Fender Solid State Super Reverb

[Dave.P]

I am going to try one of these soon as blown away by what I am hearing so far.
Supposedly a digital replica of the old faithful amp minus the valves and weight.
Also supposedly a decent XLR line out as well as switchable power output.
It sounds too good to be true so far so will have to try one.
Anyone else have any experience?

Pinch of salt with anything on YT but so far very interesting....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whg4JECoirk

[Martin Walker]

Sounds impressive!

[John Egan]

I needed a new amp to replace my elderly AC30 Super Twin, and I had spotted an advert in melody maker for the new transistor technology. I showed this to our highly respected local amp tech ( Ernie Beard, who was also the local newspaper's theatre and music critic).

He looked at the advert and simply said "I wouldn't!" However he said he would get one in so that I could try it.

When the amp arrived, I took it with me to our next gig, I think at the Beachcomber in Liverpool. Following Ernie's advice, I also took my AC30 as backup and to use as my speaker cabinet.

The amp was configured as 4 channels, each of which was a supposedly fully functional 15w amp. The light show looked splendid, with a pilot light and an individual light for each of the four channels. With keen anticipation, I hit the opening chord for the first number and there was a strangled gurgling noise from the amp as every one of the impressive lights went out and gradually returned to normal.

When I returned the amp to Ernie, he looked at me pityingly and said "I thought as much. Now do you want me to find you something suitable?" He got me a Selmer Treble and Bass 50 with a 4x12 cab, which he made up. Needless to say it performed perfectly, and still does!

The experience has probably scarred me for life.

However, I'm sure the Fender will be a good solid choice - just not for me!

[Wonks]

I know a few people with amps from that Fender solid-state repro range, and they all seem to be very good amps. They seem very similar indeed clean, band only vary a bit in sound when wound up and pushed.

My concern is longevity. A valve amp (provided they keep making vales) will go on and on and can be repaired pretty easily. A solid state amp with surface mount components is a lot harder to repair and in a few years time (say 10-20) , it may not be repairable if components are no longer made. A good valve amp will loose little money, and may appreciate over time, whilst once this years model of solid-state amp is supplanted by next year's model, its value will drop considerably. Which you need to weigh-up against no risk of valves adding hum as they age, and having a much lighter amp.

You pay your money and takes your choice!

I've thought about getting one myself, but in the end the pull of another valve amp swayed me.

[BigRedX]

The cost of repair of modern amps with class D power amps and SMPS and the fact that they were generally only fixable by a complete board swap, irrespective of how trivial the fault was, has been recently brought up on another forum I frequent.

The someone pointed out that a complete re-valve and service of a valve amp by a reputable repairer was comparable to buying an equivalent class D SMPS amp second hand...

[Folderol]

There is another factor to take into account. When a valve amp is going to fail, it usually gives early warnings that it's under stress. With a Class D amp, it's sudden death.

[BigRedX]

My experience of amp failures (over 40 years of gigging) is two.

The first was a valve amp that died in a most spectacular way with a big bang and flash and taking out the circuit it was plugged into at the same time, and all of which happened without any warning.

The other was a class D amp that due to (my) user error had both sides of its (non-bridged) power amp plugged into the same speaker cab. Despite releasing a fair quantity of magic smoke before I noticed and turned it off, the amp performed flawlessly for the next 5 years, until at one gig it started making weird noises and then stopped working altogether.

[Dave.P]

No simple answer here and every thought above makes perfect sense.
What appeals to me is the usability in different scenarios. I could after some scrimping manage to get the valve version at approx twice the price but in most situations for me it would be too loud to crank to the sweet spot I suspect. Ok they are attenuators too, but more complications.
I do agree, the “real” one would no doubt hold it’s value very well whereas the solid state never will.
Going to try one on Saturday and see how it goes from there…..

[Sam Spoons]

I built an '18 Watt' combo a few years ago. The chassis was from a kit from www.ampmaker.com and I built it into a 1x12 combo cab. I love it and it sounds great but after being virtually unused over covid I started rehearsing for a gig and after a couple of sessions it started playing up. So I bought a Boss Katana 50 from a mate and it is brilliant, I can honestly say it would do any gig I'm likely to get without the slightest fuss. But I think I have sorted the problem with the '18 Watt' and if that proves to be the case it is that I will be using on my gig (though the Katana will be in the boot as a backup), It just has a certain something ('mojo'? more likely 'confirmation bias' ) that makes me want to use it.

[Drew Stephenson]

Nothing wrong with a bit of confirmation bias if it gets you playing more.

[Dave.P]

One of these amps seems to have followed me home from the guitar shop, no idea how it happened!
First impressions are very good. Did not realise the direct out on it can work with the speaker silenced so you can record and use your monitors with the amp at whatever "level" you like.
Early days, but super happy so far....

[Drew Stephenson]

Very nice

[Folderol]

One of these amps seems to have followed me home from the guitar shop, no idea how it happened!
First impressions are very good. Did not realise the direct out on it can work with the speaker silenced so you can record and use your monitors with the amp at whatever "level" you like.
Early days, but super happy so far....