Best Fender in a Long Time

[Gunny47]

Okay guys, I made my amp decision. I have heard enough reviews that this amp is great, I love Tweed and I played the 57 Twin That everyone is talking about. I played it at low volumes, which is what I really wanted to test - its clean tone. I want an amp that has a good clean and a good overdrive. I dont want an amp with amazing cleans and bad overdrive or an amp with amazing overdrive and bad cleans. Get my picture?

I liked how the controls were like interactive with eachother. Adding some treble drammatically increased the mid-range nature of this amp. Conversly, taking the bass up took out some mid frequencies. BTW, this is not my first time playing this amp - I played it in the store yesterday. The clean tone is not big warm shimmering blackface-type sound. Its a lot more natural and and on the slight thin sound and therefore, sounds grity. But it is perfect for that edgy blues clean type sound. I was using a Les Paul R8 Reissue with the neck pickup with the tone and volume at 10. That probably attributed to the dirty nature of the amp.

So for me, the amp is perfect. I would probably retube this amp once I get it. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

I belive Fender is still using Groove Tubes and I know that the 57 Twin comes stock with 4 12AX7's...it should have 12AY7s' and if you swap the 12AX7's out for 12AY7's you will have a better clean tone and IMO a sweeter overdrive. What speakers ar they using in that amp? Just keep your options in mind...I belive those amps sell for a little over 2k new...thats a gopod bit of cheese on an new fender amp IMO. Buy used or look into a Victoria...I would put the quality of the Victoria way ahead of the Fender and if you buy used you should be able to gran the Vic for a great price.

 

[Gunny47]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Okay, I kind of need the run-down on tubes. What is a NOS tube? Where can I find them? What would I put in the Fender Tweed Twin if I were to do the 12AY7s? Which 12AX7s would I replace for the 12AY7s? I read that RCA is a good brand for NOS tubes, is this true? Thanks.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Okay, I kind of need the run-down on tubes. What is a NOS tube? Where can I find them? What would I put in the Fender Tweed Twin if I were to do the 12AY7s? Which 12AX7s would I replace for the 12AY7s? I read that RCA is a good brand for NOS tubes, is this true? Thanks.

OK...

NOS tubes are New Old Stock tubes

You can but NOS tubes from some tube dealers but I must stress that you DO NOT NEED NOS TUBES TO HAVE A GOOD TONE

I belive that the low power Twins used 3 12AY7's and 1 12AX7's for the phase inverter/driver...if that's the case you woudl swap V1, V2, and V3 for 12AY7s

RCA NOS Tubes are great (most of the time) but again, there are new/current production tubes that are just fine (and that cost a LOT less)

 

[Gunny47]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Thanks for the reply. Im kinda bored so thats why Im replying so often ;-) O yea I forgot about that - price. I did some research and found some RCAs that were like $80 for 1 tube. So hows the standard Groove Tube or Electro Harmonix 12AY7? Sorry for being a pain in the ass. What type of tone would I get from them? Do I need to rebias the amp? Thanks again.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Pre amp tubes do not need Bias adjustment. IMO the EH 12AY7's are great tubes.

As for tonal change the deal is that a 12AY7 has less gain that a 12AX7...it will be a little cleaner, a little sweeter sounding and more correct...in the 50's they came with 12AY7's

 

[Gunny47]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Thanks a lot dude. So Im guessing that Power amp tubes DO need bias adjustment. Id probably still go with some NOS tubes anway to get the most out of the amp. I figure if I spend 1 hundred or so, Ill get the best out of the amp. Price isnt really an issue for me when it comes to fixing up stuff. Price is an issue if Im deciding between an R9 and an R8. Theyre the same thing basically besides color, and one is double the amount. So Id pick the R8.

Id probably get 3 RCA 12AY7s (V1, V2, V3), 1 RCA 12AX7 (in the V4 spot), Id keep the rectifiers the stock EH 5U4s and probably keep the power amp tubes the stock Grooves. Im kinda getting excited about this stuff. I guess getting my first set of pickups made me want to change stuff more! Do you think I should swap the stock tubes for some NOS tubes? Also, do I need matched tubes (Im not familiar with the term matched) for the pre-amp tubes? And finally, how do I change the tubes? If they do not need re-biasing, do I just unplug the amp, wait a few minutes, pull one, put the new one in and do the same for each? Thanks again.

 

[jdm61]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Hey Christian....you know almost everything but you don't own one of these mothers:chairfall Mine came with NOS 12ay7's and there is a difference. The speakers are Weber designed alnico Emminence. As for the power tubes, leave them where they are. The GT 6L6GE's are very nice. Iwas shocked at how versatile this amp is. The previous owner included an NOS RCA 12ax7 for the V1 slot in case i want to bump the gain upa bit, but at this point, i don't really see the need so it will go in the V1 slot on my Deluxe RI. I was able to buy 4 GE 12ax7's for $175. I'm not sure if the AY's are priced the same or less, but they may be easier to find.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

As far as the power tubes, I had a pair of NOS RCA blackplates in my Bassman head. I replaced them with a pair of EH 6L6's. These are really good. I can honestly say that they match the RCA's tonal quality about 95 percent. IMHO, that's not too shabby for a $30 set of tubes.

 

[jdm61]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

The Groove Tube GE's cost a fair amount more than the standard new 6L6, but everyone who has tried them rave about them. You might want to switch around the rectifiers and see what you get. If you want more sag, you can remove one,but i am not sure which one:laugh2: I am not inclined to try it at this time. Like i said in my post. With the retubing that the original owner did, mine gets me about as close to the sound in my head as any amp i have ever heard. Now all i have to do is learn to play well and I'll be there:chairfall

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

I'd put in some TAD 6L6WGB's in that amp. I'd also probably put 12AY7's in at least V1 and V2. I might leave a 12AX7 in V3.

Does the new Fender reissue come with dual 5U4 rectifiers? That'd be a cool touch.

If you love the amp, get it. But I agree with the guys above on find a used Vicky for that kind of cash. Best of both worlds as Vicky's hold their resale value well. I'm kinda partial to small builders.

 

[jdm61]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

yes, it does, Scott.......2 rectifiers, no waiting:fingersx: I got mine for $1500 with the NOS tubes. Unless Victorias have gotten a WHOLe lot better in the last 7 years or so, the Twin is VERY close if not equal with the upgraded tubes. This thing appears to be Fender's counterattack against all of the boutique guys that have been ripping off Leo's legacy for all these years. They went to the same guys for parts as the boutiques. No cheapo Italian "Jensens" in this thing. I haven't looked real close, but someone on here said that it uses Mercury Magnetics trannies.

 

[jdm61]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

and yes, it is partly Fender's own fault that others have filled the void.....they should have built an amp like this 10 or more years ago when they introudced the first Custom Shop amps instead of building the Tonemaster, which was apparently a very good amp, but not what the people wanted from Fender:fingersx: I am still waiting for a handwired blackface Deluxe or Twin from them.:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

I'd be doubly suprised if Fender used MM iron. I'm glad they are building the TT. It's a fine amp. If it says fender on it, then some folks that might never try a great tweed amp might give this one a go.

Speaking of dual rectifiers, the 4xEL84 thing I'm building (Dierdre 30) will have dual 5U4 rectifiers, or you can just use a 5AR4 in one of them for less sag. I'm waiting on parts to arrive. I'll be building it next after B Bents tweed 6V6.

 

[jdm61]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Scott.....sounds like you are becoming what the Brits would call a "bespoke" amp builder.......production specs be damned......what does the customer really want? very cool.....keep up the good work :fingersx:

 

[Scott_F]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Not really, more of an attempt to come close to a Matchless C-30. I love those amps. I'm going to give it the old college try. 1/2 power switch, dual channel, rotary tone knob on the EF86 channel, traditional T/B on the other, defeatable master, seperate FX loops on both channels and real matchless/badcat iron.

This one ought to be the more complicated thing I've tried so far.

 

[Gunny47]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Fender has a handwired blackface, just not the Twin Reverb/Deluxe Reverb that are ultra popular. Theyve got the '64 Vibroverb which Im surprised isnt that popular. Its got 2 switches in the back, one changed the rectifier from diode to tube and the other is like an overdrive type thing. Besides that though, im not sure why there are any problems with it. Its got some Eminance 15" speaker but im sure that people prefer the 2 x 12 arrangement, so i dont know. You guys probably know about this anyway...

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=8140000000

 

[jdm61]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

yeah, they have built the VibroKing for a long time too, but i think if you asked customers what they would like to see in a handwired version, the list would go something like Deluxe, Twin, Super ,Princeton. :fingersx:

 

[Curly]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

This thing appears to be Fender's counterattack against all of the boutique guys that have been ripping off Leo's legacy for all these years.

most of the tweed amps used generic circuits created by AT&T/ Western Electric, and licensed by Fender. I don't know about the '57 Twin RI, but most tweed amps have a licensing label on the inside of the cab.

I don't think the early boutique builders were ripping off Leo, but responding to the market, and building amps they loved that there was a demand for.

Of course, the current leadership at FMIC may feel differently.

I'd be doubly suprised if Fender used MM iron.

A boutique amp from Fender?!?

Naturally, Fender came to Mercury for our top-of-the-line transformers. Sergio Hamernik and crew worked directly with Fender's engineers whose "spare no expense, no holds barred" approach helped us to create the best-sounding transformers money could buy. The Twin nails Fender's tone so well that many top players have added it to their on-stage arsenals. If you're a serious player too, this amp is a "must have."

 

[PUCKBOY99]

Re: Best Fender in a Long Time

Not really, more of an attempt to come close to a Matchless C-30. I love those amps. I'm going to give it the old college try. 1/2 power switch, dual channel, rotary tone knob on the EF86 channel, traditional T/B on the other, defeatable master, seperate FX loops on both channels and real matchless/badcat iron.

This one ought to be the more complicated thing I've tried so far.

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