with this amp - way better than most high gain channel amps I've played through. Another really cool thing about the lead channel was the it reacts to how hard you hit the strings in relation to the amount of gain thats achieved,if you roll the volume on your guitar back you can get a nice clean sound crank the volume up to 8 or beyond and your into some mondo dist.I was very impressed with the clean channel,it stays clean even when you turn the volume way up....some may not like this since it doesn't break up when you turn it up like a fender or a marshall....since i was running my ts 9 I would kick it on and it gave me some clean break-up - really nice for playing some SRV....sounded pretty close to his tone when I had my neck position pick-up on.I'll rate this category a 8 since the amp couldn't do the death metal tone without some help, but for every other style i give it a 10 for sure - so i guess that makes it 9....lol

After 1 1/2 yrs no problems yet....knock on wood

I've been playing for a long time ...so i'm pretty set in my ways as far as tone goes. I also own an old Laney tube amp and i must say that i still like the way it sounds better than the V leg.As time goes on i must say that I'm staring to like the V leg better and better - that's good because I usually like an amp way more when i first play through it and as time goes on my opinion diminishes.So who knows, it might replace my trusty old Laney as my main amp some day.

The features have been discussed in earlier reviews. 2 Channels
(clean and dirty), 50w/100w switch feature, etc, etc, etc. All that you need to get excellent tone.

First things first, not a shredder's amp!!!!!! I am using an Ernie Ball MM Axis and a Jackson PC-3. I figured that the amp would give me some kind of Steve Vai sound, but it didn't. At first, I was highly disappointed with this amp. It made everything sound like a Telecaster. However, since it's my first tube amp I really didn't know that you had to let those tubes warm up.

I've owned Line 6 amps, Marshall Valvestates, Tech 21- PSA-1, etc. All great amps, but no tubes. After I let those tubes warm up, this beast truely rocked and became very saturated. The distortion was thick and encompassing, but it still remained defined and very colorful. The clean channel was very punch and reacted well with my pick atttacking. Not at "Fender-like" but it has it's own beauty. That's what rocks about this amp. It has it's own sound.

One more thing, this amp is extremely loud, I've never had it past one while I practice. I'm sure that when I rejoin a band, I will not have any problems being heard.

I haven't gigged with it yet so I can't comment on it. Like my Axis though, this thing is built like a tank.

I've dealt with Carvin with one other situation and the customer service rep seemed quite rude. However, when I order something from them, it's always exactly what I want. No more, no less. I have to take a little off in this category b/c of that rep. I used to work in custoemr service and if I ever spoke to any customer the way he did to me, I would have been fired.

I have been playing for over 13 years. I have played them all at one point: Mesa, MArshall, Fender, Carvin, Soldano, VHT, the list goes on. The only two amps I can actually compare to this amp are the Soldano XL50 and the VHT Pitbull. The only thing is that all 3 amps have their own distinct tone. I'm sure there are better amps out there, bu I haven't come across one as great as this BEAST!!!!

I love everything about this amp, it's a keeper!!!!!

This review is for a 2001 Legacy combo. It sports clean and crunch channels, a 50/100 watt selector switch, reverb, power tube selector switch, and an open/closed back option. My tone is somewhere between early 80's Alex Lifeson (moderate crunch with great presence) and 90' Alex Lifeson (heavy crunch with a bit more hair on it) and I can nail either sound with a tremendous amount of clarity. It has reverb, but I don't use it as I get my effects from a TC Electronic G Major processor. I am using a PRS Custom 22. From a features standpoint, the amp is pretty basic: the fact that the rear panel can be removed for open back operation is really nice. I rate it a 9 in this category because I wish it had a switchable effects loop. Other than that, it is what it is; a great sounding amplifier with no frills.

When I first used the amp, I was surprised at the amount of mid range it had. It was actually a concern for me because I couldn't get rid of the mids even with the mid control on zero. Having read another review that suggested removing the rear panel to help "open" up the tone, I gave it a try and was blown away by the difference. The amp became a totally different beast; it sounded fantastic. The mids were cut dramatically and the amp just seemed to come alive. Now, the open back suits me best, but the closed back operation really did have a nice sound as well. It was very tight and focused, but a bit too tight for my preference. The eq offers a fair amount of control, but it could do with a bit more in the bass area. I have it cranked on 10 and it sounds great, but I wish it could go to 11. Despite that one wish, I am thrilled with the sounds the Carvin delivers. The crunch channel can be rich and creamy (sorry for the lame adjectives) or very clean and cutting. Another great feature is the fact that you can dial your guitar volume down to clean up the crunch channel. It really does sound great, as it cleans it up without reducing the volume. I find that I can set the volume of my guitar at about 8 for a light crunch sound and then put it to 10 for leads. It works great in a live situation.
As for volume, this thing is a beast. I gigged with it for the first time a few nights ago (using the 50 watt option) and I ran the crunch on 1.5 and the clean on 5. The beauty is that you don't need to run it on 10 to get a singing lead tone out of it. The tones is readily available at lower volumes. Several fellow musicians at the gig commented on the tone of the amp. The clean channel is equally nice, but if you run it above 5 it can get a little hairy, but it still sounds great.

It is solidly built and will need to be cared for like any other tube amp. It does run pretty hot, but I put a small fan behind it to move some air.

I wish this category also went to 11!!! I am a first time Carvin customer, having been referred by a friend of mine who has bought from Carvin for many years. I was lucky enough to hook up with James, a nice guy who also uses the Legacy. I told him what sound I was after and he nailed it with this amp. I had almost forgotten what good customer service was like, having spent the last few years buying from all of the regular web music sites who employ people who really don't seem to know much about the products they are selling. Carvin does it right and if they can't get it right the first time, they will bend over backwards to get it done as fast as possible. Please know that I am not affiliated with Carvin in any way. I am simply a musician who was tired of substandard amplifiers and crappy service. By calling Carvin, I immediately upgraded to first class in both areas.

I've been playing for 17 years and have owned all kinds of amps (Vox, Boogies, Marshall, Seymour Duncan). In fact, I went through 3 different Marshall TSL amps last month (they sounded nice but all 3 were defective in one way or another). I had reached the end of the line when my buddy mentioned the Legacy. Having nothing to lose I gave it a shot and ended up with a great amp that will be the heart of my rig for many years. I would replace this amp in a second if it were lost/damaged. The fact that this amp costs $999 also blows my mind. It just sounds so great that I would expect it to cost far more. The tones are rich and complex, but setting them up is very simple. It took me about 10 minutes to dial in my tone.

A basic tube amp. Two channels, clean and overdrive. Footswitch controls channels and reverb. 4 power tubes, 5 preamp tubes.

I play a Rg 570 with a Tone Zone in the bridge through this amp. I can't awesome tone out of it. This amp has tremendous bass, which isn't bad if you use a lot of bass. This amp is also tremendously LOUD!!!!! If your looking for something in your bedroom, look someplace else because you won't be able to turn this thing up above 1. This amp is great for blues, rock, and jazz. When I say rock I'm talking about Vai,Satch,Johnson, Malmsteen. Not Limp Bizkit or Metal bands if your into that sort of thing.

So far I only play in my bedroom (hopefully that will change) so I've never had to see if it is durable. The only problem I've ever had. Was when I got it the tubes got damaged and some pretty loud and annoying crashes and squeals came out of it. But to make things better, Carvin sent me a free set of tubes to change. And that fixed everything.

When I was first looking to buy an amp I found out that you shoudn't call Carvin's stores for advice. The guy there made me feel like I was asking the stupidest questions.(And trust me they weren't stupid questions.)After that though I called Carvin to talk to someone about the amps and they were really friendly and helpful. However I asked the guy if you get get Metallica and Pantera sounds out of it and he said you could. Well let me just say, you can't. So if your into that kind of music go for a Crate Blue Voodoo or some tpye of other high-gain amp. The warranty is 1 year.

I have been playing for about 5 years. I play and Rg 570 and one or to other pedals through this amp they all sound decent. Sounds better without multi effect processers. If it were lost or stolen I would miss it for awhile but eventully get a Rocktron Preamp and just play that through a 212 cabinet. However if you like Vai's tone and don't play real high-gain stuff then this is best amp you will be able to find new for around a grand. However I suggest you play everything that is out there before you choose an amp because it's not fun being stuck with an amp you don't like.

If you're familiar with Carvin, you know the specs of this amp. Bare bones; all you need and nothing more.

The amp sounds very good overall. I play just about every style, from straight ahead jazz to hard funk to blues.
I primarilly purchased this amp for its closed back feature. Since I play a lot of outdoor gigs on large stages, open back combos allowed too much of the sound to escape from the back of the cabinate, so I figured this would be a smart choice instead of purchasing a seperate head and closed back cabinate.
The amp sounds very good. It is what it is. When I ordered the amp, it arrived with the greenbacks installed in it. At louder volumes the clean channel would give that very slight musical breakup that I wasn't 100% sure that I wanted from this amp, so I called Carvin and told them that I would like to try the amp with the vintage 30s' in them. After I installed the vintage 30s in this amp, the amp completely lost all musical elasticity, vocal quality, and responsiveness that it had before. I'm much more critical of an amps clean sound than anything else. I personally feel that if an amp has an amazing clean sound, you can work with it and get your overdriven sounds where you want them. The response of the amp became almost digitized and detached with the Vintage 30s. I replaced the greenbacks and all that was lost was found. I still wasn't sure about switching back until I played a seven string Bennedetto archtop through the amp, and the greenbacks simply purrrrrred as I struck chords and ran single note lines. It doesn't sound like a Fender, but the breakup was simular to that clean overdriven Twin breakup. The clean sound was cleaner and punchier with the Vintage 30's; mellower and more vocal with a little breakup with the greenbacks.

The overdrive sound in the amp is thick and full. With a strat running through the amp, it wails withthe best rock and metal tones of almost any amp that I have heard. This, once again, is with the Greenbacks installed.
Not quite so with the Vintage30's, which gave the amp a harsher overdriven edge that didn't work well with single coil pickups. I pluged in my PRS McCarty and still couldn't get a driven sound that I liked. Something odd seems to happen in the midrange response of these speakers when teamed up with this cabinet that I just couldn't figure out. If you still can, order the amp with the Greenbacks. Trust me!

This is my second Carvin amp. My other amp I purchased in 1986 when I was 15 years old. It survived the great flood of 1993 and still works to this day, even though it is basically a Mesa Mark I copy. I am worried about the footswitch that comes with the amp, as it is a little flimsy, and it should have L.E.D.s on it for easier monitoring on dark stages. Sometimes the footswitch wants to work, and sometimes I have to beat the hell out of the attached cable that comes with it to make it work properly. I've had this amp for three months, and I think I'll give Carvin a call about this problem.

Customer sopport is excellent. Name one other amplification company that would mail you a set of speakers free of charge to try out in your amp to see if you prefer the way they sound!

I'm 30 years old, and I've been playing since I was 13 years old. I might replace it if it were stolen, and for the money, there's not much out there that can touch it.

Guitar wise, I own an American Standard Ash Strat with EMGs, a G&L S-500, a PRS McCarty, a killer PRS Artist III as well as a PRS Archtop, Gibson ES-335, Gibson L-5, and a Moll Custom 7 string archtop.
Amplification wise, I own a Matchless 112 Cheiftan, a Tech 21, a Mesa Boogie MarkIV, and that's it!