Fender '57 Twin Amp Reissue 212 Combo

I submitted a review on 03/10/2006 and rated 10 for Reliability. Well, I was completely wrong. Three months later the amp has dropped completely out. I took it to the seller and they had it for a couple of weeks. Apparently they found a cold solder joint and fixed it. Coming back home the amp dropped out again five minutes later and I have had to carry it back again to the seller store. Three weeks later tey have not found were the problem is.

The 57 Twin is 100% Fender? for the best and for the worst. I wonder why Fender engineer think that their control quality has to be implemented by customers.

They are not able to fix the problem.

Well, if you want a shredding, hi-gain multi function thingmajigwhatsit look elsewhere.

However, if you want to best tone I have ever heard in any amp (and I''ve owned everything from Vintage AC30's to Soldano's) then THIS is the bad boy. Unbelievable.

One point worth making is the tone pots are incredibly usable and versatile, even though there ain't many of them. Also well worth playing around with the 4 inputs as each gives a slightly different voicing.

In a class of its own. If you want Clapton, Gilmour and hendrix tone (and who doesn't?) all rolled into one then this is the kiddie. It distrorts and compresses like you would not believe, but as it does so the string speration is absolutely perfect. (Think 'Badge' arpeggios).

I use a 56 strat, a 71 strat and a Les Paul and the amp picks up the tonal qualites of the guitar.

I am running a large pedal board (Carl Martin Quattro, TC CHorus, DD3, Rat, TS808, Big Muff and Whammy) and there is not the hint of hum

Use the rat and you have instant Clapton lead, use the Muff and some analouge delay (and importantly a spacey chorus) and you really really do have Comfortably Numb, the tone I have searched for for 20 years. It is absolutely there for you, you just have to go and find it.

Only words of caution, the seperation is so good if you want bell like sounds, your ears will ring for an hour afterwards. And, forget playing at low bedroom volumes. There are none. And, forget digital fx into the front end....the Twin abores them as nature abores a vacuum, and rightly so too.

Well it hasn't bust yet.

Haven't used it, but hey it's Fender. So they will be useless.

You know, I've been playing 20 years and play in two bands, one original stuff, one covers. This is the amp. It is tonally perfect, has the distortion that angels would use and looks perfect. And, it smells like a 57 amp should... I go into my little home studio and it smells as if I walked into a 1957 recording booth. Also, Fender at last have replicated the old Shellac Tweed finish.

My other gear:-

56 Blonde Strat
71 Sunburst Strat
Levinson blade
59 LP Reissue
Lowden LSE1

Amps:-
Marshall 30th Anni (now for sale!) and JFX 1

FX for Twin...as above.

Go and buy one. It is totally neccesary.

Standard features...extremely simple. The only feature here is great tone.

This amp is simply the best sounding amp I've ever played and I've owned about 10 different tube amps over the years and this one is it. It will work great for everything, but metal...I highly doubt any metal players will be reading this. The clean tone is absolutely beautiful...well balanced, rich, darn close to perfect. With a tube screamer in front you get a great rock n roll sound...think the black crowes. My main guitar is an Fender American Ash Strat Deluxe and with its noiseless pickups the amp is extremely quite. I use an SG for slide and it sounded unbeleivably good through this amp. This amp was worth every penny I paid for it. Everyone who hears it is blown away.

The best part about this amp is that at 40 watts it doesn't get too loud. Make no mistake this amp has a very large sound and projects very well.

Best $1,600 I've ever spent.

This thing is built like a tank and I've never had problems with any Fenders before.

If you want great tone buy this amp. I've owned a Peavy Classic 30, Fender Deluxe Reverb, Fender Super Reverb, Music Man...etc. This amp is it.

This amp is mid-1950's technology. The tone stack isn't as good as that of the 1958-60 Twin model. But you can still dial in sounds from mellow jazz to bright chicken picking. Setting the bass control on full acts as a midrange cut.

To my ears the amp has something of a "beauty and the beast" quality: I loved its clean sound but hated its distortion.

I found the clean tones to be *exquisite* with a well balanced spectrum of lows, creamy mids, and sparkling highs. The Twin produces a really thick and warm sound. Its midrange gives it a better sonic definition than the tweed Bassman.

However, the amp doesn't have as much headroom as I'd like. The natural tube distortion starts at around 3 or 4 on the volume knob. Of course this depends on several factors such as your guitar's pickup output, preamp tube strength, and tone stack settings. Converting to original spec 12AY7 tubes will hold back some of the clipping. Nevertheless I felt like I was trying to play below the cloud cover of the Twin's grind.

Simply put: I hated the way the tube distortion sounded. I used a Weber MASS attenuator. I was expecting to hear the vaunted tones of saturated tubes. Instead, I got a distortion that sounded like garbage: fizzy, snarly, brittle, trebley. The amp's split-load inverter adds preamp clipping from the V4B triode which I don't prefer. It's impossible to avoid this triode distortion whenever the amp is cranked. This is an inherent feature of the Twin's 5E8-A circuit.

Looks solidly built. The hand-wired circuit should be easy to repair if needed. The amp has no fancy integrated chips or micro circuits. Simplicity is a virtue.

The amp comes with a 5-year warranty. I've heard Fender takes extra care of their Custom Shop customers.

The '57 Twin is an excellent reproduction of a 1950's amplifier. If this is what you like, then it might be your "Holy Grail." But if you're looking for something else, then look elsewhere. This amp is what it is. Let your own ears decide.

People's taste in distortion is a very personal thing. Many blues players like the reedy distortion of tweed amps. But for myself, I like the ballsy timber of Marshall overdrive. I wish the Twin had a deeper tenor to its grind. I was so disappointed with the distortion that I returned the amp.

No features...that's why I like it. Read other reviews for a compete overview of the features. Mine is very slightly used. I think mine is a 2004 model. I really like the Weber/Eminence speakers. No need to replace these.

I use an American Deluxe Strat with SCN pickups. I use a Dunlop Wah, a Tube Screamer, and sometimes my MXR Phase 90. I did buy a reverb pedal for this amp since there is no reverb. It's an old school amp. I will, when I can afford it, get a Fender reverb unit. The sound that comes out of this amp is just beautiful. I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for". In this case, you get what you pay for...and I paid a lot. The amp sounds great in any setting with any guitar. OUTSTANDING highs, nice growling lows...I am in love with this amp. It's great for blues and rock. It's nice and clean until you turn it up. At full volume you get nice, tight distortion. My Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue (which I also love) gets a little "farty" at high volumes. The Twin does not. If you can afford it, buy this amp.

Not an issue. I doubt that it will be. It's a hand-made, hand-wired amp. For the money, it better not crap out on me. I always take care of my gear. I rarely have problems.

Not an issue. However, if you have problems, DO NOT CALL FENDER. Call your nearest Fender dealer. The Fender Company does not do repairs. They manufacture and sell things.

I love this amp. I hate nothing about it. This amp kicks ass. It's pure Fender tube heaven...an AMAZING amp. Nice work Fender.

P.S. I didn't mention that the amp looks great as well. I love the laquered tweed.

Features listed in other reviews, no need to recap that. But was impressed by the fact that I don't miss a "middle" tone knob. The 5E8-A circuit's got that covered. Just turn the treble and bass to taste and you've got instant tone golden-ness. The 12" Eminence speakers as designed by Ted Weber are all they are advertised as. No need to switch these out.

I use mostly a '50s reissue Strat (MIM). I play mostly guitar pop and some blues and alt.country. It's only noisy when I have an A/B box and am splitting the signal to '65 DRRI. And I'm sure that's a grounding issue, not this amp's issue, as it's quiet when I don't have the A/B box going. I have pulled the first 3 12ax7 preamp tubes and have replaced them with NOS 12ay7's. I like having an amp I can play at 6 and 7 and not be yelled at for being too loud in a band setting. And it's a warm breakup that starts around 5-ish on the volume knob and only when I play hard. It really doesn't get that bluesy overdrive till about 7. I bridge the normal and bright channels by the way, with a Y splitter. I usually have the normal channel about 1 notch lower than the bright channel. Bass around 6, treble around 6. Presence around 4 or less.

No problem thus far, but with my past Fender amps, I've had very little issues as well. And this one's hand built and wired, so I imagine it's more rugged.

N/A, never had to call Fender.

If stolen, I'd file an insurance claim immediately. It's my prized amp. I have some others I love, like a reissue Vox AC-15 and a '65 DRRI, but this is the king at my house. I'd find a way to get another.

I bought this amp. new in January 2006. Others reviewers have perfectly detailed its technical characteristics.

I bought this amp. new in January 2006. Others reviewers have perfectly detailed technical characteristics.

This is a typical Fender amp. that is to say basically it delivers clean sounds. In this particular case this amp. is a 57 reissue. By that time Fender as well as other manufacturers were obsessed by getting more powerful and cleaner amps because guitarists were fed up by the poor law wattage and easy to distort amps of that time.
Don?t try to find in this amp. good distortions. It has not been conceived for that. I thing that everybody knows that Fender produce basicaly clean amps. In fact in my opinion they are the best in this kind of sounds. I?ve compared the 57 Twin with my Fender Deluxe Reverb and Blues Deluxe (equipped with Celestion Vintage 30) as well as with the clean channels of my Mesa Boogie Triaxis (powered by a 20/20 and a couple of Celestion Blue Alnico), Formula, Maverick and Soldano Astroverb. The sound of the 57 Twin is cleaner and more defined that its Fender siblings and much more consistent than the Mesa and Soldano. The very high notes sound very thick whilst the low ones sound accurate and precise. I?ve tested the amp. with my five Strats, one Tele, a couple of LP Standard, Gibson 335, Godin LGX and a Ibanez Artist. Every guitar sounded beautiful and warm. The 57 Twin is extremely respectful with every guitar. It doesn?t transform or alter the natural sound of each one. Every shade is maintained intact.

By the way I can?t understand one of the reviewers of this model who has said that it is too clean and rate it 5. It is not reasonable. Fender amps are mainly made for clean sounds and the 57 Twin is one of the cleanest between the Fender range. If someone is looking for dirty sounds he shouldn?t have bought this model and if he has made a big mistake and paid $2000 for the wrong amp. he shouldn?t take a revenge rating it low. The low rate should be for him.

Perfect so far.

Fortunately I don?t know. The warranty in Europe is one year except for the tubes.

I?ve been playing for more than 40 years as professional guitarist. If my 57 Twin were stolen or lost I?ll buy it again (if I had the money obviously).

The only comparison I could make is with other Fender high level amps.

The amp is 2004-05 don't know for sure for my style which is blue some Jazz it's perfect. wo channel's not a lot of bells but just what I need. To much is not always better. Other reviews have listed most of the features.

Clean sounds are awesome I mean the best. I went looking for a hand wired amp and took alook at a couple of amps Victoria 45410 and bluesbreaker the twin won out. My les paul, strat and archtop all sound amazing. (And let me say that you soulhn't rate something that you really havn't gave achance to breakin atleast a couple of day's to play on it for a couple of hours in a guitar center then put it down really is not fair to this great amp). This amp does what is was made to do play CLEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So far so good no problem's It's built well.

Never had to call them

I've been playing for 7 years and have owned a number of amps, mostly Fenders vintage amps 59 bassmans RI's, two- 64 bandmasters, 66 showman, 67 bassman, gibson goldtone ect..... This 57 Twin there's nothing I hate, it's clean, it's well made no flaw's that I've seen yet but as I said I compared side by side with the Victoria 45410 and the bluebreaker the victoria sounded muddy while the bluesbreaker sounded the same I don't care for greenbacks. There nothing else to say the amp is very very nice. AND AGAIN GIVE THE AMP A REAL; TEST RIDE BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO PUT IT DOWN (IT TAKES ATLEAST 100 HR OF PLAYING BEFORE NEW SPEAKERs BREAKIN FOR GOODNESS SAKE)

i played this amp at a local guitar center today and it was ok not fitting my likings.has presence bass treble normal and bright volumes. its a very loud amp.

i was using a clapton strat with it because it was said that he used one. in order to get his sound you have to turn the boost on the guitar up and turn the volume to ten but who plays at 10 always. the volume shiukd be at 2-3 for loud crunchy sound. on his amp you have to turn the volume to 12 on the amp and turn ur (clapton strat only works) up to 8-9 for crunchy good stuff..but thats the problem with this amp.it is toooooo clean for my ears.if you want the sound of sunshine of your love and you dont mind having ur guitar on 10 the whole times go a head and by the amp..but its too clean

i would be able to depend on it .. but i was just testing it today at manhattan guitar center

ive dealt with fender and they keep u on hold forever but when they pick up they answer ur every problem

ive been playing 11 years and i own a laney hcm15r and it is a small loud great sounding amp..i play a clapton strat through it and use a vox wah 847 its awesome.. if anything i wish ..the 57 tin would have a gain and crunch knob so you dont have to blast the guitar the whole time. i hate using overdrive pedals!!

It has next to none which is a beautiful thing. People get gear and sound happy, they fiddle with knobs all throughout a show as there ears change and eventually, everything turns up and sounds worse and worse. These gear heads also end up listing everything they own and all mods and what they had for breakfast in these reviews, guess what, I dont give a sweet ass if you run a banjo through it, is this amp great? YES, the only question asked of you is what guitar and pickup do you use? pick one and go with it! but thanks for the inventory. Sorry, back to features........it basically lets what you put through it to sound true. The features are all any heavy player or simple player could ever want. With less, there is less to muck with and as well, go wrong.

As mentioned above, this amp sounds true to what you send through it. Crap into great just makes crap louder, however, it will not make you a better player either, it will however help you hear what you are doing so you may improve with practice. This is a true tube hand wired 40 and it really sounds very close ( after it has been broken in and even dropped at leat once ) to it's vintage father. Now I am no accountant but, 2,500 is lower than 12-grand by 9,500, point? I have 9,500$'s to enjoy other things in life as the front house tech is going to mix this thing as he or she see's fit any way, I just need it to be durable, reliable and sound good. I have heard 15thousand dollar boutiqe amps mixed down to the crap sound of a practice amp from Wallmart. Just be happy with what you send and try not to keep food out of your kids mouth to do so. If you want to colour this thing, use a pedal!, it likes most pedals, pedals are affordable too.

So far, it is a tank and wants to be treated like a travelling, touring amp! Shooter stains and all. Now I am not saying throw it down the Commadore Ballroom's rear stairwell, but I am saying it needs to be played to give it life. Put it behind a sneeze guard and handle it with protective gloves and it will respond like a baby, just let it grow up and listen to it open up.
Fender has an issue with getting back to people so I would reccomend getting this amp through a great store and let them deal with any bullshit if any.

Poop from fender, amazing from L&M.

I will summerize with " This amp is worth it if you are a full time musician " If you live to record or perform shows and you want reliable, not too heavy, easy fix if need be and truely great sound, this is the amp. By all means spend more on a Matcless or Hiwatt for twice the $, heck, it is your money. personally I am stretched as a full time player but this amp is really worth the small used car total. If you are a part time player, perhaps learning and or just gets together with the boys for beers and noise once and a while, buy a Hot Rod of some sort for alot less, they will do the trick.
My friend does have a real 57 and it does sound a bit better because it has had a life, it's like people I guess. He also plays better anyway.