Fender Supersonic?

NevermindUs

NevermindUs

New member
Anyone have any experience with this amp? i sat there for like 2 hours the other day playing the 1x12 combo, and im thinking about ordering the head version of it. i was just wondering about the life of this amp, how road worthy and durable it is?
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

Road worthy and durable remain to be seen...I imagine no better or worse than any other late model PCB Fender amp but IMO they have not been out long enough to make that call...

However I do think that they one of the better sounding new Fender amps being made today...
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

yeah i sat down at it to play with the clean tones because my friend is one of those "I NEED MORE GAIN!!" guys so i was gonna bash some clean country licks with this, and then i started playing with the burn channel and was amazed! i did not know that they are new though, i figured theyve been out for a year or two....
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

I think they've ben out a year or 2 but I haven't seen anybody really using them...

I don't see why they wouldn't hold as well as any other new Fender, which seems to be fine...
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

Play before you buy.

I've played a few that sounded terrible and one local store had one that was absolutely amazing... I mean, seriously some of the best cleans and overdrive I've ever heard. I'm not sure what has been accounting for the differences in tone, but they definitely vary in quality.

I can't comment on the reliability, but if you do find a good one - they're very, very nice amps... easily up there with the best Fenders (even though you'd never guess because of the build quality).
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

If you're going for the head, remember that only the combo has reverb. FWIW...

-dave
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

To me it is one of those amps that just don't make the cut. First the Vibrolux channel is too thin and twangy. There is not a mid control, only treble and bass controls. The Bassman channel sounds good but gets very distorted above 4. The volume controls go from 0 to ear bleed with just a twitch of the dial. The burn channel is extremely good but it lacks low end needed to really make use of it.

Besides all that the amp is made in Mexico and not very sturdy quality. The back cover might as well be made of cardboard. The channel button seems like it would wear out in six months. It is just a little plasic peg with a tiny spring behind it. The amp can get noisy.

There is no doubt that you will get extremely good tones with this amp but true versatility just isn't there.

Try putting pedals in front of this amp. They work great on the bassman channel but the higher the volume the more distorted it becomes until it is a bloody mess. Try puttin pedals on the Vibrolux channel and you will get a real thin slippery sound with a loss of low end. A lot of pedals cut some of the low end so good luck dialing in something great with that.

Not to mention the volume difference between channels. The reverb of course is one of the best. I think the gain channel is the best of all three and very versatile. You can really change the sound with both gain knobs and EQ combinations.

This amp is promising but needs some improvement in features and construction. If you can get the amp new for around $800 then you got yourself a decent deal. Any more than that and you are paying to much as far as I am concerned.
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

edsmith said:
To me it is one of those amps that just don't make the cut. First the Vibrolux channel is too thin and twangy. There is not a mid control, only treble and bass controls. The Bassman channel sounds good but gets very distorted above 4. The volume controls go from 0 to ear bleed with just a twitch of the dial. The burn channel is extremely good but it lacks low end needed to really make use of it.

Besides all that the amp is made in Mexico and not very sturdy quality. The back cover might as well be made of cardboard. The channel button seems like it would wear out in six months. It is just a little plasic peg with a tiny spring behind it. The amp can get noisy.

There is no doubt that you will get extremely good tones with this amp but true versatility just isn't there.

Try putting pedals in front of this amp. They work great on the bassman channel but the higher the volume the more distorted it becomes until it is a bloody mess. Try puttin pedals on the Vibrolux channel and you will get a real thin slippery sound with a loss of low end. A lot of pedals cut some of the low end so good luck dialing in something great with that.

Not to mention the volume difference between channels. The reverb of course is one of the best. I think the gain channel is the best of all three and very versatile. You can really change the sound with both gain knobs and EQ combinations.

This amp is promising but needs some improvement in features and construction. If you can get the amp new for around $800 then you got yourself a decent deal. Any more than that and you are paying to much as far as I am concerned.
Click to expand...

thanks dude. i play with a whole mess of pedals, and i dont think id use anything but the burn channel cept for my enjoyment. call me stupid but i like my clean sound to be a little gritty and dirty. and i like putting my big muff and zw od on top of that. then add in my chorus, delay, wh4, screaming demon.... but it all starts with that first dirty clean for me.:smoker:
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

I have been using a Blond Oxblood Super-Sonic head as my main gig amp for a few months now. I sold my TSL-60 Marshall head after buying the SS.
The cleans are nice but the Vibro channell is a little twangy I love the Baseman side though. The burn channel smokes.
The amp really sounds good after a re-tube with a NOS late 50's Mullard long plate in V-1 and Chinese late 80's production Shunghangs in the rest except for the JJ ECC81 in the PI and a set of JJ 6L6's.
The first ones were all over the place in tone due to some mistakes in the bias settings from the factory and some sounded pretty nasty. This was corrected early on and they are pretty consistant in tone now. The SS still will benefit from warming up the cold factory bias though in tone.
Overall I love mine its reliable well built and sounds GREAT!
Here is a clip from Church last night with me playing my Pearl Pink Carvin X220R through the Super-Sonic head on my late 80's Fender 2/12 cab.
http://www.box.net/shared/9jw1nhwskg
 
Last edited:
Re: Fender Supersonic?

Ascension said:
I have been using a Blond Oxblood Super-Sonic head as my main gig amp for a few months now. I sold my TSL-60 Marshall head after buying the SS.
The cleans are nice but the Vibro channell is a little twangy I love the Baseman side though. The burn channel smokes.
The amp really sounds good after a re-tube with a NOS late 50's Mullard long plate in V-1 and Chinese late 80's production Shunghangs in the rest except for the JJ ECC81 in the PI and a set of JJ 6L6's.
The first ones were all over the place in tone due to some mistakes in the bias settings from the factory and some sounded pretty nasty. This was corrected early on and they are pretty consistant in tone now. The SS still will benefit from warming up the cold factory bias though in tone.
Overall I love mine its reliable well built and sounds GREAT!
Here is a clip from Church last night with me playing my Pearl Pink Carvin X220R through the Super-Sonic head on my late 80's Fender 2/12 cab.
http://www.box.net/shared/9jw1nhwskg
Click to expand...

i thought it came in blonde or oxblood?
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

oxeblood = grille clothe

anyway, i love this amp. the clean channel is all the tone and simplicity i love about my 68 Bassman, with a gain channel that sounds perfect for fuzzed-out mountaintop riffing. not to mention the 4x12 comes with vintage 30's. my dream rig is a blonde Supersonic half-stack with an Orange AD30 2x12 combo between the head and cab.
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

Empty Pockets said:
oxeblood = grille clothe

anyway, i love this amp. the clean channel is all the tone and simplicity i love about my 68 Bassman, with a gain channel that sounds perfect for fuzzed-out mountaintop riffing. not to mention the 4x12 comes with vintage 30's. my dream rig is a blonde Supersonic half-stack with an Orange AD30 2x12 combo between the head and cab.
Click to expand...

did not know that. the one i played was just blonde, i was hoping it was goign to be the color oxblood, as in red, cause all my other stuff is red hahahaha
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

I have the Super Sonic head. I think I got a good one. It sounds superb.
You do have to make some EQ adjustments switching between the Vibrolux voicing and the Bassman voicing on the clean channel. You may find yourself adding more bass and turning down the treble when in the Vibrolux voicing. For gigging players, perhaps a 3rd channel with separate tone controls might have been more convenient. I bought mine to record so it's not an issue for me. For that reason, the absence of an onboard reverb is also not an issue for me.

The fact that Bassman voicing starts overdriving when turned up is a big + for me. Not many modern players have ever experienced the sound of an old amp turned way up until it overdrives. It's a really cool sound. A great blues and classic rock tone.

It's a good point about the switches. The front panel switches on my amp work fine, but they don't feel as sturdy as some I've seen. And my only real gripe about the amp is the included footswitch. The switches are dirty or something because they pretty much don't work. I sprayed contact cleaner in once, and they worked better for a while but now are maybe even a bit worse. So I only use the front panel switches for changing channels and voicings. If they ever go, I'm stuck in one channel!

I do notice a bit more 60 cycle hum than with some amps. Someone here claimed however that this is due to poor quality factory tubes. Ascension, is yours noisy after sticking all those premium tubes in it?
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

Ed O'Brien of Radiohead has been playing them if that hasn't already been stated.
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

Without a doubt, the SuperSonic has the best distortion of any Fender tube amp.

That said,....

There ain't NUTTIN' in that box that would make me want to give up any of my Mesas.

Bill
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

Personally, I think this is the first high gain amp Fender has managed to get right. The dual gain controls allow for a lot of different medium or high gain tones. I really like the cleans as well - both Vibrolux and Tweed settings are nice and sound pretty much like what their names imply. It's a pretty versatile amp all things considered.

My only complaint is the price. It's a big high considering what it is.
 
Re: Fender Supersonic?

Kosh Naranek said:
I have the Super Sonic head. I think I got a good one. It sounds superb.
You do have to make some EQ adjustments switching between the Vibrolux voicing and the Bassman voicing on the clean channel. You may find yourself adding more bass and turning down the treble when in the Vibrolux voicing. For gigging players, perhaps a 3rd channel with separate tone controls might have been more convenient. I bought mine to record so it's not an issue for me. For that reason, the absence of an onboard reverb is also not an issue for me.

The fact that Bassman voicing starts overdriving when turned up is a big + for me. Not many modern players have ever experienced the sound of an old amp turned way up until it overdrives. It's a really cool sound. A great blues and classic rock tone.

It's a good point about the switches. The front panel switches on my amp work fine, but they don't feel as sturdy as some I've seen. And my only real gripe about the amp is the included footswitch. The switches are dirty or something because they pretty much don't work. I sprayed contact cleaner in once, and they worked better for a while but now are maybe even a bit worse. So I only use the front panel switches for changing channels and voicings. If they ever go, I'm stuck in one channel!

I do notice a bit more 60 cycle hum than with some amps. Someone here claimed however that this is due to poor quality factory tubes. Ascension, is yours noisy after sticking all those premium tubes in it?
Click to expand...
It quieted dow nicely after the re-tube. WATCH THE PI on the noise issues you MUST use a 12AT7 in that slot!!! I wound up settling on a JJ ECC81 there on mine. I had tried a 12AX but got massive noise issues with HISS and also saw some issue with noise using a GE JAN 7125 in the PI. Going back to the recomended 12AT or the equivlent ECC81 quieted it right back down though.
 
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