Fender "Twin-Amp" question.

[rivera213]

Hey guys, i'm a self-confessed amp n00b so i need some help.

This is a question on the Fender Twin-Amp's Overdrive channel.

Needless to say the cleans kick ass cos thats what the Twin is known for (and the primary reason that i want this amp!) but i've had mixed feedback about the overdrive channel.

The tone (with this amp) i'm looking for is a clear & "uncluttered" (As opposed to a Mesa Rectifier which is very cluttered IMO) overdriven tone. I'll almost certainly put an Ibanez TS-808 (original if i can get the money) in front of it to smooth it out.

I don't expect (nor want) a "metal" tone since i have the ENGL Fireball earmarked for that.

The fact this amp is switchable from 100w down to 25w is a huge plus since i'm not gigging but despise solid state amps (even the cleans sound synthetic which i hate!) and i practice 99.9% of the time on a clean tone.

Here's a link- http://www.fender.com/products//search.php?partno=0215700000

ANY info will be appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[ModestCargo]

Re: Fender "Twin-Amp" question.

I think the "overdrive" channel is pretty ****ty in the new Twins..

If you practice with a clean tone why not a Deluxe Reverb reissue?

 

[rivera213]

Re: Fender "Twin-Amp" question.

Thanks for the reply!

I would probably but the Fender Twin for it's cleans anyway, but i hoped i could get a smooth OD tone from the Twin-Amp so that'd kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Unfortunately i think i'm gonna have to buy 2 amps to suffice my needs although with the ENGL Fireball, that'll be 3 which i didn't wanna do.

But i'm sold on the Twin's cleans so it'll probably be a Deluxe Reverb and i'll find another amp for a smooth OD.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Fender "Twin-Amp" question.

If you want a really cool version of the Fender "Evil Twin", look at the 212 combo version of Mesa's F-100 amp. The F-100 has really good tone, and the LEAD channel sings like, well,...like a Boogie! The Twin's distortion channel is ratty sounding, and not nearly as smooth.

You might not need the full power of the 60/100 watt F-100; if not, consider the F-50 version.

And other Mesa amps, like the Lonestar Classic, Maverick 212, Nomad 100 or the Heartbreaker might fit your needs better than that Twin.

Bill

 

[Bludave]

Re: Fender "Twin-Amp" question.

The Deluxe Reverb is not a very clean amp. Its a misconception that many people have. The DR is 22W, so it overdrives at pretty low volume. The biggest drawback to a DR is the lack of headroom they have. Once the volume gets up to about 4 or 5 it will break up pretty easily and this will make it difficult to keep it clean. You should go play through a DR before you decide. If clean is what you want.......... the Twin is one of the cleanest loudest amps ever. IF you still want to overdrive the amp just by volume then consider a Vibrolux or a Pro Reverb. These are 40W and they have 2 speakers (The vibrolux has 2 10" and the pro has 2 12").

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Fender "Twin-Amp" question.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just listen to Bludave, the man knows what he's talking about. :fing2:

The Vibrolux does seem to break up at pretty decent volumes (I've had a Vibrolux Reverb ever since I picked up the guitar 10 years ago). 100w clean amps weren't made to naturally break up. I've never heard a Pro Reverb myself, but since it's rated essentially the same then I'm sure it behaves similarly. You'll find that amps with less than 30w typically have a hard time keeping clean headroom at medium sized venues (especially if you have to cut through a loud drummer).

 

[rivera213]

Re: Fender "Twin-Amp" question.

Thanks for the feedback "BoogieBill" & "BluDave"!

@ Bill- I'll check out the Mesa F-50 for sure!

@ Dave- Well initially i wanted an amp which delivered both my wanted "clean" and "smooth overdrive" tones. It doens't look like the Twin is that amp. I still may very well get a Twin as a cleans amp exclusively.

I'm actually leaning towards the Vox "AC30 Brian May" as my "Cleans and Smooth Overdrive" amp til i get rich and buy more amps than i'll need. Ha ha.

I'll try out alot of amps before buying 1 of course. But i just wanted to gauge the overall concensus of the OD channel on the Twin.

Thanks for your feedback guys.

 

[thucydides]

Re: Fender "Twin-Amp" question.

Why not spend some money on a quality overdrive pedal for the Twin?