GDEC Owners' Club

Just wondering...Has any other amp company brought out a product that is similar to or expands on the G-DEC principle? These were so novel & unique when they first appeared. I'm finding it hard to believe that there isn't some demand for something similar or improved to help guitar players get better, faster...

 

The Line 6 Spider Jam is such an amp.


Ed

 

Got a G-dec 30 the other day, with foot pedal and the owners manual...WOO HOOO
This thing is a blast to play. Now I just have to figure out fender fuse....

 

I quit bothering with FUSE quite soon after I got it. I just make my own tones and save them, right on the amp itself.

 

I gave up on FUSE when it wouldn't run on XP anymore. It never ran too long to begin with, but it did come in handy sometimes for moving patches around. Do they still call them patches? Or am I revealing my 80's synth infatuation?

Anyway FUSE is no big deal. Just think of it as a cockroach that crawled into Leo's marketing department from the Line 6 factory.

 

Well, I gave in! After I tried to love my Super Champ XD, then the Excelsior, I gave in and returned to my old standby, GDec Jr.! I can't figure out why I went looking for something else, when it has all the clean and dirty tone I need. And for as small as it is, it can get LOUD! If I need it louder, mike it.

One question, with the sealed up cabinet, how would I change the speaker?

 

I have a GDEC 30 and a Champ X2 both using Fuse. I mostly use the GDEC to store and play backing tracks and the XD for modeling. There are far more GDEC presets online than there are for the XD (at least through FUSE).

I also have a HD500 and DT50 amp; which takes all the modeling and presets to another level.

Once in a while I use the GDEC amp models and I'm surprised on how good some of them are. I've read that changing the speaker really improves the GDEC's a lot.

 

Interesting thread! I've got two G-DEC 15s -the first was bought in 2007 and it's been a whole bundle of fun since then, except for the occasional need to clean the data control wheel tracks when it skips selections. Gotta be my best progress tool since I started playing over 30 years ago. I had a Spider Jam at one stage but it was a pain in the butt to use compared to the Fender, so out the door it went.
The second G-DEC 15 is a non-working model I won on eBay for £5.00 a while back and it should be up and running once I change a couple of diodes. That'll give me 100 user presets between the two!
I don't know about the Junior, Johnny, but the rear speaker panel on mine is held on with a few screws.
The only slightly annoying thing about the amp is the strap instead of a carrying handle but otherwise, it's great. Why was it discontinued, I wonder?

 

i am new to gdec3.....i have a gdec3 15 and a 30....as well as superchamp x2....i like the superchamp x2 and the gdec3.....i am trying to decide between the 15 and the 30 model...i want to only keep one on the gdecs. I like both...lol...but it would seem to be overkill to me....i find the gdec3-30 is fuller of course with the larger speaker but the 15 does really sound good as well......has anyone kept the 15 over the 30?....I may end up keeping both but really think that that is overkill.....i sold my pod hd500 and am selling my dt25...that setup was cool but i dont gig and the tweaking just was too much for me..i mean i was addicted to tweaking...lol...sound like a druggie huh?.....i use a valvetronix vtx150 and a valvetronix ad120vtx and they sound very good as do the line 6 spider valve 2 i have.....so the fenders fit a nitche for me and i like fuse...but which gdec to keep is my issue now...

 

Looking back......when I upgraded from the GDEC15 to the GDEC30, my reasons were mostly because of the improvements and features it offered. And I did not regret it. The 30 also sounded much fuller, probably helped by the 10" speaker as opposed to the smaller 8" speaker in the 15.
I will admit that eventually I sold it in favor of the newest (and final) version GDEC-3-30 when GC was selling them out for $149. Again, the added features, longer loop, added memory and tracks, all were attractive improvements.
But looking back, and for how I used it, the older 30 was easier and more straight-forward when using it directly from the front panel. It also had the Ext.Spkr. jack that was deleted on the GDEC-3-30 and a much more durable 1/4" headphone jack.

So, in retrospect, I actually would have actually favored keeping the older GDEC30, but I still enjoy my present GDEC-3-30.

In your case, I would definately keep the 30 over the 15. The features & fuller sound does it for me, unless the smaller size of the 15 is a necessity!

 

Hmmm...I currently have a GDEC 3 Thirty. I really like it. I just bought a Fender Mustang III v.2 because the 30 watts 10" speaker wasn't really cutting it at band rehearsals. I'm hoping the 100 watts will, and the 12" speaker.

I'm considering selling the GDEC 3 30, but I might keep it as a practice amp at home and keep the M3 at the rehearsal space.

 

Keep it! I still think the GDEC-3-30 makes a great practice amp, but yeah, for some, it doesn't quite cut it for rehearsal or gigging... A better speaker *might* improve that.

If the 100W Mustang won't do the job, you might want to get a quieter drummer?

 

Ive had my GDEC Blues 30 for about 6 years now. I got it when I first started playing.t was useful and had some good characteristic and tones. I mainly just use the aux on it to listen to my mp3 player and what not. I disliked the headphone input and my usb input broke and fell into the amp so I never got to use the software. I'll prob keep it forever but it doesn't get sed too much

 

I got an original GDEc as a gift a few months ago and I love it just learning how to set it up well and stuff .

 

I purchased a G-Dec Junior for an office and/or bedroom amp a few months before I upgraded to a Vibro-Champ XD.
The Vibro sounds definitely more tubey, especially at clean settings, but frankly, de difference is not huge, so I’m still undecided which one to keep. Apart from the tube power amp section, they seem to share the same DSP preamp and 8” speaker, with the G-Dec being significantly more portable and having a bit more effects and a lot more features.

The main feature of the G-Dec Junior is that from a distance you might as well mix it with a Pro Junior. That’s why I chose it in the first place over other G-decs, the LCD and tweaking the software with tiny buttons is just not my thing.

The second most catchy thing is those backing tracks - a great idea, and offers some fun indeed, pity that most of the grooves are just looping the base chord with no changes, which does not make sense to me. Some of the loops are either useless, or surprising, but some are nice to hang around with, like the Chicago blues, or the Train one.
If you’re fed up with those, you end up with using just the drum patterns, before you got fed up with those too, and get a looper pedal.

As for the effect section: nice reverb and usable delay, aming other useless stuff like, silly flangers, but the thing that pisses me off most is why none of the Fender DSP amps offer trem and reverb at the same time, like, say, the cheapest Vox modeling amp.

Speaking about Vox, I’ve found British 1 to be the best overall sound, while tweed 2 and blackface 2 to be the most dynamic. Some presets, like tweed 1 seem to have some heavy compression build in, which kills dynamics and does not let you boost at the front end with your guitar or a pedal. This is common to the Vibro-champ XD, and other models that share the same DSP.

The control panel looks nice and flat, but its very hard to read the labels, more like hit or miss.
No speaker out, which is a flaw, considering the “8 onboard driver, and aux in has no level control. Still did not figure out how I could benefit from the midi synth, but it sounds interesting.

I tried gigging with it, but it did not work out well, of course, even without drums. That’s a disappointment for 15 watts, but obvious, considering the size of the unit. Sounds just right at the office tough, with enough headroom.

Otherwise, its a great bang for the buck. The little bugger is so damn pretty that you kinda regret that it’s not a great amp. If it would be just a bit uglier, one couldn’t want more than what it offers: a few nice Fender tones accompanied by some usable drum patterns and a simple tuner. Add the mysterious midi input, and you got a killer practice gear for less than 100 bucks.

 

Revisited this thread and reread my posts so I thought an update was worth mentioning.

I still have my GDEC-3-30 and it's been a lifesaver throughout this damn Covid lockdowns and year 2020! In the meantime I did what I wanted to do and replaced the original speaker and an Eminence RamRod 75W 10" speaker (Emenence actually recommended it as thier suggested replacement and retain the original GDEC crossover with it). What a difference! Nice clarity, with improved low end and yet the overall response plays well with the presets. And yes.... LOUD! It really made it a big boy amp, and even though it's a practice & modeling amp, I can put it up against better combo amps and likely gig with it if needed!
If any of you ever replaced the speaker in a Frontman 25R with a Rajin' Cagun, the results were similarly dramatic!

 

FYI... for those of you GDEC owners who use to use Fuse, the "Remunda" app (Android version) that Mustang amp owners have used to replace the Fender FUSE sw, is planning to include GDEC amp compatability in its next revision.... expecting to be available by the end of May this year. This gives GDEC amps a new lease on life!