Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

SongsForTheDeaf

SongsForTheDeaf

New member
Hey guys I have been using my Fender solid state m-80 head set clean into my Ampeg VT-22s internal speakers for the past week... sounds really killer with my pedals for dirt and has so much volume and bass on it, I barely get it to 1 on the dial and when I kick on both switches on my Wampler Triple Wreck its like a Kyuss concert in the room.. Its REALLY cool.

I decided to get a cab today(leaning towards 2x12) But I have NO idea what the output on the M-80 head is... I really don't want to buy a new cab and bust a speaker. Anyone have any ideas ?

It is not the grey carpet one but the Made In USA black carpet covered 2 channel head with no chorus but does have a very nice spring reverb.

thanks!
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

Nope. Closer to 120 to 150. God they're loud. And ugly.

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Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

jon the art guy said:
Nope. Closer to 120 to 150. God they're loud. And ugly.

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Does anyone know for sure the rating ??? I have looked for a manual online for awhile now with no luck... Safe to say I'm going to buy a higher powered cab regardless.

Also I agree they are UGLY! I'm so glad I don't have the grey carpet red knob version.. mine is all black which is a bit easier on the eyes. Killer amp when tweaked right though and yes VERY loud. It might even be louder than my 120 watt Tube Ampeg VT-22.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

GuitarStv said:
http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/tom/files/FenM80.gif

That spec would indicate that you're right. 155 watts into 4 ohms at 1% distortion.
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Damn.. ok well I guess the V30 2x12 cab I was looking at is out then. Although I don't see myself ever cranking this thing past quarter way so I might get away with it.

EDIT- That spec is for the M-80 bass head which is known online to be 160 watts
 
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Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

SongsForTheDeaf said:
Damn.. ok well I guess the V30 2x12 cab I was looking at is out then. Although I don't see myself ever cranking this thing past quarter way so I might get away with it.

EDIT- That spec is for the M-80 bass head which is known online to be 160 watts
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Tube amps have an output transformer to match a speaker load, so you'll get full power output provided that it's matched properly. SS amps OTOH are rated for X watts at Y ohms and will typically halve wattage as you double speaker impedence. For example if the amp is rated 160W @ 4ohms, it'll put out roughly 80W at 8 ohms. I did a quick search for the M80 guitar amp and saw specs of either 80W or 90W; both of which should be fine for 2 V30s @ 120-140W.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

dystrust said:
Tube amps have an output transformer to match a speaker load, so you'll get full power output provided that it's matched properly. SS amps OTOH are rated for X watts at Y ohms and will typically halve wattage as you double speaker impedence. For example if the amp is rated 160W @ 4ohms, it'll put out roughly 80W at 8 ohms. I did a quick search for the M80 guitar amp and saw specs of either 80W or 90W; both of which should be fine for 2 V30s @ 120-140W.
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You sir are my hero... Thanks! I didn't end up getting a v30 cab but a 120 watt Hughes and Kettner Statesman 2x12 with Eminence Rockdriver Creams... Never heard of the speakers but the cab was 225 used so my poor butt had to grab it. Nice looking cab too so if I don't like the speakers I can replace them.
 
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Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

SongsForTheDeaf said:
You sir are my hero... Thanks! I didn't end up getting a v30 cab but a 120 watt Hughes and Kettner Statesman 2x12 with Eminence Rockdrivers... Never heard of the speakers but the cab was 225 used so my poor butt had to grab it. Nice looking cab too so if I don't like the speakers I can replace them.
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My H&K Edition Tube 20 came with one of those speakers as stock. I've currently swapped it for an Eminence Private Jack, but I'm seriously thinking of switching back. There are some slight differences between the two speakers, but I was honestly a bit surprised at how little the sound changed. For OEM speakers I think they're very good, and I'd take them over T75 Celestions any day of the week.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

dystrust said:
For OEM speakers I think they're very good, and I'd take them over T75 Celestions any day of the week.
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I'm with you 100 percent on the T75s that come in the Marshall cabs.. They are so scooped, thin and spiky.. I'm not super picky about speakers but I refuse to buy any cab loaded with those Celestions. Just terrible....

I just read in a Statesman combo review on Music Radar that the Rockdriver cream is a cross between a V30 and Greenback... Sounds like a decent speaker to me!
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

SongsForTheDeaf said:
I just read in a Statesman combo review on Music Radar that the Rockdriver cream is a cross between a V30 and Greenback... Sounds like a decent speaker to me!
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That seems pretty accurate. Compared to the Private Jack, I'd say the Rockdriver is just slightly more modern sounding. In terms of frequency response they're almost too close to tell.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

So how does the Fender M-80 sound on it's own? Wasn't that one of Fender's "heavy metal" amps? It being solid state, is it tight and dry or did they do tube-emulation like on the BXR/GXR series? Just curious. I see these for sale all the time, so just thought I'd ask.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

From what I remember they're pretty awful solid state distortion. Clean channel was fine though.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

it's pretty buzzy and odd sounding. I wouldn't consider this a tube-emulated amp at all. My tastes have changed to the point where I may enjoy the sound of it now, especially if paired with a tube amp simultaneously. With the highs rolled off it'd probably get half of Troy's QOTSA sound.

My experience is a dude I played in a little band with had one which he was embarrassed about owning. He's lug it in, plop it on a desk and aim it (1x12) at the band and proceed to smear the rest of the amps into a paste with this mid/bass-heavy soft buzzing sound. Anyone making the mistake of getting in the aim of that speaker lost their own instrument, and even the drummer asked him to turn it down at one point when it was aimed at him. I had to dime a Peavey Classic 2x12 to keep up with it.

Of course the player 1) didn't know it was more than 50w 2) never was in the direct blast of that speaker.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

speed2dirt said:
So how does the Fender M-80 sound on it's own? Wasn't that one of Fender's "heavy metal" amps? It being solid state, is it tight and dry or did they do tube-emulation like on the BXR/GXR series? Just curious. I see these for sale all the time, so just thought I'd ask.
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Yeah the overdrive channel is very buzzy and harsh and lacks low end.. Very good for 80s shred I guess lol

the clean is really great IMO, nice and bassy/full with the treble rolled back and mids up for more overall presence. I use it now set clean and with my pedals I can get really nice breakup tubey like tones and all out fuzz stoner rock sound ALA Kyuss... I actually have a Joyo British pre amp pedal on the way to put at the end of my pedalboard and I'm going to try to run it into the Power Amp in on the front of the amp and use the Joyo British set to a clean/slight breakup and stack my Fuzz and distortion pedals into it with it going into the amp. Should turn out good...

the amp has spring Reverb (I believe.. could be wrong on this) and it is very nice, not a dry amp at all.. with the reverb knob at 9:00 It has a very spacious sound and definitely sounds like a Fender..

They definitely take some time to tweak but if you have time and see one used for cheap I would grab it. Made in USA and from what I read they are bulletproof too, Mine does get pretty hot after an hour or so but not more so then a tube amp I guess.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

SongsForTheDeaf said:
Yeah the overdrive channel is very buzzy and harsh and lacks low end.. Very good for 80s shred I guess lol

the clean is really great IMO, nice and bassy/full with the treble rolled back and mids up for more overall presence. I use it now set clean and with my pedals I can get really nice breakup tubey like tones and all out fuzz stoner rock sound ALA Kyuss... I actually have a Joyo British pre amp pedal on the way to put at the end of my pedalboard and I'm going to try to run it into the Power Amp in on the front of the amp and use the Joyo British set to a clean/slight breakup and stack my Fuzz and distortion pedals into it with it going into the amp. Should turn out good...

the amp has spring Reverb (I believe.. could be wrong on this) and it is very nice, not a dry amp at all.. with the reverb knob at 9:00 It has a very spacious sound and definitely sounds like a Fender..

They definitely take some time to tweak but if you have time and see one used for cheap I would grab it. Made in USA and from what I read they are bulletproof too, Mine does get pretty hot after an hour or so but not more so then a tube amp I guess.
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Yes, I do remember it distinctly having some succulent clean tones. I can't help but imagine these amps being excellent jazz amps. They weren't all that heavy either.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

jon the art guy said:
Yes, I do remember it distinctly having some succulent clean tones. I can't help but imagine these amps being excellent jazz amps. They weren't all that heavy either.
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No not at all! the head is long/awkward but very light and these amps are freakin LOUD... so if you need a lot of clean headroom and volume its good for that. I'm never going to sell mine.... even as a backup its worth it. I think I spent about 150 on mine.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

speed2dirt said:
So how does the Fender M-80 sound on it's own? Wasn't that one of Fender's "heavy metal" amps? It being solid state, is it tight and dry or did they do tube-emulation like on the BXR/GXR series? Just curious. I see these for sale all the time, so just thought I'd ask.
Click to expand...

The M-80 is the best cheap powerful amp you can buy. I paid around $125 for mine. They are super loud, the M-80 Pro is even louder both are super clean, they are a great platform for pedals. For a SS amp the gain is surprisingly great and very aggressive with awesome touch response. I would love to have the M-80 distortion in a stomp. Bonus the amp has real spring reverb. The tonestack sounds very Marshall like but more crisp, not quite dry. I paired mine up with a Fender FM 412 4x12" 100 Watt cab. You can pick them up cheap and they are more than serviceable. It makes for a great jam room amp I can leave anywhere and not sweat it if anything happens to it.
 
Re: Fender Black carpet M-80 SS head output ?

Securb said:
The M-80 is the best cheap powerful amp you can buy. I paid around $125 for mine. They are super loud, the M-80 Pro is even louder both are super clean, they are a great platform for pedals. For a SS amp the gain is surprisingly great and very aggressive with awesome touch response. I would love to have the M-80 distortion in a stomp. Bonus the amp has real spring reverb. The tonestack sounds very Marshall like but more crisp, not quite dry. I paired mine up with a Fender FM 412 4x12" 100 Watt cab. You can pick them up cheap and they are more than serviceable. It makes for a great jam room amp I can leave anywhere and not sweat it if anything happens to it.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100 percent.. I think the M-80 might be my favorite solid state amp to date. The breakup tones I can get with my pedals and the volume rolled back on the guitar into this amp is insanely good as are the all out bassy fuzz tones I get with pedals...

100 watts Solid State but man it is a powerful amp...Sounds more like 100-120 watts tube!
 
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