Fender M-80 Chorus

I belive this amp was made sometime between 1989-95.Mine is the first generation m80 chorus coverd in grey carpeting.This amp is extreamley versatale feture wise and tone wise.I mostley stick to cleaner styles such as jazz&blues or funk and classic rock oriented material and this amp covers those perfectley for my taste.The list of fetures include two channels clean and overdrive,it's solid state this does not mean bad tone.Other fetures include stero/mono effects loops,footswitch jack,two inputes,and even a headphone jack witch is rare to find on higher powered amps but extreamley helpfull with bedroom practice considering I don't turn the volume past 2.5 tops on the knob.THIS SUCKER IS LOUD!!!This amp has twin 12inch speakers pumping out 65wts a peice. The onley other thing that I think it should have is an exstension speaker jack so you can add another speaker cab on if you needed to but with the power this has I guess thats uneccasary but still it would make sense and would be a nice addition to this amp.Oh I forgot to metion in addition to your basic spring reverb it also comes sporting one of the best built in chorusing effects I've ever herd.

Lets start with the obvouse again it's solid state but this amp has some exselent tone.The clean channel is just to dye for,gobs of tube like headroom and it doesn't even break up when pushed all the way.It's so nice infact that I played it completley clean with no reverb or chorus and the thing just kicked butt.To my amazement it sounded eqauly at home drenched in reverb and chorus as it did dryer than a dessert.And ya know the distortion channel wasn't half bad either.I can see what the other revews ment when they said that the distortion was a little solidstatey but I don't think it is nearly as bad as the other reviews made it out to be.I got everithing from a subtle tubelike drive to totale shred mayhem even with just a strat.Infact I'm pretty convinced that with the right pedals and a little imagination you can get it to do most styles of music pretty well.Oh and we can't neglect the awsome chorusing that comes with this gem.It's like an exstension of the amps natural sound.I would have bought the amp for the chorus effect alone.I guess my only petpeeve is the massive volume difference when your using singlecoils vs.Humbuckers and all I really use is singlecoils so I have to push the amp quit a bit more,but I guess thats the case wether your using tubes or transistors.

I've only had it for a day and I bought it used on consignment in a local music store so I havent had a chance to gig with it yet.I mean this amp looks like its seen some action and it's at least 18 years old and still going strong so I would say it's pretty reliable.I mean it's lasted this long why not longer?Other than a funny smootching type noise that it makes when you turn it on or off I can't find anything wrong with it.But from what I understand thats a relativley common thing with this particuler amp.

I've never delt with them before so I can't say

I've only been playing for about five years and my ony two other amps I own are a G-DEC,and a little blues jr. wich deffinatley serve there perpose.Uptill now I've used that little blues jr. for everything but this M80 Chorus amp will provide me with some long awaited and needed headroom for larger venues particulerly those of the outdoor type. I'm practicly in love with this amp and if it were stolen well first I would cry then I would hunt that bastard down and make him eat the grey carpeted exteroir of the amp that would teach him,and then I would promptley replace it with another one.Other than the lack of an exstension speaker jack I can't find anything to complain about and I'm truly thrilled "from my hair right down to my shoes oh your Dam right I've got the blues...."(Buddy Guy)

I just bought this guy used this last weekend. It came with the grey carpet covering (with a couple cigarette burns), and red knobs (cool by me). I got a great deal on it, and it came with the footpedal, so I can switch between clean/overdrive and chorus/no chorus, giving me a nice range of sounds on the amp alone. I do wish the overdrive channel had an eq, but oh well. I think I'll take the advice of another poster and plywood up the back of it, to help bring out the warmer tones.
This puppy is plenty loud, no doubt about it. Although I've played tube amps in the past, I wanted something A. lighter, and B. more reliable. This should do the trick.

I play prog-grunge kinda stuff, and my main axe is an Epiphone semi-hollowbody, so I have to reallllly watch out for that feedback! On the other hand, the distortion really sounds sweet for what I'm using it for. I'm not playing metal, so maybe that's why I'm content. Works for me.
Other than a real "death squeal" when I turn it off, it's not noisy at all (something that's usually hard to say of tube amps this old!).

OK, I have to say, I prefer the warm sound of my old Fender Twin Reverb (why, oh, why, did I ever sell that??), but then again, my Fender Twin was heavy as hell, persnickety, and had to be babied around. Not to mention how expensive they are. This is going to be much easier for gigging.

Like others have noticed, it's a little harsh on the high ends... hopefully the "boarding up the back" trick will improve this somewhat.

Only had it for a little while, but it's no spring chicken, and it's in perfect working shape. I think this will be much more reliable than any tube amp.

I've been playing pro/semi-pro for 20 years. For me, it's a great amp to have in my rehearsal space for guests, and for right now it's going to be my main gigging amp. The clean, powerful amping frees me up to tinker with my sound the way I want--on my guitar itself--and not worry too much about the amp. I think this will be a stress-free amp. Again, the sound is clearly not as good as my old Fender Twin Reverb, but sound itself is not everything.

made in usa early 90's red nob solid state.

the clear channel always sounds great.but the distortion was kinda lame.COVER THE BACK WITH THIN PLYWOOD AND YOU WILL BE AMAZED AT HOW GOOD IT SOUNDS.all the bass sound was getting lost with the open air in the back.think of it like this -a pair of car subwoofers sound like crap when they are not in a box right but when they are sealed in a box they pound your head!i can get zakk wylde's sound,jimi hendrix,eric clapton,metallica

amp has never broke.i would use it without a backup

never dealt with fener and never had too

ive been playing for over 20 years.i have a lespaul and a highway one hss strat.the only thing i hate is fender never puts speaker outs on their twin combos except for the exspensive one's.I CAN'T TELL YOU HAVE MUCH DIFFERENT IT SOUNDS WHEN YOU CLOSE THE BACK.I WAS USING IT WITH THE BASS TURNED ALL THE WAY UP BEFORE BUT AFTER COVERING THE BACK I ONLY HAVE IT HALF WAY UP.IN OTHER WORDS IT HAS TWICE THE BASS SOUND AFTER U CLOSE THE BACK

i have the 1990 m-80 chorus head with the grey carpet lining.
all i have to say is woooowww. i got a steal on it for only 90 bucks used and i have to say the clean channel is the best part. It's able to sound like any kidn of clean guitar u want. the distortion isnt the BEST but its great. its just below perfect. the only thing i odnt like is the fact that it dosent have a low/mid/high setting on the distiortion cause it tends to be a bit to deep for my taste. overall, its wonderful, but its noisy when cranked so get a noise gate.

lots of noise.
Beautful sound.
Great Distortoin

Ive dropped it many times, scared that ive blowin it, but it runs fine, i opened it up to see what its made of and its not much, i acn tell that its old though cause all the metal transistors etc are on there last breath which explanes why near the middle of a set it starts to get quiet.

GOOD
i wish it came with a pedal, its hard to find a pedal that matches it exactly, so thats why i got a fender front man 100. its only 4 ohms but who cares, im playing punk.

This is a Fender M-80 Chorus (black carpet 2nd generation). Built in 1992 and still going strong! I bought it 2 1/2 years ago.

This is a very versatile combo. Its got the classic Fender clean channel. And a nice gain channel that can be tweeked from a Led Zep style tone to a George Lynch type tone. I play different styles of music from country music to 70's rock & 80's + metal and this amp does them all perfectly.

2 Channels "Clean and Gain" that can be accessed by either fottswitch or by the front of the amp.

The only bad thing this combo is the fact that it isnt closed back. Thats why I gave it a 9/10. I use this combo everywhere. Home gig's, gig's with friends & partys and small clubs. Its got more than enough power to be able to handle any small gig.

A few features about this amp:

* 2 Channels
* 2 Inputs
* Reverb
* 2 button footswitch
* Chorus
* mono & stereo effects loop
* Headphone jacks

The clean channel is excellent. The Chorus gives the clean channel a fuller, more 3D tone that isnt too bright or glassy... think Stairway!

And the OD is awesome but its a little thin for my taste. I have a
4 space rack that has a Digitech GSP21 Legend (for effects), a parametric eq, hush. I use the parametric eq with it and thickins everything up and it brings this amp too life!! I can match a Mesa/Boogie type gain with this amp for the fraction of the cost. Can you really beat that? Even at full gain i hardly use the hush. So it's pretty quiet.

I have 4 main guitars that I play with. A 70's gibson les paul, Ibanez rg550, strat & ovation. All guitars have high output pups
and sound great.

Ive had this combo for 2 years or so and I dropped beer on it, dropeed it off the back of my truck, had it fall face first and
it still keeps on kicking. Its well made and made too last. The Reverb was repaired last year. This is a 14 year old amp and its still sounds like a brand new little monster!

ill never need a back up amp with this little guy. No tubes to change so less issues right right there.

Never had to deal with them in 2 years (except for the reverb unit).
When this was new it came with a 5 year warranty, thats a great thing!

Ive been playing for about 20 years and 11 of them have been
semi-pro. I also own a Marshall 1960b & 1960av cabs, Mesa 50/50
power amp, M-80 Chorus rackmount preamp. And a couple more guitars so I know other things out there and not just a young pup in love with his 1st amp! If my M-80 Chorus got stolen or damaged to a point where I could no longer use I would get another no wuastions asked.

I love the chorus on this unit and the clean channel, I dislike the fact that its an open back.

I played this amp againts Marshall Valvestates and the newer series they have, Randall amps, Crates and countless others and always got great compliments on the tone it has. People are very surprised when they see the Fender logo on it. Its like a secret weapon!

M-80 Chorus 2x12 combo-1990
M-80 Chorus Head-1993
I play Metal, plain and simple. It is the perfect sounding amp, in both variations, for what I do. Honestly, I haven't had the M-80 Chorus head hooked into a 4x12 Cabinet yet, but my 2x12 acting as a 1/2 sized substitution sounds fantastic. I actually like it better that way because it works the speakers a bit harder. They both are identical as far as channels, but the heasd has the left and right powered outs in the rear (obviously). They both look as follows, Clean channel (feat. Bass, Mid and Treble knobs, as well as a Volume), an Overdrive channel (feat. a Gain, Contour and Presence knob, as well as a Volume), a Reverb control, which is hooked to a true spring reverb tank I might add), a true stereo Chorus that has Depth and Rate controls. The only knob I wish it had is a Master Volume control. That's all I would add, but I have a volume pedal for that. I use both of these amps for everything I do, no matter where. I love them! They both have plenty of power to go around. these are definately keepers for life.

I must admit, I don't use either amp in it's stock form. I run both of them through a BBE Sonic Maximizer 462. I like to explain it as a great sounding amp getting a kick in the ass. I have had several people look at me and say "Dude, Fender amps have no tone! Why aren't you playing a Marshall DSL1000 or a Mesa Triple Rectifier?" Then the power get's flicked on and they no longer have anything to say. This is probably my favorite thing to do with these amps. Every one of my friends that plays wishes that they had one of these to add to their collection. I am able to crank the volume very high on the clean channel and still have it sparkle. I use a BOSS Metal Zone as my primary distortion, but I still love to switch on the overdrive channel to re-visit some 80's tunes. It sounds great! I'm using a Jackson PS6-T Kelly (Japan), and an Epiphone Les Paul Standard both with a George Lynch Screamin' Demon humbucker in the neck, and the stock humbucker in the bridge. The amp is only noisy when I use the stock pickups during overdrive or distortion.

My M-80 Chorus head is in showroom condition, but my 2x12 combo has all but three of the knobs broken clean off (Clean channel volume and the depth and rate controls for the chorus). The price I got to fix it from a local shop was $250! These specific pots have a four point cage that is connected to them that solders into the circuit board. They are only available from Fender. What a pain! Luckily they broke off on my most common EQ settings, so the amp is still usable. If fact, it was my main rig in that condition for over five years! Can't beat that! This category is an easy 10+.

The only time I have ever had to deal with Fender Customer service was when I needed a string retainer for my Jackson Kelly. They got me the part at a great price and I recieved it right away. It was a great experience. The only gripe I have is the difficulty to locate part numbers for this amp. The Fender website is under construction, but I don't really see them getting around to a downloadable list for this series of Amplifier.

I have 12 years of playing guitar behind me. I own a plethura of stompboxes (all BOSS), but I also have a Dunlop 95Q wah, and an Ernie Ball volume pedal. I would probably shoot myself if these amps were ever to go missing. Especially considering I got the 2x12 combo for free and only paid $100 plus tax for the head! I can honeslty say I got the best deal of anyone on these. I won't ever need anything else.

These amps were built in the earlsy to mid nineties. I think they stopped making them about 1995. I BOUGHT MINE BRAND NEW IN 1993. I play garage rock, rockabilly and punk. It's features are fine. Some want EQ on the drive channel, but i find it just fine, even though I don't use it now, anyways.
I bought the half-stack.
The head version of these is 120 WATTS! Plenty o power! 2-input, true stereo 4x12 cabinet. Shimmering chorus!

I play Les Pauls through a Boss OD-1 overdrive pedal and sometomes a wah or delay pedal. This amp is great for all styles of music. If your one of those that doesn't like the drive channel, the clean channel is one of the best you can ask for. Great for adding effects to. EQ has wide range across the pots. Drive can be contoured to sound as death-metal as you want. SPRING REVERB IS AWESOME.

Had it for 13 yrs now through several bands, bars, and garages and has had beer, drugs, and garbage on spilled on it and it still looks and sounds great. This is surely due to it being solid state. But I will put my sound up against anyone's Mashall, Line 6, peavey, whatever. I'm not saying it's THE best sounding amp, but it's definitely among them.

Puh-leeeese! I'll never need to even know the phone number.

Been playin' 15 yrs. Also play bass. Own a Fender Precision, Epi LP, '63 Jaguar, Casio kybrd, 2 banjos, and recording gear. If it were stolen I would definitely buy another. In fact i'm looking for the same amp in a combo version right now.
THIS IS THE BEST SOLID STATE AMP YOU WILL EVER FIND!

Not sure when this amp was built, but I'd guess it was in the late 80's to early 90's. Like everyone else mentions, it comes with the clean and dirty channel, along with built in chorus and reverb. This amp definitely went with a "less is more" attitude. It's perfect for my style of play. I brought it home and was able to find the tones I was looking for in a Fender amp within the first 10 minutes. I play hard rock/classic rock type music and it's great. It only gets an 8 because some other people may want more tone controls, but for me it's great.

I play an Ibanez EX 270 through this thing and it sounds amazing. I heard a lot about Fender amps being too TWANGY for hard rock music and that the distortion not being crunchy enough. I completely disagree with those statements. In fact, I compared the distortion I was able to achieve with this amp to the distortion I ran through my BOSS Heavy Metal HM-2 distortion pedal and I ended up selling the pedal because it was no match for the tone I could get through the dirty channel on the amp. Don't let people fool you about the lack of balls that fender amps have when it comes to big distortion, at least with this amp. One thing I have noticed is that when it's in the overdrive channel this thing is deafening. I practice in my garage and I never get past about .75 in that channel. It cranks to say the least. The clean channel is sweet like you'd expect from a fender. The chorus is nice but not great, but in combination with the overdrive it gives a sweet sound if you like that sort of thing. Very dreamy.

I haven't had it for long and I'm not the original owner, but the last owner never had a problem with it and it's all original so I tend to believe him. I probably would have a backup if I were gigging just because I don't know it well enough yet, but this thing is prestine right now. I'm very happy so far.

I tried to purchase a cover through the Fender online store and they were no help. I wrote to them via there contact section on the website to ask which cover it would take since it's not listed and they were no help - didn't let me know that the dimensions were identical to the 65 Twin Reverb. I picked one of those up no thanks to their help desk.

I've only played guitar now for about 2 years, but I play drums and bass and picked this up to play in my garage/studio to record and jam with my other musician friends who don't play guitar. I really believe in Fender products - I play a late 60's reissue P bass through a Fender BXR 300C and couldn't ask for a better rig which is why I wanted to keep it in the family. My other amp was a Peavey Backstage Chorus 208 which I liked but is not as satisfying as this amp is to those tone receptors in my head. It's versatile, loud and easy to get the tone you want. What else can you ask for.

I want first to let all know I only play one guitar and it is an enexpencive ESP with house brand passive humbuckers. So all the opinions are with that guitar only. The Grey cab ,Black face, and, Red Knob Solid State 1X12 Combo was made in 1989 according to the tag. The striking features of the amp are two the weight to power ratio is great and the looks (color combo)are love-em or hate-em. The amp is border line garage band small gig to practice amp. The amplifer output is raised 27 watts when anonther 8 ohm speaker cab is atttached to the Ext. speaker jack bringing it barley up to the triple digit wattage AKA -- FM212. Its clean channel is brilliant Fender all the way. You know what brand amp it is a mile away with your eyes closed. You can play anything from blues,jazz and softer rock style to some nasty metal noises but needs the second speaker and a but heavier main speaker to have the fullness of sound for such stuff.The speaker is clear and handles the power fine but lacks a bit of puch for heavier sound using the footswith controled overdrive channel. However at the same time it is suprizing loud. It could be put in a full bar of sreaming football fans and one note would cut thru all the noise and get attention 100 feet away. The 7 total jacks 6 front 1 rear include pre-amp in and out they can be combined to use as an effects loop or to run as slave amp or with a slave amp in. It also has a handy headphone jack for late night song inspiration that won't wake anyone but the pets if you have any. the footswith rounds out the 7 with two differant resistance inputs. Overall the Gray covering is soft but tougher than standard tolex. The black rubber corner braces and control face plate look great with the red knobs standing out very brightly. The reverb is more than enough for myself without moving past 3 on the setting. If you happen to have your equipment set-up in one spot and want to take home a good sounding light and powerful practice amp, you wont do better. Mine is 16 years old and looks 2 months old. The longer I have it the better I like it. I will add a chorus effects control and a heavier speaker such as the Legend V-12 or G12T-75 speaker. The only reason I am rating only a 7 for this amp is the speaker is a bit to high pitched for my personal taste. It not a quality issue. Thruth is that this amp with a 2X12 cab is all thats needed to gig up to 300 folks, garage band practice or practice at home on its own. It will handle most any type of mucic I play. The amp is very underated by when I see amps that bring twice the money and have played them knowing whats what. I would like to give the buyer a few days with this older SOLID solid state red knob beauty just to let them know what can be had for the money. Brand name or not. It is a good amp and with a few tweeks it is a great amp for anything you like to play.

As I mentioned the sounds I am getting are thru passive ESP house brand Humbucker pickups on a solid body guitar. The amp suits my playing style and music taste great as is and I feel better with a speaker change. The gain tends to be a bit to harsh and noisy for me when set at noon or higher. I have to keep it at number 3, contrast warms things up a great deal at 7 and brings on the blusy, close to signing type sound I really enjoy when the presence is set at 5+. The sustain of the amp is so long that it is important to make certain you don't let a finger set in one spot or your hand with start the next couple notes or the amp will keep the end of the last note playing on when you are a bar ahead. It was most suprising to me at first. Hit a string and start counting it just keeps on going till you stop it, if you have the amp volume up it just keeps going and not feedback loop. You have an oppertunity if you wish to have very harsh and grinding nasty sharp and harsh sound. Close to piercing as a screech owl if the gain is turned up a bit too high. That is where Fender and I feel differently and I would give up a bit of high volume for stronger midtones, and more bass. Speaker change again. So in short if you want to get an all purpose, do anything amp that can vibrate floors, Clearer than a school bell on october mourning, hold a note longer than a gator can stay underwater, and generally do most anything far better than you thought, is also lighter than your shoes and is much louder, (I understated that, it does shake hardwood floors on volume setting two clean channel -- it is very LOUD) than you ever expected, this it. Get an ext cab if you wish you may like it as is. I am also talking speaker change -- thats me not the amp. For the money you will not do better in sound quility, variety and power lot of power for the dollar with practical useful addtions of outputs that all amplifiers should have at any price over $250.00, so if you get a chance rap your baby finger on one and make a small donation to the seller and put them on your Christmas list. You just got 3 or more times the amplifier you probably paid for and as I said mine is 16 years old and all origial and going strong as day one.

I have never ever hade a problem with the amp. As far as I know in 16 years it hase never had a screw taker out of it. Barley gets warm after hours of play. Using a backup amp would be foolish as the only thing that would stop this amp is a power spike that wopuld blow out the entire curcuit. I would sooner get a fuse and wire it in to prevent external power spikes from messing with it. That is one of the greatest parts of this amplifier, the overall simplicity. It is the Sherman tank of the amp world. Volume 2 up to volume 8, it does not care -- it just keeps signing away for hours on end. If it ever stopped working I would be all over the home or bar or whatever convinced it was the power outlet and not the amplifier.

I have never ever had to have anywork done and the local repairman that does all the stoes Fender amps is a good guy but never needed him. The only situation I have had is in getting hardcopies of two amps owners manual, and scematics from Fender on used amps I have bought and there are not really fast put not bad either. They were really freindly to me. The true test will be if I can ever get a Fender amp that is a $700.00 wonder and it craps out 2 days after warranty in over. Than is the time to find out who your are dealing with.

I have been playing over 10.5 years now but it has been 10 on and 30 off and another 4+ months back playing again. So, mentally it is easier now but older hands are not as flexable yet as when I was younger, however I am now able to stretch as far as when I was 20 yrs old and have a better melody playing ability than I used to. My other used Amplifier is a Fender also. A Stage 112SE a 105 watt @8 ohms 160 watt paint peeler @4 ohms. The Fender 12" blue special was removed for a new Patriot "Texas Heat" in the combo amp section and a GK Cabinet is now loaded with new Eminence Legand V-12's. The amp will run together with the M-80 and that will be done as soon as two speakers are placed in an old jenson speaker cabinet for the M-80. So,I still will have to buy a chorus unit and if I want stereo or just chorus effects. I can place the amps far apart and get true stereo using the effects loop in each amp or the Stage 112SE has a line out jack directly to the M-80 and could use the chorus or delay one and not the other. I will try different combimations to see all of what happens. I also plan to get Celestion speakers for the M-80 Jensen ext Cabinet of two or three different kinds to cover all the tonal ranges and get as much fullness in scale with 6 12"s as possable.Also the Celstion and emience may be mixed in ext speaker boxes also. When I first bought the M-80 it was so light and grey in color, not what I had in mind at allI was looking for the old traditional Black and silver Fender. When I quit playing I had a Bogan PA Head through 2X12" that I played though. The other guitarist had a Twin Reverb. Everyone had Tube only because solid State or "transister" sounded very muddy and you play fuzzy slop if you had one because it all sounded the same. Terrible! So, back to the M-80. Before I got much use from it I bought the Stage 112SE (price was too good to pass.) Now I almost wish I had bought another M-80 instead. They come on E-Bay for less than 1/4 of their value in great shape. They are a speeper if they are all like mine. Also I have seen Head Amp units, a chorus modle with 2X12, and a standard Combo 2X12, a rack unit, and a pre -amp M-80. So would I get another if mine were lost or stolen? With what you get for the money and know from what I know I would be preety foolish not to. I may get a second to drive with the first anyhow for a pair of the amplifiers. Nobody makes anuthing close to the solid durability and volume with all the feature now for 3 times the money. Then again most folks don't even know the power outut of the M-80 or it comes in (6)different combinations including the pre-amp from chorus to combo to preamp to head only. So they are available as a head unit, 1X12, 2X12, 2X12 stereo chorus, and the pre-amp. I have also seen the M-80 amplifier in 2X12 a black cabinet. I don't know if it is year or modle? This all happened when I was not playing. I have no idea what the better value was, but I have not found it yet. In any make or modle from anyone. Once again I gave it an 8 rather than 9 or even 10 due soley to the speaker. The rest in a 9 to 10 to me.

late 80s fender m 80 chorus it coud be versatile enough for many types of music it has 2 channels clean and overdrive and has built in chorus and reverbi use this amp for practicing and gigging and at 135 watts its loud enough

i use an epiphone g 400 with a seymore duncan in the bridge and a stock fender strarocaster that i got with the amp it sounds better with the strat but still pretty good with the sg the clean channel is where it shines especially with some reverb and chorus i dont use the distortion but it does sound good with a metal master

built like a tank because im not exactly gentle when i unload it for practice

n/a

if you can find one used dont miss the oppurtunity to get a great amp and they can go for pretty cheap