Just bought a Twin Reverb...

[Mowgli]

You totally missed the irony of a Blues Guitar player's demise by amplifier, certainly not in the league of being shot by a jealous husband or stabbed by a woman........
.

Thanks for the heads up on totally missing the irony.

Perhaps if his name was “Lucky” or if the narrative had mentioned that he had survived many gun shot wounds delivered by jealous husbands or boyfriends only to be done in by a notoriously heavy amp following a fall on some stairs I might have picked up on it.

I must have been thrown off the scent by the details of the tib/fib fractures followed up by the technical “passing of a blood clot” (likely a pulmonary embolism; not uncommon following lower extremity fractures or possible compartment syndrome with a complication ensuing).

So thanks for the heads up on the irony lesson. The tacit inferences of jealousy and the obvious association of that with blues guitarists carrying heavy amps up stairs was definitely lost on me! I’ll try to make such tacit inferences in the future.

 

[archetype]

Not the Tone Master. The big, 70 pound, throw your back out version. I got it used for a smoking deal.

Now, I've never gotten along with Fender amps. I've had three that I sold- a Blues Junior, a Hot Rod Deluxe, and the first version of the Mustang 3. Vox seems to give me the sound I hear in my head. I just figured that Fender amps were one of those things that a lot of people like but it just wasn't for me, like black olives.

But this amp... its a monster. I can't crank it past 2 because I have little dogs and I don't want to hurt their little ears. But even at that volume, it fills the room and just kind of... sparkles. My Strat sounds Strattier. My Tele sounds twangier. My Les Paul sounds like the voice of angels coming down from heaven. The on board reverb is just incredible.

I get why so many people are wanting to get rid of them and downsize. Twins are huge, and heavy. You could warm a medium sized room with the heat coming out of the back of this thing when I turned it off. Its way more amp than anyone could possibly need. They're also cool, and fun, and iconic. I wish I had bought one years ago. It's my 85 watt bedroom amp.

I'm not getting rid of my AC15. Its still my favorite amp of all time. But it might get neglected for a while.

At 1 or 1 1/2 it's got room-filling, beautiful tone. It's an ideal bedroom amp and a living room amp in my own experience.

 

[jwp2]

The twin is s a great amp, I’ve been enjoying mine since 93.

 

[middy]

Not the Tone Master. The big, 70 pound, throw your back out version. I got it used for a smoking deal.

Now, I've never gotten along with Fender amps. I've had three that I sold- a Blues Junior, a Hot Rod Deluxe, and the first version of the Mustang 3. Vox seems to give me the sound I hear in my head. I just figured that Fender amps were one of those things that a lot of people like but it just wasn't for me, like black olives.

But this amp... its a monster. I can't crank it past 2 because I have little dogs and I don't want to hurt their little ears. But even at that volume, it fills the room and just kind of... sparkles. My Strat sounds Strattier. My Tele sounds twangier. My Les Paul sounds like the voice of angels coming down from heaven. The on board reverb is just incredible.

I get why so many people are wanting to get rid of them and downsize. Twins are huge, and heavy. You could warm a medium sized room with the heat coming out of the back of this thing when I turned it off. Its way more amp than anyone could possibly need. They're also cool, and fun, and iconic. I wish I had bought one years ago. It's my 85 watt bedroom amp.

I'm not getting rid of my AC15. Its still my favorite amp of all time. But it might get neglected for a while.

Do yourself a favor and plug an SD-1 into the normal channel, all knobs at noon, volume at the edge of pain. Rawk

 

[Radspin]

The second input I each channel is 6 db lower. It makes the volume a little more controllable.

Everyone should have a chance to play through a Twin Reverb at some point in their life.

 

[The Stever]

Yeah baby! A good twin reverb is amazing and classic beyond belief.

Went to Disneyland in 1963-65. Marelee Rush and the Turnabouts were playing outside at night...magical!! I was a long way away, but remember to this day how great that Twin Reverb sounded that night in Disneyland.

A few years later, I find myself in down town Seattle (after a family lunch at Ivars) with my dad (who hated the fact I played guitar!) on first ave at the front of a music store.

The owner of the store ( a big guy smoking a big ol cigar with a rubber tip on it) asks us "What you looking for?' I'm 11 or 12 year old, frightened beyond belief to actually play something in front of somebody.....

My dad makes up some bull ****e about how good I am for my age, yada, yada..now, I'm really freaking out!

The owner grabs a Lyle thin line (335 knock off, but hollow body) off the wall, plugs it into a brand spanking new Twin Reverb and hands the guitar to me.

"Oh crap!!...what do I do now?" think I. I've hardly played in front of anyone....let alone my dad!

Anyway, I strum the few chords I know....the old cigar smoking fart adjust the amp settings and suddenly, I'm playing the Animals version of House Of The Rising Sun! The front door is open, several people start gathering around, (mostly homeless drunks and a half dozen relatives) and suddenly, I'm a young rock star! If only life was that simple!

I'd love to say it resulted in a wonderful life in music, but all it did was show my guitar hating dad that I could actually do something other than watch TV and eat snacks!

After 50 some years, I still think of this moment once in a while. House Of The Rising Sun....who knew??!!

Wonderful story! It gave me a needed pause….ah yes.. back then life WAS simpler. It was slower pace. No damn cell phones, email and social media. When you got in your car you had two choices - turn on the radio or pop in a cassette. Then roll down the window and think about.. whatever…

I recently jammed with a guy who bought one of my guitars. The first time I got together with him was at his condo I was very surprised to see two BF ‘65 RI TRs. My first thought was this seems like overkill! Personally I cannot remember when I last played through a TR. WO!! I was blown away! I don’t think I’ve heard an amp that sounds like a TR. I prefer a clean platform and since I’m a bedroom player size and weight is not a major factor. I’m also a considering BM, DS and Bassman. This thread is very helpful.

 

[Gunny]

That Super Reverb has to weigh over 100 lbs.

Actually, only 65 lb. I had two SFs and a BF reissue. I had the same love affair with those as our OP with the Twin Reverb. I also had a Cyber Twin which was pretty awesome. Did all that before returning to my strength - bass.
Enjoy that Twin Reverb amp. I couldn't lift any of them any more, including the AC30 my friend had (75 lb) but they sure sound great.

 

[24 track]

I was given a Fender EVIL twin to work on Dual rectifer 100 watt monstrosity , I told the owner to take it to a certified shop as he had paid 400.00 for some one else to go through it and not fix it . I wasnt going to trouble myself to diagnose what some other monkey with a soldering Iron had done before me .

literally 80 lbs of 50/100 watts I was not interested in touching it

 

[jrblue]

I agree that twins are good amps and that overly lound amps like this can still be really nice when throttled. But that still doesn't make them as good a choice, IMO, than many, many other amps that simply work and sound even better than a twin in a smaller space. I had a Vox 125 Lead through a Marshall 4X12 while living in a small home and with the right setup, even that monster was good. Why don't I still have it? Because other, smaller amps were even better. I totally disagree with the common argument that a powerful amp can't work well in quieter settings. That doesn't make them the best choice, though -- IMO of course.

 

[VonBonfire]

Semi hollow with humbuckers into Twin vibrato channel 1. Volume 10 treble 10 mids 1 bass 1. Adjust guitar volume as needed. How I play every gig except the most low volume of affairs I might use a dirt box. Otherwise straight in.

Coming from a 100 watt 4 hole Marshall a Twin feels like a modestly powered toy amp. I use a cart, it's not a big deal at all weight wise. They are cheap, reliable, and have just enough power to get on top of a loud band and maintain your clean and edge of breakup tones. They do demand player dynamics and control of your guitar volume and tone controls. It is the ultimate bluesman's rig IMO.

JBL's are great I have a Twin loaded with them but they blow up every five or six months with regular weekly gigs so I have a Celestion loaded Twin that's been pulling most of the duty the past few years.

 

[wildschwein]

I've got a Red Knob and it is a dream amp for me. I did get to play through an SF Twin for a short time back in the '90s and loved that too but I do like to have an FX loop.

 

[Rick Lanahan]

Selling some weight's you might try so as to get in shape for the Twin.

 

[Mechanic]

All I can say is I want to play thru one.