your favorite fender amp, and why.

[Josh]

have been in love with my silvertone 1483 lately. however it just doesn't have quite enough volume at practice, and definitely won't at a show without it being micd up. prolly will try another cabinet but I need a jack for the speaker cabinet installed. so I'll just use it as a home and recording amp. it's stock and I don't wanna break it. Ive heard people say these are comparable to fender bassman amps so I might try that out for live use and practices, pretty much it's gotta be loud, and sounding like my silvertone would be a plus, trying to knock out trashy garage and surf tones. can use pedals if it's too clean (ala a twin) but ideally I plug straight in. reverb is a plus but I don't need it that much, possibly making a tube spring unit this year with my uncle.

but I'd like a recommendation from all of you of what your favorite fender amp is and why. amps Im interested in are the bassman, bandmaster, twin, deluxe maybe, not sure if itll be loud enough, and the super reverb. blackface/reissue/silverface whatever. not worried about weight either, have heard twins are monsters but that's not a concern.

[timhulio]

deluxe maybe, not sure if itll be loud enough

Yes, 22 Watts is easily loud enough unless you're playing on a huge stage or a massive venue unmic'd.

I've a SF Bandmaster, Deluxe Reverb and MM Bass amp. The Deluxe sounds best because it's still got the original ceramic speaker, whereas the others have modern neodymium speakers (Celestion Century Vintage, IIRC). Those are neat because they weigh nothing, but they sound a bit sterile. The MM bass amp is really good as it has two knobs - volume and tone, is super light and small, yet houses a 1x12" and is loud enough to gig and rehearse with. I used to own a 100 Watt SF Twin, but sold it because it's too heavy and too ice-picky.

[johnnyseven]

I have a 1975 silverface Bassman which I love. I haven't played any other vintage Fender amps so have nothing to compare it too. It's super loud (and clean at volume), but can be made to break up with volume at around 5 if you push it with a booster. It also takes pedals REALLY WELL.

[taylornutt]

I have owned a 1970s Fender Musicmaster Bass amp and I have a 70's Fender Vibrochamp. I have beem really fascinated by the Deluxe Reverb, especially the new Custom 68 they just came out with. It has the Bassman circuit in the custom channel plus it has reverb and tremolo for both channels. I have never had an amp with both Reverb and tremolo together. It's just sounds like it has all the features I could want, though I wouldn't turn down a reissue or vintage Deluxe Reverb either.

[johnnyseven]

I have a 1975 silverface Bassman which I love. I haven't played any other vintage Fender amps so have nothing to compare it too. It's super loud (and clean at volume), but can be made to break up with volume at around 5 if you push it with a booster. It also takes pedals REALLY WELL.

I should add that i've used this amp in large rooms a large tents un-mic'd with the volume at around 5 and also used it at smaller gigs mic'd with the volume generally around 3 with no issues.

[Freethenoise]

I really like my 65' Reissue Princeton. It just sounds so fucking pretty.

[Noisy Cat]

I have a Twin Reverb 65RI. I was offered it at too good a price to turn down, so the purchase wasn't the result of loads of research and trying different stuff out, etc. It's the only Fender amp I've ever owned – in fact it's the only valve amp I've ever owned.

It's fucking loud and fucking heavy, but it sounds like sex.

[dezb1]

deluxe maybe, not sure if itll be loud enough

Yes, 22 Watts is easily loud enough unless you're playing on a huge stage or a massive venue unmic'd.

isn't the 1483 20 odd watts?

[timhulio]

Seems to be. I'd never heard of this amp before (only have Fender amps), but check this:
http://www.silvertoneworld.net/amplifiers/1483/1483.html

"With its no-frills tube-powered 23 watts, it's been frequently pressed into guitar service by many top strummers of recent years. Peter Buck of R.E.M. has used one in his backline for years, and the trend continues today, with bands like Vampire Weekend, Rilo Kiley and others using the the reliable, compact amp for six-string duties."

I can't imagine why this amp isn't loud enough for Josh if it's loud enough for these guyz. Any chance your amp is broken?

[Josh]

nah, it has like a 15w Jensen 15 in it stock. maybe that's it? don't wanna change it though as it sounds lovely. honestly think it's the cab that's not loud enough. amps definitely fine, like no hum, had it grounded and checked out. thing didn't even need a cap change. I'm sure with a different cab it'd be plenty loud, only problem is the speaker cables hard wired in from the cabinet. gotta get that changed at some point so I could experiment. maybe could try like a loud 1 or 2x12 or a 1x15 for shows

however the amps old and it does feel rather flimsy. I'm a little scared to take it to play out since its so old. taking it to a gig next week and crossing my fingers.
but it just doesn't cut through bass and drums on its own. band does play loud and when we play a bit quieter it kinda helps, but still not much. it'd be great playing rhythm, but for lead guitar even a booster doesn't help. the volume maxes around halfway after that it just breaks up, which sounds awesome. that's why I was wondering about deluxes since they have about the same wattage.

[Josh]

I think the 1483s are 25w a channel too, piggyback style like the fenders. thrashy garage tones and all tube on the cheap. but it seems like the deluxes are where it's at. so many choices though, tried the twin, but I'm a lil eh about how clean it is, would like that in case I would wanna use some pedals. would have to hear a deluxe at practice, have heard nothing but good things about them.

[finboy]

I love my brownface princeton, my princeton reverb is nice but could use more headroom and deeper trem.

I would love an old deluxe reverb or vibrolux

[taylornutt]

I have wanted to try out a Vibrolux

[moogmusic]

Not to be all boring and modern but I really like the Hot Rod Deluxe and the Blues Jnr, really enjoyed messing about with these.

[johnnyseven]

I had a Hot Rod Deluxe with a Vintage 30 speaker and I thought it sounded great, I sold it for an Orange - which was a big mistake.

[moogmusic]

I had a Hot Rod Deluxe with a Vintage 30 speaker and I thought it sounded great, I sold it for an Orange - which was a big mistake.

Agreed, Orange suck (oooh, controversial)

[gusman2x]

Love my 78 vibrolux. Generally have the volume about 4, and play it through the trem/verb channel. Lots of clarity, but quite a lot of character too. Up to vol 2 in the house, it's just silk, but in the rehearsal room at 4, it really retains the sparkle, but with an edge. Cuts through like a motherfucker too.

The rehearsal room has a twin, which the othe guitarist uses. For sure it stays clean for a lot longer, and a lot louder, but in comparison to the vibrolux, the twin sounds SS. To be fair though, the other guitarist doesn't EQ, and is generally quite unaware of the concept of tonz.

[stewart]

I can't imagine why this amp isn't loud enough for Josh if it's loud enough for these guyz.

i think it depends on the application. i had to borrow a 20w blackstar amp at a gig when mine was in being fixed and it wasn't loud enough (for me). while i could hear it over the drums there was zero headroom (i need a fair bit of it for my gain stages to work properly) and i had to get loads of it sent back through the monitors. probably sounded fine out front, but i didn't enjoy the show.

[HNB]

I am currently fond of my SF Champ. My BF Showman is pretty close there. I just can't turn that one up like the Champ.

[NickD]

I love my SF Twin, even though it is far to big for what I use it for. The Musicmaster bass amp is great - mine has the original speaker - but I miss not having reverb. I have a Marshall as well, a JTM 60 and it does the Marshall tones well, but is never really clean.