Show off your Rivera-era Fender amps.

Dodge · June 2022

I've had several amps from this era over the years, and having recently purchased a Princeton Reverb II from the gentleman and monster-picker that is @jamesoliver1234 as well as the Super Champ I bought a month or so ago I thought it was time for a thread.

I've previously owned another Super Champ and PRII, as well as a Champ II and a DRII.

Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/eoi9cu37o1hsrue/PXL_20220618_112743570~2.jpg?raw=1

Unsurprisingly, they're very different. The bigger PRII cab and speaker does make the Super Champ sound a little boxy when played side by side, but the Super Champ has such a lovely thump in the lower mids so it still sounds bigger than it's size suggests. There's a reason they record so nicely.

What was more surprising was the difference when using a reactive load box and the same IR for both amps. The Super Champ still had it's lower mid thing going on and plenty of treble. The PRII had more upper mids, even with the mid control set to zero. It also had less treble and more bass. Ignoring the horrible lead channel, the Super Champ transition into overdrive is slightly smoother and more pleasing to my ears - the PRII is a bit more aggressive and snarly. Both decent tones, but I think the Super Champ shades it. It may be valves, I've not actually looked to see what's in the PRII, the Super Champ has the original supplied USA-made tubes.

This PRII has a Pyle-made Fender speaker. My last one had the optional EV with the metal dust cap which I thought sounded pretty crap unless it was brutally loud (and the amp had run out of headroom). But then I've never really got the hype with EV's, they just sound bland to me...

Side by side, the PRII sounds better - but through the loadbox and IR, I think the Super Champ has the edge.

What's annoying is I wanted to keep the best sounding one but I might actually have to keep them both!

Champ II

Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/q9u9c6r8ipimwsg/IMG_0822.jpg?raw=1

PRII (with EV)

DRII

Image: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ohnugldzexqqxpw/IMG_1227.jpg?raw=1

RickLucas · June 2022

My Champ II has become my regular jam night amp.

lovestrat74 · June 2022

Nice little collection @Dodge - will be worth a small sum in the years to come

Moe_Zambeek · June 2022

Don't know why, maybe repressed memories, but those look really heavy for some reason

I really quite fancy a super champ II but have no real need for one!

They look good together though.

bertie · June 2022

Ive got a Fender era Rivera amp does that count ?

danishbacon · June 2022

A dump of some internals for those who like such things. 1985 or 1988 if I recall correctly. Princeton Reverb II. Note that there is a bias adjuster that has been installed.

Image: https://i.postimg.cc/kXSw0XBg/IMG-20190715-190046.jpg

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Dodge · June 2022

danishbacon said:

A dump of some internals for those who like such things. 1985 or 1988 if I recall correctly. Princeton Reverb II. Note that there is a bias adjuster that has been installed.

The date codes on the transformers suggest 1984. It looks like you've got the reverb pan on the base of the cab. Mine is on the side. They sound much better on the base, I'll move mine at some point.

jdgm · June 2022

Now sold - the mighty Twin Reverb II - I actually had two of these at one time:

https://i.postimg.cc/kgJXv4dV/TwinWeb1.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/CxcMPgFc/TwinWebB.jpg

My main amp these days - red-knob Super 60 with Celestion G-12 65:

https://i.postimg.cc/Tw4d86Zc/Super60.jpg

veldt666 · June 2022

I would struggle to upload pics of my collection, as they’re all located in different places.
since 84, I’ve had 3 X Concerts,(All Sold).
I still have, and use frequently,..
I X Princeton Rev II,(Currently fitted with a Celestion Gold, but for many years It had Celestion Sidewinder fitted).
Modded as follows,(Mid boost switchable, using the reverb button on the footswitch).
Mid boost frequency is selectable,(3 frequency Options) , via a 3 way toggle switch on the underside of the chassis.
The mid pot has been replaced with a 25K, offering a wider range.

2 X Super Champs., Modded as follows,..
Mid boost switchable using the Reverb button on footswitch.
1 X had an EV 10 from new, but currently has a Celestion Gold 10”.

1 X has been converted to a head + 1 X 12 Cab, in polished Mahogany, by Mongotone, & fitted with an Eminence Cannabis Rex.
(Same Mid boost mod, as above).

2 X Twin II Combo’s, fitted with Celestion Sidewinders, & modded as per the Princeton II.
(I did install EV12L’s in one but it was virtually impossible to lift).

The best amps Fender ever made, in my opinion, hence my commitment to fine tuning them to perfection..

jamesoliver1234 · June 2022

i hope you enjoy the amp.. nice one

Ddigger · June 2022

Moe_Zambeek said:

Don't know why, maybe repressed memories, but those look really heavy for some reason

I had a Twin II and lived in a top floor flat in Glasgow.

From memory, it weight slightly less the space shuttle at lift off weight...

I also had a "Concert" - is that a thing... I think that is what it was called.

bertie · June 2022

jdgm said:

My main amp these days - red-knob Super 60 with Celestion G-12 65:

I had a "red knob" Champ 12 for a while, (tho it actually had black knobs !! ) after the Torres mods and a G12H it sounded really good............... I think theres a ewechoob channel of a great dutch guy reviewing stuff and has a coupe of great vids on one

Dodge · June 2022

Moe_Zambeek said:

Don't know why, maybe repressed memories, but those look really heavy for some reason

They're not at all. You could pick up the Super Champ with one finger, and the PRII isn't much heaver. The EV option added some weight in the old PRII, and the DRII has a bigger cab again.

Ddigger said:

I also had a "Concert" - is that a thing... I think that is what it was called.

Yes, the Concert was a thing - it was a 60 watter and came in 1x12, 2x10 and 4x10 as well as a head / cab option. I like these too, although I don't really need anything that loud.

The valve range was the Champ II, Super Champ, PRII, DRII, Concert and TRII. I'm not familiar with any of the solid state amps from that era.

Stuckfast · June 2022

The Fender Concert was very much a thing...

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/d900675b2cf9c7d382edeb331f3e22ca2087699b9516480ccf

Got mine a few months back and I still feel I'm only scratching the surface of what it can do. It's a beast.

Litterick · June 2022

I have one of these, although not this one.

Image: http://www.stratopastor.org.uk/strato/amps/prii/gallery/modified/woodiepriitop.jpg

Paul Rivera:

I came up with a plan in ’82 to sneak some new amps past the accounting department. I got so tired of the negative ‘You can’t do a low-volume amp’ thing that I conspired with purchasing and the factory in Hoopeston, Illinois. I had some dovetailed oak plank cabinets done in Indiana by the company that made home organ cabinets for Gulbransen. The front panels were made by Miller Dial [El Monte, CA] in Champagne Beige and Choco Brown. Mellotone [Wendell Fabrics, Blacksburg, SC] had a run of matching grille cloths made as well. Kurz-Kasch [Dayton, OH] made the knobs for us and did a perfect color match.

It was a fun project, and we did succeed in doing it below the corporate radar. We called them the Super Pro Series, and we did the Super Champ, Princeton II, and Concert 1x12, each with an EVM speaker and a padded brown slip cover. We only built a hundred pieces of each one for the whole world. They are rare puppies.

Source: Wheeler, Tom. The Soul of Tone: Celebrating sixty years of Fender amps. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2007, pp 339-40.

Bendyha · June 2022

This is one of my two Super Champs. Like Litterick above, it is a Super Pro Series, one of only 100 each of the Super Champ, Princeton II & Concert II, that were ever built.

Image: https://www.tdpri.com/attachments/upload_2021-10-6_9-9-56-png.906409/

kentuckyklira · June 2022

Was Rivera involved in the "Red Knob" Twin as well?

Dodge · June 2022

kentuckyklira said:

Was Rivera involved in the "Red Knob" Twin as well?

I think Rivera left in 86, so probably not.

danishbacon · June 2022

Litterick said:

I have one of these, although not this one.

Paul Rivera:

I came up with a plan in ’82 to sneak some new amps past the accounting department. I got so tired of the negative ‘You can’t do a low-volume amp’ thing that I conspired with purchasing and the factory in Hoopeston, Illinois. I had some dovetailed oak plank cabinets done in Indiana by the company that made home organ cabinets for Gulbransen. The front panels were made by Miller Dial [El Monte, CA] in Champagne Beige and Choco Brown. Mellotone [Wendell Fabrics, Blacksburg, SC] had a run of matching grille cloths made as well. Kurz-Kasch [Dayton, OH] made the knobs for us and did a perfect color match.

It was a fun project, and we did succeed in doing it below the corporate radar. We called them the Super Pro Series, and we did the Super Champ, Princeton II, and Concert 1x12, each with an EVM speaker and a padded brown slip cover. We only built a hundred pieces of each one for the whole world. They are rare puppies.

Source: Wheeler, Tom. The Soul of Tone: Celebrating sixty years of Fender amps. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2007, pp 339-40.

Wow, now I want one.

Bork · June 2022

Here are mine.

A 1984 Concert with a Eminence Patriot RW&B speaker in it. Serial F331652

The other is a near mint PRII that came with paper work, user manual, cover and original spares but no footswitch. However I found an original footswitch to complete the set later on. I'll have to add the serial later as I can't remember it at the moment and I'm away from home. But I think it's from 1984 too.

Image: https://www.guitarchat.co.uk/uploads/monthly_2022_06/PRfront.jpg.6949c4d0f5683c67f1021d353d395988.jpg.c1908127c868a87f03cf6375e708a839.jpg

I sort of have a hankering for a Super Champ but what I have is already more than enough. Plus I don't have to worry about replacing that hard to find rectifier valve that the Super Champs have.

jdgm · June 2022

Dodge said:

kentuckyklira said:

Was Rivera involved in the "Red Knob" Twin as well?

I think Rivera left in 86, so probably not.

I had always thought he designed the red-knob ones (which is why I posted a pic of my Super 60) but then I googled this -

"According to Tom Wheeler's book The Soul of Tone: Celebrating 60 Years of Fender Amps, Paul Rivera left Fender in 1984 due to corporate politics. The red knob Twin was designed by Mark Wentling, who also introduced the multi-coloured footswitch along with this new model. It was called "The Twin". Apparently, the red knob aesthetics were introduced to shake up the market a bit and improve Fender's visibility. The Rivera amps looked too much like the blackface amps, and it was starting to get confusing for customers and dealers."

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Show off your Rivera-era Fender amps.

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