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I just had a local buyer come check out an archtop. He brought his Fender Twin Reverb, which happened to have a single 15" speaker, which I 'spose made it a Custom 15... I'd never experience a Fender Twin Reverb amp before this.
The amp sounded as clean as I've heard...no buzz, no hum....just pure clean tone.
So, whose familiar with the both the 15" version and the dual 12" versions, and how do they differ?
thx in advanced!
and yes, he bought the Guild X-170, which sounded much better out of the Fender than it did out of the Hendriks Jazzamp. man that was some clean tone!Last edited by 2bornot2bop; 12-08-2012 at 07:47 PM.
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12-08-2012 07:41 PM
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[quote=2bornot2bop;276475]I just had a local buyer come check out an archtop. He brought his Fender Twin Reverb, which happened to have a single 15" speaker, which I 'spose made it a Custom 15... I'd never experience a Fender Twin Reverb amp before this.
The amp sounded as clean as I've heard...no buzz, no hum....just pure clean tone.
So, whose familiar with the both the 15" version and the dual 12" versions, and how do they differ?
thx in advanced!
LOLOLOL . . . . . EVERYTHING . . . sounds better out of a Fender Twin Reverb. Never seen one with a 15". But, it's pretty easy to switch out the manifold and the two 12" speakers . . and custom make one for a 15". That much power (from a twin) driving a non efficient 15" speaker must have sounded wonderful. Never even though of it before, but it's a great idea. Tons of head room . . . no break up and a big 15" speaker voice.he bought the Guild X-170, which sounded much better out of the Fender than it did out of the Hendriks Jazzamp. man that was some clean tone!
SRV love his 15" fender tube amps. That and his .013 round wounds gave him a stra sound that is here to fore and as of yet unparalled.
A while back, I had a Vibrasonic. It was an early '70s silver face. They were made specifically for pedal steel country players. That's pretty much the same amp as a twin with a 15". I think the twin is 100W and the Vibrasonic might be choked out a little. But, the amp guys here will probably define the differences better than I can. What I do know, is that if this thing had a chain on it and was attached to a cruise ship, it could hold it in place.
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I play mostly Fenders for that reason, clean tone. The 100 watt amps never have to be tweaked past 2 or 3 for just about any of my purposes.
Fender made 100 watt chassis models with 10's (4) , and 12's (two and four) , and the re-issue Twin single 15.
I think its still being made, but they list out pretty high.
BTW, Steve Howe from Yes was known to use TWO Twins with his 175, talk clean, and loud when needed?
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this is the Custom 15 I heard:
Fender '65 Twin Custom 15 Combo Amp | Musician's Friend
it's rated 85W, featuring a 15" JBL.
several forum users are suggesting a preference toward the custom 15 over the twin 12"s due to a mean bottom end on the custom 15.
What clearly impressed me about the amp was a lack of hum...but of course I attribute some of that to the dual dedicated 20 amp circuits in my audio listening room.
I was about to pull the trigger on a Heritage Kenny Burrell amp, but at the price of these 15's used I'll have to rethink that....it could be a joy to sample different NOS (new old stock) tubes through the Fender.Last edited by 2bornot2bop; 12-08-2012 at 09:14 PM.
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Ok not real Fenders, but I own two Guyatone Reverb Custom amps, which are Japanese Twin Reverb copies from the 70ies. They are very true copies, the electronics are Fender's AB763 and they sound just like 'the real thing' (yup, I've played them side by side with a 70ies Fender Silverface and the new Twin '65 RI) and have the same specs, lay out and construction.
One of them is a 2x12 (old Fender Blue Labeled Pyle speakers) amp and the other is a 1x15 amp with a Guyatone speaker.
The 1x15 sounds a bit more hifi with strong lows and a bit more highs where the mids are a bit scooped (these are actually the characteristics of a 15"). The 2x12 sounds a bit more 'in your face' and have more pronounced mids and rounder highs.
I love them both very much, the 1x15 sounding more open en defined, where the 2x12 does better in a busy band where you have to cut through the mix, because of the more defined mids.
For jazz solo guitar my pick would be the 1x15, in a band situation the 2x12.
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I've long wanted an amp like this, but I had a shooting pain through my back when I read the 64lb spec.
Maybe a more practical way to go for those of us who are chronologically challenged would be a Twin Reverb head (Showman?) with a lightweight 15' cabinet. Or maybe just settle for the 40 lb., 50 watt Rivera Jazz Suprema.
Hmmm...
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Ah, the joy of tube Fender clean tone! No doubt it's a classic, beautiful thing.
I've heard about 1x15 Twin versions but haven't played one.
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+1 I was over hangin out with old music buddies yesterday, one guy had a Twin in the music room. I picked it up for grins, dam. The Rivera is a great sounding amp and they make a 15" version.
Originally Posted by Jonathan0996
Last edited by docbop; 12-09-2012 at 11:13 AM.
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I think the head version of the Twin is the Dual Showman Reverb, which is still pretty heavy even though its just a head. I have a 15 cabinet and wouldn't say that it gets better low end than 12s or even 10s. To me there is a fatness across the mids spectrum that sounds unique. A stock Twin is a thing of beauty. Also, I think that a lot of the criticism of the reissues, other than PCB and tubes, has to do with the harshness of the breakup tone. If you are after purely clean, the reissues are an excellent value.
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Just like every self-respecting jazz-bar has a piano in the house, I think a Twin Reverb should also be part of the inventory for us guitarists...
Nothing compares to a good Twin for clean jazz guitar!
(Just my opinion of course.)
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Back in my touring days we always carried an extra Twin in fact on Yes tour we had an Anvil case that held two Twins (that was one heavy case to load.) A Twin can be a backup amp for guitar, bass, keyboards, and even a small PA in a pinch. Originally Posted by Little Jay
Just like every self-respecting jazz-bar has a piano in the house, I think a Twin Reverb should also be part of the inventory for us guitarists...
Nothing compares to a good Twin for clean jazz guitar!
(Just my opinion of course.)
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Thx 4 the feedback. My impressions were the amps strength was definitely clean, possessing a decent midrange, and even though barely driven the amp had a natural presence indicative of tubes. There's nothing like the sound of tubes. Originally Posted by Little Jay
brother, U gotta get to the gym...64 lbs. is not heavy! Okay, I'm a life long lifter whose pushing 60 and still maintains a home gym equipped with Olympic plates, a squat rack, and power bench. that's ez curling weight...an Olympic bar is 45 lbs...I've dumbbells that weigh more than that amp! Originally Posted by Jonathan0996
I was impressed enough to buy one last night...compared to other tube amps I've considered, these are available used for a song. perhaps that's because they're everywhere. Originally Posted by hallpass
thx all for their input!
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I've tried several Twins in the past and the current RI series has a very harsh treble (with cleans). Don't know why but it has... Originally Posted by Encinitastubes
Just to add some diversity I realized recenttly am not a big fan of Twin Reverbs or the stock Fender Sound. It doesn't have enough low-mids and has too much bass usually - and when you cut the bass to avoid a boomy sound you usually loose even more low-mids.
But they are an excellent clean platform and with eq pedals I can get to sound as I like.
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Anyone tried a fender 75
A 1 x 15" 75 watt valve combo from the 80s
Fabulous clean sound man !
A bit like a twin with a 15" I guess
What was the speaker in that twin ?
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My take on the hand wired Twins from back in the day vs the current PCB's is that the vintage Twins, when they were new, because of the looser tolerances of electronic parts in those days, could vary from one amp to the other. Some were great, some were very good, and some were not so very good. In comparison, and because PCB circuitry has such an extremely high accuracy of reproduction, the new amps all sound and perform virtually the same which to my mind is a very good thing. Gone are the days of endlessly searching for a prime example when looking to purchase a new Twin. About the only tonal considerations/worries with the new Twins are your own personal preferences for speakers, tubes, and bias levels. Do the vintage or new amps have the better tone? I think that is an impossible thing to determine. What I do know is that the new ones sound absolutely great and that I no longer have to wonder with my new amp purchase if I got the best example to be had. Today they are all the best example to be had.
Last edited by BEACHBUM; 12-10-2012 at 01:37 AM.
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I was putzing around with my neglected, rarely played guitar today. An old beater 1978 Ibanez GB10. Plugged it into my Henriksen and stomp box setup. Sounded like shit, muddy and all. Switched over to my Fender Twin 65 RI, no pedals, just guitar, cable, and amp. Very low setting in terms of volume, both on guitar and and amp (2 or 3 for each).
Sounded wonderful. The muddiness simply evaporated.
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I have one, its a great amp but suffers from too many push pull knobs to twiddle Originally Posted by pingu
The clean sound is super though and the reverb is good . Were they a Paul Rivera design? I've got a pro junior as well which I use in doors as the 75 is too loud
Alan
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I tried a couple, VERY awesome amps, but the speakers were a weak spot if you played them loud. Both of the ones I played on were used in two separate stores, and both had blown speakers. If I ever find another one I'll get it and find an appropriate speaker. Originally Posted by pingu
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I own both a both the 65 Twin Reverb Custom 15 RI, and a Fender 75. Both are wonderful amps that are undervalued. The Fender 75 is particularly interesting because it is a point to point tube amp and was designed to compete with the high gain Boogies in the early 80's. The gain circuitry is kind of weird, but the clean tones are great. I recently had mine recapped and re-tubed and it sounds wonderful. A friend built a custom cabinet out of African Rosewood for it.
The Fender 75 was not designed by Paul Rivera, but is often referred to as a "Rivera Era" amp. It was designed by Ed Jahns.
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I often hear these two contradictory sentiments, when talking about clean tones for jazz guitar: Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
1. You want your EQ to favour mids to cut through the mix
2. I love that Fender Blackface scooped-mids tone.
Huh?
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Is the Fender 75 related to the 80's Fender Concert?
I have a Concert and love it. 60 clean watts out of of 2x6L6's
1x12 stock Fender speaker...no idea of the speaker's manufacturer.
Prior to the Concert I was using RI Twins [2x12 config] Was bummed to find myself out of funds one Christmas and no gigs and teaching had dried up
for the year......cue the violins.....So I sacrificed my Twin to keep
Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All [the family anyway].
The buyer could tell that I didn't want to sell the amp and had taken the
foresight to put his old Concert in the car.
He proposed an exchange with a goodly amount of wedge for my broken
spirit.
I thought, tube amp, point to point wired what's not to like>
So I took his money and the Concert.
It sounded like #**#!
I was hating this thing.....
Happy ending, found a great amp tech, probably the best tube guy in
the country it turns out...just dumb luck, or Karma...yeah I'm of that
generation..like many here.
The relevance of all this to our patient readers who made it this far,
...and most importantly the OP is: YES, Fender Twin is tonal heaven for
jazzers, but don't discount something else in tn the Fender line, like
the 80's Concert.
I feel much better now doctor, shall I pay at the desk.Last edited by Moonray; 12-10-2012 at 06:45 PM. Reason: PS, I will get another Twin as soon as the situation allows.
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Well it's a matter of taste... I've been loving the "jazz amps" flat frequency with more gain sound, although I need to scoop the high mids a little usually. A lot of people like the tweed clean more than the blackface because it has more low-mids... it's a matter of taste I guess Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
I often hear these two contradictory sentiments, when talking about clean tones for jazz guitar:
1. You want your EQ to favour mids to cut through the mix
2. I love that Fender Blackface scooped-mids tone.
Huh?
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good info all, thx!
Last edited by 2bornot2bop; 12-10-2012 at 08:26 PM.
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Hey 2bornot2bop, isn't that dang thing too loud for most use? Originally Posted by 2bornot2bop
And if it is not too loud, than how do you use it live in a smaller venue? Or do you need to save it for the larger ones?
I keep saying next year is going to be my year (been saying it for the last 30 years...) and this twin custom is on my list for now, but I need to know about the volume factor.
T'anks, Mate!
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Thanks for the information I think my 75 could do with a service I would like to get a power amp input fitted to take an MP3 player do you know if this is possible ? Originally Posted by Gibson L4CES
Alan
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