Bogner vs. Carvin vs. Mesa

[toejam]

I miss mine, too. It had a tone all it's own. The cleans were great with a strat and the dirty was downright mean. I'll probably pick another one up someday.

Yeah, great cleans, indeed! The distortion sounded fuzzy with my Double Fat Strat, sounded great with all other guitars. I might get the head version one day.

[usrname]

Yeah, great cleans, indeed! The distortion sounded fuzzy with my Double Fat Strat, sounded great with all other guitars. I might get the head version one day.

When I was last at my local shop, I played the F-50 head through a Recto 212 cab with an EMG equipped Dinky and man what a roaring tone.

[toejam]

My EMG-equipped guitars always sounded great through the F-30, too. Never tried the F-50 or F-100, though.

[Trypp Powell]

I've only gotten in an hour or so on it. Late nights are forcing me to do most of my practicing on the Pod w/ headphones.

So far, I love it with any Seymour Duncan equipped guitars and my PRS Singlecut. The Carvin I have sounds good through it as well.

My wife surprised me with this. When I saw it, I figured I was going to want a 1x12 extension cab for it. Needless to say, volume is not a problem as it is.

Also, while this has nothing to do with the sound of the amp, Mesa sends all of the paperwork in a nice binder and the amp also feels ruggedly constructed. I like it when a company sells a product that feels and looks like it is worth the price.

Of course, I still love my Line 6 stuff, but this is a great amp to have as well.

[jgcable]

I agree, Mesa Boogie is a top shelf company. My Stiletto came with a beautiful packet including manuals, warranty's, bumper stickers and all kinds of cool stuff. It also came with a beautiful stitched cover for both the amp head and the footswitch.

[Guitardude86]

That being said, I went to their 60th Anniversary party. Watching MacAlpine and Vai just KILL it for an hour (along with maybe a couple hundred others in their parking lot!) made me almost lay down a couple grand for a Legacy and a California Carved Top right there on the spot!

I played a Legacy recently and I thought it sounded awesome..
Of course I couldn't get myself to sound like Vai but who can unless you've got his hands..
I turned to the guy in the shop asking "So this is what Vai plays, huh?"
He replied: "Nope, he actually plays Bogner. The Legacy's are on stage because of the sponsorship deal, but backstage he's hooked up to a Bogner."
Makes you think of the 80's when everyone "had to" have a wall of Marshall's doesn't it?

[jgcable]

I played a Legacy recently and I thought it sounded awesome..
Of course I couldn't get myself to sound like Vai but who can unless you've got his hands..
I turned to the guy in the shop asking "So this is what Vai plays, huh?"
He replied: "Nope, he actually plays Bogner. The Legacy's are on stage because of the sponsorship deal, but backstage he's hooked up to a Bogner."
Makes you think of the 80's when everyone "had to" have a wall of Marshall's doesn't it?

I don't know if I am believing that. I have seen numerous interviews with Vai and he always claims to use stock Legacy's live.

[Guitardude86]

I know, I was surprised by this too..
That's what he said anyway, and he's one of those guys who don't go around talking BS all the time.. He's one of the most knowledgable "tone guys" I've ever come across. As far as I know he's in his 50's now and he isn't really that crazy about Vai, or a lot of shredders for that matter.. But the dude knows his stuff.. Just sayin'

[Bandersnatch]

I know Vai USED to use Bogners live...

[Guitardude86]

Yeah, I just dug up this. Research!
He's used a lot of stuff..
The Bogners seem to have been a constant, but maybe he's only using Legacy's now?

http://www.vai.com/Machines/livegear.html

[usrname]

Also, while this has nothing to do with the sound of the amp, Mesa sends all of the paperwork in a nice binder and the amp also feels ruggedly constructed. I like it when a company sells a product that feels and looks like it is worth the price.

...And that's the lowest priced line they offer!

[jim777]

I don't think Vai uses any one amp 100% of the time, but he definitely uses Legacy's live.

[Trypp Powell]

Same as Satch and the JSX's. It's no telling what Vai and Satriani have lieing around and I'm sure they'll plug into other amps that are available when recording. That said, knowledgable friends who have seen Vai have seen him actually using the Legacy live.

I'm in a dry phase right now, but in six months or so I'll have to pick something up for some delay, chorus, etc.

Have any of you tried the G System with a Mesa?

[toejam]

I don't know if I am believing that. I have seen numerous interviews with Vai and he always claims to use stock Legacy's live.

But he still runs a Boss DS-1 into it.

[yard dawg]

Vai uses the Legacy live and as far as recording goes,he prolly uses many different amps and then the engineer gets to it and really tweaks it then the mastering guy gets it and then tweaked even more. Vai has alot of EFX in his pedal board. His ds 1 is modded and I bet so are all his pedals. You cant determine the true tone from a CD. There are so many things involved that affect the tone. Mics,Pres,EFX,Mic placement etc. The real way to get it is to see the man live and his rig. Im sure at one time he has used a Bogner hidden with a mic to it in a live situation but all the greats do or have IMHO.

As for the V3 you can go to the Carvin forums and check out the clips of the members there. Its a very versatile amp and I plan on getting one ASAP. Im getting the Vintage 16 in a week or so and im going to MOD the ds1 the fett let me win ... Carvin makes good stuff or word of mouth would have ruined them long ago because thats basically how people know of what they sound like.