Fender 112SE

I got this amp in the mid 90's for about $325 or $350. First and foremost, it is a powerful and loud sonic blaster. It features 2 Channels, tons of Watts, pedal for channel switching/reverb, Line In, and Effects Loop capabilities. No headphone jack, which is fine for me because this amp is meant to blast the room, not my inner ears. I've used this amp in the studio, live on stage, with and without a mic, and in my house. It has more than enough power in every situation. I usually don't turn the volume up past 2.

I usually play my Strats, equipped with humbuckers through the 112. I play heavy metal/hard rock, so it suits me perfectly. As stated before, it's loud. Although solid-state, the 112SE features "tube emulation" and does indeed sound like a tube amp. It has fooled several people. Before this, I played through an old Twin Reverb so moving to the 112 was a natural sounding transition. The clean is sound is good but the drive channel is awesome. It provides me with a thick, stone hard tone which can be further shaped with the handy Contour knob.

I've used this for the past 14 years with no major problems. The only time it failed was when I was running it into a 2X12 cabinet at a small outdoor festival and it shut down, but I think because my band was pulling too much power. The food stands lost power because of us too! Additionally, the only thing that ever "broke" was the plastic ring from one of the input jacks fell off and got lost. Other than that, nothing. I keep my equipment in good shape, anyway.

I've been playing for 16 years with all Fender Stratocasters, Fender amps and mostly Boss stompboxes. This amp is the backbone of my rig. When I first got it, my bandmate bought the same one and we had a wall of sound, with a Super Distortioned Strat and a Les Paul twin guitar attack. Godd amp. Enough said.

This amp is a small, but heavy, powerhouse. I've used it at many different venues and it always delivers a great sound. I use a Digitech Multi-Effects unit for "dirt" and a bit o slapback with it.

This amp can go from sweet to growl with a few simple turns of the knobs and is VERY loud. I use the clean channel only and an FX unit for the grit and other various tones. It's hard to believe that this isn't a tube amp. It replicates one very closely.

After seven months of 3 to 6 times using it weekly, it has not given me any problems at all. I feel I could drop it off a stage and it would still work (but I'm not going to try it !). Super reliable.

Never used them.....yet.

I've been playing since 1982 and have used Marshalls, Mesa Boogies and other tube Fenders, but I like this clean sound and the fact that it's virtually maintenance free. Just plug and play.

Easy to figure out, two channels. My first and only amp.

Clean channel can be a bit bass heavy, so i turn the bass down.

A resistor got loose and I had to solder it back in place.

It still works after 10 years

The Fender 112SE is not short on power. For the price of this amp, it can definitely deliver. There are plenty of controls to suit your every need.

When playing my Gretsch on the clear channel, the sound is absolutely amazing. It's exactly what one wants when they invest in a Fender amp. The only complaint that I can say is that the distortion (dirty) channel is not as fuzzy as I would have hoped when played with my solid body electric. It definitely cannot be confused for a Marshall. Also, it has a fairly loud annoying buzz.

Again, as probably experienced by other 112SE users, the power unit tends to overheat if left on for a hour or more. They should have been produced with a cooling fan to alleviate this problem.

Though only used on one occasion in regards to an over-heating problem, they were very helpful.

Though I mostly play for my own entertainment, I can truthfully say that this amp is powerful and LOUD enough to use for fairly large facilities. The tone is sharp and clear if that is what you are looking for. I have now replaced it with a Line 6 Duoverb, but the Fender is worth the coin I paid.

Not the most feature laden amplifier ever made that's for sure but it does what is was made to do and it has a clean channel and a high gain channel.

Clean is squeeky clean and the gain channel is all fender, rather surprising for a SS amp but this is certainly a well kept secret, one of the better SS amps I've tried. Basicall two volume settings; friggin loud and holy crap my ears are gonna implode.

So far so good.

Haven't needed them.

After owning this amplifier for a while now I think I'll keep it, it is a perfect compliment to my rig and great for practice even if it is kinda loud.

allready covered by the other postings

This is one of the best solid state amps I've ever heard. The clean channel is quite nice. The drive channel is allright. I tend to get closer to whatever sound I'm looking for with a good stompbox however. If i where just rating the drive channel sounds, I'd have to give it a 6. The external cab option open up a whole new pallet or sound shaping. You can pull the amp out of the original case and build a new box for it if you don't like the sound of the stock speaker. The speaker is the bulk of the wieght the amp. no point in lugging it around when as a head, it's very light and can power a 4x12 cab just fine.

I've had mine for over 10 years now. Never had a single problem with it and thats why I keep it around.

never delt with them

I bought this amp new forever ago. I would allways rather play a tube amp. However it's very nice to have a dependable solid state amp around that's gig worthy. I don't like many of the fender solid state combo's. this one stands up on it's own two feet though. As a solid state amp this is a very underrated gem. I keep it as my backup and sometimes pull it out for it's sounds as the clean sounds you can get our really quite nice.

This amp has all the features I really need, including an effects loop and an output for a speaker cab. The only thing I wish it had was a headphone jack as this amp is really too loud for practising at night.

I play a stock Jackson PS-2. I had never been a huge fan of fender amps until I owned this one. The clean tones of this amp are excellent even at higher volumes. Very warm and rich, surprisingly good for a solid state amp really. The drive channel gives a nice bluesy overdrive sound but it's not thick and heavy enough for the type of music I play (mostly metal). I mainly use the clean channel with a boss MT-2 and it makes a really thick distorted sound. This amp is LOUD. I never have needed higher than half volume and at that level the amp still sounds very clean. This amp is meant to be played loud.

I am not very hard on this amp, it doesn't get moved all that often and I am careful with it. That being said, I don't do anything to take care of it other than wipe the beer spills off of it. It has never let me down even once for the 5 years I've had it.

Never dealt with customer support at all so I won't give a rating. I do like how fender provides copies of the manual free for download on thier website though.

I also own a Fender Squire practise amp and it is total crap. In fact, that amp almost turned me off of fender products completely as it sounds aweful and breaks down all the time. I wouldn't have bought the 112se except that it was offered to me at an excellent price and it was in mint condition. Now there are not many combo amps taht I have tried I'd rather own.

There is nothing I hate about this amp. Until I can afford a Boogie dual rectifier, this is amp will serve me well.

This is my 3rd Fender 112SE and I just love them ! This is a true workhorse type of amp. I gig every weekend and it keeps on ticking ! It has all the features I need and the effects loop is a bonus !

I'm playing a Fender Stratocaster (1974) through it. I have 3 of these amps. One for rehearsal and 2 for gigs. You can't beat them for portability, plus loud and toneful ! Depending on the room, this amp can be tweaked to sound good anywhere. It's like a Twin Reverb without the heavy lifting !

This is VERY dependable. I've never had a problem with any of them.
Fender will probably do something to make them heavier, but I hope not !

I called Fender once for questions on the channel switching and they were more than polite and very knowledgeable about my situation !

On a scale of 1 to 10, I have to give this amp a 10 !!! This is a Twin Reverb without the extra speaker, extra wood, casters and tubes. You would never know there were NO tubes, as the amp just sings !

Fairly typical features for a workingman's solid-state combo amp. 100 watts into the combo's 12" speaker, 160 watts if you connect another 8-ohm cab (4-ohm total load).

I play a Carvin Bolt and Fender American Strat. I run the guitars through a Shure wireless, into a Boss GT-3 for mild effects and switch in/out of my Tube Screamer, then out into the 112SE on the clean channel. No, it's not a perfect tone...but it ain't bad at all! I dial the treble on 3, mids on 10 and bass on about 5 and I get tones usable for about 95% of what I play, mostly funky dance stuff and older rock. I don't generally use the Drive channel much, but it's still not bad either. It's a good bit thinner-sounding than the very full-toned clean channel, but still very usable and musical in many situations.

I actually had 2 of these. One fried at practice a few years ago...probably something simple like a resistor or op-amp. I took the amp out of the combo enclosure and dropped it off at an "electronics" repairman, who couldn't fix it. I guess he worked mostly on TV's, because he didn't have a clue about guitar amps. After that, I sidelined the carcass and forgot about it until one day when I wanted to take it to another repairman, but by then I'd lost all the knobs and most of the screws holding it together. My bad...the amp probably had a simple failure (the power section still worked fine), but now it was just closet junk. To Fender's credit, my other 112SE has NEVER had a problem and I've beaten the crap out of it for about 10 years.

This amp is a true beut. This beast is rated at 160watts, which is the biggest combo i've ever come arcoss. I've played a marjoity of the amps on the market, and this is one of the more impressive combos. The controls are neat. On the Clean channel there is Volume, Treble, Bass, Mid, and Mid Shift(which when selected gives a nice mid-scooped sounds). I run my 112SE thru a Marshall JCM 900 1960B 412 cab, and when you get up to around 5 or 6 on the volume knob, it starts to get dirty. Other than that its all good. One the drive channel there is Gain, Contour(which is great because it allows you to fine tune your own sound), Treble, Bass, and Volume. Let me tell you, you dont need to go any higher than 2 on the drive channel, its disgustingly loud, haha.

With my 112SE im using a '68 Gibson SG special, '99 Gibson Les Paul Classic, and a '97 fender strat. The Clean channel is not real versatile, but when you put a DOD Death Metal, or DOD Metal X, drive pedal to it, the sound is killer. The drive channel is where all the beuty comes in. With the strat, I turn the gain to about 4, and the volume to 1, and the volume on the guitar at about 3. With thsi you get a nice bluesy Steve Ray Vaugh type sound, its cool. With The Les Paul, I turn the gain to about 8, the contour about 8, the bass about 6, and the treble about 9, and I get a great Mesa Boogie type sound. It gives a truely nasty sound(and I mean that in a good way). With the SG, i get a loose cruchy sound, which is cool too, its all in what you like.

The only problem I've had with my stage112se, was the reverb. It just stopped working, well, I think someone dropped it somewhere, but I'm not sure, it kind of pissed me off, but you know what? I dont give a shit about reverb, if you want it bad enough, by a pedal.

never used, never will, when mine needs serviced(which has never happened), i will take it to my local dealer, they'll take care of YA.

I've been playing for 11 years, and i'm recording my solo album, and this amp is hanging in there. If you buy this you will never pass it up, actually its nearly too loud. Alongside of the Fender I play a Sovtek Mig60 60watt head thru a 212, and thats even loud. Trust me folks, 160 watts, it a rediculous amount of power. One thing is, when you have that much power, get a 412 cab, it makes your sound so much clearer. I just wish it had tubes. I think tubes would make this amp sounds great, but fear not, I know a trick. Any of you who are amp nuts like me, Run a tube head into this beast. I ran a marshall JCM 2000 TSL 100 head into this beast and the product was lethal. 260 watts of marshall/fender power. What much more can you ask for?

This was made in the mid 90's I think. The features are alright but it needs a headphone jack (like the 112 special edition I think). It's pretty versatile yet the gain/distortion is a bit wacky and bassy. The 2 channels are nice and the big old simple 2 button foot switch is nice. What is the midshift for. I hear no perceptible difference when I shift. I've used it live a lot and the power is, and I'm damning with faint praise, ample (pardon the pun). Loud Loud Loud.

With a strat, the sound can be a bit tinny, but if the reverb is down, it's ok. My Les Paul, when the settings and room are right, sound very big and brown. I got a foo fighters-like sound at one gig and wanted to stay hours after to play. Fat, toney, warm, and angry. Not noisy. Very mikeable. I find the switch from distortion to clean not easy. the clean is so bottom endy it sounds muddy. The distortion is ok at times (see above) yet is a bit split-personality and seems to have its own volition. I just use a cheapie distortion pedal (a rat) and it's ok. Minimal feedback and quite quiet and subdued.

Not reliable. In the shop as we speak. The board needs complete re-soldering and fizzes out every 3 or 4 months. Now the amp crackles when it's at about 2.5 distortion channel setting. I'd sell it if I could get anything for it. It's not neglect as I have a dust cover and never get it wet etc. Temperamental.

NA

When it's good, it's good, but I might sell it and get a more reliable, less moody amp.