Steve - you're the man. I respect you so much as a player and as a person and always enjoy your insight and stories. Great work, you're an inspiration.
I remember sending away for my Carvin catalogue after seeing the add in Hit Parader. Full colour catalogue. I remember all the big mixing boards...I was just a kid I had no idea what they were, but the guitars and amps...that was a wow moment. I can still remember the DN612 (Double neck 6 string 12 string) I never played one, but that picture of that guitar made a lasting impression. And yes, it goes without saying Steve took his love of guitars a little further than I did.
Steve, i'm not sure you'll even see this, but i'm the "Fellow Carle Place guy" that you chatted with a couple years back. You mentioned Mathew's Music, and your first real guitar, a 76 Strat. Anyway..I will be seeing your show on Sunday Oct. 30th, at the Paramount in Huntington. I was thinking, if by some stroke of magic, and the stars align, you can stop in real casual like, at the NY Music Emporium in Bellmore, on the Saturday before... the crew would literally freak out, and you could witness some real life fainting! lol. Well, just putting it out there. I dont work there, but it's become my Saturday hangout, perhaps similar to what yours was at Mathew's music back in the day. : ) Best Regards, Rick.
I did the same thing with the Carvin catalog. And I just sat there and looked at it over and over. Here I am 40 years later and my main amp is a carvin legacy
um I'm 99.9% sure that the guy posting as Steve is just a troll folks. The replies are't coming from @SteveVaiHimself I've been lucky enough to meet and hang out with him a few times and he wouldn't get involved in some of the comments the troll is posting...
This is Steve. Your'e right, I rarely post in these kinds of things but now and then... eh, you know. I like reaching out. I know that gear like this is exciting for some people. It is for me. s
Nice and informative vid Steve! As you can see from my pic (sorry just felt cool using your pic) that I'm a fan of yours! Looking forward to getting a hold of one of your gears some day. All great quality from a great musician such as yourself. Cheers and rock on!
I was fortunate enough to pick up the Carvin Legacy One and the Legacy 4x12. The original owner had the cab customized is that you can isolate the left side and right side of the cabinet. With this being said I managed to find another Carvin Legacy One head online. (the same week) 6 hour round trip later a stereo chorus pedal and a couple delay pedals I had my new rig! I would recommend these amps to anyone. Not to mention a fraction of the cost to anything else.
Cool to seeing you reply on here Mr Vai. I learned Sisters about 6 months ago and even now still work on it a lot, because there are so many subtle nuances in terms of the timing and phrasing. I've also enjoyed seeing other videos around on creativity and the universe and the like. In terms of your music and your artwork you're in tune or connected to something greater and it really comes through.
Thanks, I've never responded in a thread like this but I do a lot of press and the message can sometimes get distorted so writing directly to the folks that it matters to is enjoyable here. So thanks everyone for your comments and your support. And JonW, congrats on learning Sisters. I love love love playing this song live. I wrote it way back in 1980. It's very liberating to play. In whatever you play on the instrument if you internally honor the melody, people will hear it and feel it differently, especially you, enjoy! S-out
It's very nice that you actually tell a story about your gear in promotion videos, makes it worth watching. While almost any musician tells something like: "Well, we, ehmm... kinda sat together and, ehmm... kinda made that stuff, ehmm... my cool signature thingy and, ehmm... that's all. Are we done? Gotta go..."
Hey Steve...... No idea if you will see this. Dig your playing and learn something every time I hear or watch you. Yes I am new, again, or something. Lol Just ordered an X1 pedal, BTW. I guess it's a lot like yours but I wanted the extra features. Thanks for all your great work. Tim O
Hi steve..would have been great to hear you demo the pedal...but it dont matter coz i got to see you on the passion and warfare tour in manchester england...took me back to when i was 19 and waiting in british rain for hmv music to open so i could buy the album on cassette on day of its release...i honestly thought that tour would ever happen so thank you Mr Steve Vai....and the pedal is very nice so might jst git me one
Steve, I just wanted to say I am a huge fan, and have been for many years. I'm from Wantagh L.I., and I have probably spent nearly as much time in Carle Place as you and Satch did, thanks to things like Sam Ash music, and (dare I say) Roosevelt Field Mall. (and all the great food on Old Country Road). I have always felt a certain connection with you and Joe, not only because of the music, but also because of the "Kids from Carle Place" thing. I'll never forget that one day I walked into Sam Ash, and one of the guys that worked there said "Guess who you just missed by 10 minutes?" And I replied "Steve Vai?" - and of course it was ..... you were in L.I. visiting mom for mothers day. Man.... how I wished I hadn't hit that traffic on the Meadowbrook!!!! Rock on Steve... you're one of the all time greatest. Live long and prosper my friend.
Ahh, fellow Carle Place person. I loved reading your bits about Roosevelt Field, Old Country Road, etc. There was a music store at Roosevelt Field when I was growing up called "Mathew's Music". I virtually lived in that place and that's where I bought my first real guitar, a 1976 Strat. I used it all through Berklee up through Zappa and then to Alcatrazz for a bit. I always felt that growing up on Long Island in the 60's-70's was fantastic. s
That's the next pedal I want to own for sure. It's funny how people don't believe Steve is answering comments, and I know it's him because he commented on a Cover video, and it's the same user so, I don't doubt at all :D
I'd love to check this out! Steve, I was fortunate enough to acquire one of your Fractal Axe-Fx2's recently... Initially, someone won it on Facebook through Fractal-and I was fortunate to win it on his eBay auction... I wish you could share some settings with me! We actually met in Maine back in November- you had signed a picture that I'd drawn of you in 1994... Was great to meet you on that chilly night! Love ya man.., fellow Gem- Steve Libby ♊️🔺
I'm a huge Vai fan and I can't tell the name of the songs in this vid for the first minutes, Can somebody please tell me the name of the songs in the background?
Ooookay so they were closing but now they are not....... You had me worried there, for a minute. Lol www.google.com/amp/s/www.guitarplayer.com/.amp/gear/namm-2018-carvin-audio-is-back-announces-x1-all-tube-guitar-preamp-pedal
Keep posted to Vai.com tour dates. If I decide to tour Ausi this year we will make a proper announcement. I would love to take he Passion and Warfare show to Ausi but there's a lot of moving parts going on this year and at some point I would like to get back in the studio and hunker down over a hot guitar and start the next project. But thanks for your enthusiasm. s
It can be used in place of an amp but you would need to then send the signal to a power amp to hear it. So the Legacy pedal is the pre-amp section of the Legacy. That's were the majority of the tone is, but then you need a power amp that is plugged into speakers to hear it. It saves me from having to drag my full amps around the world because it's very easy to find power amps to plug into. Any Marshal or amp that has a return input can be used for the return. But you can also come directly out of the Legacy pedal and go into a digital recording set up. Steve Vai
It's a hard to describe how different the Legacy's tone is. I have the first VL212 combo and i find it a little dark for my use when riffing. It's heavenly for solos but finding a rhythm tone has been a bit of a challenge for me. Been curious how Steve Vai would get around the dark tone if he had to. Raise the volume? Or replace the stock V30s with brighter speakers? Or boost with a pedal?
Well, I don't play much rhythm in my shows. That's Dave Weiner's department. But one of the things I like about the Legacy is that it is not harsh in the top end usually. Playing leads and melody all night with the highly distorted tone I use can start to get "ear"-itating if the tone is too bright. I might recommend jacking up the presence on the amp if you are looking for more "air" in the high end. s
let me just pick up my jaw off the floor first, Steve. Yeah, presence was my first instinct at low volume but i think the amp shines at higher volume levels. I see the logic. I guess the pedal version should grant more manageable volume levels for the home/studio user as well. Dying to try this with a cab sim! Thanks for all you do man..
Does Steve Vai use this on the pedal board or Rack live? Also are they still making his Ibanez Distortion double pedal? I believe this Carvin pedal and the Ibanez pedal are my next purchase.
I usually sit it on top of the power amps behind me. It can be used on the floor in front of you of course, but I also use the FX send and return and that needs to go into my rig so having the pedal pre-amp in back of me makes the most sense. If I need to switch channels I have that option midi on my Fractal pedal board. And Unfortunately the Jemini pedal (Ibanez signature distortion) is not in production anymore. These little stomp boxes usually have a short shelf life because of all the new pedals that continuously come out. But it is a great pedal and I would love to resurrect it someday. I still have about 4 of them left and I actually try to purchase them if I come across them because they are not made anymore and for my taste, they are the best. s
Thank you so much for the reply. I saw your show in Salt Lake City on your last tour and it was just one of the best days of my life. I use to bring catalogs to school and dream about gear when the teacher wasn't watching. I became a Ibanez fan because of you as a teen and have continued as an almost 30yr man haha. Thanks for being humble and being willing to deal with guitar junkies just like you. Also, thanks for the explanation of how you use your recent product. Ebay here I come for the Jemini!
Oddly enough, no. Gear seems to mysteriously vanish over the years, which is fine. It comes with the territory of having too much stuff and not keeping track of it all. But I may have one or two around someplace. The Legacy is virtually a total rebuild of the X-100b and there are vast differences in the tone in my ear. s
The Legacy 3 is virtually the same as the Legacy 1 with a few more pops and whistles such as the Master volume stage being post pre amp. That means you can bring the level of the amp up and down without necessarily effecting the tone very much. The Legacy 1 does not have this. when I'm home in the studio I usually use the Legacy 3 and when touring I bring them all but usually use the Legacy 1 because I don't need the Master volume post pre amp. I always look for the cleanest signal path. Now that we have this Legacy Drive pedal, for me life is so much easier when touring because it's essentially a Legacy and if I'm in China or some other exotic part of the world I only have to secure a power amp. On my last tour we carried minimal gear to Russia and some other places. The cost in shipping my Legacy from Europe to Russia, etc. and then home to the USA was about $5,000. Go figure! So now I can put my Legacy Drive pedal in my luggage if I want and still have my tone. Happy Day!!!
Pretty cool, I've never been next to a legacy 1 amp - looking at the schematics, I've often wondered if it was Carvin's version/take of a modern Plexi amp for the masses at a reasonable price. I actually have one carvin amp, it's a Carvin XV212 from 1981 - looks just like the X-100B's, but it has 4 volume knobs in total instead of 3. It's been pretty unusable for me, as it just too damn loud! But sounds great! Thanks for the info. Weird how Carvin wouldn't have installed a master volume in the legacy 1? That's been standard among amps for the last 35 years.
Steve I would like to request being on your record label, I know you signed Jimmy Hyland, if I'm spelling the country boy's name right and you know he's a great player Shredder own country but if you're looking for a cat that is been accused of being on the most prolific blues guitar players on the planet just go to Wayne Reed SoundCloud and hear me to Jimi Hendrix Red House and it's very raw but I think you'll hear the nuances that you're looking for plus I write pop music we working on a song that could be a Disney movie It's called I know Victoria's Secret what I wanted to do was capture the essence of Afro-American music from way back when they were rock and roll remember that??? take it through some time with the little Isley Brothers, throw a little Santana on the back mixed with a rap to finish up the song and Bam there you have it I know Victoria's Secret almost very close to getting that thing mixed and mastered anyway hopefully you'll do good traps and we can meet I met you before at musicians Institute a few years back I've been a bit carving fan for many years and because these guys are just outrageous making all this cool stuff in the US we're going to make America great again buddy please get back to me if you're interested and bring it on a producer as well as musician on your record label streets of gold 777 at gmail
Steve .. I thought you were the best ever since Zappa time.. I'm 71 and Frank was the master of crazyness in guitar and song.. I have one of your Jem's along with 60 guitars etc.etc.. I see you are gonna play Vegas and have met Ellen and hovak. I hope Ellen can learn slapping but we know she can knock out penny lane and has a beautiful voice. And she plays bass conventionally like no other can with years of practice .. we don't want her to feel like a failure or even get a blister trying to learn on such a short time by oct first.. so let her feel confident at going into this concert and know she can knock out that penny lane song. .you know she will bring the roof down.. and with that beautiful smile she is just one of a kind like you.. I would hate to be so scared to play something I know is too hard for me and become embarrassed in front of an audience.. you have been there.. it's like loosing your fav pick but even worse like if you had no idea what kinda pick it was from the beginning and that was the only pick you found you could play the guitar with and to never find another one... Really check on her progress and relieve some of that pressure for her. You know she can play to anything.. thanks Steve you are still as awesome as ever at guitar playing and always admired the amount of time and effort you put in .. your finger exercises on guitar mags helped inspire me so much to be like you.. It helped me see the possibility through repeating every different variation of combinations laying down your fingers till you got the feel of it. That was an awesome lesson for me and an epiphany I still have you to thank for so thanks for all the inspiration.
I sent away for that magazine and I too would look at the Pa’s and amp’s and guitars then I became a plumber and met the keisel family and did work at their house and factory The name carvin is a split from their 2 oldest sons Carson & Calvin
I have massive respect for Steve Vai and the fact that every person has his or her own idiosyncrasies. However, I have to wonder if he wouldn't be better served with a Kemper/Axe/whatever with a good profile or patch, for those situations where he can't have the actual amp with him. Granted, neither are quite as small as a pedal, but assuming he's already bringing some rack gear along...
So my question after watching this is, does Steve Vai actually use one of these ever in public? Oh, and also, what in hell does it sound like? I don't think I was out of line to expect to hear how a signature piece of gear sounds as used by the artist who's name is on it...I do not care that Steve Vai used to collect Carvin catalogs.
i love steve vai but i literately just bought the carvin legacy 1 amp head from guitar center with the foot switch and vinyl amp cover for $100 less then this pedal goes for NEW. they need to bring the price down. if this example doesn’t show you how much they over priced this pedal I don’t know what will.
MrMisterMan this isn't a pedal, it's an amp, the size of a pedal. The J*emini is a distortion pedal, made by ibanez. How could Ibanez make the legacy amp, if it's made by carvin?
I use both. The Jemini is a distortion pedal. The Legacy Drive is a preamp. It has distortion in it if you crank the gain but I usually use it for a main distortion and then kick in the Jemini for more distortion. More distortion always makes me randy! Nathan Carrille has it correct.
How does it feel to be at that level and developed decades worth of skill and technique only to have your tone in pocket for some amateur schmuck to have?
We are all standing on the shoulders of those that came before us, including me, so to be able to make a contribution that has the potential to inspire others is an honor. What would we do without our inspirations. We are all connected that way. s
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
Unbelievably thrilled and humbled to have a video I shot and edited used by one of my greatest guitar heroes!
Thank you so much Steve!
Playing starts at 9:04
Haha
Steve - you're the man. I respect you so much as a player and as a person and always enjoy your insight and stories. Great work, you're an inspiration.
Right on, thanks
Hey Steve What does this mean to you and where would I know it from U R A Q T?
Thanks for ALL, Steve Vai!
I remember sending away for my Carvin catalogue after seeing the add in Hit Parader. Full colour catalogue. I remember all the big mixing boards...I was just a kid I had no idea what they were, but the guitars and amps...that was a wow moment. I can still remember the DN612 (Double neck 6 string 12 string) I never played one, but that picture of that guitar made a lasting impression. And yes, it goes without saying Steve took his love of guitars a little further than I did.
the x100B is still one of my favorite amps!
Mr. Vai could talk about the blue sky and I'd enjoy listening to him for hours.
I want that pedal!
Thanks, the blue sky is one of the things that actually shuts me up! ha.
s
Haha
Vai is one of great guitarrist playing live his sound is so clear i like it
Steve, i'm not sure you'll even see this, but i'm the "Fellow Carle Place guy" that you chatted with a couple years back. You mentioned Mathew's Music, and your first real guitar, a 76 Strat. Anyway..I will be seeing your show on Sunday Oct. 30th, at the Paramount in Huntington. I was thinking, if by some stroke of magic, and the stars align, you can stop in real casual like, at the NY Music Emporium in Bellmore, on the Saturday before... the crew would literally freak out, and you could witness some real life fainting! lol. Well, just putting it out there. I dont work there, but it's become my Saturday hangout, perhaps similar to what yours was at Mathew's music back in the day. : ) Best Regards, Rick.
Saw Steve play once - waaaay back on the Eat 'em and Smile tour, Providence RI. What an innovator. Legendary! Man, that was a long time ago....
It's great to hear Steve Vai share his thoughts and experience. Thank you!
You're welcome.
Steve Vai
Steve Vai PLEASE COME BACK TO THE MYRTLE HOB!!!!
Used to love getting those Carvin catalogs as a kid, myself. B-)
I did the same thing with the Carvin catalog. And I just sat there and looked at it over and over. Here I am 40 years later and my main amp is a carvin legacy
um I'm 99.9% sure that the guy posting as Steve is just a troll folks. The replies are't coming from @SteveVaiHimself
I've been lucky enough to meet and hang out with him a few times and he wouldn't get involved in some of the comments the troll is posting...
This is Steve. Your'e right, I rarely post in these kinds of things but now and then... eh, you know. I like reaching out. I know that gear like this is exciting for some people. It is for me.
s
Hey Steve, I just ordered mine. I can't wait. And no I'm not going to burn that shit!
ya how's Pia
Nice and informative vid Steve! As you can see from my pic (sorry just felt cool using your pic) that I'm a fan of yours! Looking forward to getting a hold of one of your gears some day. All great quality from a great musician such as yourself. Cheers and rock on!
I was fortunate enough to pick up the Carvin Legacy One and the Legacy 4x12. The original owner had the cab customized is that you can isolate the left side and right side of the cabinet. With this being said I managed to find another Carvin Legacy One head online. (the same week) 6 hour round trip later a stereo chorus pedal and a couple delay pedals I had my new rig! I would recommend these amps to anyone. Not to mention a fraction of the cost to anything else.
Cool to seeing you reply on here Mr Vai. I learned Sisters about 6 months ago and even now still work on it a lot, because there are so many subtle nuances in terms of the timing and phrasing. I've also enjoyed seeing other videos around on creativity and the universe and the like. In terms of your music and your artwork you're in tune or connected to something greater and it really comes through.
Thanks, I've never responded in a thread like this but I do a lot of press and the message can sometimes get distorted so writing directly to the folks that it matters to is enjoyable here. So thanks everyone for your comments and your support. And JonW, congrats on learning Sisters. I love love love playing this song live. I wrote it way back in 1980. It's very liberating to play. In whatever you play on the instrument if you internally honor the melody, people will hear it and feel it differently, especially you, enjoy!
S-out
His best tone was when he used the x100b. It was so raw. Can't say I'm a huge fan of the Legacy era of tones.
Yeah the X100b was cool.
the Legacy is the Gerber strained baby food version of the script logo X100B
Lovely story.... You never forget the first people to show you trust and faith.
It's very nice that you actually tell a story about your gear in promotion videos, makes it worth watching. While almost any musician tells something like: "Well, we, ehmm... kinda sat together and, ehmm... kinda made that stuff, ehmm... my cool signature thingy and, ehmm... that's all. Are we done? Gotta go..."
Yay! Another possibility to step on Vai :)!
Yeah, Join the party!
s
I have one of these preamps, its great!
Better get saving my loose change... Also if that's genuinely Steve replying to comments, that's pretty awesome.
Hey Steve...... No idea if you will see this. Dig your playing and learn something every time I hear or watch you. Yes I am new, again, or something. Lol
Just ordered an X1 pedal, BTW. I guess it's a lot like yours but I wanted the extra features.
Thanks for all your great work.
Tim O
Very nice video, Steve. Cheers from Croatia!
Steve is a really nice guy! Thanks for the inspiration!
this is coolest guitar amp ever i adored carvin aa a kid but never had 1 now i can
i took a picture with his gear and on with tony mcalpine a couple months ago. gonna see him perform next month again
Someone please tell me what is that song that plays in the background! :(
Hi steve..would have been great to hear you demo the pedal...but it dont matter coz i got to see you on the passion and warfare tour in manchester england...took me back to when i was 19 and waiting in british rain for hmv music to open so i could buy the album on cassette on day of its release...i honestly thought that tour would ever happen so thank you Mr Steve Vai....and the pedal is very nice so might jst git me one
Abraham says thanks for the autographed strap! Maybe we can add this pedal to the collection!
Steve, I just wanted to say I am a huge fan, and have been for many years. I'm from Wantagh L.I., and I have probably spent nearly as much time in Carle Place as you and Satch did, thanks to things like Sam Ash music, and (dare I say) Roosevelt Field Mall. (and all the great food on Old Country Road). I have always felt a certain connection with you and Joe, not only because of the music, but also because of the "Kids from Carle Place" thing. I'll never forget that one day I walked into Sam Ash, and one of the guys that worked there said "Guess who you just missed by 10 minutes?" And I replied "Steve Vai?" - and of course it was ..... you were in L.I. visiting mom for mothers day. Man.... how I wished I hadn't hit that traffic on the Meadowbrook!!!! Rock on Steve... you're one of the all time greatest. Live long and prosper my friend.
Ahh, fellow Carle Place person. I loved reading your bits about Roosevelt Field, Old Country Road, etc. There was a music store at Roosevelt Field when I was growing up called "Mathew's Music". I virtually lived in that place and that's where I bought my first real guitar, a 1976 Strat. I used it all through Berklee up through Zappa and then to Alcatrazz for a bit. I always felt that growing up on Long Island in the 60's-70's was fantastic.
s
Steve you'r the best
That's the next pedal I want to own for sure. It's funny how people don't believe Steve is answering comments, and I know it's him because he commented on a Cover video, and it's the same user so, I don't doubt at all :D
Oh and, Hi Steve! :)
I'd love to check this out! Steve, I was fortunate enough to acquire one of your Fractal Axe-Fx2's recently... Initially, someone won it on Facebook through Fractal-and I was fortunate to win it on his eBay auction... I wish you could share some settings with me! We actually met in Maine back in November- you had signed a picture that I'd drawn of you in 1994... Was great to meet you on that chilly night! Love ya man.., fellow Gem- Steve Libby ♊️🔺
When I was a kid I had a poster of you up on the wall standing in front of a wall of Carvin amps.
Ha, there's a complete 360 in there someplace
s
This pedal seems really cool and I will probably buy it but I also want that song in the background :) Thanks Steve
I think they used a variety of songs and I really can't hear them well enough to tell you what they are, but thanks for asking.
Steve Vai
I'm a huge Vai fan and I can't tell the name of the songs in this vid for the first minutes, Can somebody please tell me the name of the songs in the background?
just wondering what Steve will do now that Carvin Audio is closing...
Maybe he'll go to Marshall?
Closing??!
I just bought an X1 pedal from them.
Soooo??
Ooookay so they were closing but now they are not....... You had me worried there, for a minute. Lol
www.google.com/amp/s/www.guitarplayer.com/.amp/gear/namm-2018-carvin-audio-is-back-announces-x1-all-tube-guitar-preamp-pedal
where can I get a Jem with true temperament frets ? if I buy TT neck I won't get the 24frets and the tree of life in it.
Steve, when are you coming to New Zealand? ...
Music is the best.
what an amazing pedal! Even Steve didn't want to play it!
When are you coming back to Australia for a tour is what i want to know
Keep posted to Vai.com tour dates. If I decide to tour Ausi this year we will make a proper announcement. I would love to take he Passion and Warfare show to Ausi but there's a lot of moving parts going on this year and at some point I would like to get back in the studio and hunker down over a hot guitar and start the next project. But thanks for your enthusiasm.
s
I wonder how that pedal would sound with my Tokai VC75? I think I want one either way!
I'm kinda like Steve Vai, I love going to the websites for music stores and just looking.
i had and still have that same feeling about Carvin...
does anyone know what the song is at 2:20?
So I could take this drive pedal and use it with just a power amp and get close to the sound of the Legacy amps?
Geerladenlad that is exactly what you could do with it.
Oliver James awesome
Why would you use it with a Legacy amp? I thought he had them design it for situations when he couldn't use his Legacy amp.
It can be used in place of an amp but you would need to then send the signal to a power amp to hear it. So the Legacy pedal is the pre-amp section of the Legacy. That's were the majority of the tone is, but then you need a power amp that is plugged into speakers to hear it. It saves me from having to drag my full amps around the world because it's very easy to find power amps to plug into. Any Marshal or amp that has a return input can be used for the return. But you can also come directly out of the Legacy pedal and go into a digital recording set up.
Steve Vai
Does it have a Line Level output for driving real power amps?
It's a hard to describe how different the Legacy's tone is. I have the first VL212 combo and i find it a little dark for my use when riffing. It's heavenly for solos but finding a rhythm tone has been a bit of a challenge for me. Been curious how Steve Vai would get around the dark tone if he had to. Raise the volume? Or replace the stock V30s with brighter speakers? Or boost with a pedal?
Well, I don't play much rhythm in my shows. That's Dave Weiner's department. But one of the things I like about the Legacy is that it is not harsh in the top end usually. Playing leads and melody all night with the highly distorted tone I use can start to get "ear"-itating if the tone is too bright. I might recommend jacking up the presence on the amp if you are looking for more "air" in the high end.
s
let me just pick up my jaw off the floor first, Steve. Yeah, presence was my first instinct at low volume but i think the amp shines at higher volume levels. I see the logic. I guess the pedal version should grant more manageable volume levels for the home/studio user as well. Dying to try this with a cab sim! Thanks for all you do man..
Love this guy. I hope, once, I could buy a guitar, and start learning.
Does Steve Vai use this on the pedal board or Rack live? Also are they still making his Ibanez Distortion double pedal? I believe this Carvin pedal and the Ibanez pedal are my next purchase.
I usually sit it on top of the power amps behind me. It can be used on the floor in front of you of course, but I also use the FX send and return and that needs to go into my rig so having the pedal pre-amp in back of me makes the most sense. If I need to switch channels I have that option midi on my Fractal pedal board. And Unfortunately the Jemini pedal (Ibanez signature distortion) is not in production anymore. These little stomp boxes usually have a short shelf life because of all the new pedals that continuously come out. But it is a great pedal and I would love to resurrect it someday. I still have about 4 of them left and I actually try to purchase them if I come across them because they are not made anymore and for my taste, they are the best.
s
Thank you so much for the reply. I saw your show in Salt Lake City on your last tour and it was just one of the best days of my life. I use to bring catalogs to school and dream about gear when the teacher wasn't watching. I became a Ibanez fan because of you as a teen and have continued as an almost 30yr man haha. Thanks for being humble and being willing to deal with guitar junkies just like you. Also, thanks for the explanation of how you use your recent product. Ebay here I come for the Jemini!
I'd be interested to hear Steve's take on Carvin's announcement of closing their doors.
Damn, every company is doing it now, nice.
What is Steve using now that Carvin has gone under?
now I can see stevevai took part in the modernisation of music technology.
Would I be able to put that pedal in front of a Vox mini 5 Amp ? 😨
STEEEEEEEEEVEEEEEEEEE
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!
s
If he plugs that into his Carvin Legacy, it's like Malkovich going into his own portal
Such a nice and humble guy !! Would love to know him and discuss various topics about all kinds of things.
:)
My Idol!
Do you still have that first x100b?
Oddly enough, no. Gear seems to mysteriously vanish over the years, which is fine. It comes with the territory of having too much stuff and not keeping track of it all. But I may have one or two around someplace. The Legacy is virtually a total rebuild of the X-100b and there are vast differences in the tone in my ear.
s
Awesome
So want one but it costs too much for a new player. I'll have to stick to cheap danelectro pedals.
Notice how Vai has never completely abandoned the Legacy 1's in favor of the Legacy 3's - in fact, sometimes I don't see the legacy 3's at all.
The Legacy 3 is virtually the same as the Legacy 1 with a few more pops and whistles such as the Master volume stage being post pre amp. That means you can bring the level of the amp up and down without necessarily effecting the tone very much. The Legacy 1 does not have this. when I'm home in the studio I usually use the Legacy 3 and when touring I bring them all but usually use the Legacy 1 because I don't need the Master volume post pre amp. I always look for the cleanest signal path. Now that we have this Legacy Drive pedal, for me life is so much easier when touring because it's essentially a Legacy and if I'm in China or some other exotic part of the world I only have to secure a power amp. On my last tour we carried minimal gear to Russia and some other places. The cost in shipping my Legacy from Europe to Russia, etc. and then home to the USA was about $5,000. Go figure! So now I can put my Legacy Drive pedal in my luggage if I want and still have my tone. Happy Day!!!
Pretty cool, I've never been next to a legacy 1 amp - looking at the schematics, I've often wondered if it was Carvin's version/take of a modern Plexi amp for the masses at a reasonable price. I actually have one carvin amp, it's a Carvin XV212 from 1981 - looks just like the X-100B's, but it has 4 volume knobs in total instead of 3. It's been pretty unusable for me, as it just too damn loud! But sounds great! Thanks for the info. Weird how Carvin wouldn't have installed a master volume in the legacy 1? That's been standard among amps for the last 35 years.
So no demo?......
little steve vai
Steve I would like to request being on your record label,
I know you signed Jimmy Hyland, if I'm spelling the country boy's name right and you know he's a great player Shredder own country but if you're looking for a cat that is been accused of being on the most prolific blues guitar players on the planet just go to Wayne Reed SoundCloud and hear me to Jimi Hendrix Red House and it's very raw but I think you'll hear the nuances that you're looking for plus I write pop music we working on a song that could be a Disney movie It's called I know Victoria's Secret what I wanted to do was capture the essence of Afro-American music from way back when they were rock and roll remember that??? take it through some time with the little Isley Brothers, throw a little Santana on the back mixed with a rap to finish up the song and Bam there you have it I know Victoria's Secret almost very close to getting that thing mixed and mastered anyway hopefully you'll do good traps and we can meet I met you before at musicians Institute a few years back I've been a bit carving fan for many years and because these guys are just outrageous making all this cool stuff in the US we're going to make America great again buddy please get back to me if you're interested and bring it on a producer as well as musician on your record label
streets of gold 777 at gmail
Great guitar player
Song at 7:10 ! Please Steve, release it !! :'(
So sorry, I can't really hear it but what I do hear leads me to believe it may not be one of my songs.
S
That was a joke. Like... release no sound :)
ele e otimo
Steve .. I thought you were the best ever since Zappa time.. I'm 71 and Frank was the master of crazyness in guitar and song.. I have one of your Jem's along with 60 guitars etc.etc.. I see you are gonna play Vegas and have met Ellen and hovak. I hope Ellen can learn slapping but we know she can knock out penny lane and has a beautiful voice. And she plays bass conventionally like no other can with years of practice .. we don't want her to feel like a failure or even get a blister trying to learn on such a short time by oct first.. so let her feel confident at going into this concert and know she can knock out that penny lane song. .you know she will bring the roof down.. and with that beautiful smile she is just one of a kind like you.. I would hate to be so scared to play something I know is too hard for me and become embarrassed in front of an audience.. you have been there.. it's like loosing your fav pick but even worse like if you had no idea what kinda pick it was from the beginning and that was the only pick you found you could play the guitar with and to never find another one... Really check on her progress and relieve some of that pressure for her. You know she can play to anything.. thanks Steve you are still as awesome as ever at guitar playing and always admired the amount of time and effort you put in .. your finger exercises on guitar mags helped inspire me so much to be like you.. It helped me see the possibility through repeating every different variation of combinations laying down your fingers till you got the feel of it. That was an awesome lesson for me and an epiphany I still have you to thank for so thanks for all the inspiration.
I sent away for that magazine and I too would look at the Pa’s and amp’s and guitars then I became a plumber and met the keisel family and did work at their house and factory The name carvin is a split from their 2 oldest sons Carson & Calvin
So you can play at my birthday party now Stevie?!? :D
Sorry, but the best I can do is say, Happy Birthday!
OMG, I'm blessed! :D Happy Birthday to you too!
exactly
genio
I have massive respect for Steve Vai and the fact that every person has his or her own idiosyncrasies.
However, I have to wonder if he wouldn't be better served with a Kemper/Axe/whatever with a good profile or patch, for those situations where he can't have the actual amp with him.
Granted, neither are quite as small as a pedal, but assuming he's already bringing some rack gear along...
"I don't even think your mirror understands your reflection"
But that's alright.
"Your secret is safe tonight"
Um, can we HEAR the thing?
So my question after watching this is, does Steve Vai actually use one of these ever in public? Oh, and also, what in hell does it sound like? I don't think I was out of line to expect to hear how a signature piece of gear sounds as used by the artist who's name is on it...I do not care that Steve Vai used to collect Carvin catalogs.
doesn't play one fucking note. is there a reason for that Steve?
I think his talking skill is better than 90 % of electric guitarists
Fuck yeah
the moral of the story is be nice to a nerd and 30 years later ya never know lol
i love steve vai but i literately just bought the carvin legacy 1 amp head from guitar center with the foot switch and vinyl amp cover for $100 less then this pedal goes for NEW. they need to bring the price down. if this example doesn’t show you how much they over priced this pedal I don’t know what will.
Yep. You sound like me at that age. lol
wow stack
Don't hold it - play it!
Hey steve!, play the pedal, didn't need to hear you gab, !!!
guess you didnt feel the gemini was worth a second chance eh?
MrMisterMan what?
MrMisterMan this isn't a pedal, it's an amp, the size of a pedal. The J*emini is a distortion pedal, made by ibanez. How could Ibanez make the legacy amp, if it's made by carvin?
MrMisterMan it doesn't make any sense what you are saying.
ah my bad i thought it was a new pedal like the jemini but from carvin
I use both. The Jemini is a distortion pedal. The Legacy Drive is a preamp. It has distortion in it if you crank the gain but I usually use it for a main distortion and then kick in the Jemini for more distortion. More distortion always makes me randy! Nathan Carrille has it correct.
Ha-ha! Steve Vai is a dirty old man for guitar gear! (One sympathizes.)
Filthy dirty!
s
I run my Ibanez through a tinfoil wrapped potato, raw of course.
ref flag... guitar in hand, no demo of product
Steve probably runs his AxFx live and barely has the legacy in the mix.
Actually all the sound and tone comes from the Legacy and I only use the AxFX for it's effects.
s
Shut up and demo it Steve! For crying' out loud! J
ᗰᑌᔕIᑕ, ᗩᒪᒪ ᗪᗩY ᕮᐯᕮᖇY ᗪᗩY
Jari Satta wow... how did you do that? What font is that. And yes, love the sentiment.
messletters (dot) com, copy paste
1:03 pr0n
I went for the bra and panty section 1st js
How does it feel to be at that level and developed decades worth of skill and technique only to have your tone in pocket for some amateur schmuck to have?
We are all standing on the shoulders of those that came before us, including me, so to be able to make a contribution that has the potential to inspire others is an honor. What would we do without our inspirations. We are all connected that way.
s
always teaching :) you will always be an inspiration !!!!
Those glasses are sexy!
My glasses are now blushing.
s