1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speakers?

[Bartimaeus]

I've been over that the Fender forum, and on a suggestion from there ... totally fixed this amp.

It's 100% original - except for the Mesa tube I replaced in V1 -- an SP12AX7 in Ch-1. (Because I had a spare. The result? Amazing tone - think deep & clean with loads of shimmer/sustain.)



Some are saying at the FF dump the Utah speakers. I'm like ... WHAT?!! Amp sounds FANTASTIC as is. Why would I? Why should I? Shouldn't I just keep it vintage?

My playing style (80%) is clean to crunchy with reverb and some other basic effects (Chorus, delay, distortion.) Think modern church music.

I think I need second, third opinion... Since I respect what members here say, I'm asking -- give me some beta here brothers. What am I missing here?

The kit I've been playing is a Mesa 5:50 Express (1X12.) Which is astonishing ... for the 15 extra lbs, I may start dragging the Twin though. I'm starting to like working with a bit of vibe...

[VinceT]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Second opinion. Trust your ears over any and all internet orthodoxy. Third opinion. Trust your ears over an and all internet orthodoxy.

There. Done.


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[Bartimaeus]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Yeah, that's why I'm like: "Duh" ... Don't fixit if it isn't broken?

[VinceT]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Far too many people on the internet who can't play like their idols, so they fill their insecurity gap by pumping their knowledge/opinion about gear. And a LOT of fender amp snobs, primarily because of SRV, who was known to use sooooo much more than Fenders!


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[frankfalbo]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

If you have any other amps and/or cabinets, simply plug the Fender directly into their speakers, and take a minute to listen to whether there are any characteristics of that speaker/cabinet that are good/better than what you have now. It doesn't have to sound "better" but if there's something you like about it, then you can probably target that aspect in a new speaker that combines what you like about the current sound, with what you like about the other sound.

[Gearjoneser]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Nice, clean 74. I love my 74 Pro Reverb.

Speakers only need changed if you don't like their sound.

Interesting practice space. Is it your residence or a rehearsal spot? The Twin probably sounds huge in a concrete room.

[Rich_S]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Trust your ears, keep the speakers.

[Securb]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Great find. I changed the speakers in my Silverface and now I am getting ready to change them back. There is a reason those amps are classics. The engineers knew what they were doing. No need for mods of any kind.

[Boogie Bill]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Looks really clean. I'm not surprised that it sounds great...they were great back in 1974 too! Congrats!

I actually owned a Twin for about 30 mins back around 1995. Saw an ad for one for $250. Went over there, guy's got it in his garage, and it is a total POS!!!! Tolex is shredded. Four different brands of power tubes. Two different speakers...neither factory. Best one is probably the Peavey Scorpion...the other looked really cheap...maybe a Radio Shack? One caster missing. AC cord has cuts in the cover. Oh, and the top right corner joint is busted...the only thing holding it together is the tolex!

I was surprised when it actually turned on! I plugged it and it sounded FANTASTIC!! Really strong, too!

So, I bought the pig. My buddy helps me get it in the back of my Impala wagon and we go off to a local music store. I trade it, with $100 cash, for $750 worth of Peavey PA gear that my band desperately needed. They didn't bat an eye...we grabbed the gear and made our getaway!

Twins are amazing amps!

Bill

[jeremy]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

are there better speakers? yes. worth swapping them out? probably not.

fender wanted a good sounding very reliable and inexpensive speaker, remember this is cbs era of cost cutting. that said, if it sounds good then why mess with it! i took the stock speaker out of my '66 deluxe reverb, it wasnt a bad speaker but there are better ones out there. clean it sounded fine but got harsh when i rolled the amp up to 8. im assuming you arent running your twin at 8

[Bartimaeus]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Nice, clean 74. I love my 74 Pro Reverb.

Speakers only need changed if you don't like their sound.

Interesting practice space. Is it your residence or a rehearsal spot? The Twin probably sounds huge in a concrete room.

Hey all, thanks for the recommendations, I agree with your "don't fix it if it ain't broke" perspectives. So... I'm keeping the vintage speakers in the amp, it's great the way it is.

The room is at our residence, and I use it for practice. Yes. I've enjoyed the hard surfaces... the twin bass booms and trebel is really crisp. Acoustical instruments sound great in there. No need for a PA, it's not that big.



We call it it the "Bug Studio" or "Green Room." It was built as a barbeque by a previous owner (for a big family reunion) and later enclosed to become a bath house (hot tub.) We emptied and cleaned it up - vacuumed and sprayed for spiders.

[Chickenwings]

Re: 1974 Fender Silver Face Twin Reverb - Craigslist Snag... 100% vintage. New Speake

Amp sounds FANTASTIC as is.

job done.
Twins are glorious amps.

I love my old twin (69).
I swapped the speakers because it had weber californias in it. Excellent speakers, but not the sound i was after. It has texas heats in it now.
Keep the ones you have and keep smiling.