Is the Fender Super-Sonic 22 Still a Great Amplifier? My Full Review
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- This is my full review of the Fender Super-Sonic 22 guitar amplifier. The Super-Sonic 22 is a favorite combo for many electric guitarists. It combines similar tones found in the Deluxe-Reverb with an added drive channel that rocks.
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The Super Sonic amps are blisteringly loud and bulletproof, 22 valve wats is enough for a gig and the Tone is excellent, great demo.
You're both LIARS
@@lordundhimself1310 why...?
@@pabloperez4063 I don’t even remember why the hell I wrote that lol
Not bulletproof but fantastic. mines being repair now
I just bought one today for $440US in mint condition in guitar shop.
I like the clean tone of this amp!
That’s my amp, I absolutely love it in fact when I started gigging with it this year, I felt it was my dream amp. It plenty loud enough for the Chicago area and it’s super versatile. It also looks awesome in that color!
I've used one since 2013. Truly my favorite amp, and I've owned a ton of great one. The Supersonics are versatile and rugged.
I can vouch for this. Mine was submerged under 7 feet of water during a flood in 2016, lol. Other than a minor repair in the reverb circuit, it works great.
I love my Supersonic 22. I recently set it up for a gig the night before without my usual pedal board, just plugged straight in with my MIM strat and it sounded perfect. Lovely cleans and fat drive tones. So good.
Where do you get left handed amps
If that lefty telecaster he has that looks vintage ( late 50’s early 60’s) isnt a relic then it’s worth at least 3x more than a right handed model of the same year and quality.
You can get left handed amps at the same stores that carry left handed pianos.
The Leftorium of course
It's Australia, things are reversed. If you film in the southern hemisphere it's going to show as reversed since UA-cam is a US based company.
From the same place you get left-handed guitar picks.
I used it as the main PGS amp for a little while after the initial vid I made. I honesty don’t remember why I stopped, I think there was a noise issue. Could have been just a tube! I always thought the head would be a great idea to own.
All those demos you did at PGS were what informed me to buy one. Love it to this date and doubt I’ll ever sell it!
Wow that’s great to know. I own the 60w. I’m going to go back and listen to those early videos. Andy, if you don’t mind me asking, when using pedals, did you use the clean channel or did you use the burn ( drive ) channel with very low gain? Thanks ahead of time.
try a 5751 in v2 for mo headroom & 12ay7 in v4 to kill hiss!!!
I have a DRRI that I need to send back b/c the noise floor is just too much for playing at home. I was wondering if this one (super-sonic) had the same issue. I’d been hearing similar complaints.
@@alemancreates The circuit itself is not very noisy, most likely a bad component.
To me it is the best sounding Fender amp. I love how it breaks up and its mid range character.
I picked one of these up this past week. It is an amazingly versatile amp. The clean channel by itself is worth the price. The Fat boost basically acts as a second channel while in clean mode. The overdrive channel sounds better live (in person) than I have heard it sound in any video. I can't wait to practice with my full band with it.
Perfect timing. I was just looking at buying one of these and started watching some demo and review videos. The last one I watched prior to yours was OK but I caught myself thinking I didn’t like it because I didn’t like what the guy was playing. He was a skilled guitarist but his choices were ruining the review. I actually thought, “I wish Shane had a review of this amp. Everything he plays sounds good.” Next thing I saw come up was this review. Perfect! Also appreciated you giving an opinion on this vs. the Deluxe Reverb as I had been considering that as well. Nice video. Thanks!
Another kickass intro Shane!! Well done man. That lead was killer.
As a fellow left handed guitarist this video makes me smile, like the way that amp sounds too and some day hopefully I'll be able to afford one!
A guy near me here is selling one for $600. Want me to connect you? That’s super good price.
I'm subscribing just because you actually used a humbucker guitar as well on a Fender amp demo. I cannot thank you enough for that.
I bought mine back in 2012 & it’s amazing right out of the box . You can play almost any genre of music without adding any effects pedals . It has the classic Fender sound you’d expect from a Twin but this amp has a really nice dirty sound that cleans up really nice .
Wow dude, you may have just sold me on this amp. It's in the running for me... Awesome demo, as always!
I still prefer the Bluesbreaker amps, but holy crap is this a great second place.
Great video Shane, I've had mine since 2013, have done 100's and 100's of gigs with mine. great amp. My reverb has been busted in it for a while but other than that it's great.
An EH Cathedral reverb pedal could fix that right up.
As soon as I saw the notification I thought ‘Oh, Mike Bradley’s amp’ 😂
I have one as well and I actually don't like the Reverb that much. Believe it or not I actually prefer the sound of a big sky in the loop. The supersonic reverb has too much of a pre delay and just carries on and it sounds messy to me.
@@joeysgear1419 I have the same problem with my 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue. The Reverb is way too big by 3.5 and major loss of tone. Hate it. My tech said the Accutronics tanks they use are terrible. Also I do not like the tremolo very much. Just has no depth to it. Disappointing.
Swap that speaker out for a Celestion Alnico Gold G12, and it's in a class by itself. Perfect for studio and live use.👍
I own vintage Fender Twin reverb, Concert, and Marshall 50 watt plexi. My SuperSonic 22 which I've had for a few years now is the most versatile amp I own. Great cleans, handles pedals well, and works great with both single coils and humbuckers. It really sings.
try a 12ay7 in v4 to kill hiss, will make the amp dead silent at idle
My son lent me his Fender Supersonic 60 a few days. Pretty good amp. I really didn’t turn it up more than one in the house. I can see where the 22 watts version would suffice for most average gigs.
I had a Hot Rod Dlx and a Blues Jr but switched to the Vox AC15. I thought it was amazing, even upgraded to the handwired with Celestion Blue... but I missed that Fender sound. I picked up a Supersonic 22 and got it a Celestion Gold speaker. My god.
Tones for days with that amp/speaker combo. I haven’t found a bad setting and it’s done well for church gigs, jam sessions with friends, and recording. I can’t see myself using any other amp now.
From recommendations from a local guitarist I dropped my Supersonic 22 "head" off at Shaw amplifiers a prominent amp builder here in the Nashville tn area to get a set of JJ tubes put in and the amp biased. The amp tech that did the job could not say enough good about the 22. It apparently was the first one he'd worked on and played. I was actually thinking of selling mine at the time. Then I heard it with new tubes and bias adjustment. I just bought a ToneMaster Super Reverb a week ago and I love it but if I HAD to sell one of the two sadly I'm afraid the Tonemaster would have to go. Truly a great amp. Highly recommend.
My favorite amp of all time. I don't know why anyone uses anything else ! Even the Supersonic model on the cheapo Mustang amp line sounds good !
yes the SS model does sound good on the Mustang.
Why not playing it ? Because I have a Vox AC15HW1 ! 😉
I had the mustang and liked the Supersonic modeling so much I went and bought one!!! 22 version.... mates always comment on the tone.... both channels are awesome!!! Don’t need OD pedals if you play with your guitars vol knob to alter the drive!!
I've been gigging one for about 4 years now and it hasn't failed me yet. It just sits brilliantly in the mix.
@@petera7041 I felt the same about the Bassman model. I'd be delighted to go out and get a real one, but that's FAR too loud an amp for my use. (home only, so far) I also use the Supersonic 60 as a reference amp when out looking at guitars- because it sounds fantastic, and you're totally correct about the OD- the twin gain pot feature is incredibly useful.
That Amp with your V = very very nice. Your ‘playing faces’ said it all in a good way 🍺👍🏻
This is a great amplifier and the fat setting on the clean channel is what sold me, love the tone it produces 👌
By far the best fender amp ever and I have a a lot of them and the sonic 22 is the only one I got twice ;0)
thank you using another guitar besides a Fender. I see everyone using fender guitars when they demo fender amps but we all know what a fender amp and a strat sounds like, so it's nice to hear humbucking guitars on the demo :)
Fantastic sounding amp! Love everything about it. Thanks for sharing!
This is gonna be my next amp. Shane I'm surprised you don't own this dude
My fave amp
I use the 22 head. Haven't found an Amp I like better yet
Ive got the 60 watt and can’t imagine myself using anything else
The 60-watt version is the best one of the bunch I think. :-) Good stuff.
I also have that amp and it gets killer blues tones on the burn channel. It has a Celestion Vintage 30 which sounds great. Throw a TS808 or a TS9 in front of the burn channel and it’s a magical, high sustain blues tone. I do prefer the Bassman channel for clean tones as the Vibrolux is very bright which I prefer for overdrive. Glad to hear someone validating the 60w!
Is it possible to use it at living room volumes? Or an atenuator is needed to sound good. I'm asking bc I can have a great deal on a 60 combo, but 90% of use will be at home. Thanks
Great demo and review here! Your enthusiasm is pretty contagious!
Looking for more headroom, though? Try the 60-watt version (which I've owned for several years now). BTW, one other difference: the cleaner setting on the Vintage channel is instead actually a _Vibrolux_ voicing (and yes, with the Bassman still offered as the gainier voicing); there is also the same volume disparity present, but that's no big deal at all, IMO, as long as you preset your Vintage and Burn channels first.
And IF you think the 60 watts is too loud, try this trick: jumper the FX Send and Return (use a short patch cable) + lower their dedicated rear-panel Volume knobs (which, BTW, do NOT come on the 22-watt version). Set the FX Loop to ON via the supplied footswitch = lower volume at however less you've set the knobs, using it as your "rhythm" setting... Then-and somewhat conversely-turn the Loop OFF, and thereby get back to the original, _louder_, non-loop volume level. Use _that_ for leads etc. Ha, I hope that was clear. (And of course, yes, this set-up pretty much disqualifies the Loop's usual use for delays etc., but still, it can be a pretty cool workaround for some folks. IME and IMO, of course.) Hope this helps some folks out.
My Supersonic 22 head through a Marshall 1960A Quadbox is the ultimate in sonic versatility. Sweet warm cleans with presence & punchiness and spine-tingling howl on tap...
I have the 22 watt 1x12 and the 60 watt head . I love mine..I tour with my 1x12 22 and have played it in front of 200 people at clubs and also 20,000 people at outside event’s and it works wonderfully with both and everything in between I recently got the 60 watt so I haven’t got to add it to the live rotation yet. They have two different tones but both are awesome tones . Great demo
I really like that amp . If it had Tremolo it would perfect imo. I dig amps like this that sound wicked without pedals or over hyped speaker swaps.
When I use one, I stick a trem pedal in the fx loop, tuck it inside the cabinet, and just pretend the footswitch has a trem button on/off. Works really well. Sometimes I'll even put a piece of tape over the switch and write "trem"
If it had tremolo it would be an AC22 ;-)
Je possède le mien depuis au moins 8 ans. J'en ai d'autres, mais cet ampli est formidable. Très bon son clair, crunch très intéressant. Le canal clair accepte très bien les pédales, la boucle fonctionne parfaitement. J'y reviens toujours, et il continue à me surprendre.
J'hesite entre le ss22 et le bass breaker, tu as aussi ce ploc au changement de canal ?
NEVER been a big fan of Fender amps, but this 1 does a great job!
What brands do you like?
I love my supersonic 22, it's an awesome little combo. Although from watching your previous video on the bassbreaker 30r I really do fancy adding one of those to my combo collection. Great video, flying V and strat both sounded killer!
My exact situation mate. They are both awesome. Imo
I loved my time with my s22. Don't know why I sold it looking back. Great amp for my covers band. I recently bought the Bassbreaker 30 on the back of Shane's review and others where it sounds great. I was so disappointed!. Very average clean. Not fender at all. Bland really. The overdrive channel is no way close to the bb15 which sounds great. It was horrible with uncomfortable high end tones. I spent 24 hours trying to make it work. Ultimately I returned it. It was light and looked great however!!
Used ones go for about 650 so GUESS WHAT? I'M PULLING THE TRIGGER AND BUYING ONE! THAT'S GOT TO BE THE **BEST** 22W AMP I'VE EVER HEARD!! ESP. WITH EXT SPEAKER OUT, FX LOOP, ALL POWER SWITCHES ON BACK, BLONDE / OXBLOOD COLOR SCHEME, I MEAN WHOA!!
The tune in the beginning was a keeper mate🤘🏼
O.K. I think this is "The One " ! Sounds great especially liked it with the V ,good thing I already have one so I only have to buy the amp ! Thanks for continuing to give me GAS mate ! ;-)
You can talk to Ric about that : P
@@proteus2103 HA !
Tasty!!!!! I absolutely love the pairing of a Fender amp with a Strat or Tele!!! No need for pedals!! I’ve never really known about the Supersonic 22, but I love the tones!! I can see myself having fun with this amp!!! Nice chops and love that V!!!😉 Cheers!🎸🎸🎸🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾
I wonder how it would sound right-handed?
Yup im sold just ordered one
The only amp better than a Fender Super Sonic 22 Watt combo/head?
TWO Fender Super Sonic amps in played in actual REAL stereo.
Ha nice. I personally dig a SS22 and a DRRI in stereo. You get a big spread because the DRRI sag is slightly behind the SS
@@LeviBulger excellent. once you go stereo its impossible to go back well done
Thank you for an excellent review, another great video from you. I own the SS22, and I support fully your findings, except maybe, when it the breaks up. I wanted a "De Luxe Reverb" but the SS22 was love at first sight.
try a 5751 in v2 for mo headroom & 12ay7 in v4 to kill hiss!!!
Another thumbs make it 1,000. You deserve all that and more Shane.
I know it’s an old video from a couple of years ago..but this amp sounds great pushed. It’s got that gnarly sound like Keith Moon the day after… love it.
I bought the last year a 2006 Fender Supersonic 60W combo of second hand. I think is a great deal!
I’ve had a Supersonic for 5 years now: it’s been in the closet most of that time because I couldn’t get it dialed in and just played on my other Fender amps instead. Thanks so much for giving me some new ideas about how to get a good sound out of it!
Play it with a Fender Engager Boost and nothing else. I used to think the supersonic was just a good amp, but not quite as charming as a deluxe Reverb, vibrolux or twin. Then I bought that pedal and simply scooped out a tiny bit of the mids, while very very slightly boosting the bass. For me, it's the best sounding amp on the planet now.
all i could get was good tones from it,try this trick..DONT PLAY QUIET
The best amp Fender EVER made, in my opinion. I will never, ever, ever part with my 60. It is everything I will ever need in an amp.
I've got this exact same amp. Sounds pretty much like your review too, minus your playing skills hehe.... I don't think I've explored all the tonal possibilities of it in the 3 years I've had it. Still finding cool tones all the time. I always wanted a Deluxe Reverb. Still do. But this amp works much better for home use. I'm gonna try some of your EQ settings and see how I go. Great clip.
try a 5751 in v2 for mo headroom & 12ay7 in v4 to kill hiss!!!
I haven't tried this one- but I have played though the SS 60. Fantastic sounding amp! Instead of the fat switch, you can choose between 2 preamp flavors (for want of a better description) Vibrolux or Bassman. I mainly used the bassman setting, and the burn channel. Pushed hard, that bassman channel sounds incredible- it's also incredibly loud!
As a side note, this is how the crew at a local independant guitar store sold me my 50's Tribute SG- and eventually my Firebird. I was using this amp to demo the Firebird, but I just couldn't afford it then... So the guy says "Hang on, I'll be right back." He brings me the SG, plugs it in, and says here-try this. Then stood back, and watched me get blown away, lol. They dialled me in a gorgeous warm clean, on the bassman side, and a punchy bluesy crunch on the Burn channel.
I walked out of there the owner of a used SG with P90's.
These amps- the Super Sonics- (blues Deluxe, too) LOVE Gibson(y) guitars- it's like they're voiced especially for them. They also especially like P90's.
I have a supersonic 100. I use the bassman setting. I like it.
I have one as well, the Bassman voiced channel is definitely my favorite for most situations. Really nice to have the versatility of the other channels on tap as well.
Great reviews, thanks Shane. All facts, no bla bla... After watching this again, it's this over a Blues Deluxe. I'll use your Sweetwater link. Nice pickin' too BTW.
Love the T-Bone pic in the background.
Andertons .....Dawsons .......InThe Blues......
the best demos on line.
I have this amp in several configurations. The head in black/silver with 2x 12 fender cab with vintage 30 speakers and the combo in blonde. I love to use these super-sonics without pedals through my Gibson's!.The stratocaster and telecaster achieve that classic mid/chimey sound which is cool! Push the fat switch with the gain and you're off to the races!! I agree with you Shane. I also bought the '65 Deluxe first then the super-sonic. This amp is an overall better for my style of playing! The super-sonic is just more versatile with the sound I want to play! Great review I really digged this post!
After years of playing fender amps I landed on the ss22 in limited edition black and gold tolex. I’m not looking for other amps anymore.
Thanks for all the great comments! - Check out the Fender Super-Sonic 22 on Sweetwater - imp.i114863.net/FenderSuperSonic
(affiliate link)
That amp sounds great!
Peace from Memphis Tennessee!
Killer demo I live 5 minutes from Sweetwater I spend way too much money there great place to do business with
We dont need no stinking pedals... This thing rocks
Hey Shane... since you’re on a Fender amp kick, can you get the Deluxe Reverb Custom ‘64 reissue? Since it’s a good bit pricier than the previous amps you might not be able to get one, but I think it’s a really great amp. It’s about as close to a vintage Deluxe Reverb as Fender can get... and all the components are new with a factory 5 year warranty.
I think my neighbors will need this asap!
(Well, they have no choice anyway lmao.)
Is it fair to say that it's fender version of and old school marshall?
My dad had a SOB (son of boogie) with 2 gains i personally had a hard time getting a good sound balance but your getting a good sound
Nice stock amp, but great if you swap the crappy stock speaker and put any serious one (Eminence, Celestion, Jensen...) according to your taste. Mine has an Eminence Texas Heat and better tubes and it is a brutal sounding amp (and versatile) as long as you have a later breakup to it (about 4-5 on volume). Anyway, not recommended if you need pristine cleans, as well as the deluxe reverb tough. You´ll need something about 30-40w minimum.
100% would recommend the speaker swap to bring out the best tone out of this amp. I got the Celestion Gold and overdriven or clean just sound so much better/fuller now.
I have the Supersonic 22 single 12 and love it but it really shines with an extension cab with an Eminence Canabis Rex 12" in it. Bring any Strat alive.
Happy man playing guitar
Great review. Now do a prosonic!
The older version of this amp, please. I know Rick doesn't care for them, but he doesn't know what he doing anyway.
Dr. Of what?
medicine
lmaoooo
Funny - yesterday, after a few years away from it, I set my SS22H back up atop a pair of 1x12 eminence speaker. Sounds great.
Man I love this amp so glad it has a model in the mustang
I've been thinking of getting a Deluxe Tonemaster, mostly because of the ability to vary the watts, but have had a Supersonic 22 since they came out (seafoam green Tolex!) that is a great amp WHEN you can crank it a bit. Anyway I decided to try a Bugera PS 1 w/ the SS to see if I can just bypass getting a Tonemaster. Bugera just came today so I'll report back. One thing though: the TM is 20 lbs. while the SS is 27, lol.
did you run the ss22 with the bugera?? I am thinking of doind the same thing only with a Weber MASS 100
I have the black and silver version and the amp will literally never break up on the clean channel. This is fine for headroom, but to get a little saturation it is just stupidly loud.
Well, it is a fender.
When are you going to demo the new Fender Deluxe Tone Master series? Im curious on your thoughts
Same!
@@oldgrannywheels I didn't hear about this, what is it?
@@proteus2103 It's Fenders digital recreation of their twin and deluxe reverbs. light weight and basically the same tone as their tube counterparts. Expensive for digital amps though.
@@jimmyparris9892 I just want to hear Shanes thoughts and comparisons. I know its a digital SS amp, but have you played it yet??? Is crazy close to a tube sound.. Im a Tube guy, big time but carrying this equipment at 60 is getting as old as tubes ;)
It's now online :-)
Owned SS60 (hissy). Owned SS22 (replaced by 68’ Custom Deluxe for sweeter tone). If I had to choose 1 amp & didn’t want to lug pedals, SS22 would be great.
Hello, do you prefer 68 over this and why? I’m considering buying one of them.
Shane you make everything sound great...only problem with that is the $20 pedals you demo sound just as good as the $1000 amplifiers you demo. ;) Might be something to do with the good tone being in your fingers....
Nice Vid Shane! Love the Tones you got out of it! How do you feel it stacks up against the Bassbreaker 30R? Have a Great Day Mate and Cheers!
try a 5751 in v2 for mo headroom & 12ay7 in v4 to kill hiss!!!
Awesome amp!
To all the Fender ss 22 owners... Add the marshall 2x12, jvm, open back, heritage and vintage speaker to this amp and you'll be amazed!!!! One amp, 3 different speakers, best sound ever.
Great demo, Thanks!
Greeting from Tokyo. Do you suppose the amp is loud enough to play live with bass player and drummer?
A comparison between the Super Sonic and the Traynor YCV 40 would be interesting. Cheers.
Seeing you were reviewing this was like clickbait - a must see video. I would look for a more efficient speaker to get more clean volume. Otherwise this amp is like a combination of a Fender and a Boogie, with the cascading gains.
Any thoughts on speakers for a bit more headroom?
Celestion Alnico Gold will give you more clean headroom, and wont kill the Fender shimmer.
I love mine but get rid of the stock speaker.
Can I ask , what is wrong with the stock speaker ?
The stock speaker is good, but the G12 Alnico is much better.
what did you replace it with?
I put an Eminence JS-1250 in mine and it was a nice improvement overall.
Great playing and tones.
Rippin intro🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Put a more efficient speaker and it will have plenty of headroom. In the states I would not go over a 22-30 watt blackface style amp unless you do a lot of outdoor festivals, or play percussive metal. The most memorable clean tones ever recorded live or in studio were not that clean.
Sound great and loving the V. Is that your go to guitar now?
Im racking my brain trying to decide between this and the bassbreaker 30r. The main pull of this one over the bb is the texas blues tone. Hard to tell from videos if the bb can do that or if it just always sounds too marshally. Maybe ill have to get both... lol
Shane, great reviews, I've managed to pick one of these up and it's now my gigging amp. If you were going to upgrade the speaker in this amp which one would you pick? Thanks.
I would try an Alnico Gold, I have one in a 65 Deluxe Reverb and it sounds great.
Shane, the one man five piece band.
Shane, how does the super sonic compare to the Traynor YCV 50 Blue which you have also been using in the past? I use a Blue and I love it, I have however replaced tube 2 with a ECC832 that tames the boost, so that there is no major volume jump anymore when activating it, prior to that change the boost was useless for me. I also have 70s Mullard EL34s in it, I don't know if it actually makes a big difference, I have bought it that way. Love to hear your opinion on the comparison of the two. Best Andreas
Hi Shane, thanks for demo. How does this Supersonic 22 compare with a Bassbreaker 15/30 ? Looks like they compete on the same playground, do they ?
I think that amp would do some metal with humbuckers. Love that amp. Just killer sounding. I actually like it over the DSL 40. Love all that Gain. More is more. 😂😉
Both SS22’s I’ve owned have had a loud hiss problem. I wonder if they’ve addressed that issue with later builds. May have to give another one a try. They sound amazing, but the ones I had hissed badly even when turned down low or even on standby!
a local is selling one for $750. I'm super tempted.
This is an amp I never should have sold and want another one. This or the new dsl40cr. I haven't tried the dls40cr yet though. I've had many apps, I always miss this one. Fat or bright and whatever else you like. If you get a chance Shane, please let me know how this compares to your new dsl40cr.
So is the gain knobs on this amp sorta like a Pre and Post Gain stage? I wasn't really diggin this amp at first, but when I heard it, man it blew me away! The gain thing is more or less something I'm curious about, because I really like that feature on the Peavey Classic amps, but Id much rather have it on a fender.