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Post subject: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:25 pm
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Just picked up the GT100 - MGT4 Controller and EXP-1 expression pedal, i figured there were lots of changes made since I had this amp last back in May, so far so good. Need to get use to navigating it again but its coming back quick, jumped right into the Brit 80 patch and made some tweaks to what I wanted and it sounds dam good. I like the addition features they added on and love the fact that this amp is super light its 10 lbs less than my Blues Junior!!

Hopefully the amp will remain glitch free for me, definitely a great Grab n Go amp!


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 2:03 pm
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Nice one! Hope you're enjoying your GT100. Make sure you try the EQ effects that were added in the last update if you haven't already. They really make the tone stand out!
PB


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 5:08 pm
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Pigletboy wrote:
Nice one! Hope you're enjoying your GT100. Make sure you try the EQ effects that were added in the last update if you haven't already. They really make the tone stand out!
PB


Thanks, I've started to check the EQs out those are very handy to have available.


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2018 11:42 am
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MY amp started locking up on me but not all the time but enough for concern, so its going back I cant take a chance on this one.


Last edited by J.LaGrassa on Tue Feb 06, 2018 5:38 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2018 4:57 pm
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Excellent! The EXP-1 is high on my list to pick up in the next month or two.


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 11:47 am
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J.LaGrassa wrote:
MY amp started locking up on me but not all the time but enough for concern, so its going back I cant take a chance on this one.

Back to the Blues Jr.? Or do you have something else in mind?


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 6:21 am
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ghost_of_strings wrote:
J.LaGrassa wrote:
MY amp started locking up on me but not all the time but enough for concern, so its going back I cant take a chance on this one.

Back to the Blues Jr.? Or do you have something else in mind?


*** old thread response***

I did go with another Blues Junior but despite some of the GT100 short comings I just ordered another to give another shot especially since its had some updates from when I last had one, I only jam once a week these days and play mostly at home now so having a light amp with simple controls should be fine for my use.


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 9:24 am
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Not to rain on your parade, but i don't think returning it is going to net you one that doesn't lock up. It may lock up less, even only rarely, but it probably will. This is common among this amp with many owners. The newest firmware has definitely not fixed that nor the knob acceleration issues or the EXP pedal issues and other bugs. Mine locks up occasionally and there is a temporary fix.....hold the amp about a foot off the ground and drop it. Seriously, the issue is a connection in the amp, probably one of the many multi pin connections some of which are NOT cable connectors but pins soldered to one board and a small board like the footswitching board or whatever with a female connector thats pushed onto the pins on the main board. There are so many pin connections that reliability is random. Dropping the amp jolts the connections and the lockup is broken. So far this has worked for me 100% of the time even if i have to do it a few times, tho once usually does the trick. I even hardwired (soldered) pieces of wire to bypass every pins on one of the biggest and most suspect connectors. Seemed to work but it locked up again eventually after a month or 3. But it had been doing it every day.

On the good side the amp sounds a lot better IMO due to some of the new models that i think sound a lot better then any of the old ones, and of course the EQ's are great and there are new functions/function fixes. So the amp is far better then the initial amp was, not even close. But there are still issues that may or may not be dealbreakers for you. If i were still gigging regularly i would probably not be using it. But i love the amp for home use and will likely never sell it unless something much better arrives. Flaws aside, it's just such a great swiss army knife. Of course as always i have to mention the speaker which IMO is horrible especially for band use. I use a celestion G12T-100 instead, 4 ohm like the amp requires. To me it sounds much much more natural while the stock sounds/feels stiff and unnatural and the louder you go the more it does.


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 1:43 pm
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oczad wrote:
Not to rain on your parade, but i don't think returning it is going to net you one that doesn't lock up. It may lock up less, even only rarely, but it probably will. This is common among this amp with many owners. The newest firmware has definitely not fixed that nor the knob acceleration issues or the EXP pedal issues and other bugs. Mine locks up occasionally and there is a temporary fix.....hold the amp about a foot off the ground and drop it. Seriously, the issue is a connection in the amp, probably one of the many multi pin connections some of which are NOT cable connectors but pins soldered to one board and a small board like the footswitching board or whatever with a female connector thats pushed onto the pins on the main board. There are so many pin connections that reliability is random. Dropping the amp jolts the connections and the lockup is broken. So far this has worked for me 100% of the time even if i have to do it a few times, tho once usually does the trick. I even hardwired (soldered) pieces of wire to bypass every pins on one of the biggest and most suspect connectors. Seemed to work but it locked up again eventually after a month or 3. But it had been doing it every day.

On the good side the amp sounds a lot better IMO due to some of the new models that i think sound a lot better then any of the old ones, and of course the EQ's are great and there are new functions/function fixes. So the amp is far better then the initial amp was, not even close. But there are still issues that may or may not be dealbreakers for you. If i were still gigging regularly i would probably not be using it. But i love the amp for home use and will likely never sell it unless something much better arrives. Flaws aside, it's just such a great swiss army knife. Of course as always i have to mention the speaker which IMO is horrible especially for band use. I use a celestion G12T-100 instead, 4 ohm like the amp requires. To me it sounds much much more natural while the stock sounds/feels stiff and unnatural and the louder you go the more it does.


Thanks for the advice but I will see how it goes I have 45 days, When i had the amp well before V2 was out I was able to squeeze out a few good tones which is about all i need and I don't go nuts with fx a little delay chorus and reverb is about it for me. I will work with the stock speaker for now but may take your advice about the GT100 after I break in the stock speaker!!


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 2:09 pm
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J.LaGrassa wrote:
I will work with the stock speaker for now but may take your advice about the GT100 after I break in the stock speaker!!

If you play out that's when it really becomes a problem, at least it did for me. So see how that goes rather than just evaluating it at home. It doesn't sound too bad at low volumes, tho i'm pretty anal about tone so i don't even like it low. But just beware of the higher volume tones and the way the stock speakers sounds there. There may even be a better speaker for it than the one i'm using, but i'm happy with it as is and there are not a huge amount of speakers that come in 4 ohm. I know the eminence texas heat does and many people really love that speaker, plus it's cheap. Some say it;s dark tho and i never have good luck with those even in bright amps. In fact, i did try a WGS ET90 at one point and really liked it at first, but after a while i realized it was a bit dark and therefore a slight dullness that was just enough to bother me and i couldn't dial it out to my satisfaction.


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 3:42 pm
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oczad wrote:
J.LaGrassa wrote:
I will work with the stock speaker for now but may take your advice about the GT100 after I break in the stock speaker!!

If you play out that's when it really becomes a problem, at least it did for me. So see how that goes rather than just evaluating it at home. It doesn't sound too bad at low volumes, tho i'm pretty anal about tone so i don't even like it low. But just beware of the higher volume tones and the way the stock speakers sounds there. There may even be a better speaker for it than the one i'm using, but i'm happy with it as is and there are not a huge amount of speakers that come in 4 ohm. I know the eminence texas heat does and many people really love that speaker, plus it's cheap. Some say it;s dark tho and i never have good luck with those even in bright amps. In fact, i did try a WGS ET90 at one point and really liked it at first, but after a while i realized it was a bit dark and therefore a slight dullness that was just enough to bother me and i couldn't dial it out to my satisfaction.


Have you seen this speaker from Celestion https://celestion.com/product/200/f12x200/ F12x200 its made for modeling amps, probably not cheap either.

Where did you buy your 4 ohm speaker (G12T100)?


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2019 4:41 pm
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Yeah, i;'ve seen those, but the point is NOT to use a modeling speaker. They are made to sound full range and thats the opposite of what this amp needs and partially why the stock speaker sounds like it does. Like the one you linked it is designed to be at least semi full range in order to accommodate the streaming music feature. But like the old mustang, even tho they are modelers that are not like the typical modeler such as a helix or such that are designed to use a full range speaker. The mustangs are designed to work with a regular guitar speaker and cabinet, so that's part of the equasion. Even the cab sims are NOT there to allow a FR system, but instead to sound similar to it;s real life cabinet when used thru a guitar speaker and cabinet. In other words, you design the amp's tone around the speaker and cab it's intended to be used with. The GT like the old line is designed to be used with a regular guitar speaker and cab, but with the GT the compromised the guitar tone by using a speaker that is semi full range in order to make streaming music with the bluetooth feature sound good. The result for guitar tone is IMO not good. Theres a stiff sound and feel that no actual tube amp i have ever owned has, and it goes away completely with a regular guitar speaker. I would especially stay away from that one you linked to, as it;s probably closer to FR than even the fender speaker is. By the way, an email to celestion got me a reply telling me the fender speaker is basically a higher wattage version of the 70/80 with a bit different EQ curve, almost surely celestion's most hated speaker if you read a lot of forum posts on them.

As to the G12T100, they are still available in 4 ohm however celestion changed the name a while back to the "hot 100". Mine is the older G12T100 labeled one i bough used, partially to save $ and also to avoid spending months waiting for the d@mn thing to break in.

J.LaGrassa wrote:
oczad wrote:
J.LaGrassa wrote:
I will work with the stock speaker for now but may take your advice about the GT100 after I break in the stock speaker!!

If you play out that's when it really becomes a problem, at least it did for me. So see how that goes rather than just evaluating it at home. It doesn't sound too bad at low volumes, tho i'm pretty anal about tone so i don't even like it low. But just beware of the higher volume tones and the way the stock speakers sounds there. There may even be a better speaker for it than the one i'm using, but i'm happy with it as is and there are not a huge amount of speakers that come in 4 ohm. I know the eminence texas heat does and many people really love that speaker, plus it's cheap. Some say it;s dark tho and i never have good luck with those even in bright amps. In fact, i did try a WGS ET90 at one point and really liked it at first, but after a while i realized it was a bit dark and therefore a slight dullness that was just enough to bother me and i couldn't dial it out to my satisfaction.


Have you seen this speaker from Celestion https://celestion.com/product/200/f12x200/ F12x200 its made for modeling amps, probably not cheap either.

Where did you buy your 4 ohm speaker (G12T100)?


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2019 6:02 am
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oczad wrote:
Yeah, i;'ve seen those, but the point is NOT to use a modeling speaker. They are made to sound full range and thats the opposite of what this amp needs and partially why the stock speaker sounds like it does. Like the one you linked it is designed to be at least semi full range in order to accommodate the streaming music feature. But like the old mustang, even tho they are modelers that are not like the typical modeler such as a helix or such that are designed to use a full range speaker. The mustangs are designed to work with a regular guitar speaker and cabinet, so that's part of the equasion. Even the cab sims are NOT there to allow a FR system, but instead to sound similar to it;s real life cabinet when used thru a guitar speaker and cabinet. In other words, you design the amp's tone around the speaker and cab it's intended to be used with. The GT like the old line is designed to be used with a regular guitar speaker and cab, but with the GT the compromised the guitar tone by using a speaker that is semi full range in order to make streaming music with the bluetooth feature sound good. The result for guitar tone is IMO not good. Theres a stiff sound and feel that no actual tube amp i have ever owned has, and it goes away completely with a regular guitar speaker. I would especially stay away from that one you linked to, as it;s probably closer to FR than even the fender speaker is. By the way, an email to celestion got me a reply telling me the fender speaker is basically a higher wattage version of the 70/80 with a bit different EQ curve, almost surely celestion's most hated speaker if you read a lot of forum posts on them.

As to the G12T100, they are still available in 4 ohm however celestion changed the name a while back to the "hot 100". Mine is the older G12T100 labeled one i bough used, partially to save $ and also to avoid spending months waiting for the d@mn thing to break in.

J.LaGrassa wrote:
oczad wrote:
J.LaGrassa wrote:
I will work with the stock speaker for now but may take your advice about the GT100 after I break in the stock speaker!!

If you play out that's when it really becomes a problem, at least it did for me. So see how that goes rather than just evaluating it at home. It doesn't sound too bad at low volumes, tho i'm pretty anal about tone so i don't even like it low. But just beware of the higher volume tones and the way the stock speakers sounds there. There may even be a better speaker for it than the one i'm using, but i'm happy with it as is and there are not a huge amount of speakers that come in 4 ohm. I know the eminence texas heat does and many people really love that speaker, plus it's cheap. Some say it;s dark tho and i never have good luck with those even in bright amps. In fact, i did try a WGS ET90 at one point and really liked it at first, but after a while i realized it was a bit dark and therefore a slight dullness that was just enough to bother me and i couldn't dial it out to my satisfaction.


Have you seen this speaker from Celestion https://celestion.com/product/200/f12x200/ F12x200 its made for modeling amps, probably not cheap either.

Where did you buy your 4 ohm speaker (G12T100)?



Thanks again for the advice, I probably wouldn't go for that celestion modeling speaker any way I'm just going to take it one day at a time and take it from there. I will have the amp today so I will get to play around with it and re familiarize my self with it again.


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2019 6:29 am
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Well, good luck with it. Let us know what u think of it now. And if u r into classic rock gain, be sure to spend some time with the bassbreaker and Friedman models.


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Post subject: Re: Well I'm giving it another shot!
Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2019 10:01 am
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oczad wrote:
Well, good luck with it. Let us know what u think of it now. And if u r into classic rock gain, be sure to spend some time with the bassbreaker and Friedman models.


Got to say I'm liking the amp already I went right to the Brit 80s and tweaked it for a bit till i liked what I heard and felt, had to try the Mythical drive and that sounds good driving the Marshall.


Last edited by J.LaGrassa on Sat Jun 22, 2019 2:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

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