Fender Stage 112SE

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.