t0aj15 Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 My new Fender Super Sonic 100 head came yesterday and even though it took so long the wait WAS definitely worth it. It is indeed everything Fender claims, an awesome Showman/Bassman amp combined with a world class dirt channel as good as any I've heard. With all the extra features (too many to list here) built into this amp this is easily the most versatile all tube amp I've ever seen. And speaking of tubes there's 13 glowing bottles in this amp. Even though I've only had one evening to work with it I can already foresee many of my other amps going on the chopping block as they just won't be getting much use from here on in. A favorite feature so far is the 100/25 watt selector switch which allows me to use one of my favorite cabs, a 2-12" open back cab loaded with Celestion Alnico Blues. Both Blues together only have a power rating of 30 watts so the 25 watt mode of the SS is perfect for that cab and since the 2-12" cab has Fender grill on the front it's a perfect match for the head. When it comes time to peel paint and crack plaster a simple cab change and a flip of the Arena/Club switch turns it into a real trouser flapping monster, easily as loud as my Mesa/Boogie Mk IV. Of course the most important thing in any amp is tone, and this IS the real deal. The only apprehension I had after ordering was all the noise complaints I started to read, well the salesman told me the reason for the long wait was the fact that Fender was making "production changes" to the amp and this may have been what they were addressing. This amp is every bit as quiet as any amp I've got, so if noise was an issue before it's certainly not now. I also really like the fact that there are two efx loops one series (straight send & return jacks) and one parallel (with level matching pots for the send & return) allowing for either line level efx or instrument level pedals to be used in the loop while not interfering with the original tone. The features go on & on perhaps I'll just give a link the Sweetwater page which gives a full feature list. All in all I think I may've just bought my last amp. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SSHDBlk/
H Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Nice score and good to see someone totally into their new piece of gear. Clips?
DetroitBlues Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Nice score! I have a nice SS60, but the "white noise" does bug me sometimes... When I'm playing, I don't care, but when I'm in between songs, its a little annoying.
t0aj15 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Posted June 21, 2013 I love that tele! I bought one of those new in 1973, still have it to.
DetroitBlues Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 I bought one of those new in 1973, still have it to. I wasn't even born yet... lol
tbonesullivan Posted June 21, 2013 Posted June 21, 2013 Hmm. Is the clean really as good as other Fender cleans? The challenge has always been finding an amp with a great clean but also a great overdrive channel where you didn't have to put yourself into debt to do so.
t0aj15 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Posted June 21, 2013 Hmm. Is the clean really as good as other Fender cleans? The challenge has always been finding an amp with a great clean but also a great overdrive channel where you didn't have to put yourself into debt to do so. In a word...YES. The Showman(Twin) & the Bassman channel are simply stunning in their tone as well as their power. I've quite simply never heard a tube amp get this loud WITHOUT breakup. So I would say yes as good or better.
Steiner Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 I had one of the first SS built. The cleans are real and the high gain commanded respect. At the time, I wanted to keep two separate amps for clean and dirty. One of those amps I really miss. The SS 100 sounds like I should seriously reconsider another amp. Congrats on the NAD t0aj15! Go NADs!
t0aj15 Posted June 22, 2013 Author Posted June 22, 2013 Congrats on the NAD t0aj15! Go NADs! Thanks.........second night in and it just keeps getting better and better.
tsp17 Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 i really like the cleans on the SS. considered buying one many times. congratulations. Glad you like it.
bolero Posted June 22, 2013 Posted June 22, 2013 that's a great looking amp!! congratulations! I like the "club/arena" switch how does the notch tune & damping work?
t0aj15 Posted June 23, 2013 Author Posted June 23, 2013 that's a great looking amp!! congratulations! I like the "club/arena" switch how does the notch tune & damping work? Thanks, I'm liking it more everyday. The notch tune & damping both work great. These are not meaningless features, they do work exactly as Fender claims. Last night I was able to dial in the greatest tweed blues tone I've ever had with any amp by switching to the Club setting, Bassman voice, switching the damping control to loose, and setting the bias to hot. It was pure sonic bliss that I played the entire night. The notch tune on the other hand is basically a parametric control for the midrange that along with the two gain controls allows a huge range of dirt tones ranging from mild crunch all the way through Marshall-lead tones and on into Mesa/Boogie type high gain (even though I'm not a big fan of heavy metal). I've only had it for three days now and I am convinced this is the best amp I've ever had. It's kind of strange that what I really looked forward to while waiting for this amp was the world famous Fender Twin Reverb cleans which it most definitely has, but I haven't used much yet because I'm having so much fun with all the other stuff. I also haven't had time yet to try any of the other 8 or 10 guitars I want to plug in because my Carvin HH2 (Holdsworth Headless) sounds too good to put down. I also haven't taken time to use any of the many, many efx pedals or rack units I have with it either because I'm having so much fun without them. This ones definitely a keeper.
koula901 Posted June 23, 2013 Posted June 23, 2013 t0aj15 I can under stand the joy, with a new toy, and the great tones you can get. But someone like me looks at that and says OMG, too much amp: what would one any one want with a 100 watt amp and a 4 x 12 speaker? You could probably blow the doors off of Shea Stadium with that. First of all, there's all that weight to carry. Do you gig with it? Or just play it on a farm, where you can turn it up to 4 and send all the birds back to Florida? Honestly, I don't mean no disrespect, or to rain on your parade. But, what DOES one do with so much power and so much weight? Are you that able that you can carry it around? Nothing wrong with owning what you love, if it works for you, fine. I just know for me, it would be too much amp. Somthing like that, cut in third, I could see. 'Splain, Lucy.
t0aj15 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Posted June 24, 2013 t0aj15 I can under stand the joy, with a new toy, and the great tones you can get. But someone like me looks at that and says OMG, too much amp: what would one any one want with a 100 watt amp and a 4 x 12 speaker? You could probably blow the doors off of Shea Stadium with that. First of all, there's all that weight to carry. Do you gig with it? Or just play it on a farm, where you can turn it up to 4 and send all the birds back to Florida? Honestly, I don't mean no disrespect, or to rain on your parade. But, what DOES one do with so much power and so much weight? Are you that able that you can carry it around? Nothing wrong with owning what you love, if it works for you, fine. I just know for me, it would be too much amp. Somthing like that, cut in third, I could see. 'Splain, Lucy. First of all after 45+ years of playing guitar "the joy of new gear" has long ago come and gone. Second as for the "too much amp" it may very well be for you, but you must consider that not everyone is in your place. Next, I never said I was using a 4x12... I'm not. I have a selection of cabs that range from 1-12".. to 2-12".. to 4-10"..to 1-15....etc...etc...etc. If you would have read the entire thread you would have understood that all my posts about this amp so far are about using this amp in the 25 watt mode into a pair of 15 watt Celestion Alnico Blue speakers, which are only rated at 15 watts each. It ain't all about 100 watt super-amps, I know that, and my review of this amp has nothing what-so-ever to do with a stupidly loud 100 watt amp. What it has to do with is an incredible melding of old tube technology meets new high technology, and in the end it sounds AWESOME. All my posts are about the features this amp has, unlike any others I've ever seen. If you want to throw in in the fact that yes it it fully capable of producing a STUNNING 100 watts then yes we can go there, but if you take the time to peel back the layers and at listen to what folks have to say you may find......IT AIN'T ALL ABOUT 100 watt-4-12 volume. It's about incredible CLASSIC tone.
Steiner Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 Yet you STILL have the opportunity to make the walls bleed; if you so desire... It's a good life!
t0aj15 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Posted June 24, 2013 Yet you STILL have the opportunity to make the walls bleed; if you so desire... It's a good life! Yah, well there's that too.
bolero Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 I finally listed to that demo clip, seems like a very versatile amp!! I wonder what it looks like under the hood...and how they married old & new technology
koula901 Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 First of all after 45+ years of playing guitar "the joy of new gear" has long ago come and gone. Second as for the "too much amp" it may very well be for you, but you must consider that not everyone is in your place. Next, I never said I was using a 4x12... I'm not. I have a selection of cabs that range from 1-12".. to 2-12".. to 4-10"..to 1-15....etc...etc...etc. If you would have read the entire thread you would have understood that all my posts about this amp so far are about using this amp in the 25 watt mode into a pair of 15 watt Celestion Alnico Blue speakers, which are only rated at 15 watts each. It ain't all about 100 watt super-amps, I know that, and my review of this amp has nothing what-so-ever to do with a stupidly loud 100 watt amp. What it has to do with is an incredible melding of old tube technology meets new high technology, and in the end it sounds AWESOME. All my posts are about the features this amp has, unlike any others I've ever seen. If you want to throw in in the fact that yes it it fully capable of producing a STUNNING 100 watts then yes we can go there, but if you take the time to peel back the layers and at listen to what folks have to say you may find......IT AIN'T ALL ABOUT 100 watt-4-12 volume. It's about incredible CLASSIC tone. Sorry, didn't mean to get u defensive. I DID read the entire thread, and if you do, you'll see that you only mentioned the 2X12. IMHO, clear communication doesn't necessitate the peeling back of layers, I'm not a mind reader. All I'm saying, is I don't understand what's useful about 100 watts anymore, and the heaviness of having to move it, and of course, that's from my perspective only. Will you gig with it? I do get, and understand, and appreciate the usefulness of capturing the tone of good fender amps, with the new technology. I do find that part intriguing.
H Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 First of all after 45+ years of playing guitar "the joy of new gear" has long ago come and gone. I've got to disagree with you here; despite what you wrote, it's clear that you LOVE this new amp
t0aj15 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Posted June 24, 2013 Sorry, didn't mean to get u defensive. All I'm saying, is I don't understand what's useful about 100 watts anymore, and the heaviness of having to move it, and of course, that's from my perspective only. Will you gig with it? I do get, and understand, and appreciate the usefulness of capturing the tone of good fender amps, with the new technology. I do find that part intriguing. Not to worry, if I sounded defensive I didn't mean to. As to the 100 watts, just cause you got em doesn't mean you have to use them all. In fact most of my time with this amp so far has been using the Club (25 watt) setting and not the Arena (100 watt) setting. When it comes to hauling it around it's no different than the three or four rigs that preceded this one, they were all head/cab combinations as well. I just generally prefer that type of setup over combos.
t0aj15 Posted June 24, 2013 Author Posted June 24, 2013 I've got to disagree with you here; despite what you wrote, it's clear that you LOVE this new amp That obvious eh? Well you got me there.
Guest HRB853370 Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 Sorry, didn't mean to get u defensive. I DID read the entire thread, and if you do, you'll see that you only mentioned the 2X12. IMHO, clear communication doesn't necessitate the peeling back of layers, I'm not a mind reader. All I'm saying, is I don't understand what's useful about 100 watts anymore, and the heaviness of having to move it, and of course, that's from my perspective only. Will you gig with it? I do get, and understand, and appreciate the usefulness of capturing the tone of good fender amps, with the new technology. I do find that part intriguing. I think we need a wall of Supersonic 100's in the barn this year!!!
Guest HRB853370 Posted June 24, 2013 Posted June 24, 2013 Are these heads made in Corona CA? I was just curious. Now you got me interested in that head and the Fender 4x12 cab. I need to be able to annoy my neighbors.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.