My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Make it loud here.
Post Reply
User avatar
bah humbuck
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2018 6:38 am
Location: seattle-ish

My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by bah humbuck » Mon Oct 14, 2019 7:50 am

My amp was stolen from the studio I was storing it at. I was already growing a little tired of the standard Fender tone and now the decision to explore different pastures has been made for me as the most I can afford to put towards replacing it is about $200.

This amp will most likely be run in parallel with a bass amp of some kind, but I would like it to have enough bottom end to hold its own in any case. I’ve been looking at some of the stereo Peavey SS combos from the 80s since generally Peavey shit seems to be well-built and affordable, but I thought I’d check in here to see if I’m overlooking some other obvious choice.

User avatar
Kent
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 741
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 2:56 am
Location: Vienna, Austria
Contact:

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by Kent » Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:25 am

We'd need more information as to what kind of tone and amount of distortion you are looking for. However, without that, I can suggest the Peavey Deuce and any of the tweed covered units. There are some with 15" speakers too.

Crate GTX and VTX amps are incredibly versatile, reliable and sound really good. Ignore the brand names and the fact that they are solid state. The combo VTX200 is a favorite of mine although rather heavy due to the linear transformers. It is a stellar amp.

User avatar
marqueemoon
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 7344
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 9:37 pm
Location: Seattle

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by marqueemoon » Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:35 am

How about a Fender Frontman 2x12?

I think the older ones have an actual spring tank whereas the newer ones don’t, but I could be wrong.

User avatar
spiffy chap
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1107
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 12:42 am
Contact:

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by spiffy chap » Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:48 am

Yamaha G100 is one of the best, cheapest amps you’ll be able to find for $200

User avatar
jorri
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3036
Joined: Thu May 07, 2009 1:53 am
Location: bath, UK
Contact:

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by jorri » Mon Oct 14, 2019 10:19 am

The peavey ss are good. The "stereo chorus" is a JC-120 killer, but some called similar names are maybe a bit run of the mill but reasonably favoured for metal (because they are clean with low end).
So is the also mentioned yamaha g100. I have the "fifty" but heard great things about all of these. Particularly the head having tons of headroom and heaviness available.
Carlsboro Stingray super, the very first ones not later incarnations, is my main amp, although its a bit quirkier.
Ampeg SS140c i have also heard about.

They are all in the same ballpark of 'jazz chorus' of which many imitations go for under 1/4 the price of an actual jc120 new, if you look hard enough.. Fender did a princeton chorus too...

User avatar
Embenny
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 10363
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 5:07 am

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by Embenny » Mon Oct 14, 2019 10:54 am

A used Fender Mustang III or IV could fit the bill nicely. The clean tones available are actually excellent; I'd rate the clean tones and Reverb an easy 9/10 at the price point. Way more touch responsive than the old SS amps in the price bracket. The III is 100 watts and 1x12". The IV is 150 watts and 2x12". Both can be had under $200 USD used, and they're quite common. Go for the "V2" if you can, it has some minor upgrades.

They're light, well-built, more versatile and more touch-responsive than anything you'll find at that price point. I just don't like their gain models above "bluesy grit" levels. But if you were using a Fender amp before, I'm willing to bet you were using pedals for higher gain anyway, and the amps take gain pedals well.

The Mustang V is a 150-watt head, if that form factor makes sense to you.

I used a Mustang amp (and then pedal) for a few years before I bought my Kemper, and I gotta say it blew away anything else I played at the price point. It has a lot more features than I wanted or needed (some of the effects and all of the high gain models were super meh) but the power, low-medium gain tones, and reverb were superb for the price. Had some decent delays and serviceable modulation effects too. The XLR DI output was also very good quality for running to a PA or recording.

The V1 models can have an issue with a quiet, "fizzy" tone underlying clean tones, but the V2 models totally fixed that. I'd be shocked if you couldn't find one to try locally, and they can be found for particularly good deals with some luck or patience (I've seen people selling them along with a Squier guitar as a package for like $200).
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

User avatar
Danley
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2103
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 11:46 am
Location: California Republic

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by Danley » Mon Oct 14, 2019 1:06 pm

What did OP originally have? Will take a moment to comment on the Mustang amp; my guitar teacher has a Mustang 12" combo for student use; I can't say I've ever gotten a good sound out of it, but I've only ever spent max. two minutes in a row messing with the knobs before lessons. No clue if it's V1 or V2 .

It typically has some different model selected each time but there's a weird commonality that it always has a very boomy (yet not rich/broad) bass that needs to be dialed way back (speaker?) I also seem to miss having a mid-range to tweak, but that's probably only because I always feel like there's something else I need to play with to get it to sound good at all. For lessons my teacher plays through a Frontman 65 (and he acknowledges the Frontman actually sounds better.) My understanding is they work better if you get into the software?

Personally I would look at digital solutions first at that budget (laptop/PA.) Then save up for whatever really speaks to you :) Hope the amp returns, theft sucks.
King Buzzo: I love when people come up to me and say “Your guitar sound was better on Stoner Witch, when you used a Les Paul. “...I used a Fender Mustang reissue on that, dumbass!

User avatar
MattK
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3569
Joined: Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Hobart, Australia

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by MattK » Tue Oct 15, 2019 3:39 am

I had a 1972 Fender Twin, which I liked, and then bought a $200 clone of a Peavey Classic 30, which I liked even more, so I sold the Twin. The Classic 30 has 2 x EL34 so it gets plenty loud, but it has lots of grit and drive when you want it, at room volumes instead of wall-shattering volumes. It's a great amp. So I recommend a Peavey Classic 30.

User avatar
Embenny
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 10363
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 5:07 am

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by Embenny » Tue Oct 15, 2019 6:04 am

Danley wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 1:06 pm
What did OP originally have? Will take a moment to comment on the Mustang amp; my guitar teacher has a Mustang 12" combo for student use...

...there's a weird commonality that it always has a very boomy (yet not rich/broad) bass that needs to be dialed way back (speaker?)...

... My understanding is they work better if you get into the software?
Totally correct on all counts. Its stock speaker and cabinet interacts especially weirdly with the boundary effect when placed near a wall. I found that angling it back on a simple stand and getting it away from the wall made a huge difference, as did some deeper editing. Once I had my patches dialed in, it was great. The stock patches left a lot to be desired - but that's been my experience with literally every piece of digital/modeling gear I've ever owned. They take some tweaking, but the reward is there once you do so. Really, it was just an hour or two of getting to know it, so it's not unreasonable (I've had tube amps that took just as long to tweak due to troublesome frequencies or interactions with pedals).

I've run both a Mustang amp and Mustang pedal (equivalent to the amp minus the power section) through other cabs/speakers and they were great. With the stock cab/speaker, a simple kickstand does wonders too.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

User avatar
Larsongs
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2414
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:39 pm

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by Larsongs » Tue Oct 15, 2019 8:07 am

How about asking the Studio to either replace your Amp or give the money to replace it? It was in their keep..

User avatar
bah humbuck
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2018 6:38 am
Location: seattle-ish

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by bah humbuck » Thu Nov 28, 2019 1:58 pm

Hi everyone. My apologies for the late reply - I got sidetracked by the tornado that is life, but a few days ago I managed to misalign a vertebra or two and am stuck in bed for a while. Let me tell you, counting the knots in the ceiling beams makes a guy start to give up on life around the second or third day, so here I am to finish what I started!

Thank you all for the many suggestions. I took the opportunity to go way the fuck into the void and read about the pros and cons of each some time ago, and decided to wait until after Christmas to make a final decision. But as it happens, a good pal of mine (and fellow preacher of the Peavey gospel) is moving to The Big City this weekend and blessed me with a Peavey Special 130 for the paltry sum of $100! Scorpion speaker and all. 130 watts of SS goodness, which I imagine will be more than enough for my purposes - although if it somehow isn’t, or I want to bless the Martians with some gazey vibrations, I am told I can use this amp as a head and run it into my 4x12 cabinet. This amp has the Saturation circuit, which it seems has somewhat of a love/hate reputation but to my ears is one of the better distorted sounds I have heard - at least for what I’m doing.

I have yet to pick it up, but when I do I will check back in with a more hands-on review. But I wanted to take this opportunity to say that this year I am thankful to once more have a squall-amplification box of my very own!

User avatar
somanytoys
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 3325
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2017 1:59 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by somanytoys » Fri Nov 29, 2019 1:07 pm

Kent wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:25 am
Crate GTX and VTX amps are incredibly versatile, reliable and sound really good. Ignore the brand names and the fact that they are solid state. The combo VTX200 is a favorite of mine although rather heavy due to the linear transformers. It is a stellar amp.
I haven’t played any of their guitar amps, but a bass player that played in another band that practiced in the same space bought one for bass, and when I played my bass through it I was seriously impressed with its sound and volume, especially for its size.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

User avatar
secretroutines
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 111
Joined: Sat Jul 25, 2015 12:09 pm

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by secretroutines » Tue Dec 03, 2019 6:11 am

Boss Katana - I've been eyeballing one for at home/not-in-the-mood-to-set-everything-up playing. Tried one out and loved it, just waiting on my local shop to get a mk ii.

User avatar
dadsoda
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 70
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2018 3:11 pm
Location: Phoenix

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by dadsoda » Tue Dec 03, 2019 3:43 pm

If you want to replace it quick without saving up you could get one on Zzounds and pay monthly! Sorry for your loss :(

User avatar
Larsongs
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2414
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:39 pm

Re: My Fender amp was stolen. Now what?

Post by Larsongs » Wed Dec 04, 2019 11:59 am

A 130 Watt SS Amp is equivalent to a 20-30 Watt Tube Amp.. Should be plenty loud for most applications... Great it worked out for you...

Post Reply