The ONE Fender Amp to Own

[mistermullens]

The ONE Fender amp to own? SF Vibro Champ. Works great for me, but probably not so much in your case.

[teleamp]

Originally Posted by markesquire

If you could only have one amp, and it had to be a Fender, what would it be?

Blackface or Tweed?...

Depends, do you have to have reverb? Yes, blackface, clone OK. No, tweed... sorry, clones won't do.

[Wally]

Originally Posted by SnidelyWhiplash

With all due respect,in terms of " versatility ";it usually means every tone
but the right one. Give me a great single channel amp any day of the week.

With regard to many switching amps, I would have to agree with you. The Rivera amps....both FEnder and his own company....allow me to disagree when someone is looking for 'one Fender amp to own' and versatility at the same time. I can take a Reiver-ear FEnder and get BF reverb amp sonics.....not just some wimpy approximation but respectable BF reverb amp tones. I can turn a couple of knobs and get in to the brown 6G_ amps' tones. Another turn of a pot and pull of the treble pot and I have tweed tones...not an approximation but good tweed tones. Push the gain some more and I am into territory that other FEnders do only with pedals...and these hi-gain sonics are in the tube domain...very rich, good body....sniff, sniff. LOL
Pual Rivera had done his homework before designing these amps. THey work.
IF a player wants only one Fender amp to cover a lot of sonic territory in a truly convincing manner, the Rivera-era amps do it.
This is not just my assesment of these amps. EVeryone that lends an ear to the ones that I have adn have had had has agreed....very versatile and very convincing when it comes to reproducing the sonics of the simpler FEnders. A Rivera-era Fender does not spend much time on the for sale block, ime.
That said, I own a number of amps....don't count 'em anymore...and have owned just about every Fender mentioned above. The best solution for Amp ACquisition Syndrome and the search for sonic nirvana is a lot of amps, imho. But....the OP didn't ask how many amps and what amps to buy....he just wants one. HEY, as I noted earlier, he owns two that can cover some territory. IF he buys a 5F1, a tweed Pro, and a tweed BAssman along with a bigger BF reverb amp..oh yeah and a 6G_ amp of some sort, he might get close to covering some of the bases. But he wants one. MY suggestion is a Rivera-era FEnder....it will do many FEnder sonics in an extrememly respectable manner. IF the operator understand the controls, it will do 'FEnder amp sonics'....any of them and in a convincing manner.

[Dan German]

Originally Posted by Wally

Pual Rivera had done his homework before designing these amps. THey work.
IF a player wants only one Fender amp to cover a lot of sonic territory in a truly convincing manner, the Rivera-era amps do it.

Wally, obviously you and I are on the same page regarding these amps, but I want to put in a plug for Ed Jahns. I don't know about the rest of the series, but the PRII was more his than Rivera's. His hand was certainly on the entire range. He deserves more credit.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled thread...

[Wally]

Dan, thanks for the info. I can never remember that name....Ed Jahns.

[Wally]

Dan, I googled 'Ed Jahns' and found this. IF you haven't seen it, it is interesting. I knew there were 100 of the sepcial cab'd Super Champs, but this PRII is super sharp.
http://www.geocities.com/princerev2a/gallery.html

[Booman]

I'll go w/ the rare BF Vibrolux. Single 12 and enough juice for the 6L6's which I prefer over 6V6's. No verb no problem. Smallish, with more head room than the BF Deluxe which suits me. Want dirt? Add a pedel like Johnny said.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Booman

I'll go w/ the rare BF Vibrolux. Single 12 and enough juice for the 6L6's which I prefer over 6V6's. No verb no problem. Smallish, with more head room than the BF Deluxe which suits me. Want dirt? Add a pedel like Johnny said.

Pretty much a combo version of a Tremolux head, with a 12"?

I've never even seen one, but suddenly I WANT one. I'd like to add something that's just "a bit more" than my BF Deluxe-Amp.

[Booman]

Yes David very rare. I played through one years ago in a music store in Bakersfield. It had a natural compression that was very musical IMHO. I've read that if Fender would have added reverb to that combo it would have been their most sought after amp ever. It's funny I've never really heard a BF Tremolux I really cared for. Your right, the numbers for the Trem and the Vib are similar. Maybe it's the open back on the Vib that produced the sound I liked. By the way a BF Deluxe, to my ears, trumps a BFDR for tone.

[David Barnett]

Originally Posted by Booman

Yes David very rare. I played through one years ago in a music store in Bakersfield. It had a natural compression that was very musical IMHO. I've read that if Fender would have added reverb to that combo it would have been their most sought after amp ever. It's funny I've never really heard a BF Tremolux I really cared for. Your right, the numbers for the Trem and the Vib are similar. Maybe it's the open back on the Vib that produced the sound I liked. By the way a BF Deluxe, to my ears, trumps a BFDR for tone.

I agree with you about blackface Tremos, to me they just seem to kind of lay there. Like a Bandmaster with less balls. Gotta be the speaker cabinet, 'cause Vibrolux Reverb-Amps are some of the very best Fenders.

[djinn1973]

A while back I think I said Silverface ProReverb...
I had the chance to play one of the new 57 twin-amp reissues a few days ago.
I think that, at least for me is the one

[Jack Knife]

I'm with wally and the boys in the Rivera-era camp. Except I love the DRII. It's small enough, it's loud enough, great reverb, can't say enough about 'em!

[BuddyLee]

Silver Vibrosonic Reverb with an extra spring in the tank... because I will never part with mine and it gives me just the sound I am looking for.

[RMSFender]

I have a Fender Deluxe Reverb II (Rivera designed 80sish) I use on occasion at a gig and I find it more versatile than the regular DR. It does take some time to tweak in with differnt guitars but it is very nice. Definitely has many voices with different cabs and speaker combinations. I am fortunate to have a boat load of old Fender amps but they do require TLC. Keep that in mind.

A newer amp by Fender that may not be worthy mentioning but I find it totally usable for gigging at small venues is the Super Champ XD. I put a Weber in mine and it came to life. I have also run it through 2 1x12 blackheart emminence speaker cabs and it is GREAT getting the classic rock sound. Unfortunately for me.........I allowed a friend to talk me into selling it to him................now the price has gone up on that model...Geesh! WOn't be getting another one soon.

With over 42 years playing, I would say this is the best all around Fender amp I have run across at a reasonable price............because it does more than just Fender.

[Mik]

One amp?

Silverface Deluxe Reverb, any year.

[Paul in Colorado]

BF Clean:
Twin Reverb with JBL's
Deluxe Reverb

Tweed:
Deluxe
Tremolux
Bandmaster 3 X 10"

[promagnum]

THE Brown Concert. (1960 version)



I would die happy, after playing it for a while of course.

[nonvintage]

I've got a 65 BFSR, a 69SFVR and a 78 SFPR housed in a JD Newell custom combo cab with a Celestion Blue 12" speaker. All three amps are loud, have great Fender clean headroom and good tone. Most of the time I use the Princeton Reverb for portability. For bigger indoor gigs the Vibrolux or outside gigs the Super. Unfortunately; I still sound like me whenever I play them, but at least I know I can't blame the amps. If I could only have one it would probably be the Vibrolux Reverb because it's weight is tolerable and it can be used practically for any gig.

[mr newhaven]

i have the amp that i would be happy with for the rest of my life...

(i wish it were a vintage one but beggars cant be choosers...)

mine is the '57 Tweed Champ Handwired

[guitarcody]

curveball for ya- silverface ahaha

[Big Mike Simpson]

Originally Posted by imsilly

Blackface Super Reverb.

Combines my favourite speaker setup, reverb, tremolo, does cleans and dirt equally well.

Maybe too loud for some, if that is the case a Princeton Reverb.

#1 BFSR
#2 SFPR or BFPR.... maybe more useful than the Super...

[umasstele]

Tweed bassman or blackface deluxe reverb for me...

[Dave Hopping]

Originally Posted by promagnum

THE Brown Concert. (1960 version)



I would die happy, after playing it for a while of course.

Well,even though I'd LIKE a blonde Showman 15",my longest amp companions were Concerts;a '64 BF for about 3 years,which was replaced by a '62 Brownface.I used that for another 9 years,and retired it in favor of a then-new '76 Super Twin.I still have the brownface,but it's only been gigged once in recent years.