Why do I gravitate towards Fenders??

[Member 20177]

More of a "does anybody else do this question" I've been more of a hard rock player with 80's indie influences like the Replacements, Husker Du etc... With this kind of stuff it would seem that Marshall type amps would be more appropriate but I always seem to jamming a pedal in front of a Fender... Things have changed a little but still have a 68' Twin which has been joined by a H&K Switchblade 50 watt and a Rebel 20.

 

[jb1911]

Why wouldn't you?

 

[strings]

Because they sound great

I've recently incorporated Tweeds into my BF lineup and love it.

 

[Schlep]

The answer to your question is academic. I think it does not matter - if you found what you like. . . roll with it.

I too gravitate toward the Fender sound too. To me they just 'sound better' for my style.

Jam on my friend!

 

[Deville2Rocket]

I used to be like that too. It is a great tone, and I used to think it was THE sound for me. I always liked a great sounding clean, and searched for amps that had the purest signal imaginable. I never even considered that a guitar tone could be "too clean".

Then along came the Rebel 20... and now I get it. I'm not saying I'll never own another Fender, but there's something about the aggressive and complex clean tone generated by the Rebel 20 that is rocking my world right now.

 

[In Tune]

Kindness?

 

[losangeles33]

Because they're master marketers. They're all over every Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, Sam Ash, etc... Seeing Clapton, Yngwie, Rory, etc... with Fender headstocks certainly adds to the appeal. Plus they were one of the originals.

Personally I think their amps have mostly gotten cheap, flimsy, and don't sound as good as many of their competitors. Look at Mesa amps or Soldano Lucky 13. Mesa started off cloning Fenders, Soldanos Lucky 13 is basically a Blackface amp with a Soldano high gain channel - only they do a better job.

To say that Soldano does a better Fender tone than Fender is ridiculous. I love soldano, but it's NO Fender blackface.

 

[Cpt. Picard]

I do the same thing.

Academically, I shouldn't like them.
I play Gibson, and strats with humbuckers in them, and I'm always searching for that Mesa sound.
I have an MKIII, and I love it, but still I find myself on my twin trying to squeeze gain out of it.

Maybe something's wrong with us?

 

[kidvox]

i know, i just love the way the headstock looks with the Fender logo on it. Man, the tele headstock always gets me.

 

[Big White Tele]

Could be that Reverb knob.

 

[PatrickE_FenderADV]

I don't think there's a clean tone like a Fender tube amp... while some of their newer offerings are not up to spec by yesterday's standards, it's still that sound many guitarists are searching for. How many Ibanez Tubescreamers were sold with BF Twins when SRV hit his highest point of fame/popularity when "In Step" came out at the end of the 80s? Everyone wanted that tone... Clapton's OD sounds of the late 80s and early to mid 90s were Soldano, but you know clean he was using Fenders when he recorded.

I still love Fender cleans and many of their amps take pedals well, which give us the flexibility to chase the tones/sounds of our heros.

 

[somedude]

I do the same thing.

Academically, I shouldn't like them.
I play Gibson, and strats with humbuckers in them, and I'm always searching for that Mesa sound.
I have an MKIII, and I love it, but still I find myself on my twin trying to squeeze gain out of it.

Maybe something's wrong with us?

Or you need to try a Lonestar.

To the OP, I just went through a similar experience. A number of years ago I sold my Mesas to switch to EL34s. I went through a bunch of Brit amps (Laney, Marshall, Orange) as I thought they had the sound I wanted.

Then one day I plugged into another Mesa, bought it, sold my Orange. Pretty happy with the exchange.

Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

 

[Cpt. Picard]

Or you need to try a Lonestar.

To the OP, I just went through a similar experience. A number of years ago I sold my Mesas to switch to EL34s. I went through a bunch of Brit amps (Laney, Marshall, Orange) as I thought they had the sound I wanted.

Then one day I plugged into another Mesa, bought it, sold my Orange. Pretty happy with the exchange.

Sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

Sold my Lonestar a month or so ago!

They're nice, but I like the darker warmth of my MKIII better.

My point is that even though I have a marvelous silver twin, I'm always searching for another amp to perfectly replicate the gorgeous sounds of the beautiful amp I already have.:NUTS

It's just GAS, anyway.

I'm actually seriously considering dumping $$$ on a two rock just cuz I like the way it can ape Fender cleans...

 

[stratzrus]

It's hard to beat a Fender at what it does well.

I have a few amps, but my Super Reverb is a keeper.

 

[somedude]

Sold my Lonestar a month or so ago!

They're nice, but I like the darker warmth of my MKIII better.

I could see that.

I sold my Mark III because at the time I was primarily into humbuckers and it was too dark for me.

However, when combined with a Stratocaster that Mark III is the single best sounding amp I've ever used.

Now that I'm back into Mesa and getting back into single coils I'm seriously considering getting a Mark V when it comes out.

 

[plexistack]

because the new marshalls are crap and you're too cheap to buy an old one?

 

[Waxhead]

More of a "does anybody else do this question" I've been more of a hard rock player with 80's indie influences like the Replacements, Husker Du etc... With this kind of stuff it would seem that Marshall type amps would be more appropriate but I always seem to jamming a pedal in front of a Fender... Things have changed a little but still have a 68' Twin which has been joined by a H&K Switchblade 50 watt and a Rebel 20.

2 reasons
a) you like 6L6 tubes;
b) you're complacent with Fenders & not testing out many new amps that have been released in the past 5-7 years.

If you had been keeping up with new amp releases you'd find that, while Fenders still make great amps, there are other Companies that make better ones. They're better because their reverb & cleans are just as good but are also equally great right thru the OD to high gain end.

Makers like Egnater and Mesa do this, they give you a big choice of tones, a choice of tube types, a choice of wattage outputs, they're lighter, smaller, have more EQ options and some are cheaper than Fenders too. Fenders are great clean amps but don't offer any of that.

Check out the Mesa Lonestar, the Express 5:50, even the old Mark IV's beat the old Fenders IMHO. Then Egnater do the Tonemasters. A lot of new Randells are also better value for money than Fenders these days.

If you're a rock/hard rock player it's a no brainer cause you can retire half your pedals and get better quality all tube distortion.

I'm not criticising Fenders. They used to be in the top 3 amps makers you could buy. Ancient history now. They're being left for dead - just like Boss pedals and Marshalls.

 

[Member 20177]

because the new marshalls are crap and you're too cheap to buy an old one?

I've never owned a new Marshall or Fender..... all em' have been old... Sot that still doesn't explain this Agreed though, I like the older ones better.

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

Because they're master marketers.

Don't you think that's being a little condescending?

Personally I think their amps have mostly gotten cheap, flimsy, and don't sound as good as many of their competitors.

He's talking about his 1968 Twin, not a current model.

Look at Mesa amps or Soldano Lucky 13.

Mesa makes some great amps but they don't make a single one that sounds and feels like a good Twin or Super Reverb. One style of amp isn't better than the other, they're just different.

 

[Eric Dahlberg]

If you had been keeping up with new amp releases you'd find that, while Fenders still make great amps, there are other Companies that make better ones. They're better because their reverb & cleans are just as good but are also equally great right thru the OD to high gain end.

Makers like Egnater and Mesa do this

No, they don't. Egnater's and Mesa's are stiffer.

Check out the Mesa Lonestar, the Express 5:50, even the old Mark IV's beat the old Fenders IMHO.

They just sound different. I actually prefer the cheaper Mesa's over the higher-end ones because an amp like the Express sags and responds more similarly to a Fender (though it's still different).