The Fender Cyber-Twin amp was introduced early this year and discussed in SGF in February and April.

I had an opportunity to play my Fender Jaguar lead guitar thru one for the first time at Guitar Center in Medford, OR a few weeks ago. I had some difficulty judging it because the store was very crowded and many players were testing gear at the same time. It's like an "audio zoo" in that store at times.

Have any of your steel guitarists had an opportunity to give this amp a real life test during a gig? Have any of you actually purchased this amp?

My real reservation about this amp is that since I started using rack gear, I don't like the idea of having all the amp control behind me.

I look forward to reading some new comments about this amp.

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Regards,
Al Gershen
Grants Pass, Oregon. USA
Fender 1000 (1957),
Fender PS 210 (1972) &
Gibson Electraharp EH-820
(1962)
Photos at http://www.rvi.net/~aldg and http://communities.msn.com/AldgsPhotos/photoalbums.msnw

None of the sounds as it comes from the factory seem to be very good for steel, but it's simple to build your own. I recommend using the Vibro King as a starting point.

Here are the settings I used to get a basic sound (it's lots easier than it looks)
A21 VibroKing
Edit amp (press the "amp" button after each selection to go to the next, use the big knob to make the selection)
Tone Stack -Modern
Pre-Distortion
BlackFace Tube 1 (uses the tube preamp)
Fender Reverb
Rev. Dwell 9.0
Rev. Tone 10
Rev time 7.6
Rev Diffusion 10
Timbre - Full Body
Compressor - off
Noise Gate Depth - 5
Noise Gate Threshold - Low

And then I like the Stereo Tape Echo for Effects (Press the Efx edit button right below the amp edit button, use the big knob to select)
Stereo Tape Echo
Output 3.1
Time 380
Feedback 3.5
Wow and Flutter 1.0 (this is a very important control, lots of different sounds available depending on the setting )
Echo Brightness 7.3
Save
Save again
These are the basic tone settings ( the regular knobs) I like with my Zum --
Trim - 9 you want the red LED to light occasionally
Gain 3.75
Volume 5.5
Treble 7
Mid 4 Very important control !
Bass 8
Presence 3.75
Reverb 3 or 4
Master - at least 5, usually 7 - 10
There, wasn't that easy ! It comes with a very good simple manual.

The factory preset called "A Twin" is not a bad place to start, either.

I like this amp because it's versatile and light, but it's not for everyone.
Also, I have had two bad preamp tubes, but this last batch seems to be holding up OK.

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Doug Earnest
Zum2000U12,Sierra12,Sho-Bud ProII D10 PV DPC 750 ProFex 112E, Fender Cyber Twin

[This message was edited by Doug Earnest on 15 November 2001 at 06:34 PM.]

Thank you for your posting.

I was interested in the patch information that you provided in your posting. I wonder if it's possible to translate your patches in Peavey Pro Fex II language? (It may be that some of the effects on the Cyber-
Twin are nore found on the Pro Fex II?)

There sure doesn't seem much interest in this Fender amp from the steel guitar commmunity. That's disappointing because I got another opportunity to try the amp out at another music store yesterday (Saturday, 11/17/01 at Larry Music in Grants Pass, Oregon), this time using a Godin LGXT lead guitar (what a fine playing and sounding guitar).

I was in a room by myself so I didn't have too many distractions from other customers in the store.

Here are some of my observations about this amp:

1. The amp has a very clear neutral sound which to me means that it allows your instrument to come thru with minimal coloration of the instrument's natural electronic tone.

2. There are many factory provided effect patches on this amp that to me actually sound very good. I say this because most of the factory provided effect patches on my Peavey Pro Fex II appear to be designed for the hard rock guitarists who love distorsion. I'm glad that Fender had the forethought to do this so that this amp would also appeal to the non-hard rock guitarist.

3. The amp only weighs in at about 55 pounds so it's certainly manageable. If necessary, you could move it around on a dolly or even install wheels on the bottom of the case.

4. The weight could also be a factor in accessing the quality of the speakers. I suspect that the Celestion speakers that come with this amp are probably not from the top of the line. Usually your better speakers, having a very heavy magnet, contribute much of the weight of a guitar amplifier.

5. The amplifier's output is certainly not much of a contender. At 55 watts into what I believe are 4 ohm, 12" speakers, this amp is not in the class with such amps as the Peavey Nashville 100 and many others. My Peavey Vegas 400 amp, which dates from the early 1980s, has an output of 225 watts into 4 ohm speakers.

I believe that the Fender Cyber-Twin has the ability to be a good steel guitar amp. One reservation might be the low output wattage. If you are playing this amp at loud volumes in large venues, I suspect that this amp will not do the job. But in other less stressful playing situations, the amp should do fine.

I hope, Doug, that you are enjoying playing music thouugh your Fender Cyber-Twin amp.

I have my Fender 1000 pedal steel home for the next two weeks (I usually leave it set up at the venue where I play every Saturday with a country band) and if I get the inspration and the strength, I might take it over to the music store and try the Cyber-Twin with the steel. You know, I'm going to do it!

I look forward to reading you next post about the patches.

Regards,
Al Gershen

[This message was edited by Al Gershen on 18 November 2001 at 08:14 PM.]

Even though some of the presets in the Profex II were programmed for distortion type characteristics, these presets or any preset can be reconfigured for most any tone and with many effects. It just takes time to learn the machine.

Mike Brown
Peavey Customer Services

[This message was edited by Mike Brown on 19 November 2001 at 10:09 AM.]

The single real benefit of a programmable amp to us steelplayers is the ability to change a host of settings instantly...a feature most steelers can (and do) live without.

[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 19 November 2001 at 07:27 PM.]

I'm not much on electronics, but I doubt that it would be possible to download the presets from a ProFex to the Cyber Twin.

While this amp isn't as powerful as most others, it will still put out all the volume I really care to sit in front of.

I have been surprised by how good the Celestion speakers sound. I am going to install a pair of Weber California paper dust cap models in the near future just for fun.

Happy Holidays

quote:

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Five watts of audio, fed into an efficient speaker, is more than the human ear can stand.

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Obviously, this fella might have been an EE or an audiologist, but he didn't know much about tone and clarity, let alone "projection" and overall sound quality.

There is no substitute for watts!