Mid 70's Silverface Twin

welshboyo

OK, Following on from travis's Super Reverb find yesterday, I have managed to stumble over (purely by chance) a completely rebuilt mid 70's SF Twin in not bad condition, cap job, service, new valves throughout, new pair of Eminence speakers.

The amp is up for £850 which I think is a fair price...

I've been considering a SF deluxe reissue or possibly an older one if I can find one but this has got me thinking...I know they weigh a ton and are totally different to the Deluxe in as much as they won't distort unless they are competing with Concorde for soundspace...but there's something cool about old Fender amps..

worth a better looksy/punt??

impmann

My nemesis...

Lots of hatred from me for the SF Twin - they are fine as a pedal platform (but you need a lot of mids adding, IMHO) but honestly, there are pedal platforms out there that don't have their own gravitational pull. Is £850 really a "fair" price - sounds dear to me. There was one in a local music shop for £350... and they couldn't sell it.

I love Fender amps but I hate SF Twins.

Just my opinion. :-)

jpfamps

£850 is a lot for a SF Twin, especially one with changed speakers.

They are not a rare amp, and aren't really a la mode at the moment.

welshboyo

hmm, yeah, been looking actually and its quite dearly priced really......my bad as I'm in SF deluxe hunting mode....

fuggit, I'm going to wait a month or so and get a new 68 RI deluxe..

koneguitarist

There is a 1970 super reverb in my local shop, which is beat to hell for £1000 which I think is too much, but I am sure he would drop down to that region of price. And a much better amp in my opinion.

welshboyo

koneguitarist said:

There is a 1970 super reverb in my local shop, which is beat to hell for £1000 which I think is too much, but I am sure he would drop down to that region of price. And a much better amp in my opinion.

that might be the one travisthedog (jon) is looking at..

Really want a Deluxe for smaller gigs...something that Twin and the SR definitely ain't aimed at LOL

richardhomer

They are quite incredibly clean and even more incredibly loud.

Their 'look' evokes a lot of memories for me - so I 'get' why you're attracted towards it. They seem to be more common than smaller, more usable SF Fenders. May be its because they date from a period where bands were more dependent on their back line for volume - so greater numbers were sold.

My main objection to buying one is that I'm not convinced an old amp is inherently better than a new one - and has the potential for reliability, or even safety issues down the line.

Richardj

Just a little thought.  The new Fender '68s aren't reissues.  They are modded '65s with reverb and vibrato on both channels and a differently voiced Custom channel.  They are in the Vintage Modified category.  Fantastic amps, I love my Twin.  If you want the silver face look but more modern playability well worth a look and hopefully a touch more reliable than a 40 odd year old one (at least it would have a warranty).  Not nixing anyone's desire for vintage gear, just thinking of all of the options

ICBM

£850 is probably absolutely top money and it would have to be really, totally rebuilt for that - all known existing and future issues taken care of. It can be done, at which point I'd say they're probably more reliable than a reissue.

You can pick them up in OK condition for £500-£600 no problem, and £250-£350 is probably at the upper end for the cost of the work. I wouldn't be put off by the replaced speakers, quite the opposite - the originals often blew.

Don't be put off because "no-one wants them", either - *some* people still do, and for them, smaller and lighter amps just don't quite cut it. I am one of them. I like them as a pedal/preamp platform better than any of the other models because they have all the features I want - bright switch (to be turned off!), mid control (to be turned up!), master volume, 12" speakers, plus real punch and authority. None of the others have *all* those. And they are still quite compact for such a powerful amp, even today.

Yes, they are heavy. Man up . I'm 5'6", 9 and a half stone and I have little girly hands and I can lift one...

VimFuego

ICBM said:

Yes, they are heavy. Man up . I'm 5'6", 9 and a half stone and I have little girly hands and I can lift one...

yeah, but you were 6'2 before you started manhandling a twin about.

richardhomer

^
Probably also worth reading the petrol/diesel thread in OT.

Whichever engine your car or van has, it will use a lot more fuel (and may not go up hills anymore) if you have one of these in it....

ESchap

Great amps for no money really.  I'm lucky enough to have some nice vintage and reissue amps, most of which cost a great deal more than my SF Twin with JBL's  but it is probably my favourite.  It sounds great at home volume and if required, you can knock walls down with it cranked.  

Totally agree with @ICBM they have authority, that's the word. The JBL's in mine give it extra punch, you really feel it when its loud.   Also agree regards settings, needs the mid up full and never use the "boost".  I stick a Boss blues driver in front of it if I want gain at lower volumes, can easily do most "sounds" with that.  It does need to be loud to get valve overdrive from it but mine is very sweet when it gets there.   @ICBM did a simple mod on mine with the mains input which I think involves fixing the mains voltage setting.  That drops the power output but also takes away some of the less desirable "ice pick" these amps can have.  Perhaps he can remind me what it was he did? 

I find to get a smooth balanced tone, they are really fussy about valve type and it took me a bit of experimentation to get the mix right.  The key for mine was the use of ECC83's which are not overly gainy and have a good mid response.  I found the gain of the valve used in V4 which is half the reverb return plus a gain stage, critical in not having it Fizzy when cranked up.  RCA black plate 6L6's in the output work really well as did Winged C's. 

Regards weight, put castors on it to move it around and take them off prior to use .. simples.

ICBM

ESchap said:

@ICBM did a simple mod on mine with the mains input which I think involves fixing the mains voltage setting.  That drops the power output but also takes away some of the less desirable "ice pick" these amps can have.  Perhaps he can remind me what it was he did?

Simple - on the export model 135W versions, they have a voltage selector which goes to 260V... quite why I don't know, since there is no such supply voltage anywhere in the world. (Apart from round near where I work in Glasgow!)

If you set the selector to 260V when the supply voltage is only 230-240V, it's exactly like using a Variac to drop the voltage by 10%, which reduces the very high voltages these amps run at, makes them less hard on valves, and softens/rounds the tone… while dropping the power from 135W to a 'mere' 100W or thereabouts. I've never heard one person complain that the amp doesn't sound as good or isn't loud enough!

I always hardwire or otherwise disable the voltage selectors on these Fenders anyway (because they are a serious hazard to the amp, if they get turned down below 240V) so it's easy to just use the 260V tap instead of the 240 when you do.

Gassage

OK- I will chime in as I've owned a few of these.

1) £850 is a crazy price- I'd expect a non MV model for that, or certainly the fabled JBL D120F speakers.
2) Don't be frightened of the UL models- they are designed to have a very linear power output and can be played at lowish vols.
3) Very fussy re tubes- esp preamp. Having 'hot' preamp tubes will really have a negative effect IMO- I found that a really nice balanced set of 12AX7's not running too hot (70-71) were perfect.

Hope this helps. I sold mine, 135w UL with JBL's, for £750. Do try and hold out for those speakers- they're utterly epic.

EDIT: noting your wishlist, have you considered the Pro Reverb? Halfway house between a TR and a DR. Please try and find a good original- my SF TR blew my DRRI into the ocean for tone and presence.

57Deluxe

...be aware - these were prime targets for Punk bands....

ESchap

57Deluxe said:

...be aware - these were prime targets for Punk bands....

It's OK ... spit cleans off real easy ...  :-S