Vintage Fender Guitar Amp Heaven

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:40 pm

Congrats, Jeff.

You know what... condensing is a great thing, but hard to do for those of us who like to accumulate. I have certain things that just sit here and I don't use and it's always better after I've done it to sell of some pieces and get something that will be more useful to me.

I have a 414-ULS that was modded to be a TL by Audio upgrades, but I NEVER use it since buying my Red Type B. I need to unload it and use the money for something that I will actually USE now.

gearboy · Post by **gearboy** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:51 pm

Thanks James!

Yeah, I used to hold on to everything. I'm going for quality and functionality over quantity and "I'll get around to using it someday" syndrome. I can always buy it again, right?

I just sold a ton of old guitar parts for a nice chunk of change, my original POD, my Quadraverb 2.0 (haven't touched or used in yrs), my Fender Pro Jr, an old digital camera, a BOSS tremolo pedal, old Apple RAM... I have my AKG B/ULS, a 1970s Mutron Phaser II, and Mesa DC-3 *possibly* going (will pay for my pair of AT4050s that I just picked up and the late 1960s Fender Bassman head that I am craving), and my modded Presonus MP20 is on ebay right now so that I can get those API preamp(s) and lunchbox that I've been talking about.

And now my Alesis M1 Actives are going up on Craigslist or ebay.

Jeff

markwayne · Post by **markwayne** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 5:47 pm

Silverface Supers were the ultimate sleeper back in the 80s. I purchased several back then for under $200 because everyone wanted the Blackface amps. I used to use them exclusively for medium-sized gigs that didn't need a lot of gizmos. They are great (maybe the greatest) one-setting amps. They are loud but not stupid loud: you can actually turn them up past twelve-o-clock in a medium-sized room and get some of the sweetest, greasy crunch ever. Back your guitar's volume and your attack back just a smidgen and that glassy, Fender clean takes over. (Sorry James, but Marshall -nor Boogie - nor anyone - will give you quite this kind of clean.) It's just an all around, very musical amp.

A couple of warnings:
1. They tend to overheat when pushed hard for a long time and will melt their own solder joints.
2. Don't be tempted to use those silly, tilt-back stands for long, hot sets. That angel only serves to funnel all the heat from the tubes right where you don't want it. (See warning one.)
3. Don't neglect the rectifier tube. It's what gives that spongy, sweetness and makes the amp sound like a Super.
4. The transformer can be an Achilles heel as the amp runs a two-ohm load! (4 10's wired in parallel.) Try driving a cab with a higher load and you'll get a more focused tone that breaks up quicker

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 9:33 pm

markwayne wrote:(Sorry James, but Marshall -nor Boogie - nor anyone - will give you quite this kind of clean.)

You're probably right. I don't buy old Marshalls for their clean tone.

I haven't played Fender amps much but would like to try. For clean sounds I always thought (heresy?) that a JC-120 sounded pretty nifty.

markwayne · Post by **markwayne** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:33 pm

James Steele wrote:
markwayne wrote:(Sorry James, but Marshall -nor Boogie - nor anyone - will give you quite this kind of clean.)
You're probably right. I don't buy old Marshalls for their clean tone.

I haven't played Fender amps much but would like to try. For clean sounds I always thought (heresy?) that a JC-120 sounded pretty nifty.

Those are two very different tones. The JC-120 is a very clean, almost sterile, clean. They have a very 1980s sort of clean to my ear but get harsh very quickly when pushed.

Classic Fender designs have an open, beautiful, jangly, clean that sounds sweeter and sweeter and starts to compress more and more as you push until it starts to break-up in a very musical way. You really can't dial in a bad tone with most of the better ones. (Certainly can't say this about most Boogies.)

The classic pair of amps circa 1978 would be a Marshall for overdrive and a Fender for clean with a A/B switch to go back and forth. Still can't beat that combination in my book.

Check a good one (esp. an old Super or an early eighties Concert - which can be found for a very reasonable cost) out and tell me what you think.

gearboy · Post by **gearboy** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:21 pm

markwayne wrote: Check a good one (esp. an old Super or an early eighties Concert - which can be found for a very reasonable cost) out and tell me what you think.

I think I'm in love!

I'm selling my DC-3. So happy with the Super.

Jeff

KarlSutton · Post by **KarlSutton** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:25 pm

I just spent the last couple of days tracking a triple rectifier through a 4x12 cab - I was pretty blown away!

YouTube · Post by **James Steele** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:46 pm

Ahaha... we changed the subject of this thread to add the word "Fender!" LOL Okay... I'll shaddup about Marshalls then.

gearboy · Post by **gearboy** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 7:16 am

James Steele wrote:Ahaha... we changed the subject of this thread to add the word "Fender!" LOL Okay... I'll shaddup about Marshalls then.

I like Marshalls, too, James.

m2 · Post by m2 » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:09 am

I still rely on this 1964 blackface Vibrolux. I had a guy put a 3 way grounded AC plug on it and he wired the reverd to both channels. We also also did a fun mod by adding a solid state rectifier circuit using the then unused polarity switch to toggle between the rectifier tube and the circuit cool but subtile difference with a slight boost in power with the solid state. Nothing like these old amps.

OldTimey · Post by **OldTimey** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 9:50 am

Well, i did a little comparison shopping this weekend, and go the chance to compare a fender '65 reissue twin reverb and a mid-seventies silverface, refurbed, in great condition, modded to 1965 specs. The reissue was LOUD and clean but just couldn't match the vintage amp in terms of character and fullness of tone, especially when I patched an overdrive pedal in. The reissue's sound folded into nothingness, while the vintage amp took the pedal's sound and "made it her own." Well, the spot was asking 1200 for the vintage refurb, but I think I could do better on ebay.

the search continues....

gearboy · Post by **gearboy** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:35 am

Best of luck OldTimey!

gearboy · Post by **gearboy** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:17 pm

Some more vintage Fender Amp Heaven stuff.

I visited a friend last night and played through:

1) late 1950s Tweed Champ
2) mid 1960s Blackface Showman Head (??? or Bandmaster, can't remember... 40 watts)
3) A brand new "Fender Tweed Deluxe" kit amp that my friend Greg and his Dad built for $600 (and $270 was the Vintage Tweed cabinet).

I have to tell you, the amp that they built for $600 is the sweetest amp that I have ever had the pleasure of playing through. It is just incredible. It is the ultimate rock n' roll Fender tone. Breaks up in such an amazing way, back off the gtr's volume and it's clean again. There are kits out there for $600-$800. His Tweed Deluxe was less expensive because he decided to look for the parts on his own. He says that it is literally dead on to the original.

The only thing that sucks about it is the fact that he didn't get to use it on his band's new CD, as it wasn't finished before the CD was recorded. He used the 50's Tweed champ, 60's Showman(???), and Guitar Rig 2 for the CD. And yeah, the GR2 tracks sound great, too. Mixed in with the vintage amp tracks it just works.

Crazy. I think that I am going to sell my Mesa DC-3 and learn how to build a tube amp.

Jeff