Legend Guitar Amplifiers

[mr natural]

I'll probably be the only person in this club, but here goes.

I've got a Legend Super Lead 50. It's been my main amp since about 1989. It sounds, well, different. Not really sure what the guy who designed it was going for. It's my secret weapon in my quest to not sound like anyone else. Legends were made in Syracuse, NY and were very expensive for their time. When I bought mine they could be had for a song because nobody wanted to sound like that in 1989. I was sick of not being able to hear myself because I had this crappy 20 watt practice amp. So I walked into Lark Street music and asked the owner what the loudest amp he had was. He pointed this baby out to me. It's really really loud for a 50 watter. It's got a tube preamp powered by three 12AX7s and a solid state power amp. It's got a groovy Celestion speaker, finger joined oak cabinet, cane grill, effects loop, channel switching and reverb and about a billion knobs, some of which don't appear to do anything. It's built like a tank. It looks like it belongs in a fern bar. You can see a picture of it along with a page from the manual in my photos. Endorsed by Billy Jones from the Outlaws!

Anybody else own one of these monsters?
-Mr. N.

[Jammin'John1]

My neighbor has a 50 watt Legend and their 4x12 cab.
My tech was involved with the company years ago.
NOT my sound but yes they are LOUD !

JJ

[musikylnut]

I used to own one. I had a 30 watt with a matching speaker so it looked like a stack. It was pretty awesome... and loud. I started getting into vintage Fender stuff and sold it. Wish I had it back now!

[Jgreendog39]

I have a 50 watt, 1x12 combo, original owner. Serial number 00121, which I found out means it's the 21st one built. It's true that it doesn't sound like anything else, which is not to say that it sounds bad. It's also true that its as loud as they come. I've loved it and have never had any trouble outside of regular maintenance...dirty pots, etc..

[mickeydean]

i used a 50 watt combo on the road for about 5 years and really liked it.

in fact..... i don't remember what happened to it.

[mr natural]

That's one of the funny things about my 50 watt combo. If I play it alone it sounds kind of obnoxious. Like somebody bashing you in the ear with a ball-peen hammer. But loud, in a band setting, it sits really well in a mix and can punch through when needed. And actually sounds really good on recordings I have of old bands. Weird.
-Mr. N.

[thegiftofyears]

Not looking to revive an old thread but . . . . . . .
I just picked up one of these (50w 1x12 combo) last month. I traded some horrible sounding Marshall SS head and a Peavey windsor cabinet for it and feel like I definitely got the better end of the deal.

Yeah - it sounds different from other amps but it works perfectly for me for a blues sound. It doesn't seem to have a lot of bass response but I can correct that with the Boss eq pedal.

It's so loud I only keep in on 1 in the condo. I find I need to push it to 2 to get a fuller sound. Most of the time I use my Fender Ultra-Chorus around the house but the Legend will give me all the power I need if I play in public.

[SackvilleDan]

There's a local guy here who has one, I've seen him play a hundred times, excellent amp. Really great tone, and the only effect he uses is an old OD-1 to push his solos a little farther.

[legend]

I was the original founder and President of Legend Musical Instruments.
At the NAMM show in I believe 1980 Leo Fender told me that he thought we had the best guitar amplifier on the market.
Not being aware at the time of the nature of his arrangement with Music Man, I told him that I thought the Music Man amp was very good.
He told me, "They did it backwards", (with the tube power and solid state output).
He also said "He just rented them space" and had nothing to do with design or production of the Music Man amplifiers.
He proceeded to tell me about why he sold Fender, and that nobody had ever equaled or surpassed to that date the number of guitars and amps he was cranking out in 1965.

[thegiftofyears]

Well - thank you for your amp, sir! Since my last post I've learned how to work with this amp a little more and am very pleased with the sound. I haven't gigged with it but it strikes me as an amp that would cut through the mix nicely.

Did you have anything to do with the endorsement from the Outlaws?

[mr natural]

Hey Legend, I've got a question for you. I've heard that the gain controls and eq section were designed to kind of work together and that changing one affects how the other responds. Is this true? If so, do you have any tips on how this system works? Also, what exactly does the "bass boost" knob do? I'd also like to say that I used my Super Lead 50 with electric violin through a ton of effects for 5 years in this "alternative" band and it sounded fantastic. Putting an effects loop on the amp was brilliant. I use it all the time for certain effects. Also, you sure built these things bullet proof. A buddy of mine had his tumble end over end down a flight of stairs and out onto the sidewalk at this bar and there was absolutely no damage beyond a few scratches to the cabinet and one preamp tube came partially out of the socket! He used it at the gig that night. Thanks.
-Mr. Natural

[RocknDrTom]

My only tube amp (right now) is a Legend Super Lead 50 S/N # 04850. It's completely stock and original until January 2010 when I changed the original tubes! What a powerful amp and great workhorse - this has served me for MANY years. I once sold it when I needed money, but was able to buy it back. Pots are a bit scratchy and dirty, but this amp was the ultimate for lap steel live. LOVE it.

[legend]

Originally Posted by thegiftofyears

Well - thank you for your amp, sir! Since my last post I've learned how to work with this amp a little more and am very pleased with the sound. I haven't gigged with it but it strikes me as an amp that would cut through the mix nicely.

Did you have anything to do with the endorsement from the Outlaws?

The Outlaw's endorsement was handled by our west coast rep. who had a good working relationship with many bands.
In addition their bass player Rick Cua was an advocate of ours as a friend and Syracuse native.
Don Martell a long time friend of mine and Legend employee was also Rick's musical associate and eventually left our company to work as Billy Jones right hand man.
So I guess thinking about it I don't really know who was directly responsible for the endorsement.

[legend]

Originally Posted by mr natural

Hey Legend, I've got a question for you. I've heard that the gain controls and eq section were designed to kind of work together and that changing one affects how the other responds. Is this true? If so, do you have any tips on how this system works? Also, what exactly does the "bass boost" knob do? I'd also like to say that I used my Super Lead 50 with electric violin through a ton of effects for 5 years in this "alternative" band and it sounded fantastic. Putting an effects loop on the amp was brilliant. I use it all the time for certain effects. Also, you sure built these things bullet proof. A buddy of mine had his tumble end over end down a flight of stairs and out onto the sidewalk at this bar and there was absolutely no damage beyond a few scratches to the cabinet and one preamp tube came partially out of the socket! He used it at the gig that night. Thanks.
-Mr. Natural

The bass, mid and treble controls were passive. Turning up the treble cut the bass. This is very effective at a high volume making it less muddy with the speaker providing the bass response.
The original design of the Rock N Roll series was designed by a guy who was one of our partners by the name of Bob Brinkman from Chanute, Kansas.
He was and I'm sure still is a real hands on Leo Fender type who had been involved in electronics since the birth of Rock and Roll.
The amps record well and sound great live because they were designed that way with hundreds of hours of listening at all volumes with Fender, Gibson and Rickenbacker guitars. I remember checking out myriad changes in the values of caps etc.
The bass boost on the Super Lead is an attempt to give increased bass for both low volumes, (kind of like a loudness control on a stereo), as well as provide the kind of bottom end I wanted with the reverb.
It is an active circuit that boosts the bass starting at 50 hz. to if I remember correctly about 250 hz. The Super Leads are my favorite Legend amps.

[legend]

Originally Posted by RocknDrTom

My only tube amp (right now) is a Legend Super Lead 50 S/N # 04850. It's completely stock and original until January 2010 when I changed the original tubes! What a powerful amp and great workhorse - this has served me for MANY years. I once sold it when I needed money, but was able to buy it back. Pots are a bit scratchy and dirty, but this amp was the ultimate for lap steel live. LOVE it.

Thanks for your kind remarks. I'm glad to hear how many amps are still doing well after 30+ years of service.
They were built better than other amps of the period.
The design is not the boutique design of today, but I think we did several things better than most of today's expensive boutique products.

We used aircraft grade Aluminum chassis for maximum strength and heat dissipation. Computer grade electrolytic caps. G10 glass epoxy circuit boards. Solid oak cabinetry. This stuff was very expensive to use back in 1980.

[mr natural]

Thanks for the info, Legend. What are you doing these days? Any plans to design or build any new gadgets?
-Mr. N.

[Jammin'John1]

Hey Legend.
My neighbor,Big Dave (Big Dave & Tasty Cafe),has your 50w & a 4x12 cab.
Do you know him ?
Do you know Mike Finck ?

JJ

[legend]

Originally Posted by mr natural

Thanks for the info, Legend. What are you doing these days? Any plans to design or build any new gadgets?
-Mr. N.

These days I'm part of a company that is an Apple Specialist dealer. We sell and service Macs in Upstate NY.
From time to time we've kicked around the idea of doing a new amp, but it would have to have unique
features and not just be another me too product. With the advent of tube amps from China it seems that every one is building a tube amp these days. I also think that there is no justification for the cost of many of today's boutique amps.

[legend]

Originally Posted by Jammin'John1

Hey Legend.
My neighbor,Big Dave (Big Dave & Tasty Cafe),has your 50w & a 4x12 cab.
Do you know him ?
Do you know Mike Finck ?

JJ

I haven't seen most of my old friends and customers from the Legend days in 25 to 30 years. What is Dave's last name. Mike Finck sounds very familiar.

[coldshotaxeman]

Hello everybody. I'm new to this site. Let start by saying this, I LOVE Legend Guitar amps!
It's great to find this chat forum to talk to other Legend Amp owners. I currently own a Model A 60 watt. And Years ago I owned a Rock-n-Roll 50 head. Both sound amazing and as we all agree, are incredibly loud. And on that topic, My next search is for a Model A 30 watt. My dream amp? A Legend 8 x 12 with as low a wattage Legend head as I can get. These amps are A Weapon of Mass Destruction. Hard to find for sure. But when you find one, they are worth Any Price.