Fender solidstates all bad?..

[Jouni]

That last post of someone trying everything tube and satisfying on a fender, brought my mind the fact, that when fender tubes are praised a lot, their solidstates are practically thrown for loose change??...

I myself own a Pro 185, which has been varying ownership between me and a cousin of mine for 200 bucks. Then I borrowed it to couple of bandmates, which also couldn't find it useful at all. Reliable as hell, though, but plain pain soundwise...

How come Fender solidstates are that crappy, when their tubes are liked??
..in comparison that even Laney/Peavey solidstates are triple the value second-hand...

[Supercreep]

I own both a JC-120 and a JC-90 and I think they are must have SS amps.

So I don't think there's anything wrong with SS amps per se.

Not having owned the Fenders you mention, do they try to cop tube amp sounds? That's the only thing I can think of that might get transistor amps into trouble with some users.

If it sounds good, it's good. Don't worry too much about what other people think.

[32-20-Blues]

No, Fender solid states aren't any worse than any other makes.

[jonnyc]

If you need a good clean it's sometimes hard to beat a quality solidstate amp like the JC's mentioned but if you are in search of a good overdrive/distortion the n you're going to want tubes. Some really high gain stuff sounds ok with solidstate amps.

[Hard2Hear]

The Fender Ultimate Chorus is a great amp that can actually fit alot of situations. Ive used them for clean jass-ish sounds, and they make a really decent amo for acoustics, too. It has a pretty mean built in distortion that I used to use when I was a kid and wanted grindy punk tones.

[mrface2112]

Originally Posted by Hard2Hear

The Fender Ultimate Chorus is a great amp that can actually fit alot of situations.

the lead guitarist in my band bought one for like $250 or something silly like that, and i completely agree--it can definitely fit a lot of situations. i was VERY surprised at how good it sounded. it's no bassman or something, but it's definitely usable.

of course, i don't like the distortion at all and the chorus is kinda so-so.....but it takes to pedals nicely and it's solid "clean".....and you really can't beat that with a stick.


cheers,
wade

[capnkid]

What do you guys mean by clean?

How does ss clean and fender tube clean differ?

[dragonworks]

i have a friend whos motto is "if it sounds good it is good". He is a far better musician than I. He recently bought one of the new fender SS modeling amps, one of the small ones, and speaks very highly of it. I can't say first hand, but if he says so, I take his word.

[jfrog]

Originally Posted by capnkid

What do you guys mean by clean?

How does ss clean and fender tube clean differ?

A good clean SS amp (at least my Fender Princeton Chorus) has a lot of high end, which can make them sound bright. Mine also sounds very transparent, so the effects that go in sound good come through well. Fender tube clean must have less high end or something, because, to my ears, they sound warmer & somewhat thicker.

Both sound good, (OK, the tubes can sound great) but different.

[acidrock]

I have a Fender Princeton stereo chorus and it's a great amp.Made in the USA and with a true analog chorus circuit(It was made before digital effects were prevalent) it's great for clean stuff and takes kindly to stomp boxes,the distortion is nothing to write home about.

I have two tube amps also,but the Princeton is a keeper.

[Supercreep]

Originally Posted by capnkid

What do you guys mean by clean?

How does ss clean and fender tube clean differ?

The Roland Jazz Chorus is an amazing sounding amp that just does it's own thing.

Think early Police. Think 80's Rush. There is a specific sound that you can only get with a JC.

It's like icepick clean. Perfect crystalline clean, with a gorgeous stereo chorus.

It's a one trick pony, but when you need that sound, there's nothing like it.

I played through one with my strat and I was sold.


Tube clean will have a slight breakup that is controllable with picking dynamics. Play soft, it sounds sweet. Dig in, it snarls a bit. It's a really 3-d textured sound that figures prominently in rock and blues. Once you recognize it, you'll hear it everywhere.

[VSpaceBoy]

I be honest with you, I've never heard a Fender Solid state that I've liked at all.. or a Fender acoustic guitar for that matter. (IME!!)

Now, I've owned for years and LOVED Fender Strats, and played on many a Fender tube amp that I loved the cleans on. But again, these are just MY experiances..

These days I've settled (satisfied) on a Laney tube amp for cleans AND dirties. Perfect Fenderish cleans, and an awesome mix between Mesa and Marshall on the dirt.. woot

[jonnyc]

Originally Posted by Supercreep

The Roland Jazz Chorus is an amazing sounding amp that just does it's own thing.

Think early Police. Think 80's Rush. There is a specific sound that you can only get with a JC.

It's like icepick clean. Perfect crystalline clean, with a gorgeous stereo chorus.

It's a one trick pony, but when you need that sound, there's nothing like it.

I played through one with my strat and I was sold.


Tube clean will have a slight breakup that is controllable with picking dynamics. Play soft, it sounds sweet. Dig in, it snarls a bit. It's a really 3-d textured sound that figures prominently in rock and blues. Once you recognize it, you'll hear it everywhere.

Exactly how I'd put it. I'm almost 100% certain that a lot of the clean you hear on Metallica's albums are recorded with a JC120. One guy at gearslutz claimed he was a stage hand and that was their clean amp, a fellow engineer of mine claimed it what they used in all their recordings, and you can also see it a few times during the recording sessions on some kind of monster. That's almost enough varification to convince me it's true. I also have a good friend that owns one and I offer to buy it from him everytime I see him, stellar cleans.

[jonnyc]

Originally Posted by VSpaceBoy

I be honest with you, I've never heard a Fender Solid state that I've liked at all.. or a Fender acoustic guitar for that matter.

It's so weird you say that because I just had some kids come in to record an acoustic song a couple weeks ago and one had a nice looking fender(claimed it was almost $500) the other had a Rougue acoustic electric that I know for a fact is about $120. The Rougue honestly sounded so much nicer, much more full. I'd honestly like to have one for the studio now.

[Anfontan]

Originally Posted by VSpaceBoy

I be honest with you, I've never heard a Fender Solid state that I've liked at all.. or a Fender acoustic guitar for that matter. (IME!!)

Now, I've owned for years and LOVED Fender Strats, and played on many a Fender tube amp that I loved the cleans on. But again, these are just MY experiances..

These days I've settled (satisfied) on a Laney tube amp for cleans AND dirties. Perfect Fenderish cleans, and an awesome mix between Mesa and Marshall on the dirt.. woot

I agree, Fender does the solidbody bolt-on electric thing exceptionally-but the acoustics they build are lacking. I just hope this doesn't cause problems with the great Guild acoustics, which Fender owns now if I recall correctly....

I have a SS Fender Deluxe 85 that has a really fine clean tone to it but distortion is just not too usable in it-it will barely do some classic rock stuff but nothing any more saturated than that! Needless to say-it doesn't get to many gigs that are rockers.

[Dani Pace]

I'm not exactly a "gear fanatic" but I am a bit of an "amp nut!" Over the years I've owned a number of Fender amps (still have 5) both tube and SS. Both types have their good gualities and all of them have proven to be durable and dependable (for me anyway.) The tube models do have a better gain chanel and the clean chanel seems to sustain better than SS, and at high volume have a better "natural" slur which works well on blusey songs. At low volume I find the differences are less noticeable, but when cranked up the sounds become distinctly different.
I've never been a big Fender guitar fan, although I have owned 3 Strats and currently have a Tele, all of which have been decent guitars (I think there is something about the feel of the body shape of a Strat that feels odd to me) and I have played a number of Fender acoustics. The acoustics have not impressed me, their sound has seemed thin or tinny, never quite the full bodied sound I like from an acoustic.

[Henry Mars]

One of the guys in my church band has had two Fender SS amps in the last 3 years. I don't like the sound of either one of them and they are very noise prone.
I use a Fender 25B for bass in this band, it isn't noisy but it does sound very flat. I have played worse. All in all when it comes to solid state amps my personal preference is Kustom.
That being said my main guitar amp is a YCV40WR Traynor. It is a killer for Jazz and classic rock .... there is simply no substitute for tubes.
I own Vox 50w SS modeling amp, it isn't bad, but I wish I would have bought the Kustom instead. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse on the VOX.

[jfrog]

Originally Posted by VSpaceBoy

I be honest with you, I've never heard a Fender Solid state that I've liked at all.. or a Fender acoustic guitar for that matter. (IME!!)

Now, I've owned for years and LOVED Fender Strats, and played on many a Fender tube amp that I loved the cleans on. But again, these are just MY experiances..

These days I've settled (satisfied) on a Laney tube amp for cleans AND dirties. Perfect Fenderish cleans, and an awesome mix between Mesa and Marshall on the dirt.. woot

What Laney are you using?

[VSpaceBoy]

SORRY to drag this thread OT

Originally Posted by jfrog

What Laney are you using?

I'm using a TT100H head, with an Avatar 2x12 loaded with Eminence Tonespotters. Has a great Master Volume, good effects loop, and 3 channels.

[jimistone]

A solid state amp can usually be made to sound good with some tweaking. It's hard to make a fender tube amp sound bad.

I love the fender tube amp sound on clean guitar.

[IronFlippy]

If you try to play metal on a Fender SS (well, most of them), you're gonna get crap. It's designed for a completely different sound. Any type of grungey overdrive sounds awesome through it though, from a blues overdrive to any of those "indie" bands. And naturally, it has a great clean sound. On the other hand, I can't find a decent tone on a peavey SS to save my life.

[jonnyc]

Originally Posted by IronFlippy

If you try to play metal on a Fender SS (well, most of them), you're gonna get crap. It's designed for a completely different sound. Any type of grungey overdrive sounds awesome through it though, from a blues overdrive to any of those "indie" bands. And naturally, it has a great clean sound. On the other hand, I can't find a decent tone on a peavey SS to save my life.

I tried recording a Nirvana wannabe band with a fender ss amp and it still kind of sucked balls. But he also liked cranking the gain to 10 and then running an overdrive thru it at 10 as well. I pleaded with him to let me "fix" his tone but he refused.

[TelePaul]

Originally Posted by jonnyc

I tried recording a Nirvana wannabe band with a fender ss amp and it still kind of sucked balls. But he also liked cranking the gain to 10 and then running an overdrive thru it at 10 as well. I pleaded with him to let me "fix" his tone but he refused.

Haha. I hate 'noise' as a tone.

[jonnyc]

Originally Posted by TelePaul

Haha. I hate 'noise' as a tone.

Yep, it was pretty much bzzzzsssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh with absolutely no dynamics or discernable change in notes. Then they proceeded to tell everyone how horrible of an engineer I was.

[andyhix]

The only two amps I have any personal experience with are the Fender ultimate Chorus (my first amp that I've since sold), and my current Hot Rod Deluxe. I actually had an easier time getting a nice creamy smooth clean tone from my SS, than I do with the Tube. I sort of miss it sometimes. And I really loved the chorus sound on it (helped to achieve that creamy clean sound). Overdrive? No Question, the Tube wins hands down.