Those Lee Jackson designed Ampegs are great.
I have personally played a few and I really like them for what they do. I own a VL-501 and though it is a single channel amp those 50 watts kick some butt. The 501 has everything that the 1002 has except the second channel to switch to and the other 50 watts.
I only wish that I had gotten the 503 because it was a combo and had 3 channels. The 501 I got was opted for merely for simplicity purposes.
To me, the VL amps are like what happens when you inject steroids into your Marshall and clean up the clean a little. For the most part they are a hotrodded Marshall with a few key changes and options. The adjustable pots next to the EL34/6550 switch are nice to dial in your power tubes. The key lock is a nice feature if you don't want unwanted users playing your amp. Unfortunately there was never a dial shield to keep the toddlers from mistaking your knobs for a fun new game.
There were many guitarists that played the amps back in the 90's when they were introduced. Unfortunately Ampeg wasn't known for too many guitar amps. I think that the market saturation also kept them from catching on as much also. One major guitarist that used one that comes to mind is Zakk Wylde. He was using one while playing for Ozzy. He also used to use a Yamaha effects unit. Later he switched back to Marshalls and Boss effects with Dunlop wah and Rotovibe.
Lee Jackson and Ampeg kind of parted on not the best of notes. Ampeg now owned by St. Louis Music, still I believe, has no information on his amps that they will share and is not very helpful when requested to assist in researching the amps. Your best bet is to contact Lee Jackson himself. He also made the Metaltronix amps and Lee Jackson designs. Currently he is selling mod kits and dvd's on e-bay and his websites. From what I hear he is pretty friendly and is good about people asking questions about his amps. I haven't had reason to bother him yet but someday I would like to talk to him about the VL's.
The attenuator on the amp to me kind of squashes the life out of it as most attenuators do. However, you can still get a decent sound at a low level if that is your thing. Just do not expect the same life in the sound as at full tilt. The mid frequency selection is kind of like a preset mid-scooping tool. It is a nice feature for not having an eq onboard if you can handle just a few preset ranges.
One of my favorite features is the backlit logo. To me that looks pretty cool in the dark. Unfortunately for me one or two of my bulbs have burnt and I haven't replaced them so my amp looks tired in the dark. I kind of like it that way in a way though because then it almost seems like it has been played more or at least left on more than it has.
For the low cost of these amps, they are quite a find. Unfortunately there are not too many people that know how to work on them. The nice thing is that if you keep your tubes fresh and you are reasonable with handling your gear that you shouldn't have any problems with it. They are built like tanks and are definitely road worthy.
I am not sure if Ampeg still has the barrel keys so if your friend is smart he will make a copy at somewhere like Home Depot and keep it somewhere relatively handy (like in his gigbag) in case he loses his original.
The VL amps are definitely underrated. If you like it, check out Metaltronix amps and the other Lee Jackson amps. Also, maybe get his mods for your Marshall.
