I should be receiving my new GS-4 tomorrow and I am very anxious to hear about sound quality. My understanding is the there are two Fat Boy speakers in the GS-4 which, IMO, should broaden and deepen the sound quality. In addition to the outstanding paint scheme and the outstanding job I saw Lionel do on this loco at the last York, I am taking the plunge.

I have read as many of the GS-4 threads as I can find, but it seems I am coming up empty on these issues.

Please, those of you who have their GS-4's running:
1) Let me know about the whistle sounds.... Quality rating vs. other Legacy steamers ?

2) There is a horn sound ? Quality ?

3) Chuff depth and quality ? Compared to UP FEF and Big Boy ?

4) Four chuffs per rev ?

5) Your overall experience with the GS-4 ?

quote:

Originally posted by scherbear57:

Please, those of you who have their GS-4's running:

1) Let me know about the whistle sounds.... Quality rating vs. other Legacy steamers ?

GS-4 HAS A GREAT WHISTLE SOUND, & IT'S AUTHENTIC, UNLIKE THE BIG BOY WHISTLES (TWO DIFFERENT WHISTLE SOUNDS WERE USED ON THE BBs, DEPENDING UPON WHICH BB ROAD # YOU BOUGHT, & NEITHER ONE WAS ACCURATE, THOUGH THEY BOTH SOUND GREAT). LIKE THE FEF 844, LIONEL USED PROTOTYPE RECORDINGS FOR THE GS-4.

2) There is a horn sound ? Quality ?

HORN SOUND SAME AS PREVIOUS SP STEAM HORN SOUNDS INSTALLED IN LIONEL SP STEAM LOCOMOTIVES (GS-2 4410, CAB FORWARD, AC-12 BACKWARD CAB FORWARD), WHICH ALL SOUND FANTASTIC TO MY EARS. HORN, HOWEVER, DOESN'T QUILL, JUST AS IT DID NOT ON THE PROTOTYPES (THEY WERE STRICTLY ONE NOTE HORNS).

3) Chuff depth and quality ? Compared to UP FEF and Big Boy ?

SOUNDS DEEP AND REALISTIC TO ME; PLENTY OF VOLUME; SIMILAR TO FEF & BB IN QUALITY

4) Four chuffs per rev ?

DON'T KNOW

5) Your overall experience with the GS-4 ?

I LIKED THE FIRST ONE SO MUCH I BOUGHT A SECOND ONE (WHICH IS BEING RENUMBERED).

Thanks, Will.
That sounds like a big thumbs up to me.
See you at York.

eliot

Eliot,

It's strictly a personal opinion, but to my ears, the MTH GS-4 4449, which was made several years ago in at least 3 versions (Daylight, Freedom Train, BNSF black), sounds more realistic than the new Legacy GS-4.

The difference in sound quality didn't stop me from buying the Legacy GS-4s, though. It's all a matter of individual taste anyway. I hope you like your GS-4 as much as I do mine.

Will,

It is very interesting to compare thoughts on sound quality. I just sold my MTH GS-4 (The version I picked up at York in April) because I thought the quality of the chuffing was very tinny. The whistle was adequate and horn sound was adequate. To me, the addition of the second speaker that Lionel planned would make all of the difference. The truth is, I am less concerned about the accuracy of the whistle than I am about the quality of the sound. It is the sound quality that makes the difference to me.

eliot

I have not heard the new Lionel GS4. I have the MTH GS4 that came with PS1 sound. and 2 Williams GS4s as well. I installed TMCC with the Lionel GS4 sound card, in the MTH GS4. It is a decent sound, though the horn in a bit anemic. I plan to do the same installation in the 2 Williams GS4s and a Weaver GS2. It would be very nice if I could get the new legacy sound.

Well,here's my experience. After waiting over 1 year for my Lionel GS4,
I finally got it,and today was the day to open it. Got it on the track,
no sound. I can't get sound with either the cab 1 or cab 2
Do you have to install the 9 volt battery in the tender for the sound
to work on this model ? I have not yet installed the battery in the
tender. I have also reprogrammed the engine to # 36 on the Cab 2,and
still no sound response ...
I also opened up the tender port, and tried the railsounds button and
volume button both ways on the engine, with the track power on .
Lights are on the engine,and it reponds to Cab 1/Cab 2, but no sound ...

Gorgeman you don't need the battery its only use is if power is interupted momentarily. as to sounds, are you in command mode? if so use the volume control on remote and see if its been turned down-off . 2. did you load the legacy chip for the GS-4 into the remote. mine works fine and the sounds are truly awesome. I really like the quilling whistle feature and the horn is very good to me anyway. does your smoke unit work just curious as I put in 20 drops and let it sit overnight and then added 20 more fired it up and it worked well too. hope these ideas work for you. $oo