Fender Rivera Design Pro Reverb Question
Bert Mingea
what I thought was an old blackface Pro Reverb but it looked more like the
size of a twin. So I get to talking to this guy and he says it's a Rivera
designed Pro Reverb from 82 and lets me play through it. Man o' man was
this a great clean sound...it absolutely stomps the new reissue amps and was
on par with the clean sound of the BF twins I've played through. This guy
said he also has a Rivera designed Deluxe from the same year and he's going
to sell either one of them...he's just trying to decide which to get rid of.
I've been looking around for a good clean amp for jazz and to a/b for my
rock rig and I'm considering one of these now.
So what's the deal with these amps? Are the wattages the same as the old
amps or are they different? For that matter, do they bare any resemblance
to the old BF amps in their circuit design? Are they PTP or PCB? Are they
rare or should I be able to find one on the web? What do they usually go
for?
Thanks,
Bert Mingea
hawkeye in exile
> I was in my local music store yesterday and saw this guy playing through
> what I thought was an old blackface Pro Reverb but it looked more like the
> size of a twin. So I get to talking to this guy and he says it's a Rivera
> designed Pro Reverb from 82 and lets me play through it. Man o' man was
i don't recall hearing of a pro. i've seen champ, super champ, deluxe,
concert, twin - but no pro...?
> So what's the deal with these amps? Are the wattages the same as the old
> amps or are they different?
the super champ was 18w, the concert 60w, the others similar to
BF output. they were the last hand-wired PTP Fenders.
Concerts are on the web all the time and go for $400 more or less,
and in very good-plus condition. super champs seem to
be the most prized. deluxes are rarer.
> Thanks,
> Bert Mingea
best,
jeff
--E-mail:-- s a n d e r s @ i o . c o m -----------
'00 FLSTC - "QoMH"
R. J. "jeff" Sanders Santa Clara, CA
"Let everybody get together then and we'll try to make it." - Howling Wolf
hawkeye in exile
> I was in my local music store yesterday and saw this guy playing through
> what I thought was an old blackface Pro Reverb but it looked more like the
> size of a twin. So I get to talking to this guy and he says it's a Rivera
> designed Pro Reverb from 82 and lets me play through it. Man o' man was
i see on the Fender Field Guide (http://www.ampwares.com/ffg) there
was a Princeton, too, tho i've never seen one. maybe that's what
your friend had in mind? anyway, the FFG is a great resource,
so enjoy...
Bert Mingea
jXoJ8.66085$Kp.67...@bin7.nnrp.aus1.giganews.com, "hawkeye in exile"
<san...@hagbard.io.com> wrote:
> Bert Mingea <bert...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> I was in my local music store yesterday and saw this guy playing through
>> what I thought was an old blackface Pro Reverb but it looked more like the
>> size of a twin. So I get to talking to this guy and he says it's a Rivera
>> designed Pro Reverb from 82 and lets me play through it. Man o' man was
> ...
>
> i don't recall hearing of a pro. i've seen champ, super champ, deluxe,
> concert, twin - but no pro...?
I've been looking and it seems that the Champ is a channel switching amp.
The Pro that I played through was like the old fenders...2 channels...no
switching. Are the rest of the amps channel switching? I'm just looking
for clean tone and nothing else so I don't want any channel switching
involved.
Matt Seniff
They are point to point amps. Well built units in the tradition of the
older stuff but with channel switching added in. The foot switch is
special for these so make sure you get it along with the unit or ask
for money off (had LEDs and stereo style 1/4" jacks rather than phono
plugs). They can sound pretty good with nice tubes installed and a
different speaker (sound better with a V30 IMHO). I have serviced a
couple for tubes and one that came from the factory with a 100 volt
power tranny (the customer had gone thru tubes very rapidly including
12AX7's previously). My only gripe is that the wiring is not real neat
or nice on most but OK. matt
RoccaforteAmps
very good sounding and
a bargan at todays prices.
Doug
Miles O'Neal
|concert, twin - but no pro...?
The Pro came out very early (1947 or 1948).
The Pro Reverb came out a year or so after
the Twin Reverb, and was similar to that
but had half the power (two output tubes).
I think '82 was the last year they were made.
A tweed Pro was pretty much a tweed Deluxe
with every input connected to its own
preamp stage and two 6L6s for more power.
Not sure about the later Pro (non-reverb)
models.
-Miles
Elitist Braindead Tool
Steve Barnes
I believe the Pro you are talking about is one of the ultra-linear 70wt
models.
I had a Super Reverb that was Blackface cosmetics and was the same 70wt
model.
IIRC it had a pull boost pot on the vibrato channel that sounded
horrible.
I wound up selling it. I don't remember it being a Rivera era model
though,
I could be wrong about that.
Steve
John King
Having read this thread to this point, there seems to be some
confusion about what is and what isn't a "Rivera" designed / era
amp. It is my understanding that not ALL the Fender amps from the
early 80's "Rivera" era were designed by him.
I believe that is the case with the early eighties Pro Reverb.
(Like the one our original poster inquires about).
From what I've seen, it is basically the same as the earlier
70 watt Pro / SR (as Steve Barnes pointed out) with black face
cosmetics.
The II series amps, (Champ, Harvard, Deluxe, Concert, Princeton
and Super Champ) were the ones designed under the direction of
Mr. Rivera.
John King
(aka Rockin_John)
http://www.angelfire.com/blues/rockinjohn/rockinamps.html
Bert Mingea
> Having read this thread to this point, there seems to be some
> confusion about what is and what isn't a "Rivera" designed / era
> amp. It is my understanding that not ALL the Fender amps from the
> early 80's "Rivera" era were designed by him.
>
> I believe that is the case with the early eighties Pro Reverb.
> (Like the one our original poster inquires about).
> From what I've seen, it is basically the same as the earlier
> 70 watt Pro / SR (as Steve Barnes pointed out) with black face
> cosmetics.
>
> The II series amps, (Champ, Harvard, Deluxe, Concert, Princeton
> and Super Champ) were the ones designed under the direction of
> Mr. Rivera.
>
After reading through the Fender Amp Field Guide that's the same conclusion
I've drawn. So my question is...when did the 70w pro come onto the market.
I'm assuming it was during the 70s and I'd be best off looking for a
silverface. Since there is a big difference between these amps and the
blackface amps there would be no point in having them blackfaced I
assume...is this correct? Are there any mods that can be done?
I've always loved Deluxe and Super Reverb clean sounds but have always
feared that they wouldn't have the headroom I need for unmiced gigs. As for
the Twin, I don't really like them much...to bright and crisp for my taste
but they've got the headroom. So I've been looking for something between a
Twin and Super and it looks like a 70w Pro is the thing. Is there any
accuracy in this assumption? Either way...it had the clean sound I've been
looking for.
Bert
Mel Martin
is a great tube jazz amp...
Bert Mingea
<ve...@rac.ca> wrote:
> Perhaps you should consider a Rivera amp... I use a Rivera S120 and it
> is a great tube jazz amp...
>
> John King wrote:
That's paying for a lot more than I need. I've already got a Bogner Ecstacy
when I need channel switching so I'm looking for something simple...just a
great clean sound and nothing else.
Bert
noc10
a 15" JBL.
It was designed as a steel guitar amp, but I've used it with a 3" Ibanez
Jazz guitar.(that's what
I bought it for) and it sounds great. Way darker and mellower than a twin,
same headroom.
Mine is a '72' SF.
"Bert Mingea" <bert...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:B91D36F0.8984%bert...@bellsouth.net...
Bert Mingea
JPPJ8.525$%A....@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net, "noc10"
<steve...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> What you need is a Vibrosonic Reverb, I have one, it's basically a twin with
> a 15" JBL.
> It was designed as a steel guitar amp, but I've used it with a 3" Ibanez
> Jazz guitar.(that's what
> I bought it for) and it sounds great. Way darker and mellower than a twin,
> same headroom.
> Mine is a '72' SF.
>
I'll have to look into these...thanks. Can you give me some specifics on
the amp...such as wattage, rectifier type, tubes?
Bert
Bert Mingea
Mingea" <bert...@bellsouth.net> wrote:
I can't find these things for sale anywhere on the web...are they rare?
What would be a typical price for a SF? Any Ideas?
Bert
noc10
" Z " <mws...@aol.comp> wrote in message
news:20020531153227...@mb-ck.aol.com...
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> >What you need is a Vibrosonic Reverb, I have one, it's basically a twin
with a
> 15" JBL. It was designed as a steel guitar amp, but I've used it with a 3"
> Ibanez Jazz guitar.(that's what I bought it for) and it sounds great. Way
> darker and mellower than a twin, same headroom.
>
Not
> exactly portable but a great sound.
yeah, mine has the D130F, and some came wth EVs I think. Both
will eventually buy your Chiropractor a new set of Pings.
I sold the jazz guitar and am thinking of trying to turn my Vibro
over for a Deluxe of some sort.
noc10
4x6L6, SS Recti. non-Ultralinear (at least my 72 is)
I believe mine is 80w. It has a Master Volume(no pull boost crap)
I had Uncle Ned take a look at it a couple of years back, if he remembers
it he would be able to give the real tech details.
It is an amp that has a big, smooth,deep clean sound.
noc10
the steel guitar guys who find them just never give them up.
I am toying with the idea of selling mine, so I can get a Deluxe.
When I asked here a month or so back the consensus was about 450-650 IIRC.
I had a steel player offer me 1200 once but I don't think that is the going
price.
I'd bet it would be just a bit above a pre pull boost model twin(alittle
heavier duty, 15" JBL)
How much that is I don't know.
Another idea might be to get a twin and rebaffle it for a 15".
Maybe some of the other folks will help out here.
MBarnett
> I've used it with a 3" Ibanez Jazz guitar.
You must really, really small hands!
;-)
Monte
noc10
"MBarnett" <res0...@UNDO.Verizon.net> wrote in message
news:XOXJ8.5245$b73....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
That's what I thought when I read it too, and it's my post, sheesh.
John King
The Vibrosonic Reverb I had a 15" Gauss speaker and I confess the
darker sound was preferable to my friends 2-12 JBL equipped Twin.
(Trading a sweet DR for it was the worst trade I ever made.)
I used to think they were modeled on the 135 watt Twin, and
could have sworn mine said 135 watts on it, but documentation
I find on them now says 100 watts. What a back breaker though.
noc10
"John King" <kin...@swbell.net> wrote in message
news:3CF929C5...@swbell.net...
I double checked mine, it is 100w, though I have also seen the 135w version
(also Ultra-linear)
I think they pretty much followed the Twin Reverb development/decline.
FWIW, The 100w version sounds much better than the 135w. Just like Twins.
mhonnert
> and Super Champ) were the ones designed under the direction of
> Mr. Rivera.
>
> John King
> (aka Rockin_John)
I think he also designed the "The Twin" as well as the "75-series" amps. The
latter was an awful ultralinear design with no good tones and serious hum.
Matthew