Fender Supersonic Head... Reverb question

skaguitar

Just bought this from ebay and used it at rehearsal last night...the reverb is shit...like, non existent shit.

The guy who sold it to me said it wasn't very good but....it's terrible.

Is there anything I can do to improve it... will it need a new reverb tank..?

I don't like using pedals so don't want to go that route so is there anything I can do to improve the on board reverb..?

thanks

gordiji

I've got the 22 combo and think the reverb is ok but my hof pedal is better. You might try swapping valves in v3 v4 which are for the reverb. I think its meant to be a 12at7 in v3 & if someones put a 12ax7 the reverb can be weak. Might be worth a total revalve if you don't know its history .I love the amp generally .

skaguitar

gordiji said:

I've got the 22 combo and think the reverb is ok but my hof pedal is better. You might try swapping valves in v3 v4 which are for the reverb. I think its meant to be a 12at7 in v3 & if someones put a 12ax7 the reverb can be weak. Might be worth a total revalve if you don't know its history .I love the amp generally .

I'm really liking the amp..especially with the fat tone switched on..the guy did have it revalved and rebiased to take 6L6 valves to improve headroom..so could that be the problem..?

noisepolluter

I noticed the reverb on my DRRI (I’m assuming it’s a similar circuit) was getting a bit weak and noisy - I put a new 12at7 in the reverb driver position and it was instantly much better and deeper sounding. I’d do that first, then try a new valve in the return (12ax7?), then if still no improvement get the tank checked. The new valves can be used elsewhere in the amp in any case. 
The 12at7 I had in the reverb previously was a NOS Philips one I put in a year ago out of curiosity - just goes to show a valve can fail or wear out surprisingly quickly regardless of its age or perceived quality (or it may just be that I got diddled - I’m not bothering with NOS in future). 

parker_knoll

is it the 100W head? the Reverb should be good but those units in particular are known for things going wrong with the reverb.

There's only three elements to the reverb, really - valve, tank and transformer. For the tank, you can give it a quick visual inspection. Make sure the springs are all good, nothing broken in transit, no wires broken on the little transducers at either end. 

The next thing as mentioned above is to swap the valve. if you don't have an AT7 or AU7 (or ECC82) a standard 12AX7 or ECC83 will work okay, at least for the point of comparison. 

Finally is the reverb transformer which is a tech job if you don't know what you're doing. 

gordiji

If it's the 22 i'm not sure it should have 6l6's even with a rebias. It's plenty loud with 6v6 and is part of the charm of the amp that it clips a bit at higher vol. It's easily loud enough for a band with a caveman drummer with stock 6v6.

skaguitar

thanks for all the advice.... if it is ok to have 6L6's in it then can I just change the valve for the reverb or does it need to be done by someone professional..?

If it can't have the 6L6's then should I not use it until it's been put back to how it should be..??
It is a 22 by the way.
thanks again for your help people

noisepolluter

I’d take it to a tech for a quick once-over anyway. That way you’ll know it’s got all the right valves in it and is biased properly. 

uncledick

I think loads of SS22s had the reverb fixed under warranty.  Mine worked ok but it was pretty noisy.  Definitely an amp that likes being loud though.