School Me on Mid 70s SF Twins.
- Thread starter TeleTex82
- Start date
Just had to keep things straight for the uninitiated. (;^)
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Thanks for the great advice, Wally! Waiting on more detailed info but it has been outfitted with a 3 prong cord, and according to seller has been serviced recently, as in within the last couple of years. Have to wait til Monday to see it again but I will see if they can pull the chassis out for a gander. Here are some pics...
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I have found a Twin to be too loud except for outdoor gigs. The thing is, it can be a bit sterile at 3 volume. Add to that the weight and no, I dont find it a useful amp. Frankly I find my BFDR on 3 volume to be plenty loud in a 5 piece blues/rock band. One caveat though is it is set up to be loud for it's size. I cant remember the last time I had it above 3. It is pretty much off by 2, which is common.
A Pro Reverb which is the same size, lighter and 2 x 12 also, is far more useful in most situations.
In recent years SF Twins could be had as low as $500, but that has changed and $1000 is a fair price. ....may be a good price due to it's condition, and prices are nuts in today's world.
If you REALLY want a Twin get it. If you want something more useable out there get one of the Fenders with 2 x 6L6 configuration.
A Pro Reverb which is the same size, lighter and 2 x 12 also, is far more useful in most situations.
In recent years SF Twins could be had as low as $500, but that has changed and $1000 is a fair price. ....may be a good price due to it's condition, and prices are nuts in today's world.
If you REALLY want a Twin get it. If you want something more useable out there get one of the Fenders with 2 x 6L6 configuration.
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chris m.
Doctor of Teleocity
You can remove two of the 6L6s from a Twin, I believe, but it won’t be much softer or lighter.
I've owned three mid 70's twins. I believe they sounds better than any other fender amp-even at low volume. Use it as your at home amp and you are all set- you will probably have to put $200 into service....great amps -I say buy it....even though my 1975 was pristine and it was all I could do to get $700 for it a few years ago- I regret selling it as now I have a beat to hell 75 in its place 
glenlivet
Tele-Afflicted
Holy cow....yea...that is one clean twin. Looks like it was never gigged at all.
Even just loading them in/out will cause some dings in the tolex.
No beer can circles on top, and the grill is not discolored from smoke.
hepular
Tele-Afflicted
i played through my teacher's silver-face twin every friday for years at lessons at 'room volume' best sound EVER. paragraph.
@TeleTex82, that is a clean amp. If it is from the mid-‘70s, it came with a grounded power cord; and the AC wiring inside the chassis needs to refined, ime.
If they don’t want to pull the chassis and they don’t have a detailed work order/receipt BUT the amp sounds good, it is worth that much to someone who wants this type of amp, imho. In your position and if you can’t verify what has/has not been done to the amp during ‘service‘ work, I would still counteroffer at $750 and hope they would come down from their asking price. One has to asks how Fender sells new TRRI amps for more, right?? This mint, handwired example you are looking at is a superior amp in comparison to a TRRI.
Weight….ime, if one wants to play a ‘heavy’ amp, one needs to observe proper lifting techniques. If I am carrying much weight in an amp for any distance, I am going bend my knees, squat down, and wrap my arms around the amp’s cab….forget the handle. Of course, it is handy if like
@TeleTex82 and I you are 6’5” with long arms.
If they don’t want to pull the chassis and they don’t have a detailed work order/receipt BUT the amp sounds good, it is worth that much to someone who wants this type of amp, imho. In your position and if you can’t verify what has/has not been done to the amp during ‘service‘ work, I would still counteroffer at $750 and hope they would come down from their asking price. One has to asks how Fender sells new TRRI amps for more, right?? This mint, handwired example you are looking at is a superior amp in comparison to a TRRI.
Weight….ime, if one wants to play a ‘heavy’ amp, one needs to observe proper lifting techniques. If I am carrying much weight in an amp for any distance, I am going bend my knees, squat down, and wrap my arms around the amp’s cab….forget the handle. Of course, it is handy if like
@TeleTex82 and I you are 6’5” with long arms.
mad dog
Friend of Leo's
Not sure where you are, but over here (northeast states), there are many for sale. Some really good ones out there. They don't move quickly, even at quite reasonable prices. Which tells me the demand is way down for the big, heavy and wonderful amps. Super Reverbs can be had on the relative cheaps also. This is not something new ... I try to remind myself how it is when I'm tempted to grab one. Because it's really not easy to sell the big amps these days.
glenlivet
Tele-Afflicted
Awwwww......that stinks.......
but...no worries....
there are a lot of them out there, not many that clean....but, they're out there.
Yeah, I'll keep my eye out for another. Bummed but life goes on. I did play a sweet Bassman the other day...
I am 6/4" and 222 lbs., but carrying my UL Twin with JBL speakers is closer to 100 lbs and very awkward. The weight will really surprise you the first time you grab with that little bitty handle and all that weight spread out away from you. Bear hugging actually works better.
But a wonderful tone....worth it.
I was afraid of that....have to move quick much of the time.
It is like when I used to buy up old trucks, if you wanted to get them you showed up with cash and a trailer just to look at it. If you had to come back with a trailer later, it would be gone.
Big amps popularity has been in decline for years with the minimalist movement, but it is not because the amps sound bad. I still can't understand why a Champ would sell for about the same as Twin these days....just nuts. Ignore the fallacy that a Twin will not sound good unless cranked, complete lie. They have a linear tone really, clean all the way up and sound great at all volumes.
tele_savales
Tele-Afflicted
A hernia.
tele_savales
Tele-Afflicted
There's dozens of them in every possible state of road wear and questionable moddage on CL, ebay, and Reverb but I rarely see one, especially a clean one, for 1000 bucks. Might as well grab it. Just so you have that Twin Reverb thing handled.
I had a new one in ‘73. As I remember the original speakers were woefully inadequate and I ended up with a couple of Altecs in it. After that the amp was magic. Clean forever and as some folks have noted they sound good at any volume.
