At first when I got this amp I was a little dissapointed. But..... disaopintment away pretty quickly. Before I get into this I will say that this is not an amp your going to play out with. It was never designed for that. It is a practice and songwriting tool. And it fits that bill absolutley perfectly.

I already own the Gdec2. And I have used it extensively as a teaching tool and a practice amp.

Features:

100 programable factory presets
100 preset practice loops
Fender Fuse software / multitrack recording software
USB port for DAW recording or to download and customize presets and loops
On board memory that stores up to 4 hours of mp3 or mp4 music
Easy to use programable on board computer
Fender cab and amp simulation
independant loop and input volume controls so you can regulate your guitar volume against the loops in the amp.
Onboard digital recording.
Unlimited loop downloads.

What is all this crap and why would I need it?

Well...its just like I said. This is a practice and learning tool.
The amp comes with 100 recorded rythm tracks in all musical styles performed by everyone from Prad Paisely, to Eric Johnson, Tony Franklin, and many other contemporary artists of all genres. They have laid down music tracks and you practice playing to them. So basically you practice your soloing techniques to them. And who doesn't need improv practice?
So if you hate hard rock, jazz, or fusion. Not a problem. Just plug it into the computer via USB and replace all the Rock loops with unlimited country rythms. Now you have a country practice tool. You can change the tempo and the key of all rythms so you can practice riffing in any key you like.
The great thing about this is that you can also record yourself soloing to these loops and listen back to it. This allows you to correct mistakes in your playing as well as investigate what different modes and scales sound like over certain chord changes. That alone will shoot your improv skills through the roof.
You can also just record yourself without the loops. I do this to listen back to ideas that I want to work on. I listen to them and make whatever changes I need to to get what I am looking for.
I must caution however, I can only get about 30 seconds recording time out of it. Although it sounds limiting it's not as bad as it sounds. The idea is to record a rythm and loop it so that you can write melodies or whatever over it. So you record a loop of 30 seconds and it plays continuously.

Now...if you find a tone thats great or a loop that you like. You may load it on the a memory card and you have it forever. Or you can take it to a friend's house, plug it into their computer and they can put it on to their amplifier.


Factory Presets:

The 100 factory presets are fully programable and if you do not like any of them you may reprogram them or, you can load one from the Fuse website and replace it. The presets range from very nice country tones to headbanging crunch. If you like certain presets and you have a DAW, you can run the amplifier stereo into your computer and use them to record.
Preset alteration is very easy and there are a large variety of stomp box, amplifier, cabinet simulators, and reverbs and delays within the amplifier to get the sound you want. And again...you can go to Fuse and get even more effects. It's kind of like having a rack unit. And it does everything in stereo so it sounds good running through your computer.


What I like

The sound quality is incredible! It records just like it sounds. The Fender amp sounds....sound like Fender amps.Most cab sims are shakey at best. Not this one. It is spot on.
All of the digital effects are good quality. They sound very good if you know how to tweak them. If your the guy who expects every amp to sound like a 65 Twin or Super out of the box. Don't waste your $$ because you will have to dial these tones in. But once you do...they are pretty convincing.

100 different rythms are great. You can teach yourself a lot with this amp. Although you will not find a use for all of the loops or even half of them. So what.....go up on the internet and replace em. You have an unlimited array of music to practice and write to.

I can load my own songs from my DAW on to the amp in completion to practice and write to and then dial in sounds to try out different things. It's an awesome writing tool.

Fuse...wow. The amplifier already has loops of popular guitar players on it.
But I went to Fuse and downloade Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai stuff...recorded by them for Fender. Talk about great practice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR4jrLX7a0w


I also do gig with this amp. I often do one man band gigs. So I record my band with a DAW, load it on to the memory card, and plug the Gdec into my PA. It sounds great. I also play the guitar using this amp also running through my PA. Sound quality is awesome.


What I don't like

You can use a footpedal with this amp to stop and start your rythms and change your presets. But....My Fender Mustang's pedal will not work for this. It has to be a Gdec pedal. That kind of sucks and it should come with the pedal.

I find the 30 second recording limit to be a little confining at times. I really do not know if you can expand it. If you can...I cannot figure it out.

Fender Fuse will not import into my DAW. God I hate that.

That's about it. I love this amp.

Conclusion:

If your the old fashion, guy who just wants the raw tube amp sound with no effects....this amp is a waste of money to you. You will find yourself scoffing at it because it does require you to dial in the sounds you want.
If you want to learn improv, modal use, or even pentatonic soloing, this amp will get ya there pretty quick.
If you want a great direct in preamp recording tool...this does a great job no matter what sound your looking for.
It is a great little amplifier. And you can get the Gdec 15 for $199. It lists for $299 but if you go to Ebay and pull down one of the many many online stores selling it for $199, you can take the link to Guitar Center and they'll match it. I paid $199 for mine.

Here are some links that may help you to decide if this thing is for you Watch em...you'll be impressed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g18gv94Lo9k&feature=related

Gretsh guitar and Fender Gdec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRU98X-gbrk&feature=related

Are these as good or better than other similar guitar amps like the Vox VT+ series, Line 6 Spider MkIV etc? Ive heard good things about the GDEC, just never got my hands on one to try it out.

There was a guy who brought one to the Gretschtogether herein AZ last week and he was showing to me it looked like a pretty good deal to me. I also have a buddy up in Washington that has one and he seems to like it. I own a Mustang III but I've never put a GDEC through the paces itself.

I cannot speak to the Vox but it blows Line6 away. But then...I've owned Line6's and I really have nothing good to say about them. Their sound quality just dissapears when you turn them up. Their tone just thins right out and they get lost in the mix if your in a band situation. That is unless your running them through a preamp and if that's the case...why buy a programable amp that you have to run thorugh a programable preamp? Keep in mind...I am not addressing the Line6 tube amps. I have no experience with them. I am only comparing similar amp styles.
The sound quality on the Gdec is superb. And again...these other amps do not offer you loops that are fully programable. I don't know if you understood the loop thing. The amplifier offers you a rythm section to play to. It had 100 programed rythms loops, recorded by Fender artists. So you can practice your improv skills. And then you can record yourself (to the amp's memory) and listen back. I have not seen any other amplifier do that ever. So in those respects it is unique and very useful. When you watch the videos, the music the guys are playing to is coming out of the amp and are preset loops programed into it.
And yes....PacRat...I am the guy who brought the Gdec.

I cannot speak to the Vox but it blows Line6 away. But then...I've owned Line6's and I really have nothing good to say about them. Their sound quality just dissapears when you turn them up. Their tone just thins right out and they get lost in the mix if your in a band situation. That is unless your running them through a preamp and if that's the case...why buy a programable amp that you have to run thorugh a programable preamp? Keep in mind...I am not addressing the Line6 tube amps. I have no experience with them. I am only comparing similar amp styles.
The sound quality on the Gdec is superb. And again...these other amps do not offer you loops that are fully programable. I don't know if you understood the loop thing. The amplifier offers you a rythm section to play to. It had 100 programed rythms loops, recorded by Fender artists. So you can practice your improv skills. And then you can record yourself (to the amp's memory) and listen back. I have not seen any other amplifier do that ever. So in those respects it is unique and very useful. When you watch the videos, the music the guys are playing to is coming out of the amp and are preset loops programed into it.
And yes....PacRat...I am the guy who brought the Gdec.

That's funny as I was reading this I was thinking to my self . . .I've had this conversation before and I agree 100% . . . and by the way Mark I truly enjoyed your playing at the Roundup. I hope you'll come if we do it again next year.

Aw....shucks.......You make me blush.

Thanks for the compliments Pac.

Very nice review, I agree totally and use my Gdec3 as a practice amp while I'm away at camp during the week, perfect for that! I notice your biggest complaint was the 30 second loop time. Well that was 10 day so youve likely figurd it out....if not, this may help.... You can set the loop resolution or quality from high to low (Scroll through your menu), on low it records a 2min 20 sec loop.
The quality does not suffer very badly.
Regards
Peter

I bought the g-dec 15 the same day i got my Gretsch,it was the last one they had,was $99. When i can afford the nicer 30,i will probably get that as it is more user friendly imo.That is quite some review,and i agree,it kicks much azz.Here's a short vid i made w/ g-dec 15,i used the looper to throw down a rythym <besides the bass/drums preset>. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3pSOhtqBA8&feature=g-upl