Legacy VL100... or Fender G-Dec 3

[cassette87]

Okay.. first off *puts on flame suit* i know that this thread is probably going to get some criticism. I can explain!! So I'm primarily a bedroom guitarist, with the occasional jam at someone else's place thrown in there. I currently have a Fender deluxe DSP 90. It has a great clean channel, but little else to speak of.

I was within inches of picking a G-DEC 30, thinking my local band gigging days are over and just going to be playing for myself. the GDEC offered a lot but i couldnt seem to get a good plain clean out of it.. which is what ultimately put my decision on hold.

I've since come accross a deal on a VL100 head, and am seriously considering purchasing it, however the issue of a cabinet arises. anything more than a 2x12 seems excessive and a decent or DIY 2X12 is nearly as expensive as buying a used legacy 4x12.

Can you folks see where my dilemma lies? Maybe I'd be best suited simply buying a Jemini pedal? (but at $200 / 1/2 price of the head it seems hard to pull the trigger)

Will the tone of the VL100 blow me away compared to my fender?
Is it possible to get nice vai like tones from the G-DEC?
Any advice here folks? I've got a JEM7VWH that sounds great through the fender on the clean channel.. I can only imagine on the Legacy it must sound great.

My playing influences are everything from vai, js, dream theater, to mudvayne to blink 182 where my guitar career started.

Help me waste my money folks =P

[rastachild]

well the obvious thing to consider is that 100w is just overkill for a bedroom guitarist. you won't even be able to get it past 1 without it being too loud, and a 100w tube amp at 1 is probably going to sound thin and fizzy. you won't be able to push the power tubes and you'll never get to hear that tube saturation at bedroom volumes. honestly, 100w isn't really necessary that much even in a club/bar gigging situation because they usually will run you through a p.a.

that being said, the fender is pretty much the complete opposite, being a modeler and a small combo. it definitely seems to be more suited to your needs, but maybe you just need to look at different brands (i.e., vox, line6, tech21, roland) because i've never heard any glowing reviews on fender's modeling amps. the other practical route to consider if you are still jonesing for a tube amp is to get a low wattage combo (5-30w at the most) and also invest in some pedals. this route will obviously be a bit more pricey, but you will more than likely get better tone.

[jim777]

Yeah, a Legacy is too much for a bedroom amp, and they do seem to sound better with a 4x12 than a 2x12. I just passed on two Legacys myself last week, because you can't get them past 1 in your house, and they really come into their own at about 4. They sound amazing though, so there's that. Think of it this way, you'd need a good attenuator with the Legacy, so count on another $250 or so for a Weber Mass once you get the head and cab.

If a bedroom amp is really what you need, I'd go with a modeler too. The g-Dec is supposed to be pretty cool, but if it were me I'd likely look at a Cube 30/60 or a Line 6. I don't know that you'll really miss the 'tube sound' without being able to A/B two amps right next to each other. That sound is easy to tell when you can A/B, but when it's just you and the modeling amp with no tubes around or available its quite a bit tougher, especially at bedroom levels with high gain and such. Vox has a few decent modelers as well. grab a guitar and hit a GC and check out the Spiders and Vox amps, and see what you think.

[lateralus819]

Seriously don't listen to these fools. I've owned a legacy for a year now, and I'm strictly a bedroom guitarist and i get amazing tone with the volume below 1, i use a TS-9 and a SD-1 and a mxr 10 band EQ and it is a FRIGGING MONSTER! Buy it IMO. You don't need to crank it to sound good.
Awesome lead tone.
http://www.yousendit.com/download/dV...QTZwcFVLSkE9PQ

Heavy
http://www.yousendit.com/download/dV...NnlwTVYzZUE9PQ

http://www.yousendit.com/download/dV...NnlVbThLSkE9PQ

Check em out for yourself, these are recorded with probably.. 1 on the volume knob maybe a hair less. These are me btw, not my tunes, just some from some members on another forum i covered.

[Devo]

Im going to agree with Jim on this one. Have been using a legacy for about 6 years. Its definatly not a bedroom amp. These things were designed to be played loud. Saying that you can get a reasonable sound out of these things on lower volumes, its not like some amps who sound like rubbish until you hit the sweet spot. The legacy sounds good, but then sounds great when you get it going... For bedroom volume levels you could get the same or better sound out of somehting like a cube like jim suggests.

as a bonus the legacy isnt very heavy...so if you think you are going ot be taking it on stage then its a good bit lighter then its mesa/peavey/marshall rivals.

[shogun]

a legacy is way too much for a bedroom, but if you're sensitive enough with the knobs (experienced knob toucher? ) then you will be fine. mine sounded great at a bedroom volume, not fizzy at all

[cassette87]

Thanks for all of the input guys! I appreciate it. I went to guitar center yet again, and jammed on a few smaller practice amps.. including the g-dec again. definitely didn't like the g-dec this time around..couldnt find a good clean in there to save my life. I'm sure you can "make" a clean, but come on, you shouldn't have to do that. not to mention the speaker breaks up really early. the only thing I liked was a smaller 5w tube amp they had, but the price of it made me walk out of the store disappointed. I went to check out the used legacy head I found... for $400; the guy had it on a marshall 4x12 and jammed at about 1.5 or 2, and cranked it to 4 just to show me the volume and this was in a wood paneled 10x10 room. Yes, it was REALLY loud at 4... but at 1.5... & 2 i thought it sounded great... (i'm coming from a fender deluxe dsp 90) even though it was loud it didnt have the high frequency noise that made my ears bleed with the fender. At any rate.. I picked up the legacy, and figure, worst case scenario I can get an attenuator. For the money I spent I thought it'd be better to buy something that allows room to grow into, and does a couple things REALLY well, then buying a modeling amp that tries to do too much. I know some of ya will tell me I'm stupid, maybe I am.. since I havent heard it in my house yet, but, for now I'm content, and can't wait to rock on it

Anyone know if the 50W setting significantly reduces the volume resolution or does it simply allow the amp to break up sooner?

lateralus819 - thanks for the clips! sounds great! how long have you been playing? What were the tone settings on the lead clip?

[lateralus819]

ive only been playing for like 1.5 to 2 years. and my eq is both presence and treble 7 mids 3 bass 3 gain 7...i use a SD-1 and a TS-9...i suggest you buy them if you want to get heavy you wont regret it! also i use a mxr 10 band EQ and my guitar is an ibanez RG1570 prestige with evolution pickups.....

So lets see...

So $400 for the head $99 for the Ts-9 $39 for the SD-1 $120 for the 10 band EQ

Total $660....$200 less then a brand spanking new legacy head.....food for thought

[lateralus819]

Originally Posted by cassette87

Thanks for all of the input guys! I appreciate it. I went to guitar center yet again, and jammed on a few smaller practice amps.. including the g-dec again. definitely didn't like the g-dec this time around..couldnt find a good clean in there to save my life. I'm sure you can "make" a clean, but come on, you shouldn't have to do that. not to mention the speaker breaks up really early. the only thing I liked was a smaller 5w tube amp they had, but the price of it made me walk out of the store disappointed. I went to check out the used legacy head I found... for $400; the guy had it on a marshall 4x12 and jammed at about 1.5 or 2, and cranked it to 4 just to show me the volume and this was in a wood paneled 10x10 room. Yes, it was REALLY loud at 4... but at 1.5... & 2 i thought it sounded great... (i'm coming from a fender deluxe dsp 90) even though it was loud it didnt have the high frequency noise that made my ears bleed with the fender. At any rate.. I picked up the legacy, and figure, worst case scenario I can get an attenuator. For the money I spent I thought it'd be better to buy something that allows room to grow into, and does a couple things REALLY well, then buying a modeling amp that tries to do too much. I know some of ya will tell me I'm stupid, maybe I am.. since I havent heard it in my house yet, but, for now I'm content, and can't wait to rock on it

Anyone know if the 50W setting significantly reduces the volume resolution or does it simply allow the amp to break up sooner?

lateralus819 - thanks for the clips! sounds great! how long have you been playing? What were the tone settings on the lead clip?

i tell ya, i only play with mine on 50 watts and, i brought my half stack to work. Its a HUGE warehouse i mean huge, and i had the volume on only 5 and it was STILL way to loud hahahaha i love this thing.