Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

SirJackdeFuzz

SirJackdeFuzz

New member
Gentle men of the sound-table . . .


. . . please help me out in yet another part of my ongoing saga to find the ultimate Fender amp !

As some of you will know, i love the crunch of the 4x10 Bassman LTD :smokin:


But recently two "out-siders" came under my attention !

The Concert & Super Reverb - both 4x10's !

Can anyone please give me more info on these two models !
Any info welcome, tone character, break-up points, wattage, features, personal experience (if any), your thoughts ansd also how it will compare to the allmighty Bassman !

Thanx guys !
;)
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

get a bassman from the early 60s
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

I've actually owned all 3 amps, and used each of them for over a few years.

My favorite was the Pro Tube Concert Reverb, mainly because it's the most modern and versatile. The clean channel is pure super reverb, while the gain channel will do everything from low volume highgain to any type of overdrive you need. It's also got tube reverb, tremolo, 1/4 power, and bias points on the back panel. I sold the amp, but wish I still had it.

The Bassman LTD is one of the greatest Fender amps out there, but it does one thing really well.....high volume clean/breakup. It has great tone though. It's a loud amp with great clean tone, and needs OD pedals to get anything else. The 90's Bassman, which I also owned is OK, but not quite the tone quality of the LTD.

The 90's Super Reverb is a good amp, but again, it does the high volume clean tone, with breakup that's decent, but not as cool as the Bassman LTD. Just a pure clean Blackface tone

Out of all the modern Fender amps I've tried, my favorite is probably the Pro Tube Concert Reverb. Other greats are the Bassman LTD, Bassbreaker, and Vibroking.

I really wish I'd kept the Concert Reverb. It's one of the best Fender amps ever. It's a modern circuit board amp, but as a player, you'll really enjoy what the amp is capable of. Even at low volumes, I could get fully distorted Santana type sounds out of it. It's one amp I regret selling.
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

WOW - THANX SOOO MUCH FOR THE FAST AND INDEPTH REPLY !!!

So, if i read correct, the Concert Reverb has a gain channel too !?

If so, can you please tell me a bit more about the distorto-tones !?
I am the Rhythm player, and hardly ever do any leads (i suck at it :( ), but i love my Keef Richards style riffs !

Would you say the gain/dist. channel is good for a riff-player like me ?




. . . and does anyone know where i can find soem Concert Reveb clips ???


AGAIN, you guys are great !


Oi, Christian . . .

. . . i am still waiting your arrival to this thread ;) - i am sure you have something to say !
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

you probably dont want that concert, you want one of the newer ones. thats an older rivera design, not bad but not the same.
the newer concerts should be about $1100 or so new and heavy
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

Given that he's been examining Black Key videos with a magnifying glass, I think Sir Jack is referring to the original 60's-vintage Concert and Super Reverb. Similar amps, both 40-50 watts with 4 10's. They were so similar in fact the the Concert was retired in 1965, leaving the Super Reverb to carry on and enter the history books. Later Concerts simply borrowed the name. They were similar in appearance (4x10") and wattage, but were much different amps - channel switching vs. two separate channels.

For all the technical details, see the Fender Amp Field Guide. In short, the Concert had a solid-state rectifier, vibrato, but no reverb. The SR had a tube rectifier, vibrato, and reverb. It also added a mid control on the "vibrato" channel.

I can't tell you the tonal differences, having never played either amp. I know Johnny Marr played an old Concert with the Healers and the tones he got on their Boomslang album are just amazing.
 
Last edited:
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

jeremy said:
you probably dont want that concert, you want one of the newer ones. thats an older rivera design, not bad but not the same.
the newer concerts should be about $1100 or so new and heavy
Click to expand...



Can you please tell me more why the newer Concerts are 'better' ?
Usually it is the older ones that ate the ones to go for !


http://cgi.ebay.com/1990-Concert-Fe...ryZ43375QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem - this is the newest model on eBay, a 1990's model, albeit 1x12, but still a Revera-design !
Also, this one goes for $1350.00 - probably NOT a bargain at all then ! :blackeye:
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

SirJackdeFuzz said:
WOW - THANX SOOO MUCH FOR THE FAST AND INDEPTH REPLY !!!

So, if i read correct, the Concert Reverb has a gain channel too !?

If so, can you please tell me a bit more about the distorto-tones !?
I am the Rhythm player, and hardly ever do any leads (i suck at it :( ), but i love my Keef Richards style riffs !

Would you say the gain/dist. channel is good for a riff-player like me ?




. . . and does anyone know where i can find soem Concert Reveb clips ???


AGAIN, you guys are great !


Oi, Christian . . .

. . . i am still waiting your arrival to this thread ;) - i am sure you have something to say !
Click to expand...


The Concert series was initially created in 1959 thru 1963 (Browns) from 1963 thru 1965 they were blackface and then they made the concertII in the 80's which I believe was channel switching. This amp was designed during the Rivera era of Fenders.(Paul Rivera worked for Fender before he started his own line). The one GJ speaks of was made thru 1993 thru 1995. excellent anmp.

I'm not certain byt I thought the Concerts were 100 watts, but from what I read some of the early models were 40W. Which would make them pretty much the same as a Super Reverb. I'm not certain what circuit was used and what the difference between the Concert and the Super Reverb is though? It was an amp that was not as popular as the SR, but that being said it was the Amp that Muddy Waters and Albert Collins preferred.

I own a 1968 SF Super Reverb. For a raw blues type of tone I don't think you can get a better amp. The reverb is incredibly smooth and sweet. Once the volume gets to about 5 the OD begins to kick in and from 5 to 10 it will compete with any Classic Rock hard blues type of tone. SRV used Super Reverbs early in his career and I think he had his best tone when he used Super Reverbs.

As GJ said Bassmans if you are looking for that particular sound there is nothing better, but there is no Reverb and it really doesn't have the versatilty that the others do. Great amp in its own way but it does that one thing really well.
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

the 90's concert was 50w
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

SirJackdeFuzz said:
If so, can you please tell me a bit more about the distorto-tones !?
I am the Rhythm player, and hardly ever do any leads (i suck at it :( ), but i love my Keef Richards style riffs !

Would you say the gain/dist. channel is good for a riff-player like me ?
Click to expand...

How loud do you want to get? How big are the venues you'll be playing? If you'll be doing gigs on the smaller side, you may want to sink the same amount of money into a quality amp with lower wattage. That way, you'll always be able to play near, at or above the break-up point.

Amps in the 40-watt-or-higher range get loud really quickly.

- Keith
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

philthis said:
great job guys nice info!
:beerchug:
Click to expand...

Ohhhh, YES !

Best inter-net site regarding amps, and pu's - by a country mile and everyone is sooo friendly !

Once again thanx to all . . .


. . . ok, so i still do not know what i want, but i am learning massive amounts here while going through the mountian of options !
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

KGMESSIER said:
How loud do you want to get? How big are the venues you'll be playing? If you'll be doing gigs on the smaller side, you may want to sink the same amount of money into a quality amp with lower wattage. That way, you'll always be able to play near, at or above the break-up point.

Amps in the 40-watt-or-higher range get loud really quickly.

- Keith
Click to expand...


Venues is very diff. to calculate, as i am in South Africa for now, but will (hopefully) be in Toronto Canada by June - permanantly !
Moving to the GF, you see !
Once there, i want to get Psychobilly band togehter ASAP :smokin:

Never been to Toronto, but many, times to Vancouver, FWIW !
I paid $780 for my Blues Jr. here in SA, so getting $1100 out for a 40watter is kinda like a bargain gor me . . . in comparason to what we pay over here !
(...it will cost you $1100.00 for a Peavey Classic 30 in my city - seriously :blackeye: )

I also want to use the min. amount od pedals to get to my tone, so i want the amp to give me most of the OD/crunch/dirt without the constant help of boxes !
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

I also want to use the min. amount od pedals to get to my tone, so i want the amp to give me most of the OD/crunch/dirt without the constant help of boxes ![/QUOTE]

You really don't want any of the above then unless you are playing pretty loud---a 4x10" with 40-45 watts is pretty loud, more than most soundmen want to deal with, and way more than you can use in most clubs. The tweed Bassman clone is probably the quickest to distort of the three discussed, esp with some tube swaps and with channels bridged...
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

ES350 said:
I also want to use the min. amount od pedals to get to my tone, so i want the amp to give me most of the OD/crunch/dirt without the constant help of boxes !
Click to expand...

You really don't want any of the above then unless you are playing pretty loud---a 4x10" with 40-45 watts is pretty loud, more than most soundmen want to deal with, and way more than you can use in most clubs. The tweed Bassman clone is probably the quickest to distort of the three discussed, esp with some tube swaps and with channels bridged...[/QUOTE]



Clone ?

What type of wattage are we lookining at ?

Do you mean, like a Celtic amp ?

More info please.
 
Re: Concert Reverb vs. Super Reverb vs. Bassman LTD

yeah, the Concert Reverb I was referring to came out in 2001 as the flagship model in the Pro Tube Series. The newest amp from that series is the Super Sonic, which is fairly similar.

I like old p to p Fender amps too, but I usually talk about modern ones that are readily available. Some purists don't give modern channel switching amps a chance, but if you're someone who wants versatility, you almost have to stay focused on newer amps like the Super Sonic. As a matter of fact, the Super Sonic is a pretty cool amp. Good tones all around, and they FINALLY updated their crappy footswitches. The new footswitches look a lot more durable. That was always my big complaint with modern channel switching Fenders. They'd give you some crappy footswitch with a cheapo cable with an amp that cost $1300.
 
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