Fender "Red Knob" amps... Any one own one, tried one?

[Katastrophe]

GC's used site has some incredible deals on a bunch of used equipment right now... It takes a little digging, but one can find some quality stuff for cheap. Some of the stores price their stuff a few dollars off the MAP price, which is silly, but most list their used gear at reasonable to great prices.

I've been looking at used equipment lately, trying to find something that I can grab with a little more volume for jams and such (my Mustang I, though loud for its size, just won't cut it with an enthusiastic drummer)... and I've come across a the "Red Knob" series of amphs. They look cool, and I've heard some cool sounds on YouTube, but I know very little about them.

Anyone own any "Red Knob" Fender amphs? What did you think about it? Was it reliable? Did your amph sound good? Do you still have the amph in your arsenal? If not, why did you sell it/trade it/throw it in the dumpster?

Here's an example of "The Twin." Too much power for my needs, but sounds great!

[Zip]

There's a red knob Princeton Chorus 2x12 on my local Craigslist today for 100 bucks if you want to try it out for yourself
http://greenville.craigslist.org/msg/3124145853.html

[deeaa*]

I used to play the Red-Knob The Twin for several years, and for me it was the best Fender amp I ever had, in retrospect. Traded it in for a DeVille in a spur of moment deal when it would have been the time to renew the tubes and all, regretted it later.

It has power cutdown modes, I think 50 & 25W even, and it is the only Fender amp I can think of that can do an even a bit marshally driven tone. It probably doesn't sound that much as the usual Fender amp, i.e. way too much low and high end and sucky drive sections, but thinking back the recordings I made with it had great guitar sounds. It has lots of options and gain modes, simple potentiometer bias adjust right in the back panel, and isn't incredibly heavy even (although weighs as a 100W all tube 2x12" should. But it was VERY light compared to my Ampeg VT-22 which weighed a ton or so :-)

If I came across one for cheap, I'd buy one for sure. I think they're good amps.

On this 1995 grunge album of mine most if not all rhythm guitars and many lead melodies are played on my Les Paul thru the redknob, no other FX except for a Morley wah here and there:

http://deeaa.pp.fi/nc95.html

It was just a Fostex 8-track basement studio recording, but I like the sounds even today quite well.

[guitarhack]

I have a red-knob Sidekick Chorus 20, a 2x8 ss amph, with Pyle speakers, that I picked up in a trade several years ago. It's always been a great little practice amph, and really works well for acoustic guitars.

[hubberjub***]

Fender "Red Knob" Twins are the bane of my existence. Being a pedal steel player, the Fender Twin Reverb is a pretty standard go to amplifier for decent tone. A lot of times when I'm playing festivals, the sound company provides backline amps. I can't tell you how many times I've requested a Twin Reverb and ended up with a "The Twin". These are not the same amps. They probably aren't all that bad for people who like channel switching amps, but they are not what I care for. Also, when playing in NYC, be advised that if a club tells you they have a Fender Deluxe Amp, they mean a Blues Deluxe, not a Deluxe Reverb. That is a huge let down, too. That being said, if you're looking for a channel switching amp for six string, they probably aren't bad. I see the Red Knob Twins going for ~$400 regularly.

[Katastrophe]

Thanks hub, 'hack, Dee. That's the kind of info I was looking for!