Fender FM-212R

I don't own this amp but the club owner of the gig we played last night keeps one as a backup. I used it because I threw my back out and didn't feel like lugging my Vibroking with Webers. And, a few weeks ago, my DRRI took a dump, so I had no usable small amp. I don't know about all the features, you'll have to read the other reviews here.

I have a good pedalboard with Analog Man and Keeley modded stuff so I just used the amps clean channel. I was really shocked... this little solid state piece of crap actually sounded pretty good. It's the first solid state amp I've used that takes pedals well. Clean sound was decent and so was the reverb. It didn't make my TS-9 or Boss Blues driver sound farty like some other solid state amps I've used.

Only used it one night. It didn't explode.

Customer support? What the hell is that? If you want customer support, buy a Dr. Z or some other smaller company amp, not a mega-company like Fender.

Playing 20+ years. I use a Fender Custom Shop Strat as my main guitar but have some nice old stuff like a'69 Les Paul, '69 ES340TD, '90s Tele, Carvin solid body, etc.

If I were Fender, I'd take out the distortion channels (because they're useless) and invest the saved money in some better speakers. I wonder how that would sound?

2004 Chinese made. If you need it to be versatile, get a multi-fx stomp box.
I play classic rock and metal.
I bought because it was cheap. Cost me $350.
It started out alright. I've had it now for a year.
The first five months it was ok.
Then one day I turned it on and out came a loud screaching noise.
The repair person told me it was humidity.
That didn't help.
It's gone in and out of the repair shop some 4 times.
Are all new products as disposable as this piece of crap?

The distortion is ok, it's not brutal, but since the amp feedbacks pretty easily, which I don't mind, it's ok in that sense.
It's good for classic rock. It lacks a bit for metal or thrash.
It sounds best in a midrangey setting.

I can't depend on it. I play in a power trio. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be playing "Are you gonna go my way", have the whole crowd dancing and rocking out at 3 am and then the thing just shuts down on you, nothing, zero... your drummer stares at you and you bark: "Drum solo!!!", the drunks and the crowd look at you, the Manager of the pub looks at you, and the only thing you can come up with is "Drum Solo!!!! Yeah!!!" Somebody should shoot those chinese Fender guys.

In and out of the shop a zillion times. Useless.

Avoid by all means.

2005
not versatile at all.
three channels, but two in fact.
i wish it had a more decent distortion
a lot of power
noisy amp
noisy reverb
useless parametrics
terrible lack of basses

i use an sg: alnico on bridge, dimarzio fred on neck
it doesn't suit with my style: as I said, playing hardcore i don't really need an amp made of gold, but I dare say a decent one. the distort channel does really sucks. the clean channel is decent, so i managed to use this one with a dist pedal.
no variety of sound: the tone knobs seems fake: even setting 2/10 high and 10/10 bass the sound is so damn high that is simply impossible to reach a good distortion. the clean is decent, but no more than decent.

cheap plastic. i think it will last no more than a year without breaking.

this amp costed 300?.
despite of his brand, this amp is a cheap box, with cheap plastic rifinitures.
i see you guys shooting tens, i'm happy for you. i will sell this amp as quick as possible, and buy a better - and more expensive :( - one.

For years starting with my first amp (Vox Bently 2) I used just tube amps. But about 3 years ago I bought a behringer V-amp for recording. But when I plugged the V-amp into my marshall the programmed settings just didn't work.
To make a long story short I found the FM212's clean channel to be just what the doctor ordered. It was CLEAN and loud and when I connected the V-amp to it the sounds matched what I had already recorded.
I really don't use any of the features except for some fine tone tuning to match the room I'm playing in.

I am a solo musician and really have no need to go above 4 on the clean channel. Most of my sound comes from custom settings on the Bheringer V-amp. I use 4 banks on the V-amp. One for each guitar. And they are a Fender Strat, a Ibanez pf200, a Gretsch Duo Jet and an Aria pro 2 FA70. Each bank has 5 channels so basically any sound I use is right at hand.
The amp performs without problems as I go from guitar to guitar and I am really pleased by the fact that I can get the live sound exactly as I recorded it.

Because I rely so much on the V-amp for my sound and I am a solo performer I don't always need to use the FM212. Sometimes I go directly into my PA system. But I have had no problem with it's reliability so far.

I had been looking for a clean loud amp and mine is probably one of the first they made. So far so good. And at the price they sell for you can't ask much more than the fact that it just works.

While there may be a legitiment complaint about the FM212 not having a specific character, to me that was it's selling point. Basically I was looking for a PA for my V-amp and guitars and found it in the FM212. Truthfully if I was playing in a blues band instead of solo I probably wouldn't buy it and would haul out my old Marshall. But anyone leaning heavily on a modeling effects unit like the bheringer V-amp you should try out this amp.
I've been playing guitar for over 35 years and never thought I'd go solid state with my amps. But times and equipment change.

Made in China 2006. Has channel switching from clean ch to drive and more drive ch. Reverb does not switch via pedal. 2x12" small magnet speakers. Weighs very little for a 212. It has usable features for the working musician.

Using a Fender USA Strat with vintage alnico singles. The amp is quiet unless you put the more drive on 10, then it has a lot of hiss. But you don't need to do that anyway. The channel switching is totally quiet and no lag. The more drive switch automatically boosts volume for leads which is OK with me. The FM212R can handle pedals in the clean channel and make the pedals sound very good. For 80's rock, southern rock, I think the Fender drive sound is right on. It is smoother than a Crate type distortion. It doesn't go there, know what I mean. But you can get a smooth distortion where you cannot with a Crate. Just because it is different doesn't mean it's not usable, need more distortion get a pedal, they work great with this thing, BTW.
This amp is better than I thought it would be. But I did think the reverb would be stronger in a Fender 212, c'mon! You can give us a little more than that, Fender! The same people who buy this won't be
passing up a Twin Reverb just because this has some decent reverb!
Of course Fender thinks so, so this FM212R (notice the R for reverb) has weak reverb. Other than that I wouldn't be ashamed to play out with this amp. It is loud, works great with pedals, and what more do you need? Yeah, tone. It's in yer quality guitar and yer playing. You can't get great tone with a cheap guitar on any amp. That's a fact.

Well, it makes a great seat or footrest if nothing else. 5 year warranty
helps a lot.

Five years warranty is plenty of time in yer career to get to the top and back down and still have some warranty left!

I've been playing since before SRV ever picked up a guitar, which means nothing actually...but if we'd had amps like this back in the 70's and 80's we would have been jumping for joy! I think it is much better than
most people say if you know it's limitations and work with them. Replace the black grille cloth with salt/pepper and you got a real Fender! I've grown to like the thing. If someone steals it, it won't get enough at the pawn shop to pay for the gas to get home, that's a good thing! Buy one for 300 or less and use it. Don't listen to the snobs who don't give anything a chance. This amp will do some work for ya. For the category this amp is in it rates a nine. 100 watt 212 for 300 bucks is great!
If they raise the price too high, look at Peavey, Crate, Epiphone, Laney, Behringer, Marshall, Vox, Randall, etc., etc.

Standard features: two channels, gain boost on the distortion channel. Spring reverb. Separate EQ for both channels (which is, of course, a godsend. I can't believe the companies that make amps with only one set of EQ). Two 12" speakers and probably 120 watts RMS, I didn't check. If there's one thing this amp does well, it's volume. The thing can get loud.

Two button footswitch (channel select/more drive), though it's odd they didn't have a Reverb on/off switch - a lot of amps do. Probably wouldn't use it anyway though, so I can't complain.

At first glance, it seems to be able to cover a lot of ground sonically, and it's got that typical alluring Fender amp look to it. Resembles a Twin Reverb, which, as far as guitar amps go, is one of the better looking models out there.

To tell the truth, this isn't my amp, this is my brother's brand new baby. Granted, he's only been playing for a couple of years (I've been playing for a bit longer), but I drilled him for weeks beforehand to go tube, knowing that he would regret this purchase eventually.

I came home one day to find it all set up in my recording room, with his Ibanez Jet-whatever plugged in. Curious about the amp itself, I turned it on and gave it a shot. Thoroughly unimpressed, I decided to stop playing with the kid's toy, give the amp the benefit of the doubt, and haul out the big guns - my PRS and Les Paul (both, of course, REAL ones - a CE-24 (I like the neck more than its more expensive brothers) and an old Studio (it was a deal I couldn't pass up) respectively). Now, here are my thoughts after an hour of knob turning with 30 second spurts of disappointed playing in between.

Despite using these, the amp responded the same way. The clean channel - which can be wonderfully pristine when solid-state - is simply brittle and absolutely lifeless. It doesn't have that beautiful Fender chime and shimmer heard on its (distant) cousins. There is absolutely no bass - which is an incredible feat with 2 12" speakers. To give it the benefit of the doubt, it was in a room with hardwood flooring. HOWEVER, the bass control should still have done something to shape the tone. Likewise, the middle control seemed to have no effect. I prefer my cleans to be "fat" but still retain clarity, and this was impossible. The only sound the clean channel seemed to make was a brittle sound with way too much treble, no sustain, and absolutely no character.

Moving on to the distortion, there's only one way to describe it: MUD. Pure, unadulterated, incomprehensible MUD. Alright, alright...if you play power chords or single notes, it isn't muddy...and you can get a pretty fat sound out of it. The Drive/more drive feature is nice, and seemed like it could be useful. My ears actually perked up for a bit when I switched to this channel. They just didn't stay perky for too long.

It doesn't really crunch. It doesn't sing, scream, wail, no, the sustain doesn't last for days. You can get a decent bluesy low-gain kind of sound that's good for doing 12 bar. You can play in a garage punk band and knock out songs consisting of two progressions of 3 powerchords each. Just don't try to play more than two notes at once - or else any clarity you might have once found is gone.

I did get an ok sound when I combined the Drive channel with a Boss DS-1. But YOU try hitting two pedals in a stage situation every time you need to switch channels. Tried it before...you're bound to screw up more than a few times.

Overall, just a terrible sound coming out of this. Maybe - just maybe - if you used some tube preamps and good distortion pedals, and just used the amp for its speakers and volume, you could get a good sound. But I wouldn't be caught dead playing this in front of other people.

If it's like other Fenders it should hold up ok. Less chance of breaking down since it's solid state. I wouldn't worry about it breaking down too much.

NA - it's new.

I've been playing for about 6 or 7 years (I can't remember, really...it started as a point of interest and has been my passion, pasttime, and creative outlet for the past 3 or 4 years)...been in and out of all the different kinds of bands you make out of boredom and the kinds you actually want to do well. My current (and probably permanent) darling is my PRS, which will soon be singing through a Vox AC-30 or an older Mesa nomad. Haven't decided yet.

To ground this review, I have Crate 2x12 that I used for the longest time (and still do sometimes, mostly for personal practice), which is roughly the same price and has the same features. The crate, even without a tube pre and distortion pedals just blows this thing away. I simply cannot stand this abomination of an amp, and I don't think you could get me to buy it for $100, let alone $300. I hate the whole push towards digital and all solid-state equipment, but there are $100 modeling pedals that make better noises than this.

The only thing I don't feel sorry for is my brother. He had the opportunity to get himself a nice tube amp, and instead went for this piece.

Can't wait to see him start complaining, just for the "I told you so" satisfaction of it all.

Bought brand new in the box April 1, 2006. Just took it out of the box this morning, April 2, 2006 to try it out and make sure everything works. So far, so good! First off, I did not need this amp. I currently own a Traynor YCV40 1x12 Tube combo w/add'l. 1x12 Traynor Ext. Cab. This has been my gigging rig for the past year or so. Also own a Roland JC120, Peavey Bandit 1x12 (Delta Series), Peavey Revolution 1x12 (Delta Series)and you may think this crazy, but I traded a Peavey Special 1x12 160 watt amp in for this Made in China Fender FM212R amp! As all guitar players will tell you, they are looking for that one "special" amp that has that "special" tone/sound, that they just can't live without. I've come close on several occassions, but not quite, not yet.
Versatility means different things to different people. Knowing what you want or need from a piece of gear is where you really need to start. I look for a very sparkling, brilliant clean tone from an amp; first and foremost. If the clean doesn't sound good, then you might as well look at something else. That's why I own the Roland JC120, the most beautiful clean tone and most lush chorus you can get from an amp! I tried 3 of these amps out at 3 different music stores and found that all 3 of them were very consistant in tone, on both the clean and lead channels. I had to keep the "in store" volume down to about 2, so not to be obnoxious to the store help or to other customers. So far, this amp has plenty of volume, but will know more when I have a chance to rehearse and gig with it.
This is a quasi-3 channel amp, but I really only consider it a 2 channel amp with the "more drive" option being a boost function for the "drive" channel. The channels can be switched via the included footswitch, as well as the "more drive" function. A very handy feature and it's nice to see the footswitch being included. Some companies have gotten away from including footswitches, and expect the consumer to pay extra for these.
I find the distortion channel(s) to be very usable for my situation/use. Except for the Roland JC120, I can usually find a usable setting on the distortion channel. I view an amp as a tool to be used, and with any tool, you have some that work better than others. Except for my Traynor, I have always used solid state amps, from Peavey and Fender and have been very satisfied with the tones obtained from almost all of them. It took me quite a while, and quite a bit of money, to finally get the kind of tone I was looking for out of the Traynor. I've never had to do that with a solid state amp. I guess I choose amps as more of a "general purpose" piece of equipment than some. I also don't think it's so hard to get a good general tone from an amp, since most of the people who come to see your gig wouldn't know the difference between a Pignose or a Mesa Boogie.
All in all, this should be a good general purpose 2x12 combo amp. I usually like an amp that has a "presence" control, but this amp really doesn't seem to need it. Has quite a bit of high end tone, and the mid and bass controls seem very usable and controllable also.
For the record, I play in a 4 piece band, which covers Classic Rock, Southern Rock, Top 40 and classic Country. We usually gig about 3 weekends per month, medium size clubs. We don't mic anything up, just use stage volume for the room.

I play Tele style guitars almost exclusively. I do own 3 Fender Strats and a Carvin DC127. My main stage guitars are a new G&L Tribute ASAT Classic Premium w/ash body, maple neck/fretboard and USA G&L pick-ups. Also use a stock Fender Standard Tele and Fender Deluxe Nashville Tele. When I tried out the amps at the different music stores, I was able to pull these guitars off the rack to try out the amps. I also took my G&L Tribute with me, but didn't find it necessary to take it in the store, since the standard Fenders sounded so good!
As with any amp, when you use standard single coil pick-ups, you should expect to hear some noise/hum. When I tried out the amps at Guitar Center and Sam Ash, there was no noise at all. At I.R.C. Music, I know up front that no matter what guitar you try out in an amp, you're going to have noise, due to the wiring of the store. As I expected, the hum was pretty nasty! But, the tone was still there, as with the previous amps I tried out. If there are no problems with wiring at the clubs you play, you should not get any more noise than with any other amp.
I'm very impressed (so far) with the clean channel of the amp. And again, (so far) I find the distortion channel(s) to my liking. I will know more after use at rehearsals and gigs. Afterwards, I will make any add'l. comments, as needed.

Will reserve opinions for this section after I have the opportunity to actually use the amp at rehearsals and gigs.

Never had to deal with Fender directly. This amp has a 5 year warranty, 1 year on the cab, handles, speakers and misc. things. But the electronics should be covered for 5 years, so if it breaks down, I'll take it back to the dealer, since they have in house repair for all major brands!

I have been a gigging musician for the past 35+ years. I am a gear "junkie". I have owned just about every piece of gear you can imagine! From original 52' Gibson Gold Top to PRS, Pre CBS Fender guitars and Blackface amps. I've owned it, played it, sold it, traded it! I don't do the "vintage" thing anymore. All my gear is something that can be replaced at any time with a like piece of gear.
So far, I find this to be a very usable 2x12 combo amp. I only use a Ernie Ball Volume pedal and a Boss CH-1 chorus pedal. With the right amp, I can even live without the chorus pedal. If you use a good amp and guitar, then ultimately, the tone comes from YOU!
If you're interested in one of these amps, you should try to find one to try out. I would've liked to have tried out the head and 4x12 cab combination, but none of the stores I went to had them.

I don't know when this amp was made, it is a reletively new model. I play everything from Metallica to the Sum 41, and this amp is great for all of them, when the right settings have been applied. It has an Effects Loop, and can be connected to another amp by the Pre out setting. This Amp is friggin loud........in comparison, my friend's 120 watt marshall which he spent $1600 australian on in a SALE on 5 is the same volume as this on 3....i have no idea why that is considering this is 100 watts but it's true....im not sure what model the marshall is, but the fender's distortion on this sounds comparitively (when taking into account its amazing price) good to the marshall. I tend to use the mid-countour switch extensively as it helps eliminate unwanted noise i have found.

I use this with an (esp)Ltd viper and it seems to fit perfectly...sometimes when you turn the drive up particuarly high it feedbacks, but by lowering the distortion on the amp and mucking around with the tone knobs on your guitar you can get a great sound without feedback.

I currently have it the amp set on:
CLEAN CHANNEL
Volume:(whatever you want)
Treble:7
Mid:5
bass:4-6 i change this quite often haha
(drive channels)
drive:4
volume:(whatever you want) wouldnt want this on past 6 either without a decent set of earplugs.
Treble:6
Mid:3.5
Bass:8.5
Reverb:2 (i dont like much reverb)
mid countour switch on
the clean channel is typical of what you would expect from fender:amazing, does not distort at high volumes.

I know the settings i have described seem very mellow (eg 4 distortion) but i assure you it works great but only when you muck around with tone knobs on your guitar. I'm not sure settings such as this would work too great on a single coil pickup guitar, but it seems to work great with double humbuckers...

I can depend on this amp....I would not use it on a gig without backup because thats stupid, but THIS AMP is reliable...simple as that, no question...it is strong, light considering the noise you can make with it (which is loud enough for me to let myself, and everybody else around me know how happy i am with it), and has never broken down. If you are reading this review and have read about the reverb breaking it is because they have tried to MOVE THE AMP WHILE THE amp and REVERB ON...this is not a good idea....it makes a horrible reverb strange reverb noise mixed with a crack, and breaks.........at least thats what mine seemed to do. luckily i managed to fix mine, so just dont move it when it is ON and you will be fine.

i have never dealt with customer support. i bought the amp 8 months ago and the warranty extends to a year (limited warranty). Im sure that i wont have to use the though.

I have been playing going on 4 years now. I own the ltd viper, an ashton electric guitar, and ibanez acoustics (not sure which models and cant be bothered checking, not really relevant though). I play a crybaby through this thing and that sounds pretty good to.
I am yet to find something i hate about it....i compared this with so many other products over about the period of 4 months. I checked out countless amps including crates, rolands, marshalls, behringers, randalls etc etc. This came out the best.
if this was stolen i would buy it again definitely, for 520 australian you cant go wrong.

2005 model, despite what others say I absolutely love the drive, more drive distortions. Yeah its not the best, but running straight into the amp without effects Its not bad at all. This amp is exactly what I wanted, that classis fender tone in a 2x12 of just pure fkin power!
I have played through tube amps, and personally I prefer solid state. I say that because thats my opinion, and sound is a preference. Im pleased that it came with a 2 button footswitch. It has all the power I could ever hope for.

Like everyone else has said the clean is amazing, the distortions are cool but something I think that is wonderfull is that this amp is affordable and with the clean sound u can plug in whatever effect, distortion pedal u want. I have a digitech multi effects processor that sounds incredible with this. I play a DOD grunge, DOD Supra distortion. I use a Standard strat, which sounds great through this, and a BC RICH Mockingbird with a Digitech DF-7 for my hard rock, and metal applications! I went through about 3 other amps before I found this one and fell in love. I bought a Behringer GMX212 (would not recommend to anyone) just for the fact that its power output is pathetic. My Fender Champ 25R is seriously louder and cleaner. Then I traded it in for a VOX AD212 semi tube amp, it was awesome but I didnt care for tube sound. Then I got a Line 6 Spider 2 which is wonderfull, but again wasnt quite what I was after. Then I decided that I just wanted simple raw solid state power. THis amp has it with great tone.

ITs a tank!! will be using it for gigging!

havent needed them!

been playing for 10 years on and off. 4yrs solid. I would definately buy it again! I love the power output and tone!, I wish it had a powered out line to fuel an external speaker cabinet.
I bought a Behringer 212, a VOX 212, a LINE 6 Spider 2 2x12. with exception to the Behringer, I think these are all wonderfull amps. But I traded them all in one after another until I was fully satisfied with the FENDER FM212,
I wish it had an onboard tuner.

Ok, so I've had this Amp for a while now, and i have to say, it's never done me wrong. I only play it with my BC Rich Warlock(Bronze series), And one time with my friend's cheap starter Epiphone, and got an amazing sound on both(an amazing feat with the Epi, i might add). The clean is good enough for me(I mainly play death metal, so i haven't realy used it that much). The distortion is quite amazing for the price of the amp($299 American).I'm always getting yelled at by the neighbors and my brother to "turn that crap down!!!", even though the highest ive gone is about 5.5.

I've been playing for about 4 years now, but this is my first Fender. I've gotta give it to ye Fender, this is one of the better amps I have owned. I would trust this amp completely for any type of gig i played without backup. The best part about it is it has never died or even lost its sound(even though ive dropped it numerous times).

Never had to deal with them

So, I bought this amp in an effort to replace a dead one(that took WAY less abuse than this one in a shorter period of time).After hours of searching music stores and pawn shops, and testing at least 50 other amps, I decided on this one because of 3 factors(Distortion and drive, Price, and power).I love all those features(especially the price....now thats "Bang for my buck")If it were to get stolen I would buy a new one right away.But i would recommend an equalizer pedal to give the distortion a less muffled tone.