Fender or Marshall?

[Robert****]

Simple question - Marshall or Fender?

You have to pick one or the other - which is your choice?

I know there are many different Fender and Marshall amps, but let's ignore that this time and just vote with our hearts!

Think of it this way, you get an anonymous phone call telling you that you are being given a free amp and it will be on your doorstep this afternoon. They ask you Fender or Marshall! They guy asking does not know anything else. He's just delivering a big box (let's say all boxes are the same size).

[Tone2TheBone]

You know what my vote is.

[Robert****]

I'm gonna have to wait to answer until August when I get my Marshall clone - the Heatseeker!

[duhvoodooman***]

I've loved that Marshall tone since '67 when I first heard EC play through his "Bluesbreaker" combo....

[sunvalleylaw]

Fender. Guess I'm the lone cowboy so far. Must be my west coast roots and Neil Young fascination! Oh yeah, and SRV's Fender stuff, and . . .

But, all I have is the Peavey anyway, and have never really played much through either to tell the truth.

[SuperSwede]

My amp style preference varies all the time, one week I might be digging that 4x10 bassman sound, and the next could well be all about a roaring super lead. That´s why I love amp modeling, it can give me all that without getting me beat up by the neighbours. But if I had to choose I would probably vote for Marshall if I could get a nice Plexi or another early non-master volume Marshall.

[Iago]

Fender. The only Marshalls I really would like to have would be that Bluesbreaker combo or a Plexi.

[Brian Krashpad]

Think of it this way, you get an anonymous phone call telling you that you are being given a free amp and it will be on your doorstep this afternoon. They ask you Fender or Marshall! They guy asking does not know anything else. He's just delivering a big box (let's say all boxes are the same size).

Stated that way, it's a no-brainer for me, because I already own a 1966 Fender Super Reverb (not a reissue, though it's beaten to heck and has been chopped in two), but don't currently have any Marshall product. So Marshall it is. (I did once have a 100W pre-AVT series Marshall Valvestate hybrid head which wasn't bad, but not all-tube.)

However, if the scenario was: you have NO amps currently and you're told you are being given a free amp and it will be on your doorstep this afternoon, then in my case I would probably choose Fender, because in my side bands I need clean sounds (although they do not have to be crystalline) and overall I can live with pushing a Fender with a pedal for dirty, but Marshall are not really known for their cleans.

In a perfect world everybody should have a Fender-type (for example, Traynor or Victoria or Peavey Classic or MusicMan) amp AND a Marshall-type (for example, Laney or Ampeg 50/100W head), plus some other odds and ends. In the latter department, for example I'd love a Vox AC-15 or AC-30 (or the Laney analogs), or an Ampeg guitar combo amp (my lead singer in my first side band has a vintage Ampeg Gemini II 1x15 combo that kicks ***), or an Orange.

I'm fortunate in that I have the Fender Super for Fender sounds and a Sovtek MiG 50H "Tube Midget" for old-school Marshall sounds, plus a vintage Sunn and a vintage Kustom for odds and ends.

[t_ross33]

Had to go Fender just to even the score

I love the sound of a pushed Fender amp, and for that "twang thang" you can't beat a Deluxe Reverb IMHO.

I like the idea of having both and switching between Fender clean and Marshall crunch. I'm also GASing for a more advanced modeller that will allow me to do that without the backbreaking labor of hauling more gear. And before we get into the discussion of "tone", hey I'm not THAT good (yet) anyway, so close approximations are cool with me Hmmm.... now I have to start a poll to choose between Boss, Line 6, Zoom, Digitech....

But back to the topic at hand: Fender all the way, babies!

[duhvoodooman***]

I like the idea of having both and switching between Fender clean and Marshall crunch.

Now that's exactly the point. I don't really want to have to choose! Gimme one of each, and a A/B/Y switch! Both are indispensible in their own way....British grind and American twang!!

[333maxwell]

It is akin to asking 'blondes, or brunettes'.

Heck, it seems to weed redheads and bald people out of the mix.

I prefer Fenders for the clean sparkle and creamy overdrive, and Marshalls for the balls to the walls no prisoners stuff...

_________

Same with Pauls or Strats, Marshalls or Fenders.. blondes or brunettes.. chevys or fords.. Leno or Letterman.. cheech or chong.. Salvador or Dali..

Whatever works best for the player is best for them, and there is more than one flavor in the ice cream bin.

______

Even though I gravitate to Strats and Fenders, it would be a very bleak world indeed if there were no Less Pauls our Marshalls..

[Spudman***]

Fender. Why?

Well you have pedals that will make a Fender sound like a Marshall, but even the new Fender amph clone pedals aren't going to make a Marshall sound like a Fender. That sparkle is hard to duplicate.

Besides, I already have each and Fender is easier to spell.

[duhvoodooman***]

Fender. Why?

Well you have pedals that will make a Fender sound like a Marshall, but even the new Fender amph clone pedals aren't going to make a Marshall sound like a Fender. That sparkle is hard to duplicate.

Excellent point, Spuds, if you can only have one.

[LagrangeCalvert]

I voted fender, but just cause its a free amp...if I had to buy one or the other it would be neither and it would go to Peavey for my Delta Blues....

[Jimi75]

My opinion is that buying a good sounding Fender amp is the most easiest thing in the world. Grap a Bassman, Deluxe Reverb or a Twin and you are safe.

With Marshalls it is way more complex and difficult to get a good one. Being a foremost amp only company they try to cover many terrains, so it is not easy to stumble across the right amp for you. Not every Marshall series carries the Marshall spirit. Such things as hybrid this and that could and will never convince the one who is looking for the real Marshall sound. But then again, Marshall covered terrains from Metal to Blues.

I figured out for myself that my style of playing is best suited with a Marshall amp, may it be the Bluesbraker or the 1974x. The tone is thick and warm, but at the same time very clear. The Marshall is better friend with my pedals and as I am a Rock and Metalhead,too it gives me more balls!

Unfortunately, I have only my Line 6 Flex Marshall Model of a JTM 45, but sure I have played the original often enough to know that it is good for me :-)

I would also like to mention that those Marshall Clones are very good and versatile and I am happy to see that Robert bought this little Heatseeker and will let us have some nice clips form August on!

[Leonidas]

Given the options, I had to vote Fender.

Although I LOVE the plexi, or bluesbreaker sound...

On the whole I think that your standard fender sound (twin reverb, or bassman) are much more versatile considering their great cleans. And no blues player can argue against an overdriven fender sound.

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

just get a 64 Fender Bassman with the AA864 CIRCUIT ( ITS VERY RARE ) .. plug that into a 4-12 marshall cab with celestion green backs and you have it all .. the bass ch on the bassman is absolutely outrageous for guitar and the normal ch has the sweetest cleans you will find ... AA864 is the best kept secret in tonedom ...

[Fingers]

....nuff said.....?

[sunvalleylaw]

just get a 64 Fender Bassman with the AA864 CIRCUIT ( ITS VERY RARE ) .. plug that into a 4-12 marshall cab with celestion green backs and you have it all .. the bass ch on the bassman is absolutely outrageous for guitar and the normal ch has the sweetest cleans you will find ... AA864 is the best kept secret in tonedom ...

Sounds like a great plan! How much would that rig set a guy back?

Nice pic Fingers! Looks like the 52 tele re-issue the Boss signed and gave away at a local benefit in this area a coupla months back.