WTB: Fender Supersonic 22

Ché · August 2014

I know one's just sold on here and I'm gutted I missed it before I discovered I really dig this amp.

Could trade it for my Mesa Lonestar Special 1x12 combo with a bit of cash my way. Let me know if anyone's got one kicking around.

For the sake of those interested. I've discovered gigging with great gear is all fun and well but I can mess around with great amps in the studio, when it comes to gigging I want a lightweight amp that gives me what I need and I don't have to worry about it. Played a 22 recently and it has a more modern gain sound to the LSS which I dig. I was also surprised by how the EQ can really change the gain sound, I could go from blues to metal just by tweaking the mids knob.

Cheers guys!

Lodious · August 2014

haha, that's a shame, I'd have been up for that :-(

Ché · October 2014

Still looking for this if anyone's got one.

hotpickups · October 2014

A few on ebay but not bargains IMO

EreforGuitarGear · October 2014

One at coda music secondhand... Not really a bargain price though.

Ché · October 2014

Cheers for the heads up. Yeah CodaMusic's second hand stuff always has a pretty high mark up. You'd struggle to get what you paid for it if you ever needed to sell on.

Blueingreen · October 2014

Ché said:

I know one's just sold on here and I'm gutted I missed it before I discovered I really dig this amp.
Could trade it for my Mesa Lonestar Special 1x12 combo with a bit of cash my way. Let me know if anyone's got one kicking around.

For the sake of those interested. I've discovered gigging with great gear is all fun and well but I can mess around with great amps in the studio, when it comes to gigging I want a lightweight amp that gives me what I need and I don't have to worry about it. Played a 22 recently and it has a more modern gain sound to the LSS which I dig. I was also surprised by how the EQ can really change the gain sound, I could go from blues to metal just by tweaking the mids knob.

Cheers guys!

It's an interesting idea. One of the best live guitar sounds I've heard recently was from Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy (he's also got the Erykah Badu gig so he's obviously a very good player). He was using a pretty worn-looking Hot Rod Deville and a bunch of pedals. I'd never heard of him before I heard SP so I checked him out online and found he has some really nice, pricy boutique amps. Presumably he thinks for live gigging a cheaper Fender will get 99.9% of the way there while letting him keep his boutique gear pristine.

I'm quite tempted by the Supersonic myself. My main worry is reliability. Also I'd never use the modern gain sounds.

Travisthedog · October 2014

Ive gigged a supersonic for about 18 months now and its the best amp ive ever had (and believe me when I say I have had a LOT of amps!), I dont use the drive channel but its there if I need it and I know its a peach

Reliability was only affected by the fact that if fell of its stand - and that could of happened to any amp

If it blew up or was nicked, I wouldnt even think about any other amps -id just replace it

Ché · October 2014

Regarding what I've heard about reliability the one I tried at PMT was broken (annoyingly), clean channel either has a bad valve or something, plus the reverb tank needs isolating from the cabinet as it's very noisey and boomy. I'd most definitely upgrade it if I did buy one. The QC on these amps is shocking.

Yeah, keep the toys for home and studio (where differences in tone are more likely to be heard) and the workhorses for live. If it gets near enough to the tone you want then it inspires you to play well onstage and does it's job. The audience and your band members won't be that affected by it. Sad reality but even with the best amps in the world you're at the mercy of the sound guy/room/stage when it comes to what your audience hears. (Venue dependant). Main thing is you can throw it in the car and not worry about it getting battered around on stage, getting covered in mud at festivals and such. I'm a big fan of Erykah Badu, will check that guy out.

Given the clean channel was buggered on the amp I tried meant I got a lot of time with the gain channel. The gain channel on the Supersonic is very versatile, mainly the EQ, it's crazy how much they change the gain tones. You can get a scooped metal tone, mid heavy crunch, smooth leads and lower gain drive tones.

Blueingreen · October 2014

I listened to some Supersonic demos and liked what I heard, but then I did some checking out of the various guitar forums and found a lot of people complaining about reliability. Some of these were teething problems with early models, but I don't trust Fender's QC generally and none of it inspired confidence,

One problem I have is I'm completely clueless even about minor maintenance stuff and in a part of the country where the nearest reputable amp tech is an 3 hour round trip. If I buy a lemon it's going to be a real pain.

I'm more interested in a head and cab arrangement than a combo and Coda have a couple of ex-demo heads on offer at pretty decent prices. They're offering a guarantee which should at least remove some of the pain if there are problems. I'm tempted.

Ché · October 2014

For what it's worth whenever I buy a second hand amp I take it to my tech to be looked over with a full diagnostics just to be on the safe side. Warranty doesn't cover valves in case you weren't aware.

I dig Coda but their mark ups are just too high to warrant the hit you'd take if you resold it. Learnt that lesson with my TA-15 and I'm currently wondering if I should keep my Lonestar or loose £300+ on what I paid for it.

Head and cabs are cool but for how much the 22 weighs you're saving yourself two items to carry and additional trips to the car.

Blueingreen · October 2014

A few years ago despite my basically spindly build I used to lug a Hartke 4 x10" bass cab to gigs. I ended up with serious lower back problems. Lesson learned the hard way.

I thought I was being kind to my back ordering a Rivera Chubster combo to replace a heavier one, but at 43lbs and an awkward shape I find even that's an uncomfortable lift for me nowadays. So I've decided in future nothing heavier than 35lbs. Realistically I'm going to struggle to find a giggable combo at that weight so that probably means amp+cab, even if it means two trips.

Normally I'd agree about Coda but the discounts on these heads bring new (if possibly slightly shop soiled) heads, still under guarantee, down to something not too far above used prices. Obviously you wouldn't get your money back if you resold privately but you wouldn't expect to on an amp bought from a dealer. At worst I should drop a couple of hundred less than if I bought new elsewhere.

Ché · October 2014

I find the best way to carry amps is in both hands, the amp upright and slightly diagonal and flat to your chest. If it has castors you can hook your leading arm around it to help balance it. I carried a Fender Twin around for a couple of years like this and never had problems.

The Supersonic is only 40lbs (18kg) which isn't far off for you.

Saying that, amp heads (specially Mesa's and those with large transformers) are quite unruly in their weight anyway.

I agree with your about Coda I just don't have money to burn at the moment so every penny counts…

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WTB: Fender Supersonic 22

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