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

Im not exactly sure when it was made i only had it for a short period.I trade it in for a peavey ultra 120 amp which worked out for a while this was between 1992 and 1993.The amp does have a wide range of sounds from blues,rock to metal by adjusting the contour knob that sweeps the mids (boost or cut) on the OD channel.But the overall tone isnt all that great which is why i now use marshall valvestates they do alot better job producing the type of rock/metal tones i like.The amp has 2 channels clean/overdrive w/chorus & effects loop which has been helpful in certain situations.I just wish it had 3 extra knobs like bass,mid and treble(!!!WHAT THE HELL!!!) it might help me in the classic rock and metal department.Yes this amp is loud i have pissed off my neighbors and had cops at my door so i rest my case.

I only played a black les paul standard through this thing.This was way before i switched to active pickups(EMGS 81/85).I cant recall if this amp was ever that noisy but like alot of solid state amps the deeper sounds are more weaker as the brighter sounds are more fuller which is probably more suited for just playing thrash-type of metal.The clean channel does distort a little if you crank it too high.The distortion channel is weak meaning that theres no low end thump mostly due to the fact that it's a open back combo.Although i tried to fatten it up with a boss eq in the effects loop but you can only do so much until the speakers fart out.Your better off adding a 4x12 or 2x15 cabinet,ive seen a band do this before what a major improvement.

Ive been playing since the late 80's but now i just stick to my marshall valvestates(VS100R head and AVT 50 combo).Despite the fenders weak distortion it did a pretty good job simulating tubes and it was a decent pratice amp just for fooling around.But for pratice amps i would prefer the marshall AVT models because they have better tube-like distortion and a closed back so you wont lose any bass when you crank it up.But better yet try it with a booster box to have more control and sustain for super overdriven sounds.I just cant get over the fact that this amp didnt have a bass,mid or treble on the Od channel.At least the marshall valvestates have bass,mid,treble aaaand contour or if not contour it'll have a scoop switch on each dirty channel.

It looks like an early 80s. I have only just scored this amp but I will give the best conclusion I can. This M-80 is a nice package at 85W with a nice reverb and chorus attached. Also it appears that overdrive section looks rather flexible and I think with a bit of experimentation there will be a wide variety of sounds. Remember whats up there is not down there. Turn your amps up guyz so wat if the shift worker complains about his sleep. So wat if the cops come round. You've got some learning to do and everyone's gotta understand that for now. Who knows you could be a legend one day and those complainers may be after your autograph. I like everything about it so far.

At the moment I am using a G&L Climax SSH setup with Floyd Rose. I will be looking forward to plugging my early 70s Gibson SG into it. I feel a strong bond between me and this amp already and I am not usually wrong. Does remind me a bit of the Roland 120

I reckon this amp will prove itself over and over. By the way you guys. I am 40yrs old and 63kg. c'mon guyz this amp's not heavy it feels like about 25kg. I carried above my head for about 75m to my car with one hand. Also I haven't done any heavy labouring for 10yrs. Eat your weet-bix guyz and stop acting like sissies. There's much heavier amps out there

Been playing 26 years. If this is solid state I would like to see what it would be like if they modified the design to take on some tubes. I gave it a 9 only coz I haven't totally explored it.

I picked up this amp used about 6 years ago for a steel (well a UK steel anyway!). I've had the thing apart and the circuit board has got 1990 printed on it so i guess thats when it was produced. I play styles ranging from blues to indie-prog rock to classic rock. I use all the effects on this amp at different times. It has got all the standard channels and fx you would expect from an amp, clean channel, overdrive and spring reverb. This version of the M-80 also has stereo chorus. There are standard tone controls for the clean channel - treble, mid, bass, and two frequency controls for the overdrive. Channel switching is simple with separate on board spring switches for clean to drive and chorus on/off. Both can be controlled with a footswitch. Onboard stereo/mono effects loop is also very handy for stereo fx pedals ie ping pong delays or sweeping flange etc but is also just as good in its mono line too. A rare bonus is the presence of a stereo headphone jack that is very handy for those late nights when the creative juices are flowing. The only thing i would add to this amp would be a seperate line out socket but it has not been essential and the headphone line has sufficed for quick home demo recording.
I have gigged with this amp frequently and the 80w power has been more than enough to fill a venue with sound, i have never had to turn the volume past 6.

I use a Gibson Nighthawk Special 3-pickup version through this amp. With so many tone varieties i need an amp with a good clean sound and this has it in bucket loads. The clean channel is outstanding and clarity is not lost at higher volumes. The only thing that lets this amp done sound wise is the drive channel, it's pretty week and tonally not excellent. I tend to keep it on low crunch just to add some rawness to blues lead, fully driven it kind of losses its edge. However, like a lot of guitarists i have a few pedals to compliment my sound and through the clean channel with a fully driven Jackhammer the sound is excellent, which would seem to imply more time and effort was put into the clean channel than the drive. The reverb is full with good depth and along with the stereo chorus you can produce some lovely coloured tones. I tend to use chorus, not to rich, on clean sounds with a delay pedal to texture rather than define the tone and have not felt the need to purchase a seperate chorus pedal.
Overall for me the sound of the amp defines the quality, not if its a solid state or a valve. The clean tone on this amp holds its own superbly along with traditional valve amps, the drive channel is the only thing tonally that gives away this amps solid state status.

When i first purchased this amp, it began to hiss and pop infrequently after about a month. I originally put this done to simply an amp that had hads its day. However, after taking the board out to examine any obvious flaws (i'm not an electrician, but know some simple fundamentals ie - why's this wire hanging out etc!!) and found none. When retighteneing the nuts on the volume and tone pots to the chasis all noise stopped, i tested this again but undoing them a bitand the hissing and popping came back so i can only presume it had something to do with earthing. All in all there was nothing wrong with the amp and it hasn't made any unwanted noise since.
I have never had to have a backup for a gig and it has never let me down. It doesn't get kicked aroung or slung about (it's too damn heavy for that!) and is well looked after as any good amp should be and as a result, has never broken down.

A few years ago i managed to knock the reverb control off lifting this up and around some narrow stairs. I took it to my local music shop and had a new pot put in - after a bit of a wait. The UK distributer for fender is very slow for supply of goods or parts, even with ready stock and are notorious for saying something has shipped when it may not have yet so not too good. I have never had to contact them direct though for Fender support as this is the only time i have had a problem.

I have been playing guitar for about 9 years and have never felt the need to get a new amp. If this were lost or stolen I would probably look at a Fender Twin Reverb unless i could find one of these for a good price - there are a hell of a lot of great amps out there so to say i would definitly get another M-80 would be a lie - i'd have to play the field. The beauty of this amp is the outstanding clean sound and the fact that it can be obtained from an amp that seems to change hands at very goods prices. If you like heavy on board drive then look somewhere else, it doesn't cut it - it does fine with a good drive pedal but i think if an amp is going to have a sound option on board it needs to match the quality of the rest of the amp.
I have given this an overall rating of 8 based on the first 3 catagories, customer support doesn't detract from the build of an amp so i have not counted this. If you can find one, give it a real try out, i doubt you will be disappointed.

I picked up this beast last fall, 2002. Tried it out, loved the sound.
The clean channel, treble/mid/bass I fell in love with, though I never use any mids with danelectro fab tone distortion pedal, keep the treble aroud 6, and bass at 3, i get all i need. The distortion on the amp i find is great for blues,and light rock. But for the metal that I play, it doesn't suit my needs. Chorus is great, just enuf for me, and the reverb, though im not a fan of it, is there if i need it. Dont have any castors yet for this thing, so im stuck carryin it for now. 130 watts of loudness, i can't complain.

I play in an alt metal band, so need thick distortion, good cleans, and so forth. As mentioned above, i use a dan fabtone for the distortion, and stratt clone stinger 12x. chorus i use whenever i can, since it adds a nice flavor to the clean channel. With all this, I get just what I need. A basic setup that packs a punch. The tone is just right for me.

i can depend on this amp greatly. ive already gigged with it a couple of times, and i will continue to do so for as long as i can. It hasn't failed me, nor do i feel it necessary to haul a backup with me to every show i play at. good old ss, no extra money on tubes here. ^_^

i have never had to deal with fender or anybody else for repairs. but i know places where i can go to get it fixed if i have to.

id be pretty pissed off if this thing were stolen, cause then id have to scrape together a couple grand and start lookin at some mesa's and some marshalls. im not a fan of all the effects on amps nowadays, and am very happy with the basic setup on this m-80. still wish the distortion was thicker, but other than that, its loud, it sounds great with my setup, and im lovin it.

I think this one is 92'. Coverd in black tolex... its kinda rare. Most of them are in a carpet type material. Either grey(1st ed.)or black(2nd ed.). So this one was made sometime after that i guess or was custom made. It's got 2 channels, clean & distortion, reverb & chorus, effects loop, 2 inputs & a footswitch. I mostly use this amp as a "for the moment" amp. Until i get a new Boogie combo.

Its all Solid state so don't expect miracles! The clean is it's best quality. Its sweet and warm... classic fender. But the distortion sucks. I can't get a decent sound on this thing. The presence and contour dont help, do NOT get fooled by that "it's got this & that for that xtra warmth.." B.S. I'm running this with a Boss 7 band EQ right now so i get something decent. One of the bad things about buying online. The reverb is good, you can get a nice sound with it. Unlike my peavey, i find i have more control over the reverb with the M-80. Another good feature thats got a good sound is the Chorus... your somewhat limited to what you can do... for an added bonus, it's decent.

I just got it about 3 weeks ago... so i cant comment on this yet. But i think i will take it in sometime soon. Theres a nasty "pop" sound everytime i turn it on, i dont think thats normal. But i talked with another m-80 owner and he told me his does the same thing. I must say its well built. Made strong, you can see that it's ready to take on the road... just can't cut it sound wise.

Havent tried them out yet... i guess i never will either. The warranty was over a while ago.

I've been playing for about 10 years. I had other Fender amps, like the Princeton chorus & the Roc pro. I also own a Marshall JCM900 HGDR head and a 2x12 JCM800 cab, marshall vs100 combo. If it got stolen, i wouldnt cry over it... meaning i would not get another. I'd go for a Marshall combo or even a Fender RocPro700 comco 1x12. The look is what i really like about the m-80 i think thats what made me buy it in the 1st place. The distortion is bad. Very thin, missing that "ballzy" feeling to it. The peavy bandit 112 had a little more punch to it. I play Mostly metal, stuff liek Old Savatage, Quiet Riot, Halen, Metallica, Salyer ect... ect.. ect.. and this amp can't cut it. I'm not really surprised Fender got rid of it not to long after it was made. It's a well thought of amp that didnt get enough sound tech's on it. I wouldnt go for this again.

This is an early '80s, grey-carpeted, red-knobbed monster. I teach high school and play in an all-teacher, nine-piece funk machine. The 65 watts this sucker kicks out cuts through any horn of my bruthas! The chorus works well, and I don't distort a whole lot, except on some Living Color...

I have been gigging since high school (1979)with a 1970 ES-335 running through an old Yamaha 50-112. I bought this used a year ago when we formed "Faculty Lounge" and it gives me an excellent tone. I run through a Digitec RP-200 and '79 CryBaby, and it covers the gamut, from Prince to Parliament. Distortion is a little "solid-statey", but it will suffice.

When I bought this, it worked well, but after a couple-three shows, I had to have an input jack and one of the speakers replaced as I was getting no chorus. Spent $150 and now it works great. We gig pretty much every weekend, and this has held up just fine. Had caster slots but no casters, and I put them on so this old man (41) could haul it around.

I take it to my local vintage music repair store...

I am currently in the market for a used Mesa/Boogie (I've wanted one since high school); probably a DC-5 or Mark III...something with about 50 watts. The only reason is that I want a tube sound. I'll keep this at home and get rid of my practice amp (a Rogue CGR-50...a real piece). The M-80 been a reliable, loud, fun amp to have around, but now it's time to Boogie...

85 watt 2x12" chorus laden solid state amp. Stereo and Mono effects loop, headphone out jack. 2 input jacks. Clean and Distortion channels. Master volume, 3 band EQ, presence and contour on the distortion channel. Spring reverb and a great sounding chorus with rate and depth controls.

This is a great sounding amp. I've been playing for 12 years and this is one of the best amps I've ever played through. I'm in a band and we play mostly old rock songs ie. (CCR, The Doors, Van Morrison, etc.) I love this amp and would not trade it for anything in the world. Only payed 200$ used and got my money's worth.

We play mostly parties and weddings and it has enough ooomph to push me through the mix.

I play through an epi with dual humbucking pickups of some kind. Sounds good most of the time. Think my guitar is just old and crappy. Waiting for my fender deluxe super strat to arrive. It oughta sound sweet then. Our singer is also the rhythm guitarist and he has a Rickenbacker that sounds like absolute heaven through this amp. I also have a 1977 Yamaha acoustic that sounds sweet through this amp.

The clean channel is marvelous. A little wimpy on the distortion channel but that's what they make stomp boxes for. Clean channel will distort nicely at high volumes but it's supposed to. It has that down-home bluesy sound to it like I like with a little cruch at higher volumes. I keep the EQ with the mid on 7-8, the trebs on 5-6, and the bass at 6-7.

Like I said, as others have, the distortion is weak for metal heads. I like to play some metal like Creed or Rage. My Dano Fab Tone works fine for that.

Haven't had a problem with it yet.

Haven't used it.

I also own a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. This amp is just as good, it just doesn't have that tube amp feel to it. It sounds as good though.

I am not sure of the yaer, somewhere in the 80's I presume

I run an Epiphone LesPaul Custom and a Charvel into it and Both guitars sound extremely good, I play alot of Eagles, SRV, and the like including some Heavier Ozzy and what not and this Amp Kicks Ass!!!

100% Dependable I have never had a problem with it.

I have never had to Deal with them.

I have been playing about 20 years and I run it with a SUNN 412 cabinet and it sounds better than anything I have tried......yes including Marshalls, but again its all about preference.

This amp is great. Overall, I love the 65watts of raw power coming from each of the speakers. The chorus, which I don't use much of anyway, isn't too bad but it's a bit weak. The distortion suits me fine, as I don't do much metal or heavy rock. The headphone jack sounds great on my amp, it replicates the sound rather well. The footswitch also, is particularly useful. In general, it's a great sounding, LOUD, solidstate amp.

I use a wide range of guitars, primarily my Washburn BT-2 (with EMG select pickups) and my Ibanez AQ acoustic guitar. They both sound good in this amp. I play anything from blues, to classic rock, to flameno and classical and rarely have to turn the amp past 7 to achieve the tone I want. Clean channel is great, not half as loud as the distortion, but that's to be expected. If you're in to metal, the distortion is a little weak, as others have said.

Are you kidding? It's built like a fricking rock.

Warranty is long over with.

I've been playing for nearly 4 years now and imho this amp is great. Since this amp is rare nowadays, I would probably get something else, but if I could get it back I certainly would. It sounds great when plugging in an acoustic too, which is a plus.

I bought the amp used, and when I got it (a year ago) some Fender Dealer told me that it was 5-6 years old.....so now it's like 7-8...It has 2 channels, Clean and Distorted...it also has Reverb and Chorus...the Clean channel is pretty and wonderful but the Distortion is crap and high rangey....good for blues...if you're a metal-head geek like me, get some kind of pedals for the distortion.. it has a mono and Stereo effects loop, headphones Jack (ooo awww) and came with a footswitch that changes channels and turns the chorus on and off...I've used this amp for different gigs...mainly for practicing... doesn't quite have that live amp "oompff" too it...I want a thick sounding Peavey stack for live...it has enought power for what I use it for...but I need more soon..it carries over the drums in band practices, but, since it's solidstate and cheap, it has a high range ring to it that just bites into your head...when low range stuff is blared, it distorts at high volume....sucks...but hey...I got what I paid for I guess...

I use various Ibanez RG, Jem, S Series, JS, and custom made stuff with whatever pickups come with the guitar...sounds fine through the amp....I play a lot of metal, Classical, all around whatever.....I'm a Joe Satriani fan.....so I can say I like to play his style....the amp gets noisy with my cheaper guitars...just cuz of the crappy pickups...but I guess it's ok, as far as a solid state is concerned... like I said, it distorts low range at high volume.....it's good with the ear piercing high range stuff...it kind of has a thick, tube sound, around 11:00 volume setting...I nevr turn the treble over six, and the bass stays over 6....and the mid range I have around 4-5....it's ok....the distortion is very....not good quality...like a Fender..it doesn't have a metal feel to it..the sound is so so...

Two months ago I blew a fuse and cracked a circuit board due to carrying it around and wheeling it everywhere...it comes with casters...my tip is to throw them away...it gets heavy, but it'll save you repair costs....cost me 90 bucks to get it fixed and just got it back yesterday...I don't like to use this thing live much...it'll pop and the power will play games with your mind al lot of the time...I wouldn't use it without a back up very much...it's been pissing me off lately, because it keeps acting up on me...the clean channel will sometimes shut off without warning...loud pops here and there....not too reliable...but...If I ever dropped if off a cliff, I'm sure it would stay in one piece.....the circuit boards would shatter and the magnets would jam up...but it would stay in one peice.....built like a rock...but the amp itself blows...

never dealt with Fender...don't like 'em....ever will....they're all psychos!! Bill Gates is one....I swear...

it sucks...but it's good for practicing.....I'll keep it around when I get my dream equipment.....give it to my spoiled grandchildren the day I put my teeth in a cup....long time from now...

Made around 1980 (?) in Brea California. Two channels (footswitchable clean and lead/overdrive), beautiful reverb, and a great clean stereo chorus. Stereo and mono effects loops and... a HEADPHONE jack!!!

2x65 watts stereo into 2 12" inch speakers provides all the sound pressure I need to fill any venue up to a school gym. I rarely turn it past 7 and usually have it around 2!! Although I can get some useful tones by increasing the amp volume while decreasing the guitar's signal. Lots of room to experiement. Casters to help move the 50 pounds or so.

I've gotta say that the headphone feature is unusual for a large amp like this. I use it all the time for late night practicing while the rest of the family slumbers. The headphone output is a pretty faithful reproduction of the sound I'd otherwise get out of the speakers (volume, tone, stereo, etc.). Headphone quality matters, though, of course. No disappointment here.

I use a Fender Roadhouse Strat - essentially an American standard with the addition of the fabulous custom shop Texas Special pickups. These pickups are the greatest contributor to my sound and the amp provides full rich balanced amplification that rivals my bandmate's Fender Deluxe tube amp. Don't let the fact that this is a solid state amp mislead you. The sound is great, not thin, flat or metallic in any way. Most folks just automatically assume it's a tube amp from the quality of the sound.

The clean channel is clean right to "11". The lead channel has a wide variety of cleanliness or distortion provided by the "gain", "presence" and "contour" controls. I haven't found a sound I can't duplicate or at least come really close to. Not bad for older technology short of a POD or CyberTwin or such-like..

Solid state means never having to say "ooops" when a tube glows its last glow. I bought the amp from a fellow who gigged long and hard and the amp never failed him. Its been getting the same treatment from me and shows no signs of wear or fatigue. The knobs and pots are solid feeling. The footswitch is standard Fender issue and so far indestructible. The lead and chorus effects are also switchable on the panel with robust independent pushbuttons.

We always have backup amps at our gigs - an inferior Peavey 115 rated at 150 watts (yeah sure) and a wonderful 1960's Gibson Skylark (miked if necessary). Also a bassman 50 if all else fails (actually it might be my first choice if I ever had to choose a backup). I've never used the backup option.

Never dealt directly with Fender - I get great service from the local music store. I imagine that Fender has a widely distributed service network by now. I don't fear travelling with this amp.

OK so I basically stole this amp. It is a great value and I probably would have paid twice as much knowing what I know now. Yes, I'd replace it if necessary. I was using an Ampeg stero chorus 2x35 - equally excellent but more a studio/small venue amp (2x10" speakers). The 2x12's and extra headroom in the M-80's wattage department better meet my needs.

I have to admit that I can't stand the black carpet covering. I really prefer tolex for cleanlines and general aesthetics. I suppose I can replace the covering if it really becomes an issue (probably not). I wish it had tip-back legs and I'll install some myself at some point. However, I bought the amp for its features, versatility, and sound characteristics. I can't fault it there.

The stereo chorus on it sounds nice. It is very loud. It isn't valve state, but it still has a great sound.

I use it with an epiphone les paul, and the humbucker pickups sound great in a clean tone, BUT(!) the distorion is way to thin..

Only time it broke down was because the fuse blew (and that was because i wasn't using a surge protector on my power supply!)

never had to use it...

I love it apart from the slightly 'cold' sound it has compared to a valve amp. On the other hand it is much more dependable than your avergae valve amp. Get a distorion pedal of your choice and you have a nice setup :)

Features leave a little more to be desired. Clean channel sounds good...but the distortion is really thin. It may be good enough for blues, but its lacking for metalheads. The stereo chorus, which has depth and rate controls, damn good.

I use an Ibanez RG 570 with the stock pickups, usually using only the bridge position which i believe has either a V7 or V8 humbucker. I play metal oriented stuff, so like i inferred above, you need a separate distortion. i use the dod fx-7 effects processor with the gain set at 13. i think what really hurts this amp is the fact that when you turn up, the sound drastically changes, and its extremely difficult to get a good, clear sound only adjusting the hi,lo,mid on the amp. you cant cut much of either of them without compromising your volume. so i resorted to getting a boss ge7 eq. without distortion, though, the clean channel sounds nice. overall though, it lacks clarity and the power i wish it had.

this amp is definately reliable. i bought it used about 3 years ago and never had a problem. never brought a back up on a gig.

bought it used...never had a complaint or problem.

i have been playing for about 7 years...and i often find myself envying the tone of others. if i had the money id get a crate blue voodoo or line 6 or something along those lines. but for my level of play, its relative price, and its reliability, i can definately deal with this the weak points of this amp.

I'm not sure what year this amp was made in....looks like the 80's. Versatility? Its hard to say because some of the best amps aren't "versatile" unless you add pedals to them (ie. Fender Twin-Reverb)... But i'd say it's pretty good. It has 2 channels and a chorus. Clean has standard low/mid/high with a reverb with it....and the distortion has a separate setting (gain/contour/presence/volume) and the chours(rate/depth). I wish i could figure out the stereo and mono effects setup it has....oh well....i use this amp mainly with jamming with buddies or just kickin' it at home....it suits me perfectly, it has almost TOO MUCH POWER.....running this into a 4x12 cab would be insane.

I give it a 6 because there are LOTZ more amps with better features...but i personally don't by amps on features....i buy them on sound.

I use 2 guitars at the moment....a fender strat and a dillion paul reed smith copy both to play a wide range of styles....i'm into Pearl Jam, Collective Soul, Kenny Wayne Shepherd....lotz of variety and it suits me very well. Noisy?? It is very clean by itself but i noticed when you run any effects into it it does get a little bit noisy....i'd recommend getting a noise gate.....I compared the clean sound to a wide variety of tube amps and i found something strange....they sound so very similar. The only amp out there that i tested (fender twin, ultimate chorus, line 6 spider, fender blues deville, fender deluxe) that actually sounded better then this amp was the fender twin. But that costs 800 dollars more.

Distortion however isn't that great....but again, neither is the distortion on other amps (except the line6 spider). All in all, a very solid amp.

Like a rock....!!!!!

N/A

I've been playing for 3 years now and i've owned my share of gear...i'd have to say the fender m-80 is a very well rounded amp and if it was stolen.....i'd probably buy another (although they are quite rare)....but i wouldn't know how they could get this amp outta my house fast enough b4 someone caught them because this mammoth is HEAVY. I compared it to many other amps.....and honestly....the only better amp i could see was the Fender Twin...but unless you want to pay for tubes every so often plus an additional $800 i'd say go with the fender m-80 chorus.

This amp was made in the '80's and has two 12" speakers, stereo, chorus, Fender reverb, presence, contour and some other controls. I love it. It is one of the loudest amps I've ever heard. Playing at home it never goes above 1. Wish it had tremolo, but other than that, it is, in my opinion, one of the best amps. Did I mention this amp is LOUD? Has a footswitch for controlling chorus and channel.

Like to play hard rock, surf and r-b. This amp does a great job especially with hard rock. I use DOD Overdrive Plus and Rocktek Distortion pedals with the amp and it does a great job. My strat sounds great when I play through my "Hot Rail". Even my grandson's off brand strat copy sounds great.

Clean channel very clean, dirty channel great with pedals.

I've had this amp for over a year and it's seen a lot of playing time and it hasn't had a single problem. It plays beautifully. Other than the irritating pop I hear every now and then, it's been fantastic. It's a very heavy amp, well made, (it's Fender, what do you expect.) and thankfully has castors to move it around.

This amp is at least 12 years old. Any problems and I would take it t oa repair shop locally. I've had it for over a year and it's never presented a single problem. I also have a Fender Sidekick, 25R, and it's the one with all the problems. This M-80 appears to have never been abused. There are no tears, rips or any parts missing.

I started playing in the late '50's and played solid until the late '60's when I got married and stopped. Wife didn't like me doing gigs. Wish now I hadn't gotten married and stayed with the gigs. If this amp were lost or stolen, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. I really like this amp and can't see spending so much money for a "better" name one. I would miss this amp. This is one of the unusual ones in that it doesn't have the carpet and red knobs. It looks like a regular Fender amp, black Tolex, black face, with castors. I realize this isn't a tube amp, but considering what I like to play, I don't need the expense of a tube amp. The only thing I feel would be a nice addition would be tremolo and that I plan on solving with a pedal. I considered Marshall's and even a Line6, but for the money this amp just can't be beat.

This amp was probably meade in the late 80's or very early 90's. It sounds excellent for the styles I play (Grunge/Punk). I've even played some blues and surf stuff on it. It has 2 channels, one clean, and one overdrive. 2 inputs. 2x12 speakers. Mono and Stereo effects loops. Headphone jack. Footswitch jack. I think it's about 135 watts. Clean channel has Volume, Treble, Mid, and Bass knobs. Overdrive has Gain, Contour, Presence, and Volume. When I bought it the footswitch didn't come with it so I've been looking for one everywhere. I use this amp everywhere. This is amp is LOUD! At band practice I only turn it to 2 and I have no problems hearing myself.

I use this amp with a Fender Jag-Stang with a Seymoure Duncan JB in the bridge possition. As I said above I play Grunge/Punk and it sounds very good through this amp. When the reverb is turned on it is noisy, and when I turn it off there is a squeak a few seconds after the switch is flipped, but other than that it sounds wonderful.

I can definately depend on this amp. It seems to be built very sturdy. I would even think about using a backup at a gig. Never broken down while I've had it and I don't think it will.

Been playing for 3 or 4 years. If this amp were stolen or lost I'd be pissed because I would have to look really hard to find another one. Overall this amp is awesome, it sounds great.

Well, this bad ass amp was made in the late 1980's and is still going strong. I bought it used and the only thing that was wrong with it was some of the connections inside had to be resoldered and some of the jacks were loose. I played out once with this amp before I got it fixed and it stood up to my abuse. I play heavy metal, alternative, and rock on it and the features it has are more than enough for me. It has a lot of features. I guess I'll start with the chorus. It has chorus adjustments (1 depth knob and 1 speed knob). It also has genuine Fender reverb, which is the best reverb I've ever heard. It has two channels. The clean channel has volume, treble, bass, and mid. The drive channel has volume, gain, contour, and presence. It has two effects loops (1 stereo and 1 mono). It has dual input jacks and a headphone jack. It also came with a two button footswitch which turns the chorus on and off ad switches the channels. It is a stereo amp and is solid state. It has 2 12" Fender standard blue speakers. It is 85 watts and it blows away my small 10 watt Silvertone and my Fender Princeton 112 Plus. I'm satisfied with all of its features, I just wish the distortion could be a little heavier because I play a lot of Metallica and stuff. I'm in a band and I use the amp there and I use it when we play out. It does have enough power. Not only is it 85 watts, but I also mic each speaker. I gave this a 10 because it is perfect for me.

Well, I use 3 guitars mainly. I use a Silvertone guitar similar to a Fender strat in the necki position. I also use a Washburn BT-2, which is my main axe. I use generally the neck humbucker for metal and the bridge humbucker for a more mellowed out sound. I also use a Jackson JS-20 and it sounds alright on it but the pickups on it are crap. I usually just use the clean channel with a Zoom 505 effects processor and thesettings I use are: volume at about 2 (the amp cranks but when I play live I usually crank iot to about 6 and I drown the whole band out), treble at about 1, mid at about 5, and bass at about 6. It sounds great with heavy metal/rock. The chorus on it is the best I've ever heard and so is the reverb. The amp can make from jazzy sounds to death metal. The clean channel never distorts. The distortion is good for playing rock, blues, or alternative. When the contour is at 5 and the gain is at 10 it sounds reall good. I gave this a ten, mostly because of the chorus.

Well, I can't really answer this one, considering I bought this amp beat up and then fixed it after a gig. Playing that gig, it only cut out once, then came back on. It doesn't do it anymore though.

Well, I never had to deal with Fender about this amp. The place I bought it fixed it up really good for me and now it looks brand new, not a scratch. The warranty I have on it right now is only 30 days. I know a lot of people who can fix it.

Damn I love this amp... it's so much better than my Princeton and my little practice amp. I've been playin for 2 years now and this is the best amp I have probably ever played on. I like it better than Marshall. If it got stolen, I'd try and find another one, but they are rare and I've only seen one other one besides mine. I was originally going to buy a 1977 silverface Fender Bassman 10 and then I saw this next to it, plugged an Ibanez into it, and it blew away the Bassman. I wish it had casters on the bottom so I could wheel it around because it is mad heavy. I just wanna say that if you come across one of these, get it. It's well worth your money and it's loud.

Unlike most the people who have been writing on this amp, i have to say one thing, good Chorus amps never have tubes. I was mainly looking at a used roland Jazz Chorus(also a solid state). The reasons this is a bit better is the distortion is actually decent. The clean tone out of this thing is second to none, a bit differant from the fender tube amps, but still clear. THe chorus is ok. If you can find one of these things for under 400 pick it up, it is better than the ultimate chorus fender is making now. It is solid state so it is not for everybody, but it is still killer.

Clean tone that only a roland JC-120 can compare to. Fenders are hard to beat in this area solid state or tube.

I have not used this extensively enough yet.

M-80's are all from the 1980's so fender is kinda out of the warranty zone.

If you like clean tone solid states, that are loud, this amp is ideal. Solid state chorus amps are becoming more common in the underground because they are cheap because everybody wants to get a tube amp. Alot of these solid states are superior amps, in fact i chose this over three tube amps(one ampeg vt40, a fender deville 2x12, and a fender bandmaster), partially because of price(though i had the money), and mostly because of prefrence. Tube amps are just not as loud, or as dependable as the chorus solid states. In fact in my opinion the new deville was kinda stale compare to my m-80. I would highlky recomend people if you see this or a Roland JC-120, pick it up, in alot of areas these are better than tube amps(for one thing no tubes to change that are sometimees hard to find). Tube amps may sound good compare to shittly little 15 watt practice amps, but the true i deal should be these chorus amps.

Great amp, it cranks. When i got it, it was trashed. The speakers were trashed and the cab was trashed, and only one speaker output was working. A good fixer-upper. I bought 2 new Fender 75 watt speakers, made a new cab, painted it up, leopardskin on the speaker-mount board, black speaker grilles, etc, and fixed some connections, so both speaker outs work, this amp is pimp! 2 channels: clean, overdrive. Stereo effects loop. Stereo headphone jack. I dont use the Effects loop yet cause I dont have any Stereo effects yet, but I am later. Loudest solid state amp I've ever heard. Best 75 bucks I've ever spent. I play metal and this amp has all the low-end I want. I have a Boss MT-2 Metal Zone, a Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion, and a Rocktek Distortion (sounds like crap, but adds gain to my other pedals, sounds cool with a wah too,) and a Dunlop Original Crybaby. This amp sounds great with the Metal Zone when you palm mute. it shakes the whole neighborhood!! Giving it an 8 cause the chorus kinda sucks and the distortion is kinda weak.

I have a stock Fender Squier Strat (it's a really good squier though i was surprised. just as good as an American Standard) and once again, I play metal. I have the treble on 5, the mid on 10, and the bass around 7. With the volume under 1 most of the time cause the rents complain, but when im home alone, i turn it up to 4 and its so freakin' loud!!

It has never given me crap since i fixed it, but once i gigged with it before I fixed it, dude it was a nightmare. The speakers were so jacked, i couldnt even tell what note i was playing, so i had to borrow my friend's Marshall, darn. But now, it can kick the pants of a Marshall (well my friend's Marshal solid state.)

Couldnt tell ya.

All I've gotten is compliments about this amp and how it was such a great deal (75 BUCKS!!) and everything. This amp sounds great. If you see a used one, and it looks trashed, and are in the mood on fixing it up, the M-80 Chorus has tremendous potential. If it were stolen, I would look for another used M-80 and fix it up.

I play lots of classic rock music. (AC/DC, CCR, Rolling Stones, The Doors) This is my seconed amp to own and I love it. Its a big step from a little Crate 15 watt. Its clear channal is excellent for just about anything. The reverb is as good as any in its price range. The pedel switching is great. Everything is great. The overdrive channel is great and is fairly adjustable. I can get anything from an AC/DC like overdrive to the low vintage sound of Creedence or The Doors. The only drawbacks are no tube and no standby switch and there is no equlizer for the Overdrive channal. Oh yeah. THIS LITTLE THING GETS LOUD!

I play on a Epiphone SG Junier. Has one P-90 pickup on the bridge postion. It is my first guitar. I have been playing about a year, but I know alot about guitars because I reseached and read 2 years before I bought one. I play classic rock like I said earlyer. Pretty much everything I have to say has ben said.

I have never used it publicly but I would suspect it would be good.

I bought it used I don't have warrenty or instruction booklet

I have compared this with the Fender Delux and DeVille models. It is VERY similar and it is a better buy. This amp is verry rare however and mine is the only one I have ever seen. It is not like it doesn't stand out well with is white/gray carpet and red knobs. I love the wheels on the bottom. Everyone feel free to E-Mail me about this amp or anything else you have to say about guitar related stuff.

this amp is very verstile for the styles of music i play, (blues and rock). it has two channels, clean and distortion, it has a foot switch, which allows to switch the stereo chorus on and off as well. it has the effects loops in mono and stereo, although i never really use them. i kind of use that loop with this other amp, and was able to make it a slave amp. it has a headphone jack, although, it sounds really cheesy. i wish it had more controls on the distortion, but in a way, it kind of suits me, cause i really don't like the "processed" distortion sound. it's just raw. i like it personally. the features i never really use is the chorus, again, i don't like the processed sound, although fender did do a good job with the chorus. i use this amp in my bedroom, and like the other guy, i can't really have it past 1, cause this sucker is loud. enough power for me. i've taken it to a gig once where i had access to a wireless, so i cranked it up to 10, ran all the way back to the other side of the auditorium and did'nt tell my friend who was like 10 ft in front of it. man, he was pissed. that e5 chord was the loudest. i don't mind that it's not a tube amp. i'm not all picky, like "i won't use it if it ain't a tube amp." most of these kids have probably never even played through a tube amp. i think they get too much hype.

i usually use an ibanez rg550 with stock pickups. sometimes i borrow my friend's strat. it suits my style fine. the cleans with the strat, and the distortions with the rg are killer. not really noisy. the clean channel has never distorted on me.
i like the distortion, unlike the other people who have written abou it

pretty good. never had a problem

n/a

i've been playing 8 years, and i've had it for 5. i would probably buy a marshall instead, simply because buying it over would be redundant. i love the power it provides. i hate the grey carpet exterior, now that i think about it. i love the casters, though. i wish it had a controls setting on the distortion if i had to be picky

This amp has 2 channels, with just 3 tonal controls in each. However, I use a strat+ with lace sensors, and combining that with my boss equalizer I can get an extremely nice clean sound. The distortion totally sucks. I only use it for obnoxious feedback (this amp CAN handle brutal use). I mainly use a electro-harmonix BIG MUFF ? re-issue (love it to death). At home, I barely need to move the volume past 1, i usually have it below 1. I get complaints by parents if it moves beyond that area. This is a very loud amp! I have read in the manual that it is actually 130 watts, not 85! The reverb is descent, I really don't use it....what can I say, its a solid state amp!

I use lace sensors (gold) and it sounds much nicer than with my old guitar, which used a cheap humbucker. It suits my playing style just find, though i am now interested in buying a hot rod deville 2X12" combo. This amp is very quiet. The variety of sounds all depends on what guitar and effects you are using. The clean channel has never distorted, for me.

Its never failed me, Ive been using it for 5 years now.

Never had to deal with them. Don't hope to.

I consider this a good amp, considering that it's a solid state combo, and its not too pricey. However there are many good deals to be made with tube amps. My personal advice, go for a tube amp!

Its has just the right features not to many nobs and buttons but just enough.It has two channels a clean chanel witch is great for a clean sound and this amp does a great job on the clean chanel.On the Clean chanel there are controls for volume treble mid and bass.The other chanel is the overdrive chanel.You cant get a good amount of distortion from this amp.It has a controls for gain contour presence and volume.The only reason I gave my amp a 9 for features is I wish it had controls for treble mid and bass on the overdrive chanel.It also has chorus on it.The chorus is verey good and It also has reverb and it is good to.Its also has Stereo and Mono effect loops.And a head phone jack.And it also comes with a foot switch for switching from the clean to the overdrive chanel and for turning the chorus on and off.One other thing I dont like is that this is a solid state amp I wish it was tube but it is still a good amp.

The clean chanel is great espesialy while useing a strat.And The Over drive chanel has one big problem.If I want to use alot of gain If I turn the volume up just a little to much the amp starts to squiel I cant stand this and to make it stop you have to back off from the amp alot.But If you use a Les Paul on the overdrive chanel you can take the distortion from mild to wild!The chorus is great I can say the same for the reverb.This is a pretey good amp for a clasic rock player.And even though it has some problems it is still a good amp.

So far this amp has never failed me.It may some time down the road but for now its great

I never had to contact Feder for any problems so I dont how there customer Support is.

Its a good amp I would buy it agin for the price I paid for it.Even though this is not a tube amp it still sounds verey good.And it would of been nice if they added the features I mentioned in the features section.

This amp is only versatile for my playing style on the clean channel. I think the distortion channel is crappy, it could be with a preamp maybe, but i dont use it. I use pedals for distortion, I use a big muff for my distortion needs. It has an effects loop, two actually, mono and stereo. It also comes with stereo chorus and reverb built in. With my setup i can get a rather nice clean and dirty sounds. I also use a boss eq and i play a fender us strat plus with lace sensors in it. This amp is a solid-state 130 watt combo amp. It has 2 12" speakers and it is stereo. There are no actual outputs other than the headphones jack. Some minor changes in wiring in the open back could easily ad an output for a cab (this could be a stereo output or mono). I wouldn't recommend anything larger than a 2X12" cab, but this amp does have some serious volume. All I need to do is pretty much crank it up to 2 or 3 for clean, you can get good feedback on the distortion channel, it has to be over 3 on the volume to feedback. I have seen famous bands on a small stages using this amp. I believe that this amp is good for the amount that I paid for it.

This amp makes no noise at a normal volume, high volumes tend to have a little noise.

this amp has never failed me, ive had it for almost 5 years now.

I wish this bad boy had some TUBES in it.