Fender 75 Combo

I happened across my 75 Combo while talking to the husband of a friend of mine. He was using his as a Bike rest in his garage! ??200 later the get it resoldered and all the valves changed - and it is money well spent. I play Jazz/Funk through to metal and the boosts on the eq pots are superb. I only use the clean channel and run a ME-50 to it for the voicings. My only criticism would be the weight - it is ****ing heavy!

I use a heavily modded Pacifica Strat with SSH config. Changed the pups to Iron Gear, which are inexpensive but considerably better than the original Yams. This combined with the ME-50 gives some cristal clear sounds from the 75 and it is very, very loud. I have yet to wind it up enough for the clean channel to start breaking up and with animals for Bass and Drums, I do need it loud!
To be honest I rarely use the Boss anymore (apart from distortion variants), as the sound quality is rich enough without embelishment.

Haven't had it long enough to know, but heartened by other reviews.

Repair was easy enough by 'Sounds Great' in Manchester. I guess it isn't an overly complex beast

I have been playing for 20 years and this is the best amp I have ever played with. I have used a succession of Peaveys, which were all adequate for the job. I also use a Jackson Dinky and Aria ProII LP and the 75 has made them both come alive. It has made the Peaveys sound very dull and lifeless.

I would most definatley try and replace it if ever it was stolen.

I may have to put casters on it though ;o)

The 3 volumes drove me crazy.( It has Master, volume and lead knobs.) The reverd IS good. It IS very loud. With a distortion pedal you can really **** **** up!!!! The 15" speaker is bullet proof

The only good thing was the reverb clean sound. I recently saw a guy w/ one of these in a bar in san francisco. The tyhing was loud and schrill. None of the fender tone we all love. This unit may have had old tubes or whatever but I gotta say it was not aging gracefully.

It allways turned on

I just sold mine to a guy who had suffered a theft. It is a tube fender combo you can find cheap. I used to add a second 15" speaker cab which seemed to soak up some of the power and made it sound better. try it.
.this is in fact a blackfaced fender amp but it sure is not a superstar like you would think. But it has a normal price and looks very cool. Weighs a ton!

What I do with my 75 combo with the chrome dome 12 inch speaker is run into the clean channel with an older Tube Driver, with the mid boost activated, and the power switched to 15 watts....works great for a blues sound with humbuckers, Fender single coils, and PRS soapbars

The amp can be noisy if you use the footswitch overdrive channel....think some of the caps might be dried up, but it sounds so good most of the time I'm not going to mess with anything.....still has the original tubes, as far as I can tell

has never broken down, I've had it about 12 years....bought it for 75 bucks from a guy who said he wanted to get it out of his basement, since he hadn't played in years....

I've been playing since about 1968, I guess....I have a Pignose and a couple of old solid-state practice amps....and a Micro Cube....and some computer stuff....but nothing has the tube tone of this old black Fender....I think the low power switch and the pull-boost function is what lets you get into the singing tube heaven realm. As other reviewers note, the thing is damned heavy, so I haven't taken it anywhere is years.....but it can't be beat for living room jamming!

I've owned it in the mid eighties for two and half year.
I bought it new. It had a lot of features, an overdrive channel like a boogie Mark 2 B. The sound pots had the capacity to boost it's range. It had a fx way, but you need a special y-adapter cable...bad.

The clean sound was ok, also the overdrive channel, but the first tube was microphonic. So I replaced it with a Groove tube, the first I had ever in my hands. But the power section was a piece of crab, really. every one or two month the main switch failed. This was because the input current rush of the transformer was so high, it burns the main switch. Also the sreen grid resistors were too small. They burned out, so the power tubes start to glow red and failed. So I had to solder new resistors with a higher wattage, really bad.
So I sold the amp. When I bouth the amp I had also the possibility to buy a Marshall 50W Combo with a external 2x12" Box, but I didn't bought it. I bought the Fender 75 Combo. This was a bad decission of me, really. Now that type of Marshall would be now very collectable and high priced, but that's life.

Bad, see above.

I had never delt with Fender.

Sounds ok, durability bad.

My 75 is one of the first production models, 1980 or 1981. I bough it new in Santa Ana, CA. Prior to the 75 I was using a modified silver-face twin and a Mesa Boogie MKII. Can use it for everything I used those two for. It is very simple two-channel casecaded pre-amp with master volume and with some fiddling you can get the right volume out of "clean" and "sceam" set-ups. Has bass/mid/treble tone controls, each with an active boost switch, which gives some range of control and a serious amount of overdrive capability. The effects loop works with some old gear but I've had trouble using it with more modern stuff. This thing can go blazingly loud: I used to use an external cab (4x12 JBL and/or 2x15 JBL) for outdoors or large venues (withotu miking it up). I really haven't seen a "real" amp that is more versatile. You have to go DSP to get more flexibility.
Never thought about it, but without the foot switch you're screwed - there are no front panel controls for channel switching or reverb. Good news is the FS is simple if you need to build your own.

Classic Fender tube amp clean with a gritty dirty tone that is like a Boogie in a bad mood. Compared to my MKII Boogie, the 75 has more edge: where the boogie gets smooth the Fender has more edge, and where the Mesa wails, the 75 gets plane nasty. I can get similar tones to the Boogie (and most people can't tell by listening when I switched. The "clean" sound is more like my old Twin Reverb. It has the classic fender tone. The Reverb is pure Fender spring. My Twin had been modified with the two preamps cascaded and had a master volume (a popular mod in those days) which made it good for clean to blues-dirty, but I needed the boogie for that classic over-drive, sustain for ever tone. With the 75 I get both in one that is pretty easy to manage. To be fair, this sucker is what I'm used to (had it 25+ years) and every other amp I hear is compared to it, so keep that in mind.

Bought it new. Havne't blown it up once since then. Never left me quiet on stage or in the studio (more than I can say for my old Showman!). Gig'd it all over the place for a couple years until I quit doing that. Would not hesitate to take it OTR and like the compactness. It does weigh a ton! Only ever done routine servicing: clean the pots now and again (maybe twice in 25 years), and changed power tubes. You will wear out power tubes in a tube amp. Haven't changed caps, pots or switches so far. Gotta say "10" because I haven't had to screw with it.

Haven't dealt with Fender in 25 years, so any experience I may have is obsolete. That says something for the Amp, if nothing useful about customer support.

I've been playing dam near foreever, something like 40 years now. I have a Line-6 POD for practice and recording, With the Fender 75 I use a Morley power wah and DoD chorus (both the same vintage as the 75).
If someone stole this amp I'd try to find another, or get another Boogie if I couldn't (after tracking down the varmit...).
Love the tone. Hate lugging it around but it's easier than the old Showman was!
Back in "the day" played whatever there was, haven't shopped around much since then. Probably lots of great stuff out there.
Fender used to make a 1x12" expansion cab for it I wish I had. Used to have one and the 2x12 sound was great for Jazz. Wish I had one.
When I bought it I got a good deal 'cause I had a friend at Fender, I think retail was $500 or $600. In those days a new basic Boogie was about the same as I recall.
If you can lay hands on one, it's a unique sound that is "a lot like" several other amps of it's day but definitely a unique personality.

Made in the early 80's..Great amp! Love it...

Very clean with power!

Super..Never had a problem

No experience here

This is a great amp. Heavy. I put wheels on it. Buy one!

Don't know the year. Haven't learned to adjust it properly. Play 60's & 70's blues rock (Beck, Clapton, Page, Lee, Blackmore) 2 channels. Switches by a pedal. Effect loop.

Enough knobs for me. Use it for recording and rehearsing. Eventually some covergigs...

ALL TUBE

Lead - hard to get a good sound! Please give me some tips fellas! That's the reason for the 6.

Clean - always nice!

Dependable. Trusty.

No opinion.

Good, but would be better if I knew how to get a good lead sound. Reminds me of the VOX AC30 going 110%.

The features of this amp are an ongoing mystery. the push-pull boost and footswitchable channels give it a wide range of sounds. The lead channel howevr will not function with out the footswitch, if you have no footswitch your only using half of this amp, footswitch is a must!

The clean on this amp is very clean, very loud, compraible to the Super Twim with just as much power. To dirty it up is a challenge but it can be done, took me many times to break this beast up, but it will do it. there is a bit of presence noise when dirtyed up at higher volumes, I mostly play Blues so this is not a problem for me.

I have only owned this paticular amp for couple years, did have it retubed biased and repaired speaker cobe, this brought this amp back to life with incredible performance, was well worth the money. use it 4 to 6 times a month with great dependability. one thing, this amp is extremely heavy, with electro voice speaker it weights in at close to 80 lbs, not a pleasure to transport but worth the extra effort.

the ony repairs or service I`ve had done was done by my amp Dr. who is very capable check him out unclespot.com for your tube amp needs.

over all I would rate this at a 8+ couple draw backs, the weight, real clean, not that dirty. what I do occasionally is slave my Blued Junior to it and use the Jr. to dirty it up, works real well and adds huge sustain. would replace it if necessary but these are getting hard to find and the price is moving up, if you can find one for less than 500.0, buy it.

My particular Fender 75 was manufactured in 1980 (serial number starts F0). It is a 75 watt dual channel, foot-switchable valve amp running a single 15" Fender Special Design speaker. The amp, as aforementioned, has two channels, "clean" and "lead." There is a bright switch and pull boosts on all three eq's, treble, middle, and bass. There is also a "lead" pot which amounts to a gain knob. There is also a seperate volume for the lead, reverb, and an over-all, master, volume. The amp is also switchable from 30? to 75 watts. Amp also has many other "standard" features: ground bias, line out, standby, etc. The amp is very versatile in terms of its power. It can be rather quiet while retaining responsiveness and really bark if it is called for. Although I wish that Fender had chosen to run 75 watts through four 6L6GCs instead of two.

The Fender 75 has a unique sound. It maintains much of the headroom associated with Fender blackface era amps but offers an attempt to couple that with a dual channel, switchable amplifier. It is considered a Rivera era Fender, being that Paul Rivera was heading much of the R and D for Fender at that time. It is all handwired and is considered to be an attempt to compete with the market offerings of Mesa/Boogie at the time. A good sound can be coaxed from the 75 from a variety of guitars and settings. I say coaxed because I mean it. It takes some time a knob turning to find a good sound. This may be due to the ultralinear design (volume for clean channel runs into lead and lead volume which runs into the master, etc.) but offers for a unique sounding amp. Using a G&L Legacy and employing the clean channel one can get get a decent blues tone with a touch of clip. The power selector switch also adjusts the amout of clip and the headroom and can be used to get a more percussive snappy sound if desired. The reverb is decent, not quality of early reverbs, but acceptable. Reverb is tube driven by 12AT7s. There have been a few complaints about the lead channel on this amp. While it is definately not the best design for a lead channel, it affords some very interesting and rewarding timbres. The pull boosts on the eqs also help. I have found that the Fender 75 sounds quite desirable using a Gibson les paul with the first volume set just below 4, the treble at about 6.5, mid just above 4 (with boost engaged), bass at 5, lead at 7.5, lead master at 8, and the master volume set at desired over all volume. There is a sweet spot using the master at around 5. Using the mid boost seems to really add extra drive and seems to tighten up what would normally be flabby bass from the overly taxed (75 watts) two 6L6GCs. The lead channel sound in this setting is a very woody, gritty but airy kind of tone. I did replace the tubes that were in it when I bought it with Ruby tubes 6L6GC STRs and ECC83s and two Fender 12AT7s for the tube drive. I am very happy with the sounds of Ruby tubes.

I haven't gigged it yet or logged enough hours to give an accurate judgement.

I haven't dealth with Fender for customer support.

It is a unique piece of Fender history. Its tone is worth the purchase because nothing with sound like a Fender 75. It is also neat to note that this was really the first dual channel, foot-switchable amp offered by Fender. Not to mention the noteriety of Paul Rivera's designs and Fender resorting to stamped circuits in 1983.

I think my amp is from 78. All the features are mentioned.

It's great for all Fender type guitars. I almost used it with Jazz guitars (ES-175, ES-335) and it's perfect for that style.
I don't like the distortion sounds. If you want distortion, play a Marshall. Or combine it with a tube screamer type overdrive. But this is a great amp for all kinds of clean sound.

Had some problems with the optio switch. Made it with the local dealer. Changed tubes once in 27 years.

Never contacted.

It's a great amp for a big clean sound. That's what it is. If you are looking for that you are right. It's not an amp for all sounds. Big, fat and warm clean sound. I love it! Perhaps you must be a jazzman to do so.
I'm playing jazz and rock for about 30 years as a non-professional. Had great gigs with that amp. Never let me down.

I read somewhere that this amp doesnt sound the same without the footswitch..that it effects the tone even when not switched. That may be a differentiating factor in different reviews.. it is called a rivera model switch and a replacement can be found at http://www.pharaohamps.com/
Its called a "switcher 2"

You know then all by now.

I wrote a review on here earlier..just got another jazzmaster off ebay and I am interested in my amp again.
So I think i know why there are different reviews...cuz if you have bad tubes or speaker it will work but sound bad. (like any amp) I think this cuz I have heard mine sound bad..but new speaker tubes etc..tune-up and brand new again!

Anyway just wanted to say I just bought ANOTHER 75 combo from ebay with a 12" speaker (other is 15") so now I will have 2 amps to last me the rest of my life and pair them up on stage.

BTW...only paid 400 for mint condition!
I think it is kind of cool that ppl dont know about this amp ...keeps prices down..(remember when jaguars and jazzmasters went cheap?)it is really a great amp .
I pull out all tones and run clean. bright off.
I never want to use another setting after hearing all that tone.


so I thought of a pro reverb or whatever but I really love the sound this amp puts out

Great. Whoever had transformer problems prolly had a lemon.

Just sent 10 buckeroo's in the mail for the schematic and manual.
Thought it would be nice to have.

Just wanted to tell anyone that is considering this amp that I like it so much I have two now!


They made Fender 30,75, and 140.
also the fender "30" (made only 1 year) is not designed the same inside, it would prolly sound different. The 140 is I think but never seen one.

Bought mine new in '81, used it for lead guitar in a hard-working club band for much of the eighties. Would disagree with criticisms of the amplifier technology; I found the cascading-preamp design to be quite versatile, though you had to know it well and fine-tune it carefully to get the best sound. Bought it with an EV speaker; I used a second twelve-inch Cerwin-Vega twelve (metal dustcap replaced with paper) in a compact Thiele cabinet to flesh it out a bit. Best sound over the years was achieved with Mesa 6L6's and Russian 12AX7's found at Radio Shack. Having the right preamp tubes was vital. If I changed one feature, it would be to allow different boost settings (as in Bass & Mid pull-outs) for clean and dirty.

Initially used a Les Paul Custom, then a Telecaster Elite and an '84 US Strat. For rock and roll, dance music, and original rock the sound was mostly fabulous. I generally used only a Boss chorus pedal to enhance it. Power was ample; I set the master on 5 or 6 for most clubs, used the low-power setting in small rooms. Loud and clean was not a problem. Sustain was excellent. Harmonic content on dirty channel is very good. Six-spring reverb is superb. Could use a little more bass crunch, but I suppose a 4x12 cab would help that.

Used it for well over a thousand gigs, and countless rehearsals and jams; dropped it, poured beer on it, banged it with the Les Paul, left it out regularly in a freezing van, used it until the vinyl peeled up at the corners, and the only thing that ever broke was the on/off switch (didn't need no stinking customer service to replace that).

As noted, a non-issue.

Don't play much these days; I use a Champ 110 for low-volume fun in the house. As for the 75, I love the simplicity, the power, the tonal character, the reliability, and the size, but not the weight. I'd agree with some of the other reviewers that it's a pretty unique item; there really isn't anything else quite like it.

all features as previously stated. except one....a bad feature...

it is not at all "mod friendly". you will not make this amp better by adding "orange drops" or "JJ tesla's" or a "mojotone speaker".........it just ain't-a-gonna happen! in order to get a "GREAT AMP" out of this, you would have to scrap all components and rebuild it from the ground up!....starting with the ultralinear transformer. it was just designed wrong!

plenty of headroom. nice fendery reverb....deeeepp! unfortunately, lacking in that "fendery tone magic". it's not horrible, mind you......but it's not a BF deluxe rev either! nor is it a MK II boogie as it was developed to compete with.

it seems like the design should've been right on the money, but this was CBS's last ditch effort to save the fender company, and they got too far off the track. it works, but it doesn't beckon me to play and enjoy it.

i tried singles and hummers, actives and passives, hot pups and wimpy ones.....it just ain't got it.

not a complete waste.....it's fine if you really don't mind depending on some good pedals.....otherwise no.

it's handwired, so it'll probably go on for quite some time, provided it gets the neccesary maintainence. i used it on 3-4 gigs. no probs.

fender is hard to reach. but there's lots of aftermarket parts available anywhere.

i've been playing 26+ years, and i've had about 2 of everything. i've already sold it, and unless i just needed a reliable workhorse amp, and one was available for cheap, i probably wouldn't seek out another one. i chose it thinking it was an "underdog".....not so...to me, anyway....

i like that it's loud and dependable. nice lonnnnng footswitch cable. and i can appreciate it's handwired construction.

i dislike the shared EQ, the weak reverb on the gain channel, the lack of dynamic difference switching to the 15 watt mode and the overall lack of toneful magic that fender amps are typically known for.

still, if you get a good deal, it might not hurt to try one...i didn't care for it, but YOU might!

bon chance, ma fren!

My amp was made in 1980 - probably. Great all tube guitar amp - really.I played on many guitar amps ( marshal, Kettner, Mesa, Peavey - tube or transistors)and I searched my own tone. This is it. I founded.
Two channnels - clean - superb. Distorted - very cool vintage drive.
Reverb - on tube - beautiful. At last my Fender Strat begin sounding well. My amp has very interesting history. One thing - corection for both channels - unfortunately.

My guitar its Fender AM. Std. Strat. - not worst but not great. I would like to buy tele else but for know )-: it's strat. I play rock -vintage rock - something like Hives, Strokes. Fender 75 got on clean chanel Classic Fender Sound but on distorted canal - it's very oryginal sounding amps. I was made few month ago recordings with my bands - first we use JCM900, JCM 800 - everybody sounds like this. Next - a POD XT - 01011100 - without soul.There is proper word - soul - 75 has soul. I feel it.

I play on this amps every gigs, concerts with my bands from one year-I had no problems.

When I have bought this amp it was in very bad condition. Polish local dealer sucks. They did wan't help me with replacments parts. Bad guys. But Fender Europe really interested this case.

I've been playing 15 years. I'm 29 years old. I worked in music shop six years and there i can play on many diffrent amps and I had my own few amps but this is the best from them. I said this, but i repeat -this is very cool, well sounding, vintage character amp. VERY RARE.
You can't play on it nu metal or something like that - this is mistake - but if you play blues, rock or you want drive different like others - this is it. My budy in band had a Marshall amp - and he very like this amp until i bought this one. Now when we play together - he is very sad and he strted talking about new amp for him ((-:
If my amp were stolen that was be a real tragedy for me. This amp is very rare. I really don't want think about it (-:

1980-81 12' combo model.
The amp has two channels. Either one can be made to sound good.
Getting them to oth sound good is trickier. Usually I set the clean up clean and the distortion to a light grind, then augment both w/ a tube pedal. gives me 4 different sounds.
I have had this sucker since it was new. It came w/ an EV12L Good speaker, very heavy.
I put in a celestion GT65 expecting it to blow. 20 years later it's still good.
This amp runs hot . Give it the best 6L6's you can afford (Mesa/Sylvania STR415)

The reverb is good.
Futz around with preamp tubes till it sounds good. Mine is so quiet you can't heat if it's on.
The pull switch bass/treble boosts are good for a clean sound. The mid boost is for distorted sounds. Use any of these carefully. They interact with the level of the pot and each other. If you don't like it leavce them off and just use the bright switch and don't abuse the tone controls.
Got to put the master above 3-4 to get a good sound. Keep the first gain stage fairly low, don't tryu to overdrive it at low volume. This is a pro amp. Then squeeze up alittle of the distortion gain and use the second master to get the volumes straight.

Just insanely reliable. It broke once because of one faulty solder joint. A good tech fixed it in ten minutes. Still looks good too.

This is a really good amp once you get the hang of it.

My EV speaker was defective. Fender was annoyed annd said it could not be. I shipped it to them and later got an apologetic phone call.
Seems there was a nail in the voice coil rubbing away the coil and destroting my speaker. That's when I got the celestion, They sent me a new speaker. 20 years old never used still in the box.
One of their better moments actually..

plaed for 41 years . Had all kinds of Fenders. I was really glad to ditch my 68 twin and get this amp.
If it got stole I would just get some other amp, but I'd worry.

ok I figured it out. with out the footswitch - this amp has the lead channel active and acts as if the lead master is on 10!! and it is!
so better make sure u have a footswitch or its useless. if not maybe a tech could switch it inside to play like clean channel.

limited sound - BUT IT'S THE ONLY SOUND I WANT! IT'S BEAUTIFUL.

Like I said, It's great and u read all the reviews - its a great surfy tone. one note: ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE FOOTSWITCH IS PLUGGED IN AND NEVE, I MEAN NEEEVVVVVVEEEEERRRR EVER EVER USE THE LEAD CHANNEL.
It is crappy and takes away from reverb as it shares a tube. The footswitch must be pluuged in to turn off the lead channel. when its not pluggeb in it way too loud and i dont believe it is meant to be used that way. a definate flaw..they should have left out the lead completely.

I think tubes run hot in these amps? works great..minor tuneups.

whats fender gonna do..come to my house and fix it? the amp techs seem to have no problem with it. other than having to request the schematic from fender.

i dont remember the price, cuz i bought it new long time ago, and i did some trade in stuff. Everyone has always complimented my sound. I play a srtat. I was playing a jazzmaster but it got ripped off :(
matter of f avt i had a strat ripped off too...what a world. anyway I play surfy bluesy artsy..anything...sometimes I just pluck a note and let it ring...on this amp I would call that music.

Featurewise, this is a cool amp, set up like a boogie, with shared eq, and separate volume and gain controls for each channel, with a master volume and reverb that are global. Has ground switch, and speaker outs on the back, you must have the footswitch plugged in to get only one channel ata time, very anoying.

Here's my rig, changing daily, fender teles with b-benders, boss vwah, boss od3's(2) maxon pt999 akai phaser maxon chorus, carl martin delayluh, boomerang. I play a mixture of jazz, fusion, and am in a top 40 wedding band playing at least twice a week. I very much wanted to like this amp, and after reviews here on HC, i got one over the net. What a mistake. After about $300 in mods and tube/speaker changes, I sold this thing and bought another boogie. I had some initial problems with the footswitch, and when I took it in, the tech laughed at me. He asked if someone had paid me to takke the amp from them! I should have guessed at that point, that it was a piece, but I thought I'd try some mods. I replaced the power tubes with JJ's, then sylvanias, as well as a great deal of preamp swapping, with 12at7's and ax7's in the various slots. Having the at in the phase inverter slot made the amp sound almost bearable, but I still couldn't get away from the harshness. It sounded like icepicks when turned up, and the gain channel, while always a Fender, could never sound good.

The tech I use told me he fixed these things on a regular basis, said the transformers were shit, and the amp was put together in a hurry so the circuit boards and resistors were cheaply put together. This is suposed to be point to point wiring, but I believe they cheated a bit.

I have been playing music since age 15, and am 23 now. I've gone through all kinds of gear, all the big amps and some more boutique ones as well, and I feel I have a good ear for tone. I know, every reviewer hee says this, but I am also working fulltime in a recording studio, and have a chance to try all types of new gear all the time. I feel that the rivera designed fenders were all cool amps, the concert is a great combo, but this one just fell a little short. I can't stress enough to anyone buying any amp over the net, TRY IT First!!!! You can never tell what it's going to sound like with your gear and your fingers until you're playing it yourself. Hope this review helps.

What amazes me about this web site is the range of different views you get on the same product. Most of the ones on the '75 are accurate, but the critical ones are, I'm afraid, missing the point. This is Fender's best kept secret!
The key, in my experience, to using this amp, is to understand where Fender's excel,and where a Marshall or similar 'crunch' amplifier does a better job. I got my 75 head in 1992, but don't know when it dates from - 80 or 81 I think. I haven't found it to be very versatile, but when you have a sound you really dig, why mess about trying out alternatives? For 11 years I've used it pretty much on the same setting - I use the lead channel with the lead set to 1.5, push/pull on Middle and Treble, the Treble boost set to On. It gives a clean Fender sound - ala Twin etc, but with a bit of crunch - not too much as the lead sound isn't brilliant.

As above - I use it pretty clean, but this is a VERY powerful 75 Watt amplifier. I use a 4x12 cab with 4x H and H 65 watt speakers [ Celestion 30 H's to follow soon], and a 1x12 100w Celestion loaded cab. The sound cuts through excellently - giving an excellent SRV blues sound. With a TS 808 and a Strat with Texas Specials you get a powerful,nicely overdriven sound. The amp works well with effects [ not using the effects loop tho]

Never use a back up [ but hey I am not that rich]. It's reliable - had to have the transformer replaced 2 years ago, and have re-valved every two years. It's sturdy, and very heavy to carry!

I think the repairer had to send off for the correct part through Arbiter UK when the Transformer was repaired, and it took a while.

I was looking for a Fender Twin Reverb when I bought this Head. A decent [ original ] 1970's twin was fetching 500 quid at the time. This was #185 and, compared to a Bassman, or Princeton or similar Head, it had far more versatility. It does have a limited sound, but the way you get it - by experimenting with it's various controls, means you can keep the same sound, and don't need to adjust for different venues. I know that with a twin, for example, smaller venues mean reduced volume, and a compromise in sound.
It's an 80's amp, so don't expect the versatility of a Soldano, or a brilliant lead channel.

I got the amp about 2 months ago. From the tranny numbers puts it around 1980.All tubed point to point wired on a breadboard.No pc board crap.It has boost pulls on the treble, mid and bass.The mid boost seems to work best for me.The clean channel is superb as is the reverb.It take some playing with to figure this amp out though.

Im actually a bass player.But got this to mess with,and for friends to come by and jam.I use my american strat plus with this amp and it just plain screams!It has a decent tube breakup but it's better to run through some pedals.If you want monster distortion,this amp isnt for you.Buy a soldono or marshall.But like i said clean,clean,clean fender sound!

I havent gigged with this amp yet. But I've changed tubes.It had amer. gt's in the power section.And a wide varitiy of pre-amp tubes all have been replaced with vintage.rca's,mullard,seimens.

I've talked to the company several times over the years when they were in fullerton,Ca. They were great!

I've been playing for 28 years.I've owned marshall's,peavey,fender's,and ampeg.Get one of these while you can!These were only made for 3 years and alot of people and even tech's dont know about these Ed Jahns designed fenders.These were designed by Jahns to compete with the mesa mark II.And what a great job he did!I would find another in a heartbeat.Before they become a rareity.

- pull outs are useless
- lead channel distortion isn't great except for a crunch sound. I use the lead for a rythm channel (set at about 2) and use a boss overdrive for lead.
- It has more than enough power epecially when I run it through my Marshall 4 by 12 Cabinet

I use this amp with a american tele with lace sensors and a godin sd with hot rails.It works great for most 70's and 80's rock music. I don't think it would make a great heavy metal guitar though.The bass eq seems a little too much as it'll crap out pass 3 or 4. This amp has a very unique sound through a marshall cabinet. Very dirty,yet smooth.

This amp is old style inside. No PC boards. I had to replace the photo electric L.E.D 's ( the ones for channel switching), a set of tubes, and the original speaker was replaced. I got this amp for nothing and did the repairs myself. Good quality transformers, caps, pots etc. Mine needed a little tlc, but I have ran it for 5 years since with no problems. I'm sure it will out last any of the new plc crap that is made now

I've done the repairs my self (I do it for a living). I also live in Canada. Support isn't as good as peavey, but pretty good none the less.I've been able to get all the parts, but some of them take a long time. I've even put peavey parts in this thing (photo electric switches)

I've played for 15 years. I've used marshall, peavey and other fender amps. I don't know what it is about this amp. I guess what I like about it is that there is nothing like it. No one has my sound other than other 75 owners and how many of them play through a 4 12 cabinet? I would really love to buy a head and have this one as a spare. I honestly think in the next ten years this amp will be a real collectors item. Please e-mail me if you also use this amp through a 4 12 cabinet,have the original 4 10 cabinet for this amp or have the 75 head

According to information I have gathered it appears I have a 1980 model amp. I purchased her about 10 years ago while playing in a classic rock band. It has all the power I can ask for and I enjoy its clean warm sound, along with a sharper more crunchy lead side. I recently replaced the original power tubes that came with the amp when I bought it (Mesa Engineering) with JJ's. I liked the old tubes much better but am told I may still need to have the amp adjusted for the new tubes. I hoping the adjustment will bring back the rich warm tone again, otherwise I'll be looking for another set of Mesas.

Mainly I play rythym guitar. I use a special edition Tele with humbucker pickups. I can get just about any sound you can ask for from a Les Paul to a traditional Tele. This amp is not what I would try and compete with a Marshall for pure distortion, but in my opinion it wasn't built for that use anyway. If your looking for a superior Blues, Jazz, Country, or Classic Rock sound you couldn't find anything better.

I have owned this amp for nearly ten years and just had to replace the power tubes because one of them got loose aroung the base and I was afraid it might come loose. This has been a tremendous piece of equipment. I have played hundreds of gigs with it without one single failure.

Haven't had to even talk to a repairman until I replaced the tubes. Then I was just to find out if the tubes were as good as what they were telling me. That is still to be determined.

I'm 51 years old and have been playing since I was 9 years old. I have 6 other guitars that I play. Currently I use this amp for solo gigs. I play a Ultra Classic Ovation thru it along with vocals. I have a Sansui mike that has the perfect impedence that matches the guitar and allows the combo. I also use a 12" monitor speaker thru the external speaker hookup for a more versatile sound. My only complaint about this amp as with everyone else "IT WEIGHTS A TON". I agree with most guys about this amp, it is Fenders most under rated amp ever. Unfortunately, I am looking at selling this amp very soon and will miss it. I need to buy a powered mixer for my gigs and something has to go. Interested give me a jingle rcarmickle@earthlink.net

i'm an happy owner of a couple of, circa '79. They are cosmetically & functionally completely different amps.
The one is a 15" square cabinet - the other is a 12" rectangular cabinet. Same controls layout. BEWARE - THEY ARE HEAVYWEIGTH !!!

I play everything and i love loudness. These amps have a lot of head room (15" especially) wich i love, but the 12" have the crunch and the "sustain for a days".
I think they are electronically very different.

Never looked at the 12" for a fit - everytime ok. IT MUST BE UNTOUCHED !!!!!!!
I've changed in the 15" the 15" koud speaker with a EV 12" and deeply veried the tubes line for a more aggressive soud -> everything OK.

I NEVER HAD PROBLEMS

If you want an excellent (but overwheigt) workorse, the 75 is the one!!!

I think the amp is built around 1980. It's completely black. About ten years ago I'd had another Fender Lead 75, that had a silver grille. I traded my Blues deluxe in on this one, because of the shrill, too sharp tones I got while using my stratocaster (the whole band complained about it). The 75 sounds much smoother and a bit darker. It's not particularly versatile I think, but so am I. It has one channel and a lead device, push/pull controls and a reverb. I use the amp mainly for playing live, along with a Blues Junior, which besides is pretty loud too. My style is Stones, Zeppelin, Jayhawks, surf, seventies bluesrock, Sheryl Crow, etc. The main problem with this amp is that it's bloody heavy! I think the speaker is an Emincence (sporting a blue Fender-label, but Fender doesn't make speakers).

Is use this amp with an very old jv-Squier strat and a fernandes telecaster (with Seymour Duncans). The strat sounds best with this amp, while the tele goes best with the Blues Junior. Clean and a bit overdriven it sounds very well, with a lot of depth. On low power it seems to sound a little warmer. Lead sounds either a bit raspy and thin or complete bollocks. Bright sounds sometimes a bit shrill, depending on the pickups. Clean becomes much better with the lead master and lead control at zero, since I discovered that 'clean' on this amp is affected by the lead control. The reverb is superb.

I had the tubes changed some months ago. Shortly after I purchased this amp it made sounds like soft 'pops' and crackles (but I've heard Twins that produced sounds like gnooms were running form one side tot the other within). Last year I played in a tent at a small festival in typical Dutch weather circumstances. At some moment before the gig I discovered that my amp was standing excactly where the rain came flooding in, but the amp sounded fine and worked effortless.

Never dealt with the people from Fender, although I understand that they're not very helpful.

I've been playing for almost seventeen years. Twelve years with the old Squier strat and a wide variety of amps (not always my own), like Musicman, Marshall and Fender. I've always liked the clean sound and the reverb of Fender amps, but if another company offers something better I would be interested. Even with an early sixties blackface or tweed model, guitarplayers are always searching for something else.

I've got a pair of those 75's, a late seventies and early eighties. Equipped with Groove Tubes. They've been my main workhorses for ten years of on and off gigging and recording. They're not user-friendly at all, but who cares once you've got them figured out. I've actually stripped them down bare, put them in a custom rackmount, and plugged them to a 4x12 Hiwatt '71 cabinet. I did that because the amp isn't quite versatile enough live, since you have to push pull those bloody knobs... and you only got one eq and preamp per channel. There's not really two channels in this thing... But when you've got two of those amps, bingo. You can custom dial each one, clean or distorted, without losing tonal coherence. So I've got sort of a 3-channel super 75 (A/B box + original footswitch), if you will. I never use the bright switch (shrill) and the high power. No way the low power is 15 watts !!! It can fill a medium size club without miking easy. The back pannel has a NASA feel to it : to the point, with everything where it should be.

The amp has incredible headroom on the clean channel, which is just great. It doesn't distort at all if you keep you pickups far from the strings. But you actually have to switch in the reverb (even at zero or one) for it to sound real good clean. The reverb has a true sixties touch about it, and sounds great with slide. In this day and age of crunch and gring, a great full bodied loud clean sound is an incredible attention getter. Moreover, it reacts drastically to pickup changes, which is great. Just by adjusting various pickup heights, you can go from rythym to lead, no problem. I've got a humcucker on my strats, (little '59) and it drives it quite fine. I play anything but metal (even bossa-novas), which suits this amp fine, since the actual distorsion doesn't quite cut it by todays standards. When you pull the knobs you get an general output drop and a lot of noise. So one of the heads is permanently hooked to a TS-9, with only the treble pulled out : infinite sustain at you fingertips. The overdrive on the 'b' channel is quite nice, though. Real ballsy, and low-fi as hell... Plug a vintage strat in there and you'll have to watch out not to overly sound like SRV... What is great about this amp is that you can play with authority. The drums, the bass, nothing'll drown you out, which bizarrely happens with more recent equipment, somehow.

I carry spare fuses 'cause they do blow up once in a while, albeit rarely. Since I have two of them, one can always serve as backup. The footswitch part is a pain in the ass, though. The amp won't work without it, and it's a bizarre thing. I had to have one custom made for a hundred bucks... But hey, good sound doesn't go cheap. And in ten years, I've replaced a power switch with a generic part. It'a Fender.

Dont' know. Local guys know their way around it.

I've been playing for 25 years, 10 semi-pro. I've got a pair of strats, a few basic effects, and those 75's. If they were stolen, I would buy another pair on the spot. They're part of my sound now. I just love the power and balls of them. Plus, you can do serious gigging with them. They're a professional tool. Heavy and a bit noisy, though, but it's older stuff. If you want a 3 pound silent amp, it'll sound like a 3 pound silent amp. I compared with a lot of amps, since I've jammed a lot in clubs. The 75 sort of sounds like a twin, but is yet cleaner, and when you switch to lead, way heavier. I will admit that it doesn't sound as good as an original plexi head, which I've tried once... What's great is that it's not well known, so you can buy one cheap.
General comment : guitar amp industry was never 'big' enough to generate its own electronics parts market. What we have in our amps are TV and radio stuff. And those parts have changed. It's not beeing snob to say old amps sound better : they just do, because of that. 'Vintage' reissues are bogus, because the parts are long gone from the market. I go in music stores once in a while, plug in to new stuff, and it sounds good, but somehow just doesn't compare.

This amp is one of the best keept secrets. I love the full clean sound. The distortion is the only weak point.It has bass middle & treble boosts pluss a bright switch.The bass & treble are great when pulled out.

I play an american tele.It sounds great for country & blues.I find it to be fairly quiet.The distortion is not great but I use a stomp pedal for distortion.

I have used it on gigs for two years and have had no problems.

I bought it used so I've had no experience there.

I've been playing 37 years.I would buy it again.I love the clean sound but I wish it had tremelo.

The amp is TOTAL CLASSIC FENDER!!!!! Has boost pulls on the treble,mid,& bass controls. Has 2 channels clean & distortion. You can fine tune to any classic early fender sound with this amp. NOTE_ this amp has major "Cajones" it's very, very loud. It does have a high and low switch. Best if plyed on high power. gets that classic sound at that setting. Has a very long foot switch that controls channel selection and the reverb. Very heavy chassis and can withstand anything. My favorite workhorse. It covers blues,rock, and country all just fine

If your looking for a meaty distortion, THIS IS NOT YOUR AMP. But, if you want one of the most versatile amps that Fender makes in tube, this is it. Makes tele's, (I play 3, standard to humbucked,) sound way monstous and makes Strats sing like Clapton and the Skynyrd boys. It definately prefers single coils to humbuckers. Then again, that could be be me. Probably the best sound from this amp is Classic Rock, Swamp Texas blues and a whole lotta country. Works well at all settings

I've owned this beast, ( because of weight,) for 5 or 6 years. When I bought it, one of the tubes was shot. I would not hesitate using this amp anywhere and without a backup. It has never given me any trouble and I've only complained about the weight. But the sound and reliablity make up for it

Don't know, the deakler here in town really takes care of me. Never had a problem

I'm 45 years old and have been playing since I was 10. I have 3 other amps. A fender Vibro Champ, An Epiphone sc10, and a Peavey. I rarely play with a pedal only a Boss Blues Driver through the vibro. Other than that I rarely use a pedal. I like it right from the guitar to the amp, no gimmicks. I have 14 different guitars, half Fenders and the rest various.
If stolen, I would cry, then I would search high and low for another. I love most everything about it other than it's too loud for most gigs I play. even outside ones. I wish it had better saturation of its full sound at lower volumes. It really opens up at around 3. by then your way to loud. I only wish it had a 3rd channel for pure lead.

This amp was made in the early 70's. This amp is very nice for a begging band for small gigs like what my band does. It has boosts on the treble base and mids these are very nice for a heavyer type of music. I rarley turn the volume switch over 2 it is so loud it hurts my ears.

This amp has a great sound if u turn the volume above about 3 or 4 a buzz will pick up but you cant ask for everything. It also has a very clean sound and is very loud.

Im sure you can depend on it its 30 years old and its still in very good condition.

I bought it used so couldnt tell you

I wish Fender continued this amp although it is very heavy it is an all tube amp which if u play guitar you know is a great quality sound.

N/A

The clean channel of this amp is superb! I don't use the crappy distortion channel at all. However, running my strat through clean channel at low power setting I could nail the Keith Richards thing perfectly with the bridge pickup. Turn up the reverb and rip some old-time country, rockabilly or surf-mania. Go to middle pickup & nail some reggae, ska, soul or funk. Neck pickup, we got some beautifully nasty John Lee Hooker-esqe blues groove going. I like playing all this stuff,not an expert but I goof around with it all.

It's a Fender.

N/A

Sounds great, quiet, heavy, well built. Second channel is crap, but otherwise it's everything a Fender should be.

this amp was made in 1982. It has a 12" speaker, not the 15" as in some of the other reviews.this amp seems more versatile than some other amps i had, notably a '93 de ville 212 which had a beautiful clean sound, but didnt seem to bring out the best in any effects hooked up to it. This one does though.
i dont want any "add ons" other than a good line out & reverb - simple seems to work best, and too many knobs look stupid & cluttered.The rear panel is a treat, and if u drop the chassis, you'll die of pleasure - not a single PCB to be seen, so a blind lunatic could fix it, or perhaps even me.

I use it with a L.P STD. This amp is excellent quality and therefore will be good for any guitar application. It is not restricted to a one dimensional characteristic, it will do whatever u know how to make it do. The clean tone is the best of any amp ive had, including a twin reverb & blues de ville.its more usable at lower volume than either of those two. A big call, but i feel its true. It has the usual slight hiss. I can get a decent slight overdrive with the lead & volume, but not much of a distortion. That is ok cos i really only need a slight breakup on anything i play. the speaker is said to be cheap & inferior, but its sounds good to me - and i know bad tone. when it dies, ill upgrade it. The sound did not break up even when fully cranked on 75w. it seems to work well with effects and brings out the best in them.I get a vast contrast of tones when changing between pickups - one mark of a good amp i think. This amp is a keeper.

An amp of this vintage & make will last for as long as you are prepared to maintain it, which is more than can be said for the new pcb mounted CRAP the big boys are ripping us off with now.My former main amp (JCM 2000) is unlikely to survive 5 years with even a moderate amount of raod work (take a look inside the chassis).Anyhow, the tubes on the 75 need changing cos they are the originals and are starting to crap out - not a problem.

Played for 12 years. l.p. std. with a few fenders & one marshall.The only thing i dont like about it is the dull clean sound i get when the channel vol. is full and the main vol. is low. - but thats the only way to get a good O/D sound with the "lead" control i think. too much fiddling, so ill use a stompbox.This amp is in such good condition that it is truly "unmmarked". i could not tell it apart form the other new fenders in the shop, condition-wise. I believe it has been stored for all these years.I know it is a true "find" and im going to be guarding it with my life.

Mine is a 1980 or '81 by the transformer codes. You all know the features by now. My use for this is a home practice amp and it absolutely excels at that! The 15 watt switch, 15" speaker and the treble and bass boost make it perfect for low volume playing.

I play with an Am Std Strat with a Dimarzio HB at the bridge. This amp's clean channel with the singles OR the HB is just incredible. The boost switches and master volume make it extremely usable. The lead channel takes some getting used to, but certainly offers a lot of gain. This amp goes from jazzy bass to screaming bite! The 15" speaker probably helps this amp a lot.

Point to point on a breadboard, hand soldered...should last forever

Started playing again after a long absence and have already been through 4 amps looking for the right one. 3 of them were all tube, 2 have been Fenders, and this one is a keeper for certain. I love the features, the vintage and the tone is fantastic for what I do with it!

Everyone below has done a great job describing the features of this amp. Mine has the 15" ceramic speaker. (stock I believe). I must say that this must be one of Fender's best overlooked amps and I'm glad. It has lots of great usable features. My faves: an effects look, the deep spring reverb and the groovy low power switch. The knob layout is not at all intuitive but once you get it good tones will happen.

The amps clean tone alone was well worth the price. With 15" and reverb the tone is like a cross between a Vibroverb and Super Reverb. Smooth highs, punchy mids, tight bass. The reverb is great for blues and is excellent for surf. The lower power switch gets the clean channel screaming. The lead channel is great for cloning the clean and for adding dirt. The leadcan get really dirty like the Skynard or AC/DC. If you adjust the channel right you can get it be a great lead channel but it takes a little fiddlin' around. It would also work great for heavier type of music. I was totally surprised at how versatile and how good this amp actually sounds for the price.

Its built on a bread board and it's point to point and it's lastly since around 82. Spare tubes, fuses and a good amp tech will keep this amp going strong. I'm going to gig with it extensively with above spare items in tow.

n/a.

I hope I can find another one someday. It's not vintage but really, really sounds like a 60's blackface. This amp was recommended to me by my amp tech after searching for an alternative to a Pro Reverb or Super Reverb. I'm so glad he did.

I bought this amp new in 1981. This was one of Fender's first attempts at a foot-switchable channel switching amp, designed to compete with the Mesa Mark II. It has 2-6L6's, 3-12AX7's and 2-12AT7's. It has an external speaker jack, a line out (doesn't disable the speaker, though), reverb (weakens on the lead channel) and an effects loop (doesn't work w/lead channel). Also a hum balance trim pot and a tube matching pot. For a 1x12 combo, this amp is HEAVY and LOUD!

I use a 1994 American Standard Strat and a new Steinberger Spirit GU Deluxe, both stock. This amp is very versatile...all levels of pretty decent distortion at all volumes from the lead channel -- and nice clean Fender tone from the normal channel. The lead channel takes some time to fine tune, dialing in the right amount of gain, but once you're there, it sounds pretty awesome. It works well with both guitars, but I am partial to that classic Fender sound of the Strat through the clean channel...aaah...yesssssss...

I usually take excellent care of my instruments...I bought an anvil ATA case for this amp when it was new (I thought I would one day become a professional musician...I didn't, but I'm still glad I got the case)-- this amp looks like it did the day I bought it. I had to replace the on/off switch after about three years - a warranty replacement. No problems since. I just replaced the original Fender tubes with JJ's....nice...I use a Zoom 505II for some simple effects, so if this amp crapped out at a gig I would use some amp modeling and connect to the board.

Any reputable amp tech can repair a Fender...

I've been playing 35 years...this is about the only real amp I've ever owned. To replace it might be difficult...not many of them out there...but I would certainly look before I committed to something else. This amp is a pretty complete package. It's worth checking out if you ever come across one.

I think my amp is made in 80, but i'm not sure. I think it's a great amp. I play Blues/rock and I never gonna sell it. I'm a 15 year old boy, it was alot of money (it took me a half year to get the money) but it's worth it.
The amp has a singel EQ for both channels, it's a little difficult to get a good setup. I wish it had a standard 12" ( electro-voice???) speaker. I have now a 15" Fender speaker, but that's junk.
The switching between 75/15 watts is - i think- broken.
I use the amp for gigs and practise.

I only have 1 guitar: a Epiphone Les Paul Junior with a P90 pickup.
However it's not a real Gibson P90 it has great sounds.With gigs I play somethimes on a '76 Gibson Firebird III with 2 Bill Lawrence L-500 humbuckers. If i play i'm crying, lovely lovely.
The amp is very, very noisy.
The clean channel is distorded at about 4-5.
The distortion is very brutal, if you don't watch out you have too much dist. and that's not nice.

It's a very relialible amp. It's about 20 years old and it's doing well. (never been broken before).

Never.

I play 5 years now, and i have the Fender for about a year. I have found another one and i'm gonna buy it too (for about 3-400 Dutch guilders--that's about $160). I have a Boss Dimension C (Chorus) and it has a stereo socket. Magnificent.

Early 80's. Never checked Serial#. 75/15 Watts power switch. Nice feature. I think this amp sounds best driven hard. The low power allows the driven sound without the loud volume. Great for practice. High power for gigs. This is the first and only amp I've owned. I bought it in 1989. I hated the amp for years. I was green and couldn't quite get the right sound out of it. Probably not a good amp for a beginner, but I had hoped I could grow into it. For some reason I stuck with it. I slowly figured out how to best set the amp controls. I am a 'no pedals' guitar to amp very straight forward player. In 2000 I gave it an overhaul: new tubes and I replaced the stock 15 inch speaker(Eminence) with 2 10's (WeberVST C10N's) OH MY GOD. I need no other amp. I can get the Fender clean and a beautiful driven sound. I do have to give some credit to my 76 Guild S100. The 2 make a great pair. EQ boost for treb/mid and high. I only use the mid on occasion. The lead is an interesting setup. Its not actually a different channel, its like a built in pedal. This also took me awhile to figure out. Of course it has that excellent Fender reverb. Good guts and features. Difficult to master the amp. Bad stock speakers. I highly reccomend new(NOS)tubes and high end speakers for any unit to match the fine Fender tube engineering. If I could change one thing, I would like have vibrato in the amp. Back panel is nice, too. Line out and ext. speaker. I also added wheels. Amp is quite hefty.

1976 Guild S100 with 2 Guild humbuckers. I play clean and dirty. Rock with highlights of Folk, Punk, and Pop. I had noise problems before I replace the tubes and speakers. Amp is quite versatile. It tends to break at high clean volumes in a fenderesque way and depending on the volume settings. With the Lead on, there are actually 4 volume knobs to adjust. Distortion is best when the amp is driven hard. This allows for a more "True' distortion in that the tubes and speakers are actully reaching a natural breakup/overdrive state. (rating reflects mods)

I've been playing this amp pracically daily since 1989. Since then, 1 recone on original speaker. 1 tube overhaul. 2 new 10" speakers. Ate about a dozen fuses. Nuff said.(9/29/01)(rating reflects mods)

I've moved alot and have never needed alot of sevice, so hard to answer, but I think a well trained chimp could work on a fender. Parts and extras are a plenty.

12 years. 2 Guild electric guitars. Epiphone acoustic.
Replacement would be a 75 head or Fender Showman type or Musicman.
Wish it had vibrato.
With a 15" bass speaker, this amps sound very good for recording bass!
(rating reflects mods)

made between 80 and 82. 75 watts/ you can switch to low power which will give you 15 watts - great for recording! all tube, the features are simple and good. i don't use
the gain on the amp. however, if you do turn the volume up
on the clean channel (all the way to the left of the amp face),
and keep the master volume down, you get a pretty good
overdriven sound. but i use this amp primarily for the clean sound.

i use a fender telecaster plus, with the lace pickups.
the amp gets a warm, fat, full tone that i am very happy
with. it fills up a club no problem. i owned a twin
reverb '65 reissue that i sold because i did not like
the sound all that much. i think this amp sounds much
better!

no problems so far.

NA

i've been playing for 15 years now. i have played
in a couple of bands which performed at several
clubs in NYC and San Francisco. i have previously
owned a mesa boogie mark II and a fender twin reverb
'65 reissue. the boogie was nice, but too unidirectional
sounding. it screamed right at you, instead of filling
up the room nicely. the reissue didn't do it for me.
you can tell the difference between the reissues and older
fender amps if you really listen. this amp sounds great!
i do not need to look any further. they are hard to come
by, but if you see one, pick it up. it will be a lot
cheaper than an old twin and might even sound as good.

This amp was made by CBS musical instrument from 80 'till 82. I bought this one second hand. The amp was in a real good shape. There were no damages, just some scratches on the faceplate. At first I thought I'd mistaken by buying such an old amp. But now I'm glad.
The styles I play on it are country and blues. For these styles this amp can do the job. Mostly I use reverb for my country sound. But I?m sure this amp can handle any kind of music. All the features are mentioned in other reviews.

I have a squier fender telecaster and a yamaha 302s also telecaster model. The combination is outstanding. Although it works for me. It has a real Fender sound.
From pure country to heavy blues. It's all possible and sounds clean.
At first your impression can be wrong, but after some tuning you?ll be surprised. I use this amp at home, so it's impossible to pull the pedal through the metal. But even with a low volume this amp really makes a perfect sound.

It looks reliable enough to me. For a 20 years old amp, it's a rock.

I don't have any experience on customer support. If something is wrong I ussually go to my local dealer.

I once had a fender frontman 25 before this one. If compare these amps, there's a whole difference. It was always my wish to have a fender tube amp of my own. Second hand I paid a lot for it, but it's worth it. Pre CBS (fender) amps ar much more expensive, so I think this is sure a deal. If you ever get the chance to try one, you'll know what I mean.
Tip: I put some black shoeshine on the tolex and rubbed this out. The tolex looks like new.

On the website www.ampwares.com you'll find a lot on fender tube amps. There I found out my amp was made in the years 80-81 and 82.
I recently bought this (second hand) amp. It was in a very good shape. I bought this one for 1150 gulders. But it's sure worth is. I mostly like to play country music but lately the blues comes around. It has a lot of power. In comparisson to the more expensive fender amps (at the store I tested a few) this one sure can do the job.
A feature I use al lot for my country music is the Reverb option, very good sound. Further on it has a lead channel. A footswitch is included to change channels reverb/lead or both.

I play on it with my fender %. There were no great damages, just some scratches on the faceplate. Until now nothing bad has happened. I'm very sure you can gig with it without backup.

I don't now if I do have customer support on this 20 years old produkt. If I have a problem, I first go to my local

I now play for a month on this amp. It was always a great whish of mine to have a tube amp of my own. It was very expensive for me but I can go on with it (I hope so) for the next few years.
For myself I can say, I'm a fender freak. A don't have the money to buy the ones before CBS era. But this amp is sure a rare one and besides of it's good sound quality I believe it's a nice collectors item.
Tip: The tolex on it first looked dirty. I put black shoe-shine on it. Lookes like new.

I played a Peavey Transtube series amp for years, and swore by it. That has since changed. Used (1981), but still original speaker (2 tubes changed recently) Dual-channel all-tube sound, solid state just cant compete with that. Beautifully resonating clean sound -- although sometimes a tad overbearing on the bass end, though, despite dialing it down a good deal. Lead channel offers a nice crunch, though not quite enough higher harmonics for a metal-head. Use a stomp for that fast-and-furious sound. All around, solid amp for small/medium size gigs (350 people).

Unorthodox as it may be, I pump a 94 Les Paul Studio through it, mounted with P90's. Result is outstanding: the amp can pump out everything from dirty blues to teeth-clenching 60's brit-rock tones. The lead distortion leaves a little something to be desired for certain genres, but that's a small shortcoming. Clean channel distorts mildly if the amp is pushed, but it's a light crunch that doesnt take away from the tone.

Excellent condition for an amp 20 years old. Good service history, no problems at all -- can definitely use with no backup. Model discontinued in 1982, so expect an amp that may be a little beat-up esthetically, but no matter that.

Doubtful you'll find a warranty, but in 18 months of steady gigs, nothing was needed but some straightforward regular maintenance.

My ONLY issue with this amplifier is the lead channel distortion -- sounds get a little lost pushing it all the way. For the metal-head within, I complement it with a Boss Metal Zone, no big deal. Being more a bluesman though, I have to love the warm sound and rich harmonics offered -- you probably dont want to just dial everything to 10 and play, but it's powerful enough not to need that, even at medium venues (up to 500 is all I've tried...).

This amp is great for a clean sound. I like using delay and phazer and flanger I use mostly Electro Harmonix pedals and they work really nice with it. It has boosts for treble bass and mids the bass and treble are useful. It gets a pretty good bluesy distortion by using the lead chanel with the gain all the way up but its not real strong distortion. Its got plenty of power for me but I haven't used it with a drum kit yet. I hardly ever turn it past two. Its all tube which is real nice if you know the tube sound.

I use it with a les paul copy. It gets a bit of buzz but I haven't heard an amp yet that doesn't. I talked about sounds above

This thing is about twenty years old so its reliable if its still working which it is. I've only had it for 5 months though

Haven't delt with company.

I like it a lot. I've been playing for about 5 years and its the best amp I've ever owned.

The amp is exactly the same as the above mentioned...

This is my first "big" amp and I don't have very expensive guitars, yet. I use a Washburn BT2 with 2 screamin humbuckers and an acoustic Washburn D11 amplified by a dean Markley pickup. I like distortion, I really do, but I like to build on a clean sound this amp distorts after about 5 or 6 and it's not very good distortion its not to "beefy" but I can fix this problem by just using a Boss DS-2 distortion pedal and just build on that not clean sound and get a great volume boost and better distortion. WHen i use it as an acoustic amp it's just awesome.

It stays in my room... but it's in good shape and it's pretty old so it has to be reliable. The guy I bought it from said that he used it at an outdoor gig and it was picking up a mexican radio station...

This is a follow up to a review I previously wrote on this amp. I think I noted before that the amp is a single channel all tube 1-12" combo with a footswitchable boost. One pair of 6L6 power tubes and 5 or so 12AX7 & 12AT7 preamp tubes. One set of tone controls (bass, mid, treble) affect both the lead and rythym channels. The tone controls each have a pull boost option for more sounds. It has "Normal" and "Lead" channel volume controls, a lead channel master volume, reverb control and a master volume control. It also has two inputs (low & high?), an effects loop (tip/ring/sleeve), a line out jack, an extension speaker jack, a low power switch and a bright switch. The back panel also has bias balance (see below) and hum balance pots. The footswitch operates the lead channel and the reverb function. The only feature I think it's missing is separate tone controls for the lead and rythym channels.

My main complaint in the previous post was the "raspy" sound in the lead channel. I found a couple of fairly easy mods that helped smooth the lead sound a lot.
1. I changed the bias circuit from a bias balance to a bias adjust circuit. Also installed good NOS power tubes and decent preamp tubes. 2. I did a mod to the driver circuit that's described in Dan Torres' book "Inside Tube Amps". It was the "Black tolex" driver circuit and it improved the lead sound a lot. I know a lot of the Torres mods are controversial but this one worked for me. 3. I also changed the capacitor on the "mid boost" control to a smaller value to allow less boost. This made the boost control much more useable.
The amp now has great clean sounds and decent lead sounds...not as good as my Rivera but still very good. It's now a much more versatile amp.

I've probably had the amp for 10 years now and it's never let me down. I also added a small fan from Radio Shack to help keep the tubes cool. This may have contributed to my trouble-free use.

When I first bought the amp (used), I called Fender and they had (only) one of the footswitches left. They sent it to me via 2 day air express (at my expense). It cost me about $70 but it was well worth it. I've since bought another one for $10 and have heard of them selling for as much as $125. If you have a chance to get the footswitch for a fair price grab it. They're getting rare.
Fender also mailed me a photocopy of the owners manual, but it took about 4 phone calls and a month or so to get it. Still, that's not bad service for an amp that was discontinued for 5 or more years when I contacted them.

Overall I'm very happy with the amp now. I'm considering selling my Mesa MK-III (which I now use as the "outdoor gig" amp) and using the 75 for that purpose. The Mesa just can't do the Fender clean thing as well as the 75 and, now that the 75 can do the dirty thing, there's no use in keeping them both.
It's a little heavy to cart around to the local clubs so I usually take a Vibrolux Reverb or Rivera to the smaller gigs. But if I wanted to carry it, the low power switch on the 75 lets me get a good tone at low to moderate volumes. The manual says the switch knocks the amp down to 15 watts. If so, it's a damn loud 15 watts. I'e never had to go to the high power (75 watt) setting in a club. Plus the 15 watt setting gets a nice clean channel tone, right on the edge of distortion, at moderate volumes. I'm really pleased with the amp now and would look for another if I lost this one.

75 watt combo with 15 watt low power switch, boost on all tone controls, 1-12"Fender speaker, line out, effects loop. Generally a nice combo. has great clean tone but lead distortion is "raspy" and grainy. I've tried to get techs to fixit but they all say it's a major undertaking due to the linear output design. If I could only fix the raspy distortion I'd stop searching for my ideal amp.

Clean sound are great...loose and "Fendery". distortoin sound seems OK early on then it really gets on your nerves. Has lots of gain though (maybe too much?). I've used it with a Strat, Les Paul and PRS Custom. Same distortion problem on all of these guitars.

It's been very reliable...never let me down in dozens of gigs.

I've never had to deal with \fender so I can offer no opinions on this.

I'd love to keep it but only if I can get that damn buzzy distortion corrected. apparantly many amp techs are familiar with this sound as I've seen this noise commented on in various amp newsgroups. It's a damn shame 'cause it's such a nice amp.

Single channel w/ two jacks, 75w, all tube, w/ 1 Electro Voice 12" Driver. There's a foot swichable Drive channel. Panel controls are Gain-Treble-Midrange-Bass (all three boostable via pull switches)-Drive-Reverb-Drive Level -Master. In addition to the AC and Standby toggle, there's a low/high power toggle. The back panel has ground switching,ext. driver jack, and tube adjusment (I have no clue what it does, specifically). In summary this is the best value in any amp I've ever owned (I've owned a Twin, Ampeg V-2, and a Peavy). This amp is small (a tad heavy) but with a cabinet (I've got a JBL 15 in a ported enclosure - Toy Caldwell? remember him) you can get good levels outside, and play it in a hotel room.

It's great for my style, clean "tubey overdrive." It's quiet. You can't really make it sound like a chain saw w/o an effects pedal. But I've all ways figured it's easy to distort a clean signal, you can't do the opposite. I play a relatively old ('69) Les Paul and a Strat w/ over wound single coils. The Amp stays clean to about 7, then it really sings.

It's worked since 1980, and had the poop beat out of it. Fenders last, period.

These guys will go the extra mile for you. Just treat them as you would want to be treated. No, I do not work for, nor have I ever worked for Fender.

I don't think Fender makes anything exactly like the 75 today. The Twin is still a great amp, but it is just so d*mn heavy. You can find these amps for about $225- $275 because we saw one the other day in a southern music shop the other day for $245, and it was reasonable shape