For Silverface Fender Amp lovers: Tell us about/show us your Faves!

Jay Ira · May 24, 2017

I love the early Silverface Fender amps - point to point hand wired in California beasts! Fender's efforts to add clean headroom made these amps perfect pedal platforms too. And try to buy a new boutique amp made this way for $1500 for a combo or $650 for a head! My personal favorite is the '68 - '74 Deluxe Reverb. Usually needs caps and a decent speaker and you've got the perfect club amp!

Mine:

'67 Bassman head (only some of these later in the year got Silverface cosmetics - this one has a Blackface circuit)
'74 Vibrolux Reverb - gorgeous cleans at 35 watts with two ten inch Jensen speakers
'69 Deluxe Reverb - Drip Edge, 22 watts of the real Fender sound
'73 Deluxe Reverb - I put a Weber in this one and it's LOUD and CLEAN

Last pedal on my board is a DD-7, with stereo outs - I sometimes run one each to the two Deluxes, and the delay signal phases between them. It's purty.

What have you guys got?

Big Al · May 24, 2017

I am a Fender Amp fanatic. I only have a few Silverfaces but I love 'em.

1971 Pro Reverb:-
100% stock with footswitch and cover and bill of sale. This thing is in NOS condition and is the cleanest one i have seen. I may swap out the speakers, (easily reversible), but it sounds glorious with all that classic Fender tone. No need to touch anything.

1970/71 TFL 5005D Bandmaster Reverb head :-
This one had some mods done to it before I bought it. Not as clean as I like but sounds good. I love these model amps very much and they are real performers at stupid low prices. In the process of being returned to stock.

I have two SF Champs. I like 'em better than the BF and find them hard to resist. When I come across one cheap, .. I pounce.

I gave my son my 73 Princeton Reverb, because I have a Black Face and everyone should have a Princeton Reverb.

Wilko · May 24, 2017

Right on Big Al.

I've had several SF Fenders but have sold off all but one. A 1971 Princeton Reverb that is my current go-to amp for most gigs. It's stock except for a 12" Celestion AlNiCo Blue.

I sold a 1978 Vibrolux Reverb that I loved.

1979 135 watt twin Reverb was my first real tube amp and I played for many years before I learned that it was just too damn loud to get tube tone so I started going black face and smaller amps.

toxpert · May 25, 2017

This is my keeper combo. It is a '76 SFDR. I came across this one as a project - former owner said it did not sound so good and the case and faceplate were trashed. As I started working my way through the amp, I found a broken Reverb pan spring (snapped at the transducer), caps were spewing out the vent holes, power resistors were cracked. The case was broken at 3 of 4 corners and missing most of the Tolex. A few repairs, new caps, etc...and the amp was in great performing shape.

I had Vintage Amp Restoration make a set of matching amp head and speaker cab combo cabinets...I sourced '76 vintage grill cloth and got lucky. I assembled this head/cab combo with a replacement faceplate and a JBL E120 that Tone Tubby remanufactured from a Grateful Dead backline frame and reserve hemp cone. Splitting the amp and speaker makes this very easy to carry about...especially with the JBL E120 speaker.

Wilko · May 25, 2017

Was trying to post your img link. Can't figure it.

My twin up there was fairly worn with ripped tolex and holes in the grill. I was able to find NOS grill with the right blue threads so I redid the outside in about 1990.

deytookerjaabs · May 25, 2017

I've owned a whole bunch coming in/out over the years. Favorite was a '73 Pro Reverb with a later 70's Pro Reverb(yep, the UL) in close second place. This dummy sold it to CME before moving to Nashville thinking "no big deal I'll get another" and the two I bought since then I sold quickly as they didn't really sound like the first one, much brighter & more brittle. I LOVE the Super Reverbs from the early 70's w/the CTS AlNiCo speakers, they got their own vibe and IMO are a little warmer/fatter than their predecessors. There's a lot of anecdotes regarding vintage Fender amps but in my experience with them the same darn ones can sound/respond different, old amps are very finicky. Sold my barely used '72 Princeton when I saw what folks were paying for them last year :wow whilst picking up a '67 Twin w/JBL's for less than the Princeton sold for. Loving the trend of people not buying the big iron, some more of that please! ...never thought I'd see the day.

toxpert · May 25, 2017

Wilko said:
Was trying to post your img link. Can't figure it.

My twin up there was fairly worn with ripped tolex and holes in the grill. I was able to find NOS grill with the right blue threads so I redid the outside in about 1990.

Thnx...I tried uploading image from photobucket using iPad..total fail.

Wilko · May 25, 2017

deytookerjaabs said:
...Loving the trend of people not buying the big iron, some more of that please! ...never thought I'd see the day.

I love the sound of "big iron" but there just aren't the places to play it anymore.

While sold my SF twin and BF Pro Reverb. I still have my '66 Super Reverb.

oh, and a 1982 50 watt JCM800 with a checkerboard slant 1960 with blackbacks and a '72 Hiwatt Custom 50 half stack!

akstrat61 · May 25, 2017

These are diamonds in the rough! Grab them while you can! Early Silverface stuff are like gold! MHO:salude

3pc · May 25, 2017

Love my 68 Super. Lot to carry around. These days usually just take it to large outdoor gigs.

deytookerjaabs · May 25, 2017

Wilko said:
I love the sound of "big iron" but there just aren't the places to play it anymore.

While sold my SF twin and BF Pro Reverb. I still have my '66 Super Reverb.

oh, and a 1982 50 watt JCM800 with a checkerboard slant 1960 with blackbacks and a '72 Hiwatt Custom 50 half stack!

Luckily that's not here, or back in Chicago! I still see the big stuff a fair bit.

What's odd to me is the perception of a bigger amp. A little modern 40-80 watt amp with new-ish high efficiency speakers like the hot rod deluxe or rivera concert is LOUD as heck but acceptable because they look small. While, I've played Super & Pro Reverbs with the old speakers and less gusto but they just look louder. I had a modern Marshall TSL half stack in high school, 100W, and, if anything, the first time I plugged into a 100W late 60's plexi with an original vintage cab I thought "this isn't as loud as I figured it would be." Yet, I still see those new Marshalls & Mesas in the rock clubs all the time.

Wilko · May 25, 2017

Sure, you can play the big stuff, but you have to use master volume or pedals to get a sound.

I want to play the amp and hear it. Why spend so much for a great amp only to hear a $100 pedal?

My half stacks are both 50 watt master volume amps, and yes the "feel" of 4x12 is awesome, that great feel is just too much for the average small-ish gig.

On that subject, a lot of people only think of these Fenders as being great "clean" amps or they "take pedals well". IMNSHO, the overdrive and threshold of the fenders is really satisfying--another reason I gig with Princeton or Deluxe Reverb. I can crank 'em up and get real nice dirt and grit at a reasonable volume level. A little pedal for marshally tones or just an extra push sometimes is all they need.

sonar · May 25, 2017

My first really good amp was an early Dripedge Vibrolux Reverb. I was new to guitar and people were telling me to get this, that, channel switching... blah blah.

Then one day my fellow guitar partner in crime brought a BF Vibrolux he just purchased over to my house. When I plugged into that amp everything made sense. THAT was the sound I heard on my favorite records growing up, not some Boogie 25 channel whatever. I went up to Wade's in Milwaukee the next weekend and bought my Dripedge. Pretty sure this was the summer of '91. Countless jams, gigs, shows, a few retubes, blown speaker and the such with that amp. Many amps, including some BF amps, have come and gone, but I still have that Vibrolux.

Last year I "reclaimed" a Dripedge Bassman head from a garage sale. Somebody tried to turn it into a Marshall something or other. Luckily all the really important stock parts (iron, caps, no drilling on the chassis, etc) were still in the amp, so with the help from the fine folk on the LPF amp forum I was able to restore it, and leave out all of the CBS nonsense that seriously compromises an otherwise great sounding amp. That amp is now in a 1-15" combo cab and is becoming my current band amp of choice.

Just to add - another favorite (that I never owned) was a later dripedge (non-blackline) Super Reverb with CTS alnico's. To this day the best Super Reverb (either BF or SF) I've ever played. The sparkle in that amp was simply stunning.

I've played many SF amps over the years and sometimes the most surprising are the amps you wouldn't think about... except for those UL Twins which are just awful amps.

sonar · May 25, 2017

Wilko said:
On that subject, a lot of people only think of these Fenders as being great "clean" amps or they "take pedals well". IMNSHO, the overdrive and threshold of the fenders is really satisfying--another reason I gig with Princeton or Deluxe Reverb. I can crank 'em up and get real nice dirt and grit at a reasonable volume level. A little pedal for marshally tones or just an extra push sometimes is all they need.

I could not agree more. Overdriving the smaller Fender amps is one of the great joys of guitar.

Jay Ira · May 25, 2017

Wilko said:
On that subject, a lot of people only think of these Fenders as being great "clean" amps or they "take pedals well". IMNSHO, the overdrive and threshold of the fenders is really satisfying--another reason I gig with Princeton or Deluxe Reverb.

Wilko said:
Thanks, Wilko, I didn't mention this wonderful aspect - I often play a medium sized room straight in to the Deluxe Reverb. Clean and crunch are right there on the guitar's volume knob.

Wilko · May 25, 2017

Jay Ira said:
Clean and crunch are right there on the guitar's volume knob.

:salude

rockabilly69 · May 25, 2017

I have a '69 Silverface Vibrochamp that records GREAT!

Check out these soundcloud song links....

with this 1956 Oahu Chicagoan lapsteel...

https://soundcloud.com/daniel-weldon-1/something-aint-right

With this 1960 Fender Musicmaster...

https://soundcloud.com/daniel-weldon-1/rocket-man-demo

deytookerjaabs · May 26, 2017

Wilko said:
Sure, you can play the big stuff, but you have to use master volume or pedals to get a sound.

I want to play the amp and hear it. Why spend so much for a great amp only to hear a $100 pedal?

My half stacks are both 50 watt master volume amps, and yes the "feel" of 4x12 is awesome, that great feel is just too much for the average small-ish gig.

On that subject, a lot of people only think of these Fenders as being great "clean" amps or they "take pedals well". IMNSHO, the overdrive and threshold of the fenders is really satisfying--another reason I gig with Princeton or Deluxe Reverb. I can crank 'em up and get real nice dirt and grit at a reasonable volume level. A little pedal for marshally tones or just an extra push sometimes is all they need.

Yeah, it's in how you play. I set my Twin on 5 and roll with it just using guitar + volume knob and only bring distortion/grit if someone absolutely begs me to, plus I've got a british type amp when comes time to rock out but mainly a stickler for jazz/country/motown/blues at the moment.

The Real MC · May 26, 2017

Four years ago I found this mint condition DSR, which is the head version of the Twin Reverb. Exact same amp without speakers. Still has the original RCA tubes. I think a little old lady only played it on Sundays. The secret to making these MV amps sound good is to keep the MV at 10. And don't EVER use the pull switch on the MV.

renderit · May 26, 2017

I hate you! I had one of those with 2 of the 2-15 JBL cabinets for years back in Kansas. Mine didn't have a MV though...

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