60w all tube combo, with 2 x 10 Celestion speakers, switchable polarization, designed by the legendary Bruce Zinky. The Prosonic was the Fender Custom Shop’s attempt to produce a high-gain boutique amp with features you’d expect to find in a MESA/Boogie.
The MESA/Boogie style features found on the Prosonic are:
- switchable channels
- Dual cascaded gain controls on the transmit channel
- switchable rectifier / polarization
- effects send and return
I first heard of one of these about 15 years ago when they first came out. I had never gotten a decent sound from built in preamp units, preferring to control the input on non-master volume amps using my old Ibanez Tube Screamer. However, 15 years ago, I can distinctly remember it being one of the best preamp units I’ve ever heard. I also recall that they were quite expensive new (boutique prices?), which partly explains why Fender ceased production after 6 years.
I eventually managed to get my Prosonic about 18 months ago.
The Prosonic offers switchable bias/rectifier settings:
- Solid State Rectifier, Class A/B 60w – Mode 1 sounds like traditional Fender clean tones, especially on the clean channel. Very clean, bright and very strong.
- tube rectifier, class A/B 50w – Mode 2 is slightly softer and darker due to tube rectifier compression
- tube rectifier, class A 30w – Mode 3 is the true class A mode, and at 30w a super warm sound with an early natural break up, but still strong, as is a decent Voc AC30. It may not be exactly an AC30, but it doesn’t disgrace you at all, and you could spend a lot more money than this on a 30w class A amp.
These modes can be changed using the chicken head dial on the back, even while powered on. Be careful though, mode 30 class A is hard on tubes.
Great, great tone. Before I got this one, an online review described the Prosonic as one of the best Fender amps ever made. The clean channel will produce classic Fender clean tones, and while I don’t normally use a lot of boost to play, the Prosonic seems to tempt me to play louder and dirtier, and it’s a lot of fun, a bit like a fast bike beckoning you to do so. stretch the throttle cable. The 2×10 Celestions add warmth and punch to the sound, perfect for single-coil pickups played in a small combo. It’s a hot and noisy amp, even in 30w mode.
Disadvantages:
- The reverb is noisy. It doesn’t bother me, but for studio use, it could be a problem. A known issue with these, and there’s an easy mod for it.
- Channel change produces a pop; again, a known issue with these, and there’s an easy mod for it.
The Prosonic is my current do-it-all amp, and after taking almost 15 years to get one, it’s a keeper.
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