Fender Supersonic 112 Combo

I would give this amp high marks for features. I like the ability to voice the amp differently, the effects loop, and the gain channel. It is heavy, but a 1-12 combo is a nice size and the wattage isn't too high.

This almost the most disappointing amp I ever have purchased. It is like having ice-picks shoved through your ears! I have tried very expensive and fine tubes (both pre-amp and power) changing the bias and even changing the speaker. I paid almost $800 for this amp and for that money one can still buy a vintage Pro Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, or a Bassman head and cabinet and have a better sounding, more valuable, and desirable amp. I am really fortunate I did not pay full price for this amp brand new. Even an old Silvertone amp I have sounds miles better than this amp.

Being a new amp it never failed during the short time I owned it.

I have never dealt with Fender customer support but have heard good things about them from other people.

The effects loop, gain channel, and Celestion Vintage 30 are good things. I happen to have an original Vibrolux and Bassman and this amp is a real disappointment in the sound department. Why buy an amp that you have to work on to make it sound good? Just spend a bit more and get one that is good already! If this amp was stolen I'd collect an insurance check and spend it on a vintage amp. Hopefully the thief would trip and fall and break something of his from the weight of this amp. I bought this from the other glowing reviews and have since learned that everyone's amp sounds great to themselves. I would not buy another one of these nor would recommend it to anyone.

Bought this used from my favorite local dealer about two years ago. Blonde/oxblood. Pretty looking. Lots of features for a fender, 3 channels, reverb, footswitch, FX loop. Loud as hell, like any Fender. Never met a venue this was insufficient for.

I own (and have owned) a variety of guitars in the time I've had this amp. 1991 Fender Strat Ultra, G&L ASAT Special, DiPinto Galaxie, a couple of crappier Strats, a Squier '51. I play in one punk-ish dance-rock band and one psychedelic/shoegaze band. Was a bit noisy with the Ultra, particularly on the gain channel.

The Vibroverb-styled clean channel (green LED) is gorgeous, and is what I mostly used for cleans. The Bassman channel doesn't really sound like a Bassman, but has decent grit, was often used for the dance-punk outfit. Initially I used the higher gain channel, but eventually I came to decide I liked the MXR Distortion III on the clean channel better. The reverb is awful.

I often described this amp to people as a "jack of all trades, master of none". Fender's attempt to compete with Mesa, I guess. 8 because the clean channel's really good, but the high-gain channel is more like a 6.

Mostly I could and did depend on it. Ran into an intermittent power loss issue, likely caused by a loose solder somewhere eventually after much mangling and manhandling. My tech fixed the connection he suspected to be the cause (although he could not replicate the issue, so it wasn't definitive) and I got rid of the thing when it came back working. I had enough electrical issues with my old car to know how that can go.

Haven't dealt with them.

I've been playing about 12 years now. The Supersonic was my first proper tube amp, and it served me well for a couple years, but I can't say I was terribly sad to see it go. Its immediate replacement was a small Mesa combo to get me through a few shows, which I eventually traded for a Fender Super 4x10. Much happier with that.

versatile without being complicated or just plain silly - it's a real amp, not a noodling toy

great fender tube sound - bassman is wicked once it is past 10 o'clock, more and more sauce as you crank it. vibro sound is good as well, though not especially kind to humbuckers at lower volume settings. burn channel has some great clean tones as well. I like to set the master quite high, first gain at 9:30, second gain all the way down and just ride my guitar's volume for clean/dirty with TONS of punch, lots more punch than the fenders with tube rectifiers (i like tube rectifiers when i want more juice than punch). there is a LOT of gain available on this channel - though i would say the voicing is probably not quite right for metal - nice, full mids, tighter than most fenders. I don't know any amp that deserves a 10 in my mind. one really needs a stable to have it all. as far as versatility/quality goes, this one is a keeper - wish i had it in a 25 watt version or so.

so far so good!

fender sucks with their customer support. they are just too big to give a **** about anyone but their major artists.

i have been playing for 29 years, 25 professionally (i'm almost 40). i have owned a lot of amps. i don't generally waste my money on really high end stuff anymore, with the exception of classical guitars. in my 20's i made enough dough playing that I could justify some pretty pricey gear, but after using it a lot, i realized that tools are tools. get to know the tools you have, and there are no limitations.

boutique amps are just snake oil for your ego! i paid 1/4 what some of those others cost. nobody's amp impresses me. their playing does.

I had been eyeing this amp for over 6 months. This amp would have been extremely versatile for what I would use it for. Live bar gigging, recording, and theater work. I really liked the idea of the effects loop switching with the foot pedal and that you can use the loop as a volume boost to both your clean and burn channels.

This was basically my sound in a blonde/ox blood box. Exactly what I was after. A thick fat sustainy lead tone that could also be cleaned up to bluesy. Two clean sounds, one chimey the other thick. The amp noise, particularly with regard to the reverb channel were annoying but acceptable.

Other reviewers have given low ratings on this part after complaining about everything else including the sound. Well why the hell did you buy it? Like I said in the other categories, this was my dream amp. People I am not exaggerating or making this up. I owned this amp almost 24 hours before it utterly and completely died on me. I bought it brand new and took it out of the box myself. 23 hours 30 minutes were spent with it off and with some low level noodling. The last 15 were when I was "breaking in" the speaker per celestions guidelines. 10-15 minutes of clean tone playing open chunky chords at a moderate volume. That's what I did. I should note that I'm a professional musician and guitar instructor. 21 years playing. 10 years teaching. My co-worker/guitar/amp tech at the used/vintage guitar store I teach at was in the other room to witness and give his two cents on the carnage that follows. At the end of my 15 minutes of "breaking in" I noticed a faint but definitely audible oscillating whistle sound accompanied by an equally faint burning smell. It was stronger on the dirty channel but still there on the clean. He said it didn't sound like a bad tube but started examining around the back of the amp. He was surprised at how hot it had gotten. The transformer, the tubes, the chasis, the top of the amp. Even my guitar cable plugged into it was warm. Uncommonly warm for any tube amp. So I turned it off and waited 5 minutes. Turning back on I was greeted with a moderately loud staticy noise. I turned off all volumes including the effects loop send and return. I then unplugged my cable. It was still going. He came back in and said, "Now that sounds like a bad tube" and resumed his examination. We turned it off for 20 seconds, back on, no sound. This was yesterday, I had a 4 hour gig later that night and this was bad news but I still had time to exchange it. I took it back to the new retail guitar shop it was purchased from. They had one other amp besides the floor model. We took it out of the box and turned it on. Broken. The floor model? Clean channel not functioning. Now I've read in other forums and posts that perhaps the tubes are crap and there may be some cold solder joints etc. But for $1300 or the screaming deal I got for $950 out the door I refuse to have to send it off for warranty repair, retube and bias it... whatever. All 3 of this stores amps were broken! This was not a mom and pop second hand store but a reputable retailer! Craptacular. Total heartbreak. Refund. Buyer beware!!!

Even if I kept this and had it repaired I could never depend on this amp. For around $1000 I demand dependability! Fender for shame, for shame.

Well, it all tube, no moeling garbage or nothing like that. It has 3 modes:

1.) 60's Vibrolux
2.) 50's Bassman
3.) Prosonic overdrive channel.

It came stock with groove tubes and a Celestion Vintage 30 int it. It is 60 watts, it has reverb, an effects loop (that can be used as a boost) and comes in black or tweed. It also comes with those Fender kick back arm things, which is nice, a footswitch (that can switch from Vibrolux to Bassman, can switch to the burn channel and can turn the effects loop on and off), and a cover. So, I would say the features are pretty extensive. Lots of goodies and nice options. I also love the fact that I can take a cable and put it into the effects loop send and return and turn up the volumes for the effects loop and use it as a boost, that is a great option.

Wow, I am a Marshall and Mesa kind of guy but this amp holds it's own but has it's own thing at the same time. The amp is warmer then the Mesa's and the Marshall's (well, it is a Fender) even on the burn (drive) channel. It produces amazing harmonics, some of the best I have ever heard, and I have'nt found any feedback that is not beautiful and useful, and I am not a feedback fan. The sustain is also fantastic, it fades into this really awesome violin like quality. Obviously the Celestion Vintage 30 is a great speaker, that is obvious. Great combination, putting into this amp I mean. I find this amp CAN do it all. It will obviously provide your Fender clean for country and lighter blues players. Great headroom and spankingly clean, if that is even a word. This is all available through the Vibrolux mode. Turn on the Bassman mode and you have some hot blues and classic rock tones a la Rolling Stones, Colin James, SRV and players like that. Nice transparemt gain, it really is chunky and sweet with some nice grind but also very clear on the Bassman mode. Now, the burn mode can also do the lighter gain blues stuff and it does it well, but the real kicker here is the high gain tones. They are *****ng crazy awesome!!!!! It does'nt sound like a Marshall or a Mesa, like I stated earlier, it has it's own thing. It can do metal, it can do hard rock and pretty much everything that requires drive. Pinch harmonics are so easy with the gain cranked on this bad boy, yet even with the drive cranked and the amp set for a more focused meatl tone, it still maintains it's warmth. It never goes away, which is nice and adds a lot of beef to it when you really need it. I could go on forever about this amp and what it can do, so I will just summerize, it does it all. 10

Don't know, only just go it. I don't know anyone else with it.

Well, I have dealt with Fender before and they are great to deal with. They answer questions with great detail and they are fast as well. Also, checking this amp out on there website was very helpful considering all the great sound clips, videos and example setting =s they had on the site. Very easy to deal with and very helpful.

I love it, it is deffinetely a keeper. It is all I wanted in a combo amp, which is versatile. It weighs a ton due to the 8 tubes. I would kill anyone who even touched this amp without asking me. It is a great amp, it is worth every penny, and it is the most versatile amp I ahev ever owned. I love it and I highly doubt this will ever leave me. Thanks Fedner!

Treble and bass..switch mode..its simple.
i'm session player with pedals i use clean channel only.

Change the speaker to Eminence Governor(V30 with a kick) or Eminence tonker(add more bottom,Bass respond) or even jensen c12k(make the amp natural high,mid,bass) which ever you prefer it will solve the problem of those high,spiking sound....this amp is pedal friendly...it depend on your speaker too.
tubes up to you...change all of em' to JJ's sound more harmonic
Bias...depend on how u like em, cold more headroom,hot early break up.
spend time with your amp, find your own sweet spot setting.
at least this amp Have fender TONE on IT.

ok to throw it arround...gigs after gigs...look vintages with the blond color.
no need backup...but u need the ALL TUBES back up for sure.
AND ITS LITE...ALL U PLAYER OUT THERE LITE AMPS ITS THE MOST IMPORTANT IN AND OUT GIGS FASTTTTTTT.

no help!!!!

its a GOOD AMP...know your tone...know your budget...if u got more money Go to FUCHS-DR.Z-BADCAT-BLANKENSHIP-GUDSELL-SOHO65-SUHR BADGER-DIVIDED BY 13.BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT AGAIN THESE GUYS MAKE AMPS BASE ON EITHER FENDER-MARSHALL-VOX

TAKE A PICK...IF I'M MILLIONAIRES I BUY EM ALL...U WILL TO :)

Features: you know them all

With the speaker, fender built in, (celestion vintage30, you will get a nice clean sound, but with too much treble, harshness, ice-picks. Put in a jensen c12r (or comparable speakers) and you will get a really awesome sounding amp: cool shiny highs and clear bass with outstanding power! You do not have to change the tubes or do modifikations for hundreds of ??? or $ or whatever. Now this amp sounds how fender amps should in the clean mode, in the burn channel mode the suso is (with or without a new speaker) the best sounding fender amp ever, the rivera??s included.

so far so good (8 weeks.

warranty is 24 months, no contact with the copmpany

I??ve been playing for 30 years. My tip: change the speaker, this will solve all problems you can read in other reviews. So the "10" goes to jensen.

I gave it a seven. Compared to other fender amps, it has a lot of features, but compared to potential competitors (mesa lonestar, for example), it is much more sparse. I'm not going to go through the features of the amp, as many other reviewers have done this already. Briefly, 2 channels, clean and burn, with two voicings on each channel, reverb and a switchable fx loop. The two channels with two voicings each covers more than enough territory for most blues/rock applications.

I think it is better to mention what I think is missing. It would be nice to have a mid control on the clean channel. Footswitchable reverb would also be a nice feature. I would also love it if they added tremolo to the amp.

I should mention before describing the tone of this amp that it currently has winged C power tubes and a mixture of JJ and Mullard pre-amp tubes. It was also re-biased to be a little on the warm side. This was done by the previous owner, so I have never played it in stock form.

I am using the amp for blues, funk, and classic rock. I have a variety of strats with texas specials, lace gold sensors, and vintage noiseless fender pickups. I also have used a p90 type Gibson blueshawk and a Les Paul Standard with burstbucker pro pickups. They all sound great through this amp. I especially like the texas special strat pickups through this thing. I would say this amp is the perfect tone machine for blues, funk, and classic rock.

The amp has some noise/hiss. Very obvious at bedroom levels, but not very apparent when it is at a stage volume. This is NOT a bedroom practice amp. It is crazy loud. It has the classic fender volume pots that go from loud tv volume to way too loud between 0.5 and 1 on the volume knob. This is clearly an amp for live players, or those with a dedicated practice space. By three or four on the master volume, it is at full stage type volume. I've never turned it up past 5, but it seems to flatten out in the loud department from about 4 onwards. Shame that the best tones from this amp come at very loud settings.

As for variety of sounds, you can get a bunch of great sounds out of this amp. I don't know how the cleans compare to the amps they were 'inspired by', but they are very useable. The vibrolux channel is very similar to most blackface cleans. Bright, sparkly cleans. A little too much treble in some settings, but that is a lot like many blackface fenders. I use this setting for funk rhythm and clean blues with a neck pickup. The bassman channel adds a lot more bottom end, and seems to cut out the highs. These sounds are very different and sound like 'too bright' and 'muddy' at practice levels, but when the master is at about 3-4 or so, they become more like a blackface clean and a bassman crunch. So, again, this amp is geared towards a band situation. I think they both sound great when loud, and capture the essence of a blackface and a bassman. Bedroom players might find these both a little blah, as they really need to be loud to get the bassman to crunch a bit and add some depth to the vibroking.

The burn channel is where this amp shines. It can produce great blues and rock sounds. Lots of versatility in this channel. Light distortion to all out high gain. Sounds best doing blues and classic rock sounds, as it gets a little thin sounding at very high gain levels. The amp cleans up beautifully with the volume knob of the guitar. It has a great SRV type blues solo sound, a nice light crunch, and great harder rock tones. Again, this channel sounds MUCH better when the master is pretty high, and kind of mediocre at bedroom levels. You have to turn it up to get great sounds.

All in all, a very tone rich amp that can make some great sounds...if you can stand the volume needed to get there. The distorted sounds are really very nice, lots of complexity to the sounds. Reminds me of the distortion of a lot of high end botique type amps.

I've had it for about 6 months. I got it used. Amp was built in 2006 and belonged to a friend of mine. He had no issues with it during his three years of ownership. Seems to be a pretty solid amp. My only complaint about the thing is that the back panel material seems a little thin/cheap and can easily be bent/warped.

Never had an issue, so I will not comment on Fender support.

I give it a solid 8. A great sounding amp, but not great for home use. This thing sounds stunning in a live setting or when cranked up. I wouldn't suggest this amp to a bedroom player, as it just sounds OK at low volumnes....it is clearly geared/voiced to gigging players.

I've been playing for 25 years. My other amps include a marshall JCM800, a mesa boogie DC-3, a carvin x-100B, and a line6 flextone II. In the past I have owned a fender twin reverb re-issue, a fender blues junior, a roland jazz chorus 77, and a bunch of cheap practice amps.

A friend of mine really liked this amp and after hearing it a bit I decided to purchase the first one. I like the Vibrolux and Bassman voicings. The dual cascading gain is another really nice feature. I'm not real big into the Spring Reverb.

I like the tones on this amp. It's my first tube. I had a lot of random popping with my first one and a considerable amount of noise (even running through a $400 Monster power filter). Something inside the head also rattled quite a bit. Probably whatever was causing the effects loop not to work on my first one.

There is a HUGE lack of bass in the burn channel. Everyone is correct in saying you need an EQ pedal to get some bass.

I exchanged the first amp for a second one. The effects loop now turns on and off but the Bass Knob on the Vintage channel does not work.

I couldn't sit in front of the amp and play. I heard a really bad beaming effect directly in front of the speaker.

I have had 2 of these amps. Both had different problems.

Amp #1 NOISE/EFFECTS STUCK ON: Effects loop could not be turned off. If the amp was turned off and the effects loop was disabled on the pedal and you turned it back on the loop would be OFF. After turning the loop ON it would not turn OFF no matter how many times I hit the button or unplugged the foot pedal. I also had loud popping sounds with a crackle in the background. Kinda sounded like a phantom guitar with someone running the pick down the spiral bound strings slowly.

Amp #2 NON-WORKING BASS KNOB: This amp came with a nylon cover in the box that was not present in the first box. Quality control issues. Fender can't even pack a box correctly. So I open my second amp, set it up, let it warm up for several minutes. The bass knob does absolutely nothing when turned. Worked fine on the first amp. This second amp was defective out of a factory sealed box just like the first one. I don't have the random noises like the first one.

I have been Burned twice (pun intended) on this combo amp. I would not recommend it. I will never purchase another amp from Fender again. This is being returned tomorrow.

The customer service people are very friendly and are genuinely quick to respond. But they were not even remotely helpful. I took apart the foot pedal and tested all the switches. Recorded the voltages for all 12 combinations of button presses. I asked if a Tech could verify my voltages. After asking a bunch of questions I was literally told all they do is replace footpedals.

It sounds good to me. The fact that I have 2 different amps this week speaks for itself. The fact that each factory sealed box had different contents speaks for itself. The fact that each of the two amps have completely different problems speaks for itself.

MADE IN MEXICO

Went into the music store to buy strings, read the place card on the top of this amp and said "ya....right". Tried it out, and I was hooked. This amp does everything the VR amps claim to do but fail IMHO. I play a lot of SRV and could never nail that bottom and shimmer no matter what I did or tried. The Super Sonic nailed all those tones and then some. It is very loud past one on either channels and could benefit from an attenuator, but so far, that's about my only quibble.

I currently use 4 guitars, a Fender SRV Strat w/Texas Spec's, a G&L Asat w/their Soapbar type PU's, a PRS Santana SE, and a PRS SE One.
The two modes on the clean channel are both excellent, although they do require different EQ'ing, no biggie. As mentioned in earlier posts, the Burn channel is a pedal killer. With it's 2 gain pots, you get an almost infinite range of options. You can ride an almost clean sound into infinite sustain, similar to a lot of boutique amps or limit the sustain on a really dirty sound and make it choppy and barky. The EQ really helps with all this too. I found it to be very pedal friendly, working very well with my TS-808 re-issue, Keeley Compressor, and Retro Sonic Chorus, and Clyde Deluxe Wah on both clean modes, and my Fulltone Octafuzz on the Burn channel. It gives me all the SRV tones I've ever hoped for, as well as many others. My favorite SRV settings are CLEAN- Bassman-vol. between 1&4, treb-7.5, bass-10. Burn- Gain1-3, gain2-9, treb-7-7.5, bass-7, mid-6, master-1-4 and reverb just shy of 3

So far no issues

I've been playing for over 20 years. I own this amp as well as a Hot Rod Deville 4-10 and a 30th Anniversary 100w Marshall 1/2 stack. If it was stolen, yes I would replace it. It just has those old Fender tones I just could never replicate. None of the Fender VR's could make the sounds that the Super Sonic has in spades, nor are they as versatile. I wish it had a matching 4-10 extension cab.