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I played a newer Fender Twin this weekend and I actually really liked it.

I hooked up a Fender Telecaster with a Bird's Eye Maple neck, made sure the 1/4 power switch was on, spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out he Fender amp control thing (it's the little tick marks), and played a few open chords/power chords to get a taste of what it could do.

I'm not used to amps without crushing distortion but the distortion channel on the Twin got pretty high up in there in terms of gain. I didn't even open the amp up but when turning the volume past 2, even with the 1/4 switch engaged, the amp was LOUD. The distortion wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it did lack that solid state compression I'm used, but I could definantly see myself growing to like it. It had a bite, a growl, and with the bass backed off I got a great lead tone. With the bass turned to about 5 and with the mids at about 6/7 I got a distortion that pretty much covered most of the kinds of stuff I play nowadays (White Stripes, Incubus, Audioslave). While I didn't get to try and crank it to see if I could get some harmonic laden high-gain tones I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

The cleans, of course, are those classic Fender cleans I've heard about. Pretty much every amp I play afterwards, in terms of the clean channel, is going to be compared to the Twin. It was full-bodied, very bright, and just a joy to play. I actually played the clean for a bit, switched to the distortion, but then immediately switched back to the clean because I liked it so damn much.

The only thing that left a sour taste in my mouth I told the salesmen what kind of stuff I play and what I'm in the market for but, like most salesmen I've dealt with , he pointed me in the direction of a Marshall JCM2000 half-stack. I specifically said quot;I don't want Marshallquot; and he pointed me right back in the direction of a Marshall. Granted, the Marshall sounded killer, but it wasn't quite what I looking for. The JCM was too big, too loud, and just too much amp in general.

All in all playing the Fender Twin was a great experiance. I didn't get a chance to sit down and find out all the finer points of the amp but I definantly want to play it again.

try out the 65 RI. It doesnt have a distortion channel but turned up to 6 with a tubescreamer is heaven.

I played a Fender twin in a shop when I was picking up my Dot from a repair job (I know... I felt SO sorry for the repairer!) and it was awesome... My v-amp 2 has a twin model in it, but it misses something in the clarity and pureness of the sound that came out from that amp. And it's not even the kind of amp I would use a lot - I'm much more up for the marshall side of things (or I'd at least stick a pedal in front of a clean fender).

But, as the guy at the shop said to me when I bought my new Fender 650 princeton - quot;Fender don't make sh*t amps. Marshall... well, they kinda do.quot; Best advice ever, I reckon

I had the Pro Tube Concert, which is the 4-10 version of the Twin you played.
I really think the Pro Tube amps are the most overlooked Fenders. If you take one of those home, and really dial it in, including changing a few preamp tubes to better ones, and even bias it perfectly, using the easy bias adjusters on the back panel, you really see what those amps can do! They've got the same amount of gain as most Mesas, and the clean channel is possibly better than the 65 Reissues because it has a deeper cabinet, which gives more girth to the notes.

My only complaint about the amp, and all channel switching Fenders for that matter, is the crappy footswitches with the rinky dink cable and cheap buttons. Also, the amps would sound much better with Celestions or Jensens, instead of the licensed Eminence speakers that are in them. Other than that, they're great amps, which even sound great at low volumes.


Originally Posted by JimbojsrBut, as the guy at the shop said to me when I bought my new Fender 650 princeton - quot;Fender don't make sh*t amps. Marshall... well, they kinda do.quot; Best advice ever, I reckon To this statement, I only have two words: Fender Metalhead
Thank you, that is all.

Hmm... never heard of that one. Which come to think of it probably makes sense if it's a pile of pants. Anyway, I stand corrected.


Originally Posted by Closed EyeI played a newer Fender Twin this weekend and I actually really liked it.

I hooked up a Fender Telecaster with a Bird's Eye Maple neck, made sure the 1/4 power switch was on, spent about 5 minutes trying to figure out he Fender amp control thing (it's the little tick marks), and played a few open chords/power chords to get a taste of what it could do.

I'm not used to amps without crushing distortion but the distortion channel on the Twin got pretty high up in there in terms of gain. I didn't even open the amp up but when turning the volume past 2, even with the 1/4 switch engaged, the amp was LOUD. The distortion wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it did lack that solid state compression I'm used, but I could definantly see myself growing to like it. It had a bite, a growl, and with the bass backed off I got a great lead tone. With the bass turned to about 5 and with the mids at about 6/7 I got a distortion that pretty much covered most of the kinds of stuff I play nowadays (White Stripes, Incubus, Audioslave). While I didn't get to try and crank it to see if I could get some harmonic laden high-gain tones I still enjoyed it quite a bit.

The cleans, of course, are those classic Fender cleans I've heard about. Pretty much every amp I play afterwards, in terms of the clean channel, is going to be compared to the Twin. It was full-bodied, very bright, and just a joy to play. I actually played the clean for a bit, switched to the distortion, but then immediately switched back to the clean because I liked it so damn much.

The only thing that left a sour taste in my mouth I told the salesmen what kind of stuff I play and what I'm in the market for but, like most salesmen I've dealt with , he pointed me in the direction of a Marshall JCM2000 half-stack. I specifically said quot;I don't want Marshallquot; and he pointed me right back in the direction of a Marshall. Granted, the Marshall sounded killer, but it wasn't quite what I looking for. The JCM was too big, too loud, and just too much amp in general.

All in all playing the Fender Twin was a great experiance. I didn't get a chance to sit down and find out all the finer points of the amp but I definantly want to play it again.

I don't know if I am biased because almost all my guitar heroes played tube fenders, but I really would like to play one of thoose before I die. (I still have plenty of time!! ). It's like every body talks about them as great amps and may be reason for that.


Originally Posted by JimbojsrBut, as the guy at the shop said to me when I bought my new Fender 650 princeton - quot;Fender don't make sh*t amps. Marshall... well, they kinda do.quot; Best advice ever, I reckon

Mmmmh, I should disagreed wiht that statement. I have a Fender Princeton 112, (SS, 60Watts, american made) and I can tell you it isn't any greatness. It isn't a bad amp, you can get decent cleans (quite thin sometimes) and some nice distorted tones (sound like a fart wih too much gain), but I don't think Fender got their name cause of them. My Engl thunder combo (all tube, 50 Watts) has a much better tones and it's half of the price of a Fender Twin.

i'll hafta agree about the marshall/fender statement

we'll take the same 2 grand, you go buy a jcm2000 halfstack, and i'll buy a '65 twin RI and an old bassman, or a vibroverb and a vibro king, or any other 2 legendary fenders, and we'll see who gets better tones. I whole heartedly feel that the '59 bassman RI is better than any marshall out there costing twice as much.

plus, marshall uses car audio parts in their amps

Great feedback! It's a toss up between the Twin and Traynor 50Blue.Originally Posted by CapoFirstFretTo this statement, I only have two words: Fender Metalhead
Thank you, that is all.

Have you played it yet?


Originally Posted by drew_half_emptyi'll hafta agree about the marshall/fender statement

we'll take the same 2 grand, you go buy a jcm2000 halfstack, and i'll buy a '65 twin RI and an old bassman, or a vibroverb and a vibro king, or any other 2 legendary fenders, and we'll see who gets better tones. I whole heartedly feel that the '59 bassman RI is better than any marshall out there costing twice as much.

plus, marshall uses car audio parts in their amps

I'm sorry. But that's a bit of a useless comparison. The two companies make vastly different sounding amps, made for different styles. You can't judge which is 'better' when it comes to tone, because not everyone will agree with you.

Both have their place.