Fender - The New Twin

Z

Zhangliqun

Questionologist
Anybody tried this baby out?

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0215700000

I need more headroom for gigs and this might be the ticket. The 85 lbs. looks like the downside since I'd have to carry it up and down stairs at the apartment, but I've been "amping" up the weight training lately so that won't be as much of a problem (plus it has wheels for when you're done with the stairs). The 1/4 power switch looks like a nifty feature too.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

There's a reason why there's always an active market for vintage Fender Twins to change hands that's much larger than just about any other amp in the Fender line past or present...

...the 80 pounds.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I'm intrigued by that amp and I really want to play through one. I'm sure that I would use it at 25 watts 99% of the time, and I'm dying to know how it sounds cranked up at the lower wattage.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I'm not a fan. For me, the amp to have out of the pro-tube range is the concert, which is even heavier.

Caveat: I don't really like twins, apart from the new tweed ris.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I tried the Pro Reverb from this series. If it tells you anything I got rid of it the next week.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

Probably most of you are focusing on the overdrive channel. This is not an area that Fender is exactly great with -- the old Fender amp clipped tone is power tube distortion from the amp cranked "clean".

But their clean tone is legendary and that's what I'm looking for, just at higher volumes than the Hotrods can deliver. My Maxon Overdrive Pro fills my crunch needs very nicely.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

They're huge and heavy - and LOUD, but that clean tone is to die for. If you want a gorgeous blackface clean with tons of volume, this is your amp.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I have one with EV speakers in it... it is the HEAVIEST combo I have ever felt!

The tone is EXCELLENT in BOTH channels...

Classic FENDER clean and a very MARSHALL-LOKE overdrive channel.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

Zhangliqun said:
Probably most of you are focusing on the overdrive channel. This is not an area that Fender is exactly great with -- the old Fender amp clipped tone is power tube distortion from the amp cranked "clean".

But their clean tone is legendary and that's what I'm looking for, just at higher volumes than the Hotrods can deliver. My Maxon Overdrive Pro fills my crunch needs very nicely.
Click to expand...

Speaking for myself, I was specifically referring to the clean sound. The pro series twin sounded very flat and hard to me. The 65ri twin sounds better, but try as I might, I couldn't get excited about buying one. I ended up with my vibrolux, which has a thicker midrange character somewhere between tweed and blackface. but loads of people consider the blackface twin to be THE clean tone, so it may work for you.

I did like the concert reverb, which probably has a lot to do with it's 4x10 configuration. I wouldn't want to lift it around, though...
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I had a Pro Tube Series Concert as my main amp for home playing for a few years, right after they came out. It's a really good amp! It's got tube driven reverb and tremolo, and bias points on the back panel, so you can tweak the bias easily.

The OD channel is the best highgain channel of any Fender amp, including the Prosonic and Tonemaster. If you use it for highgain, it reminds me of Santana plugging into a Soldano. That's what comes to mind when hearing it. The best way to use this amp for gigging, is to set the OD channel's volume really high, and keep the gain low, so it sounds more like natural vintage OD.

Yeah, it's a heavy amp, but another nice thing is the deeper cabinet, which pushes better lows than a regular Twin or Concert. My only complaint about the amp was that I hate Fender footswitches. They seem cheap, but at least you can use a better cable with it. The stock FS cable is so crappy, it causes wierd popping sounds sometimes.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I haven't played one.
However, there are lots of folks, myself included, who have bought a Twin to find out that they are too heavy, and more importantly, too much amp to be practical.

you'll have to decide for your own use, but I'd prefer the cleans available from a Bassman LTD or Super Reverb, which at their power will also give you nice overdrive tone at club level.

the Twin is mainly about clean at a large venue.

there is also a blonde Twin version that looks pretty cool
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I've always wanted a TWIN and it seems like they keep trying to make me like them more. I'll have to try this one out.

-X
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

and I thought the 85watt twin was over the top, that thing is gonna be loud. buy some earplugs
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

The Concert and Pro have 2 6L6's, while the Twin has 4. I think the best one is the Pro Tube Concert Reverb. Beautiful clean channel, and the OD channel is way way better than any Deville series amp.

I liked the 1/4 switch, but thought it made the tone a little mushy, so I think it sounds better on full power, just turned down a bit.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

One of the best cleans I've heard. That said, some of the 65 RI's have an even better clean. I'd say go for the RI if you don't need channel switching.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

if you use the right tubes, speakers and transformers, a good 2x6L6 amp will give you ear bleedin' cleans!
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I think some people get the idea that the Pro Tube Series is a second rate amp. It's not...it's one of Fender's best amps. You could put the clean tone against all the 65 Reissue amps, and it's equal, if not better because of the better lows from the deeper cab. The gain channel is Fender's best. You can get bedroom metal, or overdriven classic tone, depending on how you set it. The Reverb is excellent, and the tremolo is tube driven as well. I can only speak for the Concert, since that's what I owned. I liked it a whole lot more than the Bassman LTD I had right after it. The Bassman is a more roadworthy amp, but it's nowhere near as versatile as the Pro Tube Concert Reverb. The Pro is OK. The Twin is too loud, but the Concert is the best from that series. Of course, I had perfectly biased Svetlanas and better pre tubes. The key to ANY tube amp is using top notch tubes.
 
Re: Fender - The New Twin

I tried the Reissue 65 Twin at GC on Friday. The treble is a little glassy for my tastes, and that glassiness is hard to dial out -- but that could probably be fixed with some new power tubes, especially Svetlana Winged C's. But it definitely has the headroom on clean, and it seems to add bloom and sustain to the notes.

I also noticed the preamp tubes are like metal canisters rather than glass tubes. I wonder if putting some "normal" 12AX7's and AT7's in there would improve the tone some.

By the way, does the Reissue 65 Twin have a bias test point or is it truly "vintage"?
 
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Re: Fender - The New Twin

Benjy_26 said:
One of the best cleans I've heard. That said, some of the 65 RI's have an even better clean. I'd say go for the RI if you don't need channel switching.
Click to expand...

+1. I've never cared for Fender's high gain tones myself anyway.
 
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