Fender Amps FAQ
July 31, 2023 6:28 AM Subscribe
Amp technician and guitarist Lyle Caldwell presents a relaxing, 30-minute tour of a typical vintage Fender guitar amplifier. (SLYT)
These days I tend to play with an amp sim and a cabinet emulator right into the PA, like everyone else without roadies
My dirty secret is that even when I record I use Kemper profiles of my actual Marshall ... and even a profile of my Sansamp bass DI. It's just so much easier.
This is a really neat video, and the bit at the top about the grounding ... lemme tell you, I used to play through a borrowed vintage Fender Twin Reverb that was absolutely not properly grounded and it was real horror outdoors. Loud as hell, though.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:18 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
My dirty secret is that even when I record I use Kemper profiles of my actual Marshall ... and even a profile of my Sansamp bass DI. It's just so much easier.
This is a really neat video, and the bit at the top about the grounding ... lemme tell you, I used to play through a borrowed vintage Fender Twin Reverb that was absolutely not properly grounded and it was real horror outdoors. Loud as hell, though.
posted by uncleozzy at 8:18 AM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
For a while I was lent a Fender Bandmaster from the mid 60s. It was a really heavy beast and it damn, it had way too much volume for my bedroom playing. Built to last though and with a little grit, it could really release a roar. The only problems, other than the size, was the lack of a gain control and it had vibrato, while I would have preferred reverb.
Now I just have my little Boss Katana 50W. The warm roar of the tubes is gone but I have so many more options its ridiculous. If I got a tube amp I'd get a Fender Blues Jr IV or the Marshall DSL40CR. The cats would not be happy.
posted by Ber at 11:57 AM on July 31, 2023
Now I just have my little Boss Katana 50W. The warm roar of the tubes is gone but I have so many more options its ridiculous. If I got a tube amp I'd get a Fender Blues Jr IV or the Marshall DSL40CR. The cats would not be happy.
posted by Ber at 11:57 AM on July 31, 2023
If I got a tube amp I'd get a Fender Blues Jr IV or the Marshall DSL40CR
My Marshall is the DSL40CR. It's a great amp. I wish there were separate tone stacks for the channels, and the reverb stinks, but otherwise it's pretty much perfect. And it does have a master volume, so you don't have to scare the cats (although sometimes you should). Like I said, it's good enough that I use Kemper profiles of it almost exclusively.
I still haven't gotten around to selling the Hot Rod Deluxe the Marshall was supposed to replace yet, so a couple of times I used a splitter to plug into both of them and cranked them up ... literally window-rattling. So satisfying.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:18 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
My Marshall is the DSL40CR. It's a great amp. I wish there were separate tone stacks for the channels, and the reverb stinks, but otherwise it's pretty much perfect. And it does have a master volume, so you don't have to scare the cats (although sometimes you should). Like I said, it's good enough that I use Kemper profiles of it almost exclusively.
I still haven't gotten around to selling the Hot Rod Deluxe the Marshall was supposed to replace yet, so a couple of times I used a splitter to plug into both of them and cranked them up ... literally window-rattling. So satisfying.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:18 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Yep, that all checks out. I've spent way too much time and money thinking about and restoring old tube Fenders. I currently have a Twin, Super, Deluxe, Princeton, Champ, Supersonic, and Bassman. A couple of them are re-issues, the Super is a 73, and the Bassman is a 68 with "Stevie Nicks Tour" stenciled on the bottom.
posted by rlk at 12:31 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by rlk at 12:31 PM on July 31, 2023 [3 favorites]
Be careful mucking about inside tube amps - the capacitors can hold dangerously high-voltage charge even when there's no power going to the amp.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 12:46 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 12:46 PM on July 31, 2023 [2 favorites]
If you want a dead-simple vintage Fender tube amp at a relatively affordable price, I recommend the Champ or Vibro Champ. Loud enough to fill up a small room, but probably won't scare the cats (much). Silverface versions can be found online for $700-$1000 or so. Older tweed ones are more pricey.
These sound great, IMO, and have been used on lots of records because of how quickly and musically they break up at higher volumes. They're easy to fix or tweak by any qualified amp technician. Plus they're cute and easy to carry around.
They lack reverb, but you can always add a reverb pedal, a la Julian Lage.
posted by swift at 2:41 PM on July 31, 2023
These sound great, IMO, and have been used on lots of records because of how quickly and musically they break up at higher volumes. They're easy to fix or tweak by any qualified amp technician. Plus they're cute and easy to carry around.
They lack reverb, but you can always add a reverb pedal, a la Julian Lage.
posted by swift at 2:41 PM on July 31, 2023
An excellent video for someone who will use a Fender amp. For some deeper geekery see Uncle Doug scratch build a Champ with circuit analysis all kinds of goodies. [Warning: Reiterating JSCS warning above, tube amplifiers have LETHAL voltages inside. Please don't poke around inside, even an amp that is off and unplugged, without some safety education.]
posted by caddis at 4:26 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by caddis at 4:26 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
metafilter: you don't have to scare the cats (although sometimes you should)
posted by hearthpig at 4:40 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hearthpig at 4:40 PM on July 31, 2023 [1 favorite]
Years ago a friend and I were starting a band, and all of my gear had been sold at auction to pay for back rent (why yes, I was a musician, how did you know?) So I bought a Vox Violin bass and an old Fender Musicmaster tube bass amp. The band never went anywhere, I still have the bass and amp. I can't imagine ever selling them. Of course, I had a Gibson EB0 bass, that went in the auction, so, what do I know?
posted by evilDoug at 11:34 PM on July 31, 2023
posted by evilDoug at 11:34 PM on July 31, 2023
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