# Mesa/Boogie F50 vs. Fender Supersonic



## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

Hey guys, I wouldnt mind some opinions on the two amps. 


Right now Im running the F50 1x12 and I love the clean and crunch tones, and it does what I need it to for the most part, but I cant get a low od slight breakup tone that cuts through well enough with clairty. I have an eq that I use to boost the higher mids for the typical lacking presence that mesa's famous for, but its not exaclty the ideal setup for what I need. I love the versatility, the throaty jazzy deep cleans, and having a great sounding classic meets modern crunch with the contour channel etc. But that pushed clean slight breakup is lacking.

A guy wants to trade me straight up for his Supersonic 1x12 that is in great shape but I wont have a chance to crank one or try it at length. Has anyone here had alot of experience with it? 

Is it as versatile as it is marketed, and does it do all the sounds well, or just mediocre? 

The youtube clips are pretty convincing and I find it even does a good higher gain liquid solo styled sounds and some decently tight riffing, but I have yet to crank one. And you can never tell with youtube videos.

Any thoughts, questions, concerns?


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

Just from playing (and lusting after) both amps, I can say that I managed to get far better tones from the Mesa, and much more easily. The Supersonic gets mixed reviews, and I can see why.

Sounds like you should look into a TS-808/clone.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I tried a Supersonic in a store with a Gretsch once and couldn't find a single usable tone. I didn't spend too much time with it, but you usually get a sense of what an amp is capable of even without fiddling around with the knobs too much. After 30 mins of toying with it, I decided the amp was crap.

btw - I was in the market for the guitar at the time, not the amp. I don't know how that may have altered my opinion, but I thought it might worth mentioning.


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## Esoterik (Dec 18, 2006)

I used to own an F-50 and it was awesome. Really great cleans, and everything up to hard rock and older metal. With a boost in front (I used a Graphic EQ) and a parametric EQ in the loop, I could make it do the Brootalz also. 

A great little amp. Sold it, because I needed the money. I'd recommend the mesa.


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

Esoterik said:


> I used to own an F-50 and it was awesome. Really great cleans, and everything up to hard rock and older metal. With a boost in front (I used a Graphic EQ) and a parametric EQ in the loop, I could make it do the Brootalz also.
> 
> A great little amp. Sold it, because I needed the money. I'd recommend the mesa.




Yeah, I have the mesa now, but unless its really cranked on the clean channel (which I cant do with most rehearsals) it doesnt do the slight breakup well. When I can crank it though, it has a really pleasant chimey breakup that is fantastic.. Im not looking for the Brootalz, but if the amp can do it, then great cause I still like to play some prog and fusion styles.

I can see what someone said about not being able to get a good tone out of it, it takes a bit of time to get used to the tone stack and i didnt find I had any trouble. You still need an eq pedal in the loop or something for a good mid boost to take the blanket off the amp.



Another concern I kind of have is quality and reliability. I dont own a car, and usually leave my big cabs and effects at the jam space, and then hand-truck the combo and guitars on transit, so its gotta be able to hold up to the abuse lol  So far its looking like I`d stick with the Mesa, mainly for the reliabilities sake, but we`ll see if I can get to crank the supersonic before deciding.


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

Andy said:


> Just from playing (and lusting after) both amps, I can say that I managed to get far better tones from the Mesa, and much more easily. The Supersonic gets mixed reviews, and I can see why.
> 
> Sounds like you should look into a TS-808/clone.


What kind of tones are we talking? The typical fender gets better low gain and cleans, and the mesa gets better chugs? Or is there something else I can expect?


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

TheYanChamp said:


> What kind of tones are we talking? The typical fender gets better low gain and cleans, and the mesa gets better chugs? Or is there something else I can expect?


This is going back easily a year...If I recall correctly, the Mesa was the hands-down winner for everything from classic rock to metal, and the Supersonic had nicer cleans (to my ear). The gain channel on the Supersonic was fizzy and anemic, I can remember that distinctly.

It was also impossible to get a nice, gutsy blues crunch from F-50 when I played it, and the Supersonic only had the single clean volume, so I couldn't push it into overdrive.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

just throw a tubescreamer type pedal out front and play low gain bluesy stuff till the cows come home 

*is running his always-on modded TS into his JSX's clean right now*


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## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

Budda said:


> just throw a tubescreamer type pedal out front and play low gain bluesy stuff till the cows come home


Yeah, that was what I said, as well. No need to sacrifice a great amp for the want of one sound -- a TS would open up a bunch of new sounds, as well as help give the amp a little bit more presence.


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## TheYanChamp (Mar 6, 2009)

Alright, thanks for the tips.

Im not used to relying on anything but my amp for the tones I need. I think I have a blues driver kicking around somewhere..

Oh, and I went to buddy's place yesterday to try out the supersonic for myself at decent volumes.

I found a couple drive tones I could work with and sounded great with my single coil loaded guitar. I had no problem getting the bite, attack, saturation and sustain I wanted (even with some easy to aquire feedback). The thing is, he had a bad preamp tube or something, everytime you'd turn the clean channel past two it would emit a HUGE POP! I told him to check the pre's and let me know. Turns out he said he did and its running fine now, but thats also what he said before I went there. Forget the Fender! Not to mention the thing is built like a toy.. The knobs are loose, probably pcb mounted plastic crap potentiometers, the footswitch cable was somewhat of a joke and short. The tube protecting back plate was made out of toilexed cardboard or something retarded like that. Like I said, it felt like a toy.. I can only haul a small combo at a time right now, so I cant use a backup and that just wont do.

I must say though, great marketing on fenders part!


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I used to only rely on my amp for my tones.

now i rely on my amp and i modded tubescreamer. works like a charm


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## Ripper (Jul 1, 2006)

I am not a fan of the supersonic but if he was offering a trade on a prosonic, now that would be worth thinking about.


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## Fenderboy (Feb 4, 2009)

I have the supersonic and it does everything I need it to do. Super sweet cleans to more than enough drive for the blues. Sounds great with P90's in my Casino Elitist, Pearly Gates in my Les Paul and the Strat is a perfect match for the supersonic. Of course everyone has their own sound they prefere, I just happened to find mine with the supersonic.


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