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Is the twin reverb backface 80s all by hand wired?

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  • Is the twin reverb backface 80s all by hand wired?

    as topic. appreciated if anyone could tell.
    thanks everyone

  • #2
    As far as I know, all Twins hand wired up until Fender started their reissue Twin Reverb around 1989.
    This isn't the future I signed up for.

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    • #3
      I think the only "80's" black face amps were a change to black face plates on the same models as the SF amps in 80 and 81 and if Leo pegged the reissue date then that would be 89. I think anything in between would have been a II model? So not a "Twin Reverb" but a "Twin Reverb II" and I believe those were done on eyelet boards like the older amps.
      "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

      "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

      "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
      You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

      Comment


      • #4
        All Twin Reverbs up to and including the "II" series were hand-wired on eyelet boards. Of course, all Twin Amps from BEFORE the Twin Reverb came out in 63 also were.

        I don't know when the 65 Reissue Twin Reverb came out; I thought it was early 90s? Anyway, after Fender was sold by CBS & became FMIC, the Twins were PCB, starting with the Red-Knob series. But those are not Twin Reverbs.

        The specific early-80s Twin Reverb is as Chuck said - a late 70s Silverface model with a BF control panel, easily identified by horizontal script on the amp name (Twin Reverb) and a "MADE IN USA" line under the Fender logo on the grill.

        These are also the "terrible" 135W models that supposedly "nobody wants."

        Jusrin
        "Wow it's red! That doesn't look like the standard Marshall red. It's more like hooker lipstick/clown nose/poodle pecker red." - Chuck H. -
        "Of course that means playing **LOUD** , best but useless solution to modern sissy snowflake players." - J.M. Fahey -
        "All I ever managed to do with that amp was... kill small rodents within a 50 yard radius of my practice building." - Tone Meister -

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Justin Thomas View Post
          All Twin Reverbs up to and including the "II" series were hand-wired on eyelet boards. Of course, all Twin Amps from BEFORE the Twin Reverb came out in 63 also were.

          I don't know when the 65 Reissue Twin Reverb came out; I thought it was early 90s? Anyway, after Fender was sold by CBS & became FMIC, the Twins were PCB, starting with the Red-Knob series. But those are not Twin Reverbs.

          The specific early-80s Twin Reverb is as Chuck said - a late 70s Silverface model with a BF control panel, easily identified by horizontal script on the amp name (Twin Reverb) and a "MADE IN USA" line under the Fender logo on the grill.

          These are also the "terrible" 135W models that supposedly "nobody wants."

          Jusrin
          thanks so much guys! really appreciated for the help.
          so is this twin reverb around 81-82? which was by hand wired? thanks



          also i could hardly see the demo of this amp...

          Comment


          • #6
            Also important to define what you mean by 'hand wired'. Some of the pcb amps still have the boards wired up to the tube sockets by hand. Technically that would be hand-wired I think? Or an amp that used pc board but was all hand soldered, that would be just as 'hand-wired' as eyelet board, wouldn't it?
            So maybe you mean 'does it use PC board?'.
            Originally posted by Enzo
            I have a sign in my shop that says, "Never think up reasons not to check something."


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            • #7
              That's a fine amp. Really loud and good clean tone. Speaking for myself, and most other players I think, the overdrive tones are nothing to write home about. But that's the point of this amp. Just as a Ferrari is a fine four wheeled machine, but it's towing capacity leaves something to be desired

              It's alright. That's what they make dirt boxes for.
              "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

              "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

              "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
              You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

              Comment


              • #8
                oh this is really a good point

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by g1 View Post
                  Also important to define what you mean by 'hand wired'. Some of the pcb amps still have the boards wired up to the tube sockets by hand. Technically that would be hand-wired I think? Or an amp that used pc board but was all hand soldered, that would be just as 'hand-wired' as eyelet board, wouldn't it?
                  So maybe you mean 'does it use PC board?'.
                  A distinction I've always been aware of as well. And some amp makers that build on PCB's do indicate "hand wired" in their lit. But I think the typical nomenclature on this and other amp forums has come to exclude PCB's from the moniker "hand wired"
                  "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

                  "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

                  "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
                  You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Chuck H View Post
                    That's a fine amp. Really loud and good clean tone. Speaking for myself, and most other players I think, the overdrive tones are nothing to write home about. But that's the point of this amp. Just as a Ferrari is a fine four wheeled machine, but it's towing capacity leaves something to be desired

                    It's alright. That's what they make dirt boxes for.
                    do you mean its response to the overdrive/distortion sound is relatively worse than most amps?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      well noted, G1

                      basically all electronics we see on amps can be “hand wired”. I’ve worked at an electronics assembly plant for 5 years and saw people soldering by hand microprocessors with pitches of 0.50-0.65 mm until I forbid it because of warranty issues (I was the quality manager after all).

                      I think the distinction you need to make is between: “point-to-point”, “turret board”, “surface mount”, and “PCB”

                      from what you are writing I think you are wishing the amp to be either “point-to-point” or “turret board”.

                      In POINT TO POINT each component is soldered to another one and it’s kind of a rat’s nest to work on (I am suffering this in my 1964 Magnatone M10)

                      As far as I know from experience with my 1974 TWIN REVERB, TURRET BOARD is the right term to describe it. There is a base paper fiber board with eyelets to which components are soldered. Easier to work on as you can desolder individual components without necessarily disconnecting others from the circuit.

                      I believe that what the guys are saying here is that your amp is most probably TURRET BOARD. Which is what you want in a TWIN if you are going to fix or mod it.

                      However, there's only one way to know... so go get that screwdriver and open it up

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                      • #12
                        Yes and no. It takes any pedals just fine. There's nothing wrong with how that amp sounds. I'm not saying the amp sounds bad making distortion. I'm saying it's own clipping when turned up loud isn't great. Turning the amp up loud enough to do it's own clipping tends to be choppy and harsh compared to earlier Twin Reverb models. Not to mention that the sheer volume and brightness will rip the skin off your face anyway. IMHO Twin Reverbs, none of them, are great overdrive amps. So you can take my opinion with a grain of salt. But the characteristics of higher voltages, cooler bias and the particular implementation of UL in the silver face amps are all detrimental to getting a good clipped tone. It's sort of a moot point since turning the amp up that loud is highly improbable. And if you do you won't be able to tell one amp from another after about two minutes anyway
                        "Take two placebos, works twice as well." Enzo

                        "Now get off my lawn with your silicooties and boom-chucka speakers and computers masquerading as amplifiers" Justin Thomas

                        "If you're not interested in opinions and the experience of others, why even start a thread?
                        You can't just expect consent." Helmholtz

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          To get a good idea of when it was built, take a look at any original power supply caps, also potentiometers. There's a date code on most of these. If the part's original then the amp was built sometime probably a couple months or a year or two after the most recent date code you could find.

                          There are charts that show year built according to serial number, but they fizzle out in the late 70's.

                          Mid 60's there was a rubber stamp letter/number code visible inside the chassis, and usually outside too. Last 2 numbers were year the chassis was built. That ended after 1969.
                          This isn't the future I signed up for.

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                          • #14
                            Thatsan 80-81. The TR II debuted in 82 along with the rest of the series. And although THIS particular model may have been built while Rivera was there, it's not a Rivera design. I'd think Ed Jahns (designer of the Super Twin, 400PS, 300PS, 75, 30, 140, etc had more of a hand here (that "UL" output section, mostly).

                            In addition to what Chuck said, the Pull Boost on these is... Passable at best. It basically removes the reverb tank from the circuit and puts a resistor in its place. The effect is essentially putting a Fender Champ into an FX loop. It has no tone control or other shaping available for the added distortion, with the Reverb knob basically acting like a Distortion cobtrol on an FX pedal. It's raw, completely unrefined, & kinda noisy. If you're a straight-up punk rocker you might love it. I didn't mind it, aside from all the noise it added... But it's generally looked down upon.

                            As for just cranking the Master & Volume knobs to 10, I've never had one of these on hand to do it; only a Super Twin, which, although the preamp is quite different, the power amp is similar; I was not overly impressed. But the amp was designed to be stupid-loud&clean anyway. Which is PERFECR for pedal steelers jazzers, metal, & lots of processing via pedals.

                            Justin
                            "Wow it's red! That doesn't look like the standard Marshall red. It's more like hooker lipstick/clown nose/poodle pecker red." - Chuck H. -
                            "Of course that means playing **LOUD** , best but useless solution to modern sissy snowflake players." - J.M. Fahey -
                            "All I ever managed to do with that amp was... kill small rodents within a 50 yard radius of my practice building." - Tone Meister -

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Chuck H View Post
                              ... IMHO Twin Reverbs, none of them, are great overdrive amps. So you can take my opinion with a grain of salt.
                              I'll take that with a 50-lb bag of salt...
                              But how many nitwits you know are dumb enough to crank a TR anyway...



                              Justin
                              "Wow it's red! That doesn't look like the standard Marshall red. It's more like hooker lipstick/clown nose/poodle pecker red." - Chuck H. -
                              "Of course that means playing **LOUD** , best but useless solution to modern sissy snowflake players." - J.M. Fahey -
                              "All I ever managed to do with that amp was... kill small rodents within a 50 yard radius of my practice building." - Tone Meister -

                              Comment

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