Fender solidstates all bad?..

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jouni
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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.
 
IronFlippy said:
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.
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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.
 
jonnyc said:
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.
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Haha. I hate 'noise' as a tone.
 
TelePaul said:
Haha. I hate 'noise' as a tone.
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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.
 
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.
 
jonnyc said:
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.
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Well, as you know, that's not quite the amp's fault. Any amp will sound like ass if the one using it sucks.
 
IronFlippy said:
Well, as you know, that's not quite the amp's fault. Any amp will sound like ass if the one using it sucks.
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Yeah, sometimes you just have to blame the amp to make the player feel better.
 
IronFlippy said:
Well, as you know, that's not quite the amp's fault. Any amp will sound like ass if the one using it sucks.
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YUP! And vice versa. Used to go slumming at this dirt ball blues joint in the projects of Kansas City, I was constantly amazed by the tone these guys got....... upon closer inspection, they all used the house amp which was a crappy fender solid state... Princeton Chorus?

As far as the clean tube sound vs. the clean SS sound, the best way to describe it is that the tube amp has a broader spectrum and a more bell like quality w/ overtones.

And speaking of JC120s, I love these rigs, would never have it as my primary amp, but have had a blast playing em over the years!
 
In my experience, the player, and the way the amp is set up have a huge effect on tone. Anything but the cheapest of fender's solid states can be made to sound usable. I mean their not a top end tube amp, but they will do the job. So even those solid states can sound good, so long as the person using it kjnows what they are doing.
 
Bondo said:
In my experience, the player, and the way the amp is set up have a huge effect on tone. Anything but the cheapest of fender's solid states can be made to sound usable.
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Unless you're talking about a Fender G-Dec. :rolleyes:

But I'd call it more of a toy than an amp.
 
As good as any solid state.... The Stage 100 is pretty good for solid state, I can't get used to it with the exception of a jazz chorus
 
Flamin Lip said:
YUP! And vice versa. Used to go slumming at this dirt ball blues joint in the projects of Kansas City, I was constantly amazed by the tone these guys got....... upon closer inspection, they all used the house amp which was a crappy fender solid state... Princeton Chorus?

!
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That's a good amp,as I said I have the Stereo Chorus.There's a gazzillon reviews on it at Harmony Central rating it as a good amp.I have a Super Champ and a Blues JR ,but the Princeton does some things better.
 
Supercreep said:
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.
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That was about the best description of the JC I've ever heard. You nailed it Creep!
 
even dimebag used solid state

i own an fender fm212r, for the money i think it is quite good, very loud.. 100w with 2x12 inch celestions... it is loud enough to be heard next to a marshall stack (mg100h or whatever it is)... so i give it credit for that... tonewise, cleans are good, i havnt heard much better for the price. AS i play alot of metal it could use just that little bit more gain but i am happy with the tone i have with it. its also worth mentioning that dimebag darrel (pantera) always preferred solid state amps. He had endorsements from krank and Randall, but still used their ss's.
 
Supercreep said:
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.
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Funny thing, here I find myself replying to another of your posts...I actually sold a JC-120 to get the Super Reverb. The JC was great, and dare I say it almost actually sounded like a tube amp....almost, but probably the greatest clean amp I've ever owned next to my Fender. I just love the Fender's cleans. I didn't sell the JC because I didn't like it, I sold it to get something smaller for lugging around. Somewhere in the process after parting with the JC I failed my mission, and ended up "needing" the SR and had to buy it. Still needing a small amp, still needing $$$ to get one.
 
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