View Full Version : Lee Jackson GP-1000 preamp?
I've been looking at this little preamp and was thinking about picking one up used. I've noticed alexi laiho from children of bodom uses iit and he has one of my favorite lead sounds.
Anyone have any experience with this preamp, if so how does it sound to you?
Eddie Loves You!
07-05-2003, 03:57 AM
theres one at my local guitar center right now, and children of bodom is my second favorite band, so i'll give you a bump
Echelon
07-06-2003, 12:59 PM
count me in... Laiho rocks!! .... can't say much about his singing though.... but he is the man...
I finally bought one on ebay and I found out there are 2 versions of this thing. One is the modded marshall version and the other the modded fender deluxe version. Anyone know how to find out which one is which by like a year or set of serial numbers?
tuvokzeta9
11-11-2003, 06:22 PM
The GP 1000 is not a highgain preamp at all. Its actually pretty mellow and midrangey. I used one for a while to get a good jazz tone but I some times like a gainier sound and it wouldn't deliver with out pedals preamping the input. They are fairly limited at what they do. They have a good tone but its not a heavy tone to say the least. Holdsworth and Henderson both used them for a while and they are jazz guys. I have never heard the band Childern of Bodom so I can't say. I have heard Testament with James Murphy (Low) on guitar and the GP 1000 will not do a sound like that period.
I got this off the metaltronix.net site which might explain why some versions had less gain and some had more. That's why I'm hoping I got the modded marshall version because I want the GAIN.
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4. As the owner of four GP-1000's I cannot help noticing that each one has a slightly different circuit. How many circuits were there?
Answer: Their were two designs, the first one was a direct copy of my popular custom made Deluxe amps which sounded like a modified Fender, the second version came about because when I sent my salesman out they kept hearing musicians asking if they were like my modified Marshalls, so at a sales meeting my sales crew asked my to change them more like the hot-rodded Marshalls, so I don't the tube DI and used the two extra tube stages for MORE gain.
tuvokzeta9
11-11-2003, 09:48 PM
Yeah there were two version. I had like 6 GP 1000s over between 91 and 93. I worked in at Daddy's Junky Music and I could find them cheap all the time like 80 bucks. The output is very hot so its great for driving fx units. I still think that they are more mellow compared to the modern crunch machines put out by Diezel, Bogner, Mesa and Peavy. They are a one trick pony so you may need more preamps than one if you are using more than one sound. I have also looked inside all the GP 1000s that I had and the only difference I ever noticed was the torroidial transformer was a little bigger on a few of the models. I never really noticed a big difference in preamp voicing... it is possible that I had the same version over and over. If you need lots of crunch try the Kitty Hawk Testarosa preamp. Its from the same era.
I found out the one I bought is a 91 version, the owner said it had a jcm800 sound to it. He said it might one of the earlier ones. I'm not sure because I don't know when they were first made. I guess i could try getting it modded for more gain if it's not enough for me. I think lee jackson is accepting amps for mods again.
tuvokzeta9
11-12-2003, 10:15 PM
if you don't like it and its in good shape I'll buy it from you. Just pm me if/when the time comes.
No problem, if it's not what I wanted you'll be the first to know.
Yuppi
06-24-2008, 02:47 AM
This is basic knowledge about Lee Jackson Gp-1000. Two kind of amps were made like was said before. The batches were '87 and '88 for their producing year I think. '87 is the Fender like and '88 is the Marshall like. You can say which one is which by that fact that Fender had XLR output too (if my memory serves me right) and less preamp tubes as Marshall has three preamp tubes. And two last digits in the serial should be for the producing year so 87 or 88.
Yuppi
06-24-2008, 02:49 AM
I also heard that Laiho has had it modded.
wow this was a really old thread it's wierd seeing it again. My gp1000 has been gone for like 5 years now, I kind of want one again just to mess with though.
Mackin
06-25-2008, 10:24 PM
I knew I had read something about those somewhere... aah, the internet. Here it is - taken directly from a Roope Latvala fansite (http://www.roopelatvala.com/guitarsandequipment.htm).
Lee Jackson GP 1000 Pre-Amp
Lee Jackson GP 1000 pre-amp. Roope says that the "GP 1000 is also an 80s product and it's one sound, angry sounding little tube pre-amp. It's horrible as that, but if you add active electrics and gainboost from your guitar, the result is just great! Needs a little EQ though!" Original Lee Jackson amps can often be found on eBay for reasonable prices.