Pink Unicorn Horsey
Megä Pöny Rÿdr
Tagging along side the post about Deluxe Reverb RI tweaks, what would y'all suggest as mods/upgrades to a new Super Reverb RI?
- Keith
- Keith
Super Reverb RI Tweaks
- Thread starter Pink Unicorn Horsey
- Start date
Bludave
New member
Re: Super Reverb RI Tweaks
Sell it and get a black face. When you think about how much you paid for it and what you will need to do to get it to sound like a real Super. You may as well just sell it and get the real deal. It may be cheaper and the amp will have the Fender MOJO!
This is not to say the SRRI is a bad sounding amp.... I believe they have a great sound, but I have a 68SR (Silver) that has been blackfaced a little before I got it (about 15 years ago). and it sounds alot different then the RI. A real BF can be had pretty reasonable if you find one that is not all original. If the speakers have been changed out and the caps redone, etc. and one that is "road worn" I've seen them as low as $1500. IMO this is a better way to go.
The Super Reverb is one of the best amps Fender ever made. I Love mine and I will never be without one.
Sell it and get a black face. When you think about how much you paid for it and what you will need to do to get it to sound like a real Super. You may as well just sell it and get the real deal. It may be cheaper and the amp will have the Fender MOJO!
This is not to say the SRRI is a bad sounding amp.... I believe they have a great sound, but I have a 68SR (Silver) that has been blackfaced a little before I got it (about 15 years ago). and it sounds alot different then the RI. A real BF can be had pretty reasonable if you find one that is not all original. If the speakers have been changed out and the caps redone, etc. and one that is "road worn" I've seen them as low as $1500. IMO this is a better way to go.
The Super Reverb is one of the best amps Fender ever made. I Love mine and I will never be without one.
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Pink Unicorn Horsey
Megä Pöny Rÿdr
Re: Super Reverb RI Tweaks
Not exactly what I meant by "tweaks."
Not exactly what I meant by "tweaks."
the guy who invented fire
Fuzzy. Guitars
Re: Super Reverb RI Tweaks
A lot of the tweaks Lew mentioned for a DRRI will work (and do well) on a SRRI, new tubes will make a HUGE difference, if you can swing it go NOS if not try a set of SED Winged C 6L6's and for the preamp go with some of the Tung Sol reissues as well as the 12AX7EH From Electro Harmonix. Also, new speakers wold be a great place to start...I would go with Webers...either 4 10A125's or 2 10A125's and 2 12F125's
A lot of the tweaks Lew mentioned for a DRRI will work (and do well) on a SRRI, new tubes will make a HUGE difference, if you can swing it go NOS if not try a set of SED Winged C 6L6's and for the preamp go with some of the Tung Sol reissues as well as the 12AX7EH From Electro Harmonix. Also, new speakers wold be a great place to start...I would go with Webers...either 4 10A125's or 2 10A125's and 2 12F125's
L
Lewguitar
Guest
Re: Super Reverb RI Tweaks
Yep. Here's a recap of the tweaks I mentioned for the DR...they'll all work just as well with SuperReverb:
There's a million things that can be done to improve Fender amps with Reverb.
1. Weber P10Q speakers...the 30 watt version
2. Put reverb/vibrato on BOTH channels
3. Then change the tone stack in the normal channel from .1 & .047 tone caps to a pair of .02 for more of a Marshall tone and add 47 pf bright cap to the volume control.
4. Add mids to the normal channel by changing the 6800 ohm resistor on the back of the treble pot to anywhere from 10K to 25K.
5. Change the .047 coupling cap on the plate of the normal channel's 12ax7 to .02.
6. Double the size of the negative feedback resistor to open up the tone and make everything sound more lively and present. Play around with that resistor...see what value suits you.
7. I'd get rid of any ceramic caps and replace them with silver mica...especially the 250pf treble caps in the tone stacks of both channels.
8. In the reverb recovery circuit is a 3.3 meg resistor. Making that 2.2meg will give you more gain and a ballsier tone...experiment with differant values, just as you should experiment with the negative feedback resistor and midrange resistor.
When you're done you'll have a killer sounding ab-NORMAL channel that will sound especially great with single coil pickups...and your Vibrato channel will give you the standard blackface tone.
__________________
Yep. Here's a recap of the tweaks I mentioned for the DR...they'll all work just as well with SuperReverb:
There's a million things that can be done to improve Fender amps with Reverb.
1. Weber P10Q speakers...the 30 watt version
2. Put reverb/vibrato on BOTH channels
3. Then change the tone stack in the normal channel from .1 & .047 tone caps to a pair of .02 for more of a Marshall tone and add 47 pf bright cap to the volume control.
4. Add mids to the normal channel by changing the 6800 ohm resistor on the back of the treble pot to anywhere from 10K to 25K.
5. Change the .047 coupling cap on the plate of the normal channel's 12ax7 to .02.
6. Double the size of the negative feedback resistor to open up the tone and make everything sound more lively and present. Play around with that resistor...see what value suits you.
7. I'd get rid of any ceramic caps and replace them with silver mica...especially the 250pf treble caps in the tone stacks of both channels.
8. In the reverb recovery circuit is a 3.3 meg resistor. Making that 2.2meg will give you more gain and a ballsier tone...experiment with differant values, just as you should experiment with the negative feedback resistor and midrange resistor.
When you're done you'll have a killer sounding ab-NORMAL channel that will sound especially great with single coil pickups...and your Vibrato channel will give you the standard blackface tone.
__________________
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Re: Super Reverb RI Tweaks
both the DRRI and the SRRI are PCB amps...any judgment aside on the PCB thing, modding these amps is not quite as easy as it is on a tagboard Fender...and you have definitely voided your warranty if you screw it up. If you want a platform you can mod (and reverse) to your heart's content, the RI models are not the best candidates.
both the DRRI and the SRRI are PCB amps...any judgment aside on the PCB thing, modding these amps is not quite as easy as it is on a tagboard Fender...and you have definitely voided your warranty if you screw it up. If you want a platform you can mod (and reverse) to your heart's content, the RI models are not the best candidates.
Pink Unicorn Horsey
Megä Pöny Rÿdr
Re: Super Reverb RI Tweaks
Understood, but I'm asking what can be done given that this is a reissue.
ES350 said:
Understood, but I'm asking what can be done given that this is a reissue.
Re: Super Reverb RI Tweaks
Well, a lot of this Fender tweaking is taste-test stuff---what works for one person (silver mica vs ceramic, OD's vs Mallory, etc) is not everybody's cup of tea. The mids mod (increasing the 6.8K on the bass pot to ground to around 10K) is an easy one; try it on one channel and see if you like it. Ditto for increasing the value of the NFB resistor 50-100%, although that's global. Not sure about the jumpered reverb/trem mod---if it's hardwired, you might have to break the trace (don't know; never did it). I would guess that the some of the more common Fender BF mods can be done with a light touch, but you press your luck lifting/breakng traces the more times you swap stuff in and out. I'd take small, well-calculated bites, not be too ambitious about extensive mods, and get more of what you need from tube and speaker choices...
Well, a lot of this Fender tweaking is taste-test stuff---what works for one person (silver mica vs ceramic, OD's vs Mallory, etc) is not everybody's cup of tea. The mids mod (increasing the 6.8K on the bass pot to ground to around 10K) is an easy one; try it on one channel and see if you like it. Ditto for increasing the value of the NFB resistor 50-100%, although that's global. Not sure about the jumpered reverb/trem mod---if it's hardwired, you might have to break the trace (don't know; never did it). I would guess that the some of the more common Fender BF mods can be done with a light touch, but you press your luck lifting/breakng traces the more times you swap stuff in and out. I'd take small, well-calculated bites, not be too ambitious about extensive mods, and get more of what you need from tube and speaker choices...
Re: Super Reverb RI Tweaks
The reason i bought the new RI instead of a crusty old 70's silverface, aside from liking the sound of it, was twofold.......the RI is new(looks better) and with that waranty, Fender will be required to keep it "new" for a number of years....lol. Sounds like tubes and speaker for me for the short term. I have been looking at some ads in Vintage Guitar, and i have noticed that it is the pre-amps tubes that are priced more ridiculously. The Mullard and Amperex 12AX7's are just crazy. Some RCA's, GE's and Sylvania's are not so bad, but you need a few of them for a blackface. The cheapest Sylvanias are $25 per tube.The 10m series Mullards are.....hold on to you hat.....$150 PER TUBE!!!!!!!!!!:crying: No, boys and girls, that was NOT a misprint. Unless you are trying to buy old Euro KT66's, EL34's or EL84's, the power and rectifier tubes aren't that crazy. You can get the top of the heap RCA black plate 6V6's for $100-110 for a matched pair and GE's for $60. Try that with EL34's. The only NOS ones i have seen for under $100 a pair are the Siemens. At the other end, the 1950's Philips are......GULP.......$495.......a PAIR, not a quad...lmao. So govern yourself accordingly:bigthumb:
The reason i bought the new RI instead of a crusty old 70's silverface, aside from liking the sound of it, was twofold.......the RI is new(looks better) and with that waranty, Fender will be required to keep it "new" for a number of years....lol. Sounds like tubes and speaker for me for the short term. I have been looking at some ads in Vintage Guitar, and i have noticed that it is the pre-amps tubes that are priced more ridiculously. The Mullard and Amperex 12AX7's are just crazy. Some RCA's, GE's and Sylvania's are not so bad, but you need a few of them for a blackface. The cheapest Sylvanias are $25 per tube.The 10m series Mullards are.....hold on to you hat.....$150 PER TUBE!!!!!!!!!!:crying: No, boys and girls, that was NOT a misprint. Unless you are trying to buy old Euro KT66's, EL34's or EL84's, the power and rectifier tubes aren't that crazy. You can get the top of the heap RCA black plate 6V6's for $100-110 for a matched pair and GE's for $60. Try that with EL34's. The only NOS ones i have seen for under $100 a pair are the Siemens. At the other end, the 1950's Philips are......GULP.......$495.......a PAIR, not a quad...lmao. So govern yourself accordingly:bigthumb:
