The Fender Frontman 212R combo is a mainstay of young guitarists and although entirely solid state is capable of producing some classic Fender clean tones as well as plenty of raunchy overdrive. This is a versatile amp and features three channels (“clean,” “drive” and “more drive”), on-board spring reverb and a “mid contour” switch which produces a multitude of distortion tones. And with its black control panel, chrome hardware and black vinyl covering and grille cloth, the FM 212R certainly looks the business.
Rated at 100 watts this isn’t a quiet amp by any means and can easily handle most gigs. Although some guitarists will never quite come to terms with solid state technology I’ve heard these used in many pub gigs and they always sound great in my opinion. Whilst it may lack the warm valve tones when playing lead I’d put the clean tones up against plenty of other amps at this price.
Fender Frontman 212 Specification
- Type: Solid State
- Output: 100 watts into 4 ohms
- Ohms: 4 ohms
- Speakers: 2x 12″ Special Design 8 ohm, 50 watt Speakers
- Channels: Three Selectable Channels (Normal, Drive and More Drive)
- Features: Dedicated Volume and Tone Controls in Both Channels, Effects Loop, Footswitch Jack (For Remote Drive Select with Optional Footswitch)
- Controls: Normal Channel: Volume, Treble, Bass; Drive Channel: Drive, Volume, Channel Select Switch, Treble, Mid, Mid Contour Switch, Bass, Reverb
- Footswitch Jack: Effects Loop, Preamp Out, Power Amp In
- Covering: Black Textured Vinyl with Silver Grille Cloth; Chrome Hardware; Blackface Control Panel
- Weight: 48 lbs. (21.7 kg)
- Dimensions: Height: 19.5″ (49.5 cm), Width: 26″ (66 cm), Depth: 9.5″ (24.13 cm)
Price: $399 USD / £229 GBP
