Fender Twin Reverv-Amp help/questions

[1stGuitar]

I have recently come into a Fender Twin Reverb-Amp and a Dean PR electric cutaway acoustic guitar.
I like the guitar, although it needs new strings, but I know nothing about this Amp. What is the general consensus, are they good bad or indifferent in the world of amps? Prior to this one, I can’t say that I ever seen or heard of the Fender Twin Reverb-Amp. Are they still made, how to date it, etc. The one thing I can tell ya is, it’s on wheels and good thing for that because the thing is fairly heavy.

Any feedback and/or education will be greatly appreciated.

P.S. If could figure out how to post a pic, I would. Thinking I would need a hosting site.

[Steel and wood]

Not a fan of the guitar and I expect it holds little resale value, but the amp is another story altogether.

It doesn't matter whether your amp is original or a reissue, you are now the proud owner of an iconic amp which is GREAT in so many ways and highly valued and sought after by a lot of players, myself included. (I couldn't tell you how much it is worth but I'm thinking thousands if new prices are anything to go by ….. yes, they are still being made …. and I did a quick Google search to find out how best to date the amp but I'm no expert so will leave it up to others to chip in).

[1stGuitar]

Originally Posted by Steel and wood

Not a fan of the guitar and I expect it holds little resale value, but the amp is another story altogether.

It doesn't matter whether your amp is original or a reissue, you are now the proud owner of an iconic amp which is GREAT in so many ways and highly valued and sought after by a lot of players, myself included. (I couldn't tell you how much it is worth but I'm thinking thousands if new prices are anything to go by ….. yes, they are still being made …. and I did a quick Google search to find out how best to date the amp but I'm no expert so will leave it up to others to chip in).

Steel and Wood - Thank you for the quick reply. Much appreciated. The Dean guitar I would pretty much be using as a “couch guitar”, so I think it is ok for that. The serial number is stamped into the amp, so my uneducated best google guess is it is from 1974-75. The amp is blackface which is odd as the serial number search in google alines with the silverface. Not sure what make of that. The amp had been sitting around for sometime in a basement so it is a little cob webby and bit of a mildew smell, but fires right up ... after about a 7 second warm up period. I was actually wondering if it was worth taking in for service once things start to open back up - hence this post. Judging from your response, it would be.

[3notes]

Originally Posted by 1stGuitar

I have recently come into a Fender Twin Reverb-Amp and a Dean PR electric cutaway acoustic guitar.
I like the guitar, although it needs new strings, but I know nothing about this Amp. What is the general consensus, are they good bad or indifferent in the world of amps? Prior to this one, I can’t say that I ever seen or heard of the Fender Twin Reverb-Amp. Are they still made, how to date it, etc. The one thing I can tell ya is, it’s on wheels and good thing for that because the thing is fairly heavy.

Any feedback and/or education will be greatly appreciated.

P.S. If could figure out how to post a pic, I would. Thinking I would need a hosting site.

I'm thinking you have seen that amp somewhere in your musical travels. It's famous just like other Fender amps are.

[Steel and wood]

Originally Posted by 1stGuitar

Steel and Wood - Thank you for the quick reply. Much appreciated. The Dean guitar I would pretty much be using as a “couch guitar”, so I think it is ok for that. The serial number is stamped into the amp, so my uneducated best google guess is it is from 1974-75. The amp is blackface which is odd as the serial number search in google alines with the silverface. Not sure what make of that. The amp had been sitting around for sometime in a basement so it is a little cob webby and bit of a mildew smell, but fires right up ... after about a 7 second warm up period. I was actually wondering if it was worth taking in for service once things start to open back up - hence this post. Judging from your response, it would be.

Yep, have it serviced including new tubes when you can would be my advice.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by 1stGuitar

I have recently come into a Fender Twin Reverb-Amp and a Dean PR electric cutaway acoustic guitar.
I like the guitar, although it needs new strings, but I know nothing about this Amp. What is the general consensus, are they good bad or indifferent in the world of amps? Prior to this one, I can’t say that I ever seen or heard of the Fender Twin Reverb-Amp. Are they still made, how to date it, etc. The one thing I can tell ya is, it’s on wheels and good thing for that because the thing is fairly heavy.

Any feedback and/or education will be greatly appreciated.

P.S. If could figure out how to post a pic, I would. Thinking I would need a hosting site.

When I was touring with Billy Joel in 1976-77 I used a Twin Reverb with JBL speakers. It's normally 67lbs with the stock Jensens, but with the JBL's it was 120lbs.

Luckily we had roadies & Anvil cases.

I had the first channel modified as an overdrive channel so that I could just press a footswitch to toggle between clean & dirty with little variation in volume.

To get a normal Twin to overdrive is to risk your hearing.

Good luck with your shoulders, etc.

Regards,
Howard Emerson

[rmp]

The serial # should tell you when it was made. You should be able to look it up the build year, or email/call Fender customer Service. Although, I should say Fender's record keeping was never "stellar"

The older ones would be more desirable among players and collectors.

Depending on the year, fender made various modifications. "The Twin", "the Evil Twin" etc.

Fender is still making these btw. there's is a 65 and a 68 reissue currently available. No amp will do cleans like one of the standard Twins. You need a pedal setup to get any real crunch out of them, unless you crank it, and then you don't really want to be near it, Like Howard says, they are loud.

[dhodgeh]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

To get a normal Twin to overdrive is to risk your hearing.

And even then, don't expect much crunch. Those bad boys are the epitome of clean.

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Good luck with your shoulders, etc.

Tru'Dat. Casters help.

I have one of these myself (a 74 SF), and fired it up last week for the first time in a few years. Wifey was out of town, so I was able to crank it up and literally had the whole house shaking with those reverb drenched tones. Sonic bliss.

Get it to a tech and get it checked out and tuned up.

D

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by 1stGuitar

Steel and Wood - Thank you for the quick reply. Much appreciated. The Dean guitar I would pretty much be using as a “couch guitar”, so I think it is ok for that. The serial number is stamped into the amp, so my uneducated best google guess is it is from 1974-75. The amp is blackface which is odd as the serial number search in google alines with the silverface. Not sure what make of that. The amp had been sitting around for sometime in a basement so it is a little cob webby and bit of a mildew smell, but fires right up ... after about a 7 second warm up period. I was actually wondering if it was worth taking in for service once things start to open back up - hence this post. Judging from your response, it would be.

It's not unusual to find amps that have replacement face plates, and it is sometimes done because of the whole "blackface" popularity craze.

I had a twin for a while that I took in on trade, and it was just too loud if you wanted to get tube tone out of it.

Unless you have some specific reason to re-tube, don't do it. Depending on how scrupulous the person is that re-tubes you can end up with inferior quality tubes that are way less desirable than the vintage tubes. Vintage tubes often go on the secondary market for big bucks.

Much older tube amps are often re-worked by specialty shops where they have grounded plugs added, power supply capacitors replaced, and tube bias adjusted.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by 1stGuitar

...The serial number is stamped into the amp, so my uneducated best google guess is it is from 1974-75. The amp is blackface which is odd as the serial number search in google aligns with the silverface. Not sure what make of that. The amp had been sitting around for sometime in a basement so it is a little cob-webby and bit of a mildew smell, but fires right up ... after about a 7 second warm up period. I was actually wondering if it was worth taking in for service once things start to open back up - hence this post...

My advice:

• The Fender Twin Reverb is one of the iconic combo amps of all time, in the opinion of many one of the "Big Three" (along with the Vox AC30 and Marshall 1962 "Bluesbreaker"); short of the need to keep body and soul together - or no longer being physically able to play - a Twin is a lifetime amp, period...
• I picked up a Music Man 410-65 (Leo Fender's next-generation incarnation of the blackface Super Reverb) in similar condition in the early '80s - IME some fresh-air time (a shady spot in the backyard, away from direct sunlight/wildlife/prying eyes), common household cleaners (Fantastik, 409, etc.), and some elbow grease will take care of most if not all of the stink...
• TMK the delayed warm-up is normal for certain iterations of the high-powered Fender amps - as long as there are no other little sonic gremlins (crackles, loud humming, loss of volume during extended use, fading in and out, etc.) I wouldn't be too concerned...
• That said, I'd find a knowledgeable, reliable tech (talk to some of the gigging musicians in your area, or post your location here - we're glad to help ) and take it in for a bench check; if you're apprehensive about the aforementioned tube theft, take some interior photos before bringing it in (a good idea in any case as a self-protective measure) - if car dealerships/service chains have their people fill out a visual inspection chart before commencing work ("That scratch wasn't there when I came in...") it's a good idea to cover your own hindquarters to make sure you get everything back that you came in with...

Use it well. often, and LOUD...

[renoslim]

Great amps but VERY loud. It's been a few years (quite a few) since I last cranked up my twin (135w Silverface).

The police came ...

[jseth]

It sounds like you don't know what you've got there... lots of accurate replies thus far...

Whether you want to sell it or keep it and use it, the VERY FIRST THING you need to do is to find a great amplifier tech and have them go through the amp... Steve's absolutely right about the "old tubes" vs. new tubes; do whatever you have to do to ensure that those tubes stay in your possession! ~ 2004, I purchase a SF Deluxe Reverb form Ebay; when it came to me, it had 70's tubes in it that were not only "still good", but were much better tubes than they make today... played that amp for 15 years before I had to replace any tubes; even so, I made sure that I got the old ones!

In vintage tube guitar amps, there is a HUGE premium paid for a completely "stock" item... however a lot of folks had modifications done to their old Fender amps in order to achieve the sounds they wanted to hear. Not uncommon for a 45 year old amplifier to have had "something" changed through the decades. A great tech will be able to tell you what, if anything, has been done to the amp and also what's "reversible" in order to return it to completely stock condition.

There are components of old Fender amps that just plain "wear out" over time... some of those things don't just "sound bad" but can actually damage the amplifier and cost quite a bit of $$$. Another reason to get it to a great tech; ask around, ask Professional who they use, do your due diligence and you'll be fine.

There are still a fair number of people who's passion is vintage amplifier repair and tweaking... I'm sure if you let us know "where" you are, you would get a bunch of good referrals to explore.

Depending upon "what it is", I'd say you're holding something worth in the neighborhood of $1500-$3,000 in that amplifier.

*Oh yeah... DON'T "just turn it on"... therea re two switches on the back panel for a reason... turn on the power switch and, after 5-10 minutes, turn on the stand-by. You don't want to leave the amp on for hours without being used...

What a GREAT score! Have fun with this... and don't hurt yourself with either the volume levels or the weight of that sucker!!!

[Captain Jim]

From 1975 to 2006, I had a Fender Twin Reverb. Hands down, the best amp I've owned. The last couple years I had it, I started playing more acoustic than electric. I preferred the sound of the acoustic through my PA rather than the Twin (sounded a bit brittle). I tend to buy music gear and hang onto it. I sold the Twin because of downsizing when we retired... I wasn't playing in a band and knew our traveling lifestyle meant that great amp wouldn't get used. Probably the only piece of music gear I regret selling off.

Enjoy that great amp! Congrats on "coming into it" - that's a real find.

[MikeB1]

Greetings Mr. 1st Guitar,

Well I guess from the comments you are starting to understand that you have quite a piece of history there!

Just the name brings back memories for me.

I remember seeing a picture of Johnny Winter playing in front of a wall of twin reverbs. He would stack them.

I had a ProReverb that I would stack on top of a cabinet with six 12-inch speakers. That was me doing my best to create my own little "Wall of Sound."

Good Times!

[jseth]

Hey! What's happening with your amp? Don't keep us hanging out here, waiting for some acknowledgement of the current status... I kid, a little, but I'd be interested in knowing how all this information is settling in with you...

So many iconic players who used Twin Reverbs...

BB King would have his "offstage", back against the back wall... with EVERY THING turned up to 10!!! With a long guitar cord, he'd go out on stage and control the tone and volume from his guitar, as opposed to walking back to the amp and adjusting things...

Roy Buchanan would turn his Twin around so the speakers were facing the back wall of the stage, and then he'd DIME the volume knob!!! (Dime = on "10") I can not even fathom having a Twin anywhere near me when it was dime'd... someone could get SERIOUSLY injured from that kind of sonic exposure!

Twins are amazing for clean tones, and, as mentioned, near impossible to have them loud enough to produce any sort of "overdriven" tube tones... just GREAT amplifiers for electric guitars!

Last time I used one was for an acoustic gig in a small bar/restaurant... I was subbing for a friend and just plugged my mic into one channel and my acoustic guitar into the other... at lower volumes, it sounded just fine!