Fender Amps???

[Myaccount876]

Re: Fender Amps???

I use a silverface Bassman 70 as my primary amp, and I play high-gain with it. Without pedals or an attenuator (in fact, I sometimes disengage the negative feedback loop so it gets even louder). The trick is to simply not be a pussy and turn all volume knobs to 10. I do have clips of what the Bassman's gain sounds like without any pedals in the Tips and Clips subforum - I'm not linking them here in this thread because I don't want to be a soundcloud whore and overtly promote anything. Fender amps are really underrated in rock and metal IMO, but the lesser demand probably makes them cheaper. I got my Bassman for $450 - you won't find a new amp today with chassis mounted tube sockets, a turret board, rugged construction, and hand-wiring on everything for anywhere near that price.

To me, a lot of Fender amps (and Vox amps) get overshadowed - being labeled solely as "clean" amps, when the main amps from both brands can be loud high-gain monsters when you simply open them up. They just don't have much preamp gain on tap, but they don't need the extra preamp gain. There's simply no replacement for volume and pushing the amp way past its RMS peak.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: Fender Amps???

You haven't played a "Real Fender".
Other than a Twin, or something very much like it, Fenders offer great break-up tones.
Literally Tens Of Thousands of studio recordings and live shows have been played by Blues/Rock guys with every type of Tweed, Brown, Blonde, and Black Face Fender.
Most Do Not sound like a clean amp for a Steel Player.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Fender Amps???

Long time Fender owner.....

1965 Band Master and 212
1965 Deluxe Reverb
1964 Tremolux and 210
Original Super Champ with EV speaker
Fender 75 and 112 EV Force
Mid-70s MV Twin Reverb

And, I have played extensively on Vibro Champs, Bassmans, Tone Master, ProSonic, Super Reverbs and Dual Showmans. Not much I can add, they are great amps.

But in the mid-1990s, my playing style changed, and so did my band situation. I went through a couple of Marshalls and a couple of other amps before finding my first Mesa Mark III--and that was LOVE at first strum.

Honestly, the reverb on my Mark III and IV amps isn't as lush as on the Fender reverb amps, but the Mark V amps are very rich. For solo guitar, the Mesa amps don't have as much low-end as the Fenders. BUT.... (and it's a big one)...in a band context, those quibbles aren't important to me. I rarely play surf music so I don't need a huge wash of reverb (and I have a pedal if I do); and likewise, I rarely do a gig with just me and solo guitar. I HAVE done it though, and it was fine.

With the Mesa amps I have, I get sweet clean tone, a solid crunch rhythm tone and the soaring lead tone that Boogies are famous for. And pro features I need, like a great effects loop, built-in EQ, slave outs, Cab-Clone, et.al.

So many of the world's great amps came from Leo's designs, including Mesa, Marshall, Peavey, and a host of boutique clones. Randy Smith has just taken that basic amp and created models that have perfectly fit my needs since 1995. I've just gotten so many compliments on my tone since I switched.

But Fender amps are still relevant. The vintage black-face amps are still some of the most desirable in the world--fabulous cleans and sweet overdrive and great pedal platforms. Some guys like to do it that way. But for me, when push came to shove a few years ago, I sold my vintage Fenders and hung on to the Mesas. Haven't looked back.

Bill

 

[always SD]

Re: Fender Amps???

the fender blues junior sounds like mud
try a fantastic laney lc 15 110

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Fender Amps???

Delete yourself eh??!!

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fender Amps???

the fender blues junior sounds like mud
try a fantastic laney lc 15 110

sounds like mud? turn the bass down. i gigged for years with a blues jr. id turn all the knobs full up other than reverb and bass. i started with the bass off and spank the low e string as i rolled up the control, when it started to fart out, id roll it back half a number so i would have a focused note and was done.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Fender Amps???

As mentioned, pristine cleans and great pedal platform.

I will say, Mesa Boogie is the only thing I've played that came close to the cleans+pedal platform like my Fenders.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Fender Amps???

Yeah, my Mesa (a Blue Angel) is the most Fendery sounding Mesa I've played. It is also excellent with pedals.

 

[Matt42]

Re: Fender Amps???

As mentioned, pristine cleans and great pedal platform.

I will say, Mesa Boogie is the only thing I've played that came close to the cleans+pedal platform like my Fenders.

I've always thought the Mesa Lonestar clean was every bit as good as the Fender Twin clean.

 

[Securb]

Re: Fender Amps???

So.. Do they put out more gain than I realize? Do you guys use pedals to get your gain? Or, am I right and they arent gain machines and the players who use them dont require alot of gain? Why do you guys and gals love your Fender amps? And how do you use em??

Like Mincer said a few posts back Fenders are great pedal platforms. I think I am one of the few (if not the only) guys around here that used a Fender for a metal gigging amp. The Fender 100w is a sonic powerhouse. Used with the right pedal you can get all the gain you want. I pushed mine with a MXR Dist+ and a Morley boost. I could get that rig to go as dark and dirty as I wanted. Even though I have been playing the Marshall as my main gigging amp these days I still think my Fender is the better sounding rig. Much more versitile with great touch sensitivity. If I didnt spend the past 5 years restoring my Fender I would be more willing to take it out of the house.

 

[HiFiRebel]

Re: Fender Amps???

I've recorded hardcore punk eps with Fender amps. Really versatile.

 

[El Dunco]

Re: Fender Amps???

They're great. I currently own 'The Twin' (which I don't see talked about often enough with all its features that were ahead of its time) and used to own a late 70s silverface Twin Reverb. The Silverface had the chimey, clear, glassy cleans you would expect and even The Twin has the best cleans out of my amp collection. The overdrive channel on The Twin is early-boogieish and even the silverface could be turned way up to get some awesome ragged, gritty distortion plus the option of slaving one input into another for even more. I still have a couple of pairs of vintage Fender speakers laying around.

The trick with The Twin is that the eq is before the gain stage so if you crank the mids and treble with the pull out boosts, play with the notch feature on the presence knob and/or chuck in a graphic eq in the loop, you have a tight, articulate hi-gain metal tone. I've posted clips to demonstrate in the past and have more if there's any interest.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Fender Amps???

The best foundation for a good dirty sound, is a good clean sound.
Given a good, powerful, clean amp, with loads of headroom, I can find a pedal that will do the dirt.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[Matt42]

Re: Fender Amps???

The best foundation for a good dirty sound, is a good clean sound.
Given a good, powerful, clean amp, with loads of headroom, I can find a pedal that will do the dirt.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

I'm all about using an amps natural overdrive. I have an amp that overdrives beautifully by itself, and I love it; but nothing beats the versatility of a clean amp with 3 or 4 (or 5) well chosen overdrives/distortion pedals.

 

[Drunken Bowling]

Re: Fender Amps???

I've played through a friend's '65 Princeton Reverb RI, but the only Fenders I've ever owned were solid state/digital. At the moment, my Mustang and I are not getting along.

 

[Jeff5]

Re: Fender Amps???

Just because of this thread I went to GC tonight and played a couple of Fender amps =D.

 

[BloodRose]

Re: Fender Amps???

Glad to inspire!! I wish my local GC had some decent example to try.. They seem to only be carrying small combos these days.

 

[philthis]

Re: Fender Amps???

You know, if its me?..............................I wouldnt go buy some Fender amp. If your a crunchy chord guy you will just get bored easy. I did the same thing for years. What helped me out of the rut was I picked a few songs that I really liked and decided to learn to play them so I created a purpose. (Like Sultans of Swing) Then I actually needed and used the cleans on my Fender amps. If you dont ever use a good clean tone then the amp will just sit there till you sell it. I would even check out a few cool old classics like "Hey Joe" and "Texas Flood". cool stuff and people really dig it.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Fender Amps???

That's what my DRRI did -- sit there until I sold it. I'd bought it from a friend to help him out, but I wasn't into clean tones or using pedals for dirt then. I didn't know what those amps could do. Still don't, really.

 

[Progbusters]

Re: Fender Amps???

my first amp was a fender. most people's first amps in the old days were fender. they were part of history and have a sound. i like the new bassbreakers myself.