Fender Super-Sonics?

[BarnyardCoral]

I've never owned one, but I played a Supersonic 60 in a backline once and was really into it. I used the gain channel up at a healthy volume with an SD Booster in front and it sounded wonderful. Nice spongy rockin' sound that cleaned up great with the volume knob, and with the boost it went over the top quite pleasingly.

As with any amp, I'd say use your ears before you use anything else. Amps that are beloved may not be the sound you're after, and amps that people scoff at might be exactly what you are into. I can't imagine Jack White gravitated towards the Silvertones based on their reliability. Find the sound, and then figure out what you gotta do to keep it running. Just my 2 cents.

The reliability question is more because I've had amps I love die, and I'd like to avoid it again. It's not so much a “how do they sound” as a “are they a headache” question. I pretty much can get what I like from any amp that does a Fender-y clean or even a Vox clean, but I want that and a few other things. So it's more narrowing down amps that have the feature set I want and are reliable. I don't want another Egnater scenario where it goes from “this thing rules” to “this thing is dead” because it's just more hassle than I have time for to deal with QC flaws that can be vetted.

What exactly are you looking for in an amp?

[secretroutines]

Deleted - Why did my response post twice? Because I'm terrible about hitting the wrong options.

[secretroutines]

What exactly are you looking for in an amp?

Fender-y cleans, onboard reverb (I could live without this, but I love a real spring reverb), gain channel (must be footswitchable), and a fx loop. Not too much power, around 20-40 watts, power scaling or a decent enough DI would be a huge plus. I want to be able to run my board into an amp and do what I do, I just would like an option for a more traditional drive sound that I can have set in my switcher.

[BarnyardCoral]

What exactly are you looking for in an amp?

Fender-y cleans, onboard reverb (I could live without this, but I love a real spring reverb), gain channel (must be footswitchable), and a fx loop. Not too much power, around 20-40 watts, power scaling or a decent enough DI would be a huge plus. I want to be able to run my board into an amp and do what I do, I just would like an option for a more traditional drive sound that I can have set in my switcher.

I think there's quite a few Mesas that fit those parameters too. F-30s can be found for (dare I say it) cheap these days on Reverb and they're pretty highly regarded from what I can tell.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... od.945830/

[secretroutines]

I think there's quite a few Mesas that fit those parameters too. F-30s can be found for (dare I say it) cheap these days on Reverb and they're pretty highly regarded from what I can tell.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... od.945830/

Hahaha I've actually been considering those exact Mesas! They seem like a solid choice, I've been searching for a good demo of the gain channel, but I would agree they are relatively cheap considering the price of most Mesas. I've also been looking at the Transatlantics too.

[stevejamsecono]

I think there's quite a few Mesas that fit those parameters too. F-30s can be found for (dare I say it) cheap these days on Reverb and they're pretty highly regarded from what I can tell.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index ... od.945830/

Hahaha I've actually been considering those exact Mesas! They seem like a solid choice, I've been searching for a good demo of the gain channel, but I would agree they are relatively cheap considering the price of most Mesas. I've also been looking at the Transatlantics too.

Also can speak solidly on the Mesa F-series and Mesas in general. I had an F50 that was great, and I have a Mini Recto right now and love it. YMMV and I only use the clean/pushed channel, but it sounds awesome.

[secretroutines]

Also can speak solidly on the Mesa F-series and Mesas in general. I had an F50 that was great, and I have a Mini Recto right now and love it. YMMV and I only use the clean/pushed channel, but it sounds awesome.

Awesome because since my original post Mesas have become more serious contenders. I still really love Super-Sonics, but I'm not dropping a grand on something that pops when you switch channels. What are your thoughts on the gain channel? Does it run too high gain or does it clean up enough for an application other than metal?

[stevejamsecono]

Also can speak solidly on the Mesa F-series and Mesas in general. I had an F50 that was great, and I have a Mini Recto right now and love it. YMMV and I only use the clean/pushed channel, but it sounds awesome.

Awesome because since my original post Mesas have become more serious contenders. I still really love Super-Sonics, but I'm not dropping a grand on something that pops when you switch channels. What are your thoughts on the gain channel? Does it run too high gain or does it clean up enough for an application other than metal?

I guess it depends on your definition of "high gain"? I got into Mesas because of Mick Jones from the Clash (circa-London Calling and beyond), and happily found that sound in both the F-50 and the Mini Recto. You can definitely crank the gain control on either (or in the case of the Recto, on either the Vintage or Extreme mode) and get all the like.. late 90s/early 2000s pop punk/metal sounds, but there's just as many good sounds earlier in the dial if you're willing to explore and mess with the EQ. Mesa's are known for taking a bit to dial in, but once you do it, it's worth it imo.

Also fwiw I don't use channel switching on the Recto because of a pop/delay on it (I also use my volume knob for cleans, so no real need), but from my understanding/memory the F-50 didn't really have this problem.

[infrared72]

I had the super sonic 22 combo and really enjoyed it whether running straight in without pedals, or running the clean channel with my full pedal board. The Clean channel is quite nice with a fat mid boost. The drive channel was also quite nice with the cascading gain controls it could get really crunchy. 22 watts never seemed like a lot, but it was loud enough to cut with a bass player and loud drummer in a band situation. My ss 22 also put up with abuse from my baritone guitar as well, so any guitar amp that can deal with that gets points in my book. I loved the straight up sound of a fulltone ocd with a bit of delay in the background cranked through the ss22 along with my mesa 212 3/4 open back cabinet hooked up. It really nailed a late 70's classic Rush guitar tone that I miss now.

I didn't find the reverb or the amp to be noisy as some have experienced. There was a popping issue when channel switching that was a bit annoying. I worked around that by just using my pedal board with the clean channel. I sold the amp and a ton of other gear in preparation for a relocation last year. I may get another ss 22 in an amp head version.

[Larsongs]

We have Guest Guitar Players sit in with us. Live & Recording.. One uses a Super Sonic.. It always sounds like way too loud & way too much over Affected Sound going on... Plus he's the guy Guy with the biggest Pedal Board. His fiddling with everything on every song gets annoying & most often to the point of distracting from the overall Bands Sound..

It may be the Individual but often More isn't More. Less is More..