Mini fender amp11/7/2023 ![]() Looking at the layout, I’m unfortunately not well versed in other small amplifiers. I would say the former is a more accurate description. One thing that seems to discern the two is the Distortion knob is marked “Drive” on one, and “Gain” on the other. There are diagrams of the internals on the internet but counting my amplifier I’ve found three different board revisions so far, so those schematics may or may not be applicable. Fender does not have any schematics of them, which is understandable. I really liked the look of this thing, though, so I decided to see what could be done. However, most people use it once or twice and then dismiss it, and this is a big part of the problem. It’s actually not terrible, all things considered. 9v batteries simply do not have the amperage to continue driving the amp at higher volumes, and so it lacks headroom. The amplifier is meant to look like the twin amp, but is improperly scaled- Looking at the board, this amp is actually just a re-clothed “Mini Deluxe” amp- though oddly the Mini Deluxe seems to be scaled more accurately.Turning the drive up increases the volume substantially, rather than being a simple drive control.The tone at best leaves something to be desired, and at worst is utterly unusable. The distortion makes the Boss Metal zone look useful in comparison. The entire drive control is a nightmare.There is a headphone out, but if you actually use it the tone is quite frankly terrible, and if you’re recording you’re better off going DI if you can. ![]() The only really usable position is at 80-100%, or about 10-12 using the 1-12 numbering scheme. The “tone control” is a blender which works essentially on the same principles as, for example, Blackstar’s ISF, but is nowhere near as effective.The speaker tone is tinny and weak, sounding very thin, and seems to distort very poorly at higher volumes when “clean”.It is not entirely undeserved, stock at least. I’ll get straight to the point- This amp gets a bad rap. Image taken from Shopify in accordance with fair use guidelines. Image taken from Reverb in accordance with fair use guidelines. I'd say that's about what it's worth Definitely not $70. ![]() It goes for $40-70 USD depending where you buy it from, and personally I got mine on sale at a large outlet for about $30. It has (sort of) the appearance of a miniature Fender '57 Custom Twin amp. The Fender '57 Mini Twin-Amp is a small, 1W, Solid State, 9v powered bedroom/portable amplifier. I've been tinkering with my Fender '57 Mini Twin-Amp for a little while now, and I thought I’d fill in a few of the blanks about the amp.
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