Fender Prosonic - Discontinuation of The Prosonic

Discontinuation of The Prosonic

The Prosonic sold quite well, outselling the '94 Twin (even though the Prosonic had a higher price and fewer features). However, overproduction of the amplifiers (due to the very good margin on the Prosonic) lead to overstock. This, factored with it remaining unchanged for 5 years (as new products get the most attention at music stores) led Fender to close out the Prosonic inventory and discontinue the product.

Towards the end of the 1990s, poor sales relegated many of the existing stock of Prosonics to closeout sale status. Theories abound as to why it was never a great success with players; foremost was its high price. It was simply perceived as too much money despite innovative design and glowing reviews. The Prosonic also suffered from something of an identity crisis; the cosmetics suggested classic Fender tones, and many players desiring an amp for Blues/Country playing, for example, were put off by the over-the-top lead channel. Conversely, the demographic for high-gain amplifiers, generally the domain of practitioners of heavy metal and the fledgling nu metal genre, and dominated by products from Marshall and Mesa Boogie, had long written off Fender as incapable of producing amplifiers catering to their style. The combo's 10-inch speakers, though specially designed & voiced for the Prosonic to handle huge amounts of power, were seen as too small by players favoring 12-inch speakers. The mechanical relay-based channel switching, designed to provide a more pure signal path, produced a large pop upon channel switching at low volumes, unlike other electronically buffered designs—this deliberate design choice was nonetheless perceived as the premier "design flaw" among players. Several of the Prosonic's other quirkier design elements, such as the shared EQ and line-level effects loop, were designed for studio use and weren't ideal for live playing. Understandably, buyers were attracted to the amp's flexibility and, when used on-stage, these studio-friendly features were perceived as design flaws. Like with many other high-powered combo amplifiers, the Prosonic's weight, at 60 lbs, was another less-than-popular characteristic.