Fender Twin Reverb

[Bill Moore]

Marc13, I have a EV15 in my "Twin" cabinet, and now run with a JBL15 in another open back cab. I really would like to build a Tone Ring for that JBL!
I used an OT for a '94 Twin in my build, so I have 4, 8, and 16 ohm output availlable. (As well as a line out).

[marc13]

Originally Posted by Bill Moore

Marc13, I have a EV15 in my "Twin" cabinet, and now run with a JBL15 in another open back cab. I really would like to build a Tone Ring for that JBL!
I used an OT for a '94 Twin in my build, so I have 4, 8, and 16 ohm output availlable. (As well as a line out).

I'm saving this thread, I think that's exactly what I'm going to do :D

[dmarcus30]

Originally Posted by zoppotrump

here is my 72 SFTR. i planned to retolex it and had a a new grill cloth ordered, but my loving wife stopped me after the first hearing me play through it and convinced me to let it just the way it looks....

Twins, can't kill 'em with a meat ax. My 73 is a backbreaker with two SRO 12's in it but what a sound! I bought her brand new in 73 and I'll never sell.

[gshep92]

Originally Posted by sempervirent

I know this thread is kind of old, did you take that price tag off of your Twin Reverb yet?

My setup is identical to that, more or less. SFTR, early 70s + a natural Tele with a black pickguard. No photos because the SFTR is in the shop.

I have, that was right after I bought it. And nice! I love it, great amp and it sounds perfect with a Tele! This is what my current setup is looking like (only I have a boss chorus ensemble now instead)

[gshep92]

Originally Posted by Bill Moore

Do you accept clones into this club? I built mine a few years ago from a mixture of sources, and used a '94 Twin OT with multiple impedance, and line out. With the old SRO, it really sounds great!
The cab was a used Mojo, that housed several projects before this one, hence the "racing stripes".

That's pretty cool man!

[gshep92]

Originally Posted by Big_Bend

Nice Twins everybody!

You know, with the huge popularity of the Telecaster / Twin combination, you'd think there would be more Twins posted here in this club.

Would love to see more Twins.. even the '65 Reissues. Show some love people!

Take care...

It is a great combo I agree!

[gshep92]

Originally Posted by Green Lantern

This is my '71 pre-master volume Twin Reverb. It's been given a blackface mod. I love the color of the grillcloth. I don't see many Twins that have the silver-turquoise combination. It matches the lettering on the faceplate really well. This is quite possibly my favorite amplifier. Incredible tone. It also has a really nice, sweet smell to it.

That thing on the top is a repair tag that I keep on it for old time's sake. It's been there for over a year.

That is beautiful!

[Inventour]

I'm about to share my love, my Feb of 1966 Twin Reverb.

This thread has so many cool old Twins, they are work-horses for sure.
I have a few of them but my best collectible is my Special Order 1966
JBL Factory Twin Reverb. I copied this from an old thread so it only took
me a minute to post this. It may well be one of the best condition old Twins left.
I have never seen another Twin with the old D131F speakers.
And for you younger guys who don't know what a D131F speaker is,
it's the D120F before the D120F got it's name.

So if you see a Fender amp like a Blond Twin Amp with JBL D120F speakers in it,
they are not original. All the pre-1966 JBL's were the D131F .

This amp sounds just great, I play it every couple months.


Here are some abdominal shots of my (PB 8th week of1966) Factory Twin Reverb w/JBL D131F Speakers. The photo of the Inspection Ink Stamps on the Rims of the JBL Speakers proves they were installed at the factory. Notice how long the screws are sticking out the nuts, these are the extra long baffle screws for the JBL's. The original owner had this thick custom cover made for the amp and it kept all the air out the amp over all the years. The original Victoria cover is still in the wrapper. The grille-cloth has never seen water or any smoke. I had the original Twin box but my housekeeper recycled it. As I said before, it hurt for a few days. Original D131F speakers are kinda rare as they quickly switched to the D120F labeling. The cool thing about the 1965/1966 Fender amps is they Nickel Plated the Chassis on many of them. The Zinc plated chassis often make a powder dust mess inside the chassis. The Nickel Plated Amps stay clean inside, the Pots much cleaner. On this Twin they also used the seldom seen Nickel Plated Output Trans, Filter Cap Cover,m and the Elco Tube Covers on the pre-amp tubes. This is a rare amp, especially in this condition. Everyone like Photos so here we go.











Here is a few more pics of the Twin,
the tube chart was made during the green Stamp Timeframe
this is why it's hand written, notice the S.O. in the Production line,
for 'Special Order', and the JB is for the JBL Speakers, not the Oxfords.

2 RCA 7025 in V1, V2 and Telefunken in the rest pre-amp.
The RCA 6L6GC glow a sweet blue flame color with the lights out at night,
the bias is set perfect on this amp. Great amp to use and play the slide on.

Notice how clean the stain job on the inside cab wood is, the original owners wife sewed a thick, tight custom cover
and it sealed out the air and elements and prevented the inside from turning black like most BF amps.
















I also put a set of Celestion Gold Speakers on my 1960 HP Tweed Twin Amp,
this amp is amazing. The tone is magic. It's the same circuit as the Tweed Bassman,
only twice the power. This is one of my daily players. The Gold
speakers really make this amp a pro rig, compared to the Jensens.
I use the Teflon coated silver-tinned Alessandro speaker wire
and the long-neck Switchcraft RCA jacks, that silver tinned wire is
well worth it from CE Dist. Buy 3' feet & get two 18" inch pieces for your Twin.
Waiting for the sun to rise for my morning jam, have a good day everyone.

[martinbrub]

Wow

[Green Lantern]

That is a very impressive specimen, Inventour. How did you happen across that thing?

[Paul in Colorado]

My first Twin was a new '70 or '71. I put a pair of JBL K-120's in it after I owned it a few years and it was my only amp. After about ten or so years I sold it but kept the speakers. I went through a bunch of amps, but a few years ago I got a '68 Dual Showman Reverb head with a reissue TR faceplate. I put the JBL's in a 2 x 12" small Bassman clone cabinet and use it that way.

The guitar I used with my first Twin was a '68 Les Paul Gold Top (now long gone). Not long after I got the DSR I got a Historic '56 Les Paul. I had it right the first time. It only took me thirty years to figure that out.

[gshep92]

Originally Posted by Inventour

I'm about to share my love, my Feb of 1966 Twin Reverb.

This thread has so many cool old Twins, they are work-horses for sure.
I have a few of them but my best collectible is my Special Order 1966
JBL Factory Twin Reverb. I copied this from an old thread so it only took
me a minute to post this. It may well be one of the best condition old Twins left.
I have never seen another Twin with the old D131F speakers.
And for you younger guys who don't know what a D131F speaker is,
it's the D120F before the D120F got it's name.

So if you see a Fender amp like a Blond Twin Amp with JBL D120F speakers in it,
they are not original. All the pre-1966 JBL's were the D131F .

This amp sounds just great, I play it every couple months.

Here are some abdominal shots of my (PB 8th week of1966) Factory Twin Reverb w/JBL D131F Speakers. The photo of the Inspection Ink Stamps on the Rims of the JBL Speakers proves they were installed at the factory. Notice how long the screws are sticking out the nuts, these are the extra long baffle screws for the JBL's. The original owner had this thick custom cover made for the amp and it kept all the air out the amp over all the years. The original Victoria cover is still in the wrapper. The grille-cloth has never seen water or any smoke. I had the original Twin box but my housekeeper recycled it. As I said before, it hurt for a few days. Original D131F speakers are kinda rare as they quickly switched to the D120F labeling. The cool thing about the 1965/1966 Fender amps is they Nickel Plated the Chassis on many of them. The Zinc plated chassis often make a powder dust mess inside the chassis. The Nickel Plated Amps stay clean inside, the Pots much cleaner. On this Twin they also used the seldom seen Nickel Plated Output Trans, Filter Cap Cover,m and the Elco Tube Covers on the pre-amp tubes. This is a rare amp, especially in this condition. Everyone like Photos so here we go.

Here is a few more pics of the Twin,
the tube chart was made during the green Stamp Timeframe
this is why it's hand written, notice the S.O. in the Production line,
for 'Special Order', and the JB is for the JBL Speakers, not the Oxfords.

2 RCA 7025 in V1, V2 and Telefunken in the rest pre-amp.
The RCA 6L6GC glow a sweet blue flame color with the lights out at night,
the bias is set perfect on this amp. Great amp to use and play the slide on.

Notice how clean the stain job on the inside cab wood is, the original owners wife sewed a thick, tight custom cover
and it sealed out the air and elements and prevented the inside from turning black like most BF amps.

I also put a set of Celestion Gold Speakers on my 1960 HP Tweed Twin Amp,
this amp is amazing. The tone is magic. It's the same circuit as the Tweed Bassman,
only twice the power. This is one of my daily players. The Gold
speakers really make this amp a pro rig, compared to the Jensens.
I use the Teflon coated silver-tinned Alessandro speaker wire
and the long-neck Switchcraft RCA jacks, that silver tinned wire is
well worth it from CE Dist. Buy 3' feet & get two 18" inch pieces for your Twin.
Waiting for the sun to rise for my morning jam, have a good day everyone.

That is extremely cool. Wow.

[daveIT]

Just picked up a '72 or '73 Twin! It has the Oxford 12T6 speakers in it. Works great & sounds amazing! I traded an Alesis Micron, Gator Bag, 2-Tier Stand and some MIDI cables for it.

[Tidepoolbay]

I have a 71' I think. Pictures to follow.

[RockerDuck]

I'm in the club with a 92 TRRI. Bought it at an auction house for $375. Sat in someone house for yrs. not used and its like new, reverb tick and all.

[ltjazz]

I've got a TRRI (was playing live with it) but I don't have the opportunity so much anymore, and would like to get it to a reasonable sound level in my home.

Has anyone done the half power mod? You know, pull the two inner or outer tubes and disconnect a speaker.

[editorjuno]

I've had an early SF (no MV, AB763 tube chart sticker) for the better part of a year -- just worked on it for the first time last week, replaced the original speakers with JBL MI-12s, a bear of a job because Twins have eight mounting studs per speaker and MI-12s have only four holes. Fortunately, aluminum is easy to drill, so I didn't have to strip the grille cloth and remove the extra four. At least now I can swap speakers without removing the amp chassis -- and JBL speaker guru Harvey Gerst has stated that there's no reason to use any more that four to mount any JBL, even their 15-inchers, so I just used four nuts and lock washers.

Now wondering if I should sell off the original speakers (intact -- i.e. never reconed and complete with wire, "F"-monogrammed phone plug, and that little round tie point and its wood screw). Should I keep them around or turn them into some cash (baby needs a quad of output tubes) -- any thoughts?

[Green Lantern]

Sell them if you feel they are absolutely no longer useful to you. If you think they may be of use in the future, keep them.

[editorjuno]

Originally Posted by Green Lantern

Sell them if you feel they are absolutely no longer useful to you. If you think they may be of use in the future, keep them.

Yeah, I know the equation -- I was just wondering if anyone knew the current variables. e.g. the market value of a fully intact pair of vintage Twin Reverb speakers with all the original bits still wired up and ready for a solderless installation. The only use I can think of is to enhance the resale value of the amp to a collector -- the JBLs definitely sound both louder and smoother, so they're staying put as long as I own the thing.

[proaudioguy]

Originally Posted by ltjazz

I've got a TRRI (was playing live with it) but I don't have the opportunity so much anymore, and would like to get it to a reasonable sound level in my home.

Has anyone done the half power mod? You know, pull the two inner or outer tubes and disconnect a speaker.

I have and I put a very long explanation of it earlier in the thread (duh).
As said, it doesn't change it enough. If you do that, and switch the speaker to a much lower sensitivity, then you might be closer. Some kind of power soak will take your even further. I am contemplating several possibilities as I can't play it past about 3 now and it sounds really amazing at 7-10.

I also tried it with the speakers in series at 16 ohms and used a pair of 6V6s. That's cuts it further but it's still not quiet enough.

My speakers are EVs which are VERY sensitive (loud).