New Amp Day

JB_From_Hell

JB_From_Hell

Jomo's Nimions
Well, sort of.

I came home from my dad's house with his SF Super Reverb on "indefinite loan." He's had it since sometime in the 70's, but never plays electric anymore. He offered to let me take it, said it was a shame to let it sit unused.

I'm not sure of the exact year, but it looks like pre-72. I'll post a photo from my laptop later.

Anyway, after 6 years of playing a 15 watt Line 6, this thing sure is a wake up call. I'm going straight into it, and I'm hearing stuff I never heard on the modeling amp. It's horribly impractical for home usage, but it sounds so good I don't care.

That said, I'm trying to find some tricks to tame the volume. One recommendation is to pull channel 1's tube. I'm hesitant to go pulling tubes, so is this safe?
 
Re: New Amp Day

Yeah, you can do that with those two channel Fenders. For some reason, when you pull the pre tube for the normal channel, the gain increases on the vibrato channel. It won't hurt anything, but you can't use the normal channel and have to turn it to zero.

However, it's best to use an OD pedal. The Way Huge Green Rhino sounds great with a Super Reverb.
 
Re: New Amp Day

Does it have an FX loop?
If so, drop an EQ pedal in it with the level on zero. Plenty of attenuation to be had.
 
Re: New Amp Day

if you pull v1, all it will do is disable the first channel and add a little more gain to channel 2 (making it louder).
Other options are (assuming you like the reverb channel mostly) swap v2 for a lower gain tube like a 5751.
Another option is to swap out the phase inverter (the last preamp tube) to a 12ax7. This will reduce headroom considerably.

This page is a great resource.
http://fenderguru.com/amps/super-reverb
 
Re: New Amp Day

Gearjoneser said:
However, it's best to use an OD pedal. The Way Huge Green Rhino sounds great with a Super Reverb.
Click to expand...

Just read a review of the Green Rhino, this sounds perfect. Thanks.

No effects loop. The amp is the old, non-mv version. No pull boosts, loops, or any of that. Just 45 watts of punchy, clean brutality.
 
Re: New Amp Day

I would not modify that amp under any circumstances. Prices for clean, early SF Fender's are climbing higher and higher. Get too crazy with mods and you'll be leaving money on the table.

The only exception would be to have it put to BF specs, but only if the mods can be reversed. But definitely don't do an EFX loop, add a master, or drill holes in the chassis. Adding a grounded cable is probably an acceptable mod, but some collectors would balk over that.

THD makes one of their Hot Plate attenuators in a 2-ohm version, which I think is the correct impedance for a Super Reverb. These amps are great with pedals, so you could have a board with 4-5-6 drive pedals easy. I'd start with a Soul Food and a Tubescreamer, add something Brit-flavored, a Fuzz and then something to create metal mayhem.

And you can always use hotter pickups with these NMV amps. The 496R/500T set in my Les Paul Classic Premium Plus had way too much gain for my Mesa amps, but they sounded great with BF Fenders and a Marshall Plexi. That extra output added a nice touch of grit and warmth.

Take care of that amp, it's a real keeper.

Bill
 
Re: New Amp Day

Just a word on the Green Rhino since you seemed to be researching them.. Its similar, of course to a tubescreamer but gives alot more control/flexability. IIRC, I got mine based on Gearjoneser's recommendation and it replaced my TS.

Enjoy your new toy!

On my JCM 800, the seller recommended I pull one of the tubes to defeat a little bit of bleed. I did it with no issues.
 
Re: New Amp Day

The most invasive mod I'm considering is one I read about putting a cap in parallel with the speakers. It's had a grounded cable for forever, but rest assured, I'm not doing anything serious to it. It's a family heirloom at this point.

As is, it sounds great with my Strat with Texas Specials, but the new Les Paul with the Distortion set sounds like crap. I have a cheap Danelectro pedal that was a good boost with the Line 6, but sounds awful with the SR. However, my Little Big Muff works really well.
 
Re: New Amp Day

its a cool amp but it is what it is, loud and clean. enjoy it for what it is and use pedals to get your dirt.
 
Re: New Amp Day

jeremy said:
its a cool amp but it is what it is, loud and clean. enjoy it for what it is and use pedals to get your dirt.
Click to expand...

Definitely. I'm not expecting it to become the world's greatest practice amp, just trying to take advantage of some cool tricks while still letting it be what it is.

I think it may have a microphonic tube. Do you guys like anything in particular for Supers? I've never changed tubes before, so will it need biasing?
 
Last edited:
Re: New Amp Day

JB_From_Hell said:
Definitely. I'm not expecting it to become the world's greatest practice amp, just trying to take advantage of some cool tricks while still letting it be what it is.

I think it may have a microphonic tube. Do you guys like anything in particular for Supers? I've never changed tubes before, so will it need biasing?
Click to expand...

Biasing yes, if it's power tubes. Should be checked and may need biased if replacing the rectifier. Not for the 9 pin tubes.
 
Re: New Amp Day

I pulled V1 and put that 12AX7 in V6. I haven't gotten to crank it yet, but it sounds better on 3 than it did before.

Speaking of tubes, do you guys have any recommendations on good ones? It has all Groove Tubes in it right now.
 
Re: New Amp Day

groove tubes doesnt tell us much other than they were tested. gt sells a variety of tubes but dont make any. they do test and match the tubes and ive had good luck with all the gt tubes ive used over the years.

personally i like GE style 6l6gc power tubes, nos 5ar4 rectos, nos 12at7, and whatever 12ax7 sounds good.
 
Re: New Amp Day

Great Amp, Congrats!! The only way to tame then is an attenuator, or use a pedal in front to get a Overdriven tone at lower volume. I have a 100 Watt Twin Reverb + 40 watt Bandmaster. If you like the Blackface sound Wampler makes a "65 Blackface" pedal which sound great. If you like a Tweed sound Catlinbread makes a "5F6 Formula" (Bassman) pedal that sounds great. Both are made in the USA. Both allow your amp to scream at manageable volume. Hope this helps

Bigjoedo
 
Re: New Amp Day

jeremy said:
groove tubes doesnt tell us much other than they were tested. gt sells a variety of tubes but dont make any. they do test and match the tubes and ive had good luck with all the gt tubes ive used over the years.

personally i like GE style 6l6gc power tubes, nos 5ar4 rectos, nos 12at7, and whatever 12ax7 sounds good.
Click to expand...

Good info, thanks. I didn't know that about Groove Tubes. I think the 12AT7 from V6 was microphonic. It's located near the switches, and when I'd reach to turn it off, I could hear tapping through the amp. It doesn't seem to have this issue now. It does hum a little when switched on, then it goes away once the amp is warmed up. Might be due for a trip to the amp guy.

If I'm handy with an iron, is it safe for me to work on it myself, provided I've done sufficient research?
 
Re: New Amp Day

sure. its a simple amp to work on just make sure you drain the caps before you mess around so you dont get blasted
 
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