Fender '65 Super Reverb Reissue

[GuitarsCanada]

Review Submitted By Powdered Toast Man

Name Of Reviewed Item Fender '65 Super Reverb Reissue

Your Review I've had this amp about a month and a half now so I'd had it long enough to do a review. All I can say is: Don't plug into this amp unless you have the money to buy it. Once you do, there's no going back. I went into the store not even looking for this amp and the clerk suggested I try it. It's simply, the best sound I've ever heard out of a guitar amp. It is that old school "Fender clean" that everyone talks about. I find myself just playing in front of this thing by myself for hours before I realize that I'm not even using any pedals or overdrive.

It is a 4x10 and all tube, so it's heavy. Close to the same weight as a Fender Twin. At 40 watts, it is LOUD. Set at 7 or 8, I'm talking, peel-the-paint-off-low-flying-aircraft loud. That being said, you can play it quite nicely at lower volumes. I had a Fender Deville and the volume knobs on that thing were very touchy - basically all the amp's volume was crammed into the 0-4 range on the knob and after that it really didn't get any louder. Well, the Super Reverb is NOT like that. The volume has a nice sweep to it and you can easily play at non-ear shattering volumes with it set on "2". The amp starts to break up around 4-5. It's a great sounding breakup, but by this point it's LOUD, so if you want to have OD at practice volumes, you're going to need some kind of OD or dirt pedal.

The reverb is lush and very nice sounding. The vibrato (tremolo) is nice sounding, although I find it hard to dial it in with the lack of a blinking light to show the speed (I'm used to my tremolo pedal). Both of these are foot switchable on/off. There is no effects loop because, as a reissue, this amp's design predates stomp boxes. There are "bright" switches on both channels. The bright does exactly what it says it is - makes you sound bright! I don't use it, but I can see where this could be valuable for certain musical styles (chicken-pickin' country maybe).

I guess my only complaint is that for an amp at this price point, you would expect it to come with a cover - it does not. I had to order the fitted cover separately at a cost of about $30. Strange because many lower priced amps come with covers. Oh well.
Overall, this is my amp until the day I die. If it were lost/stolen/destroyed I would immediately go out and get another. Best amp EVER!

Would You Recommend This Item To A Fellow Member? Yes

Other equipment used for this review Fender Highway 1 Strat Fender Telecaster

Value For Money Yes, very much worth the price

[LaRSin]

Thx for the reveiw,
how does it compare to the Deluxe reverb ?

[shortstrings]

Thanks for the review. I am considering buying one and it was good to hear some user feedback. I have a original 1966 vibrolux reverb with 2 x 10" speakers and I need a amp that is similar but that is replacable.
I have focused on the Super Reverb reissue for several reasons. 1 it has 10: speakers it has 2 seperate channels and a tube rectifier. With the two seperate channels I use a a/b box to loop through my effects and into the left dry channel of the amp or b" direct into the wet right channel works great.

Try turning the bright on and the tone down on your guitar. This works really well for humbuckers and gives a great tone. for single coil I turn the bright off as well.

ONe of the regrets of my gear life is selling a early 70's super reverb for 250 in the early 80's who knew.


cheers

[Powdered Toast Man]

Originally Posted by LaRSin

Thx for the reveiw,
how does it compare to the Deluxe reverb ?

I honestly couldn't tell you because I've never played out of a DRRI. That's actually the amp that I went into the store originally looking to just try out but they didn't have one. The clerk suggested I try out the Super Reverb instead. I swear it wasn't an impulse buy though. He offered me a good deal on the SRRI but at first I said "Naw, I'm not looking for that..." and I left. But it got me thinking. Then I started watching demos online and reading reviews. So a couple days later I went back and tried it. Big mistake. A few days later I went back again with my pedal board and one of my guitars. I decided to sleep on it over a weekend. Went back and bought it. The DRRI is 22 watts vs. 40 for the SRRI so I would imagine that the DRRI would break up at lower volume.

Originally Posted by shortstrings

Thanks for the review. I am considering buying one and it was good to hear some user feedback. I have a original 1966 vibrolux reverb with 2 x 10" speakers and I need a amp that is similar but that is replacable.
I have focused on the Super Reverb reissue for several reasons. 1 it has 10: speakers it has 2 seperate channels and a tube rectifier. With the two seperate channels I use a a/b box to loop through my effects and into the left dry channel of the amp or b" direct into the wet right channel works great.
Try turning the bright on and the tone down on your guitar. This works really well for humbuckers and gives a great tone. for single coil I turn the bright off as well.

Hmm, I'm going to have to try that thing with the tone knob and the bright switch!

If you like the Vibrolux you'll probably love the SRRI. The 10's are really bright and spanky. Tight bottom end. This is the first amp I've had with 10's and I really like the tone. This was an upgrade from a HR Deville 212. Funny, I used to love my Deville but after I got the SRRI it sat there for a month and a half while I tried to sell it. I plugged it in finally to demo it for a buyer and I just thought it sounded "meh". I thought I would miss it but I don't.

When I look inside the back panel all I see are tubes! There's 9 of them in there!

[overdriver]

Originally Posted by LaRSin

Thx for the reveiw,
how does it compare to the Deluxe reverb ?

I guess have owned serval or each, and a BF Deluxe rev. and Super rev. BF.in general the Super is ALOT fuller sounding. With, and this is IMO subjective, the 6l6 overdriven sound of the super being somewhat creamier than the 6v6 chimmy crunch. General sound difference IMO