GDEC Owners' Club

[JDaveG]

Once again, surprised no one had done this one already.....

Here's mine (to the left of its big brother.....):

[Hiker]

+1 GDEC 15 Standard

[LouieV]

My main amp is a 100 watt VOX Valvetronix that I like very much ...especially the Tweed and Dumble distortion. It is big and heavy. I sometimes want/need a smaller amp but circumstances don't allow for another amp. BUT, I rediscovered my G-Dec. I've programmed many of my own sounds into it and although I still want another amp (small,Tube)I'm happy with the G-Dec. I play both a Baja telecasterand a Sheraton II through the amps and am happy with the sounds that I get.

[Hoodster]

I have a GDEC 30 and feel that it is one of the most underrated amplifiers out there. Get past the crappy presets and you have an amazingly versatile, toneful bedroom amplifier. I installed a $30 Weber Signature Ceramic 10S in mine and it sounds absolutely dead on for all Tweed and Blackface models.

Considering that the GDECs have the same cyber engine as the XD amps, I think the GDEC 30 is a way better choice for a home amp than the Super Champ XD -- way more tweakable, plus the backing tracks, looper, etc.

[jkingma]

I just bought my son a G-DEC 30 for his birthday. Great little amp.

[Hoodster]

Take the Tweed1 preset that is matched with the 12 bar blues backing track, change the reverb to 63 Spring between 3-4 and add a modest amount of mono delay:

Instant 1950's rockabilly tone.

Add compression on the Low setting to substantially increase the punch of any setting you come up with.

[Silverface]

Get past the crappy presets

+1

I'm surprised this amp series seems to get so little attention. Not only is it (I have one of the original 15 models; got it from Fender a week or so before the official release) and my oft-repeated statement to music store employees and other players is:

"This is the single best guitar practice tool released by any company, ever".

Some players buy it so they can get a sort of budget Cyber-XXXX, Line 6, Vox Valvetronix or whatever with a small footprint, either for practice or recording. And it works fine for that - except most of those users never venture beyond the 4 or 5 settings/styles they're comfortable with.

I try to get every student to buy one, or its big brother, the 30. And NOT for single-style noodling.

The primary use I've found that is the most beneficial to ALL players, regardless of style, is using the GDec primarily for playing along with patches that are TOTALLY outside your own comfort zone. Country guys should tweak the stock tone settings to what they normally use (and also try using the stock tones...or just "dumb them down" slightly so they effects are not overkill) and play along with the metal stuff...or punk...or blues...NOT the Trainbilly patch, with is a no-brainer...and gets the player stuck in a HUGE rut.

Metal players should use the surf patches - or country - or the "Take 5" jazzy patch. Keef riffers - dig into the Surf Dawg patch, or some metal, or one of Greg Koch's add-on patches.

The entire idea behind this is *intentionally* being a fish-out-of-water and playing in unfamiliar territory. Some of my students have amazed me by coming back and showing me all kinds of tricked-out hybrids using this method.

It seriously opens you up to a myriad of styles you'd otherwise NEVER play,making you a far more versatile guitarist. And then on a gig, if someone requests something out of left field, you have a decent chance of pulling it off if you at least know the hooks and changes.

The coolest part is you never have to become another guitar player, losing your personal style in the process (assuming you have one and are not simply a player copying his hero's licks and nothing else). Even with the tonal changes and totally foreign style, for example, if I use the GDec with one of my B-Benders I still sound exactly like me; and the biggest, most rewarding challenge is sounding like yourself when playing a foreign style - yet NOT sounding out of place!

I use it with 6-string, lap steel, and pedal steel (which is really insane, but fun).

Seriously - if your playing is in a rut quit buying or downloading tab of more of the same thing you always play, get one of these little monsters, and jump off the ship in the middle of the ocean with no life preserver.

I've been playing 40+ years, am an admitted tube amp snob - but my desert album amp, if I thought long enough about it, would be the GDec. There's enough varied stuff in their (plus the ability to completely change the amp settings - clean, dirty, effects overload, dry as a bone etc) to keep me occupied for years.

Would I gig with it? Heck, no. But it's the only amp that's ALWAYS set up in my studio at home. It's he "go-to" tool when I'm getting bored with my own playing.

I'm actually going to sell my GDec 15 - just so I can get the 30, which has more programmability - but not to program my regular stuff; I'll program complete songs totally outside my "normal" style intentionally.

In a nutshell - buy one.

[Mike Bruce]

A few years ago when they first hit the market, I arranged for Long & McQuade to move a few of them through my instructional business. Every student who bought one showed improvement in tuning, timing, rhythm, and greater interest in tone, recording, and best of all, practice.

Highly recommended.

Peace, Mike.

[Hoodster]

Great posts, guys! It's wonderful to find more folks spreading the word on these often overlooked amps.

Silverface, when you get the 30, try dropping in a $30 Weber Signature Ceramic 10S and you will be in heaven.

[truckdrivinman]

guess I´ll join this here club :-)
i actually got me the standard 15 watt version when it first came out a bunch of years ago.
still play it to this day.
a great amp that has some serious monster tone.
plus I love the possibility of combining a lot of effects: like playin one of the blackface models while adding a bit of compression and still having the opportunity to have reverb on as well as having some serious slapback echo goin´.....

[Kyluckyman]

I just got mine used for a song (Fender GDEC 15 off EBay for $89 plus shipping). Me and the wife both played on it for over two hours each. I bought the thing to practice with. The different presets force you to work on several areas at the same time.

[Billy Hell]

G-Dec 3 30 through a 400 watt powered PA speaker with a 12 inch and tweeter. It will cut you off at the knees! I'm loving this amp!! The foot switch is great too, if only for the way it acts like a tuner!!!

[The Tank]

The G-DEC is helping me as a beginner. It is simple to use and comes with the Fender Fuse software that is easy to use as well as some other bundled software (Ableton Live Lite and AmpliTube Fender LE) for real musicians that will take me a long while in order to benefit from. The presets in the amp, computer USB interface (for the Fuse software) and the SD card interface are all great features. Great value IMHO.

[Billy Hell]

I'm about to get another powered PA speaker to take advantage of the stereo out.