It is currently Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:30 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 
Author Message
Post subject: Fender Frontman 212r vs FM212r?
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:08 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:07 pm
Posts: 3
whats the difference? I've been saving up for a Frontman 212r and I found on craigslist an FM212r... it looks difference but is there a difference in tone and quality?


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Fender Frontman 212r vs FM212r?
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:34 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:23 pm
Posts: 95
Location: Wildomar, Ca (So. Cal.)
Electrically they both have the same wiring. The schematics are the same for the two. What I found to be the difference between the two is the components used. On the Frontman series the pots are soldered to the PC board and there is a nut holding them to the face plate. Somewhat sturdy. On the FM series the pots do not have this nut. They just float there and the solder joint is all that keeps them in place. If it were me and I had a choice I'd go for the Frontman series. I have a Frontman 212R as well as a number of other Frontman amps. All have the nuts and I also have a few FM amps. All of these lack the nuts. One item that is weak on all of them is the input jacks. These tend to break at the PC board and need to be bridged and soldered into place. I always run my cords through the handle then into the amp. Have not had any problems with this arrangement. I even use this proceedure on the higher dollar Fender amps that I have. Not taking any chances. A good friend of mine use to be the head of amp production for Fender and suggested this to me some time ago.

_________________
South Paw hobbiest. Telecaster and Strats plus other brands of guitars. And 11 Fender amps. And 4 other brand amps. Latest toy is a Mitchell ukulele. A fun little guy to play.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Frontman 212r vs FM212r?
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 5:37 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:07 pm
Posts: 3
bob_amos wrote:
Electrically they both have the same wiring. The schematics are the same for the two. What I found to be the difference between the two is the components used. On the Frontman series the pots are soldered to the PC board and there is a nut holding them to the face plate. Somewhat sturdy. On the FM series the pots do not have this nut. They just float there and the solder joint is all that keeps them in place. If it were me and I had a choice I'd go for the Frontman series. I have a Frontman 212R as well as a number of other Frontman amps. All have the nuts and I also have a few FM amps. All of these lack the nuts. One item that is weak on all of them is the input jacks. These tend to break at the PC board and need to be bridged and soldered into place. I always run my cords through the handle then into the amp. Have not had any problems with this arrangement. I even use this proceedure on the higher dollar Fender amps that I have. Not taking any chances. A good friend of mine use to be the head of amp production for Fender and suggested this to me some time ago.


so there is no difference with sound quality?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Frontman 212r vs FM212r?
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:06 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 6:31 am
Posts: 9
time2headbang wrote:
bob_amos wrote:
Electrically they both have the same wiring. The schematics are the same for the two. What I found to be the difference between the two is the components used. On the Frontman series the pots are soldered to the PC board and there is a nut holding them to the face plate. Somewhat sturdy. On the FM series the pots do not have this nut. They just float there and the solder joint is all that keeps them in place. If it were me and I had a choice I'd go for the Frontman series. I have a Frontman 212R as well as a number of other Frontman amps. All have the nuts and I also have a few FM amps. All of these lack the nuts. One item that is weak on all of them is the input jacks. These tend to break at the PC board and need to be bridged and soldered into place. I always run my cords through the handle then into the amp. Have not had any problems with this arrangement. I even use this proceedure on the higher dollar Fender amps that I have. Not taking any chances. A good friend of mine use to be the head of amp production for Fender and suggested this to me some time ago.


so there is no difference with sound quality?


I do not use solid state amps anymore, but when I used them, I had the Frontman. The other one has effects that don't sound good in my opinion of course. I don't like distorsions in amps, so that's why I use a tubescreamer for instance. I would save some bucks inn the effects and take the frontman. But I have no idea what kind of player you are, so I could be wrong.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Frontman 212r vs FM212r?
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:19 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist
User avatar

Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:23 pm
Posts: 95
Location: Wildomar, Ca (So. Cal.)
I would imagine that the only difference would be what is normally expected in a production run. All my FM amp sound about the same as my Frontman amps. I also have some with DSP and the effects can be fun But for real effect tone and quality I prefer pedals.

If you have a choice between the two. By all means take the Frontman. Not only is the quality better, but they have that "Fender Look".

_________________
South Paw hobbiest. Telecaster and Strats plus other brands of guitars. And 11 Fender amps. And 4 other brand amps. Latest toy is a Mitchell ukulele. A fun little guy to play.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Frontman 212r vs FM212r?
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:27 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:37 pm
Posts: 8708
Location: Natural Bridge, Virginia
time2headbang wrote:
whats the difference? I've been saving up for a Frontman 212r and I found on craigslist an FM212r... it looks difference but is there a difference in tone and quality?


Do a search here on the Frontman 212R. There have been a number of threads regarding the quality and poor sound of the amp. I have a Frontman 25R which seems to be better liked (I also have a tube Blues Deluxe Reissue as my #1 amp).

_________________
Bill

Image


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Fender Frontman 212r vs FM212r?
Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 10:53 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:07 pm
Posts: 3
bluesky636 wrote:
time2headbang wrote:
whats the difference? I've been saving up for a Frontman 212r and I found on craigslist an FM212r... it looks difference but is there a difference in tone and quality?


Do a search here on the Frontman 212R. There have been a number of threads regarding the quality and poor sound of the amp. I have a Frontman 25R which seems to be better liked (I also have a tube Blues Deluxe Reissue as my #1 amp).


Thanks Bill. I have also seen good reviews. I play experimental rock and some reviews have shown that the amp distortion works really well with the right settings and is nice and loud.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: