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Post subject: Super Sonic Amp Reliability Issues?
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 11:12 am
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I am interested in adding a Super Sonic to the arsenal, but I read several bad reviews about their reliability on Harmony Central.

To be fair, however, it seems that there is a lot of Fender amp bashing going on out there, even on this forum...people seem to think that the quality has gone all to Hades. I haven't found this to be true, although my main amp is from the early 1990s. Several of my friends play newer Fender amps (both tube and solid-state), and they don't seem to have the problems other people are having.

Also I have noticed that lately Harmony Central seems to have been infected with people who will post angry, vulgar complaints, but with little or no explanation. Also, there seems to be only outrageously high praise ("I am happy now for the first time in my life, I lost weight and my hair is shinier now that I have my new pedal!") or the most ridiculous angry, cynical diss ("I now have reason to believe that Company X is the spawn of Beelzebub himself, because I was disappointed in the color of the tolex on this amp and they didn't respond to my poorly worded, misspelled email that I sent to the wrong address."). Previously Harmony Central was a pretty good source of info and forthright opinions, but I even read up on some of the products I personally own or I had read reviews of previously, and something in the overall tone of the reviews has changed...all negativity, no objectivity. :?

Anyway, Super Sonic owners--tell me your stories!

8)

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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 2:37 pm
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Most of my beef is with the amps that have the tube sockets mounted on pcb's. I've had a lot of problems with bad solder joints and other components going bad on my Hot Rod Deluxe that the tech thinks are heat related and just cheaply made Taiwan components. My Twin, Champ etc which are hard wired are doing fine after 30+ years but the HRDlx has been in the shop a few times in the past 2 years for one thing or another. I've been a big fan of Fender amps since 1964 but now the Ampeg J20 handwired amp is getting my attention big time. I may also be building a 5e3 Deluxe this winter too.


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Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 2:42 pm
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Most of my beef is with the amps that have the tube sockets mounted on pcb's. I've had a lot of problems with bad solder joints and other components going bad on my Hot Rod Deluxe that the tech thinks are heat related and just cheaply made Taiwan components. My Twin, Champ etc which are hard wired are doing fine after 30+ years but the HRDlx has been in the shop a few times in the past 2 years for one thing or another. I've been a big fan of Fender amps since 1964 but now the Ampeg J20 handwired amp is getting my attention big time. I may also be building a 5e3 Deluxe this winter too.


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Post subject: Re: Super Sonic Amp Reliability Issues?
Posted: Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:36 pm
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edited for the political correctness that abounds these days.
I think it's still ok to say...............All I'm sayin' is just use common sense, and think, and you will help yourself in the process. :roll:


Last edited by rholloman on Thu Nov 20, 2008 2:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:59 pm
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You've got to be kidding.
People usually give negative reviews because they have a bad experience with the product. Profit drives everything. Open up an original 65 Deluxe Reverb and open a 65 DRRI Reissue and there's you're answer. You'll see a hand wired amp compared to a mass produced pcb amp. Even a lot of cabinet materials are cheaper plywood.

I wouldn't go to Harmony Central for reviews and the dealer is usually looking for a commission.

Like I said, I've been using Fender amps and guitars since 1964. My main guitar is an original 72 Strat and I also have a 76 Twin Reverb, 74 Champ and HRDlx. Although the HRDlx sounds great after a tube change, it has never been reliable.


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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 4:54 pm
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See my post above :roll:


Last edited by rholloman on Thu Nov 20, 2008 2:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 9:42 pm
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OK, to try to get this thread back under control:

I was just wanting to know if any Super Sonic owners had quality or reliability issues.

The debate of PCBs or hand-wired doesn't mean jack to me--I've owned both, and I have had no major issues with either. My 63RI Vibroverb made in the early 1990s has been great--the speakers finally gave up the ghost after several years of use and gentle abuse (I found that other people--on Harmony Central, no less--had the same issue, so this was obviously a weak spot), but it has never let me down otherwise.

My early 70s Bassman Ten gave me no problems, other than blown filter caps and tubes dying, but this was after twenty five years of use...normal failures.

I am a Fender fan--I don't like all Fender tube amps, but even the worst of them are still really good...even the "bad" Silverfaces (I disagree greatly with that opinion).

So the question remains:

HAS ANYONE HAD RELIABILITY ISSUES WITH THEIR SUPERSONIC?

8)

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Last edited by Screamin' Armadillo on Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 1:35 pm
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Screamin' Armadillo,

My SF Twin took 30 years before it needed a cap job and i gigged with it 3-4 times a week.

If I'm not mistaken, I think the Super Sonic has It's tubes mounted to the chassis, not to the pcb, but most of the newer Fender amps have all the volume pots mounted to a separate pcb then ribbon connected to the main board.
Try the Super Sonic, if you really like it get one. If it gives you problems, get rid of it. I tried it and it's a really versatile amp that sounds great. I've heard very little about problems with them.

The Super Sonic is fairly new so long term reliability reports are scarce.

A properly designed pcb amp is fine but when you mount tubes to a pcb, it's just a bad design. I'm glad I got a 5 year warranty on my HRDlx because I really need it. The HRDlx is my first and last pcb tube amp. I still gig and need a reliable amp and my Twins weight and power are getting to me.
Guitar player magazine did an article on this subject a few months ago too.
Fender, Mashall and many others are taking the low road with cheaper and smaller components and it's a real shame.

I'm a old school Fender guy and remember the glory days of solid reliable amps and the not so glory days of Fender too in late 70's when they almost went under. I call em as I see em. I don't like plunking my hard earned cash on equipment that will be landfill in 5 years when the warranty runs out regardless of how good it sounds. Fender is the last company I want to see out of business.

Sorry about the rant.


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Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:45 pm
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Thanks for the tips--I have owned various Fender tube amps of various vintages and only had the problems that are going to happen anyway--tubes go out, speakers blow, etc.--but I am concerned about some of the reports I hear (from various sources) about some of the newer amps.

Obviously, this touches a nerve with a lot of people--but that's what makes all of this fun...

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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 4:44 pm
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Screamin' Armadillo - I have my fender super-sonic combo since september 2006, and the only reliability issue I had with it was due to my own fault, which I think is the case with the handfull of negative reviews that you have probably read. In my case, my amp was sitting in the back of my SRV and droped face down when driving too fast through the road curve :-) When I plugged her in, the FX loop I think was much noiser,. Changed the tube and voila, problem fixed. I have read people on fenderforum.com reporting hiss/noise/pop issues on the super-sonic. My immediate reply is usually "Was this a mail order? Are you sure it wasn't dropped?" The answers to those questions has been : Yes and No !!!!

Liek everyone has said above, drop by your local dealer and make your opinion based on he tone you hear. Fender backs it product with a 5 year warranty. For God sake, you only get one year on a microwave/fridge/stove/tv/cd and dvd players, etc. All these products are pcb/electronics based - but Fender has a 60 years tradition of quality and they make sure from the initial design stage that their products are built to last foreever, or at least for an artist's life (well, maybe not BB King with over 60 years, but you get the picture...)


The tube sockets not being soldred directly to the pcb board is a big design bonus and will ensure me trouble-free tube changing for lots of years.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:08 pm
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Thanks so much, Tweed Dog! I guess I have to start rolling my nickels and picking up aluminum cans...LOL!

8)

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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:17 pm
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I wanted to put in my 2 pennies. I have owned my super sonic combo for about 2 years, and have not had problem one. I can't remember if the tubes are pcb mounted or not, even though I have opened it up on occasion to have a looksee. My amp has been through it all: Sitting in cold trailers overnight, knocked down, cranked up, recorded with and gigged the heck out of. It is a well traveled and well abused piece of gear. The only thing that has ever been a problem was a dumb band member plugging a bad cable into again and again and popping the fuse. I know of a couple that had some noise in the reverb or effects loop, but both issues were solved by corresponding tube replacements. Hope this helps; I think it's a great amp.


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Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:44 pm
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TweedDogSteve and Old Reliable,

Your posts make me want to go check one out myself! :lol: (and I've got a great amp already :D )


.


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Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:27 am
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I loved the sound of this amp when I heard it demoed by Greg Koch, he really made it sing :D

I would have bought one but I couldn't swing the price, which was about double the Blues Deluxe I did buy.

Most of the complaints (mine included) seem to be about the Mexican made HotRod circuit amps with the PCB surface mounted tube sockets. Which was done to reduce costs to meet a price point, (you get what you pay for applies)

If the SuperSonic has the problem components chaise mounted there should be no problems with solder joints letting go.!

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Post subject: Super Sonic Owner Here!
Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 4:02 pm
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Hey, Screamin' Armadillo,
Pardon me for being a bit boastful, but I head up the Alan Fox Band.
The reason I’m bringing this up is we promote the fact of having
a great Texas Twin Lead Guitar Sound! With this in mind, Donnie,
and I bought matching Fender blond Super-Sonic amps with the
4x12 celestion speakers, because we felt they were the best sounding
hand wired amps on the market. We have had them now for a little
over a year with no problems. We tour to the tune of 160-200 shows
a year having nothing but praise for the amps. We recently played the Louisiana State Fair in Shreveport, LA. Having the sound man personally come to us after the show to tell us that he’s ran sound for hundreds of bandslarge and small, National to local and we had the best tone that he has ever heard. That made us feel really good, and it made the sound man’s job much easier to make the band sound great!
(Kingsland Entertainment Sound Re-enforcement)

So here is a testimony from two Texas lead guitarists who love their
Fender Super Sonic’s


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