Fender FM-212R
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Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 09/30/2009
at 02:12pm
by Ross Maidment
Email: cunz06 at googlemail<dot>com
Features
:
7
solid state 100watts in the tank, plenty of volume paired with some real nice heavy fender speakers
this amp is pretty much 'no frills' in technology, -clean/drive/more drive channels do exactly what they say.
'mid contour' button to give you modern/traditional overdrive sounds
reverb is your only effect on this one, but pretty much ineffective if you're looking for the 'surf' sound.
i like this amp for its straightforward approach though(less things to go wrong!) i play this one with a Boss multi-effects pedal, which is a better option in my opinion, because in-built effects on amps are typically limited
Sound Quality
:
8
clean channel- as far as solid state amps go, this is a beauty. it has warmth close to what you'd expect of its tube cousins and it's really clear. EQ is effective. i'm currently playing my american telecaster into this with distortion pedal and you can hear it loud and proud!
drive channel- you'll get from 'quiet blues' to 'metal' range on the overdrive. not my personal taste of 'drive' sound but nonetheless a good all rounder.
more drive channel-strictly speaking not a channel, what this does is give you a couple more bars of gain for your lead parts. beefs up the single notes nicely on solos, pretty sweet feature
mid contour button-pressed in drops your mid range sound to give you modern overdrive, sounds good
clean channel sounds alot better than drive channel. its definatly the strength here. i've recorded with this amp and the results were good. but this is what you would use at gigs, in a pub you shouldn't need to mic it, at middle to larger venues it would be
Reliability
:
10
I have owned this amp for 5 years now, i practice twice a week and gig once a week in a grunge band. it's taken knocks, coffee spills, offroad car journeys, plugged in 'full blast' by accident and even had a guitars thrown at it!
It has NEVER cut out, lost power, faded in sound quality, had replacement parts or been visably damaged.
if you have this amp you will certainly not need a back up.
if a nuclear war broke out i would hide inside this amp
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
never had to ring them but there website is fancy?
Overall Rating
:
10
i love this amp because is does the simple things very well, it sounds great especially running distortion and effects through 'clean'
i was able to afford this amp as a beginner for ??230 but you still get all of the fender build quality. i've started running it together with a vox ac30(??1299!) -many artists are pairing up tube and solid state amps nowadays because they BOTH have strengths. this amp is now part of MY professional rig.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: 200
Submitted 06/19/2009
at 04:46pm
by Niggle
Email: nigehay<at>tiscali dot co dot uk
Features
:
9
I bought this item new as a back-up to my Laney VC30 212 valve amp which is my gigging amp. I use a Digitech GNX4 multi-effects unit so I only need to use the clean channel of the FM212R. I felt I needed to test the amp thoroughly and I was quite impressed with the sound of the drive and the more drive channels. The footswitch worked well, I couldn't discern any benefit from using the effects loop. For a solid state amp I was impressed with the volume. It doesn't have a line out or headphone output so I can't use it for in line recording which is a shame.
Sound Quality
:
9
I play all sorts of styles but my band is a 50s rock & roll outfit and I use an Ibanez AFS-75 TRD Artcore guitar with low powered humbuckers and a Classic Players 60s Strat - the MIM model with the custom shop bits and '69 pickups. The cleans are nice, not chimey like a valve amp but nice nonetheless. The drive channel can be balanced with the clean channel to imitate the break-up point of a valve amp but obviously you can't get all those harmonic niceties that you expereince on a Class A valve amp. It is very loud and I'm used to loud. It can be tamed for home use but in a band situation I noticed that the higher volumes improved the tone as the speakers gradually began to open up. By the end of the first band rehearsal I was quite impressed. A word of caution though, the reverb unit supplied with the amp was crap. There was barely any reverb coming through even in the 7 - 10 range. I took another reviewers advice and contacted Tube Amp Doctor who advised me to upgrade to a Z-8DB2C1B Accutronics Reverb Can, it's fitted to various Marshall and Roland amps and is compatible with the FM212R - fitting is easy there is no electronics involved. This mod has elevated the quality of sound enormously.
I usually play with either a clean or a warm sound in this band with various effects added according to what is required for each song. I can achieve both tones easily with the amp alone, but the modded reverb is the icing on the cake. Before the mod I would rate it a 7 but afterwards I rate it a 9. I often get compliments on the authenticity of the 50s sounds when I use my valve amp. I am so impressed with the FM212R that I will use the valve amp as a back-up at tomorrow night's gig and see if anyone actually notices the difference in sound.
I play heavier stuff for a bit of light relief and again these sounds can be achieved well with this amp.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
I bought the amp as a back-up because it is solid-state and because someone cut the power to my valve amp and blew all the fuses - it's happened a couple of times before and I decided that just had to have a spare amp around at gigs in the future. I thoroughly checked out the options and chose the FM212R as the 'go to' back-up.
Only time will tell me if I'm right or not.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I've been buying Fender gear since I was a teenager which was frighteningly a long way back in another century and I haven't had to contact Fender about a problem yet. Their website support is a mine of information though.
Overall Rating
:
10
I've been playing for 36 years, you do learn about gear in that time. I only buy what I think is quality. I have a Gibson Les Paul, Fender US Custom 62 Re-issue Tele, Fender Classic Players 60s Strat, Ibanez Artcore, Laney VC30 212 amp, Digitech GNX4 (+ supermodels upgrade), various Keeley pedals and Carl Martin pedals.
If this amp was lost or I would buy another and do the reverb mod all over again. I really like the vintage blackface look of the amp and I think combined with modelling effects I use it will fool a lot of people into thinking that it's a Twin Reverb. It's excellent value for money. It's not a valve amp and it won't sound exactly like one, but I reckon it's a close second and you get a hell of a lot of amp for very little spend. If you spent nearly five times as much money you could get a nice top of the line Fender valve amp that will be better - but I've been around the block a few times and IMHO five times as much money does not buy you an amp that is five time better. The FM212R is a great little amp.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 06/19/2009
at 06:59am
by Tom Fever
Features
:
8
Amp was made in 2002 I think but I got it second hand. Very versatile for what it is. I think with enough time you can equate the two channels (there's a button on the footswitch for "gain" and "more gain" to help you along) and the reverb is kinda nice. I never bother with the mid-boost thing because I don't think its necessary and it makes hardly any difference when its turned on. Use it for practice and gigs and its plenty loud enough (I've never taken it above 6/10).
Sound Quality
:
7
Distortion is a bit poor but comes out quite clear. I normally play this on clean through a distortion pedal (MXR+ or something) and it cuts through the mix way better than the channel on its own. Distortion channel buzzes a lot. Oh yeah, and the channels are LOUD as hell.
Reliability
:
10
This thing is super reliable, I throw it into the back of my car and leave it out over night, pick it up in the morning, wipe most of the dew off and carry on. I gig quite a lot so it takes a lot of abuse and seems to stand up to it very well. I never use a backup. One time it did smell like burning plastic for a bit but it might have been because it was standing on top of a radiator. I moved it off and it was fine. Anyway, top marks for reliability.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never had a problem with it so I've never contacted them.
Overall Rating
:
9
For the price I paid (??130, about $150 at the time), this thing is ridiculously good. My friend uses a Fender Super Reverb 2x12 from the late 80s and a Super Tremolo and they've done nothing but break down while this thing carries on. Its heavy which is kind of a pain but it looks good and sounds great. If it was stolen I couldn't afford to replace it with anything else. In a perfect world I'd have a Fender Deluxe 2x12 but until then, I'm happy to stick with this. I've played myriad guitars through it (Fender Jaguar, Fender '50s Telecaster, Fender MIA Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul Special II, Telecaster '72 Thinline Gibson Melody Maker II, Danelectro U2 and the Telecaster Custom Deluxe I play now) and they all sound great through it, the distortion channel really beefs up the single coils which is handy. I'd happily recommend this amp, Solid states in this price range are nowhere near as good.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 06/14/2009
at 11:40am
by mustangjunior
Features
:
6
My FM-212r was made in 2008.
I mainly play pop-punk and metal so the amp is good for this, although the "more drive" has alot of buzz. the clean channel isnt really used alot with me but seems to be ok.
With the 2 inputs the amp still sounds ok but any guitar with single coil pickups(eg. telecaster) would be drowned out by a guitar with humbuckers (eg.Les Paul) which for a solo over power chords just doesnt work...
I use this amp nearly every day on a low volume (which is hard to do as the volume knob is VERY sensitive and either blows the windows out or your stuck with your ear against the cone)
Sound Quality
:
5
I use an Epiphone Les Paul jr. with a Gibson Dirty Fingers pickup and a Fender Mustang with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rail at the bridge. With the stock pickups in both guitars the amp still sounded good.
The amp has next to no variety with the tone that it produces, if youre looking for a cheap amp then buy this, and put an effects pedal through the clean channel, this will work a whole lot better for choosing just the right tone for you.
Reliability
:
2
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS AMP TO ANYONE!!!
but maybe thats just my bad experience.
This amplifier has broken on me twice in just over a year, both times doing the exact same thing. First comes the loud crackling noise then comes the smoke, then comes the burning smell and the lack of any sort of sound from your guitar. All there is is a low frequency hum. And this did not happen due to loud volume.
The first time this happened, it was fixed under warranty and came back good as new.
Customer Support
:
10
When my amp broke, i emailed fender and they were super helpful (I bought the guitar off ebay and they gave me the address of an authorized dealer near me to take it to for pick up)
The amp was fixed under warranty and got back to me in about 2 weeks.
Overall Rating
:
4
I have been playing guitar or about 8 years (im 20)
In my house there are 8 electric guitars and 2 acoustic guitars.
The amp is ok, not too heavy, but some wheels would help alot with transport.
The only reason i bought this amp was because i wanted a reputable name and cheap price, this is TOTALLY not worth it, given any choice now, i would have rather paid a little more and gotten a 100w Marshall.
Kudos to Fender for the price and you really do get what you pay for, which is something not great...
GET A MARSHALL INSTEAD ITS WORTH THE EXTRA HUNDRED ODD QUID!!!
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: USD 300
Submitted 05/22/2009
at 09:34pm
by Squall
Features
:
8
The amp was made in 2008, bought it straight out of the box from a Guitar Center.
This amp is quite versatile for quite a few genres. I play mainly blues, classic rock and indie rock, and for this the amp provides a very good base: the clean channel. The first channel is very powerful, has good tone and will hold up to a lot of gain coming from a set of pedals. In order to get a good overdriven sound out of the amp, you need a pedal, what kind of pedal doesn't matter. Regardless of how hard you push this channel, the speakers and tone stay nice and stable. The clean channel is also very good for reggae, country and hard rock, depending on what you send the signal through first.
The drive channel is a different story. The tone between the two channels is a massive change. No matter what settings you use for tone, it is impossible to get the two channels to get close to each other. The second channel has a blanket-like quality to it. That aside, this channel is excellent for tones that take out all the mids, such as modern hard rock and metal. The second channel also comes with a "mid contour" switch that is available on the footswitch as well. This further removes more mids from the tone, and boosts the highs and lows slightly. Very powerful, but the character of the sound between the channels is too great.
The amp features a spring reverb tank, as well as a preamp out, power amp in set of jacks. These are useful for powering another amp. Note: They are not cab outs, and must be plugged into the input of another amp for it to work. That being said, they do the job nicely. The spring reverb is quite nice as well, it has the sound you'd expect from a real reverb tank.
I use this amp for practice and performance both in my own music and with a jazz band. It holds well in any situation, although regulating the volume can be a little bit of a hassle sometimes.
Overall, this amp offers quite a few features. Some aren't exactly necessary or quality, but it has a lot of value within it.
Sound Quality
:
10
The quality of the sound from this amp is excellent, though only on the clean channel. I play a custom-built stratocaster with Lace Chrome Dome pickups through a Dunlop Crybaby Wah > Boss BD-2 > Fender Starcaster Chorus > Boss LM-2 > BBE Sonic Stomp. It sounds great from the clean tones, to the heavily overdriven sounds from the Blues Driver to the funky tones of the wah pedal.
The amp only gets noisy when hum is added through bad cables or effects pedals. Aside from that, it's noiseless.
The clean channel does not break up. At all. I've played it at 10 just to break in the speakers and the clean tone shines right through. Naturally, with a distortion pedal it's unbearable at that volume, as is an undistorted sound. But the sound you throw at it is the sound it projects.
Reliability
:
10
This amp is solid. As seen in other reviews, the construction is solid. It is moderately heavy at 43 pounds, but nowhere near unbearable. I would definitely use this at a gig without a backup. This amp holds together. No issues at all.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Have not dealt with customer support.
Overall Rating
:
9
I've been playing for about two years, and I own a Line 6 Spyder 15 watt practice amp. I had used a Fender 165 Watt Vibroverb amp for a time, and this compares to it in sheer volume and clean tones.
If it were stolen, I would get another one the same day.
I love the fact that the clean channel allows you to create whatever tone you want from it. On the flip side, I don't like the fact that switching between the channels is impossible.
I chose this amp for it's power and it's versatility. Other solid state combo amps do not compare to this at its price.
If anything, I would want a wattage limiter switch in the amp like on the new Fender Twin models, to allow for easier to dial quiet volumes.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 02/21/2009
at 12:13pm
by Sandro Oliva
Email: sandroliva at tiscali<dot>it
Features
:
7
You already know tis amp's feautres, so I will not mention it.
I would say it has no more and no less of what I would expect to get from a combo amp.
Maybe that's because I'm old school.
I bought this amp on eBay for cheap, and it worked fine though it had a no-name replacement speaker.
I bought it just to experiment a stereo set up along with mu 65 TRRI.
Now I don't use it much since I found a '70s SuperTwin (yes, the 180W monster!!!).
Sound Quality
:
6
Adequate clean channel, nothing to compare with a tube amp, and not even up to my SS Princeton Chorus, but I can live with it.
The Lead channel is pure crap.
But I have never found a lead channel of my liking, not even on more expensive tube amps (Marshall, Mesa etc.)
Once again, I'm old-school, from the days when you had one only channel you had to crank all the way up to get distortion.
Boosters and Overdrive pedals came only much later.
Reliability
:
4
The amp worked fine till the day I tested it in my studio at stage volume.
It sounded much better than usual for about one minute and a half, then it died.
The repair guy told me he had to re-solder about EVERYTHING, as it was VERY crappily assembled (you get what you pay for).
Now the amp works fine, and seems rather reliable.
I might use it as back-up for the Twin.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never dealt with Fender.
Overall Rating
:
7
I've been playing since 1966, and I own (or have owned) about every piece of guitar equipement.
My current rig is: 1981 (modified) Les Paul Custom, 1974 SG Custom, 1990 Gibson Lucille, 1996 (modified) E.C. Strat, 200 Custom Shop 60 Strat, Reissue 52 Tele, a few more assembled strats, Gibson J200, Guild Electro-Acoustic, Alvarez 12 String, and a bunch of Banjos, mandolin & Sitars. 1994 '65 Twin Reverb RI, 1979 SuperTwin, '70s London City (Marshall Clone) Head with 1960Ax cabinet (plus a few more cheap ones).
If stolen or lost I wouldn't replace it, as I own way too much equipement, and I don't tour anymore (..but...you never know!!!!)
I like this amp WITH THE MODS. I would reccomend to replace the reverb tank as well.
I see somebody has dropped a couple of Vintage 30s, but that's going too far...
It would be too expensive for this kid.....
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 11/04/2008
at 08:48pm
by Kmac
Features
:
10
My amp is a fender frontman 212r and was made in 2007. It's a 100 watt power house. Real spring reverb, overdrive and a 2 channel foot switch.
Sound Quality
:
9
I have a fender MIM HSS strat, a squier jagmaster with 2 duncan designed humbuckers, and a squier standard tele. All three guitars sound great through this amp. The clean channel is awesome. The overdrive is good for playing blues. Great for playing clean, rock or blues. Not the best for metal. Over all great sounding amp and very LOUD!
Reliability
:
9
I throw this amp in the back of my truck every Friday for Friday night jams. I'm not a gigging musician, but I've been playing about 5 years and this thing is very durable.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never had to deal with customer support. I've never had a problem
Overall Rating
:
9
I've been playing for 5 years or more. I own a fender strat, 2 squiers, an alverez acoustic electric, a fender acoustic electric, a martin J-15 acoustic jumbo, a vox valvetronix ad15vt couple of boss pedals ibanez tube screamer, crybaby wah and thats all I can think of off the top of my head. I've owned many other amps, crate,marshall,vox and this amp is a quality amp for around $300. This amp has a great clean sound a good spring reverb and a fairly good overdrive channel. This amp is very loud and it is also a nice looking amp. If it was lost or stolen I would probably buy another, I'd like to upgrade to a tube amp though.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: USD 125 USED
Submitted 05/21/2008
at 07:57am
by averell
Features
:
9
hi
my fender is build in 2005.
its realy a monster thing, its variable for all my styles im playing.
punk/blues/rock/metal it doesn't matter it can do it all.
it has 2channels, clean,drive and extra drive and spring reverb and mine came with an original fender switchpedal.
im using it with rehearses and gigs, and it does the job really good:D and power? omfg its not normal hehe above 5? no way ;)
im realy loving it :) and for the price im not complaining
Sound Quality
:
9
im using different guitars with this amp.
my Dean ml,aria pro2 (les paul),fender jagstang and a fender mim.
and it fits to all my styles.
it doesnt fuzz at all, sometimes some feedback, but i like that :P
the clean can get a little brutal at high but why pushing it that far?
5 is realy enough, believe me!
the distortion is good for ac/dc,status quo and so on, when using the extra drive it can do some metallica,iron maiden, and others, but for the heavier ****, bui yourself a pedal(30 a 80bucks)and you can do it all
Reliability
:
7
i'm using it for gigs and rehearsing but i always bring my marshall 8080 with me as backupamp(its always good to bring a backup with you,
its electric and can be busted! just like televisions;)
the amp hasnt broke down yet, i have it just a few days
Customer Support
:
7
i don't have it for so long,but a friend has fenders formore than 20 years and never had anycomplaints with the fender fabricators
the amp came with a warranty for 5 years, it was 1year old when i got it, so 4 years to go :D
Overall Rating
:
9
im playing since i was 5, im 25 now so do the counting :P
im owning all kinds of amps/guitars/effects, from the cheapest to the expensive stuff.
if it would be stolen, i would buy it again(just because i love the sound, and other fender amps are to expensive for the quality you are getting,this thing does it all that other fender amps have.
people, if you can buy this amp just buy it and get surprised, or go to a musicstore and try one, when the price and sounds are right, dont complain later because someone said something bad about it!
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: USD 330.00
Submitted 04/11/2008
at 04:59pm
by Robbie
Features
:
10
Ok, here's the reason it gets a '10' in features. To me, a clean and tansparent tone is hard to fine these days for amps in this price range. It has vintage sounding spring reverb(no, it is NOT digital, this is a VERY good thing.) It has an effect loop and jack for foot switch. It also comes with a 2-button footswitch for two-channel operation, and a "Drive/More Drive" button that allows you to boost the drive channel. This amplifier has a LOT of treble. I like treble. I'm not one of these old guys who turns the treble down because he's still hungover from the last gig. I like my tone to be clear and bright. So it's nice to have an amp that gives you plenty of treble without even having to turn the control up very much. The mids are nice and so is the bass. You can dial in just about any kind of tone that suits you with this amp. To me, that is versatility. A bunch of fancy amp models, effects, and other bells & whistles just limit you, IMHO. Overall, the tone on this seems pretty balanced. It only amplifies your guitar and effects pedals or stompboxes as you would expect. Everything sounds clean.
Sound Quality
:
10
It's not very noisey unless you've got too much plugged electricity coming out of one circuit. Otherwise, its pretty quiet. As I stated in features, this amp is pretty clear and transparent. I disagree with a lot of these old die hards who say it's 'gotta be tubes or it's crap.' Solid state has come a long way since the 1960's. When I tried this thing out I sat it next to a Fender '65 Twin Reverb. I switched back and forth between the two amps and couldn't notice too much difference. The '65 Twin had more warmth (naturally), and not as much treble. But after playing with the controls on both amps for awhile, I got the clean channels to sound pretty much the same with very subtle differences. The sales clerk was amazed and took a note of the settings so he could use it for demonstation purposes. I was amazed myself. If I had the money of course I would've bought the '65 Twin Reverb. But I'm working musician and I needed more volume. I'm a diehard Vox fan and I'm used to mic'ing up my 30 watters with other bands. The band I'm currently working for doesn't mic up anything. I needed a lot of bang for the buck. I needed something with high output, and a very transparent tone. This thing doesn't sound like a Vox, it sounds like a typical Fender amp. But thats ok, I'll probably never use it in the studio, but for live work it'll get the job done. The clean channel does seem to break up nicely around 8 or 9, but as of yet I haven't needed to crank it up that high. This amplifier is LOUD. So far I haven't needed to push it past 5 for the clubs I've played. Anything louder than that and you'll really need a pair of earplugs.
Reliability
:
10
It's never broken down but I've only had it for a short time. I think the idea of playing a show without having a backup is a bad idea. I'll still drag my Vox's to the shows in case this thing died, but I don't think it will. Some advice from a seasoned musician to all of you who are aspiring: ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP. At some point in your career *something* will go wrong. Always have extra picks, plenty of cables, a backup guitar and a backup amp. I even carry a double of my favorite overdrive pedal just in case it dies on me. The worst time to be unprepared is in a live situation when you have 100 or more people looking at you and wondering what's going on....
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Haven't dealt with them yet. With Fender's track record I don't think I'll have to. Unless I bought a real lemon.
Overall Rating
:
10
A genuine Fender amplifier rated 100-watts for only $300? Yeah! Its a fantastic value. The sound qaulity really is not bad, its what you'd expect from Fender. If you're a working musician on a budget and need volume, don't buy crap. Crate? Ick! Kustom....I've been there and done that....Valvetronix??? Oh god....
But this little amp. You won't regret it. Don't listen those guys that own like $5000 in just one guitar and amp alone. Most of those guys brag about thier equipment but they can't play anything but 12-bar blues either. Just because it isn't a tube amp doesn't mean it's worthless. I like this thing...
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: USD 200 USED
Submitted 03/24/2008
at 07:16pm
by Rob
Features
:
8
Basic features, no built in effects beyond reverb (this is a good thing in my book, I'm not a fan of amps with too much circuitry). The tone knobs on this are VERY responsive, to the point of allowing configurations that are too bassy or too trebly. That taken in mind, it makes for a very flexible amp, you just have to know how to reign it in. If you are in the habit of just dialing everything to 10 and rolling with that, you may not like the sound of the amp.
Sound Quality
:
8
3 guitars -- 1.) = MIM strat with seymour duncan humbucker in the neck position 2.) = PRS SE guitar with stock humbuckers, 3.) Ibanez talman electro-acoustic. I play a mix of blues, alternative, classic rock some metal and some punk. Very flexible sounds. As some have said, this amp does have the tendency to be trebly when you just crank the knobs to 10. If you spend a little time dialing in your tone, you can get a good tone relatively fast. Distortion is decent, not super brutal but this isn't a mesa so you will need to get a pedal of some sort for more extreme musical styles. I some times play my digitech GNX3 through this and it doesn't seem to color the sounds too badly. I like how the amp attempts to replicate tube amps responsiveness to touch. With the right settings on the distortion, it can do a good job of allowing you to get a clean sound when picked or plucked lightly or more distorted when you hit the guitar heavier.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Haven't had the amp long so no opinion. A buddy of mine bought one and needed work done on the reverb which I've heard is a common problem on these. I don't use reverb all that much so haven't seen any problems yet.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Haven't needed to contact Fender.
Overall Rating
:
8
I've had a chance to play these a bit before buying one. I'm pretty happy with it. To get better sound I'd have to pay more but for the price I think this is a great unit.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 03/10/2008
at 06:13pm
by Camazza
Features
:
7
It is a 100W 2x12 solid-state amp. It's quite versatile, the knobs respond very well so you can definitely shape your sound. I play metal and post-rock/hardcore, and this amp satisfies me with both genres. It has plenty of power, it's good for practicing and gigs as well.
Sound Quality
:
8
I'm using it with a Les Paul Studio, the clean is great, it has a lot of dynamics and it's really bright, a typical Fender clean. Sure, it doesn't compete with tube amps or high level transistor amps, but it's damn good. The distortion is not bad, but the more you raise the gain, the worse it gets. If you keep it at 7-8 it's good for blues or classic rock. Add an overdrive pedal if you want to play metal, otherwise use pedals like I do. I use a ProCo deucetone RAT and a tubescreamer-like OD pedal, and they sound great with this amp as long as I keep the highs low (about 4). It's not noisy at all, and it stays clean until almost the maximum level (which I don't recommend testing as it is EXTREMELY loud).
Reliability
:
7
It's built in China, so maybe it isn't as sturdy as USA made ones, but I think it's pretty solid. You can hear no parts moving inside when you move it (like my valvestate did). I had a single problem with it: it buzzed like hell when i brought it home, but then I found out it was a loose screw. I bought it used, so I guess it's the previous owner's fault.
Customer Support
:
8
I didn't have to contact Fender. I'll give this an 8 because of the problem I had (explained before)
Overall Rating
:
8
I don't know if I'd buy it again. I'd probably try out another Fender amp, they're all good... I need only the clean channel after all.
I love its clean and responsiveness (and loudness too). The reverb is standard, neat and absolutely not useless like someone said before. It's a good Accutronics reverb. The effects loop works great and it has all the features I need. I'd give this amp an 8.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 01/26/2008
at 07:45am
by jeffo46
Email: jeffo46 at hotmail<dot>com
Features
:
7
I believe that the one I owned,was a 2005 model,made in China with 2 Fender special design speakers,rated at 100 watts.It's a 2 channel amp with a mid contour switch,affects loop,etc.Oh,it is a solid state amp.
Sound Quality
:
5
I used,at the time,a 2006 MIM sunburst strat(which I still have)and a 2005 Epiphone Cherry Red G-400,which I've since gotten rid of.I noticed no matter how you set the clean channel,it always has a very trebly tone to it,and the distortion on this amp is just plain horrible.Very muddy and not clear at all.The only good thing about this amp is,when I did use it on gigs,the loudest I had to turn it,was on 2.
Reliability
:
9
Here's where it scores a high point.This amp is durable for a Chinese made product,and I did not have any problems with it breaking down when I owned it.I have used this on over 50 gigs with no worries at all.
Customer Support
:
8
Fender is always good to deal with,but I feel that they made a mistake by having this made in China.I used to own a Frontman 25 with the Black grille cover,which was made in Mexico,that would blow this amp away.I feel that this amp could've been made in Mexico if Fender wanted to produce a low cost but effective amp for those on a limited budget.
Overall Rating
:
5
I've been playing for over 35 years and this has to be one of the worst sounding amps that I have ever played through.I've since gotten rid of this amp and have traded it for a 1997 American made,Peavey Studio Pro 112,which I feel,is a far superior sounding amp and is much more durable,and it is easier on my back.Those FM212's weigh a fricking ton.Besides my Peavey,I own a 2006 MIM Fender Strat,a 2006 Squier Telecaster Custom,Digitech RP 50 effects unit.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: USD 180 USED
Submitted 01/21/2008
at 11:32pm
by Kyle
Features
:
7
100 watts
2 Channels (Clean & Drive)
3 Band EQ for both Channels
Spring Reverb
Send/Return
Has everything you would need if you're a beginner or a veteran.
Sound Quality
:
8
Has a good clean channel. The drive channel is probably best not to be used on stage (I've never actually used the drive channel). The clean channel stays clean at decent volumes. I use a Strat with Tex-Mex pickups through a TS-9/Compression/Katana/BD-2/Crybaby and that gets me close enough to all of the tones I need. Suits my style well for a practice amp. Doesn't seem to be noisy at all.
Reliability
:
10
Seems to be pretty reliable. I've never gigged with it, but if I had to I would. I've never had any problems with it at all.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Haven't had to deal with Customer Support.
Overall Rating
:
7
I've only been seriously playing for two years. I've owned a few other solid state amps for practice purposes and haven't been as pleased with them. If it were stolen/lost and I could buy another for the same price I paid, I would probably buy another. I love that it's a dependable practice amp that gets me the tones I need instead of having to transport nicer gear around. There's really nothing I hate about it or anything I wish it had, just a good practice amp that I am very pleased with.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: R$ 1450,00
Submitted 01/04/2008
at 11:51am
by Gustavo Mansilia
Email: gmpot at hotmail<dot>com
Features
:
9
My amp was manufactured in March, 2006.
2 channels (clean & drive), 3 band eq for both channels, more drive & contour (less mid) buttons, spring reverb, send/return, footswitch. It has 100W, much more than I need. Solid State.
It's a pretty versatile amp.
Sound Quality
:
8
The clean channel is real clean, until almost the full volume. I think it's good to use with pedals.
The drive channel is 'usable', with some interesting options, but not good at all. You can achieve from light drives to hi-gain distortions.
I use a stock Fender Mexican strat, into Cry Baby - Boss SD-1 - Onner Carbon-x overdrive - Fuhrmann booster - Boss DC-3. Playing from blues to classic rock stuff, and some things of 90's.
Very silent amp. One of the best SS amp you can look at.
Reliability
:
10
This amp is strong like a rock. If you are using it, don't need nothing else for backup.
I never had any problems with.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
I never had any problems with. Don't know yet.
Overall Rating
:
8
I'm playin for about 8 years, if I lost it somehow, I'd probably try an 30-60W all tube ampl.
I like very much the clean channel, very brilliant and very usefull.
I recommend it if you need an strong SS amp, with good clean, much power and pretty versatile.
Sorry about the English... I'm from Brazil.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 09/10/2007
at 02:41pm
by debrewguy
Features
:
2
Sound Quality
:
2
O.K. here's is the gist of this whole review - picked one of these up last summer from $350 at a second hand shop. I traded my Peavey Studio Chorus 210, plus a pedal & Mini Marshall. The FM212 sounded great at the shop. Once I got it home & cranked it to more gig comparable volumes, I couldn't figure out what was bothering me about it. I had my brother in law come over & play it, and I finally clued in - the clean channel , while clean to absurd volumes, give you the same irritating highs that the first CDs had when they came out in the 80s. Not quite natural, sterile & hard on the ears.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Kept it for a week, then got my Peavey Studio chorus 210 back (alas the pedal & the mini Marshall were gone). Read the reviews for the Peavey. Then wonder why I preferred the it to the FM212r.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
2
Again, if you've heard it, you know it. Oh, & I don't do mods. If I need to spend a few hundred dollars to make something sound good, I'll pay more in the first place for quality.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: 850
Submitted 08/17/2007
at 10:27pm
by kez
Features
:
4
good features solid state i play most styles of music .worship heavy matal clasic rock. blues .sherding ect.
Sound Quality
:
4
distrotion is better than i thought it would be .but a small problem with a fuzz noise that cuts in and out.i use a jackson dinky with duncan design pickup sounds good .but when i use my other gtr a sx strat style with single coil pickups it screaches an a low volune /NOT good with cheeper guitars
Reliability
:
2
about a week after i got the amp a fuzz noise that cuts in and out became an anoying problem .so i sent it back .and when i got the amp back the problem was still there .its just about spent just as much time in the shop repair room as i have owned it .and i look after all my music geer with respect cos this sort of stuff costs a lot of money
Customer Support
:
5
havent payed 4 any thng yet
Overall Rating
:
6
ive been playing guitar 4 about 5 years .i own 2 acoustics not sure wot brand but ones 12 string and the other 6.2 eletrics a jackson dinky and a sx strat style .a boss ds1 ,digitech rp200a .peavy rage 158 but to be honest my 15 watt practice amp sounds better than the fender FM212r
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: USD 320
Submitted 06/13/2007
at 08:24am
by Khawaja Jodat
Features
:
8
This amp is made in China and the date of manaufacturig is January 2007. I found this amp very simple as far as its features is concerned but I always believe in simplicity as it tends to make you able to shape your sound in least time and without any confusion. This amp is quite versatile enough as far as clean and overdrive sounds are concerned. I wish it may have a Presence control and a large spring reverb unit as the former one can give you more sharpness and cut through sound and later one can give you more depth/quality reverb sound. However it is still sound very good without these features. I use this amp for jam and live performances and it has enough power to handle the big shows with overloading. I like the big cones of its speakers as this property gives extra boost and punch to the overall sound of amp. I like its Mid contour switch which is a very useful feature with which you can get a superb beefy and punchy sound both for clean and overdrive modes. I am rather surprised that this amp does not have a heat sink plate for its power transistors for cooling purpose and it is a Must during hot season. I like the storage places nominated at the back of amp for tighten up the power cable and foot switch with provided straps.
Sound Quality
:
9
This amp makes very good sound. In clean channel the souund is transparent and bright and if you add a graphic equalizer and a compressor than you will get some most wonderful/powerful sound out of it. Yes clean channel get somewhat distorted at high volumes but it is still very clean and I again suggest to use a compressor for that reason. However I find the slight distortion on clean channel very pretty at full volume. On overdrive channels the distortion is very brutal with bundle of sustain especially at more drive channel. I like the Mid contour mode very useful and I always engage it all the time. It is somewhat noisey at more drive mode but it is common with every amp at very high gain settings and again I suggest to use good quality pickups and proper sheilding of your guitar. I used both humbucking and single coil pickups guitars on it and they sound excellent. I play Metal, rock , blues and country and found this amp fulfilling my requirements. I found it slightly noisey from it main power side but it is acceptable and I recommend to use good quality guitar cable and proper grounding/earthing of your amp at power outlet.
Reliability
:
No Opinion
Though I own it for the last one month so I can't exactly tell regarding its reliability but nevertheless I found this amp quite reliable and of course it has a Fender name plate so I am pretty sure that it won't let me down. Yes I have full faith in Fender products so I will not use a backup while using it in a live performance.
Customer Support
:
8
I found Fender people quite helpful. It has a five years warrnaty. As I live Pakistan and we have no authorized dealer of Fender here so in case it get faulty I have to get it repair at some local workshop. One of the reason of choosing simple amp by me is that it can be repaired easily and cheaply.
Overall Rating
:
9
I have been playing for last 27 years and I have lot gears including two Yamaha amps JX50, G50 112 III, Yamaha les paul copy SL400S, Yamaha AES 620, Yamaha Pacifica 412V, Epiphone les paul black beauty, Fender 12 string acoustic D6, Ovation electric acoustic CS257, Yamaha acoustic guitar FG470S, Zoom G1, Korg & Tohshiba guitar tuners and lot of Boss, Ibanez and MXR effects pedals. If this amp is stolen I would buy the same one if my budget falls in this range. I love about it is its simplicity and beautiful front pannel. I hate about it for the very ordinary speakers magnets labels which looks more like home-made ones. Fender should replace them with sober looking labels. I choose it because it is simple and has a Fender name plate and also due to Fender clean sound history.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 06/08/2007
at 03:51am
by Khawaja Jodat
Features
:
8
This amp is made in China and the manufacturing time is January 2007. This is a very basic amp as far as features is concerned. I always liked the simple amps set ups as it requires least time to shape your desired sound. I liked the storage place provided at the back of amp for foot switch and power cable. I also like the plastic back side pannel plate for noise dampening and prevention from electric shock. I like the front power indication light which is bright and fades away in very cool way when you swithch off the amp. The reverb is good and the mid contour mode is very useful. The indication lights on the foot switch are very bright. The foot switch cable and power supply cord are of very high quality. I wish this amp should have a Presence control and a large size spring reverb. I also wish it should have a second speaker output at the back of amp in case you want to connect it with external speaker. I also wish it should have heat sink plate at the back of amp in order to cool down the power tranistors especially during hot season as I heard that it gets overheated so I guess that Fender should reconsider this point.
Sound Quality
:
9
The sound quality of this amp is great. The clean channel sound very good. The drive and more drive channels are equally great but require a bit of tube like compression. Overall the sound quality of this amp is fantastic. The amp really comes to its own when you use effect pedals especially compressor and a graphic equalizer. The over drive channels works great when you use the effect loop though it reduce its overall power output but the sound of the drive becomes very sweet with a little bit compression and of course the solo notes starts to swell beautifully. The amp is very quite indeed but makes a little bit noise at more drive channel but this normal with every amp at very high gain settings. I used both humbuckers and single coil guitars with this amp and they sound great all the way up. I heard that this amp produces feedback but I have not noticed it as long as you stay at a apporiate distance from amp and futhermore you should have a good quality pickups installed on your guitar. The speakers are brillant with large size cones which makes them sound amazing. The amp stays quite noise free at high volume and the drive channel speaks brillant at medium to high volumes. This amp has got lot of head room for high power signals for metal type stuff. At more drive settings you get screaming solo sounds with bundle of sustain. I mostly use mid contour switch engaged with treble at 7, Mid at 5 , Bass at 8 & reverb at 5. The clean channel stays clean at full volume but distorts a little bit when you hit the strings hard but again it is very interesting to hear such a nice sound.
Reliability
:
9
I have been using it for one month but I am pretty sure it will give me a trouble free service as the quality of this amp what I have observed is great. No would not use a back up as this amp is Fender not a unknown brand.
Customer Support
:
8
Fender people are quite helpful.
Overall Rating
:
9
I have been playing for the last 27 years. I have got Yamaha AES620, Yamaha Pacifica 412V, Epiphone les paul black beauty 3PU, Yamaha SL400S les paul copy, Ovation electric acoustic CS257, Fender 12 string DG6 and Yamaha FG470S. I have two Yamaha amps JX50 & G50 112 III. I have lot of Boss effect pedals and few Ibanez/MXR ones. I found the overall quality of this amp very satisfying and I am very much happy with it. I wish it might have chrome corners on it front top end as it looks a bit incomplete without them. I basically choose it because it has a Fender name plate and secondly I need a low price and Loud clean sounding amp. If this amp is stolen I would like to experiment with some other amp like Behringer GMX212 or Yamaha DG60 if my pocket allows me to do so otherwise I will buy it again.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 06/06/2007
at 04:49am
by Khawaja Jodat
Features
:
8
I recently bought it and it is made in China. It has standard features very basic ones and I always like the simple set up of amp as it is very easy to shape your sound in shortest possible time. It has a very good clean channel. The speakers are very loud and clear. The newly designed speakers from Fender has very large cones which enhances it tonal character. The amp is surely very versatile if you use your effect pedals. I always believe in simple amp layout and this amp just reflects my vision. It has three channels i.e. clean, drive and more drive. The clean channel is not that much loud and if you use your graphic equalizer and compressor then it gives you tons of power output. However it still gives a very good sound. The drive and more drive is very useful distortion effects which I found very impressive if you use them through the effects loop. Though the effect loop tends to make the output and sound a little muddy or slightly weak but the quality of sound I found is very impressive indeed. The drive effect really comes to it own while using the effect loop as the distortion starts to swells beautifuly if you hold the note and let it sustain. The best features are the power light which starts to fade away gradually as you turn off the amp which I found it very cool. I like the feature that it have straps for tighten up the provided foot switch and the power cord securly at the back of the amp's compartment. I rather did not like the stickers or monogram at the back side of the speakers magnents which are somewhat makes the speakers overall out look a bit like cheap amps with no name. It is a mono output amp and a solid state circuit. The power cord is of very high quality and the foot switch is also very well build with very clear and brightly lit indication lights. On the drive channels this amp has a hell lot of power. The spring reverb is also quite nice and useable one. I use this amp for jam sessions and also medium size performaces and I am sure it can very easily handle the large venues as well. I like the plastic back side pannel which is also prevents against electric shock and tends to make the amp quite lighter as far as weight is concerned. Futhermore it also provides damping/insulation effect against nosies. I wonder that Fender did not provided any heat sink plate for cooling down the power transistors at the back side of amp. I suspect that it could might gets overheated in summer season while using it at high output for longer time and neither it has ventilation slots nor fan at the back of the pannel. Overall my observation is quite satisfactory for this amp.
Sound Quality
:
9
The sound quality is great for the clean channel and of course the drive & more drive channel works wonderfully if you use the effect loop for that purpose. The amp is well sheilded and makes very little noise and that depends how good quality guitar and cable you are using. The control knobs are very smooth and very effective as well. I found the mid contour switch at the drive channel very useful. The more drive produces some of the most powerful and screeming solo sounds with bundle of sustain. The amp does not produces unecessary feedback but then again it depends upon how much good quality guitar pickups you are using. If you add digital delay and compressor at the drive and more drive channel through effect loop you will get some most interesting solo sounds. I wonder how some people did not like the drive channels sounds. These are probably one of the best overdrive sounds you can get but you have to find it out for yourself how to tweak them. I suggest you to use the effect loop if you are looking for good sound and do use a compressor at low setting and add a delay effect and you will love it. This amp is operated quiet enough but it produces some nosie at more drive channel but this is normal with every amp. The amp has a very punchy sound and can handle both bright crystal and bassy sounds very well. I have not noticed any rattling sounds from the amps cabinet or speakers. I have checked this amp both for humbucking and single coil pickups and found it very good. If you need a good amp with simple set up and bundle of power and pretty sound quality then you should not wait for any longer and try to get this thing as early as possibe before you get double minded.
Reliability
:
9
Oh yes it is quite reliable but let me first use it in hot weather with full volume then I would be pretty sure regarding its reliablity. Nevertheless I am confident that it is a Fender and not a no name company so I am least worry about this aspect. No I will never think to use this amp with a back up because it seems to me very tough in every way.
Customer Support
:
7
Yes Fender people and dealers are quite helpful. I happenned to dealt with some of them and they extended their cooperation to me all the time. But some dealers do not reply my emails which is disappointing. This amp has a 5 years warranty but I would not get its beneifit as I lives in Pakistan and we do not have any authorized dealer of Fender here so I would probably get it repair from local workshop.
Overall Rating
:
9
I have been playing for the last 27 years. I have lot of gears including Yamaha, fender, ovation, epiphone, Boss, Ibanez, MXR & Seymour duncan. If this amp is being stolen I would probably buy the same one if my budget does not allow me to get some other one. But may be I give a second thought and try to buy Behringer GMX212 just due to more features and with back pannel's more options. I wish it should have a bigger spring reverb unit with more sound depth and with some more sober speakers magnets stickers probably grey or black color. I choose it because I heard that it has a very nice clean channel sound and if you have a very good clean channel then you can do anything by using your own effect pedals. I wish the depth of this amp should be around 11 inch for a more hefty look. Lastly I wish this amp has chrome corners at the front top side which I find not there.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 06/04/2007
at 07:32am
by georgebaby
Features
:
9
Purchased amp in Australia for $550 new from Allans Feb 2007. Has 2 channels. A clean channel, a drive and a more drive channel. Amp also has a spring reverb. 100watts
I purchased this amp as a back up for my Hot Rod Deville 410. For a transistor amp it is fantastic. Has a beautiful clean sound. I play in a duo and the amp is great for jazz with Hollow Body Guitars. I have used it with a Gretch, Ibanez Artcore and Epiphone casino. The distortion is not bad for a transistor amp. It is useable.
The reverb unit in this amp sucks. It is so weak that on 10 you can just barely notice it. The reverb unit sits at the base of the amp and is connected by 2 RCA cables. I contacted Fender Australia and emailed Fender USA to see if this unit could be replaced. Fender Australia said no and I received no answer from Fender USA. The reverb unit is Accutronics. I did a web seach and emailed the distributor. He recommended that I replace the reverb unit with an Accutronics 8DB2C1B 3 spring reverb. I ordered one from Electric Factory in Australia for $94 . It is a substantial improvement making a cheap amp sound awesome. FENDER if you are reading this, I suggest you replace the reverb unit in this amp. I am sure that buyers would pay extra money for a better quality reverb. Your existing reverb is CRAP.
Sound Quality
:
9
The amp is bare basics. It has a wonderful clean tone which is ideal for jazz. I love the distortion as well. Remember, it is not a tube amp. If you play metal, you will have to use a pedal. The reverb is useless. I have tried using spring reverb effects from pedals. Placing a guitar through effects unit changes your sound that it sounds artificial as a result of the processor. There is nothing like a good spring reverb. Change the reverb unit as stated above and you will have a great amp.
I use it mainly with hollow body guitars. Really clean. Sounds great with Les Paul and Strats as well. The 2X 12 inch speakers give it a full sound.
Purchased it as back up. However, may use it all the time. It is more than enough power for a gig, it is 1/4 of the weight of my Hot Rod Deville and I do not have to worry about valves needing replacement.
Reliability
:
9
Only had the amp for 3 months and have done 5 gigs with it. Have not yet had any problems.
Customer Support
:
9
AS above
Overall Rating
:
9
I have been playing for 20 years and I would rate this as one of the best transistor amps (after replacing the reverb unit) that I have ever owned. The sound is traditional Fender. Do not buy Transistor amps with amp simulations. I also own a Roland Cube 60. It is a heap of CRAP. Had I seen this amp first, I would not have purchased the Roland Cube. A natural clean pure tone is far better than an unnatural simulated tone.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: USD 688
Submitted 05/31/2007
at 06:50am
by Khawaja Jodat
Features
:
8
This amp was made in January 2007 as mentioned on the bottom side of amp. I always believe in simple things as they are never gets outdated and helps you to add any kind of effects with it as per your liking. It is also very easy to set your sound in seconds no confusion atall.I like the features that it has storage places/straps at the back side of amp for power cable, foot switch plus conecting cable. It has a very high quality foot switch. I liked the power indication light very attractive and bright. It has a wonderful feature that as you switch off the amp the light starts to fade out gradually in a very cool manner, very interesting indeed. The front panel is very attractive/smart and highly finished with very smooth variable knobs/controls. I like the back pannel covered with a plastic sheet which is again very attractive and also provides protection against electric shock in case the unit is accidently gets wet. I like the extra large speakers cones which gives the amp an extra sound advantage. It is a mono output amp and a solid state one but construction wise it is very well made. I like that probably its front grill can be removed very easily so cleaning/washing has been made very simple and easy. I like the build quality (very solid) of the foot switch with very bright lights. The power cord is again made with very high quality material.
Sound Quality
:
9
This amp produces all kind of basic sounds like very clean, overdrive and more overdrive. I found the overdrive very useful and nice. The more overdrive has a very high gain and very good for solo/metal type of playing and of course it has a brutal distortion with bundles of sustain. Though the more overdrive mode produces some hiss noise but it is common with almost every amp. The control knobs are very effective and the mid contour is a real treat to use. I use every kind of pickups with this amp and it responds all of them very well. I have heard people saying that it produces feedback problem and I must say that it mostly happens due to cheap pickups. So if you are using good quality guitar you would not face this problem. Yes there is some electrical background noise with this amp even using clean channel and I think that you can eliminate it by Grounding/Earthing the amp properly. The drive channel is very very loud but the clean channel is loud enough but not that much loud as that of drive channel so I recommed to use a graphic equalizer with this amp.
Reliability
:
9
Yes certainly I can depend on it without any backup. No I have been using it for the last one month and it is working just fine.
Customer Support
:
8
The Fender company is quite cooperative. But I do not find the fender dealers so helpful as I myself experienced it that I live in Pakistan and here we do not have any Fender dealer so I contacted various fender dealers near our region and I only got the reply from half of them. So atlast I made the deal with Tom Lee Music Honk Kong and I found them very helpful and cooperative. They provided me every infomation regarding this amp on telephone and they never showed any kind of anger. Apart from this dealer other are quite slow in this regard and futhermore if any thing is not in stock and you ask them when it got to be available they do not reply, I do not know what happens to them. So this is surprising for me.
Overall Rating
:
9
I have been playing for the last 27 years as a hoyybist. I have got two Yamaha guitar amps 50 watt each. Three Yamaha electric guitars SL 400S, AES 620, Pacifica 412V. One Epiphone Les Paul Black Beauty 3PU. One Yamaha acoustic guitar FG470S. One Ovation CS257 electric acoustic. One Fender 12 string guitar DG6. Lot of Boss & Ibanez effect pedals. If this amp is being stolen I would buy it again execpt that I only have the budget for this price range amp otherwise I will probably go for Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 05/14/2007
at 06:36pm
by whatup?
Features
:
5
2 channels, 3 if you count " more drive".channel switching pedal also turns more drive on and off.
Sound Quality
:
8
bought this amp because my marshall took a dump just before a gig. figured i needed a back-up amp anyway and didnt have time to try out a bunch of amps. 5 gigs later and im really likeing this amp. play a strat deluxe and a strat 50th anniversary standard. clean is very clean. boost it with an eq or a commpresser pedal and it breaks up nicely. more drive is very noisy but drive is a nice distortion and with the mid contour you can get variety of different distorted sounds. i have a noise gate in my pedal chain, sometimes i need it, sometimes not. its not a metal head amp but it could be with the right effects
Reliability
:
10
so far so good. the thing has a 5 year warranty so its in fenders best interest to make sure that its built well. oh, i almost forgot, the footswitch went bad. took it back to the store, 3 days later fender sent a brand new one. no problems before or after.
Customer Support
:
10
like i said before, footswitch went bad (the button itself) fender sent a new one promptly.
Overall Rating
:
8
been playing forever. was thinking about getting another one of these and have a stereo rig! paid less than $350 for it so why not! i play medium to small venues, some outdoor jobs. blues, classic rock, oldies. my band doesnt mike anything but vocals and kick drum,snare. plenty loud.
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: 270
Submitted 04/19/2007
at 08:24pm
by m3t4ldud3
Features
:
7
I got one of these beauties in 2005. It's a great solid-state amp, 2 channels (clean and drive, also a 'more drive' feature for the drive channel) both featuring 3-band eq's, reverb. 100W total through 2x12 inch speakers. It has served me well in several gigs.
Sound Quality
:
8
I've noticed people giving this amp bad tone reviews on here (to which I can only pin down to personal preference), but the clean tone is great, drive is brilliant for classic/hard rock with a bit of mid and when you scoop the mid out and chuck on the 'more drive' button it gives a great distortion tone. I've found this after trying several different guitars through it, from the cheap Vintage guitars I own (I'm a student with little money) through to a proper Les Paul and all sounded pretty mighty through it. One critisism I had when I first got it was that the overall tone was far too bassy (as I'm a lead guitarist and prefer the treble!) but it really does have great highs and is pretty good sustain and the bassy tone I have since realised was my own disliking. I've since grown used to it and love it as it provides a really punchy low-end. Used it for metal, rock and blues and in all instances it has proven itself superb.
Reliability
:
9
The amp itself is solid as a rock although the cable for the footswitch is very cheap and not particularly great (think of those rubbish sealed-plastic guitar leads that come with starter amps) and I've noticed others moaning about the sound cutting out half-way through gigs. I've had the same problem in practices (it's been perfect at gigs so far) and it all came down to that flimsy footswitch cable. Solution? Buy a descent guitar cable and replace it with that, its exactly the same cable. Problem solved! The thing has been bashed about down stairs, into cars, travelled for hundreds of miles under piles of heavy stuff and so far nothing other than a small bit of paint from a door frame on it. It still works perfectly.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Haven't had to deal with them, so I wouldn't know.
Overall Rating
:
8
I've been playing for over 7 years now, mostly through cheap equipment (although have used other people's expensive stuff) and this amp has a great tone for its price. Won't be as versatile as most high-end amps but it has enough volume and durability for mid-sized gigs in clubs. If it was stolen I'd probably get another one (I've played through a LOT of similarly priced amps and none of them were as good, in my experience, for what I play through it). I played it side-by-side with a Laney TFX3 Twin that my rhythm guitarist owns and this thing thrashed it in every way (excluding digital effects, of course, because the FM212R has none), absolutely obliterating the Laney's inadequate digital distortion warbly, trebly tone that won't go away. Would I add anything to it? Probably not, for the price it's fantastic and until I get enough money to actually buy myself a Mesa Boogie, this amp with serve me well I will not replace it until then!
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 02/21/2007
at 10:58pm
by Rob
Email: ironman_555 at hotmail<dot>com
Features
:
7
My amp was made like 2006 i believe, it looked pretty new. I play a variety of things, and i make the most out of this amp. It has clean, drive, and more drive channels, (and a mid contour button) and honestly all 3 serve their own purpose. it also has reverb but its pretty weak. not alot of features, no good effects, but for a 100watt solid state amp with that great range of tone, its a good buy
Sound Quality
:
9
the clean sounds amazing right up to 10 volume, the drive channel gives u a nice range of rock sounds, and the more drive is awesome when coupled with its mid contour feature for metal sounds. the only thing is, it'll feedback painfully on high volumes/high gain levels. Then again...when your using that much gain, your probably playing metal, and feedback is a good thing when your playing metal.
Reliability
:
9
Ive had it for about half a year now, and for a few days i stuck it next to my window (in the middle of winter) because im an idiot... but the coldness didnt do anything to it. I also kind of dropped it a little on my driveway once, and it still works perfectly fine.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
8
If i were to lose it (or break it doing something stupid) i'd DEFINATLY attempt to get another one. i rented this thing out before i bought it (to see how it sounded when i cranked it n stuff, cuz i didnt wanna crank it too high in the store), which knocked down the cost of it a bit, it came to a little over 300 canadian when i bought it.
if your looking for something LOUD, that can do a small gig, that has good tone, and u DONT need ten zillion effects, and your budget is like mine...
GET IT!
Product: Fender FM-212R
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 02/12/2007
at 04:19pm
by Kirby
Features
:
7
Well i dont think this amp has too much to it, no on board effects which i love about it, most amp effects BLOW, exept on twin reverbs, tremelo and reverb are SUPERB, but this thing is more simple, and i always say simple is the best way to go with sound. Has reverb, but its pretty bad, but works.
Sound Quality
:
8
Ok, first off i got this and thought that it was the biggest letdown ever. Mainly 100 watts for like 350buxx, couldnt be too bad, and after just smashing a bluescube while drunk one night... i know dumbass, i needed a new stage amp, and i thought why not. For 2 years i thought this thing was jsut a pain in the ass, but lately ive been playing it with a Twin Reverb, and for some reason one day the sound was just great, and ever since then just been playin' well. One thing it does get ALOT of feedback when drive is over 6, but as long as you stay away from the amp it dies down, and for 350 bux, ain't that big of a deal. You can def. get better sounds from other amps for the same price, but this one is just simple and easy, only thing is also the footswitch has a delay on the swithcing on it, if you play this amp get used to timing that differently.
Reliability
:
10
Had it for like 3 years and hasnt died on me yet, so not too bad in my oppinion
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Overall Rating
:
8
This thing won me battle of the bands this year ('07) so hell, it can do the job if you know how to use it. I would DEF NOT use distortion pedals with it, it dosen't handle other overdrive other than its own well (IE muddy bad bad sounds will ooze out of it if you do) so just stick with whats on it, reverb dosen't go all the way off either, but i can't even tell its really on half the time. Not bad in my oppinion, im prolly gonna ditch it after i save up and get my Mesa Boogie, and use that for distortion and clean with my twin, and i know that'll make the sound i want, but untill then i know this thing can handle what i need.
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