Fender Stage 112SE

Not sure of the year this amp was made, probably mid to late 90's. I won't go over all that it has. Just to say that it has everything you need and nothing you don't. A headphone jack would be nice, but that's not a big deal at all for me. I use this amp mainly for playing small gigs and home practice. It definitely has enough power for gigs, this thing can get really loud! BUT, (in my opinion) this also can be used for home practice too. I almost didn't buy this amp because of all the reviews on how loud this thing is. Yes, it can get really loud, but it also can be played at a managable level too, so don't let the review scare you.

I'm kind of a tone freak. This is my first solid state amp so I was really sceptical, but for $99 I couldn't pass up the deal. I'm using a fender 72 tele deluxe re-issue through line 6 echo park>jekyll & hyde dist>EH Big Muff>EH Small Clone. I can really get a great range of sounds from this amp. the clean channel is SUPER clean, even at high volumes and is great to use pedals with. The drive channel kind of sucks, it's ok for a slightly overdriven blues tone, but other than that I just use pedals to get a distortion tone. Compared to a tube amp, I really think this has a nice, warm, tubey sound for a solid state amp. I was very surprised.

this thing is heavy. that doesn't always mean it's quality but I have have given it a good look over and everything looks really well made.

n/a

I've been playing for 12 years and other than my tele and pedals that I listed above, that's all the gear I have. I like to get good gear and really explore all their possibilities before I move on. I've owned Fender Blues jr, Vox AC15, Vox Pathfinder 15R, Fender Blues Deluxe, standard strats and tele's and a host of different kinds of pedals trying to find that "perfect" tone. For a solid state amp, this sounds very warm and can get really loud. If it was stolen I'd definitely try to get another one. You can pick these up for $100-175 on ebay and at guitar center, which is a steal for all you get. And if anything happens to it, you don't feel to bad because it's the price of a new cheap, crappy sounding practice amp. Don't let the volume scare you...it's a great amp.

I have no idea what year it is. I picked it up in a Pawn Shop. Best hundred bucks I ever spent. Very Powerful amp. I'm a home studio guy so I use it quite frequently at home to record. The clean is fantistic and it can get quite gritty on the other side. Classic Fender bell tones ringing loudly. As far as features, it has enough. I have other amps to do the rest. What it does it does real well.

I play Strats and LPs. My recording partner plugs his Paul Reed Smith CE22 through it alot and the tones are awsome.

Never had a real problem with it. Foot switch works great. No problems here.

I've never had a problem with their CS, but I never really have used it either.

Playing on and off guitar and percussion for almost 50 years. If it were stolen or lost, I would certainly try to find another. I'm sure there are a few out there. I've owned Fender tube amps that didn't sound this good. Tube amps are nice, but a good sounding ss has it's place in the sun too.

This amp was made in 1994. 150 watts solid state amp from the Stage series. My amp is an anniversary model. The Stage 112 SE is extremely powerful and works well with almost any situation. It's a little loud for around the house but at gigs and rehearsal it's perfect. It can compete with a Marshall half stack easily.

This amp is very versatile and suits rock, blues and jazz quite well. At first I wasn't crazy about the distortion channel but I swapped the speaker out for an Eminence Swamp Thang and it has taken a lot of the shrill highs out and gives a nice tone.

It's very reliable. I'd gig without a backup. The only thing that has cut out on me was the footswitch and this only happened recently! All I had to do though was tighten the screws on the sides and now it's perfect again.

Never had to deal with customer support.

I've been playing for 14 years and this is the only amp I've ever owned. No, it's not tube but if you take some time you can dial in a really great sound. I haven't drifted far from it mostly because the volume and tone are amazing. I can gig in any situation and this amp is loud enough. I enjoy not having to carry a cabinet along because everything I need is in this amp.

If you can find one of these on eBay or Craigslist snag it. You won't be disappointed.

Gear used...

Guitars: Fender American Telecaster, Fender '72 Telecaster Custom (re-issue)
Pedals: Boss TU-2, Analogman DS-1, Analogman TR-2, Phase 90, Analogman DD-6,

130 watts, canal limpio excelente, reverb inmaculada, loops de efectos, shift para medios, etc. etc. Este amplificador es una bestia, el cuerpo que tiene el sonido es increible. Suena desde el mas extremo metal hasta las mas sutiles notas de una obra impresionista. El canal de distorsion lo uso solo en caso de emergencia... tene a mano siempre una buena distorsion.

Hasta ahora lo use con una BC Rich Warlock (2 humbuckers) mayormente, aunque tambien lo utilice con Ibanez (no recuerdo el modelo), fender, epiphone, y Squier, guitarras que pasaron por este lugar. Muy versatil, no es ruidoso para nada. Logra sonidos muy refinados, redondos, llenos. El canal limpio no distorsiona a niveles altos, ademas jamas vas a necesitar tocar a mas de 2 en volumen!. La distorsion evadamosla, te salva en casos de emergencia.

Nunca le sucedio nada, fue usado en vivo, a mucho volumen en recitales de metal brutal, y salio ileso.

No se, lo compre usado y jamas tuve que hacerle nada

Este amplificador es sin duda el mejor de los que escuche a transistores, muy comparables a los de valvulas. Unicamente lo cambiaria por otro Fender pero valvular, pero la cuestion por la que no lo hago es por su tremendo sonido (en canal limpio)y porque me olvido de tener que mantenerlo. Esta siempre listo, siempre suena de la misma forma, nunca se desinfla con el mal tiempo.

This has a date of 2/91 on the inside chasis. It is a very loud and clean amp and sounds really good with a Stratocaster, more than a humbucker type guitar. Cheesy-shimmering-clean sounding. This has 2 channels and 2 inputs. One of the inputs is low impedance for those stages with fluorescent lamps, etc. This amp will blow the doors off any other similiar sized amp. It's extremely LOUD. Not too heavy either, but heavy enough to hurt your back maybe ?

The sounds in the amp go from shimmering clean to in-your-face distorted arena rock tones. I add a Boss Metal Zone and Wah and it sounds GREAT. I've also used it for small venues and even with the gain off, it gives you a nice mid-boost type tone.

This is built very durable. It could fall off a stage and still work given the way it's been built. I've been using it for 4 years about 3-4 times each week (between gigs, jams and practice) and I've NEVER had a problem with it.

FMIC is very helpful. Morgan Ringwald is one of the public relations guys and knows how to make things happen. I met him at a NAMM Show.

I've been playing for 22 years and I've used many amps, but this one has been my favorite for it's tone and versatility.

do not know the exact age of the amp.,bought used.i play old and new country,50s&60s,and classic rock.features are the same as everyone elses,etc.etc.etc. the amp has went from back-up to(according to my wife)a life partner.its used for practice and gigging,due to sound,weight and dependability.

i play a roadhouse strat and a pan es-335 jap. copy mostly through the amp.(if you have not heard of,nor played a pan guitar,you gotta read harmony centrals reviews and find one to play)the roadhouse has the wonderful texas specials and the pan,dual humbuckers from?.this amp goes from great to greater for any application of sound

i waited awhile after obtaining the amp. to write a review as i usually do.i,we (everyone i know that plays guitar has been through it)has decided it will not break down,its been discssed soberly and even after our lead guitar player had a few and went in search of the "hidden tubes"we all decided this IS the greatest damn ss amp ever made.....in the u.s.a. you can find the casterated mexican version known as the ultimate chrous but it is nowhere near as versitale and you will know (as will everyone listening) your playing through a ss amp.if you can find one of these buy it.

if you have a lot of time on your hands..... and free long distance on your phone,you may be lucky enough to get a human who can tell you want to hear,or they want to tell you,but most of the time they are busy out buying up other companys,or building manufacturing facilites in other countries.

i have been playing for many years at every level,i collect,play and really enjoy guitars and percussion instruments. i have owned alot of tube amps.(my favorite was my peavey classic 50-410)but..... as i get older carrying gear gets heavier,i would have never imagined getting this sound quality out of a ss amp.and the weight difference,maitaining tubes,biasing,heat issues...fans etc. gone! if it were stolen,i would check my other band members houses,cars and my number one suspect would be.......the lead guitar player.

1990 amp versatile enough for any styles of music..100 watts solid state but if you PLUG another speaker 160 Watts RMS At 4 ohms

best gig amp solid state ............SOUND FANTASTIC

Has the amp ever broken down Nooooooooooooooo I Trust this AMP MORE THAN ANY TUBE AMP THAT I HAVE..................

hummmmmmmmmmmm NOT SO BAD

ALL agree with ((((( Slowhand (literally) at 09/29/2005 11:17 ))))below me .....except the STAGE SE 112 and FENDER STAGE 185 for me are the same quality and the best solid state you CAN BUY FROM FENDER (and used only).......with another Cab IT S 160 WATTS RMS........ONLY BETTER SOUND OF THAT GET A TWIN..( WITH CASTER )......AGAIN WHAT SLOWHAND BELOW ME,HAVE READ I M FULL AGREE WITH HIM....................IF YOU NOT HAPPY WITH THAT GET A TWIN + CASHHHHH + TUBES FOR CHANGE + ROAD CASE ETCCCCC.

Made early 90's. 2 Channels, clean and drive. 100 watts solid state. I play rock, blues and jazz. I use this amp at home and for gigs. Like another review mentioned- a tremelo would have been nice.

I simply love the tone of this amp. Just as nice as any of the tube amps I've since gotten rid of.I play a Fender Strat and a Gibson ES335 and it sounds great with both. The tone is pure Fender. I also tried the drive channel with the drive set to 1, the contour set to 10, the bass to about 7 and the treble at 5, and it really does nail a driven Deluxe Reverb tone-amazing! The clean channel is beautiful, and can get very loud and compresses nicely without sounding "hard" or shrill, as Fender's newer SS amps do.

I read another review here and some guy complained that the amps volume control was too touchy and too loud at low volumes. Gee professor, here's a solution-try the volume knob on your guitar. It's the little round thing with the "V" on it. No matter what amp he uses, no matter where he is, BB King always sets his amps volume on 10 and controls everything else on his guitar. Many pros do this. It allows you to use dynamics (look it up) in your playing. I typically set my guitars volume and tone controls at around 6 or 7, then adjust the amp so that the volume will be the average for the room I'm playing (which has never been higher than 5 on the amp), then control the rest from my guitar. It's amazing what range of tone and volume you have when you play this way- and you can turn down the volume of your guitar and play in the house at night with no problems.

Very solid. Never a problem. I gig with this amp exclusively with no backup (if I had a problem I'd go through the PA).

I've dealt with Fender before and they can be very helpful if you bug them enough (call constantly, send letters and emails to management, etc).

I'm another one of those old timers (53) that's been playing well over 40 years. I believe this amp is Fender's best kept secret. It's a shame they discontinued this line for the far inferior (in my opinion)Dyna Touch line. I've seen these Stage 112SE's in Vegas, on Cruise ships, at outdoor events, almost every venue imaginable. Why? Because they sound great, there light weight, they take a beating and they ALWAYS work! Since buying this I've sold all of my other amps. If lost or stolen I'd buy another immediately- in fact I plan to get one more anyway as a backup. You can always find these on ebay for around $200. The one I got was in MINT condition. Like others who've tried this amp, I never thought I'd go back to Solid State, but I'm here to stay. Really a fantastic amp.

Made in USA 1994. Two channel model.Wish it had tremelo.

I play mainly blues and classic rock. I use a 1996 American Standard Strat and a 2003 Epiphone Riviera. Both guitars sound great through this amp. The clean channel is typical Fender all the way. For blues I use the drive channel with the bass turned all the way up and the drive between 1-3, and can get a Bassman Reissue sound very close to the one I get with my Deville 410. For everything else I use the clean channel with pedals. Here's what I love most about the clean channel on this amp as opposed to newer Fender SS amps. On the new Fender solid states (Dyna Touch), the clean channel never compresses. It just stays clean all the way up- but not a good clean-more like a sharp,shrill, piercing icepick through the brain clean. The Stage 112 has a very subtle, natural crunch as you go up the volume knob. It's a shame Fender no longer uses this same tube emulation circuitry. A guy who works at Fender once told me the employees there felt this series of SS amps were the best they ever made, and I agree. The best solid state amp I have ever owned.

I bought this amp used on ebay around 5 years ago for 180 bucks and have no idea how hard the original owner played it. I bought this as a backup for my Deville 410, but it sounds so good and is so much lighter, it became my main amp for both practice and gigging. I can't remember the last time I even plugged in my Deville. This amp sounds as good if not better than my Deville (which I always thought sounded a little brittle). I've used this amp for literally hundreds of gigs and practices and it has never had a single problem with the exception of one replaced input jack, and that was my fault. Much more reliable than ANY production Fender amp made today. (I have a nightmare story about the 3 Deluxe Reverb Reissues I went through- but I'll save that for another revue). I use it without a backup all the time.

This amp is long out of warranty, but I've had to deal with Fender on other amp issues, and their customer service is absolutely horrid.Period.

I've been playing guitar for over 40 years and needless to say have gone through many, many amps, both tube and solid state, of almost every make including Fender, Marshall, Hiwatt, Sunn, etc. At 50 years old I'm just not into hauling heavy tube stuff around anymore, so I'm back to SS. I mentioned the guitars I use earlier. As for effects, I use a Crybaby Wah, Uni-Vibe, DOD Supra Distortion, Boss FZ-3 Fuzz, and an Ibanez DE-7 Delay/Echo. I bought this amp as a backup but fell in love with it. I love the tone, weight, size , power, and reliability of it. If something happened to it I'd buy another in a minute. Many of my tube snob friends (and I use that term lovingly, as I used to be one)have been amazed at the tone I get through this amp. If you can find one, buy it. You'll be amazed to!

Year: 1994
This amp is very versatile because you can play blues or metal and it will give you the sound you want!
There are two channels on the Stage 112 SE: clean (treble,middle,bass and the very good midshift option) and distortion (treble,middle,bass,gain,contour). This amp has an exceptionnal reverb and the channels are footswitchable

Other features: 2 plugin, preamp, pre out, footswitch, 1/4 line out, headphones and a jack for an external speaker on the back.

Specifications: -160 W RMS (with or without an external speaker??)
-speaker:1 fender instruments 12''
-resistance: 8 ohm
-distortion: transistor

My guitar is an old Ovation 1978. This guitar has a blues sound but the Stage 112 SE helps to give to it a great loud rock sound for Indie Rock! Like I said before, this amp is so versatile that you can play Jazz, Blues, country, punk rock or agressive metal (with good settings) I don't use any effect pedal because I believe that Fender has the greatest transistor distortion effect on Earth. I had a Deluxe Plus 90 watts before (that I kept) and I thought that I would need it to help the Stage 112 SE to have the better sound as possible and it's not necessary at all because it makes the job very well with its two channels (very powerfull and a good sound quality for the price you'll pay for it) But I agree that if I use the two amps, I don't need to put the volume very high(1 for each and I can play with my band without problems!)

I depend on my amp definitely! I'm able to play with my band with the Stage 112 SE very easily but I have the put the volume higher than with two amps (maybe 2 or 2,5). This amp has 10 years and I didn't have problems yet and it did a lot of road. This is a unbreakable amp if you are not too hard with it. Like the others said, I'm sure it would play again even if I threw it in the stairs but I won't try it at all!

I didn't use the customer support because I bought it used.

I have been playing guitar for 6 years and I just bought this very hot but under rated amp. If someone tried to stole my Stage, I would probably use my Deluxe Plus to beat him :P I like the rock sound of this amp, the versatility, the simplicity, the midshift option on the clean, the agressive but well configured distortion and of course, the power of this amp!!! Maybe I would like an overdrive on the distortion to add some possibilities of sound on this amp.

This is an update to an earlier review. I have done a simple modification that swaps out the internal clipping LEDs for germanium diodes. I chose to do this because there was a certain 'icepick' sound to the distortion that I just couldn't dial out. Anyway, anyone tempted to do this mod should heed caution, because there are stray voltages laying around inside the amp chassis, as well as some extremely sharp edges that could pull a Ginsue on your arse if you're not careful.

In the stock configuration I gave this amp an 8, however, after having changed the diodes out to germaniums, it is like a different amp. I always liked the stock distortion sound of the amp, but felt (especially in a live setting) as though there was a high-end, icepick sound (not the typical SS crap either) that is apparent in every LED clipping circuit I've ever heard, spare the Keeley mods which have a lot of high-end filtering to reduce it. Anyay, I had to pair several diodes in series to get the distortion to a reasonably versatile level and tame the compression that happens at high saturation. I ended up with two diodes on one side and three on the other. I think three and four would work fine, as there is tons of gain on hand. Remember that the fewer diodes you use, the more distortion and lower level you'll get. With more, the higher a point at which the diodes clip, and the louder the amp will sound before topping off in saturation land. Now, the amp does a great impersonation of a Bassman on 'roids with the gain set at about 10:30. It cleans up nicely and has a great tube-esque crunch when the volume is full up and you're hitting the strings prety hard. BTW, I play a MIM strat with upgraded PU's and 10-52 strings, so the low end chunk is substantial, to say the least. I think the only thing left to do to this amp is drop an Eminence V12 in place of the stock speaker to round the package out. I'm thinking the pair will go together nicely, as that speaker is known for warming the sound of SS amps. There's plenty of treble on tap in both channels, as I generally set the treble on 3 or less... I'll post again once I've swapped the speakers.

Considering that a person could probably pick one of these models up for peanuts, it can be an invaluable tool in helping a regular guy get good tone consistently and reliably. I think it's a pretty good amp in it's stock configuration, but believe that there's a rock monster laying in wait if one goes to the trouble to beef it up.

IT `s a amp versatile enough for any styles of music you gonna play with big power if you use a another bottom 2 12 inches etc 160 watts almost same power of my twin ( 100 tube watts).perfect amp for all round gig studio shown etc . FOR TRANSPORT not so HEAVY .

the clean channel fender very good distortion is ok .ANYWAY YOU HAVE THE CHOICE TO PUT A PEDAL I give 9.2 for my twin 8.8 for my HOTROD 8.1 for my DELTA BLUES PEAVEY 8.3 MY FENDER 75 ANDDD 8.5 for MY STAGE 112 SE evan it is not TUBE AMP

7 years i got never touch nothing the AMP EXCEPT FOR PLAYING .

NEVER Have dealt with the company NOTHING BROKE .

I have you been playing 33yrs now FOR FUN THE BEST GIG AMP I NEVER HAVE BOUGHT . good sound ( WITH GOOD CELESTION WOW )not to heavy not to big for TRANSPORT AND Big POWER ( with 2 SPEAKERS )If i find a another one I buy it FOR SPARE..

This amp is pretty basic, which is why I'm giving it an 8 and not a ten. Some people may see the lack of features negatively, but I love its basic approach. EQ, reverb, and a distortion channel are the extent of the features but they're certainly sufficient. The clean and distortion channels are footswitchable. There's also a "line out" jack for use with headphones, etc and a speaker cabinet output on the back.

My favorite feature on this amp is definitely the power- there's plenty of it. I use mine through a 4X12 cab (more on that later) and it's overwhelmingly loud. It's been more than enough to play everything from bars to large venues to outdoor shows like the Warped tour. With 160 solid state watts to draw from, that's not too surprising.

I sold my Laney TF800 and Red Bear MK120 to get this amp because it spanks them both so hard. The clean channel is gorgeous and definitely has the twang I expected from a Fender but is also capable of decent jazz tone. It's not the most versatile amp I've ever played, but it's really very good at what it does.

The distortion is flat-out amazing. I took this sweet thing to the studio and turned down the chance to use Triple Recs, AC30s and JCM900s because nothing could touch it. It's not mid-scooped metal sizzle, more like jet-engine rock n' roll tone pushed to the extreme. You can hear the recording (although poorly mastered, in my opinion) at hxcmp3.com/bands/425. If that site is down, check the media secion of soma.hxc.com.

It's not really for everyone- this amp fits into a pretty specific niche. If it happens to be the niche you're looking for, however, running across a value like this is a dream come true.

These things are rock solid. Here's the crap mine has had to put up with:

-A week after I got it, I sawed it in half, tore out the reverb unit, and nailed a bottom onto it to make it into a head.
-It's been dropped several times.
-It's been out in the rain, and is nowhere near water tight in its current state.
-It's been knocked over onstage countless times.

This amp is unbreakable. I've never had to take a backup on tour, and I don't plan on doing so anytime soon.

I got my amp through eBay and have never dealt with Fender, so I can't really attest to the quality customer support department. I sincerely hope they live up to the quality of this product, though.

I've been playing guitar for eight years and have gone through countless amps and guitars. I'm the first to admit that this is because I'm a cheapskate and I end up with incredibly inexpensive equipment. The upside to that is that every once in a while you come across a diamond in the rough, like the Stage 112.

I used tell myself that if it disappeared, I'd save up and get a 5150 or Triple Rectifier or something along those lines, but I'd really have to think about it. It was in the shop once having a jack replaced after I bent one up pretty badly (totally my fault), and I borrowed a Triple Rectifier to play live. I can honestly say I'd choose my Fender again any day of the week. The value of this amp is amazing- you can usually find them used for around $200, and they last forever. If you're not concerned with appearance and you want great bang for the buck, this amp simply can't be beat.

If this amp was made in a head version and I didn't have to borrow my father's hacksaw to "customize" it, I'd be tickled pink. Maybe that's just part of its charm. Either way, I feel incredibly fortunate that I discovered how great this quirky little number can be.

I use this amp in most clubs and venues I do gigs at. After years of the hassle of tube amp upkeep, this is a welcome relief. I use a Robin Medley (www.robinguitars.com) and have a Rocktron Voodu into a BBE Sonic Maximizer in my effects loop. I can get sounds from pristine chime like or in-your-face sonic overdrive with pinch harmonics.

I use this amp with stock, American Strats, a Robin Medley Custom and an ES-335 (Gibson). It is a true road warrior ! The factory settings are very bland, but once you tweak this amp--it howls !

This amp actually fell out of a pickup truck and still powered up at the gig and did it's job. The roadie works at a car wash now I think ?

They send me updates on gear and have been very responding to my needs. I once asked Gary Hoey (Fender Demonstrator)a question on it and even he thought it was the best (non-tube) amp on the market.

I'm older than dirt ! I've been playing guitar for 35 years. I've had Marshall Plexi/Stacks, Mesa Boogies, Twins, Pre-CBS Fenders and if I had this amp stolen, I would try to find another one !!!

Features are OK. Mine doesn't have a 3rd channel (I think newer ones has 3rd channel)... But nothing wrong with the features.

I think this amp is under rated. For the price you can get a used one, it is a great buy... I was looking for the cheapest 100 W possible with good clean sound. I found it. The clean sound is very nice. I have a Marshall JCM 800 that I use along with a Mesa V-Twin preamp (to give more gain)>>and what a nice set up it is by the way<<. I use a Morley a/b switch to get to the Fender Stage. I am so happy with my set up. I got the Fender for 195 $ us (what a deal !).
In addition to this set up, I got a J-Station amp simulator for 100 $ and I select Black Face amp... It is so nice. You close your eyes and you cannot make the difference between a Fender tube amp and my set up. OK, i have to admit that the distortion channel is not that great. I understand that someone who cannot afford a multiple amps set up will be a little dissapointed with the dist. sound. Especially someone, like me, who has always had tube amps (the difference is quite noticable...to say the least).For my set up, I will rate it 9 because of the very good clean sound and the huge power.

I don't know so far.

Don't know.

I have been playing for 15 years. I play mostly with humbuckers pick ups. I play punk rock music (original material). I think I found my ultimate set up. People who come and listen to our band are amazed how good is our sound, especially the guitars. Oh ! I forgot to mention : I tried something very interesting recently that improved my sound. My Mesa V-Twin has a guitar output that I plug into the JCM-800. It has also a "power amp" output that I now plug in the Stage's clean channel. So when I select A on the Morley switch, I have 2 amps pushing the Mesa V-twin, each one coloring the sound on its own. WHAT A HUGE HI-GAIN MELODIC SOUND ! On the B-side, I have the J-Station (on Black face) going to the Fender amp. I DO NOT NEED ANYTHING ELSE, I AM NOW HAPPY. I give the Stage a high rate cause it gives me what I bought it for.

This is one from the mid-nineties. Pretty basic features, but flexible in it's overall design. Fairly typical SS layout; two channels, reverb, mid-shift switch on the clean channel, contour control on the lead channel, effects loop, line out, and a nifty footswitch that changes channels and activates reverb using any 1/4" cable. It's worth mentioning that the amp isn't overly heavy compared to most tube amps, and is loud enough to knock the balls of a rhino at sixty paces...

I play a Mexican strat with some improvements in the crucial areas (pickups swapped for standard americans, master tone control mod, etc.) I play blues-based rock stuff--song-oriented stuff in the style of Live, King's X, Ian Moore, etc. The sounds I get from this amp suit my style perfectly. The amp's not overly noisy, taking it's power output into consideration...this thing gets VERY LOUD! I control the overall volume by using an old Ibanez rackmounted delay unit that has an input control knob (which also tends to 'sweeten' whatever goes through it, a good thing for a solid-state amp). I've also gotten similar volume-reducing results by simply putting a volume pedal in the effects loop and leaving it at a spot somewhere in the middle, and have also used an EQ pedal in the effects loop and adjusted the level and tone favorably. Use your imagination here. The clean channel is superb. I really like how warm this channel can sound, also how chimey but not brittle it can be. Fender clean fan's won't be dissapointed. The drive channel sounds pretty good--standard gain range with added flexibility with the 'countour' control (think VOX mids to scooped metal in the sweep, I keep mine at high noon), but has a much higher output than the clean channel. This is where using the attenuation in the FX loop is necessary. I set the drive channel at 2 and have to turn the clean channel volume up to 8 to match it, so there's an untamed beast in that drive channel. The reverb sounds OK but it could be better, as they used a rather small reverb tank...too bad. I think a larger tank would improve the reverb quality a bit. I'll probably change that out eventually. The speaker is Fender Special Design (read Eminince) but it sounds good in this amp. Another point worth noting is that this amp sounds much bigger than it looks and has ample bottom end for a combo. I once plugged it into a Peavey closed-back cab with a single 15" black widow speaker and the sound was absolutely humongous without being too boomy! I think that with a closed back extension cab and a metal-type pedal that the metalheads might really like this amp. The drive channel cleans up pretty well, the two channels compliment each other well when you get the level matched, and with the volume attenuated, there is absolutely none of the fabled harsh SS high end. Overall a nice sounding amp.

This amp was built sometime in the early-to-mid nineties and it performs without a hitch. I haven't gigged with it yet, but am going to next weekend--without a backup. I think this one will be around for quite a few years to come.

Since I got this used I don't think this category applies. I do know the guy who owned this amp before I did and he said he never had a single thing go wrong with it. You can make your own inferences about customer support from FMIC from others.

I would say that this is a good sounding, fairly flexible, adequately featured amp. It sounds sweet for a SS amp, and I feel is reliable as an Abram's tank. It's light enough to carry around and loud enough to cut through the mix at ANY size venue. A master volume control would be nice, as would a bigger reverb tank, but these shortcomings can be gotten around easily enough. If you see a used one laying around at a music store somewhere, give it a try.

Got it in '92
165 watts, 2 channels (cln, lead), channel/reverb switch included, fx loop, mid shift for clean channel, midrange contour for lead channel
other features given already. Not too heavy.

Wheh I first heard this one, the lead channel caught my ear. . . .and it was loud. Bought it, and never got a tone from the lead channel that I really liked. I eventually ran a SansAmp GT-2 into the lead channel (at a medium Boogie setting) before I got something I could use.

The clean channel was pretty warm and "chimey." Worked with a Strat, a sing/sing/hum Carvin DC-135T (both reviewed on this site), and a '65 ES-335. The Strat/amp combination has that "Fender" sound. It will give you that "ice pick' sound, but has enough bottom to get big and fat. The 335/Stage 112SE get's that "BB" blues feel, and will darken up and do very convincing jazz tones.

I used to use it's fx loop return as a "power amp/speaker" for my ols SGX 2000 rack system when they first came out. That worked very well. I got the impression that the poweramp/speaker combination yielded a flatter response than their tube amps as I usually ran my rack system direct to the house, and the amp tone was not that much different (as opposed to how it sounded through my Blues Deluxe's fx loop).

With my current pedalboard ( the "gain based " pedals going into the front of the amp: Fulltone Fat Boost, FullDrive 2, Distortion Pro, ZVEX Super Hard-On, Cry Baby 535Q wah [set up with a hefty boost], Boss CS-3 Compressor, and a Marshall ED-1 Compressor, it will sound good going everywhere from clean to modern hi-gain.

I recently did a blues gig with another player who also had a Strat, a Tube Screamer, a vox wah, and a Hot Rod Deville. The 2 tones (his setup and mine) sounded pretty close to each other, enough that I went for the warmer, heavier tone. I was pretty surprised at how close the two setups sounded.

At higher volume levels, just running the FatBoost into the FullDrive 2 gives enough breakup for most purposes, and the pedals dynamics and the amp's power really do combine to start feeling "tube-like." Quick response, lot's of punch. Yeah, this amp does blues!

It also sounds great as a "powered extension cabinet" for my Boogie Mark IV (adds that larger bottom end that the Boogie doesn't).

Yeah, it's loud. I don't get it past 1 (I LIKE that!). The clean channel get's an 8. Channel 2 doesn't get touched anymore. That get's a 4. The power available and usefulness of the poweramp/speaker make it a 7, but the lack of useable volume taper between 0 and 2 bring it back down to a 6.

Had it for 11 years, it doesn't blink, it doesn't flinch! It's my backup amp, and I've been using it as my main amp lately. No tubes to worry about, solidly built.

Never had to deal with 'em, so I don't know.

Been playing about 30 years, almost every style. Ampwise, I also have a Boogie Mark IV widebody. My first amp was a small Fender Princeton (trem, but no reverb). Also owned a BLues Deluxe along with the Stage 112SE. Other amps in between. Bunch of guitars, bunch of effects.

While I don't like the lead channel (scratchy and no real definition to my ears), the clean channel does great jazz and is a good platform for good overdrive/distortion pedals. Still has that "Fender" tone quality.

If it were lost or stolen, I think I would go for a higher end Fender Tube amp like a Vibro King, though for a backup touring amp, I would have to look for one of these.

everyone knows the Features from looking at everyone elses, so ill just be moving on now... Wish it had a 3rd Channel, and a 2x12 instead of just 1.

I am Using a Gibson Flying V on this bad boy and the tone output is amazing. I don't use the 2nd channel anymore since I bought my MT-2 Metal Zone from Boss (recommended by Jim Root from Stone Sour/Slipknot) for this amp, and the Equalizer to go along with it. You can get some really really crazy metal tones and Volume with this amp. I would have to agree that this amp sounds awesome.

Broke down once since I got it 5 Years ago. Ever since then its been up and running playing at least 2 hours each day at ear bleeding volumes. Very Solid Amp!

Never Dealt with Fender. Got it repaired at a local Guitar shop for really cheap. $5 repair.

I've been playing for about 8 years and I love this amp. If I were to get another amp instead, I would have to go with one of the great big Marshall Stacks (who wouldn't?) But for someone looking for GREAT volume and tone for a low Price (we know you can't afford that stack) get this great FENDER 112 SE!

2-3 years old. Amp is versatile enough to do any type of music in my opinion although i have not figured out a good setting for heavy metal, I will.
2 channels. But i got it from a pawnbroker so no pedal. FX loop. Headphone jack. Channel Switching.
Wish it had a footswitch.
I use this amp in my room and in my triple garage with all doors open when i feel upto it (vol on 3 and i am dead lol)
AMP IS LOUD!!!
Solid State, Despite what others say THIS IS SOLID STATE, with 'tube-emulation technology' so it sounds tuby.

Fender tele copy double humbuckers. Heavy to jazz to Santana to 60's rock. LOUD, LOUD!!! Narrow sound variety tho. Never had clean up high enough to know if it gets distorted up there, same with od.
Very brutal dis with right settings.

I could drop it from 6 foot and i think it would still work. 20kg. Never broke down, had it for close to 3 hours.

Never dealt with fender except i emailed them and they said i cannot use the warranty cause i am not the original owner, for that fender you get a 5

playing for a year now but apparently im natural, better than ppl that have been playing for longer. If stolen i would get it again if it was this cheap. LOVE IT!
Compared to peaveys, marshalls and newer fenders. For this price its awesome.
Id like to say that Harmony Centeral Rox, and so does the FDP and fender musical equipment

2 Channels: 1 Clean; 1 Gain/Distortion channel
Reverb
Footswitch for channel switching; reverb control
Mid Boost switch for clean channel
160 Watts peak power... Its too much power hehe

160 Watts peak is loud as hell, even for a solid state amp.
That being said, the other reviews are right, its not a good practice amp if you live in places like an apartment complex. It gets loud easy, if you turn the volume down below one you'll find it goes from mildly loud to no sound at all coming out very quickly. Really isn't a quiet setting on this amp.

Sound:
For a solid state amp (before all the digital amps came out) this amp is really a decent amp...
Clean Channel: Decent tone. You won't get the sound of a tube amp out of it ( you shouldn't expect too), but you won't get the sound of a 15 watt practice amp either. I like the sound I get out of this channel with the reverb set around 2-3 and using the humbucker on my peavey predator plus. Gives you a clean, warm, round sound to it.
For distortion I usually put my boss OD-20 pedal through this channel. It gives more choices for the sound I'm looking for than Channel 2 does. My Takamine G series acoustic sounds good through this amp, although it lacks in the bass area a bit. Have wonderred what adding a cab to the setup would do, if it would give it some more punch, but haven't had the chance to try it out.

Channel 2: Not my favorite, gives a good overdrive distortion that works well with modern rock type music. The sound itself is good, but my main complaint here would be that its hard to articulate notes on this channel, they tend to blend (fuzz) together, especially riffs that chunk along...one more reason why I use a good pedal set on channel 1

One other thing, I always have found it hard to match the volume levels of channel 1 and 2 on this amp... if you are playing a show it can be a pain.

BTW; I've owned this amp for 5 years now, bought it back in '97 or '98 brand new.

Never has failed me yet. The cord connecting the footswitch is getting a littel sketchy and cuts out every now and then, but that started a month ago, and it lasted for 5 years, its easy to replace, will probably cost me 5 bucks or so.

Never dealt with customer support. Never had a problem

Overall? Love it for what it is. Been playing about 10 years, and this was my first electric amp I bought. Its a great beginner amp, and even a pretty good intermediate amp. Most things I've mentioned aren't really noticeable until you hook up next to a person playing on a much better setup. Thats when you notice what could be better about your own I guess. Stolen or lost? I've got more than my $$'s worth out of it... I'd tell my homeowner's insurance that it was worth 2 grand and go out and buy me a boogie! hehe just kidding.
Wish it had a 3rd channel for lead, but thats it...

If you are mic'ing your setup at shows, go with a smaller watt'ed amp with good tone (tube?). I'm retiring this amp soon and headed that direction just because I want more control of stage volume ( want a choice other than loud)and after 10 years I can justify buying a really nice amp... :-)

Standard features of just about any amp... the only thing worth mentioning is the "Mid Shift" button on the clean channel. It is useful to me because I like scooped mids, but still want "body" to my sound. So, I turn the mids all the way up from the knob, and then scoop them. It gives me a very nice sound. I wish the amp had a chorus feature but I can live without it.

The amp is very LOUD. If you are looking for a practice amp, look somewhere else. If you are looking for an amp to play for crowds of 400 or more on a regular basis, look somewhere else. This amp can get very loud and you will go deaf if you turn it up past 2 on the volume knob. At band practices, I use it at 1.25 and that's when I am playing a SOLO to get over the whole band. Very loud amp.

The quality is a typical Fender tone. The mid shift makes for a cool sound. The reverb on the amp isn't too great, so don't expect the reverb of a Marshall.

I never have and never will use the distortion built into the amp. If you are not going to buy a seperate distortion pedal, do not get this amp. I love this amp like hell but I love it for its clean channel and nothing else. The amp has a clean channel to die for, and does not distort unless you make it VERY loud, not recommended.

I can see this amp handling just about any style of music as long as you use a seperate distortion pedal for heavier stuff... the built in distortion does not have bite/edge. If you are looking for something that sounds like a "sharp" preamp setting on an Ibanez SmashBox, you better buy a seperate pedal.

I have used this amp for about 10 shows, and has been used for crowds of over 300 people. The quality of the amp has decreased from when I bought it. Fender put tremendous power into their smaller/medium-sized amps when these were made to compete with Marshall. This is not a good thing, because you could EASILY blow the speaker in here, as well as your ear, by turning the volume past 3. The amp has not caused me many large problems but I would not use it for a big show again... a singe 12" isn't designed to handle gigging volumes on a regular basis.

I got it used, never dealt with Fender. I know these are no longer in production though.

I really really like this amp, but unfortunately will have to sell it because the single 12" in it cannot handle my gigging volumes regularly. I have already ordered a Randall RG100SC 2x12 which is on its way... hopefully the clean sound will live up to the Fender's.

If you are looking for an amp to jam with at your band practices, play for crowds of less than 300 people, occasionally push it more, then this is good for you. If you are going to be playing very very loud shows over 2 times a month, I'd recommend going with something else.

Don't get me wrong, I really love this amp... the single 12" in it is just not designed for frequent loud gigging, so it's not for me.

Overall this is a great amp for practices and small shows.

Great clean sound, decent distortion, footswitch, real reverb, 100w (160w w/external spk.) weighs 900 pounds, looks cool.

I play mainly Strats, and look mostly for that Fender sound. The clean channel is excellent and chimes like a Strat with a Fender amp should. Oh... this amp is LOUD! Too loud for the bedroom, I can't get it past "1" if I want to keep my hearing. The distortion is adequate for my style and I have a Boss GT-6 if I need more. I bought this thing used as a "practice" amp and was quickly slammed by the power. The thing is too cool to ditch but now I still need a practice amp...

No opinion as of yet. I usually use Peavey stuff which is very dependable so we'll see...

n/a

Been playig a relatively short 3 years (considering I am 40 years old), I love the clean sound, I am SHOCKED by how loud this (and many other Fender amps) is. Don't get this for a practice amp, it will peel the paint off the walls if you turn it past "1". It's a great amp, just way more than I bargained for! Did I mention it's loud?

1998 MODEL, BOUGHT SECONDHAND A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO.
2 CHANNELS, CLEAN AND YOUR DRIVE CHANNEL.
CLEAN CHANNEL HAS A MID SHIFT BUTTON GIVES THE AMP MORE BASS, WHICH IS NEEDED UNLESS YOU LIKE YOUR SOUND HARSH AND TREBLEY.
I WISH IT HAD A THIRD GAIN CHANNEL LIKE THE NEW STAGE'S HAVE.
IT HAS A SOCKET FOR A EXTENSION CAB TO MAKE A 160 WATTS.
LINE OUT SOCKET.
AND A EFFECTS LOOP.

I PLAY A VARIETY OF MUSIC WITH MY BAND, MANY 60'S, 70'S COVERS WITH A 52 TELE AND JAP STRAT AND I WAS VERY DISAPOINTED WITH SOUND FROM THIS AMP. I'M SURE IF YOU WERE TO CRANK IT UP IT WOULD SOUND OK, BUT YOU JUST COULD'NT. YOU REALLY CAN'T. THERE IS NO GIVE IN IT. YOU JUST HAVE TO TOUCH THE VOLUME AND BLOWS YOUR BRAIN OUT! ITS JUST SOOOOOO BLOODY LOUD!!! THE DRIVE CHANNEL IS TO0 TREBLY AND THE CLEAN CHANNEL PICKS UP EVERY BLOODY SLIDE ON THE FRETBOARD! THE CLEAN CHANNEL IS BETTER CHANNEL THOUGH.
I MADE A MISTAKE IN BUYING THIS AMP, WHAT IS THE POINT OF BUY A 100 WATT AMP (POTENTIAL OF 160WATTS!) WHEN IF U DO PLAY IN BIGGER PLACES YOU USELLY GET MIKED UP. ITS A SHAME U JUST CAN'T MAKE IT SING.

DID'NT HAVE IT LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW HOW RELIABLE IT IS, BUT IT WAS 4 YEARS OLD BEFORE I BOUGHT IT, SO I GUESS ITS BEEN MADE WELL.

WELL, THIS WAS MY FIRST FENDER AMP AND I CAME AWAY DISAPOINTED. IT WAS MORE ABOUT THE SOUND AND SHERE POWER OF A 100 WATT AMP. I JUST RECENLTY SOLD IT AND GOT MY MONEY BACK. I'M SURE IF YOU ARE PARTIALY DEAF THIS AMP WOULD BE GREAT, BUT FOR ANYBODY WHO LIKES TO KEEP THEIR EAR DRUMS STAY CLEAR. I AM CURRENTLY USING MY TRUSTY YAMAHA DG 60 WATT AMP, WHICH HAS ENOUGH POWER AND TONE TO SATISFY.

I DID USE A FENDER TWIN THE OTHER DAY AND IT SOUNDED MUCH NICER THAN THIS PIECE OF CRAP. IT A HAS USEFUL 25WATT OPTION.

This is the "BEST" damn amp I've ever played through ! It has a clean and a drive channel, but I favor the clean because of the pristine "bell-like" clean (but full) sound and with my Korg AX30G effects processor, it's like they were made for each other. I just sold my other 2 amps (Hot Rod Deluxe & Line 6) because this blows them away. A great feature is that if you add a speaker cabinet and get the ohms to 4, this monster screams with 160 watts rms !!!

This amp has push-pull controls similiar to the Soldano and Rivera Amp lines which is a very nice feature on stage. When playing through the clean channel and overdrive on Korg AX30G it gives you a nice "natural" break up when the volume is on 4 or 5. You can check out all the specs on this amp at www.fender.com, then click on Mr. Gearhead, then Manuals, another nice feature from Fender !Also, there are preferred settings for a variety of tones you may like.

I think this amp could fall down a flight of stairs and still work. I've used it for about 240 gigs over the past 3 years with no problems at all. It's gotten wet on "booze cruises" and sat in the sun on hot outdoor concert gigs, it takes a licking...but keeps on tickin'.

I have never had to phone the company because their website and Mr. Gearhead features give you all the info you ever wanted + more !

I am 47, and have toured the East Coast from Florida to New England in several "road bands" including backing Donna Summer on her '97 comeback tour. If this amp were lost or stolen, I would locate another one asap ! Soundmen have told me it is the "quietest amp" they have mic'd, usually Fender amps are notorious for hums !

Has basic clean/dirty channels with reverb and a footswitch. Dig the contour control. IT puts out 165 watts I think, which is hellaloud and use ful in nearly anysituation except quiet home practice.

I've used a Fender Telecaster Plus with Lace Sensor pickups, a '69 Thinline Telecaster with stock pickups, a '68 reissue Strat with both stock and Lace Sensor pickups, and some other electrics at various points. My typical rig when I used this amp live was a Rotovibe, a Vox wah, an old Boss Tremolo/Pan, and sometimes a Boss EQ or even a Tube Screamer for boost purposes.

I was also very pleased with both the clean and distorted sounds with this amp. It could nail a good crunch perfectly after a few minutes of tweaking, though I always thought it sounded better with the gain dimed, especially in live situations. The clean was spectacular, though you wouldn't be fooled into thinking it was a tube amp. I always liked the clean with a lot of bass and alot of treble. I used this in small clubs and some larger venues, and it always did the job very well.

Never had a problem with this amp. It's pretty beat up, too.

no dealings with customer support

I've been playing for about 13 years. This is the largest and most powerful amp I've owned, and really dig it. It doesn't get used much anymore because I don't gig around or play out, but I've used it for recording purposes and it still sounds great. I had a 100 watt Yamaha dog before this, and have never regretted selling it to get this amp. If you're particular about tubes, I think this amp would at least make a good backup if you're tube amp fried out. I've always been very pleased with it.

This solid state amp can handle many types of playing styles such as: jazz, rock, blues, and alternative. It has two channels that are footswitchable(clean and Distortion). The reverb option is available in the footswitch. It also has a speaker out jack in the back and the face has preamp in/out and line out that let you connect it directly to other sources.

I have guitars with both single coils and humbuckers. I play many styles of music(Rock, Blues, and a little jazz) and it plays well in all categories. The amp is hums a little when I use my strat and effects. The clean channel is my favorite. I just use my Tube Screamer and I sound fine. The Distortion channel is good but does not deliver what i am looking for in blues playing. Great for Rock riffs though.

This is very dependable. I have had this amp since mid '98 and I have not had a problem with it at all and I play on it everyday.

I bought it used and never had a problem.

Out of all amp that i have tried i give it a 6(very honest)
but if you want a bedroom/garage amp, i give it a 9. a well construction by fender.

I believe I bought this amp in 97, new. It is a dual channel amp, clean & distortion footswitchable, with reverb on both channels. Front input/output jacks include preamp out, line out, and power amp in. Thereby creating an effects loop. Claimed output wattage is around 100, going higher with an extension cab 160. ( I believe it)After owning five Fender tube amps, ( 2 super reverbs, a Twin,a bandmaster, a princton)and a little solid state studio 85, I was looking for something portable, powerful, shimmeringly clean, and highly reliable for a unique (somewhat strange) gigging situation. I play rhythm guitar for various Greek Bouzouki bands on a "on call" basis. Often there is no bass player, so I've got to cover base line and rhythm chords simultaneously. This playing is a workout (but oddly fun!)for both player and the amp. Ideally the amp should be loud, clean, and capable of thick base and enough treble for chords to cut through. In addition, to make this tougher, I occasionally kick in a base octaver to replicate a bass guitar. Until I found this amp, nothing I played could satisfy this unusual demands. The closest I got was a borrowed Mesa Boogie Mark IV. Again, power is necessary because these bouzouki guys actually play pretty loud, (too loud) sometimes outdoors, and I'm covering bass lines and chords. The clean channel on this amp refuses to breakup or distort at horrific volume levels unlike any tube amp. Also the speaker is pretty beefy. The frame and magnet looks like a Celestion Vintage 30, but the cone is out thicker paper. I've added a small crate closed back 112 cab which I loaded with a Peavey Black Widow. The Vintage 30 which was pulled from this is in the baby Fender studio 85, vastly better than stock. The additional cab turns this amp into a little monster stack. The combination of open and closed back speaker enclosures gives the feel of playing two amps at once. The Stage combo carries the mids and highs, while the closed back ext. cab covers solid base. I do enjoy playing other types of music though, primarily jammin with friends home, parties etc. jazz, blues, rock etc. The distortion channel obviously comes into play here. I'm not going to say that this is going to compare to $1000-$1500 tone monsters but for fun non professional use it can be tweeked to be pretty good. Also I suppose than experimentation with external effects boxes would yield some improved tones for lead playing.

My primary guitar now is a 82 Les Paul Custom totally stock, very beefy tone and awesome for the Greek gig, but versatile enough for my jamming and forays into jazz and blues. The clean channel can replicate the classic Fender sound when I get my hands on one of my friends Strats. Gave my Squire Strat away, it was a cheap way of getting the "out of phase" and thin Strat sound. I will eventually get a real Strat for this purpose. The distortion channel is OK and can be tweeked to cover mild to heavy distortion. The versatility of a third channel would be of use, but can be dealt with using a stomp box. A true tube tone fanatic would probably thumb his nose at the distortion channel, by it works OK for me at 1/3 the price. The addition of the closed back ext. cab lends a more brutish stack sound to this otherwise small and portable amp. Both clean and distorted, this amp is capable of volume levels way beyond which humans should be safely exposed. It will hang in there with the big boys. P.S. I hate to actually admit this, but I've actually played some base through this amp at modest levels and no only did it not blow up, but sounded as good as some cheaper base rigs, especially with the ext cab. I know, this could get me arrested for Amp abuse!!

So far zero problems. I don't use a backup with this amp so I guess I'm placing a lot of confidence in it. I can't say this about the old tube amps I've played out with. While I do miss the tube tone for lead playing, the repair and maintainance bills I do not. As I ashamedly mentioned above, I have played bass through this rig a few times. Its handled it well. The speaker appears tougher than most, it should be to handle 100+ watts alone.

No need with this amp, so far, like to keep it that way.

I've been playing about 18 yrs. Owned a bunch of amps including 5 other Fenders. I am partial to Fenders for their clean bright sound with deep reverb capabilities. While I've got a couple of other amps and small PA primarily for the convenience of friends who come over to jam or practice, the Stage 112 SE is my primary amp. It is unsurpassed for rhythm playing in the Greek ethno gig, and I really think that I could waste a lot of time and money trying to beat it for this particular application. For my purpose it is more than satisfactory in other applications as well. Friends with Twin Reverbs can't believe the clean power and versatility of this physically smaller and less expensive amp. Some players will prefer higher cost, higher maintainance, less reliable, larger and heavier amps in the quest for perfect lead tone, but to me thats a tough trade off.
I think this amp offers a tremendous value for dollars spent. If lost or stolen I would replace it with the current version which I believe is the Stage 100 112 combo, which I understand now has 3 channels.

this is the first "good amp" i ever owned. its rated at 80 watts, but if you add another 8ohm load it increses to its full 160 watt potential. it has clean channel with mid shift, and drive channel.
I used this amp up until summer of 2000, when i purchased the performer 1000. I ran the stage through a 70s sunn 4x12. it was a very good amp. its now used as my backup amp.

the distortion is good, not quite what im looking for now, but is still very good, the clean channel is immaculate, ive used strats, teles, and jag stangs through it.

when i bought the amp, the reverb didnt work...i was a kid and it didnt matter to me so i never fixed it...big mistake on my behalf. other than that ..this amp has been through hell and still works great. My uncle liked mine so much he bought one, but after a few years of constant gigging, his shut down one night..(overheated) but it still worked fine after cooled down.

NA

i have 4 guitars and ive been playing for 10 years, i own another amp and some PA equipment, its a nice amp and id recommend it. i think through a 4x12 it stands up against the best.

This is a "switchable channel" guitar amplifier with a clean channel, and an overdrive channel. It has all the requisite controls including a "mid" control on the clean channel (this is a must...never buy an amp without a midrange control) and a mid-shift switch. The overdrive channel has a "contour" ("ersatz" mid range) control, and also has a "drive select" switch. Another nice feature is the front panel jacks for "PRE-AMP OUT", "POWER AMP IN", "FOOT SWITCH", and "LINE OUT". The amp doesn't come with the tilt-back legs, a cover, or the little Fender chassis-mounting "top strips" that usually appear on most Fenders. The 12" speaker has a huge magnet, making it quite efficient.

This amp has a great variety of sounds. I've used it with an original '62 Jag, a pedal steel, and even a keyboard. The amp has all kinds of funky, and distorted sounds...from mild to screaming, as well as a really kick-ass clean sound. The bass response is quite good for an amp of this size. The reverb doesn't have much "depth". The little short tank used in this amp has a "hollow" sound that I don't care for. I solved this partially by installing a new 18" Accutronic tank.

When I bought the amp (new) and brought it home, the reverb didn't work. (It turned out to be a broken wire in the reverb tank.) I took it back, and the dealer fixed it. It didn't cost anything, but I hadn't expected a "DOA" problem from a Fender amp. Also, the speaker went out after 1 year of "hard" playing. This too was a bad wire (tinsel-lead on the voice coil). No other problems, since.

As I said, the reverb went out, and then the speaker. I did have to pay to get the speaker reconed, since the amp was over a year old. Both of these problems were more mechanical than electrical.

I've been playing for about 35 years, and this amp is the most "bang-for-the-buck" that you can get. Very powerful (118 watts), and I like the compactness as well as the style of the Fender amps. I hate the plastic input jacks, but most solid-state amps use them now. I've owned 2 other Fender amps, as well as 2 Peaveys and some cheaper brands, as well. It bugs me that ALL amps don't come with a cover!

I HAVE A 1992 FENDER STAGE 112SE THAT I BOUGHT LAST YEAR.DANG!THIS MUTHA IS LOUD!IT CRANKS 160 WATTS AND HAS PLAENY,I9 MEAN PLENTY OV VOLUME FOR ANYTHING EXEPT A FRICKIN STADIUM.IT HAS COOL REVERB AND THE CLEAN CHANNEL HAS A MID SHIFT THAT ADDS MORE BODY TO THE TONE.

I USE AN IBANEZ GRX40 AND JEM 555 GUITARS AND A DOD GRUNGE DIST. PEDAL.I JUST CRANK UP THE BASS ON THE DOD AND THE TREBLE ON THE AMP SO I CAN HAVE GOOD CLEAN AND MOLTEN DITORTION.THE AMPS DISTORTION IS GOOD FOR BLUES OR ROCK , BUT I WAS LOOKIN FOR SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT HEAVIER.I HAVE HAD COMPLAINTS FOR THE VOLUIKME OF THIS AMP WHEN I GIG IN GYMS!LIKE I SAID.....FRICKIN LOUD

NO PROBLEMS YET....................

NO PROBLEMS YET.............

IVE BEEN PLAYIN FOR ABOUT 2 1/2 YEARS AND IM JUST GETTING STARTED BUT AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED THIS AMP KICKS!I REALLY LIKE THE VERSATILE E.Q. ON THE CLEAN TOO.

dual channels but without a master volume you can't turn the amp up! really disatisfing!

can't really find out because you have to crank it so loud you can't really appreciate the sound.

N/A

can't find any data on the fender web page!

this is the worst amp i have ever owned due to the volume issue not being able to turn in past 1 on the knob.

Contour feature in drive channel is nifty, the mid boost option in the clean channel is unique and changes the tone of the clean channel from bassey/accousitic to warmer.Reverb/channel select easily controled by footswitch (included). 100 huge watts, and 160 w/ a cabnet. The pure number of watts amazes me for something in it's price range. Only thing lacking is a mid knob in the gain channel, but I can live without it. Did I mention the pre-amp?

I use a Ibanez AX7221GP w/ two humbuckers. CLEAN AS HELL! Ths is what Fender is about, the clean channel! I get so pissed off at the tube lovers who give this amp a bad name. They are beyond stupid to buy a soilid state amp, and then complain that it's distorsion doesent match tubes. The clean channel makes this amp. Call me carazy, but I like the gain channel as well. I play emo/softcore with some metal elements, so as you can imagine i need the best of both the clean and dirty world. I'm able to dial up a hybrid of Incubus/Finger Eleven distorsion tones, wich is just what I'm looking for. If you are into blues, there is plenty of settings here for you as well. As far as ultra mega super crunchy distorsion... I just dont see this amp doing it (and I dont' need it).I'm afraid to crank this amp (it is SOOO loud but the clean stays clean. Distorsion slowly gets harsher as it goes up. When I'm practicing at home, the dial doesent even go over 1 and my room shakes. I couldent imagin having to turn past 5 on one of my gigis. My one complaint on the sound is there is a low humming when you are not playing anything, but then again, this baby pushes out alot of power, and as long as you are playing it is not noticable.

hmm... can't say, havent owned it long enough, seems though as hell.

havent talked w/ 'em

I almost baught a marshall (thank God I didn't). The clean channel brings out your guitar, and tones are easy to dial up. Loudest thing I've found in the price catagory, and it sounds great as well. I like it, but I know it wont fit alot of peoples needs, so try it for yourself. I don't need a backup (dont have the $) and this seems sturdy enough to take to my gigs/practices. If you like blues, emo, altermative, country, punk, or not-so-heavy metal, it is worth a look.

Dual inputs, clean and distortion channels (with handy footswitch for easy changes), line out jack, 160W of shear madness, mid shift button.

I play a Fenix tele and Yamaha APX 4A, for mainly bluesy laid back sounds. With the electric the gain and contour controls give a nice balance with a fair degree of sound option while the clean channel is very clear indeed. With the APX the mid shift helps give a more mellow sound helping to reduce the 'tinny' top end. I have only used this amp in small venues and for practicing and as everyone has mentioned it is extremely loud (I don't think it has been above 0.8 in the house!

Never had any problems. A very sturdy piece of kit.

No repairs required.

I've been playing for 10 years on and off and this is my only amp. If it went missing I would probably buy something a bit smaller and lighter (it wieghs a ton!) although if I could pick one up second hand again, I would. This is a very nice amp, no mistaking.

I have no clue when this amp was made, I would say around 97 or 98. It is a solid state combo with two channels and independent eq for each. It is 100 watts with out a speaker cabinet and 160 with a cab. I have it running through a doyle 4 by 12 cab which is amazing. The mid shift button is cool. It has more than enough features

When I first got it I was using a mexican strat with stock pickups and the clean channel was awsome. It would be a good amp for blues or a good practice amp for any style if you get some fx pedals. I play mostly mainstream rock, punk, and some sorta heavy stuff but none of that pure screaming stuff. The distortion channel is kinda noisy if you have the amp up loud because I had to put the gain to ten to get it as close to the sound I wanted. When I play with my strat the clean channel stays clean all the way up but with my Schecter C1 it gets distorted once it is up high enough to go over drums. Because of this I decided to get a cab and it cured the problem. With the cab I can get a very warm clean tone and it sounds really good for mostly anything I would play clean. I thought it had decent distortion untill I got a digitech rp100 and used that for a while. When I tried the distortion again it sounded a lot worse. It is not so smoothe and not that heavy, but it is useable. This is a good amp with a cab and some pedals, or as a practice amp. The clean gets a 10 but the distortion only a 6 for rock or heavy music. overall I give it a nine because not too many inexpensive amps have amazing distortion.

I would depend on it in almost any situation. The only thing that kind of bugs me is how the reverb jingles when I set the amp down, but I don't think it hurts anything. The amp has never broken down on me but I have only had it for 3 months. I did buy it used though and it doesn't look like it has been serviced. It still looks new.

I have never dealt with fender, their stuff doesn't break on me. I am very careful with my equiptment because I am picky about how things look.

I have been playing guitar for 4 years and I use this amp with a schecter c1 with stock pickups, a doyle cabinet and an rp100. I think it sounds awsome together. I wish it had a heavy distortion channel and thats about it. for what I paid I can't complain about anything. Used amps are the best if they are in good condition because they don't cost very much.

I have no idea when this amp was made. My Dad bought it used from a music store who said it was brought in by some guy's widow. What's creepier is I found one of the dead guy's picks by the reverb pan. Clean and Crunch w/reverb is about all you'll get outta this.

I use a Epiphone Explorer with EMG-81 bridge and 58 neck, a NJ series BC Rich Warlock, and a guitar I put together from spare parts. I also use a Ibanez SM-7 Smash Box for crunch and CF-7 Chorus/Flanger for clean. The sound it puts out on the crunch channel is pathetic, because of lack of options, and the clean only sounds good with a neck pickup and slight chorusing. Since I play alot of heavy music (Metallica, Iced Earth, Slayer), it just does'nt do the job.

Despite how much I don't like it, it is a real work horse.

N/A

If anything, I would say this is a good amp to start out on; it's not bogged down with exessive controlls, and gives out an OK clean tone. I'm just using it until I can get a Mesa Boogie Tri-Axis.

This combo has two channels. one for clean sound and one for gain. the distortion on this amp sucks. the clean tones are very good if you have an alright guitar. If you turn the amp up with distortion on the speaker cannot handle it. the amp distorts like crazy. If you were to hook it up to a good 4x12 cab it would kick ass.

I am using a Jackson PS-2 with a Dimarzio super distortion humbucker in the bridge and a Metal Zone distortion pedal. This amp sucks for all musical styles except classical crap. This amp is very loud but it cannot handle any bass at all.
the clean channel is never distorted but if you use any bass on the gain channel or with a distortion pedal it will sound like crap.

I have had this amp for four years now and it has broke down three times costing me $187. this amp is not reliable at all. Since it is a solid state amp it costs more to fix

I have been playing guitar for 7 years now. The only thing this amp is good for is practicing. It has real good sound if you use a distortion pedal and keep it at low volumes. when i bought this amp I dont know what the hell i was thinking. I think it sounds crappy at high volumes because it is a tube emulation amp. this combo would be better if it were used for a head on top of some marshall 4x12.

2 footswichable channels, blah, blah.

Ive used this amp with a Yammaha SF700, Telecaster and a Jaguar and they all sounded great. The clean channel is amazingly CLEAN and the gain (although not a patch on a fender bassman or a marshall superlead at full volume) does the trick. Ive fooled a few die hard tube amp fans when using this with my Boss Dual Overdrive.The power amp and speaker sounds great when used with a Line-6 POD too. What more could you want from a tranny amp.

The reliability of theis amp is great, Ive used it at many gigs without back up.(its a transistor amp what the hell can go wrong). the only glitch is that after 3 years of loud giging I think the speaker might be dying a bit (after 3 years of loudness what do you expect) forty quid will sort that out in a jiffy. never failed.

Never have to deal with them.

Ive had ths amp for quite a while now, and If I didnt love tubes so much then Id keep using it, cause it sounds great and has never failed.

You pretty much know the deal with the amp, just look at the other 30+ reviews.

I am playing it through an Ibanez GAX120(cheap, I know) with 2 humbuckers. Sounds real good with this set-up. I play an emo/hardcore/metal type mix of music and it suits me fine. Just like everyone says, it's loud, Loud, LOUD. As for the clean channel, I love the tone of it on the bridge pickup. The distortion has lots of power to it.

Well, I put the thing through hell. It is constantly being dropped, kicked, beat up, and pissed on by a dog(hey, it only happend once, but it took it like a true amp should). The best part is that with each beating, it sounds great every time.

Fender took the only problems that I had and fixed them, no questions. Gotta love that whole warrenty thing. The problem was some of the soldering came loose.

I've been playing for about 3 years now and this was the best investment I have made so far as a musician. If it were stolen, I definitely would buy it again. I can remember playing with it while another guitar player was playing out of a Crate Blue Voodoo rig... needless to say, this little amp kicked the BV's behind in a bad way.

The usual high, mid and low knobs. reverb and distortion.
I play everything from punk to softer rock and fits my situation perfectly but could have chorus.

I use a Danelectro guitar and a Yamaha thingy but both are good.
This amp is perfect if you like to play Silverchair because the distortion is pretty good and clean is not bad. Distortion has lots of feedback.
I also added a 160 watt Mesa/Boogie cabinet speaker to give it a little more volume because I like to play very loud eventhough it is extremely loud on it's own.

Had it for a while and so far so good. (knock on wood)

N/A

I'd buy is again because it is very loud, reliable (so far) and not huge. I really wish it had chorus.

I purchased this amp in about '94 and its been to hell and back. Its a dual channel amp with a decent clean and drive channel. its got an effects loop that connects in the front rather than the back. It comes with a footswitch to select reverb and distortion. It has a mid-shift feature that ups the mid and low end. personally, i think it makes the sound too muddy and i never use it. Its extremely loud (160 watts).

As of right now, im playing it exclusively at my church gig. Its a nice amp for small to avererage venues. While at church i play it through a tele usually with the bridge pickup and it does really well. I reccomend a danelectro cool cat chorus pedal to go with it through the effects loop. Especially in a church venue, it adds sweetness to the tone. The variety of sounds is fairly narrow. its a purpose driven amp that is (in my oppinion) best for a clean sound (the distortion is average at best). The sound has good crispness and is right for what i use it for. Never once thought to myself "this makes my guitar sound like a banjo".

Reliability is what makes me love this amp. I laugh upon anyone who says fender doesnt make amps that cant take hits. its been through hell and back with me and traveled all over and it works great. I had a capacitor burn out on me about 6 months after purchase... it smoked and got really hot on the top. i took it to the warranty place and they fixed it quickly and its been smooth sailin' since. Also, though im not saying this will be the case with every 112se, i once drove off with it in the back of my truck and me being dingy occasionally left the tailgate down and out slid the stage 112se. i piced it up. all the pots had been bent from the hit and the reverb and the input jack were broken. other than that? no breakage on the outside, the amp section was still intact, that thing had nothing loose... just a few damages (to be expected) 65 bucks got it working again and i never had another problem. This amp is solid as hell. Many can say that, but i know. other amps would have been destroyed by that accident but this amp is still working great. Its no longer pretty looking, but it still works hard for me.

little dealings other than the phoenix warranty place. they were great.

ive been at it for 8 years. still a baby in my oppinion and i still plan to accomplish much more than i have. i would buy it again definately. i hate nothing about it and am pleased with it. Fender is a REAL company. i play two of their guitars as well as this amp and everything they make is rock solid. and for the price, their stuff is definately made for the working musician. I do own about 5 other amps but they are stacks and bass amps so, really no comparison. Buy it, its a nice rig.

Solid state 1X12 combo. Whopping 160Watts output with an extension cab. Fender tone. Fx loop, line out, 2 buttong footswitch for Reverb.fx and Chanels. Kickin cleansound and great distortion.
I'm not a fan of DSP on an amp as its usually not that great and just gums up the Control Panel.
I gave this amp a 9 on features cause it has it where it counts. Everything you need in a Solid State and you get that great Fender tone.

I'm playing an Epiphone Del Rey and a Fender AS Strat through this and they sound wonderful.
I play mostly Alternative to blues type rock and this suits them fine.
The amp has a wonderfully smooth clean tone on low volume settings (low being relative.) but is kind of harsh once it gets past 7 on the dial.
The distortion is killer. With the Gain and Contour dial you can get everything from bluesy OD And AC/DC distortion to high gain Creed type distortion. Distortion probably not good for death metal freaks.
The amp sounds clean except for some slight vibration at louder settings (Or maybe thats my house.)
Oh did anyone mention its LOUD LOUD LOUD.
Its actually loud to a fault. I had to fiddle with it for 5 minutes to get it to a nighttime volume.
Overall it has a great sound but dont expect it to be a tube amp. IT IS SS!!! DO NOT COMPARE APPLES AND ORANGES!!

Amp is in good solid condition. Upon inspection everything looks solid and good to go.
I would gig without a backup if no backup was availible. its just foolish to gig without any backup no matter how solid something is.

Never dealt with em!

I've been playing for about 5 years and have played alot of gear (not neccesarily owned.) I own and Epiphone Del Rey, Fender AS Strat, Vox Pathfinder, and now this. I run it all through a Digitech RP7ax12 FX processor. I've played through alot of Crate, Vox, Marshall, and Peavey Solid States and this one really hangs at the top with tone. Again, for all the tube snobs out there, dont expect it to be a tube amp. It sound awesome for what it is and it dont break the bank like a tube.
If this were stolen I would definately buy it again (If I couldnt hear it and track it down that is.). It sounds great on its own and rock out when hooked to a 2 or 4X12 cab.
I love the Reverb on this thing, its simple to set and oh so sweet! I also like the dual inputs as it saves space when singing through a mic. I only use the distortion on my ped when running a mic through it, otherwise the distortion is better on the amp.
I HATE that there is not a headphone jack, it makes this a daytime ONLY pratice amp.
It would be nicer as a 2 x 12 combo but that would just drive up the price.
If you find one of these for under $300 then go for it! Its well worth that price and a little more.

Christian contemporary, Country, Alternative and some Ska. All standard Features. Nice reverb, 2 Channels foot switchable, No Effects Loop. I Use this amp at my church and It Kicks. 160 watts Solid state.

I use an 83 Amer. Standard Strat and at times play my Yamaha apx12a(acoutic 12 String) for worship leading. It has that awesome fender clean sound ok distortion. Suits my purposes well. Dist. Channel is a bit noisy when the gain is above 7. I play in a medium size venue and going in the high gain side(Chan. 1) it has nice punch and lots and lots of headroom. 8ohm speaker out for those who want to ad an external cab.

Built like a house. Heavy ..invest in some casters!!!

I've been playing for about 7 years and i would definatly buy it again. I love the clean channel and i hate the sensitive volume control. Loud at about .6 and very loud at 3. I've had a fender princeton 65 and a Champion 30, vox pathfinder, and dean markley k20. Just a more powerful and more versitile amp.

I am pleased with the features on this amp. It has a great clean channel for peddels..etc. The distortion is good for metal and some rock. I'd like to have more channels but the two this guy comes with are great. Also, it has a jack on the back to hook up expantion packs if needed/wanted.

Currently I am using an Ibanez RG270 on this amp. Lately I've been using mostly the high pickups for distortion in metal and rock styles. The distortion can be made to sound very crunchy. I have found ways to get nice feedback but it isn't excessive at all. Right now I have it set up in a basement with the volume up at about 1 on each channel. When we have drums and the bass player in there along with myself and the lead, I'll turn it up a little.

This is a good, reliable amp. It's not to hard to transport from home to gig and back. I would use it without a backup at a gig. I havn't had any breakdowns with it yet. Its a sturdy littly guy.

I've been playing for a few years now. I use a 60's fuzz peddel, crybaby, Boss mt-2 metal zone peddal, a stereo chorus peddal, and a digital effects peddal which i don't remember the brand of. All work great on this amp. I'm kind of a fan of an amp having two 12'' speakers which this doesn't have but im not dissapointed in the performance. If stolen, I would probably buy another one of the same kind. I compared it with other amps of similar size, features, and price and this one wouldn't let me leave the store without it.

Has very good distortion, I mainly play punk, hard rock, I really enjoy the tone it gives off, good cleans too and works well with a Crybaby wah

I use an Epi Special II which sucks by the way, and it sounds great. I really like using it for punk songs and metal. It gives off a little hum but hey not much you can do about it.

built like a tank dude, i'd gig without a backup definetely. no worrying about tubes either

been playing 5 years now, i love the amp, it looks good, and it gives off great tone.

A Solid state amp: dual channel inputs, 160 watts, line out (works great with my fostex), 2 channel footswitch(reverb/overdrive)1-12 speaker. Weighs about 4,000 lbs. but could be fixed with some casters..Like I said, this amp is great for recording, and it's very LOUD. Definitely enough power for playing out, but don't test how loud it can go, you may regret it.

I use a '57 strat through this when I'm not playing through my twin. I play blues, jazz, classic rock, and latin rock and I'm in a couple of different bands. The clean channel on this thing is pristine, and did I mention it's loud? I've played out a couple times with this baby and man, anything above 4 on the clean channel and the people were holding their ears. The distortion isn't too bad, but I prefer my marshall bluesbreaker II for some added punch on santana-esque solos. This amp is great for a solid state, and the reverb is good on it.

This amp is a rock. It has never failed me recording or at a gig. It's been through hell, being lugged into the back of my car and I've never needed to get it serviced. I doubt it will fail me soon because I use my twin now for playing out. This is my backup, but I have used it at gigs without back up and it's been great.

Well, it has a 5 year warranty, but the place where I bought it will probably take that long to repair it if needed. I brought my strat there once and it took 8 months to sand a burr in the bridge. Got a great tele for about $200 out of them for it though! And as everyone knows, Fender doesn't really give a shit what happens to their product once it's sold.

I've been playing for about 5 years and this was my first really "good" amp. I now play through a vintage '72 BF Twin and use this as a backup and for recording since my twin doesn't have a line out. I love the clean sounds, but this thing weighs a damn ton, and I think if you turn the volume past 5 you could possibly piss someone off if they're within a hemisphere's radius. Reliable though. If it were stolen I'd hear the damn thing first, then I'd find the poor bastard face down outside of my house with a broken back from trying to lift it. Great amp for the price, and great for playing out because of it's loudness. The clean channel and reverb are great, maybe try a pedal for overdrive though.

I bought this amp used about 1 year ago. It is in perfect shape, so I assume it was fairly new. It has all the features I need, and you can add a cabinet later with the external speaker option. I play rock mainly (Nirvana, Chili Peppers, Bush, Korn) and this amp can handle anything. I am able to dial in any setting I need to with little effort. It is very powerful. LOUD if you want it to be. It can handle any club setting. Played many indoor/outdoor gigs, performed very well. Volume is never a problem.

I play a washburn BT4: s,s,h. I replaced the humbucker with a gibson. I like the way this combination sounds. I have a Boss DS1, PH2, and a Dunlop Crybaby. They all sound great. Like I said before, you can get any sound you need to if you fiddle around enough.

No problems

Never had to deal with them

I have been playing a few years now and I love this amp. I would get a twin reverb if this were to vanish, but $$$$$! Kind of loud to practice alone with, but you don't buy an amp like this to be quiet.
Very pleased overall, I recommend it.

Pretty standard combo-amp features.

Using dual-humbuckers, and this amp is probably the perfect match for such a guitar. This amp is LOUD, if you turn the volume up to 1.5, you're probably going to be the loudest amp in the room. Volume seems to max out at 3, beyond that it does not get any noticably louder.

Have had this since 1995. No problems.

n/a

Best live amp you can buy. Worst practice amp you can buy.

An amazing Solid State amp. Footswitchable drive and reverb channels. The drive does get loud quick, as everyone says, but this is by no means a bad feature - you just have to dial it in right to match the clean volume when you switch back and forth. The reverb is great.

Using it with a Fender Strat and a few pedals (wah, delay, etc), and stands up well against my hard-rock style. You can zone in on pretty much any rock/hard rock/metal sound using this amp.

I haven't had it long - yet to play a show with it, but it's built well. I can't see it breaking down unless it gets seriously dropped out of a window and it's already a few years old (they don't make them anymore)

N/A

Overall . .this is an excellent amp - my band was blown away by how good it sounds. . .and I got it for $190US through eBay - a great deal! I love the different sounds, the footswitch is a great feature. Great tone on all channels, and great power! Don't fear the loudness, enjoy it!

1998, i play hardcore and it is great for what i use ut for i love it. its loud and has very good good distortion.2 channels, clean distortion.has effects pedal and all the other good stuff.

i play epiphone spcial II. it sounds really good with the amp. i play heavy music and it sounds great. it is very loud. it sounds good in the 2 places ive played it. in my room and in brandons garage. they both sound reat. it can make all the good heavy sounds you wnat it to and it also has an awesome clean channel;. no distortion on that. the distortion varies because of the countour. you can get the older sound or you can get the really heavy sound that i like.

well i have had it for about 2 months now. i know its still reall soon after i bought it but its ben in a ar many times. it still works perfect.it hasnt broken down.

N/A

ive been playng for about 9 moths now. i all i had was a puny studio 10 from epiphone an d i mean this thing is so much LOuDER!!!!!i would buy it again if it was stolen.i like how it can make all the sounds that i need it too. its great with the heavy and clean stuff.i compaed it to the chrus mp and the guy showed me that this one was much uch more loud so i chose it. i dont have anything else to say except that it rocks for what i need it for.

Good amp for solid state. Clean and Drive channel, footswitchable reverb. It's LOUD and need some time before you get a good sound out of it. The feature are pretty simple my only complaint is the Bass and Treble on the drive channel aren't noticible enough.

I'm using a modified 60's Epiphone solid body and a late 90's Epi Les Paul Standard (all stock). For this review i'll refer to the LP.
The key to getting a good sound out of the drive channel is to keep the gain down. With it past 12 o'clock it's not that unique and it can get noisy. With the gain below 2 it blends very well with other distortion pedals, ie: Boss DS-1, DOD Overdrive Plus.
The Clean channel sounds muddy when the eq is set below 12 o'clock.
The Mid SHift button is kinda useless for my tastes but it give a nice "Metal" color to the sound when using a distorion bedal with lots of gain.

One of the best things i did to my amp was adding the extention cab. It's a home made cab made to relativly match the amp. It's 3/4" poplar ply wood loaded with a EVM-12L speaker. It's the same speaker Mesa/Boggie uses in their amps and to get a Mesa 1-12 ex cab will run about $350. The speaker really add another tone to the sound and compliments the amps speaker very well. If i were using it to play out i would want both speakers miked because of their individual tones. Because the EVM-12L is a 300 watt speaker it takes more power to distort which makes for a very tube like emulation.

Um...no problems yet and the amp is about 4 years old

It's not too bad of an amp, i'm happy with it. If i had more money I'd buy a Mesa/Boogie but i'm a poor college student and can only afford SS.

Solid state. Clean, distortion, reverb, pre out and power amp in. 12" speaker.

I use a strat and a 4x12 cab with it. No two ways about it - this amp is extremely loud. I started to tire of the sounds after a year, then got a cab and was happy again. As you can expect, the cab tightened up the bass and the sound improved ten-fold.
As stated in previous posts, there is a minimum volume on the distortion channel - it goes from no sound to bang! Which is ok - if you're looking for apartment type sound pressure levels, why would you buy a 160W amp?
Clean channel - not too bad. Contrary to some previous posts, this will distort at high levels. After about 7 on the vol dial it starts to break up - and it isn't tube style break up! It's a piercing, shrill edge that I could do without. Having said that, I've never had to turn it up to 7 in any real situation. I only did it to see what it sounds like. After 4-5 it's just too loud - but isn't that what a 160W amp is about?

Distortion - OK for a ss amp. Contour knob is key. The cab really helped this out.

There really aren't any fabulous sounds in the amp, but there a quite a few decent ones.
Did I mention it's loud?

Died on me once. My buddy has one and it died on him 3 times! Heat is a problem for this amp - keep it away from floor vents, fireplaces, baseboard heaters, etc. No fan required, just don't add anything extra!

Tough to say - the music store was really good about it dying, they lent me the same amp while mine was being fixed up. But after 6 weeks and still no fixed amp I was getting pissed! But it was fixed under warranty without any real hassles.

An OK amp. For the $$, it's fair. Did I mention its really f---ing loud? Really, that's what this amp is about, it gives OK sounds (nothing spectacular) at massive sound pressure levels. Just keep it away from heat!

-160 watts output
-2 channel w/clean and Overdrive
-Reverb effect
-footswitch for channel and Reverb on/off
-Mid shift for clean channel
-12" loudspeaker

With a single pickup on a 'Strat' I get an excellent clean sound suitable for classical, accoustic, any clean tone sounds great with the reverb high, and the mid shift keeps the irritating noises quiet.

On the drive channel the distortion does the job, but is not very suitable for heavy metal where lots of bite is needed. For lead guitar (solos) it does quite well on a single-pickup or humbucker.

In a year it has not broken down, and I have taken it with me in a trunk many times. No noticeable wear on this amp yet. Would not need a backup amp.

I rate this amp fairly high, and it would be missed if stolen. I see no need for improvement on the clean sound or the loudness (it is deafening when you want it to be). With a little meaner drive and less sensitive volume control it would be hard to top.

It's your normal 2 channel amp... clean has volume, bass, mid, treble and a mid shift switch... OD channel has gain, bass contour, treble and volume... the reverb is the same for both channels.... has effect loop and a line out... comes with a footswith for channel selection and on/off reverb switch

This amp is real loud.... but I only use the clean channel because the OD is not all that great but still usable if you're stuck.... I never put gain past 3-4... past that, the amp becomes noisy... I use a tubescreamer and BOSS EQ pedals for my distortion sound... I mainly play hard rock, using a heavily modified fender tele... the clean stays clean depending on your pickups.... I have Seymour Duncan Hotrails on bridge and at loud volumes, since it's a hot p/u, the sound breaks up... but not too much..... but playing with standard output p/u, it doesn't.... the reverb is ok...

Clean:9
OD:5
overall:7

It broke down on me twice... bought it in late 96

once was my fault, october 98... I plugged a cab with the wrong impedance... power supply fried....

second time... july 1999... maybe it was because I was too loud... but something disconnected inside... bad connection... I dunno.... so the sound came and went... I was using a tubescreamer, a boss EQ and a Morley volume... It was loud, but I'd have never thought it'd have broke down on me.... it was the 1st time I was playing that loud... but still... it's loud enough for you're rehearsals and small-medium club gigs, believe you me.....

that pissed me off because an amp is supposed to stay in working condition even when it's pushed.... looks like its not the case with this one

Both times, the amp was fixed within a week without charge at the store where I bought it... so that was cool!!!! it's a 5 years warranty... but I think it depends on what needs to be fixed... I don't have any details on that...

been playing for 7 years... bought it in late 1996... It's a good amp overall.... it's not a tube amp but still ok.... if you're looking for loudness, it's a great choice.... you can always get pedals to dial some very usable distorted tones and the clean is good.... it's not very expensive and can do a good job...

2 footswitchable channels, clean and drive. Reverb is also footswitchable. 160 watts RMS, Solid State, w/ tube emulation.
Mid shift on clean chanel. Contour on gain channel. Effects loop and direct out. Spring Reverb. It can handle prob. any gig size, it handles a crowded concert hall with 200+ people on about 2 1/2 volume.

Here's where it gets you. This amp takes alot of patience. The volume goes from whisper to way too freakin loud within 0.3 and 0.5. The tone knobs radically increase/decrease volume just like the big Ampeg head I used to play through. If you take the time you can nail the vintage Fender Deluxe Reverb tone. (seriously) Gets a fairly good metal tone but I would recomend a seperate pedal. Another thing, you know how a good dist. pedal sounds like crap through most solid states, however if you use them with gain channel on low gain it drastically improves the sound. Heres a new one too, the clean channel distorts at high voulume like overdriving power tubes, and I dont mean the speaker vibrating out of the amp either. If you lower the volume through the effects loop you can crank the volume without suffering brain damage. Oh yeah at 160 watts ITS LOUD!!!

It never broke.

never talked to them.

This amp can be very good if you take the time to work with it. And if you need volume you wont be dissapointed.

Solid State, 160 watts, 2 channels, pre-amp out, power amp in, foot switch, and 8 ohm external speaker output. It also has a mid boost on the clean channel, along with reverb, and contour on the drive channel. It doesnt have a headphone output, or a mid eq on the drive channel.

It sounds good with a single coil guitar on the clean channel, and the reverb is good, but the drive channel doesnt sound so good. There is no mid eq knob on the drive channel which makes the drive channel kind of un-versitile, but there is a contour knob. I have never tried it with a humbucker, so i cannot comment on that.

When ever I play on the clean clannel, and switch to the drive channel
the volume decreases greatly from what it was at before, and that makes me mad as it is hard to control the volume on the drive channel (Basically what happens is that half way between 0 and 1 on the volume dial there is a major increase in volume, I guess like the problem the guy before me had). Other than that it works good. It seems to be built rather tough, and it is very heavy.

I've never dealt with Fender

Id say this amp is sufficiently loud enough, but I have never turned the drive channel past one. Oh, wait I did ONCE, and I almost blew out my fricking ear drums! Like the guy before me said, this amp is really LOUD! I personally do not like loud amps for practicing, but they are ok for gigging with. I have a bronco amp also, and I like that amp much better. It just sounds better to me.

This solid state 160w Fender amp is pretty standard fare, two inputs, high and low gain, with two channels, clean and drive and a 12 inch speaker. The clean channel features a mid-boost while the drive channel offers gain and contour settings.

For the most part I play a 1978 American Standard Strat and a 1997 American Standard Tele. This amp is a great one if you're a single coil fan. With proper tweaking it offers some very tubey tones and can give you more modern, grungy distortions as well. The clean channel is VERY clean. I've used the amp for dozens of club gigs and it's done well for me. Volume issues were a major concern however, I'll discuss that below. I play everything from jazz and blues to classic and hard rock. With a few good effects peddles, his amp was able to fill the bill nicely until it burned up.

After a little over a year of steady use, this amp began to sizzle (a transformer issue I'm fairly sure). I never left it on for more than a few hours, used no screwy effects loops, nor tried to drive a cabinet more than 8 ohs (make sure you don't...this amp would fry fast). Fortunately, Fender has a 5 year warranty and it's currently being repaired.

We'll see...it's at a Fender "Silver" authorized repair center as of this writing.

I've been playing and gigging for over twenty years and have never had any other Fender product poop out on me, so this one was a surprise. While I liked the simplicity of the amp and it's excellent tone (surprisingly versitile for a low end unit), the drive channel was problematic as it is on all the stage series amps I've experimented with. All the amps in the Stage series (I've played with them all) have one MAJOR problem...volume. Fender is trying to keep up with Peavey and has significantly boosted the wattage on these combos...a sad mistake I'm affraid. In the drive channels of these amps you have two volume choices, off and too damn loud. It is virtually impossible to make a minor adjustment to the volume on this channel and it is seriously LOUD at 1.5. I never put the amp above 3, and that was outdoors at a Biker rally (seriously). I ended up buying a volume pedal to compensate, but that made the distortion very this.
If you like loud exclusively when opting for distorted tones, the Stage series amps are for you, if not, avoid them. Were this amp to be stolen, I'd find it because I'd hear it. Would I try to get it back...NO! Again, while it's a Fender and, like all Fenders has excellent tonal color, it inherent volume problem makes this an amp I would never buy again. When it gets back from the shop, I'll trade it in. I put money down on a Peavy Transtube yesterday.

this amp has 2 channels, a foot switcher for channel and reverb. The clean channel has volume and three band eq and a midshift button. the midshift move the eq's up where they are centered one ocatave higher. It seems to make the eq's react different. The distortion is ok not the best but good enough to play live with. The reverb is cool. It acually uses strings inside the amp that reverbarate your sound. It is a warm solid state amp

I play through this amp with a crate electra. It is a cheaper guitar but has ok pickups and after messing with the brige began to love the neck. It has 2 singles and a humbucker pickup. The amp plays well with most styles. I play in the prays band in my youth group. The clean channel doesn't distort except the bass makes all the pictures and you wall vibrate. The distortion could be better but I like the distortion

This amp has never broke. I am depenting on it now with out a back up but If I had money to back it up I would get another guitar instead.

they sent me a free magazine about fender gear when I wrote them

I have been playing guitar for about a year and a half. If this amp were stolen I would buy the same one. I love the fact that I can add an extra speakers to if I need more power. I compared it to peaveys. THey weren't even close

- 2 input and 2 channel -- clean/dist - reverb - preamp out, foot switch, poweramp in, line out, ext speaker jack - LOTS of power

I used this amp with an epiphone Junoir, Gibson Les Paul studio, fender squier II strat and for the most part it seems to sound pretty good. It works great in a live sound setting, but I hate to use it while recording. Mic'ing it is the only option because both the line out and the preamp out are very very noisy and not the same character as the sound that comes out of the speaker. This amp is loud. It is impossible to get a reasonable sound out of it with out it bleeding into all the other mic's in the room. If you want to do home recording, get something else -- a nice tube preamp for direct and then a smaller tube amp to mic.

It seems really sturdy and it is heavy. I hate to carry the damn thing.

No expirence here. I got it used and I do my own repairs.

If this were stolen I would get something better. I don't really like it because I am doing alot of recording, and this is something it performs the worst in. I don't like loud amps, and I like tubes. This doesn't fufil either of my requirements

This is an amp about 2 years old. This amp is truely extremely versitle, i for one do not like to run anything between my guitar and my amp, and with this amp i do not have to. Features that stick out are the mid-shift, whitch brings alot more bassy sound on the clean channel, Most of the time the mid-boost is to much, a word of advice is not to use it with LP's and hallow body's, it causes the voice coil in the speaker to rip. This amp is waay enough power, i rarely need anything more for small club gigs. One thing about this amp is that, if you turn all the knobs to ten, the speaker blows, so don't do it!

The guitars that i've used with this amp are a Les Paul Custom and a 62' reissue. Both kick ass through this amp, just be careful with the volume levels because the preamp is greater as far as size compared to a fender. I am very versitile as far as style, from jazz, to blues, to rockabilly, to country even! this amp gives it all, from twang to honk to smooth. Its great, no distorting at high levels! big enormous sound out of the clean channel with zero distortion.

Ok the only thing thats ever gone out on this amp is the damn speaker which really pissed me off, the amp is 160 watts rms, which in turn means that the 8 ohm speaker that comes with the amp brings the wattage down to barely a 100 watts. and still the damn voice coil gives. Other than that the damn thing is like a rock.

um, they did give me a free speaker

This amp really kicks ass, i cannot say any more good things about it, its a true versitile amp with enough power for small clubs and small concerts and jazz combo's. I love the drive channel its great, sound just as good as a tube amp, i love, it. And without running anyting bewteen the guitar and the amp its sounds great! I even used it to record with no effects and it sounded great!

That's been pretty well covered by everyone below. I had the opportunity to test drive a few of the new Fender solid state models today and the Stage 112SE was one of them. It's got all of the necessary bells and whistles that I usually pay no attention to. It lacks a middle control on the distortion channel. That would probably help tame some of that transistor nastiness.

The clean channels on all of the SS Fenders are quite good sounding. It's probably wise to just stay there full time and use a good pedal (Fulldrive, Bluesbreaker, etc.) for the dirty sound. The dist. channel of the Stage 112SE was particularly disappointing. It's REAL honky in the midrange, and with the "contour" control (whatever that means) you can almost tune that honkiness out at the expense of losing something in the upper freq. It's most pleasant sound on this channel is still fairly unpleasant IMHO. Great clean channel though. And LOUD!

Couldn't tell ya

Couldn't tell ya

Overall, I don't have a very high opinion of this model unless you're gonna stay on the clean channel, which is quite nice, and the reverb works well with this channel. I also tried out a Deluxe 112 Plus which almost had a usable tone on it's dist. channel with a lot of tweaking. The best sounding of all of them? A little 15 watt tweed Bronco. Although all solid state, it sounded the most authentic of all of them so long as you don't turn the gain up too much. It has a lot of bottom for it's size to (1-8" speaker).

very versitle amp , good crunch , wonderfull clean . good for any style . It would be more so if it had chorous . I use this amp every where .

sounds great through my stratplus and 78 tele , not terribly noisy . this amp can make almost any sound . lotts of headroom before distortion on clean . great crunch .

Four weeks ago i took it to be serviced. I haven't gotten it back yet . Smoke has come from the amp on multiple occasions . I don't even think I'll get it back . Fender's head tech doesn't even know what's wrong with it .

good

I bought this amp new in June 1998. This review is an update to my previous review of this amp, now that the newness has worn off. I think I can be more subjective now.
The amp has all the simple features needed in a solid state amp: dual channel inputs, 160 watts, line out (great for recording, amp acts as a monitor), extension speaker cabinet jack, reverb, overdrive, efx loop, 1-12 speaker.
The only things I wish the amp had are: amp cover ($20 option), casters (installed myself), chorus or echo circuit.

I use the Stage 112 SE with a Gibson ES135 which has 2 hum-cancelling, single-coil like pickups. I play mostly jazz with some acoustic stuff.
The amp sounds better to me now than when I first bought it. I had an opportunity to open the amp up a bit this past weekend when my wife went out with her sister.
I cranked the drive side and just could not quit playing Hatchet-Skynyrd rhythms - and they sounded great! Hard rockin' ala 38 Special sounds. Thick, juicy power chords. I have forgotten all my R&R leads from 16 years ago, so I can really comment on the quality of the amp for single string, R&R distortion solos.
On the clean side, I loved the different tones I could get using the 3 position switch on my guitar - from country twang to 40's jazz (kind of acoustic) to darker, rounder tones.
Due to loudness of the amp, I can't get past 2 on the clean channel - and it is completely clean with the typical Fendery brightness. On the drive channel, you can crank the volume as long as you keep the overdrive knob at zero. In that way, you can use the "drive" side as a clean channel and push the volume up more. With the overdrive engaged, going past 2 on the master volume will blow the walls down.

This thing is built like a tank! I bought an amp cover for it - suggest that you do this no matter what amp you buy - and installed heavy duty casters this weekend. The amp weighs over 50lbs and I just got tired of carrying it. Now I roll it - much easier and I don't jostle the electronics everytime I set it down. Fender should include casters with any amp weighing over 45 lbs.
The plywood/particle board cabinet is a 3/4" thick on the bottom (I had to sue 3/4 wood screws to secure the casters). Prior to installing the casters, I could sit on the amp. With the casters, I won't do that as it would tip over mroe easily.
Though I have only had it for for a few months, there is not one indication that anything is wrong. This is unlike a new Roland that I bought that had circuit problems.

I have not had to deal with Fender, but the amp comes with a 5 year warranty on the cabinet and electronics and a one year warranty on the speaker. I bought the amp from a Fender authorized repair center, so if it ever needs work, I can just take it into the local shop.
I graded this category an "8" for the support I have gotten from the local dealer so far which has been pretty good.

I have been playing off and on for about 8 years. I own a Seagull acoustic which I also play through this amp - and it sounds good. If this amp were lost or stolen and I could get the same deal on this amp again, I'd buy it. If not, I'd opt for a smaller, lighter, less powerful amp since I don't gig, yet. Once I start gigging, I expect that the power, size, and presence of this amp will remove any ideas of me getting a "smaller" amp.
The grades on this review are higher than the grades on my original review. I am surprised by this because I thought once the newness wore off, I'd find all the things I did not like about the amp. As it turns out, I like the amp even more now.

Features include (1) line out - great for recording, (2) two inputs - great for vocals with guitar or 2 instruments, (3) FX loop, (4) 160 watt amplifier, (5) external speaker cabinet jack, (6) 2 channels - clean & dirty, (7) (Accutronics) reverb, (8) stompbox to switch clean to dirty and toggle reverb, (9) 1x12 speaker (probably Eminence), (10) 43 pounds, solidly built, (11) extra long power cable

I play a Gibson ES-135 with 2 P-100's (stacked humbuckers, single coil-like). I play mostly jazz and wanted a clean playing amp. The amp hums when it is on, but is only noticeable when you are right next to it. The amp draws up to 400 watts which is probably why it hums. The clean is REAL clean - you can't hide any mistakes, though this is preferable for playing an acoustic guitar or jazz. I can not turn up past 1 for practice. Even then, the amp is set between 0-1 and my guitar's volume is set to 5. This amp is loud. Outside for practice I can crank it all the way up to 1 . Beyond that and it is too loud. The distorion sounds OK to me, though I don't intend to use it. In fact, the distortion sounds better and is more flexible than Roland's Blues Cube 60 (which sounds pretty good). You can play Molly Hatchet with this amp, if you want.
If you want loud (and I mean REAL loud) and clean, I don't think you can do better. Varying the amp's settings with my guitar's and I can get a mroe acoustic sound out of my ES-135 - thinner, more 40's jazz sound. I can also fatten it up to get a rounder, darker sound, too.

I have only had the amp for a short while, so I can not comment on it's long-term reliability, but it is built solid. The amp and Accutronics reverb are all built in the USA. The cabinet seems real solid, too. The innards are clean. The amp is well sealed. There is plenty of room to store the power cable and stompbox. The only thing is that Fender mounted the reverb tank in the bottom corner. Sometimes the power cable gets hung up in the reverb leads coming from the amp. just something to watch for. They could have mounted the reverb unit on the side.

I have not had to deal with Fender, yet. The amp has a 5 year warranty (one year on the speaker). My local shop services what they sell, so I am not afraid if anything does go wrong.

I have been playing jazz for over a year, R&R longer but with a 15 year hiatus. If it were stolen, I *might* opt for a less loud amp if I could find one that played as clean as this one. I like the solid state cleanliness, the array of features (line out, etc), the Fender name, the 5 year warranty, abd the Fender look. The only thing that bugs me is that the amp is loud, I'll never be able to hear what it sounds like past 2 or 3. Then again, it has enough power to hook a mic for vocals and my guitar all at one time - I could not get that with a smaller/lesser amp.

Lots of fearures...but that's not why I"m getting rid of it !

This was my first, and last, experiment with solid state. After a year I've traded it in on a Bassman Re-Issue. Now in fairness I must say that MY situation changed and that was largely why the amp was OK before but not now.
When I bought it I realized the shortcomings of SS but I needed an amp that sounded great at low to medium "house" levels. That was because I had quit jamming and gigging and was playing by myself for pleasure. It did a great job under those circumstances. I play blues and with my TS9 Iwas happy with the sound.
Well, wouldn't you know, I got itchy and first started to jam again and now gig. Now I'm back into a higher volume situation and I came to HATE the Stage 112 SE. The louder it gets (and it gets real loud) the harsher it gets. Now that is pretty classic for a SS architecture. If I were playing punk or maybe metal it might have been ok. I even bought a Fender 1x12 extension cabinet to help. Duh, better dispersion..still harsh. The Tube Screamer helps a bit of course but not nearly enough. So, when I'm alone at low volume it's Ok. With the volume a band produces,even in a basement jam, it's HARSH, HARSH, HARSH !
So if you're into harsh distortion at loud volume..buy it. If you like smooth overdrive go back to tubes.
The worst part about this is my Bassman isn't in yet so I'm still playing the Stage.

I had one minor breakdown..fixed in 24 hours by my dealer.

Dealer was great. Also in buying the Bassman I talked to some Fender Customer Service types on theor 1-800 line in Arizona. Thet were very helpful.

For my current purposes... it's a 3. I play a Fender Lone Star Strat which I love to pieces and like I said a TS 9 Tube Screamer.I also have one of those Snarling Dogs Varitone units. It's pretty handy.

very versatile solid state amplifier
1 12" speaker, 130 watts (160 with extension cabinet), two channels
clean channel has volume, treble, mid, and bass knobs plus a "midshift" button which is great for smoothing out some of the natural brightness of a strat type guitar
drive channel has volume, gain, contour (to go from smoother to crunchier distortion), treble, and bass knobs
both channels share a reverb knob and there is a foot switch with LEDs for channel switching and reverb
also has an effects loop and a speaker out jack

this is the best solid-state amplifier I've ever played clean channel stays clean all the way up to 7 (I haven't dared to turn it up past that) works well for any style you would play with an electric guitar from blues to rock to pop to country to fusion to funk the drive channel is great for a solid state amp (doesn't compare to tubes), but you just can't use it at household volumes and even at gigs I've never turned the drive channel volume past 2 you can get a variety of drive sounds though (using the gain and contour knobs)
it gets a 5 though because that's the highest I would give any solid state amp, they just don't compete with tubes

no problems yet

never dealt with them

this was a steal of an amp on sale for $350 great solid state, and great if you want to start playing gigs but can't really afford a tube-amp right now I'm looking at a Fender Twin amp (I go for versatility and value and like to use pedals to get most of my distortion sounds, otherwise I'd buy a Mesa/Boogie Mark III, Vox AC-30, Fender Bassman, and Fender Twin Reverb, but then I'm not rich either) this is as good a solid-state amp as I've ever played or heard though, but only get it if you want volume, otherwise go with an inexpensive tube combo like a Fender Blues Jr. ($300) or a Mesa/Boogie Subway Rocket ($500), they have superior sounds but aren't as loud

What's the mid-shift button all about? Has anybody found a use for it? The line out socket is pretty cool though, as you can feed it into a desk/4 track and still use the amp as a monitor. This amp has many less knobs and buttons than many inferior amps - a very useful feature...and no valves to blow!

Lovely noises...I use Boss pedals and like my noise to sound somewhere between Steve Jones and Slash. Plenty loud enough, I've NEVER had the volume more than 4 at rehearsals or gigs. Has plenty of mid/bass to make the sound "reach out" to your audience. Also has more balls thru my old Marshall 4x12 (Serial no 1528). Clean channel is also CLEAN!

I've had this amp since August 1993, over 60 gigs and about the same number of rehearsals (studio - not bedroom!) and no problems. This amp has rocked many a pub in old London town.! If I were to use a backup, it would be another one of these.

I lost the manual, one call to Arbiter (UK Fender importers) and a copy was delivered to me the next day. Also very helpful and forthcoming with technical advice. Cannot comment on breakdowns so no full marks here..

Been playing with this amp for over 4 years. I went to a shop and tried out this, another Fender and 2 different Marshalls....the Stage 112SE was best so I bought it. Good enough size to carry from car to venue, mine has served me very well, would buy another. I wonder if it would be much different as a 2 speaker amp? P.S. I prefer to play on the distortion channel only with a little bit of gain (for "clean") and Boss pedals for distortion. Some shops 5 years ago were charging #400-#500 for this amp, too expensive compared to the competition so points lost there.

The amp has so far given me great sounds since I bought it. It's features have already been mentioned so I'll note what it's missing. There is no middle tone control on the drive channel, the FX loop has not level or wet/dry control though at the moment I wouldn't need them.

Good clean and drive sounds. The amp has quite a bit of low end which is good. If not on an insulated surface it can get fairly noisy (such as a cement floor) but normally sounds quite quiet. The gain control produces a wide variety of sounds.

I've owned it for five months and never had a problem, but I can't say my playing schedule is very rigorous. It does have a warranty though, should anything fail.

It's more or less the best I've heard. If I had to trade it up for a better combo I'd get a Fender Twin. The depth of sound is very good, though a stereo setup would be better. Loudness is not an issue.

Quite versatile, from country clean to the hardest licks. Two channels-footswitch-effects loop. I would have been nice to see two gain channels as in the performer series. The distortion is warm and plentiful; very tube-like, but a little too loose for my tastes. I use a processor instead. Power a plenty is this amps best virtue. At half power it will relieve the pictures from my walls without a rattle or a buzz from the amp. Very smooth

I play the hard licks loud on a strat, tele, and mockingbird. The clean sounds are wonderful and classic. Running an RP6 through the clean channel poses no problem for distortion. You could never turn this amp up loud enough to distort; your eardrums would go first. I purchased the companion 4x12 cabinet to go with it. Definitely a gig rig.

I had no problems until I added the 4x12 cabinet. Within four months the power amp fried. It was warranted but quit again within two days. The first repair took 6 days, the second took 8 WEEKS. There was a problem running the cabinet. I dont blame fender for the delay. They sent me a satisfaction report to send back and I gave the local jerks a bad rating. Im happy with the amp since. I would definitley have a backup.

Fender seemed on the up and up, but the local guy was incompetent.

Been playing 23 yrs. I would probably try something else if it were stolen. This amp produces a nice flat response with a little tweaking. I chose this over the performer series bcause it was tubeless, and as a result should be lower maintainence, and produce distortion at lower volumes for quieter practice sessions. I love the power of this combo and the warmth. It is so tube-like most would never be able to tell, and yet lacks the harshness of some tube amps.

This is an extermely versatile amp. It can do just about anything.Yeah, yeah,...for you tube purists it IS a solid state but it sure sounds great. The clean channel is classic Fender..beautiful! The drive channel is a nice surprise....it runs the gamut from light sustain to cruch to British Blues distortion.It 160 watts, so power will never be a problem. The single 12" speaker is more than adequate for medium to large size gigs. If you're going to play in an arena you can add an extension speaker and blow the roof down.A Fender 4x12 cabinet added to this thing would be awesome.

I'm a Blues player and use it with a Strat Lone Star with two Fender Texas Specials at the neck and mid and a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates Humbucker at the bridge.I almost bought a Marshall 65 watt Valvestate but I wasn't happy with the Marshall clean channel. I figured that I can buy a million things to make a clean amp (like the Fender) dirty BUT I can't buy anything to make a dirty amp(like the Marshall) clean.Whatever sound shortcoming this SS amp has was fixed when I hooked up my Boss Blues Driver.

I don't gig anymore..but I would not worry about a backup if I did. It's pretty new still so I can't comment on reliability.

Same as above

Yeah, I would buy it again.Especially in that price range. If I were to spend another $400 CDN I would probably get the Fender Hot Rod Deville 60W w/ 4x10's.Having said that there is not $400 of extra value in the Hot Rod.

This is a very versatile amp. It has all the features you could possibly want, except for maybe tubes and chorus. As a solid state amp, it sounds really nice. The reverb sounds really good and deep when you turn it up. The distortion will blow your mind :) Its 160 watts with an extension speaker, 105 on its own. It has two channels, Drive, and Clean. The clean channel is kind of quiet, but the Drive makes up for it. It comes with a 2-button footswitch for channel and Reverb which is really nice.

I play a lot of classic rock and alternative, and this amp suits those styles very well. The Contour knob is the key. It will switch you from classic overdrive, all the way up to psycho-death metal distortion. The Clean channel sounds really nice and doesn't distort much (If at all), it is somewhat quiet though. I play it with a Fender Stratocaster and it works well with almost any kind of music. The EQ for each channel will let you customize your sound big time.

I would depend on this amp in a gig without a backup. It doesn't have tubes so you don't have to worry about blowing one. It hasn't broken down for me and it is very well made.

I haven't dealt with Fender, but I know that they have a 5 Year Amplifier Warranty.

I love this amp. It does everything I want it to do. I kind of wish it had chorus, but it's nothing that a pedal won't fix. I don't know if I would buy it again because I got it as a kind of intermediate amp before I moved onto tubes, heads, and cabinets, but as a combo, I think I probably would buy it again because I love the sounds it makes.

The Fender Stage 112SE is a 160 Wattt RMS, two channel foot switchable solid-state amp (footswitch included). It has effects loops but no headphone jack. It's the greatest practice amp on the planet as far as I'm concerned. You can easily get a great bluesy sound from this amp. I only wish the amp had wheels as it is slightly heavy (45lbs) and hauling it to practice gets annoying.

I mainly play blues and alternative music and this amp suits those styles just fine. The amp spans the spectrum of clean to metal cruncy. It's not noisy compared to my Blues DeVille. I've played a Fender LoneStar strat, Fender Mexi-strat, and a Charvel-Jackson through it and they all sound great.

I've only had it for a couple of months. No breakdowns.

I would buy it again. It's not as good as my Blues DeVille 4x10, but it is very close. I compared it to the Roland Blues Cube BC-60 and the Peavey Bandit 112. I couldn't tell the difference between the various brands (hey, at least I'm honest) and went with Fender because all things being equal, Fenders retain their value better.

Channel switching (2), solid state, fx loop, 105w as is, 160W w/extension spkr, reverb. Feature laden SS amp, has everything I want in a combo except tubes. I have used it with and without an extension spkr. Clean channel has b,m,t, drive has gain , contour, plus tones.

I play rock, country, no metal or grunge. This amp is one of the best sounding SS amps I have ever played through. It has excellent clean tones. The drive channel is good as well, but I primarily use pedals for distortion (Boss BD-2, DS-1). I mainly play a Telecaster, but I have used it a lot with a Strat. I give it an 8 overall, mainly because I have a '71 Bassman that is a 10.

I bought the amp in March 94. In two years of daily abuse, including a lot of travel to practice and gigs, it has performed flawlessly. I have retired it from gigs since I got the Bassman, but I still use it for practice with the guys because it is a combo and it is easier to haul. I never go on a gig without a backup amp, but if I had to, this would be the one. It has never broken in 2 years.

It has never broke. I am not sure about the warranty.

In the same situation I would buy it again. At the time I could not afford a new tube amp with that kind of power. With simple pedals I can get any kind of sound I want. I compared it directly with a Peavey Bandit for tone. No comparison. The drive channel was noticeably better (with a Strat). I don't dislike anything about this amp.

A two channel solid-state amp, with 1 12" Fender speaker, reverb. The amp is channel switchable. This amp, in a nutsehll is the closest SS unit to match the warmth of tube amps that I have heard. F/X loops and line outs are on the front panel. The amp is rated at 160W; suffice to say it is LOUD.

I cannot think of another amp in the price range as versatile. With the footswitch, I go from clean (great country twang with a Telecaster) to overdrive. The overdrive channel features a midrange contour control which shapes the sounds from a tube like warmth to a solid-state shred.

I've only had it for three months. No problems as yet.

I work directly through the dealer, so customer service is really based more on the dealer than anything else.

The amp sounds great on its own. Add a closed back extension cabinet ($100-$150) and a tube driven preamp ($100-$300), and for $800-$900 bucks you have a setup that can match anything short of the $1,500 + plus range of amplifiers.