Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Everyone loves the Twin Reverb !

But is here any owners, or past owners of the red knob Twin ?

If so, what can you guys tell me abou this model ?



Thanx

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

great amp.
Super dirty 80s hair metal rock tones from a twin reverb. Whodathunkit?
If you get one these days tho you are looking at an amp that is nearly 30 years old so be prepared to spend some money on replacing bits and pieces. The other downside is that they are using the modern pcb construction and stuff so it wont be easy to work on.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

Don't own one, but I have used them back in the early '90s. They have a pretty dismal reputation, mostly due to some flimsy construction techniques...like solder joints on jacks and pots breaking, and tube socket and PCB issues. I have always liked their clean tones--pure Fender. It's the distortion side that drove me nuts. If I remember correctly, I think the lead channel tones were active, not passive. I never seemed to be able to get a good driven tone from it...it's not a Mesa Boogie, to be sure. I used my Real Tube 901OD thru the clean channel for my lead tones and that worked well. I could definitely see using it as a clean platform for pedals. They followed this amp with a black-faced style amp known as the "Evil Twin".

Later I owned an '80s Rivera-designed Fender 75 head, and had similar issues with the lead channel distortion. I had some success with it by only using the GAIN on about 2-3 for a real ratty, pushed blues tone and the 901 for leads. I sold that amp after I found my first Mesa, and it wasn't hard for me to let it go...the Mesa fits my style much better.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Bill

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

Isnt that the one called "The Twin"? My only experience with one would have been around 98 or so and somehow we got booked into playing this dive bar in Missoula Montana. We are told the bar has its own backline and drums and wont let us our own stuff. When we get there the guitar amp choices I have are either a Roland Jazz Chorus 77 or one of those the twins. I couldnt find any sounds i liked out of it. In frustration i even plugged my tube screamer into the Roland but that wasnt happenin either. Wound up just using the clean channel with my TS as my dirty tone then dialing the distortion channel almost clean and as a volume boost for leads. Sadly the problems with the backline were the least of the issues that night. The crowd was good, the bar management and policies sucked the big one.

Its never good to decide your complete opinion of a piece of gear from a situation like that, particularly when you know the amp was in anything but top electrical condition... but man its hard to get that bad taste out of your mouth.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

Many thanks to all


;-)

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

IDK, I personally love mine but I only use the clean C.H. on it & I don't lug it around to bars & clubs? I don't think it would travel very well & they are incredibly hard to work on because of the PCB boards & the tube socket's also suck, mine were replaced with new ones when I bought the amp almost 20 years ago!!! It's still going strong, Oh good call on the 80's hair metal comment as far as the dirt C.H. goes! I hate it, I either like a S#%% ton of gain or just a touch, ah la TS808, that been said, this amp does love pedals so if I were you I'd find a good dirt pedal & save the second CH for the second coming of Christ!!!

 

[jeremy]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

i had a red knob twin for a long time and really liked it. the clean was great and the dirty channel wasnt bad, just hard to dial in. i was using emgs at the time, sv/sv/81 with a pa2 and spc so the guitar had a ton of output. i never had any issues with mine for the five+ years i had it. gigged with it plenty and didnt treat it well but it kept going. i got rid of it cause i got tired of hauling it around but a buddy of mine still has it.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

I've considered picking one up over the years. I've got a Supersonic Twin now. It's an awesome amp, but just like has been mentioned here... It's ALL about the clean channel. It's not that the burn channel is bad. It's certainly "passable" and even pretty good if you use a boost/OD pedal to slam the front and tighten things up. But I MUCH prefer to use my Bogner Red and Blue pedals running into the clean channel for crunch and leads. Shame to "waste" the entire Burn channel like that, but like every other Fender I've ever owned or played... they just don't do distortion as well as amps designed to do that. I will say that the Bogner pedals into the clean channel sound every bit as good as my old Bogner XTC Classic. In fact, I like this rig even better because the Twins cleans are (as expected) unbeatable, and I love the 20th Anniversary modes on the pedals.

Anyways... my apologies for getting off-track here. Just wanted to throw my opinion regarding Fender's lack-luster distortion on the pile. Not too many people buy Fender amps for their OD tones. But most of them make awesome pedal platforms.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

I have owned and sold two.
They have a wonderful clean tone, and a decent OD channel.
But there is no reason for the average player to ever buy one of those things.
There are A Bunch of amps that do what it does.
They weigh a metric ton, are no fun to work on, and if yours has never been serviced, you are in for a bad surprise.
I would suggest a Silver Face Twin before I would buy a Red Knob. Or, a "better" alternative is a Showman or Dual Showman.
Do you need that much headroom.?
A Super Rev or a Pro Rev are still 2 of the best amps Fender ever made.
Speaking of The Best Fender.....a SF Bassman is still a great bargain, and just about the best sounding 50 Watt head that a Blues/Rock/Jazz/Country player could ever hope to own.
As with ALL amps of this age, it needs to see a Qualified Tech, and needs to be given a thorough going over..... oil change, brake job, and alignment.
300 bux is nothing to tube and service a 40-50 year old amp.
good luck

 

[El Dunco]

Re: Any fans of the Fender Twin Red knob model ?

I know it's kind of an old thread. I still own a red knob. It has great, crystal clear cleans (you would expect that from Fender). I think most of the issues with the OD channel are just that it's counter intuitive. The 3 band EQ is actually set BEFORE the gain stage. With the treble and mid knobs pulled out boosted and the bass at around 3 you get a smooth, warm and versatile distortion and you use the notch filter on the presence control as your EQ which goes from a grainy Marshall voicing to a mid heavy Texas honk sound. It's kind of early Mesa flavoured. With all the amps I own now I am considering selling it. I do agree that it ways a LOT for a combo. I never thought a combo would make me pine for a half-stack so badly.