User:Rsmithgroup

This is the beginning of my online collaborative existance.

My hobby is guitar amps. I recently aquired a Fender Studio Valve amp. I tried to find information on the amp from the online community and have found little. I decided to create a research page and write about the amp and see if others could add to it.

CRAIGLIST AD Nov. 2008   richard smith and published on e-bay (same author)

Rare Fender Studio Valve Amp w/ 2-8" speakers - $450 (Port St. John)

Here is one of the rarest Fender amps in existence. It is a Fender Studio Valve 2-8" combo, manufactured by Fender Japan in 1998. Has 2 switchable channels, first channel is clean signal, classic warm Fender tone, and a second channel with gain/overdrive, and powered by a 12AX7 tube for "contour." It has preamp out/in, headphone output and footswitch input. The Studio Valve is an open back cabinet with 2-8" CELESTION speakers.

Amp is quite a gem. It has a great range of tone and gain. The clean channel sound very good but isn't very loud, but usable. The gain channel, on the other hand, is LOUD when cranked up, and the tube circuit basically functions as a tone enhancement to the degree of gain you dial in. In fact, I like the 2nd gain channel more than the clean channel, just turn up the amp volume to 10, place the tube contour control around 12-2 o'clock, and then raise the gain (input volume) knob and the amp will BARK at you. Turning up the gain adds thickness, crunch, and finally distortion/sustain. Works well for practice and low-level band work, I don't think it's loud enough for a band playing at full volume as it only puts out around 30 watts, but for recording and rehearsals it works just fine. Amp also has reverb which howls a little when cranked up, but has a nice Fender sound to it. The Celestion 8" speakers hold up well except when the amp is cranked full blast, then they break up/buzz a little. Overall, the amp has great tone and gain, and I like it.

HARMONY-CENTRAL LISTING

Fender MIJ Studio Valve Combo Summary Manufacturer URL http://www.fender.com/ Features 9.5 (2 responses) Sound Quality 9.0 (2 responses) Reliability 9.0 (2 responses) Customer Support 5.0 (2 responses) Overall Rating 9.0 (2 responses) Submit a review for this product! Product:     Fender MIJ Studio Valve Combo Price Paid:  US $200 Submitted    02/11/2006 at 07:47am by Peter Email:       petersil@musician.org

Features : 9 Amp was made in 1998, sold only in Japan, bought on Ebay and it was professionally converted to 110V. Has 2-8" Celestion speakers, Kind of looks like a mini-Stage 112SE or similar. Headphone output, footswitch in, and loop in/out on back. Clean setting appears to bypass the 12ax7 preamp tube, drive setting uses the tube and you can dial in "contour" which is kind of like tone, and then use the preamp/drive setting to drive the tube itself. If you ever see one of these amps on Ebay BUY IT. It is a great small amp for recording or lower level rehearsal etc. Can get pretty loud for its size. Definitely one of the rarest amps Fender made which is why it caught my interest.

Sound Quality : 9 I play a 1973 Fender Strat (stock) and Rickenbacker 6 and 12 string guitars. They all sound good through this amp. It has a decent mid-range and balanced treble sound, not a lot of bass but as it has 8" speakers that is to be expected. The clean sound is typically Fender, warm, not brittle and inviting. The overdrive is also pretty good, so if you don't have an overdrive pedal, etc., you could use the drive setting to pretend you are Hendrix. It will feedback pretty easily if you start cranking the puppy. I prefer the clean and slightly crunchy tone settings myself. Reverb is also pretty good - I haven't taken the amp apart but as it sounds like it has a spring reverb rather than a digital circuit, my expectation is that the reverb tunnel is very small and short, which would explain why the reverb howls a little when cranked up past 5.

The amp is light-weight and packs a pretty good punch for it's size and I like it. I also replaced the stock Sovtek 12ax7 tube with a vintage tube which smoothed out the overdrive and took away some of the raspiness.

Built like a tank.

sounds good by itself. Nice little amp, good tone, super rare,

Product: Fender MIJ Studio Valve Combo Price Paid: US $200 Email: petersil at musician org

Features : 10 Here's a review for one of the rarest Fender amps in existance. Almost no info on the web. It is a Fender Studio Valve 2-8" combo, manufactured in Japan in 1998. Has 2 switchable channels, first channel is clean signal, classic warm Fender tone, and a second channel with gain/overdrive, and powered by a 12AX7 tube for "contour." It has preamp out/in, headphone output and footswitch input. Open back cabinet with 2-8" CELESTION speakers. Light-weight, about the size of two Vibrochamp amps.

the tube circuit basically functions as a tone enhancement to the degree of gain you dial in. In fact, I like the 2nd gain channel more than the clean channel, just turn up the amp volume to 10, place the tube contour control around 12-2 o'clock, and then raise the gain (input volume) knob and the amp will BARK at you. Turning up the gain adds thickness, crunch, and finally distortion/sustain. Works well for practice and low-level band work, I don't think it's loud enough for a band playing at full volume as it only puts out around 30 watts, but for recording and rehearsals it works just fine. Amp also has reverb which howls a little when cranked up, but has a nice Fender sound to it. The Celestion 8" speakers hold up well except when the amp is cranked full blast, then they break up/buzz a little. Overall, the amp has great tone and gain, and I like it.

Overall Rating : 9 I think this little puppy is a superb recording and low level rehearsal amp, and is certainly rare in all respects (never available in the US). If you get the chance to buy a Fender Studio Valve, do so. A great amp and an undiscovered gem from Fender, at least in the US.

Harmony-central listing

Specifications

Year Made:   1988 Seakers:     two celestian 8" speakers Manufacturer: Fender Japan Made in Korea Weight: cabinet size

Fender Japan ： Studio Valve Mfd.1999 Model No.SV-20CE Drive Tube ： 12AX7×1 Power Output ： 20W (RMS) 40W (Peak) Speaker ： 8" Celestion PG8A-15×2    Control ： Normal Channel (Volume, Treble, Bass) Valve Drive Channel (Gain, Contour, Treble, Bass, Volume) Channel          Select Switch Reverb      110volts - Isasama kna transformer na 220volts pag binili..

Headphone output, footswitch in, and loop in/out on back. Clean setting appears to bypass the 12ax7 preamp tube, drive setting uses the tube and you can dial in "contour" which is kind of like tone, and then use the preamp/drive setting to drive the tube itself. one of the rarest amps Fender made which is why it caught my interest. decent mid-range and balanced treble sound, not a lot of bass but as it has 8" speakers that is to be expected. The clean sound is typically Fender, warm, not brittle and inviting. The overdrive is also pretty good, so if you don't have an overdrive pedal, etc., you could use the drive setting to pretend you are Hendrix. Reverb is also pretty good - I haven't taken the amp apart but as it sounds like it has a spring reverb rather than a digital circuit, my expectation is that the reverb tunnel is very small and short, which would explain why the reverb howls a little when cranked up past 5.

I think this is a superb recording and low level rehearsal amp, and is certainly rare in all respects (never available in the US). If you get the chance to buy a Fender Studio Valve, do so. A great amp and an undiscovered gem from Fender. EBAY item was listed for 5 days at $350 and did not get a bite.