line 6 spider vs. Fender g-dec 30 (discon.)

[NC Zeppelin]

hey guys, so i started of with a line 6 spider, 15 w, (im sure you guys can find it on MF) cost at a $100 no problems, practicly mint condition. i only use it now to sing with a mic plug in. i than saved my money and bought a fender g-dec 30 75w (discontinued im guessing since i cant find a site for one). $500 ive spent on it. no problems till half a year later there is a constant fuzz even with no voulume. and before ive messed around with the extras on it to the limit (infinity delay, 1/3 second delay, feed back lol and ive checked, not the outlet, guitar, amp chord, no idea)

So heres my idea

1. sell the line 6 spider, 15w, for $80 and sell the lightly-mild damaged fender g dec 30 75w for 375-400 with its problems

OR

2. sell the line 6 spider for 80, and fix the fender (as long as its not to much) and sell for 450. (if any tecks in the form,you guys could tell me where to look and i will tell you)

any help or your opinion is deeply appreicated.

rockon! :dance :dance

Edit: heres a picture of the g-dec, its 75watts, im sure of it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58939435@N08/5397027218/

[Ch0jin]

Does this 'constant fuzz' sound like a loud hum that varies in volume with the volume control? Does it make the noise with nothing plugged in?

[deeaa]

Well...in fact I'd consider selling both of them which would land you with at least 450 or so with the prices you mention, and get a completely new amp. Only I would rather a.) get a POD XT or something akin to that used plus any amp that does good clean at whatever volume level you need for monitoring (then you can play all quiet & use it for recording nicely too) OR maybe approach it entirely differently and go for a tube amp plus some older nice FX modeler..I'm guessing you could get something like a ValveKing 112 and a Boss GT-6 for 450, which would be pretty damn nice a rig for anyone already...lots and lots of options out there.

But anyway, I'd check out what could you get for 450 and consider selling both.

[Commodore 64]

I'm reasonably sure that GDec max out at 30 watts. Assuming you are selling on Craig's list, your GDec is worth about 200 bucks, if everything works properly. Are you sure it's a G-Dec? If you've got $500 in a GDec, something isn't right. (IMHO)

You'll be lucky to pull 50 bucks for that Line 6.

So...we need to figure out what you want to do with your amps (e.g., gig and what type of music), and then we need to figure out the best way for you to get bang for your buck.

If it were me, I'd open up the GDec and check for socketed IC Chips, and then, I'd replace them all and see if the hum/hiss issue went away.

[Ch0jin]

If it were me, I'd open up the GDec and check for socketed IC Chips, and then, I'd replace them all and see if the hum/hiss issue went away.

I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I'm not so sure about that tip. Loud hum in a used guitar amp is quite probably a bad ground somewhere. First stop, the input jack, second stop, the power supply filter section and PCB grounds. Sure it could be also be a faulty IC somewhere, but I very much doubt you'd find any of the IC's in a GDec mounted in sockets. In a production environment, socketing IC's is more expensive and less reliable than soldering them directly to the board.

[Commodore 64]

You may be entirely correct about hum, but as far as "fuzz" goes: swapping out hte IC chips rectified that issue on my Peavey Bandit...and someone else over at TDPRI (I sent him extra chips I had to try it). The Cyber Deluxe has socketed IC chips, BTW so the Gdec might too.

Also a quick google yielded this: http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=34744

Might be resolved by simply resetting the amp to factory defaults.

[Ch0jin]

You may be entirely correct about hum, but as far as "fuzz" goes: swapping out hte IC chips rectified that issue on my Peavey Bandit...and someone else over at TDPRI (I sent him extra chips I had to try it). The Cyber Deluxe has socketed IC chips, BTW so the Gdec might too.

Also a quick google yielded this: http://www.fender.com/community/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=34744

Might be resolved by simply resetting the amp to factory defaults.

Wow that's really interesting, I wonder why Peavey decided to socket some chips? In the past manufacturers would socket EEPROMS and the like to make firmware updates easier, but I thought those days were a thing of the past. You learn something new every day huh :)

You don't by any chance know what the IC's you sent the TDPRI guy were? I'd be interested to know that's all. Opamps maybe?

[deeaa]

My Marshall JMP-1 also had pretty much all chips socketed...as did a BBE Sonic Maximiser I used for a while in the studio. I *think* also on the Peavey Rockmaster they were socketed but that I can't vouch for, memory is hazy on that one, I only opened it up once briefly to change some toobs in it.

[Ch0jin]

Wow, well I definitely got schooled today :)

It's been ten years or more since I stopped component level repairs to consumer electronics as a job, and even back then it was extremely rare to see an IC other than an EPROM socketed. I guess the amp industry stuck with it hey. I might go do some reading as I'm genuinely curious as to why, given the extra cost and decreased reliability of socketed components.

Sadly (or happily I guess), both my guitar amps are all toobs, but my old Peavey Bass head isn't, so I might crack it open and have a perv....

[Commodore 64]

They are all Op Amps, I sent the TDPRI guy five 4558 to put in his. I replaced mine with 2134PA. A lot of the Peavey amps are 4558 or 4560.

It is important to note, chojin, that a lot of the newer amps are not socketed. They do just solder them right to the board (I'm pretty sure the Bandits these days are direct mount.)

[NC Zeppelin]

Does this 'constant fuzz' sound like a loud hum that varies in volume with the volume control? Does it make the noise with nothing plugged in?

YES! thats what it exactly does, anyway i can fix it, or is some money going to have to come out of my pocket

[NC Zeppelin]

I'm reasonably sure that GDec max out at 30 watts. Assuming you are selling on Craig's list, your GDec is worth about 200 bucks, if everything works properly. Are you sure it's a G-Dec? If you've got $500 in a GDec, something isn't right. (IMHO)

You'll be lucky to pull 50 bucks for that Line 6.

So...we need to figure out what you want to do with your amps (e.g., gig and what type of music), and then we need to figure out the best way for you to get bang for your buck.

If it were me, I'd open up the GDec and check for socketed IC Chips, and then, I'd replace them all and see if the hum/hiss issue went away.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/58939435@N08/5397027218/

heres a picture of it, it was dicontinued for somereason i dont know.

[Commodore 64]

I could be wrong, but I think that's the power it consumes, not the power that it outputs. In any case, it's a good amp, if we can get the hiss/fuzz issue sorted.

Are you looking for a home practice amp? A giggable amp? You should casually check Craig's List every day. You never know when a Bandit 112 will show up for $25...or some kind of deal like that.

[Ch0jin]

YES! thats what it exactly does, anyway i can fix it, or is some money going to have to come out of my pocket

Hi Zepp, unless you are a tech yourself or know one, then yeah, money is probably going to come out of your pocket. The good news is that if it is just a bad solder connection on an earth point in the amp, you'd likely only be up for labour charges.