CARVIN VL300, LEGACY 3 VL300 Operating Manual

Congratulations on your purchase of the

Legacy 3 all tube signature amplifier.

Steve Vai
worked very closely with Carvin Engineering to
develop the sound and look of the Legacy
amplifiers. Exhaustive listening tests of various
tube and electronic circuitry were performed
by Vai. His choice of EL34 tubes and
Celestion™ Vintage 30 speakers provide the
finishing touches on a truly original amp. Take
some time to discover the extensive features
of the Legacy 3.

MODEL VL300 SPECIFICATIONS:

RMS Power 15, 50 or 100 watts (switched)
Output Impedance: 4, 8 or 16 ohms (switched)
Input Impedance: 220,000 ohms
Tone Controls: BASS: 80Hz

MID: 600-700Hz

TREBLE: 11kHz
Channels: 3 - switchable from front panel, FS44M footswitch, or MIDI
Boost function: Switchable, up to +6dB of volume at the Master, by FS44M or MIDI
Effect Loop Series Loop, pre-Master Volume
Master Out / Amp In Series connection, post-Master Volume
MIDI functions: Channel selection, Master Boost, Reverb, backlight LED colors

100 available patch locations, CC control.
MIDI connections MIDI IN, MIDI THRU (5 pin jacks)
Sensitivity: Ch.1: 30mV for full output, Ch.2&3: 15mV, Ch.3 w/Gain: 10mV
Voiced Line Out: 1.5 VAC @ 100 watts RMS
Preamp Tubes: 4 - 12AX7’s (dual stage)
Power Amp Tubes: 4 - EL34’s (power pentode)
AC Power: 120VAC or 240VAC (switchable), 50-60Hz, 300VA
Fuse: 5x20mm, 120VAC: 6A slow-blow, 240VAC: 3A slow-blow
Size / Weight: 17.25W x 8.5H x 9.5”D / 32lbs.
Warranty: One Year
Country of MFG: USA
Options: FS44M footswitch for CHANNEL and BOOST with LED indicators

C412T, C412B: (matching 4x12” Vintage 30 speaker cabinets, 16)

C212S: (matching 2x12” Vintage 30 speaker cabinets, 16ohm)

CARVIN ENGINEERING DATA OPERATING MANUAL

1 CLEAN, 2 LEAD CHANNELS and MORE GAIN

The equalization of the CLEAN and LEAD channels is designed to offer
clarity to your instrument. The CLEAN channel’s PRESENCE switch adds
acoustic voicing to your instrument by enhancing only the very highest
harmonics in the 10kHz range. The LEAD channels “2” & “3” have seper­ate DRIVE, VOLUME, and PRESENCE controls. The second LEAD chan­nel “3” features a GAIN switch which adds even more drive to the classic
Legacy lead sound. By changing the tube gain circuits a higher gain state
is acheived while maintaining a smooth, organic sound.

MASTER CONTROL

The MASTER volume control allows you to get the sound you want from
all 3 channels, then adjust the overall volume of the amp without chang­ing your tone or the volume balance between channels.

GIVE YOURSELF A BOOST!

A switchable volume boost is available by footswitch or by MIDI. Set the
amount of boost with the BOOST control. When turned on, it will boost
your amp’s output by up to 6dB for solos or any time you need to stand
out in the mix.

“SMART” REVERB

The REVERB is channel-tracking, allowing you to assign reverb to only
the channels you want. Carvin’s classic “long-tail” feature lets the reverb
ring out after it’s been switched off.

MIDI MEMORY and CC Control

Set the Channel (1-3), Reverb (on/off) , Boost (on/off) and internal back­lighting color. Put the Legacy 3 in “learn” mode and it will assign your
settings to the MIDI program number you send from your controller.
The Legacy 3 also responds to CC for each MIDI switching function.

DYNAMIC EL34 POWER TUBES

Your amp is equipped with EL34 power tubes because of their smooth
distortion, responsive sound and reliability. The compression characteris­tics of these “high-output” power tubes respond to the dynamic range of
lead guitar playing. These tubes react even to the most subtle touch - if
you play soft, the tubes remain clean and if you increase your attack they
respond accordingly.

TONE CONTROLS

The T-Bridge passive BASS, MID and TREBLE tone controls offer a wide
range of tone settings. Take full advantage by setting them where they
sound best. Your sound may not be at center 5 on the dial. These con­trols will not affect or color your sound when set at extreme settings, nor
do they interact with each other. The greater range of these controls
comes from the high impedance 1 Meg sealed pots (most guitar amps use
250k pots). The frequency of the bass control is set at 80 Hz while the mid
control is set at 650 Hz. The treble control is set at a very high 11kHz giv­ing the Legacy 3 it’s dynamic highs

.

76-32301A 04-02-12

For your records, you may wish to record the following information.

Serial No._____________________ Invoice Date_______________

RECEIVING INSPECTION—read before getting started

INSPECT YOUR AMP FOR DAMAGE which may have occurred during ship­ping. If damage is found, please notify the shipping company and CARVIN
immediately.

SAVE THE CARTON & ALL PACKING MATERIALS. In the event you have to re­ship your unit, always use the original carton and packing material. This will pro­vide the best possible protection during shipment. CARVIN and the shipping com­pany are not liable for any damage caused by improper packing.

SAVE YOUR INVOICE. It will be required for warranty service if needed in the

future.

SHIPMENT SHORTAGE. If you find items missing, they may have been
shipped separately. Please allow several days for the rest of your order to arrive
before inquiring.

RECORD THE SERIAL NUMBER on the enclosed warranty card or below on
this manual for your records. Keep your portion of the card and return the por­tion with your name and comments to us.

LEGACY 3 TUBE GUITAR AMP: VL300

12340 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128

[phone] www.carvin.com

c

GETTING STARTED QUICKLY

If you are like most players, you probably want to plug in your new amp and get
started playing it right away. You can read the rest of the manual later to learn the
finer points of operating your amp. In order to get started you will need your
Legacy 3 amp, a 120 or 230 AC grounded power outlet, your instrument, a stan­dard guitar cord, a speaker cabinet and speaker cable.

First, make sure the rear 120VAC/240VAC switch is set for the voltage in your

area. With the amp turned off, plug it into the proper AC voltage.

Then, set the rear panel Speaker Ohms switch to match the speaker cabinet(s)
you are using. (If two of the same cabinets are used, set the switch for 1/2 value.)

Turn all the volume and drive controls off and set tone controls to their center
position. If you have purchased the FS44M footswitch, plug it into the rear foot
switch jack for switching the channels 1, 2, 3 and Boost.

Now, turn ON the Power switch, wait 5-10 seconds, then turn ON the Standby
switch. Allow 30 seconds for the tubes to warm up. Turn up the Master slightly,
and gradually raise the Channel Volumes and Drives. Adjust the tone controls
and you’re ready to go.

If you experience problems with the amp, first check all connections and set­tings. If you still feel your amp is malfunctioning, contact Carvin. Occasionally
tubes are damaged in shipping.

FRONT PANEL

1. GUITAR INPUT

A standard 1/4” input jack feeds all channels through using the SELECT switch.
Use a professional quality guitar cord no longer than 25 feet. Typical cable
capacitance should be under 50pf—the longer the cord, the greater the capaci­tance (you can measure this with a capacitance meter). A long cable with high
capacitance will reduce the overall treble response from your guitar pickups.

2. CHANNEL SELECT SWITCHES

Choose the desired channel with switch 1, 2, or 3. The LED’s next to the vol­ume controls will let you see which channel is functioning, and will also be dis­played on the external FS44M footswitch LED’s. Use channel 1 for pristine clean
playing without breakup. Use channels 2 & 3 for thicker rhythm or overdriven
lead sounds and use the GAIN switch on channel 3 for super high gain lead
sounds. Channel changes can also be made with the FS44M footswitch or by
MIDI control.

Pressed in combination, these switches allow access to various MIDI settings.

CLEAN CHANNEL 1

Channel 1 gives you crisp, clean playing with high headroom and no breakup.
Thanks to special mud-cutting circuits that work between the frequencies of 500
and 700 Hz, your guitar tones will be full and vibrant.

3. CLEAN CHANNEL INDICATOR

The green LED will indicate the CLEAN channel is selected.

4. CLEAN VOLUME

This control sets the CLEAN channel 1 volume.The MASTER control also

affects output.

5. 6. 7. CLEAN—BASS, MID & TREBLE CONTROLS

You can start at 5 on the dial for each of the tone controls. However, these set­tings do not represent a normalized (flat) sound. You need to set them where
they sound best! Most musicians like to reduce the MID’S between 1 and 4 for
deeper bass and crisper highs. If your sound is too bright with single coil pick­ups, you may want to keep the PRESENCE switch off

.

8. CLEAN PRESENCE

For added clarity, the PRESENCE switch increases only the highest guitar har­monics in the 8-10k Hz range which is ideal for brightening up dual coil neck pick­ups

.

LEAD CHANNELS 2 & 3

9. LEAD CHANNEL INDICATORS for CH.2 & CH.3

The red LED will indicate LEAD channel 2 is selected.
The yellow LED(s) will indicate LEAD channel 3 is selected.

10. 11. 12. LEAD BASS, MID & TREBLE

To start off with, set the BASS, MID & TREBLE controls at their center (5) posi­tion. These controls are set according to the sound you are looking for. Once you
have the sound you like, you can set the seperate CH2 and CH3 PRESENCE
and DRIVE controls for CH2 and CH3 to get different sounds between channels.
Even though you may have found “your sound”, you may want to change the set­tings for different guitars or playing conditions. It’s normal to decrease the BASS
at higher playing levels, or adjust the TREBLE or PRESENCE for different
rooms.

13. LEAD PRESENCE - CH.2 & CH.3

Channels 2 & 3 feature seperate PRESENCE controls. The wide range of these
controls, in the higher range of the tonal spectrum, can be set for very different
sounds from each channel. Turning the PRESENCE “up” can allow one channel
to stand out in the mix, or sound more agressive. Turning PRESENCE “down”
can produce a smoother, thicker sound. Adjust each DRIVE, VOLUME, and the
Channel 3 GAIN switch for even more variety.

14. DRIVE - CH.2 & CH.3 ***

For mild tube saturation, set the DRIVE control between 1 & 2. For some of the
best rhythm sounds, set the drive control set between 3 & 6. For full blown over­drive, set the control between 7 and 10. With high-output pickups, Drive settings
above 8 can be subject to over saturation causing sluggish distortion. If so, play
your guitar with it’s volume at 10 and decrease the DRIVE until the crisp highs
come back. For very high gain playing, try Channel 3 with the GAIN switch.

*** USING THE VAI “HIDDEN FEATURE”

One of the “hidden” features of the Legacy series amplifiers is using a technique
that Steve Vai requested be part of the amp for his own use. While playing on the
lead channel with a generous amount of DRIVE (around 6), back off the volume
on your guitar. You will find the channel actually “cleaned up” with your guitar at
a lower volume. This is a great feature for playing both rhythm and lead without
switching channels. You will also find that the amp will be very responsive to your
“attack”. An advanced player knows how to vary their attack when picking or
strumming, and the Legacy 3 is designed to respond to this.

15. CHANNEL 3 GAIN SWITCH and LED

Channel 3 has a GAIN switch for adding even more drive to the classic Legacy
sound, while still retaining 12AX7A tube dynamics. Super-hi-gain sounds are
available without the need for external pedals that can limit dynamics.

The yellow LED near the GAIN switch will indicate the GAIN is ON for CH.3.

16. LEAD VOLUMES

Set the volumes of the LEAD channel 2 or 3 with these controls.

The MASTER

control also affects output

.

MASTER SECTION

17. MASTER

Set the MASTER control for overall volume of the amp.

The MASTER affects

the MASTER OUT jack level to

allow control of multiple amps from a single knob.

The MASTER will not affect the Effect Loop Send level

.

18. BOOST / LED

The BOOST control allows you to add an overall volume increase to the amp
by up to +6dB, whenever you may need it. The BOOST can be activated through
the remote FS44M footswitch, or by MIDI control.

The BOOST does not affect the

SEND jack, only the MASTER OUT jack

.

LEGACY 3 - VL300

2

FRONT PANEL FEATURES

191817 15 13 14 16 9

191614131011124 3856721

20