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After pretty so-so experiences with Fender high gain amps, I was doubtful when a salesman asked me to try one of the new Fender Supersonic combos. Despite this, I was very impressed, and almost left the store with it if it weren't for the price tag.
PROS: Most attempts at "do everything" amps fail in one way or another, but not this one. The cleans are outstanding, and the high gain holds its own against any Marshall or Mesa. The inclusion of 5 preamp tubes and two unique gain stages makes the "Burn" channel very versatile. The first gain knob kicks out a raunchy, Plexi-ish crunch turned up on its own, and the second has a darker sound similar to a Recto or one of the previous generation of Fender high gainers. The ability to blend the two together makes this a very tweakable and versatile channel. Both gains cranked is a very satisfying high gain tone for rock/alternative/indie.
The clean channel is no slouch either, as you should expect from Fender. The cool feature on this channel is the Vibrolux/Tweed switch, which does pretty much what you imagine it would (think of it as Vibrolux = blackface). Having two distinct and footswitchable clean tones is a genius idea for those who wish they had one of each classic amp.
A power rating of 60W is more than adequate for rehearsal and most gigs. The best thing about this amp's power section is that it doesn't need to be cranked too hard to sound decent. I was amazed at how good the tone on both channels was with the master volume not too far from the bottom.
3 button footswitch (channel, vibrolux/tweed, effects loop) and cover were included.
CONS: It's pretty big and heavy for a 1x12. I expect a certain degree of portability from a 1x12 combo. If they are going to make the combo that big, they should have made it a few inches bigger and thrown another 12" in there. I was also disappointed by the lack of tone controls on the clean channel. It is also priced pretty high at $1,300 CAN (Musician's Fiend has it for $1,100 US which is pretty close). It's certainly not the most expensive 1x12 combo in the store, but it's definitely in the top 20%, which seems odd for a Fender amp.
Has anyone else tried one?
PROS: Most attempts at "do everything" amps fail in one way or another, but not this one. The cleans are outstanding, and the high gain holds its own against any Marshall or Mesa. The inclusion of 5 preamp tubes and two unique gain stages makes the "Burn" channel very versatile. The first gain knob kicks out a raunchy, Plexi-ish crunch turned up on its own, and the second has a darker sound similar to a Recto or one of the previous generation of Fender high gainers. The ability to blend the two together makes this a very tweakable and versatile channel. Both gains cranked is a very satisfying high gain tone for rock/alternative/indie.
The clean channel is no slouch either, as you should expect from Fender. The cool feature on this channel is the Vibrolux/Tweed switch, which does pretty much what you imagine it would (think of it as Vibrolux = blackface). Having two distinct and footswitchable clean tones is a genius idea for those who wish they had one of each classic amp.
A power rating of 60W is more than adequate for rehearsal and most gigs. The best thing about this amp's power section is that it doesn't need to be cranked too hard to sound decent. I was amazed at how good the tone on both channels was with the master volume not too far from the bottom.
3 button footswitch (channel, vibrolux/tweed, effects loop) and cover were included.
CONS: It's pretty big and heavy for a 1x12. I expect a certain degree of portability from a 1x12 combo. If they are going to make the combo that big, they should have made it a few inches bigger and thrown another 12" in there. I was also disappointed by the lack of tone controls on the clean channel. It is also priced pretty high at $1,300 CAN (Musician's Fiend has it for $1,100 US which is pretty close). It's certainly not the most expensive 1x12 combo in the store, but it's definitely in the top 20%, which seems odd for a Fender amp.
Has anyone else tried one?
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