My new GDS 100 W has arrived!!

Well, I finally got my GDS 100 W last week. Due to some travel for work, I’ve only had one afternoon and a couple of nights (with the wife and kids asleep) to play with it. I don’t know how to post a photo (perhaps I can e-mail a photo to someone who knows how), so no pictures to show as of yet.

Here are some initial reactions:

I have two words for this amp: Sweet and Articulate. First off, the clean channel is exceptional. It’s very chimey, yet nice and punchy. It’s kind of like my Deluxe Reverb only rounder, sweeter and bigger. I am having a blast. The notes just pop!

The gain channel goes from nothing to “over the edge” gain. It’s very nice and smooth and round. All the while, it still stays very articulate—you hear every note. For me, the most fun has been playing around with the mid to light gain setting. You pull the gain back and move the level up and bingo, you’ve got that wonderful Carlton-like breakup—the kind that still sounds clean until you dig in and it bites just enough.

The boost setting (from the footswitch) is big. It provides a substantial mid-boost and increase in level. It’s almost a bit much. However, I have not yet played with a band, so that kind of boost might work great. Overall, it makes each channel a lot more aggressive.

I tried the amp with my Two Rock cabinet with two TR65s, my Bogner Shiva with Tonkers, and my GDS cabinet (from my 18 watter) with a Red Fang and a G12H30. The Bogner with the Tonkers was a bit too bright. The Red Fang/G12H30 sounded great, but the feel was a little small. The Two Rock was just right. It was a tad less bright, but since the amp is very bright, it seemed to be a good combination.

Finally, I’m running the amp through my new rig that includes a Rodenberg Flexloop and a TC 2290. The Flexloop sounds great, but it made the amp very loud. I found I had to back the send and return levels to around 9:00 to keep the rig at a level that was comparable to the amp on its own. The 2290 just kills me with this amp. I’m using the parallel setting on the Flexloop to add just enough delay to not take away from the amp. Overall, very, very sweet.

Thanks Graydon for doing a great job--goods things do come to those who wait!

Unfortunately, I do not have a recording rig so I can’t record any clips. I’ll have to get some recording gear or just haul my rig over to Les Schefman’s to see if he can help me out!

 

Yes, my 335 sounds great!! Actually, I'm using my Dot re-issue. I just had Fralin Unbuckers installed and it sounds great with the new amp.

That Red Fang/G12H30 is a terrific mix with the 18 watter. Nice clean headroom.

 

Hey, If you and Laroosco want to buzz over and check it out, let me know. I'll bake a cake!

 

Jae:

Your amp is an absolute killer!! We spent time tweaking my amp to get it as close to yours as possible (that thing is the "gold standard"). I'll have to ask Graydon about what he found to make it even better!

Scott: BTW, thanks a lot for posting the photos!

 

Jae:

That cabinet looks EXTRA SCHWEET!!! What kind of speakers have you been using (or will you be using)?

I've been trying my different cabinets and have settled on my Two Rock with the TR65s. I'm tempted to pull one of my Tonkers from my open back Bogner and try it with the TR65. I know others have been saying good things about the Tonespotters too.