Best modern single speaker all tube amp with reverb for surf.

[chris m.]

Cheers, I had not considered the Tonemaster, or any digital amps for a long time, though it sounds like the technology might have improved. The neodymium speaker is appealing for its weight as I have one of these in my DV Mark Jazz amp and the whole combo weighs only 10KG! New these are a bit over my budget here but I will give this some thought.

With the right pedal (or even just a good EQ pedal) I wonder whether you could get excellent surf music tones out of your DV Mark Jazz amp. Are you truly focused on getting the sound you need, or are you actually just looking for an excuse to buy another amp? No shade-throwing intended....I've succumbed to GAS plenty of times myself. But DV Mark amps are extremely high quality and for very little money the one you already own might get you exactly where you want to be.

 

[Gunny]

This all-girl surf band promotes the Pro Reverb amps (likely a gift from Fender). They're touring all over N. America (again) this summer.

The Surfrajettes

The Surfrajettes are a four-piece instrumental combo from Toronto, ON, Canada. Since forming in late 2015, the band has charmed audiences with their clever mix of psychedelic rock and reverb-drenched surf music, sky-high beehives, go-go boots, and eyeliner as thick as their guitar strings. Debut alb

www.thesurfrajettes.com

 

[11 Gauge]

With the right pedal (or even just a good EQ pedal) I wonder whether you could get excellent surf music tones out of your DV Mark Jazz amp. Are you truly focused on getting the sound you need, or are you actually just looking for an excuse to buy another amp? No shade-throwing intended....I've succumbed to GAS plenty of times myself. But DV Mark amps are extremely high quality and for very little money the one you already own might get you exactly where you want to be.

Good catch, Chris. It looks like the Jazz even has reverb, just not sure if that will work for surf tunes. But if it doesn't do the spring thing sufficiently, there are certainly pedals for that!

 

[Lone_Poor_Boy]

Did not read all the replies but did play in a surf band for years. I think that a 6G15 tube reverb is essential. I used a Super Reverb or a Band Master head during my performance days with the above - I would consider those classic.

Currently, I follow my tube reverb unit with a Quilter 101 or (highly) modified Champ head for practice or home use. If I was to play out (and my neighbor and I are discussing this now), I would use an AC15 or a Twin - the AC15 because, well, Hank Marvins, the Twin because it gives good clean American sound from room to stadium volume (plus my neighbor already has one so the price is right). I did recently get loaned an AC15HW for a couple of days and it is great. I’m not sure a tube amp is essential. I use a 6G15 -> Tech21 American Sound -> Quilter and this is very good. Any clean SS amp would probably work ok.

tldr: Use a 6G15; the rest is less important.

I know nothing of these except what I just looked up. How do you use this with an amp? Guitar into 6G15 and then to amp input?

And the reverb unit does NOT have a speaker, correct?

 

[sudogeek]

As I noted, my current set up is guitar -> reverb unit -> [pedals] -> amp. The pedals - if I use any - are a Tech21 Blonde and a TC Flashback delay configured to emulate tremolo. The Joyo American Sound can give you a similar Fender/American tone for a bit cheaper. The amp is usually a Quilter 101 which drives a cabinet with an American voiced speaker (Emi Copperhead or GA).

The reverb unit does not have a speaker. It is more of a tube pre-amp with a tone control and a reverb tank. I find that the 6G15 into a SS amp can pretty much mimic the sound of a tube amp. I know you asked about a tube amp but a SS power amp can do the trick plus give you line out, DI out, headphone out, and effects loop (which I never use). For surf, where you’re really interested in clean sound, SS amps can perform well.

 

[Killing Floor]

The one with a Surfybear on it.

 

[PhoenixBill]

I believe (several pages ago) the OP wrote he had purchased a Supersonic 22.

 

[AustinPaul]

I am looking for a 'new' amp, something contemporary. i.e. affordable, that I can find on the used market to work up a surf repertoire with my Jazzmaster.
It must have good Fenderish cleans, a good spring reverb, and be manageable enough to practice indoors and to gig in small venues.
I had a 70s Twin Reverb but grew weary of dragging it around.
I prefer Fender but am open to other suggestions.

Haven't read through the comments yet, but my easy answer is a Tonemaster Super Reverb. No-brainer IMO.

 

[nrand]

Probably just needs tube pins cleaned.

Yep - Problem solved and it cost me nothing. - Much appreciated.
I had a can of

WD-40 Specialist Fast Drying Contact Cleaner​

Lying around and given it leaves no residue thought I would try it.
The pins on the power tubes and a few of the others had visible corrosion and a few of the small tubes had pins that were rough as guts.
I used this spray with the back a a surgical scalpel, dragging it gently backwards along the surface of each pin after spraying, dragging it away from the tube, until I was sure all surface were addressed.
I also cleaned both ends of the reverb cables.
I can say the tubes went back it much easier than thay came out and importantly the hideous noise problem appears to be resolved.
Considering the price of a set of replacement tubes this was two hours well spent.

 

[nrand]

I hope tubes are easier to find in OZ than they are in the US nowadays. If you do find them they tend to be a bit pricier than before.

They are really expensive and hard to get here. It turns put a good clean of the pins did the trick. Phew!

 

[nrand]

With the right pedal (or even just a good EQ pedal) I wonder whether you could get excellent surf music tones out of your DV Mark Jazz amp. Are you truly focused on getting the sound you need, or are you actually just looking for an excuse to buy another amp? No shade-throwing intended....I've succumbed to GAS plenty of times myself. But DV Mark amps are extremely high quality and for very little money the one you already own might get you exactly where you want to be.

I really liked the DV amp but found I was missing the sound of a good tube amp. The Fender Supersonic is running sweetly now after a tube clean, and the DV has been sold. I don't like hanging on to gear the way I used to.

 

[nrand]

You have just described the venerable Fender Deluxe Reverb. 22 watts...small enough to use at home and loud enough to play small to moderate gigs. Reverb to die for, and Speed and Intensity if you really want to go surfin'. If you have issues with "Fender", I can strongly recommend:
- Louis Electric Deltone - a rock-solid Deluxe Reverb made to withstand the next apocalypse. And, if you can find one...
- Magic Amps Vibro Deluxe which is a superbly made Deluxe Reverb with the finest components, build quality, and tones to die for. They rarely come up on the usual sites...once you have one, you never part with it. When they show up, they are quite affordable.
Both the Louis Electric and the Magic Amps can be had for $2,595 - $2,795 in Excellent to MINT condition. Either will likely be the last amp you ever "need" to buy. Super-highest quality amps. And...
If you want slightly less wattage, both brands make a Princeton clone with 12-15 watts. The Louis Electric Columbia (originally the "Princetone" - get one if you can) has a 12" speaker, and the Road Runner has the 10" speaker. Both have the Princeton circuit. Magic Amps calls his the Vibro Prince. It is available as a 1 x 10", 1 x 12", or 2x10"...again, all hard to come buy...people keep them forever. If you see one for sale on line, don't wait...it will sell in 1-2 days...literally. Good luck!

Yes, The Supersonic 22 is now sitting next to me here at home.
The Reverb is a little more modern/tighter/less spongy sounding than on some of the older Fender amps, but in the end price was a significant factor and I got a really good deal on the Supersonic.


Thanks again to everyone for the helpful comments and suggestions. I imagine someone down the track will find this thread helpful.

 

[horax]

A good sleeper surf amp is the Supro delta blues 12.

Real tube driven spring reverb. Very fun indeed.

I used to play in a surf band and also liked the peavey 2x12 tube 100 watt valve king.

 

[Dacious]

Yep - Problem solved and it cost me nothing. - Much appreciated.
I had a can of

WD-40 Specialist Fast Drying Contact Cleaner​

Lying around and given it leaves no residue thought I would try it.
The pins on the power tubes and a few of the others had visible corrosion and a few of the small tubes had pins that were rough as guts.
I used this spray with the back a a surgical scalpel, dragging it gently backwards along the surface of each pin after spraying, dragging it away from the tube, until I was sure all surface were addressed.
I also cleaned both ends of the reverb cables.
I can say the tubes went back it much easier than thay came out and importantly the hiseous noise problem appears to be resolved.
Considering the price of a set of replacement tubes this was two hours well spent.

Quite often thats all that's needed.

 

[BlueTele]

Yes, The Supersonic 22 is now sitting next to me here at home.
The Reverb is a little more modern/tighter/less spongy sounding than on some of the older Fender amps, but in the end price was a significant factor and I got a really good deal on the Supersonic.


Thanks again to everyone for the helpful comments and suggestions. I imagine someone down the track will find this thread helpful.

Your question prompted me to go to the most familiar web-based guitar selling site. As of yesterday, they had a Louis Electric Road Runner in a cool two-tone tolex visual scheme for a very decent price. It is the true Princeton circuit with a 10" speaker pushing 12-15 watts. It has Reverb and Speed/Intensity as well. Grab it is you want the 12-15 watts vs the 22 watts of a Deluxe Reverb.

 

[nrand]

At that price a second hand and recent Hot Rod Deluxe. You should be able to get one for <$1000AU. It's not the most compact amp but has good cleans, nice reverb and is loud enough for any application. Not quite as scooped as the older Fenders but they sound pretty nice for cleans.

Sorry I missed your suggestion. I had the Deville III until last year but had not considered the Deluxe.
Are you suggesting the IV versions? I understand they are an improvement.
{The icepick cleans of the DeVille III never sounded very musical to me and we never really got along.}

 

[wildschwein]

Sorry I missed your suggestion. I had the Deville III until last year but had not considered the Deluxe.
Are you suggesting the IV versions? I understand they are an improvement.
{The icepick cleans of the DeVille III never sounded very musical to me and we never really got along.}

Sounds like you found what you were after with the Supersonic. I played through a HRD that was earlier probably a II or III and I was pretty impressed with its sound and volume. I mainly used the clean channel and it was awesome. It was loaded with a set of Groove Tubes from what I could see. You could do '60s stuuff on it no problem. The HRDs are a very common backline amp. I did play at a jam night a few years back and one of the guys had a Deville 2x12 (not sure of the mark #) and I thought what was coming out of it sounded good. He was actaully using the overdrive channel and doing AC/DC sort of crunch stuff with it. I think tube choices and biasing etc can make a big difference in how amps sound.