Fender Pro 185 twin reverb amp question

[drb1346]

I'm looking at 2 separate Fender Pro 185 twin reverb amps on Ebay. One has red knobs, the other has black. Does that make any difference?

Does anyone have experience with this amp? Thanks!

 

[prairietelecaster]

Solid state amps

I believe those are solid state amps and not tube.....
The knobs are simply colours and nothing else. Someone enlighten me if I am wrong. Thanks

 

[Ian]

As per usual, Cam's right.
The Pro 185 was a solid state ,165 watt, 2-12", amp.
I had one for a few years, it was kinda like a SS Twin; same size,2-12".

Cam, just an update;
-the Mrs and I are seperated.
-I'm playing lead for a CHRISTIAN Country/Bluegrass band called High Valley.
-take care

CHEERS!!!

 

[Tremo]

If it's a 185, then yeah, it's transistor. Take your pick. Don't expect either to sound like a real tube Twin Reverb.

 

[drb1346]

Thanks, guys. Will this amp cover small clubs in a small town? Seems like it would be loud enough. I'm 60 and will be playing 50's/60/s rock & roll and country from the same era.

I can get it for $260 . . .

 

[Tremo]

What's I've heard from these transistor Fenders is that they're voiced pretty durn bright. And their distortion channels are harsh and fizzy. Makes for ear fatigue after a couple of songs, I generally walk out if the band's guitar tone is irritating, but that's just me.

A 185 should be more than loud enough for your club gigs.

 

[Dacious]

It will cover small club gigs in several towns at once! A bandmate had one. It was LOUD. It was also unreliable, and broke down a couple times in two months. It was LOUD. Once the plastic inputs fell apart and/or broke off the PCB. It was LOUD. Once the circuit board warped due to heat and broke half the traces. It was LOUD. Both times he got it fixed he was told 'yeah, they do that' It was LOUD.

Do not expect pristine, nice Fender clean tones out of it - in fact forget any nice tones. Undistorted it was as inspiring as plugging in to the PA. With the onboard distortion turned on, it was like being plugged into the PA playing through a hundred old shelf radio speakers all totally farting out. LOUDLY.

So you have the choice of a horrible clean tone, or a horrible dirty tone. Can you tell I wasn't impressed? He thought it was great - but then he also kept saying 'huh?' all the time and you had to speak slowly and clearly from where he could see you lips move, so I suspect his ears weren't real good.

Being heard will not be a problem - you'll probably end up running it on '2'. It has at least 100 watts too much for most applications.

Did I mention it was LOUD?

 

[jzero]

Do not expect pristine, nice Fender clean tones out of it - in fact forget any nice tones.

I'm never in this forum and this thread is old, but I can't leave this statement unchallenged. The Pro 185 has a fine clean tone. You just have to use your tone controls and take it easy on the treble. The reverb sounds great. The distortion has a very flexible eq section and is capable of some decent but not tremendous gain tones. The main trouble it's difficult to dial in good sound because of confusing controls. For example, the tilt button changes the character of the contour switch. In one mode, you can scoop the mids or boost them using the control. In the other mode, the contour knob actually tilts the whole eq from bass to treble (like a seasaw). I prefer to use the latter mode to make the tone bassy, then boost the mids with the midboost,keep the gain low and use a dirt pedal. In essence, this amp has the great fender cleans with reverb thing going and plenty of power. It just needs a good gain pedal.

 

[ksmadman]

I've had a Pro 185 since 1989. Mine is the red knob model.Very loud and very durable. I've never had any work done to it, and it still sounds great. I believe the black knobs were added in the early 90s but the amp was still the same set up.