Favorite vintage amp for an ES-335?

[clintj]

Gave a good listening to some recordings of an ES-335 with several of the suggested amps today. The Super Reverb though. Breathtaking. That tone is exactly what I think of when I think of that guitar. Smooth, bluesy, and singing. Wow. I'm ordering a kit this week. Build thread to come when I have all the parts in hand. Thanks to all!

[Steve DeRosa]

My three all-time faves:

1] Original blackface Super Reverb: the classic 335 blues amp and like Marvin and Tammy said, "ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby"...

2] '65 Super Reverb RI: a set of JAN tubes and 40-50 hours of speaker break-in time at moderate volume gets you real close to a gennie '66 - and if/when shiz happens it's far more replaceable than an original...

3] Ampeg B-12XT: the circa-1965 blue-check Portaflex Twin-eater from Linden, NJ. Extremely conservatively rated at 60W from its twin 7027's - a few sources place actual output in the low-70's - this is the sound that would set the mold for the cult-classic '70s V-22 combo: big, bold, and clear, with headroom to burn. Overall tone leans more toward the jazz end of the spectrum with humbuckers and/or a semi-hollow (the slot-ported cabinet gives those twin 12's sledgehammer low-end punch), but if you're looking for something that's "classier" (there's just no other word for it) than a Twin with comparable power, this is your amp - if you can find someone crazy/stupid/desperate enough to part with theirs. Shame the boutique builders/kit guys haven't picked up on some of the old Ampeg circuit designs - those amps have their own thing going on, definitely a change from the Fender/Vox/Marshall routine..

[jseth]

I forgot... I can do THIS:



That's more to the point! Not much difference between a BF Deluxe Reverb and a Silver Face Deluxe Reverb... except the intense "cool" factor!

Fender didn't get around to changing the DRs until later in the 70's, so if you can get a mid-early 70's DR, they sound wonderful and are fairly reasonable. When I bought mine, the (then) new Re-Issue DR were about $800+ (incl. CA sales tax), and I got my '72 off Ebay for just under $800 incl. shipping.

A Deluxe Reverb isn't exactly featherweight, by the way... got to be in the 35-ish# range, I'd think. But they are just iconic amps, and for really good reasons!

[muscmp]

i'll recommend a gibson ga18t or ga40. both great amps that were the kind tested with gibson guitars including 335s!!

play music!

[MBE]

I agree 100% with all the people voting for Deluxe Reverbs. That's just a timeless combination.

[Dan Lampton]

I sure like my silver face Princeton Reverb (with 12" Eminence Swamp Thang) with my 335.

[aknow]

I play a late model ES335. Sounds great with a Blackface deluxe reverb, 1964' paired with a 1969 Silverface twin. These sound great in stereo with light reverb or delay.

[printer2]

[moon]

That's got some wicked overdrive tones At the same time it still manages to stay quite clear and defined.

[Tone Gopher]

Originally Posted by clintj

Gave a good listening to some recordings of an ES-335 with several of the suggested amps today. The Super Reverb though. Breathtaking. That tone is exactly what I think of when I think of that guitar. Smooth, bluesy, and singing. Wow. I'm ordering a kit this week. Build thread to come when I have all the parts in hand. Thanks to all!

If you like the recordings, you'll love being in the room/on stage, with it.

Enjoy!

[6L6]

The BEST amp for your 335? Well, that would be this one:



I don't own it, but I got to play through it (with my own ES-335) and words cannot describe how incredible it sounded. 1961/2 Fender Showman w/Fender Reverb unit on top.

"AWESOME" does not describe this incredible amplifier.

I took the pic at REAL GUITARS in San Francisco where the amp was for sale. They hadn't even put a price on it when a guy walked in and bought it instantly.

Back to reality… my '72 SFDR w/Weber 12F150/50 watt/light dope speaker also sounds fantastic with a 335 (or any other guitar for that matter). Leo got it all right many years ago. My '72 SFDR:



My STETSBAR-equipped ES-335:



Bill

[clintj]

Originally Posted by Tone Gopher

If you like the recordings, you'll love being in the room/on stage, with it.

Enjoy!

Will do. Most of my kit should be here Thursday. The transformers are backordered, and they're still building and covering the cabinet.

[imwjl]

I've had a few of the very popular amp types, love the Deluxe repeated here but sold mine and kept my Princeton Reverb.

The context probably means a lot. The Deluxe was too loud for most of my playing to get it at it's best or to come alive while the PR could do any of play with drums, play downstairs while the family sleeps, and sound so good with any guitar.

The Princeton Reverb's beauty came out even more when I got a great 4 knob boost pedal. I digress, but a pedal that is a boost but can do a little overdrive was the last pedal I bought. It should have been one of the first.

That said, the best answer is delay gratification and try a bunch of stuff first.

Enjoy the journey whether the fast or long route.

[Pnewsom]

My favorite amp for my 335(Dot-RI) is a 67 Blackface Vibrolux. It's great for pretty much any gig situation, will hang and stay tight with a loud drummer, and really doesn't need a dirt pedal if you can get the volume up to 5or6. If I do want to kick it up a bit I use a Sparkle Drive, set for a little clean boost in the solos. Otherwise, it's straight into the amp, with on board reverb and vibrato for effects. Old school baby!

I like to run a Mullard or RCA 12AX7 for the input tube of the effects channel, which to my ear offers a more complex midrange than today's tubes. I'm currently running JJ's for the output tubes.

Plugging the guitar into the second input(reduced sensitivity) keeps things tight for rhythm work. Great amp and not too hard to move around. Silverface VR's are pretty near as good, especially the earlier ones.

I had a Deluxe Reverb before this amp which was great too, but would tend to get thin sounding if the band got too loud.

Hard to beat the classic Fender amps.

[6L6]

My '72 Fender Deluxe Reverb