CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS (EUROPEAN)
The conductors in the AC power cord are colored in accordance with the following code.
GREEN & YELLOW—Earth BLUE—Neutral BROWN—Live
U.K. MAIN PLUG WARNING: A molded main plug that has been cut off from the cord is
unsafe. NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU INSERT A DAM-
AGED OR CUT MAIN PLUG INTO A POWER SOCKET.
IMPORTANT! FOR YOUR PROTECTION, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING:
WATER AND MOISTURE: Appliance should not be used near water (near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen
sink, laundry tub, in a wet basement, or near a swimming pool, etc). Care should be taken so that objects
do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclosure through openings.
POWER SOURCES: The appliance should be connected to a power supply only of the type described in
the operating instructions or as marked on the appliance.
GROUNDING OR POLARIZATION: Precautions should be taken so that the grounding or polarization
means of an appliance is not defeated.
POWER CORD PROTECTION: Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be
walked on or pinched by items placed upon or against them, paying particular attention to cords at plugs,
convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the appliance.
SERVICING: The user should not attempt to service the appliance beyond that described in the operating
instructions. All other servicing should be referred to qualified service personnel.
FUSING: If your unit is equipped with a fuse receptacle, replace only with the same type fuse. Refer to
replacement text on the unit for correct fuse type.
This symbol is intended to
alert the user to the presence
of uninsulated “dangerous
voltage” within the product’s
enclosure that may be of sufficient magni-
tude to constitute a risk of electric shock to
persons.
This symbol is intended
to alert the user to the
presence of important
operating and mainte-
nance (servicing) instructions in the lit-
erature accompanying the appliance.
LIMITED WARRANTY
Your Carvin product is guaranteed against failure for ONE YEAR unless otherwise stated. Vacuum
tubes are guaranteed for 90 days. Carvin will service and supply all parts at no charge to the cus-
tomer providing the unit is under warranty. Shipping costs are the responsibility of the customer.
CARVIN DOES NOT PAY FOR PARTS OR SERVICING OTHER THAN OUR OWN. A COPY OF
THE ORIGINAL INVOICE IS REQUIRED TO VERIFY YOUR WARRANTY. Carvin assumes no
responsibility for horn drivers or speakers damaged by this unit. This warranty does not cover, and
no liability is assumed, for damage due to: natural disasters, accidents, abuse, loss of parts, lack
of reasonable care, incorrect use, or failure to follow instructions. This warranty is in lieu of all other
warranties, expressed or implied. No representative or person is authorized to represent or assume
for Carvin any liability in connection with the sale or servicing of Carvin products. CARVIN SHALL
NOT BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.
SERVICE
In the USA
go to www.carvinservice.com
Outside the USA, contact your dealer or go to http://www.carvinworld.com for your nearest serv-
ice center. Include a written description of the problem with serial number and date of purchase.
HELP SECTION
1) AMP WILL NOT TURN ON
Check the power to the amp. Check for tripped circuit breakers, unplugged extension cords or
power-strip switches that may be turned off. Check the fuse. If a dark brownish color or no wire
can be seen within the glass tube, then replace. The amp may be perfectly fine but occasion-
ally a fuse may blow because of high AC voltage surges. After the fuse has been replaced with
the proper Slow Blow value and if the fuse fails again, the amp will require servicing.
2) NO OUTPUT with POWER LIGHT ON
Tubes damaged in shipping will be the primary reason for your amp to not function properly.
Please give us a call to help guide you through this simple repair.
3) KEEP YOUR AMP LOOKING NEW
Use a damp cloth to wipe the controls on the front & rear chassis panels.
HELP SECTION
a) USING THE VAI “HIDDEN FEATURE” :
One of the “hidden” features of the LEGACY amps 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.
b) FEEDBACK FROM THE LEAD CHANNEL:
The Legacy 3 can easily feedback when the LEAD volume, DRIVE, TREBLE
and PRESENCE are turned all the way up. Like other highly modified tube amps,
this is normal. To help reduce feedback and noise follow these tips;
- Stand with the guitar pointed away from the amp, and mute strings not being
played.
- Keep the DRIVE control set around 5 to 7 on the dial. Some of the best lead
saturation will be at around 5-7, not 10.
- If the V1 or V2 (12AX7A) has become microphonic, replacing it can help reduce
feedback.
c) TUBE REPLACEMENT GUIDE:
It is not uncommon for tubes to malfunction during shipping. If your amp is not
working properly (popping noises, bad ringing, or power tube problems), please
refer to the following tube replacement guide.
1) 12AX7 LOCATIONS: V1 is located closest to the INPUT jack. The other tubes
follow consecutively with V4 towards the middle of the chassis. V1 and V2 are
the most critical tubes for noise problems with V1 being the most sensitive (try
exchanging with V3). Replace these tubes if you have popping or a bad ring-
ing in the Lead 2 or 3 channel. Note: Low noise tubes may be hard to find and
must be tested for low noise. V3 and V4 generally do not generate noise into
the amp if they are slightly noisy. V3 drives the Clean channel and Power
Amp IN. V4 is the Phase Inverter for the power amp. If the power amp sec-
tion is not working, check V3 & V4 by inserting a signal into the rear POWER
AMP IN jack (it’s gonna be Loud!). If the power amp still does not work, read
about the EL34 power tubes V5 through V8.
2) The EL34 power tubes are the larger tube, located in the following order on
your chassis: V5, V6, V7, V8. Normally you’ll want to replace these tubes as
a set. Please contact Carvin for our latest prices. Sometimes you can spot
defective power tubes when they are glowing red-hot, or flashing blue, along
with an audible hum in the speaker when the amp is idling. If this happens,
shut the amp OFF immediately. Check the rear bias switch to be sure that it
is selected for the proper tubes. Unplug the AC power to the amp. After the
tubes have cooled down, remove the metal cover and carefully remove the
spring retainers. Remove the tubes by rocking the tubes in a small circular
motion while pulling them out. All tubes are keyed in the same direction.
Running defective power tubes could damage the amp. It is recommended
that you have a spare set of power tubes along with several 12AX7A preamp
tubes.
MIDI PRESET MEMORY:
The Legacy 3 will save the CHANNEL selection (1, 2, or 3), BOOST(on/off),
REVERB(on/off) and LED backlight color in a MIDI program location (1 thru 100).
The settings will be recalled when the same MIDI program number is received.
Volume, Drive and Tone level settings will not be saved.
To SAVE a MIDI program setting:
First, set the amp features for saving.
1. Hold down the channel (1,2,or 3) button for the channel setting you wish to save.
2. Now press the other two channel buttons, and release all three at the same time.
The REVERB LED will be flashing.
3. From your MIDI controller, select (send) the MIDI program number you wish to save.
The REVERB LED will stop flashing, and normal operation is resumed.
To change the LED backlighting color:
1. Hold down the channel (1,2,or 3) button to change the LED color for that channel.
2. Now press the other two channel buttons, and release all three at the same time.
The REVERB LED will be flashing.
3. On the back panel, press and release the "SET LED" button to set the lighting color
to GREEN, RED, AMBER or OFF. The REVERB LED will stop flashing.
4. Press and release any channel (1,2, or 3) button to save and exit.
Normal operation is resumed.
To change the MIDI receive channel:
1. Press and release all 3 channel SELECT buttons on the front panel.
The REVERB LED will be flashing.
2. Choose MIDI channel 1, 2, or 3 by pressing the 1, 2, or 3 button.
The REVERB LED will stop flashing, and normal operation is resumed.
CC (CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER) COMMANDS:
The Legacy 3 will respond to MIDI Continuous Controller (“CC”) commands. This
allows you to recall a MIDI preset, then switch ON/OFF different amp features on
demand through your MIDI controller.
CC parameters:
#81: Amp channel 1 (any change on CC#81)
#82: Amp channel 2 (any change on CC#82)
#83: Amp channel 3 (any change on CC#83)
#84: Boost (OFF=0-63 / ON=64-127) - toggle with MIDI footswitch in CC mode
#85: Reverb (OFF=0-63 / ON=64-127) - toggle with MIDI footswitch in CC mode
#89: LED backlight colors:
(0-15:OFF) (16-31:GREEN) (32-47:RED) (48-63:AMBER)
(64-79:OFF) (80-95:GREEN) (96-111:RED) (112-127:AMBER)
LEGACY 3: MIDI FEATURES
