the pro reverb

hi guys, out of the blue i was offered a fender pro reverb, silverface, pullmaster. it makes some weird noises, because it has not benn played for more than ten years. it sounds very nice and is absolutely untouched by modders: still the original tubes and of course fender blue label speakers. what´s the word on the pro reverb? i am very, tempted to buy it just because i will never get such a clean amp again.
eddie

Eddie, if the price is right, i would jump on it. that's a great amp. you could "blackface" the circuit if you wanted to ... put a good speaker in it and you'd be set for life!

any idea what year it was made? i think there were two different silverface versions: 1968-76 and 1976-82. if it's the older version, that would be a prize IMHO.

I played a 73 (no master or anything) Pro reverb for several years. I bet with a little trip to the tech, the one you're looking at could be a great amp. Given it's age, it likely needs a cap job and a good once-over.

Like Woodman said, it could be bf'd I suppose. I had mine done. But, I don't know if the later 70s models with things like pull boosts or master volumes can be blackfaced, or if so, what kind of difference you can expect.

I would probably prioritize things like this:
• tech once-over (and most likely a cap job)
• speaker upgrades
•bf circuit

Honestly, though, once a tech gives it a check up, you might not feel the need to do anything. Pro Reverbs are fantastic sounding amps. Some folks replace the Bandmaster-sized OT with a Bassman OT to get a beefier tone, but I like mine as it was.

Great amp, no need for any of that BF nonsense. Get 'er tuned up and enjoy the magic of the 2X12 Fender!

Have no idea what it's worth....a friend of mine bought a mint, and I mean mint late 70's Pro for $250 out of a local paper a few years ago...even had the cover ... WAH!!!!!!!

Great amp, no need for any of that BF nonsense.


Absolutely correct. Its fine as it is, even those blue speakers!

I've had one since 1975 - its a '74 model by the component codes. Simply described as a slightly lighter, slightly quieter Twin.

I gigged this thing hard for close on 20 years with absolutely no problem. The red jewell light gave up sometime in the '80s, but it made no difference to the sound.

Around 3 years back ,when it was just being used at home, it just died. Didn't want to meddle myself, so hawked it around a few repair guys, who all suggested power transformer problems. No one would take on to fix it, so I had a look myself. Discovered that the on switch had failed mechanically, and all it needed was a new switch. At the same time, I completely re valved it, and its as good s new.

great amp - go and buy it.

"even those blue speakers"

Honestly, I never had any isues with them blue speakers. The one in my '72 DR sounds great!

hoho, that is good news. i talk with the guy tomorrow and see what i can do. thank you all.

Great amp!
I like the early 40 watt ones best, but I loved and gigged a later 70 watt one for years.
Stone-axe dependable and great tone.
I found one recently for $300, but they go up to around $600.

I have a '75. Great amp. Sounds good with any guitar. I love its bright silverface tone which is still complex. Wouldn't change the speaker unless I'm sure they' improve the tone. Weird noises too when I bought it, but after a cap job everything works fine... except the reverb which sounds like crap... My tech must have skip this one ! Too bad for a Pro Reverb !

edit : my '75 is 40W. Also price in US are way less expensive than in Europe... I've seen a blackface around 3000$... Just insane !

IME with old SF amps, a brand new Accutronics $25 tank usually gets that verb back up to snuff.

Love my 73 that Tim Swartz has gone through a few times. Maybe the best sounding amp that I've ever played through.

The later ones (70 watt, UL transformers, master, pull boost, etc.) are known to stay clean all the way up the dial and are L*O*U*D!!! A great candidate for someone who either uses pedals a lot, or someone who just wants a great squeaky clean tone. It should last forever too.

I'd say go for it!

I have a late 70s Pro Reverb of the dreaded UL 70 watt variety and it's a really a great amp. It had some problems when I bought it, but in an old Fender amp nothing can't be fixed. I replaced the electrolytics, the reverb driver tube and the reverb tank (it came with a crappy short 3-spring high impedance tank of some sorts) and the power tubes (JJ's now) and cleaned up some wires and now it works like a charm.
It's loud and clean, with TONS OF LOW END and really loves pedals. Great for clean rhythm tones, and bell like piano notes, fat baritone playing, and any pedal generated weirdness. There's also lots of lush and drippy reverb on tap.

Jef

i just bought it and brought it straight away to the tech to get tubes replaced and everything checked and repaired. getting nervoso. the amp looks really cool on the tiltback-beams. is that a pretty practical feature? is it a generally good idea to have the amp on the floor slightly tilted back? normally i like them sitting on a chair. eddie

the tilt-back legs will put the sound directly in your ear -- it'll sound more trebly *to you* than putting it on a chair. if a chair works better for you, don't worry about it. i tend to use a tilt-back amp stand in live, small rooms where the highs can be problematic out in the room ... in a more spacious environment where you can let your highs loose, i use a chair or even put it on the floor if i can get it 8 to 10 feet back from my mike stand.

i just bought it and brought it straight away to the tech to get tubes replaced and everything checked and repaired. getting nervoso. the amp looks really cool on the tiltback-beams. is that a pretty practical feature? is it a generally good idea to have the amp on the floor slightly tilted back? normally i like them sitting on a chair. eddie

A 2x12 combo on a chair could be dangerous, depending on the chair. My '73 Pro Reverb had tilt-backs, and I found it useful in small rooms, where I had to fit the amp on a small stage by having it very close to me. Tilting it back allowed me to hear myself a bit better than having it flat on the floor. Plus, if you're on a raised stage, tilting it back prevents it from blasting anyone up front. Can't imagine trusting a chair to hold it up given it's size/weight.

thanks woody and jim. i did not know that. always something new to learn here. eddie

Eddie - that's great! You now have a really good Fender amp. Captain Twang will be really twanging!

Look inside the amp where the tube chart is - tell us what version or model number is on there.

Eddie, is yours the 70-watt model?

woody, no it is the 40 watter. that is perfect for me.
yeah jon! when the guy came rolling by with that amp, i saw "captain twang" in big letters all over the thing.

great -- the 40-watter is indeed perfect!

For those who don't know yet look at this page (http://www.ampwares.com/ffg/pro_reverb_sf.html)

About tilt back legs : once you've experienced them you don't understand how you could live without them ! Very handy for the gig and the rehearsal !

My '75 Pro reverb also has rollers (removable), which adds to the weight. Getting closer to the evil Twin ! It's handy too though...


Thanks Jef & EMan. I don't know why I did not suspect the reverb tank, must be the faulty part !

woody, no it is the 40 watter. that is perfect for me.
yeah jon! when the guy came rolling by with that amp, i saw "captain twang" in big letters all over the thing.

If for nothing else, I think the 40 watt models will hold value more. There is a bit of a bad vibe by some regarding the 70 watt ultralinear(?) models.

Does it have casters? Mine did... I liked them when moving it across something smooth, like a wood floor, but I was paranoid about rolling it elsewhere because I thought the vibration can't be good for the innards!

I have a '66, it is the second time I owned it, first time in 1970 second time in about 200. How do I know? Well I sold it in New Jersey in 1970. I bought it on ebay from a guy in New Jersey. It was in terrible condition. When I opened up the reverb tank, I found a repair I made in 1970. There was also the replacement PT that my amp had. How cool is that? This time I keep it.

Winnie

Mine came without the tilt back legs and casters. I am going to add new tilt back legs. It's a great way to hear what you're playing, and it saves the audience from the icepick-in-the-forehead. I would'nt feel safe with an amp of this size on a simple chair.

Jef

I just recently (last june) picked up a '65. After having it gone over(caps etc.) I put in some old p12q's i found. Pure tone heaven is all I can say

I used the tilt back legs once just to try it out, and never went back there again. I think it was mainly because of the extra space it took up.

My favourite place was on a chair, rpeferably a padded bar chair which allowed the amp to tilt back slightly, onto the chair back. Really stable - never had a problem.