Guitar / Bass Amplifier Info & Education

Compare the tone of the VLD1 Legacy Drive Preamp Pedal against the Legacy 3 Guitar Amplifier. This video explores the tonal differences between a direct out to PA connection of the VLD1 tube preamp and the traditional miking of a guitar cabinet using the Carvin Audio Legacy 3 100W tube head connected to a Carvin Audio C212T guitar cabinet.

When it comes to strapping in for a live show, it’s relatively straight forward to dial in an electric guitar. After all, there are no acoustic resonances to worry about, and the instrument is designed to be reinforced and loud.

Acoustic guitars, on the other hand, are subtle creatures which can be a little harder to tame on stage. Here, we’ll go over some basics for using an acoustic on stage, which should be helpful if you haven’t done it before or if you’re having a hard time dialing in a good sound.

In a previous post, we discussed adjusting your live act to different spaces – from the size and style of room to available sound to the kind of audience you’re playing for. Here, we’ll focus on the bass, because bass forms the foundation of most bands, so it can make or break how your sounds works in a given room.

Now that quality PA systems are common and creating a stereo image in a live setting isn’t hard at all, there are probably some keyboardists out there who aren’t even aware that such a thing as a keyboard amp exists. Yet, there was once a time when keyboards were mostly treated just like guitars, with a stage amp a necessary part of the keyboard rig.

The question is – is a keyboard amp still necessary?

Here are a few reasons you might want a keyboard amp – and some you may not.

Guitarists are an interesting bunch. Although we strive for individuality in our musicianship, style, and sound, we are shaped by the players and bands who inspire us. As a result, our gear choices lean towards using what our heroes used and, in some cases, purchasing the signature gear of our favorite guitarists. Not only do we buy it to show our love and support but often we believe the signature gear will get us THAT MUCH CLOSER to achieving the tones of our heroes.

Here we’ll give you some tips on getting YOUR sound from signature guitar gear.

To say that the music business has changed in the last 50 years would be a gross understatement. Same goes for the last 20. Even in the past 10 years there have been such seismic changes to the way money is made with music that some have gone so far as to say the music industry is dead. Others claim that this is the best time in history to be a musician – especially an indie musician.

Guitar pedals. You have them for your guitar rig, right? Sure, but if you get bored or your calluses hurt – or if you don’t play the guitar – you can still put your pedal collection to work. Here are some wacky alternative ways you can use guitar pedals in the studio and on stage.

There’s nothing quite so beautiful as well-recorded acoustic guitar. Whether it’s a 6 string, 12 string, nylon string, old and scruffy, or bright and shiny, acoustic guitar is an amazing instrument to put “on wax.” But it can be a little tricky to get right.

So here we’ll go over some basic guidelines that should help you on the way toward capturing that perfect acoustic track.

If you’re a guitar player, you drag around an amp and cabinet. That’s just how it goes, right? Well, what would happen if your cabinet fell off a building or failed to get packed? Or, what if you simply got tired of lugging the heavy thing around? Could you still play gigs?

Unless you’ve decided to try gigging with only a direct box and some pedals, you’re going to end up miking up a cabinet both on stage and in the studio. Of course, if you’re doing big gigs, the sound team will take care of it, and similarly in the studio, you may not have to think about it.

Happy New Year from all of us at Carvin Audio! Now that we’re officially in a new year, many of us have probably spent some time making a list of New Year’s Resolutions. This isn’t such a bad idea, but we’d like to make a suggestion: how about making some New GEAR’S Resolutions?

Some performers just exude a special something. Even if they’re not as virtuosic as some other musicians, they shine on stage and everyone in the room seems tethered to their every move. It may seem like this is an innate talent available to some and not to others, but it turns out it can be learned. And while some people are born with it or pick it up easily, even if you have to work to get it, almost anyone can have great stage presence.