Fender FM 212R

I bought this unit off Musicians Friend for 299.99$ about a month ago.

This is a great amp. It's solid as a rock and looks awsome. Along with the clean channel, which has a 3 Band EQ that sounds great even at high volumes, you have the Drive channel and the more drive channel. The drive really kicks in the distortion for almost any kind of music, and the more drive cahnnel completly floors you. These channels also have a Mid-contour switch that lets you dial in the perfect tone for any knid of music. It also has classic fender spring reverb. And did i mention the volume of this beast? The effects loop is pretty nice too~ so plain and simple IT ROCKS. You can practice and gig with this awsome amp. AND you get a foot switch.

The only thing thats kinda weird and i dont know if its just mine, but when using the footswitch when switching from drive to more drive, the normal channel comes on for like a split second. i dont know, but it could give you problems on stage, but its minor and i wouldn't make that a reason not to buy it.

Its bulit very nicely everything is good except when mine came the POWER indicater light had fallen into the amp. Probably something happened when being shipped. But i got it back in so its all good.

Honestly, if you are looking for a first gigging amp, or any gigging amp, i suggest you buy this beast. I have one, and my friend Nick (The other guitarist in my band) has one, and we love them. So Go out and get one!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Fender Frontman 212 R is a guitar combo amplifier on the low end of the spectrum for Fender amps. In fact, it's one of the cheapest 2 x 12 combo amps that you'll find. This is a solid state amplifier, putting out 100 watts into 4 ohms. It has two 1/4" inputs and other 1/4" connections for a foot switch (which I think is included), and preamp out and power input.

UTILIZATION

The Fender Frontman 212 R has two channels and includes built in distortion and reverb. The first channel is simple, with only knobs for volume, treble, mid, and bass, while the second channel has the same plus a drive parameter. It also has a channel select button (also controllable with the foot switch), a 'more drive' feature, and a mid contour button as well. Lastly, on the far right there's a reverb knob. I've never seen a manual for the Fender Frontman 212 R.

SOUNDS

The sound of the Fender Frontman 212 R is pretty average overall. The clean sound is okay, although very solid state sounding and not warm like tube amp. It will definitely get the job done for practicing and gigging for beginners. However, the distortion on here is pretty much unusable and it's super tinny. The reverb is nice to have but again isn't the best of it's kind. It sounds okay for the price, but will never stand up to most other Fender amplifiers.

OVERALL OPINION

The Fender Frontman 212 R is a good amp for those who are just starting to play guitar but want a semi-decent amp without spending too much. I'd still probably recommend going with something smaller if you're just starting out, but if you insist that you need a bigger amp for gigging and still can't pay more than a few hundred bucks, the Frontman 212 R should suit you. If you're looking for an amp built to last, this isn't it, but it is super cheap and worth checking out for those looking for their first 2x12 amp.

The all black version of the Fender frontman which is only cosmetically different then the silverface once from Fender that you would normally see. Same lame features of terrible sounding solid state tone.

What is this amp....is what I'm thinking when I first glance at it? It looks very deceiving because it looks like a Fender Twin or something but it doesn't have any tube and it's not an amp modeling even though it is priced at that price point. If you see this thing at yard sale beware because you might think you're looking at a Twin Reverb but you come to find out it is some solid state two speaker waste of time.

It has three channels that sound awful besides the clean channel. The clean sounds decent but god lord this amp is terrible!!

UTILIZATION


Effects Loop: Effects Loop (Preamp Out, Power Amp In)
Inputs: Two
Auxiliary Input: 1/4" Footswitch Jack
Channels: Three Selectable Channels (Normal, Drive and More Drive)
Power Handling: 100 Watts into 4 Ohms
Controls: Normal Channel: Volume, Treble, Bass. Drive Channel: Drive, Volume, Channel Select Switch, Treble, Mid, Mid Contour Switch, Bass, Reverb.
Hardware
Cabinet Material: Black textured vinyl covering
Pilot Light Jewel: Red Amp Jewel
Handle: Molded Black Handle
Front Panel: "Blackface"™ Style Control Panel
Amplifier Length: 9.5" (24.13 cm)
Amplifier Width: 26" (66 cm)
Amplifier Height: 19.5" (49.5 cm)
Amplifier Weight: 48 lbs. (21.7 kg)
Effects: Reverb

SOUNDS

NO tonal change between this amp and the terrible sounding silverface edition. This thing is so bad I am actually embarrassed to have listened to it. It sounds horrible with any guitar and and effect pedal you put through it. It takes pedals extremely bad and guitar sound like your playing hasn't improved since you first picked up a dusty acoustic guitar.

This amp...I'm sorry is just garbage. I am not sure what the point is for this amp. I have been trying to wrap my head around why Fender would market this product and I can't come to any conclusion. They have a Mustang series amps that are around the same price point and do amp modeling which sound far more superior if that's possible with an amp modeler to this thing.

OVERALL OPINION

At new they come in at around $300. Which to me is about $200 too much. I didn't give this an unusable rating since it does have a Fender clean tone, but if you want any amount of distortion then throw this thing off a roof and buy a Roland amp modeler or a Line 6. Who would I recommend this to...no one! Don't waste you time getting a Twin Reverb look a like solid state paper weight.