'65 Super Reverb Reissue (advice)
John Deignan
Anyone had any experience with the Fender '65 Super Reverb (Reissue)?
I realize they are a bit pricey, but I played one in a local music
store and it sounded really nice (in the store, playing alone)...but
then again...so did the Hot-Rod Deluxe I'm currently stuck with. Took
the HRD to the gig, and between the Trumpet/Sax/Bass/Drums...it just
didn't cut it. I guess I need more headroom without losing the
"warmth" or the "fatness" (yikes - there are those words again!) I
haven't yet played the '65 Twin Reverb (Reissue) but was told that it
was also quite nice. If it was up to you...which would you pick?
Old Fenders don't seem common in my neck of the woods, so it looks
like I'm limited to exploring the newer models. What I find
interesting in the Super RI is the "tube-rectifier" feature. Any
impressions (or comparisons) of the new Super/Twin reverbs is
appreciated. I also have a polytone which is fine...but I do enjoy
that tube sound! Now I just need to find one with the combination of
clarity,warmth and power. Not to mention someone to lift the bloody
thing.
Thanks for any input.
John Deignan
Bob Russell
two...@francomm.com wrote on 5/21/01 10:07 AM:
As an owner of an original Super Reverb, I can say that if the reissue is
faithful to the originals, you're probably going to find yourself wanting
more clean headroom for a jazz gig. The power on the originals is only
around 45 watts RMS, which in a perfect world would be enough for any gig.
In the real world of ham-handed drummers, leather-lunged horn players and
obliviously babbling drinkers (yes, sometimes those three sets intersect),
you'll likely want more horses to keep those 13b9(#11) chords from breaking
up.
I love my Super, but I only use it for jazz when I know the situation's
going to be pretty quiet. For rock stuff, it definitely rules! (Or is that
'roolz'?)
-- Bob Russell
http://www.uncwil.edu/people/russellr
Peter Grey
I haven't played a Super reissue but I used to own a HRD and I've played
a number of times through a couple of Twin reissues. I thought the Twins
were mediocre at best. Obviously, tube amps can vary due to differences
in how they're set up, but I thought the Twins not nearly as nice as my
Polytone or the HRD. They were both thin sounding and pretty buzzy. I
assume that there are better set up Twins out there...
I'm surprised that the HRD isn't loud enough (or is it that it's
distorting?). I put a Weber California 12 in mine and it gave it a lot
more headroom and a less boomy low end. Depending on what tubes are in
your HRD, you may find that swapping to "cleaner" tubes will help. I
loved my HRD - it was a great jazz amp and it was plenty loud. I only
sold it because I bought a '72 Vibrosonic (Twin with a 15").
BTW, if you're interested, the low hours CA 12 out of my HRD is for sale.
Regards,
Peter
Mark Guest
I'm with you on the HRD's tonal deficiencies. I'm not convinced that any
newer Fender is going to ring your bells in the same way as an older,
well-maintained Fender might. I dumped my HRD after finding a 68 Pro Reverb,
then found myself using the MBII more than the tube amp. IMHO, replacing the
Mini-Brute's speaker is the secret to getting decent headroom and minimal
"honk" out of the Polytone. I used a PAS, which sounds great, but is _very
heavy_. You might give it a try if you like the Polytone's tonal character.
--
Mark Guest
JazzerWB at JahWho dot com
"John Deignan" <two...@francomm.com> wrote in message
news:c368a3cf.01052...@posting.google.com...
Joey Goldstein
Mark Guest wrote:
>
> IMHO, replacing the
> Mini-Brute's speaker is the secret to getting decent headroom and minimal
> "honk" out of the Polytone. I used a PAS, which sounds great, but is _very
> heavy_. You might give it a try if you like the Polytone's tonal character.
Interesting. Any info on the web about PAS speakers? I've never heard of them.
--
Joey Goldstein
Guitarist/Jazz Recording Artist/Teacher
Home Page: http://members.tripod.com/joeygoldstein
Email: <joegold AT sympatico DOT ca>
David C. Stephens
loud drummer, a Clarus with a Raezer's Edge cab cannot be beat. If you must
have a combo, then the JE or AE 200 Evans will get you loud enough. In
either case, you won't need a roady to lug it for you.
For $350 and less, the Peavey Transtube Bandit 112 is hard to beat. It's a
little bulky, but not outrageously heavy and I think it'll have the headroom
you'll need, though I still haven't gig tested one yet. Go listen for
yourself. Don't let the lack of tubes keep you from hearing a good
alternative.
Dave
"John Deignan" <two...@francomm.com> wrote in message
news:c368a3cf.01052...@posting.google.com...
Winston Castro
wrote:
>
>BTW, if you're interested, the low hours CA 12 out of my HRD is for sale.
>
>Regards,
>
>Peter
>
How much are you asking for that speaker? I might be interested.
kaetae
Super.
It is a very loud 35 watts.
If I have it biased cold with high quality 6L6GC's in it, it is clean all
the way.
By using a hotter bias and different power tubes I can change it to
almost Marshall sounding.
What many people don't realize is that Fender usually uses Groove Tube
Power Tubes that rated at around 6 so that the amp will distort. That's
what most players want these days. Some other Fender amps come with
cheap Chinese tubes that seriously hamper the amps capabilities.
I also put in Weber speakers which also helped considerably.
I suggest that you get new (good quality) Power tubes for your Hot Rod
(If you get Groove Tubes, go with number 1) and have the amp biased
colder.
Most Fender amps have a set bias. A tech can install a bias pot and set
your amp up to your specifications. It would be much cheaper than buying
a new amp and it should provide you with the sound you want.
As for the Twin reissues. They can be ear bleeding loud and clean with
excellent tone.
Keep in mind...If you don't like the sound of your Fender tube amp...just
change the power tubes and have it biased. It will be an entirely
different amp.
One other thing is that Fender reissue Jensen and Oxford speakers are not
the best.
You may be getting speaker distortion. Go to the Weber page and tell
them what you want. But go with the tubes and bias first.
Pt
OASYSCO
>
>
>Mark Guest wrote:
>>
>> IMHO, replacing the
>> Mini-Brute's speaker is the secret to getting decent headroom and minimal
>> "honk" out of the Polytone. I used a PAS, which sounds great, but is _very
>> heavy_. You might give it a try if you like the Polytone's tonal character.
>
>Interesting. Any info on the web about PAS speakers? I've never heard of
>them.
You might try
http://pas-toc.com/pas-toc-eng/index.html
Greg
Peter Grey
paper dust cap BTW.
Peter
Keith Murch
the ultimate amps when I was a kid. I thought it would have the power and
clean tone that I needed in louder situations. To make a long story short, I
was very disappointed with the amp. I changed tubes to hard groove tubes and
had the amp checked out by a tech - it still sounded bad. I also owned some
vintage blackfaced Fenders, so I went back to using them, and found that my
'66 Vibrolux Reverb performed much better on the gig. It also had more
headroom than the RI Twin. I eventually dumped the Twin and bought a
Polytone MBIV. I like it so much that I don't use tube amps at all anymore.
Now I have clean power and warmth that I never got out of the Fenders.
Keith Murch
John Deignan <two...@francomm.com> wrote in message
news:c368a3cf.01052...@posting.google.com...
smoy
Just did a back to back double header gig last Friday, the first gig I was
given a Fender twin ,the second gig I had my Clarus /Raezer combo. Same
guitar, similar songs. IMHO the clarus /raezer combo is the way to go for
clarity, tone, headroom and lugging around.
Skip
John Deignan <two...@francomm.com> wrote in message
news:c368a3cf.01052...@posting.google.com...
Jack A. Zucker
> Just did a back to back double header gig last Friday, the first gig I was
> given a Fender twin ,the second gig I had my Clarus /Raezer combo. Same
> guitar, similar songs. IMHO the clarus /raezer combo is the way to go for
> clarity, tone, headroom and lugging around.
I agree and will add that the Super Reverb reissue is a 1/3rd more expensive
than a Clarus/RE setup.
--
====================================
email: j...@jackzucker.com
jazz guitar site: www.jackzucker.com
"smoy" <sm...@netvigator.com> wrote in message
news:9efcvj$9qv...@imsp212.netvigator.com...
John Deignan
> > Hi,
> > Just did a back to back double header gig last Friday, the first gig I was
> > given a Fender twin ,the second gig I had my Clarus /Raezer combo. Same
> > guitar, similar songs. IMHO the clarus /raezer combo is the way to go for
> > clarity, tone, headroom and lugging around.
>
> I agree and will add that the Super Reverb reissue is a 1/3rd more expensive
> than a Clarus/RE setup.
Jack -
I'm interested in this. How much is the Clarus/RE? The Super would go
for $1,000 even. Thanks for all your input guys. I learned quite a
bit from all of you. It seems that the greatest lesson learned here
(after buying and dumping about 8-10 amps so far) is that I should use
caution regarding "fixating" on any one particular amp. I can become
so narrow minded about brand name/model...that I could completely
ignore the amp sitting right next to it...which in fact could be an
even better solution - but I'd never consider it because my mind is
locked on something that might not even be the answer to my dreams.
Boy...this is a lot like looking for the right girl! Blondes sure are
pretty, but it took a while for me to realize that the brunette who
could make me laugh was the one for me!
Thanks again folks.
John Deignan
Peter Grey
for the vast majority of my gigs is a MegaBrain/Raezer's Edge T8 combination. It gets me 95% of the
way to the Vibrosonic sound in a package I can actually lift. The RE stuff is really great. I know
you could get a Poly/RE combo for under a grand. I suspect the Clarus might be more - I think the
prices were just raised...?
Peter