written by Plex on 22/12/2006
Good Points
This amp looks great, and it has impressive specs. These are the only good things I can say about it.
Bad Points
Even on the clean channel down quiet, once you plug a lead into this amp you are overcome by white noise and hiss. This amp would not be useful for recording unless you're wanting to sound like Sonic Youth. I am disappointed by the clean sound. It's not usable at all for playing clean dynamic music. The actual guitar sound you get is fine, but it has to compete with the underlying hiss and muddy white noise.
The amp is poorly constructed. The dials feel cheap, and they wouldn't stand up to much bumping around in the back of a van. The front grill is barely attached to the cabinet, and it moves around.
General Comments
The Fender Stage 1600 guitar amp discredits Fender's otherwise good name. They should have put a 'Squire' badge on it instead.