Fender Guitar Amp Heads

The Fender Bandmaster VM is part of Fender's recent line of "Vintage Modified" amplifiers, which take classic sounding amps like the Bandmaster (head and 2x12) and Deluxe (1x12 combo) and add a whole slew of great features including a second channel (overdrive) and onboard effects. The full list of specs is: Model Name: Band-Master® VM Head Series: Vintage Modified Amps Amplifier Type: Hybrid Tube/Solid State Amplifier Effects Loop: Effects Loop With Send & Return Inputs: One Auxiliary Input: 1/4" Footswitch Jack Extension Speaker Jack: External Speaker Jack Channels: Two Selectable Channels (Clean and Drive) Power Handling: 40 Watts Rectifier: Solid State Rectifier Controls: Clean Channel: Volume, Treble, Bass. Drive Channel: Drive Switch, Gain, Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Reverb, Effects Adjust Switch, Time/Rate, Delay, Mix, Chorus, Depth Cabinet Material: 3/4" 7-Ply Birch/Maple Plywood w/ Black Textured Vinyl Covering Pilot Light Jewel: Red Amp Jewel Handle: Molded Black Handle Front Panel: "Blackface"™ Style Control Panel Input Impedance: 1 M Input Impedance Amplifier Length: 10" (25.4 cm) Amplifier Width: 24" (61 cm) Amplifier Height: 10" (25.4 cm) Amplifier Weight: 26 lbs. (11.8 kg) Effects: Reverb, Delay, Chorus Speaker Impedance: 4 or 8 Ohms Preamp Tubes: 2 x 12AX7 Power Tubes: 2 x 6L6 Unique Features: Real Tube Amp Performance Combined with a Complement of Essential Effects, All new DSP Platform, Effects Loop with Send & Return, Two Speaker Output Jacks, Standby Switch, 3/4" Birch/Maple Plywood Cabinet Definitely a cool sounding amp that combines Fender clean with a unique overdrive channel and some nifty built in effects as well. UTILIZATION Dialing in this amp was very simple to do. I first tried it without reading through the manual or knowing how the controls interacted with one another and I was still able to get a very good variety of sounds with both channels. The effects too were very intuitive and easy to dial in as well, which I felt was great for a modelling type amp. The clean channel has a very typical Fender layout of volume, treble and bass controls. The tones are very classic Fender blackface clean to my ears. Sure it isn't the real deal vintage head, but for an $800 recreation, the Fender type clean that I expected was there and enjoyable. The dirty channel was my favourite part of the amp by all means. Historically, blackface Fender amps have been one thing... loud and CLEAN for the most part. However, with their Vintage Modified series Fender has added a great drive channel into the equation. It's very thick and has a nice raunch to it that reminds me of a classic tweed Fender or a Marshall with a good fuzz pedal. It's not a modern metal distortion, but rather more of a vintage toned quasi-fuzz drive, perfect for '60s-70s hard rock tones. I'm not normally an effects guy but the onboard chorus, delay and reverb were great. The chorus goes from classic shimmer to more of an extreme sound reminiscent of a Leslie speaker. The delay has a nice analog quality that still managed to sound clear and cut through even on the dirty channel. The reverb was very nice too. It had that classic dripping Fender vibe, perfect for surf or ambient textures, or perhaps country licks when mixed with the delay. SOUNDS I've tried this amp with various Fender guitars (Strats, Teles, Jazzmasters, etc) as well as some Gibson Les Pauls (2008 Standard and Traditional Plus). The amp's overall vibe to me is classic, but with a bit of extra horsepower hidden inside, like a modified vintage amp. The clean channel is like a blackface Fender amp, but it has a little bit more thickness and punch that makes your guitar sound a little bit bolder and more upfront. Using single coil pickups provided a really great overwound sort of '60s-'70s style clean tone. Think a late '60s Strat or Tele with those slightly hotter pickups of the time into a cranked tube amp and you'll get the idea. Working in conjunction with the onboard effects gives you a bunch of cool textures to add to the tonal palate as well. The dirty channel as stated is like a fuzzed out tube amp turned to the hills. Though it sounds great at all volume levels, this channel really felt and sounded like (in the words of Greg Koch) "an old tweed Deluxe that sounds like it's about to explode." Very thick, very viscous and very cool. Turning up the gain and reverb and turning down the midrange a bit brought it a little more into a classic hard rock territory ala Van Halen, which I thought was really interesting. OVERALL OPINION All in all I feel the Bandmaster VM is a winner as far as a versatile, reasonably priced, medium wattage tube amplifier head. It has the classic Fender clean, a killer classic drive sound, and some really cool effects that, though they're not the same as analog pedals, sound cool and are very convenient to have built right in. At the $800 price point that this amp sells for new, I don't think you can go wrong with this amp, or its 1x12 combo version, the Deluxe Vintage Modified. Definitely check one out!

The Fender Tremolux 62 Blonde is a guitar combo amp when used in tandem with the original speaker cabinet. The amp is a tube based on, consisting of two separate channels and built in tremolo. Each of the two channels has two 1/4 inch inputs and there is a speaker cable 1/4 inch output in the back to hook up the head to the speaker. UTILIZATION Using the Fender Tremolux 62 Blonde isn't hard as everything is pretty straight ahead here. The parameters should be very familiar for those of us who have a lot of experience with Fender amps and beyond. Both the first and second channels have basic parameters for volume, treble, and bass control, and then there are parameters for speed and intensity for the tremolo. That's all that there is to the amp, so a manual certainly isn't needed, regardless of the level of experience you've got. SOUNDS While it has been years since I've recorded with the Fender Tremolux 62 Blonde, at the studio that I used to work at I generally used a Fender Strat and no effects with the amp. I found that I was always able to get one of the cleanest sounds I've heard from a guitar amp, as its great for both rhythm and lead guitar parts. The tremolo effect is the best of its kind that I've ever heard, and I'm not exaggerating! It sounds that good. Even beyond this incredible effect, the amp simply has a great inherent tone that could maybe only be rivaled by another Fender guitar amp... OVERALL OPINION Since using the Fender Tremolux 62 Blonde a number of years ago for a few recording sessions, I haven't had the chance to use another one of these since then. As most people know, it doesn't get much better than the sound of a vintage Fender, and the Tremolux is cream of the crop. I don't have any idea what these would go for if you wanted to buy one, but I would imagine that it wouldn't be the easiest amp to get your hands on. If you're ever in same room with this amp you need to use it or I promise you will be kicking yourself later...

The Fender Band Master is a tube based guitar amplifier that has both a amp head and a very large speaker cabinet. The speaker cabinet consists of four separate speakers and the amp has two channels. The left channel is simpler than the second one as the second one also has controls for vibrato. Each channel has two 1/4 inch inputs and the head has a speaker cable output in the back. I'm not sure the exact wattage on this amp, but this guy can really crank pretty loud. The left channel has parameters for volume, treble, and bass while the right channel has the same parameters as well as knobs for speed and intensity to control the vibrato effect. UTILIZATION Getting a good sound from the Fender Band Master is quite an easy task and this amp has a great inherent tone to begin with. Depending on which channel you are using, the parameters are pretty limited but there is enough there to get a variety of tones for different types of genres. I generally use the right channel as I love using the vibrato effect, but both channels sound great. I haven't seen a manual for the Fender Band Master so I can't say if it would be helpful, but anyone with experience with any sort of amp shouldn't have much trouble getting by without one. SOUNDS I usually use the Fender Band Master for recording with a Fender Stratocaster as nothing can beat the Fender on Fender tone quality. I will sometimes use an overdrive pedal like a Boss DS-1 or a T-Rex Dr. Swamp, but generally like the sound clean from this amp and will use that most of the time. I love the vibrato effect on this amp and it is really one of the best features of this amplifier. No matter what type of music you are playing, the Fender Band Master will probably work great if you are looking for good clean tone quality for your electric guitar. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Fender Band Master for recording on and off for a few years and it is always a pleasure to use. However, I would really recommend it for live shows simply because the speaker cabinet is so big! That's why it is probably best to use the head with another cabinet if you want to use it for shows or just keep it in the studio. The price is reasonable for this amp if you can find one, which isn't always easy as they are somewhat hard to come by. All in all, the Fender Band Master is a great guitar amplifier made by the masters of their craft.

The Fender Super Sonic head pays more than a passing nod to the cult classic Fender Tone Master head from the late '90s. It features two channels (clean and drive) each with its own EQ. The gain channel features cascading drive controls as well for more variety. The amp puts out 60 watts of power and is driven by a pair of 6L6GC power tubes. It's got an effects loop on the back of the amp too. The amp comes in two colours, black and blonde tolex as well. Here's a more complete list of specs: # All-tube design # 60W power # 2 channels (Vintage and Burn) # Dual cascading-gain preamp overdrive # Effects loop with send and return levels # Vintage channel controls: volume, treble, bass, and voicing switch (Vibrolux/Bassman) # Burn channel controls: gain 1, gain 2 bass, mid, treble, volume # Preamp out jack # Power amp in jack # Standby switch # 16, 8, ohm 4 ohm selectable # Tubes: 5x12AX7, 1x12AT7, and 2x6L6GC # Includes 3-button footswitch for channel switch, voicing switch, and effects on/off UTILIZATION Dialing in this amp to sound good is pretty simple for sure. The interface is pretty intuitive and user friendly. The controls react normally and don't have a steep learning curve like certain other higher gain type amps. The clean channel is decidedly Fender in how it responds, and both the Vibrolux and Bassman modes sound like their respective models. The drive channel is very Fender-like in how it responds as well, and that's definitely a good thing in my books. Basically, it's not a difficult amp to dial in by any means, and I particularly like the feel of how the controls react on Fender amps, so this one gets a good rating here. SOUNDS I've tried this amp with various guitars and definitely like the vintage voice it has in general. For a 6L6 loaded Fender amp, it has a surprisingly British sounding character that I really like. It's got a very unique sort of flavour to it for a high gainer that I really dig overall. The clean channel sounds like a marriage of two great Fenders. The Vibrolux mode offers a tighter and skinnier sounding clean tone, and the Bassman mode is fatter and gainer sounding overall. Having the two separate modes is a definite plus for sure, and it gives an added versatility to the amp. The drive channel has a very smooth and refined vibe that reminds me a lot of a driven Fender or Mesa Boogie amp. Very clear and defined with a tempered low end, a present but smooth midrange and subdued highs that still allow for great driven overtones to to come through. Very cool. OVERALL OPINION All in all I think the Fender Supersonic head is a great offering from Fender that has a nice range of tones from clean to high octane. It's not really an amp I'd use for metal or anything too high gain but for rock styles it's got a cool voicing that stands out. They were about $1,200 new when they were out and I believe they're discontinued now, so grab one while you can!

This is the head version of the modeling series Mustang amps that Fender is pushing lately. It has basically the same feature and tone as the combo but just in a head from. I am not really a fan the head amp because of the whole idea of amp modeling. I think they are not used for live play and should be used only for practicing at home. having a head and then having to get a cabinet is too much of a commitment. I believe that the Mustang series is the flagship line for amp modelers that Fender is putting out. They now have several different sizes and wattage. These units are some of the best sounding modelers out on the market and definitely Fender's best efforts in this game. I have never been a fan of amp modeling since I feel they don't sound authentic or feel at all like a real tube amp. This particular model doesn't change my mind but it does sound good for what it is. UTILIZATION Features 150W (2x75W stereo) One channel with 100 presets All-new DSP platform 12 amp models: '57 Deluxe™, '59 Bassman®, '57 Champ®, '65 Deluxe Reverb®, '65 Princeton® Reverb, '65 Twin Reverb®, Super-Sonic™, British '60s, British '70s, British '80s, American '90s, Metal 2000 7 stomp effects: Overdrive, Fixed Wah, Touch Wah, Fuzz, Fuzz Touch Wah, Compressor, Simple Compressor 11 modulation effects: Sine Chorus, Triangle Chorus, Sine Flanger, Triangle Flanger, Vibratone, Vintage Tremolo, Sine Tremolo, Ring Modulator, Step Filter, Phaser, Pitch Shifter 9 delay effects: Mono Delay, Mono Echo Filter, Stereo Echo Filter, Multitap Delay, Ping Pong Delay, Ducking Delay, Reverse Delay, Tape Delay, Stereo Tape Delay 10 Reverb Effects: Small Hall, Large Hall, Small Room, Large Room, Small Plate, Large Plate, Ambient, Arena, Fender '63 Spring Reverb, Fender '65 Spring Reverb Stereo series FX loop Chromatic tuner 1/8" aux input 1/8" headphone jack (doubles as a speaker-emulated line out) USB port Black textured carbon tweed vinyl covering with silver grille cloth Includes 4-button footswitch Includes Fender Fuse software for on-screen parameter control, deep editing, unlimited preset storage, online patch swapping, and easy firmware upgrades Includes Ableton Live Lite Fender Edition and AmpliTube Fender LE Edition software SOUNDS A great feature with these amps is not only the ability to have amp modelers, but also the stompbox models as well. This gives you a real feel for tossing a overdrive pedal in front of a Fender style amps.These amps sound particularly good with Fender guitars. I like hearing this amp with a Fender Stratocaster or a Charvel. I like hearing the low to medium bodied woods with these particular amps. Another great features in running your speaker simulated output direct into a recording device or house PA system. I think the amp sounds the best when in this situation. Running the direct out into the mixer sounds best in my opinion. OVERALL OPINION This amp is super loud. Coming in at 150 watts this little combo will knock you on your butt. This is also a more expensive unit for the amp modelers. At new these units come in at around $299. sort of on the high side for these types of amps. I would recommend this amp for someone who needs a head to go with an existing cab. I would not buy this head first. Then you would be more likely to get the matching cab which is ridiculous as well.

This is the same amp as the combo version but just in a head version. You get the same features and tone but just the ability to use it with other cabinets. This is a bit different then the regular super sonic amps. This one has a some extra features such as a biasing control deck on the back of the amp for self biasing. Nice feature to have. Along with the extra speaker included and a big bump in wattage up to 100 watts of power. You will pay a huge chunk of change to get this amp over the regular SS. The price of this one doubles. This is one of the very best modern amplifiers that Fender has put out. This is more of a high gain amp for Fender but still keeping the vintage clean tones they are so famous for having. The amp have quite a bit of features compared to some of their more vintage styled amps. This one has a fat boost switch and also a reverb to add a bit of depth to the tone. I would call this a vintage modern amp for Fender. Fender Super-Sonic 100 Head Features: Series: Pro Tube Amplifier Type: Tube Preamp Tubes: 7 x 12AX7 Power Tubes: 4 x 6L6 Reverb Driver: 2 x 12AT7 Rectifier: Solid State Vintage Channel Controls: Gain, Treble, Bass, Mid, Volume, Twin Reverb/Bassman Switch Burn Channel Controls: Gain 1, Gain 2, Treble, Bass, Mid, Notch Tune, Volume, Reverb, Send Level, Return Level, Damping Line Out: PreAmp Out / Power Amp In Extension Speaker jack: 2 Cabinet Material: Baltic Birch Plywood Cabinet Unique Features: Notch Tune Control, Damping Control, Automatic Bias Control, Arena/Club Switch Footswitch: 4-Button Footswitch Included Cover: Amplifier Cover included UTILIZATION Details Type Tube Number of Channels 2 Power 100W No Effects Reverb EQ Bass/Mid/Treble per channel Amp Modeling No Number of Tubes 13 Preamp Tubes 7 x 12AX7 Power Tubes 4 x 6L6 Inputs 1 x Instrument Outputs 1 x 1/4" preamp output, 2 x TS speaker output Footswitch I/O Effects Loop Height 10.5" Width 26.25" Depth 10.53" Weight 53 lbs SOUNDS I like this amp with all kinds of guitars, but mostly I like it with a Fender Stratocaster or a Charvel San Dimas or Socal. I like the light to medium tone of the ash and alder body woods. This compliments the nature of the amp quite well. The clean is very Fender sparkly and jangly. Then you go to channel two and having two gains is almost heaven. This is something you see on several boutique amplifiers. Suhr amps like the PT100 has a similar thing but theirs acts like another channel. This one just gives you deeper and juicy gain distortion. OVERALL OPINION If you need a god clean tone and a hot rod gainy distortion channel then this is your amp. The clean is remarkable and the gain has so much variation with the dual gains that is makes this amp a lot of fun to play. At new these amps come in at around $1799. This is a little pricey for the upgrade head version of the SS. I would recommend playing before blind buying Having two channels and both are exceptional is a big bonus. I would recommend anyone to go and try this amp if you get the chance. You may or may not like the voicing but it is a solid amplifier.

The Fender ToneMaster is a somewhat rare guitar amplifier head. The amp is tube based and has two separate channels, but only a single 1/4 inch input in the front and a speaker out in the back to send this to a cabinet. The amp has the ability to be used at a few different levels of wattage, up to 100 watts. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Fender ToneMaster isn't anything out of the ordinary. The first channel has parameters for volume, bass, mid, and treble, while the second channel, which is switched on with the A/B, has parameters for gain, treble, mid, bass, and volume as well as a boost switch that is labeled "FAT." Getting a good sound isn't hard at all, especially when tagged up with a Fender guitar like a Strat or Jazzmaster. Those with any amount of experience with electric guitars and amps will be able to figure out how to use this without the assistance of the manual. SOUNDS The Fender ToneMaster is a great amp for recording, which is the only application that I've used the amp for. I've used the amp with a variety of guitars and find that Fender ones do the trick best, but sounds great no matter what type of guitar you are using with it. This amp can really crank loud, and doing so will give you a nice overdrive sound, while at lower volumes it has a pristine sounding clean setting. In a sentence, the ToneMaster definitely has the classic Fender amp sound... OVERALL OPINION While I don't see too many of these amps around, the times that I've used the Fender ToneMaster during recording sessions I've been blown away by the superb sound quality. I have only used it with a Fender cabinet that matched and I found that I could get some really great sounding tones for both rhythm and lead guitar, but is probably best if you want some really fat sounding chords. I'm not sure on what kind of price this amp goes for but would imagine that it isn't cheap considering it is a great sounding Fender amp. Although the head/cabinet combination is rather large to bring to shows (depending on the cab), this is perfect mainstay amp for any recording studio.

Ive never seen a fender like this before. Its was made in the 80s by fender japan and has a pointed headstock and a angular body. But the sound and feel was pure jazz bass! I purchased it from some poor guy a couple of weeks before christmas. His truck was broke and he needeed the money. 500.00 for both the 4 string bass and a 100 watt peavy combo. It wasnt the fender that i wanted but the price was right! The neck is killer! it is a 24 fret rosewood fretboard that feels like a long thin jazz neck. The tone is also a lot like a jazz bass, the fit and finish is good, That one is easy......the looks are horrible! It looks like a prop from a bad sci fi flick! And the pickups are a odd shape so as to make a pickup swap hard. The body I think is basswood and the neck is a bolt on maple with a rosewood fretboard. the neck joints are real tight. a good solid fender bass, except the hardshell case sucks. THe bridge seems a little cheesy but the tuners seem to stay in tune ;a pretty solid bass. A solid great sounding bass!Also ,it would seem, very rare and suprisingly playable. I was gonna sell it to buy a p bass but i think i will keep it as my "jazz bass" This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I had bought 2 Mesa Boogie amps & a new Fender Pro tube reverb amp this year and was never satisfied with either of them. Then I stumble accross this Fender Prosonic amp that was in like new condition. I traded my new f-series mesa in on it at a even swap. They had a tag of $899 on it. I like the switchable a, ab, ss rectifier. This gives a power rating of either 30, 45, or 60 watts RMS. In the class A setting it has an outstanding sound like the old original tweed rectifier amps. The tone controls work in a unique way in that you can turn the master control all the way up and with the tone controls set very low you can play bedroom quiet with natural power tube distortion. It has about the best clean channel I have ever heard for my taste and playing style which is bascically blues and rock. You can really go over the top with the double cascading gain channel which retains much of the clean channel sound only on steriods. I have finally got the sound I had been missing from those old sixties amps I use love. Great reverb sound also. The only thing i don't like mainly is Fender stopped making them for some dumb reason. Some might would like separate tone controls for the lead channel but they work so well as is I don't mind. The construction and quality of the amp is high quality. I is the best amp I have owned in many a year and I have had quite a few different amps. It is clear and articulate and smoothe and creamy sounding. Notes really leap off with ease. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought it from a friend and got a steal on it for 100 Swiss Francs (about 60 bucks). They had a friend who was moving and gave it to them to sell. It is a pre-CBS silverface but I'm not quite sure of the year. I love this amp!!! It has the best sound of any amplifier I've ever heard!! Its only 22 watts but it gets really loud. The overdrive is so sweet I can't get enough of it. I guess that is due partly to the rectifier tube. Its much better to play it with a humbucker, because the amps natural distortion responds well to higher output pickups. I like this amp much better than the Twin, because you don't need to crank it as much to overdrive it. And the reverb!!!!! It is the best reverb ever. Just like the Twin but in a smaller package The one frustration I have is the Tremelo, I'm not sure if it has always been like this, but when the effect is plugged in, there is a distinct crackling noise, even when the volume of the amp is low. When the effect unit is not plugged in, there is no problem. Well, I guess its been around for thirty years or so and it still works and sounds beautifully. There is a problem with the tremelo (read above) but I don't know if that was original or if someone kicked the tremelo unit somewhere along the way. I would reccommend this amp to anyone. It probably wouldn't be great for someone in a really loud band, but otherwise its awesome. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

This amp by no means is meant for going outside of the house. You tuck this thing away and never let anyone hear it or see it. It is designed to be a practice amp, but the tone from it is really horrible. I am don't care to listen to it at all because the tone is just lousy. The clean of course sounds good. If Fender the kings of clean tone didn't make it sound good on the clean then thy would have a big problem. UTILIZATION Features: • Type Solid State • Output 100 watts into 4 ohms • Ohms 4 ohms • Channels Three Selectable Channels (Normal, Drive and More Drive) • More Dedicated Volume and Tone Controls in Both Channels, Effects Loop, Single 4 Ohm Speaker Output Jack, Footswitch Jack (For Remote Drive Select with Optional Footswitch), IEC Grounding Type Power Supply Cord • Controls Normal Channel: Volume, Treble, Bass Drive Channel: Drive, Volume Channel Select Switch, Treble, Mid, Mid Contour Switch, Bass,Reverb, Footswitch Jack Effects Loop: Preamp Out,Power Amp In, • Covering Black Textured Vinyl with Black Grille Cloth • Weight 27 lbs. (12.2 kg) • Dimensions Height: 9.5" (24 cm), Width: 26" (66 cm), Depth: 9.5" (24.13 cm) SOUNDS Not a hard amp to get used to. It doesn't have that many control knobs to get in the way. The thing has two channels and in my opinion it should have some amp modeling or something else to go along with this thing. To me the clean are fantastic but the dirty channel is really thin brittle and everything a solid state amp sounds like. It has no character or soul in the tone and you ave to fight the thing to make a decent sound out of it. Doesn't really matter what guitar you use with it because it is a big disappointment. For the cleans they accept a Fender Strat or Tele best. For the dirty channel any less than a humbucker style guitar will just sound like trash. OVERALL OPINION Even though the price is very low the sound from this thing just doesn't make you want to play the guitar for hours. And that is the biggest factor in buying and amp....does it make you want to get better as a player....the answer for this amp is simply...no. I don't want to hear this thing and I don't want to look at it. I do not recommend this amp to anyone. If you want something that sounds good good with the Peavey Viper or the Roland Cube. At new these units come in at around $240.

The Fender Roc Pro 1000 has a solid-state power amplifier with a tube pre-amp through a 12AX7. It delivers 100 watts of solid-state power at 4 ohms. The Clean section is only solid-state, whereas the "Tube Drive" section delivers exactly what it says - tube like tone out of a hybrid head amplifier. There are two channels within the Tube Drive section, and one clean channel. There are standard tone knobs (Bass, Mid, Treble) for the Clean and Tube sections, but although there are two different gains for the Tube sections, there is only one set of tone controls. There is a mid-shift tone option for the Clean channel. All connections are through standard 1/4" jacks and cables. A footswitch can toggle between multiple channels. The amp has a spring reverb, and there is also an effects loop with adjustable levels. There are multiple speaker outs that provide 4 or 8 ohm connections. There is a line out from the rear of the amp. UTILIZATION It's pretty easy to dial up a good sound - just fool with the gain, drive select, and tone controls. I read through the manual once, it has some suggest amp settings that can be useful starts, but for the most part the amp is pretty intuitive and won't require reading it. SOUNDS Some great sounding tones can be delivered out of this amp, but it comes with one caveat: The amplifier can't go very loud before it starts to feedback. This is probably due to the fact that a lot of cabinets are at 8 ohms, which means that the full 100 watts can't be delivered to the speakers as the amp is meant to produce 100 watts at 4 ohms. The clean is excellent on this amp - it's the type of beautiful, shimmering Fender clean one has come to expect from even Fender solid state amps. The tube gain channels are both good and fairly distinct from each other. OVERALL OPINION I can't get past the fact that the amp doesn't deliver enough gain without feeding back. This problem is exacerbated when combined with overdrive or distortion pedals. As a result of this, the amplifier couldn't produce enough gain to meet my heavy metal needs, although it would be an excellent budget amp for someone who plays blues or classic rock material.