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Post subject: A stripped-down version of the SuperSonic
Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:44 pm
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I don't know if anyone has brought this up before, and if so, just direct me to the right thread. I've got a SuperSonic, which I'm satisfied with. But I don't use the overdrive section at all. I didn't plan to use it when I bought the amp simply because I don't like that high gain sound. The other half of the amp, however, is brilliant for a blues player such as myself. I use both the Vibrosonic and Bassman channels and love them! Does anybody besides me think that a stripped-down version of the SuperSonic without the burn channel would be marketable?

Mike Rodrigues
Portland, Oregon


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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 1:21 pm
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Hi there - Just like you, I found that the Burn channel was too much for me for the basic blues/rock that I am into. I have changed the pre-amp tube in position V3 (used exclusivelly for the Burn channel) for a lower gain tube Jan Phillips 5751 to tame down the gain. Now with Gain 1 on 3 and Gain 2 on 5-7, I get a real vintage tube crunch tone a la Keith Richards, which is also excellent for blues. The JAN 5751 in V3 is highly recommended if you want to tame down that super-sonic beast. You could also put one in V1, which is used for the input gain stage, to tame down the super-sonic even further.


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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:27 am
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You can try other preamp tubes in V3 as well, such as 12AT7 or even a 12AY7, which will cut the gain factor in half, if you really want to tame it down.


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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:45 am
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Mike, I'm like you. I don't need the bells and whistles. The Super Sonic is a great sounding amp. I'd buy the straight side by itself in a heartbeat.


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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:52 am
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To answer your question, I understand what you are saying, but the whole point of the Supersonic is that it is a modern, foot switchable, two channel amp with a clean channel and a "lead" channel. If the burn channel is too much, you can easily change the characteristics of it to your taste by using lower gain preamp tubes.

The nice thing about the Burn channel is the independent three band EQ, so you have lots of tonal flexibility there. Unlike the Hot rod series where the Drive channel shares the same EQ as the clean, which does not work well at all, IMHO.


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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:03 am
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I understand your point completely. It just seems like all the newer amps are coming out with gain channels. Something new and different besides the same old Reissues without the gain channel would be nice. Something built more on a professional level that you don't need to take a loan or crank out your credit card for would be the ultimate.

I changed the preamp and power tubes in my HRDlx, but I still can't bring myself to use the gain channels. They're just awful. But the clean channel has decent natural breakup.


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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:44 am
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I agree they are too expensive, the only reason I got mine was that I sold my Twin Reverb RI, so had the cash and just happened upon a good deal for a used SS, and I loved it. I was like, wow, Fender finally made an amp with channel switching and got it right! (Separate EQ section is the key)

Otherwise, I probably would have ended up buying a Deluxe.


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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:10 am
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I love real 2 channel amps. That's what I grew up with. Two separate channels with separate EQ. They call my HRDlx a three channel amp which is totally untrue. I usually run it around 8 or 9 on the volume and control it at the guitar and leave the drive channels alone just because of the EQ issue. I still have my 76 Twin but it's just too loud and heavy for the smaller places I play now. I like the DR, but it's so familiar. Not really new or different to me. That's what intrigued me with the Super Sonic. I just didn't like the burn channel very much. I hate paying for stuff I won't use.


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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 7:20 pm
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TweedDogSteve said

>Hi there - Just like you, I found that the Burn channel was too much for me >for the basic blues/rock that I am into. I have changed the pre-amp tube in >position V3 (used exclusivelly for the Burn channel) for a lower gain tube >Jan Phillips 5751 to tame down the gain. Now with Gain 1 on 3 and Gain 2 >on 5-7, I get a real vintage tube crunch tone a la Keith Richards, which is >also excellent for blues. The JAN 5751 in V3 is highly recommended if you >want to tame down that super-sonic beast. You could also put one in V1, >which is used for the input gain stage, to tame down the super-sonic even >further.

I just got the Phillips 5751 and tried it out. Big improvement. The burn side on your settings with my Strat with Fralins now has a very usable edge. You're also right that it sounds like Keith Richards. I'm finding myself getting locked into long riffing spells with this new little addition to my arsenal. Thank you Steve. Gotta love the internet.........Mike


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