INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

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On a whim I stopped by the closest music store to me for about 100 miles this morning on the way home from cleaning up my sugar farm & getting it ready for next season. I walked in & had the same response as I usually do when I go in that place, "Nice stuff but overpriced!!!"

After I tried out a couple of newer guitars that he'd gotten recently I started to make my way to the door & the owner of the store came over to ask how I was & how I liked the 79 Bandmaster that I'd bought from him a couple years ago. I answered with the truth, it was a alright sounding head but it was finicky at times & needed some TLC so I sold it shortly after I bought it to someone who could take care of it better. I told him that I wasn't at all bitter about it & I had recouped most of my money in the sale. Plus it was quite a while ago but he said he still wanted to make it up to me & offered me 20% off anything in the store!!! I decided to take another look.......



He'd had this Blonde Super Sonic in the shop for a couple of years (it's a 2014) & I'd eyeballed it several times before but the $1,000+ price tag always kept me at bay? Today when I looked at it there was a clearance sign on it & it was marked down to just over $800!!! I asked if I could use the 20% on top of the marked down price & he said of course, so I bought it for $650!!!

It is a couple years old & technically a store demo but hasn't seen much playing time & comes with a full manufacturers guarantee as well as everything else you get when you buy a new Fender amplifier. Unfortunately I had drove my bike up to camp last night & I couldn't very well strap it to the back so I'll have to go back up one day this week & pick it up but I'm definitely very excited about it!!!



To my ears the 22W Super Sonic's first or clean CH sounds a lot like a Deluxe Reverb with a bit of VOX chime blended into it. It puts out rich, lush, beautiful, bell like Blackface clean tones & with noticeably better bass response than the 60W Super Sonic heads I've played through in the past! The second or "BURN" CH kinda has a CRANKED Bassman vibe to it but with more a lot more gain on tap & a lot less volume needed!!!

Not that it's especially quiet, it can certainly fill up a room & move some air through it's 1X12 Eminence speaker!!! Cranked Bassman's are just STUPID loud!!! Both CH's seem very useable as does the onboard reverb & it's definitely got its own voice with plenty of CUT when pushed!!! Now I can't wait to get it home, LOL!!! I'd go back up today if it wasn't the fourth & I didn't already have family stuff to do. I'm very interested to see how it works with all my kick boxes on the floor & to really get that BURN CH dialed in!!!

Anyone out there have one or played through one? If so let me know what your impressions were, I'm interested to hear what you thought....
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

Great amp. Don't tell me you were down here at Music Mill? If so you have to give me a call next time you make the trip.
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

Great amp IMO. I find little need for pedals this amp is so versatile. The only pedal I use is a clean boost (JOYO Ironman Rated Boost) in-the-loop (velcroed to the top of the amp and always "on"). It's so tiny that it works well sitting there. This way I have 'clean', ' fat', and a 'crunch', + a volume boost all activated by the FS. Sometimes I'll use a tremolo pedal for covers that call for it. The 'burn' channel can go from mild OD to some heavy distortion with it's dual cascading gains.

Good score! Enjoy.
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

sweet! I've had mine a couple months now and still love it! Winning color combo too.
Happy NAD!!!
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

I've played the black Super Sonic combo in stores often and like it a lot, mostly for the Burn channel. To me, at full tilt, it sort of has a raging Mesa quality to it.

My only knocks against the Super Sonic are the large size of the combo and the noise in the Burn channel. The noise isn't intolerable; it's just more than the usual in a high gain amp.

I like the two gain knobs in the Burn channel; that architecture reminds me of old Marshalls. You can get a lot of cool tones experimenting with different combinations.
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

Great amp IMO. I find little need for pedals this amp is so versatile. The only pedal I use is a clean boost (JOYO Ironman Rated Boost) in-the-loop (velcroed to the top of the amp and always "on"). It's so tiny that it works well sitting there. This way I have 'clean', ' fat', and a 'crunch', + a volume boost all activated by the FS. Sometimes I'll use a tremolo pedal for covers that call for it. The 'burn' channel can go from mild OD to some heavy distortion with it's dual cascading gains.

Good score! Enjoy.

I watched a video yesterday about this amp & learned something new!!! Apparently the Super Sonic was Fender's highest gain all valve amp ever produced until the Bassbreaker's came out a couple years ago??? I guess I never really thought about it before seeing the video but I would have thought that title would have gone to the EVIL TWIN...
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

Awesome amp! Love the tones those get. :headbang:

I watched a video yesterday about this amp & learned something new!!! Apparently the Super Sonic was Fender's highest gain all valve amp ever produced until the Bassbreaker's came out a couple years ago??? I guess I never really thought about it before seeing the video but I would have thought that title would have gone to the EVIL TWIN...

That makes sense, the Bassbreakers have a ton of gain on board for a Fender.
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

Congrats! I don't really know anything about the Super Sonics. Combo amps are off the table for me because I usually need to have a cabinet mic'd in an isolated room when I am recording electric guitar. I almost never play amplifed guitar at home... :(
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

......Apparently the Super Sonic was Fender's highest gain all valve amp ever produced until the Bassbreaker's came out a couple years ago???...
I thought that distinction belonged to the now discontinued Machete??? :dunno:
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

So just an update on the Super Sonic, or lack thereof....

I did go & pick it up yesterday afternoon. Before loading it into the car I decided I wanted to hear what it sounded like with my gear. So I plugged in one of my Telecasters that I'd brought with me as well as almost my entire pedalboard. It sounded fantastic however there was a little noise in the background? It wasn't too bad at all & I knew this was a common complaint about this particular amplifier so I didn't sweat it very much. Then I packed everything up & headed on home!!!

Once I got home & settled I plugged the amp into the wall and got out all the same gear that I'd brought to the store with me. I got everything hooked up & ready to go, turned the amp on to a very reasonable volume level, (about half of what I'd had it on at the store just a couple hours earlier) & HISSSSS!!!! That hum was there again but much louder this time & as I said I wasn't playing nearly as loud as I was earlier at the store! I thought to myself perhaps it's just constantly there but the more I turned up the volume knob the worst it got? Then it just started getting worse all by itself, & then POP & SILENCE!!!

"Well that's not supposed to happen???" I gave the shop a call & explained my dilemma. The owner said he thought it was probably just a tube or a fuse & he was willing to wait for me to get back there before heading home for the evening. I told him that I'd checked the fuses already, they looked fine & as far as the tubes went I told him that I had some new 6V6's & tons of preamp valves laying around so I was willing to try re-tubbing it before heading back to the shop. I changed those out & had the same issue, everything was glowing but absolutely no signal... "Well $#it" guess I'm going back to Littleton???

I put the stock valves back in & got back up to the shop for my refund. The guy that owns the place plugged it in & opened it up when I got there. Pretty much all he said after looking it over was "are you sure it not the wiring in your house?" (its definitely not) & "That's odd, I've never seen anything like this before???" Also, because it was technically after hours he had to run upstairs to his safe in order to get my refund so I just looked around the shop while I waited...

While looking I noticed a whine and wheat 65 Deluxe Reverb R.I. in the corner I'd seen the day I bought the Super Sonic but the $1,000+ price tag was a bit out of reach for me. Just for turds & squirts I asked him when he came back down how much more it would cost me if I decided to take that instead of the cash? He shrugged his shoulders and said "I guess I'd give it to you for another hundred bucks but that's as low as I can go because I'm already taking a big hit on it at $750" & then he again reiterated how sorry he was for all the hassle that I was going through...

I wasn't super crazy about spending even more money (NOT TO MENTION THE $50 I SPENT IN GAS GOING BACK AND FORTH!!!) but he was willing to give me a really great deal & they have a 60 no hassle return policy so I decided to snag it!!! If something pops up over the next few months I'll just bring it back again & honestly after what I've gone through I think he might even add another month to that for me?

So it was a bit late by the time I got back home last night. I still had to feed the baby, gave him a bath, & get him to fall asleep but luckily nobody was home so I was able to noddle around on it for a solid hour at a fairly decent clip. BTW, my kid can sleep through me & my entire band jamming in the living room!!! LOL, he'll usually only wake up when we stop???

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Anyway, this one seems to be functioning flawlessly & sounds absolutely amazing!!! I've always loved the 65 D.R.R.I.'s tone! There's just something about their 6V6 power sections that gels with me & my playing style. The 6V6's were a lot of the appeal for me with the Super Sonic & since I wasn't all that interested in the BURN CH anyhow perhaps this all worked out for the best??? I mean I ended up with a pretty great & iconic limited edition amplifier with a much better stock speaker for a pretty awesome price in the end....
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

Very pretty amp. Enjoy! Looks like the extra hassle was worth it!
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

I used one of those at band rehershal a few weeks back and absolutlly loved it. More than enough power to keep up with the bass and drums. I have been GASing for one ever since. Nice score.
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

So just an update on the Super Sonic, or lack thereof....

I did go & pick it up yesterday afternoon. Before loading it into the car I decided I wanted to hear what it sounded like with my gear. So I plugged in one of my Telecasters that I'd brought with me as well as almost my entire pedalboard. It sounded fantastic however there was a little noise in the background? It wasn't too bad at all & I knew this was a common complaint about this particular amplifier so I didn't sweat it very much. Then I packed everything up & headed on home!!!

Once I got home & settled I plugged the amp into the wall and got out all the same gear that I'd brought to the store with me. I got everything hooked up & ready to go, turned the amp on to a very reasonable volume level, (about half of what I'd had it on at the store just a couple hours earlier) & HISSSSS!!!! That hum was there again but much louder this time & as I said I wasn't playing nearly as loud as I was earlier at the store! I thought to myself perhaps it's just constantly there but the more I turned up the volume knob the worst it got? Then it just started getting worse all by itself, & then POP & SILENCE!!!

"Well that's not supposed to happen???" I gave the shop a call & explained my dilemma. The owner said he thought it was probably just a tube or a fuse & he was willing to wait for me to get back there before heading home for the evening. I told him that I'd checked the fuses already, they looked fine & as far as the tubes went I told him that I had some new 6V6's & tons of preamp valves laying around so I was willing to try re-tubbing it before heading back to the shop. I changed those out & had the same issue, everything was glowing but absolutely no signal... "Well $#it" guess I'm going back to Littleton???

I put the stock valves back in & got back up to the shop for my refund. The guy that owns the place plugged it in & opened it up when I got there. Pretty much all he said after looking it over was "are you sure it not the wiring in your house?" (its definitely not) & "That's odd, I've never seen anything like this before???" Also, because it was technically after hours he had to run upstairs to his safe in order to get my refund so I just looked around the shop while I waited...

While looking I noticed a whine and wheat 65 Deluxe Reverb R.I. in the corner I'd seen the day I bought the Super Sonic but the $1,000+ price tag was a bit out of reach for me. Just for turds & squirts I asked him when he came back down how much more it would cost me if I decided to take that instead of the cash? He shrugged his shoulders and said "I guess I'd give it to you for another hundred bucks but that's as low as I can go because I'm already taking a big hit on it at $750" & then he again reiterated how sorry he was for all the hassle that I was going through...

I wasn't super crazy about spending even more money (NOT TO MENTION THE $50 I SPENT IN GAS GOING BACK AND FORTH!!!) but he was willing to give me a really great deal & they have a 60 no hassle return policy so I decided to snag it!!! If something pops up over the next few months I'll just bring it back again & honestly after what I've gone through I think he might even add another month to that for me?

So it was a bit late by the time I got back home last night. I still had to feed the baby, gave him a bath, & get him to fall asleep but luckily nobody was home so I was able to noddle around on it for a solid hour at a fairly decent clip. BTW, my kid can sleep through me & my entire band jamming in the living room!!! LOL, he'll usually only wake up when we stop???

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Anyway, this one seems to be functioning flawlessly & sounds absolutely amazing!!! I've always loved the 65 D.R.R.I.'s tone! There's just something about their 6V6 power sections that gels with me & my playing style. The 6V6's were a lot of the appeal for me with the Super Sonic & since I wasn't all that interested in the BURN CH anyhow perhaps this all worked out for the best??? I mean I ended up with a pretty great & iconic limited edition amplifier with a much better stock speaker for a pretty awesome price in the end....

That is awesome! Great price on a Deluxe Reverb! Those things sound amazing, enjoy!
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

Now that is one nice looking amp!
Yeah I got rid of my SS22 as well....the channel shifter shorted and killed off three resistors, repaired it and sold the dratted thing, wishing that I had bought a Deluxe as well :D
Baggins'ez can be forum members & guitar players too...

We don't discriminate here on the S.D.U.G.F., LOL!!!
:beerchug::lmao: Baaaagggiiiiiinnnnssseeesssssss!!!! Haha playing shortscale guitars and such ;)
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

Now that is one nice looking amp!
Yeah I got rid of my SS22 as well....the channel shifter shorted and killed off three resistors, repaired it and sold the dratted thing, wishing that I had bought a Deluxe as well :D
:beerchug::lmao: Baaaagggiiiiiinnnnssseeesssssss!!!! Haha playing shortscale guitars and such ;)


1e4b724913100b917ca9ea5a7f2f6169.jpg
 
Re: INCOMING Another New Amp Day, BLONDE FENDER SUPER SONIC 22W

LOL!!!:lmao: You guys crack me up!!!!

I definitely feel a lot better about this ones longevity of life & it was cool of the store to go as far as they did to make sure I was happy in the end!!!

Like I mentioned above 99% of the stuff in that place can be had 10%-25% cheaper online but you'd be hard pressed to get that kind of customer service anywhere on the inter-web!!! Plus there's a lot to be said about playing something before you pay & every guitar/bass in there regardless of it's price has been sat down with & setup to play about as good as possible before going out on the wall...

If you have to pay the return shipping on a guitar to M.F. twice you'll likely spend more & it's always good to support your local businesses???
 
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