Fender Twin Reverb 40th anniversary RI

[sibo]

I was offered to trade some equipment I don't use for one of these beasts. It's blonde, it's limited and it's got those Eminence speakers. Anyone tried one of these? I've played vintage blackface twins and liked everything about them except the obvious lack of fx loop - how would this one compare to them? How do those eminence speakers compare to traditional Jensens? Not really sure what to expect from it and it's a long drive to test it x)

Those RI's have wheels, right?

[überfuzz]

Hi sthlm!

I think it's basically a reissued Twin Reverb anno 1965, or something, i.e. a twin reverb on a pcb board. I haven't really played on, only brief tests. Sounds nice and clean.

Hälsningar från Uppsala

[sibo]

Hi sthlm!

I think it's basically a reissued Twin Reverb anno 1965, or something, i.e. a twin reverb on a pcb board. I haven't really played on, only brief tests. Sounds nice and clean.

Hälsningar från Uppsala

I see! Well if it's not ptp I think I'll pass on it anyways as I really don't need it right now. Also I know I would want fx loop for delay etc at some point and that nice limited ed amp should really not be tinkered with imo
Feels pretty weird that it's pcb at that price point though, doesn't it?

To überfuzz
Blir det domkyrkan på julafton?

[Alan0354]

I don't know anything about the 40th anniv. thing. I tested a reissued Twin and it sounded very good. It is my believe a lot of the old Twin used Eminence also, I won't worry too much about it.
If you want a real old one, why not buy a used SF or even BF Twin? Just change all the filter caps, check everything and is good to go. I have not been on ebay or craig's list lately, they are not that expensive. I got a 73 Pro reverb last year and I absolutely love it. I won't buy a reissue one myself. But you want effect loop, then it's a different story.

[ArdeliaAhrens]

dont know anything about it either...i even google it...
i did have a "Red Knob" Twin...it's nice...and it's said that The Twin Reverb II was replaced by The Twin...but as long as i didnt use a Twin Reverb, i can't tell the differences between them...

[pdf64]

If it's an RI of the AB763 TR, ie no master volume, then I can't see the benefit of an effects loop?
For any realistic setting of the volume / tone controls, the power amp will overdrive at a lower signal level than the pre-amp, and being a 100W 2x12, at anything less than an ear splitting SPL, the pre-amp will be pretty clean.

[sibo]

Interesting pdf64, I never really thought of that. Just feels so wrong putting modulation in front of amp
There's some info of it here: Fender '65 Twin 40th Anniversary Guitar Amplifier | Musician's Friend
And btw its 85W.

[überfuzz]

It's a nice amp... I'd say it's a matter of how much you have to put on the table to get it.

(Har de konsert i Domkyrkan på julafton?)

[J M Fahey]

Just feels so wrong putting modulation in front of amp

That's because you are young

Fact is old killer amps, say BF or earlier Fenders, Plexi era Marshalls, etc. , were not meant to distort (I have somewhere a scan of a Rose Morris Marshall stack ad, bragging about the loud, clean, undistorted sound, go figure) .
Later SF Fenders , using UL outputs and JBL speakers were the peak of such a philosophy.

The fact that power amps distort so well, so smoothly, giving relatively lots of sustain with relatively little (perceived) distortion was an unexpected but welcome byproduct.

Problem is, any loop will still be before the power stage

Of course, there is a way out ... unfortunately only for the rich and famous: play into one full tilt, pad the output, process [insert effects here] , reamplify.

Best of both Worlds but unfortunately very expensive, not to mention bulky and heavy.

But it's possible, and a couple Guitar Gods have done exactly that.

There also exists a commercial amplifier with built in reamping.

And our friend Phatt, who writes regularly in SS Guitar, uses various preamps (mostly SS) into a 15W tube amp (2 x 6BQ5 if I remember right) > passive load > loop > SS power amp.

His Strat sounds liquid smooth at any volume and he can add any effect he likes without garbling it.

That said, his sound is so good that he rarely uses much more than subtle Reverb.

[Justin Thomas]

Just a note about construction - if it's like the other reissues I've seen, the tube sockets are chassis mounted, as are the IEC receptacle, speaker jacks,back panel stiff. Yes, the pots and inputs are PCB-mounted, but that's not acwhole lot of trouble to repair or even hardwire. Yes, the main "guts" are on a PCB, but I don't mind that on these reissues, as they're still simple circuits. And again, fairly easily replaced with eyelet/turret board, as trannies/tube layout is same or very close. It's onoy when I have to sort out four channels on three layers of board, etc. that I have issues. I think Fender really hit the mark with these amps, tone, rrliability, and price+point wise. Will it sound like your 66 or 74 TR? No, but I bet it sounds a LOT like what your 66 or 74 sounded like rolling fresh off the factory floor... You could miss out on a great amp.

I'm with Aiken, RG, Enzo, and many others on this - PCB amps csn be truly great, if done right. Being a tube snob is fine, but don&t knock it for PCB construction. Besides, the EXPENSIVE parts are good stuff! Boards are (comparatively) cheap...

Justin

[Alan0354]

JMHO
I don't like effect loop, usually it takes two extra stages (one to buffer to send, then another to receive and buffer) to create the effect loop circuit. That is two extra stages the signal has to go through. For the famous clean sound like the Twin, adding more stages just take away the sound. I truly believe for quality sound, less is more. To me, with the old SF and BF Fenders, the normal channel always sounds better than the vibrato channel just because the vibrato channel has one extra stage to mix in the reverb. Look at the Tweet Fenders that people sort after, their circuit is even simpler and more straight forward. They just have the sweet sound the newer, channel switching and complicated amps can't compare.

I personally do not like or use effect loop, I don' put it in my design. Hell, I don't even put reverb in!!!

For me, I'll still buy a used real SF Twin. I believe they are not expensive and they retain value better if you ever going to sell it. All you need is to change the caps and check it over, it'll be good as new. Also, people always like to mod these Fender amps a little, it's a lot easier to mod an amp with wired board than pcb. But if you never going to touch the inside, pcb is just as good.

[überfuzz]

Justin - noone was bashing PCB boards. thread starter just said he prefered ptp wiring.

[g1]

thread starter just said he prefered ptp wiring.

Then he should not look at Fender . The vintage Fender's that are so well loved were not true PTP, they used eyelet boards.
If I'm not mistaken, this 40th Ann. is just a '65 Twin re-issue with some cosmetic updates for much more money. Why not just look at the '65 Twin re-issue. Or does anyone know of any other differences? Is it Custom Shop?

[überfuzz]

Then he should not look at Fender . The vintage Fender's that are so well loved were not true PTP, they used eyelet boards.
If I'm not mistaken, this 40th Ann. is just a '65 Twin re-issue with some cosmetic updates for much more money. Why not just look at the '65 Twin re-issue. Or does anyone know of any other differences? Is it Custom Shop?

True, but he refered to eyelet board as ptp... I think, at least. O_o

[Justin Thomas]

Oh, I didn't think it was a diss on PCBs. I just don't think the Fender reissues fall into the usual bashed categories. I'll keep the reissues in a different category from, say, the Hot Rod series. I'd prefer an old eyelet board, too, but wouldn't let the pcb be a deal breaker. I guess it comes down to comfort level & whatcha got in vs. whatch'll get out.

G-one: some of the Custom Shop amps use PCBs, too... and after seeing the insides of some of the "ptp" ones (with eyelet board), I'm grateful for the wiring mess eliminated by traces. The new Tweed LTDs are a far cry, and much better, from the VKs & Tone Masters of years past...

I would bet very few of us would enjoy an amp as complex as a Twin Reverb that was true PTP. Might be fine for a Bassman, but add trem & vibe, could get messy! I actually DON'T like working on them. And, most of us prolly know the dif between eyelet/turret & true ptp, but rather than try to change the way the other 99% of non-ampocoholics use the terms, let's just go with it...
After clicking the MF link, this is a plain old reissue in fancy clothes. All the big box stores pay the mfrs to make them an "exclusive" run just for them, and charge extra bucks. That old trashed SF with no collector value, retolexed and a new faceplate looks like a better deal, AND will hold its value better, likely.

Justin