Fender amps

[jdtogo]

so if your a fender man yours would be ? what amp . I use a fender champion 30 w/ a bassman 25 hook up to a digitech rp 200A . great high end and way good low end . I play mostly blues and rock .

[lawrencedesigns]

I will respond, and bring up a question. I am playing my strat into a Boss GT-3. I am feeding stereo output to a Fender Princeton Chorus and and Dean Markley.
I want to add another Fender to replace the Markely.
I am seeing a lot of Stage 100's and Stage Leads on eBAY. Seems like a great deal. Anyone have any experience with that line?

Keeth Lawrence

[bam]

I don't have that amount of cash now, but I think I'm gonna crash on the Twin Reverb ..

[Runewalker]

This thread may be dead, but here's my rig:

'72 rare breed - Silverface Fender Super 6.

What't that you say? Twin brain, in a BIG cabinet with 6 10" Jensons.

I thought for years that I should have paid the extra $ (I think I paid $275 in 1976-7) and just gotten a Twin. I searched for years for the 'perfect' combo of stomps and guitars and amp.

I settled for a long time on a Tube screamer and DOD echo. Pretty respectable but I was still not happy.

Antied up in 2001 on a Digitech RP200 and suddenly the world changed. Turned my amp back to a warm base and used the processor for dialing in tone arrays.

Upgraded to a GNX2 a year or so, and with the broad face of those 6 10's sometimes combined with a set of Twin JBLs and my super stomp box, Full stacks would cry.

OK is this pure? No, it is taking advantage of the available technology to get your sound. The Fender provides a warm tube clear and pure amplfied sound, while the programing gives me a multitude of combinations. You do have to learn to program it or you will get the dreaded 'boxy' sound. But it can be done and the effor is worth it.

I am close than ever to the holy grail of sound. I will never get there, and that is good because the search is the journey, not the destination.

Rune

[Trey]

I always lusted after a Twin Reverb, but I've found something better for the momment. My Carvin Bel Air gives me those crisp Fender cleans but also has a good bit of gain, very Voxy if that's really a word.

[GuyaGuy]

of course it's a word, Trey. hendrix used it in a song: "Voxxy Lady."

ok, i apologize for that one...

you've mentioned that bel air a couple of times so i had to check out reviews on harmony central. for some reason i'd been under the impression that carvin's amps were pretty pricey, but apparently a used bel air is about $350-400 used? that ain't half bad. pretty darn good actually. i might have to look into one...

[StratLover]

Ok I will finally let everyone know about my Fender(tm) amp. I have a 1993 Hot Rod Deluxe-410(tm).

It has 60 watts of ALL tube power, loaded with 4-10" Eminence(tm) speakers and 3 channel selections, with gain, bright and drive switching for each channel. Killer reverb just like ALL Fender(tm) amps and it allows my Strat's(tm) and Tele's(tm) to voice their opinion in a big way. QUACK-QUACK-QUACK----;D-

This is the only Fender(tm) amplifier that I have ever had and when I purchased it, I had just gone through a really hostile divorce and I had to spend some cash fast. I did'nt even play through it before I purchased it, it just happened to be the most costly of the amplifiers available that day in the store I bought it from.-----;D-----

All of the effects I use are BOSS(tm) run by a BOSS(tm)TU-2 digital chromatic tuner and Daisy Chain. I have tried them through the Line6 amps I have they just don't have the same cutting edge as they do through "TUBES". I would'nt trade this artifact from my past history for anything!!!

It just happens to be one of the best investments I have ever made, as far as amplification.

[glow=red,2,300]ROCK ON FENDER(tm)[/glow]

[damian]

i have a 65 blackface bassman that is very sweet no reverb but everything else about it is great. gets super loud if you need it to and has a ridiculous clean tone. I also have just been using my buddies super champ fender amp( hey that rhymes) and all I can say is wow! this may be the best little amp Ive ever played.

[jamie]

I really really really want a Fender Deluxe or Deville for blues/strat sound.

At the moment i have a marshall JCM900. It gives me an ok strat sound, but i am thinking a Fender Deluxe or Deville will just ooze that glossy clean tone. But i have heard that it doesnt have a very good high gain sound.

For now i will just have to experiment more with the marshall. Maybe it is more versatile for my needs.

[erikh]

I've always wanted a Twin Reverb but they're out of my price range right now, expecially the '65 Twin. I really liked the Tone Masters too.

Like jamie, I have a JCM900 (1990 model) and it's pretty much a one trick horse (this thing aint no pony <grin>). I'd like a Fender amp for playing blues/country.

[bobtec]

Hi,I have a 65 bassman that was modded by john mcintyer in canada I also have a 63 band master the bassman now only has one channel and uses el-34 tubes it is unbeliveable ampI only use a little delay and reverb from me rack For my power chords i use my old Plexi 100watt that is hooked up to a PS systems Power Tool that way I can use it like a big preamp with the output power tubes then it goes to a 120 watt solid state power amp Its taken a lot of $$$,but man what a tone,

[jdtogo]

how that sounds cool

[ajent__smith]

i use a '65 deluxe reverb reissue. i've only had if for a couple months, so im still in that "this is the last amp ill ever need because it's so great" phase, so you'll need to account for that when I talk about it.

Firstly, for 22 watts, this is one loud amp. it easily filled my schools football stadium.
Secondly, it is truely all tube, rectifier and all (most 2,000$ 'all tube' marshall heads dont have that)
thirdly, the tone is great for anything from jazz to blues to a moderately heavy rock.
The only places it falls short is in the metal crunch tone. you cant get very far beond blues distortion. also, the vibrato(wich is actually tremelo) is fairly useless in my opinion, but the reverb is great, very surfalicious.

[silverring233]

Fender princeton 65 with a digitech rp100, Jay turser LP copy, customized Squier strat, customized Slamer strat, and a Drive wildfire.

[fenderstrats]

I own a Bassman 60 Combo(1999 era) and would like to know if anybody out there actually knows where the buzz sound /noise originates from.Everything I read on this subject seems that the cabinet is at fault. I have tightened every screw,nut ,bolt on the speakers,cab and amp housing but still get a small buzz.Sounds to be comming directly from the speaker? I know that an ampflier can push out 1 1/2 times its normal power maxed and a pot can also be maxed out at half a turn.Isn't it possible that the speaker cannot handle the LF? Could changing the speaker to a higher value fix the problem or does the problem lurk in the whole circuit of the amp itself ?

[sumgai]

fs,

It happens that I have one of these little goodies.....

Did you pull the speaker and make sure that the leads up to the amp head are not rattling against the cabinet sides?


sumgai

[fenderstrats]

Yes I did ,Did you get a buzz sound.
Someone also said depending on where these amps were made you mat not get any buzz.Mine was manufactured in Mexico..

[sumgai]

fs,

The place of manufacture isn't likely to make much difference in whether or not the amp buzzes. It does come out once in awhile that a run of some certain model might have problems such as buzzing, and that may be due to some irregularity at that factory (like poor quality control!), but for the most part, no, just because it was made in Mexico doesn't mean that it will tend to buzz. Mine was made down there too, and I have no complaints whatsoever.

This one's tough. OK, time to get down and dirty. Take the speaker all the way out, and remove any insulation that will come out too. Now carefully inspect each of the "gussets" - those are the reinforcing blocks that are glued to each side and/or back and/or bottom. If one of them is loose...... don't just wiggle them with your fingers, use a screwdriver to gently pry at them.

If that all checks out, then the only thing left that I can think of is a loose mechanical connection within the chassis itself. Not as likely, but it could happen. Just thinking out loud here.......


sumgai

[fenderstrats]

OK Sugai,
Was gonna pull the whole thing apart to get at the cause anyway.Thanks for the help and Ill get back to ya after all it completed...
Thanks FS

[sumgai]

OK Sugai,
Was gonna pull the whole thing apart to get at the cause anyway.Thanks for the help and Ill get back to ya after all it completed...

Thanks FS

No, no, no, that's not me!

I am "sum gai", Hastings is the "sue gai"! ;D


But good luck on your "treasure hunt"!



sumgai

[fenderstrats]

Sorry Sumgai hit wrong type...Anyway its back together with no luck.With all knobs at mid range and in passive mode Squire Precission Bass Special(modded with quiet the beast) buzz is not to bad untill you play anything on the fourth string fourth fret down to first.The speaker wants to jump off the board.In looking at the equation for air volume maybe the cabinet is a bit to small?Thinking about adding 2 air ports into the back or maybe a new speaker.Any suggestions... FS

[UnklMickey]

hi Fenderstrats,

i thought i might add a few ideas here.

speaker and cabinet buzzes have their own characteristic sound that is quite different from amp problems.

but, it is quite easy to be sure by plugging in a cabinet (that will automatically disconnect the internal speaker in your bassman 60).

if that cabinet sounds okay, with the same settings that caused a buzz with the internal speaker, then you are on the right track looking at a problem in the cabinet, internal speaker, and horn. (i'm pretty sure it has a horn)

the next step would be to disconnect the horn, to eliminate the possibility of the buzzing occurring because of a bad horn or crossover.

if the problem still exists with the horn disconnected, then the problem is either in the speaker or cabinet.

one problem i have seen in speakers, that is difficult to find, is when the cone creases or folds during large excursions.

everything sounds just fine, until a certain threshold of low frequency volume has been reached.

after that, when the cone folds, the sound is horrendous.


one difficult to find cabinet problem, is when the plywood itself, begins to de-laminate.

everything looks just fine, and the bracing all seems secure, but above a certain volume, the plies begin to vibrate. another horrendous sound.


i thought i'd tell you about those possibilities.


hope you get to the "bottom" of this problem. lol



unk

[fenderstrats]

Thanks UNK. You must have read my mind ,thats exactly my next move.I noticed when I lightly put my finger on the speaker the buz quites down(none or slight buz)so I figured it must either be the Crossover ,Horn , or possibly some output circuit in the amp.From what I can see the cab structure is sound.Im a Tech.and really didn't want to get down into trouble -shooting the whole process.So if these little bitties dont work the amp will go on my bench and get hooked into my scope for further investigation.
Thanks for the help FS

[fenderstrats]

RE: UNK
Well heres the scoop,Found the schematic on the fender site for this Bassman combo 60.Would you believe the parts are an exact match down to the transformer.On the bench I checked out the transistors,diodes,main resistors ,IC's and most other resistors,and parts, all good.Pluged into a VARIAC then put a 1kHsignal into it hooked it to my scope and started taking measurements.Didn't have an exact dummy load so I put an extension on the main Speaker and ran from that.Everything checked out as per the stats on the schematic.Only thing wrong with this unit was all the values on the pots were down..they ran anywhere from 78k-86k...all are rated 100k.
The speaker rates 8ohm and I believe thats it just run down.I bought this unit used so the person who ran it probably maxed it all the time .Speaker looks clean but you can see its had some mileage on it.I went to US Speaker.Com and wrote them to see of their "Eminence Bass Lite S2012 - 12"would be a good replacement.They wrote back an said its the best choice.Hmm?(dont know about sales pitch though) Anyway Im gonna go with it I've been out of workfor quite some time and cant afford a new amp and if theres any problms with the speaker and crossover Ill put it a small attunuation circuit and add a small pot on the outside of the amp face (more then enough room).The speaker also has a 7 yr warrent . Ill also put in new pots.total cost will run me about 80 bucks. OK let me know your opinion.
FS

[fenderstrats]

By the way Unk,
Another ditty..After testing I decided to pull the PCB to check for cold solder joints.SURprise,Surprise,SURprise.Someone has either been in here or QC did a bad job of touchup.Residue from either resoldering cold joints or replacements ?(parts look original).Not to mention when I flipped the board over the main pwr (white)wire to the pwr connector came right out of the board Holy S---!
Well resoldered everything looking suspicious,cleaned the board replaced everything ,took some final test readings .So now Ill order the speaker.....
Thats It........ FS

[UnklMickey]

FS,

i musta missed that post about putting your finger on the cone.

that one sorta said it all.

you were reducing the movement/acceleration of the cone.

sounds like cone flex and or folding is the culprit.


don't worry one bit about those potentiometer values being a bit low.

getting the exact value in there really won't make any difference at all.

if the pots are noisy, replace them. otherwise save the cash and effort.



unk

[fenderstrats]

Hi UNK,
The pots are fine no noise.Whats your opinion on the Emnience Speaker.They have another model Looks exactily like whats in the amp.Its a 12" rated at 150/300 rms max 55Hz-4.5kHz 20 bucks cheaper .The one I wrote about is 150Hz rms and 45Hz-4.5KHz.
Thanks FS

[UnklMickey]

sorry FS,

i have only had one experience with an Eminence speaker.

replaced an 18" in a TOA PA cab temporarily with an Eminence.

don't recall the model, but the specs weren't too far off of those for the TOA. and got it cheap. it sounded okay, hardly noticed the difference between that one and the other side. When the TOA replacement came, just put the E in an old cab i had. kinda nice to have a 1-18 cab for the V4b.

doesn't seem like either of the one you mentioned will be a problem for power handling.

efficiency, and matching the Thiele-Small parameters to the box you're putting it into would probably make a big difference it which one would sound better.

if you tell the tech where you're buying the speaker, what the inside dimensions of the box, and the area of the port or duct are (if there is a port or duct. also if duct, the length), he should be able to make a better recommendation.


unk

[fenderstrats]

OK Unk,
No problem with the Thiele parameters enough of cubic area. Just wanted your opinion on the 2 different speakers.
Thanks Again,Get back to ya when I install it.
FS