Is anyone here using a 65 Super Reverb amp ?

I sat and noodled around on a used reissue at a GC one day at home volumes. It sounded sweet. Something about 410 and 412 cabs at low volume. It isn’t loud but the sound just fills up the room around you.

 

Attenuators with a 2 ohm setting are hard to find. I've had an AB763 '68 SR since '73 and a THD 2 ohm Hot Plate does the job at home. An early 90s TS9 RI or TS10 Tube Screamer gets it done. I've been playing around with a Black Magic Zen Drive and an earlier Hermida Audio Distortion pedal and not really finding the sweet spot with either of them. I may just be spoiled by the old Tube Screamers.

 

I sure would like one!

Our band room has plenty space to spare and the Twin isn’t just enough.

 

Welcome to TDPRI! It's good to have another enthusiast.

Are you talking about the '65 Super Reverb Reissue? Collectively, we have a lot of experience with BF (blackface) Super Reverbs and the experts will likely respond.

If you're thinking about getting the reissue, a new one at full price would be $1,799 USD. For that amount of money you could buy an original 60s or 70s BF or SF Super Reverb, have it professionally serviced, and have a few $100 left over. An original SF is the real thing, is more easily seviced, and can be serviced forever.

The Weber MASS 100 attenuator will handle the SF's power and can present a 2 Ohm load back to the SF's speaker array.

 

The decision to make that amp run at 2 ohms has always baffled me ( no pun intended) because an 8 ohm load could have been easily achieved with series/parallel wiring. I owned a mint original around 1980. We never bonded.

 

The twin is actually higher wattage than a Super i.e. 85 watts vs 45 watts. Way louder and cleaner than a Super. If the the twin is not enough, you need a Marshall stack with 4x12s and 100 watt head. Actually we all need a Marshall stack in a righteous world.

 

Yeah, I know. 85 watts of pure bliss. I was referring to (badly) the concrete space the amp takes.

Twin is a masterpiece, and so is Super!

 

The only thing I can think of is a lot of pillows stacked up.
Or put the Super in a closet, mic it through a tiny amp and adjust volume to suit.

 

I'd also look for a black or silverface and have it serviced over the reissue. If you have a decent tech or can service it yourself.
Otherwise the reissue might make some sense but for what they cost new, I'd look into some of the smaller builders that still make um like the originals.
Buy a used reissue and it might be old enough to be needing service, they've been around that long already.

 

I had a 65 Super Reverb reissue. It was a beautiful sounding amp and I liked it a lot. However there were two issues that led to me parting with it: 1) weight, 2) size. It's a big and awkward amp to move. I'm not a tall guy and that's part of it (it's not a good amp for short people). I traded my for a 59 Bassman RI and that couple of inches of height really makes a difference.

But, beautiful cleans. When pushed, those Jensen reissues speakers were reaaaaaally harsh. But as far as OD the best sound I found with it was the Barber 1/2 Gainer.

 

I play through a SR reissue. It’s loud but keep it on 2 or 3 and use the volume on the guitar and you are fine. Better yet throw an EQ pedal with a volume control in front of it.

I wouldn’t necessarily shy away from a reissue. There are some good deals on supers and twins these days. I picked mine up for 700 which is still quite a bit cheaper than an original can be had for. But if you find a deal on an original then yes, go that way.

I’ve found that it agrees with most Overdrive pedals I’ve used. I’ve mainly ran TS and blues driver style pedals though.

 

I had a '67 that I restored. It was hands down one of best sounding Fender amps I ever played through, but it was also stupid loud.

https://www.tdpri.com/threads/67-super-reverb.933348/

 

Every time I hear blackface super reverb I just start singing it to the tune of champagne supernova.

Anyway, I’m more of a vibrolux guy. ballsier than a deluxe, but still practical, nice middle point. I think the super is a little too much in today’s world.

 

I have one (not a reissue), and it is my main amp since I got it, although I left it alone for a few months to explore another amp recently. It sounds great and is best turned up, but it still sounds good at bedroom volume (in a low volume way). I haven't built one yet, but JohnH at the Marshall forum did work out a configuration of his diy attenuator for use with old Fender amps that run at 4 ohm and 2 ohm. Also, Weber has the Z-Matcher that will allow pretty much any guitar amp to work with any speaker load. I intended to pick one up last year but put it off until this year. Weber's site showed them to be out of stock so I contacted them to see when they would have more in stock. CJ replied saying that parts stock was low but that they could build me one, so I went ahead and ordered it while I could. I think next project will be JohnH's attenuator, since I have been playing in the house a lot lately where I need to keep the volume down, and I am missing that sweet cranked up sound.

The biggest downside of this amp is the height, making it awkward to tote. Other than that, I have no complaints. When it warms back up around here I will take it back out to the workshed to play it cranked up.

 

I had one back in the mid 80's (I know, a long time ago) and absolutely loved it

 

I would say that if you are looking to run a gainy distortion pedal through a Super Reverb, you are probably looking at the wrong amp.