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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Newest Member of the Fender Outboard Reverb Tank Owner's Society!

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Well, I finally did it. I bit the bullet and just went for it. No turning back now...I bought a tank!!! Of course I realize I'm waaaay late to the party, but better late than never, right?

It's interesting...I'm finding that I'm having more of a psychological reaction than an aural one. Don't get me wrong, the sheer satisfaction and joy associated with hearing THEE sound dripping throughout the house is absolutely incredible and so obviously incomparable! However, I wasn't quite prepared for what's happening internally. Mind if I share with you brethren? Perhaps other have felt the same sorts of reactions?

Sure, there are many other applications for an outboard reverb tank, but none of them is so quintessentially associated and characterized with our beloved Surf Music. Arguably, it is THEE single most important gear element that makes Surf, well...Surf! I'm feeling an overwhelming pride and guilty little personal satisfaction knowing that I now possess the key. Yes, yes, yes, I know there are many other elements to getting THEE sound, but this is about the tank itself. I feel like I've joined a secret society, become a member of an elite underground operation, been jumped into a reverb gang! It's really an indescribable warm fuzzy feeling!!!

Reverb Tanks...good for the soul!

Incidentally, it's a dead mint completely stock brown '63 RI. First order of business...shim mod. Next stop....NOS 6K6 and 12AT7!

Proud to be a member of the club!!!

Mr. Green Guitar Mr. Green Groovy Rock

Insect Surfers
The Tikiyaki Orchestra
The Scimitars
Lords Of Atlantis
Fiberglass Jungle - Surf Radio

Congratulations to you on your purchase! There's nothing like the "real thing," for sure. When I found mine (an original '61) I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I would bring it from the music room to the bedroom every night so that it would be the first thing I saw in the morning. While my wife certainly appreciates, and to a degree shares, my obsession with surf music, that was definitely pushing the limits of her understanding.

Enjoy it and I hope that the warm and fuzzy feeling never wears off!

-Nick

Gypsy Moonshine on Reverbnation
Gypsy Moonshine on Facebook

Shim mod? Oh, and congratulations.

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

Welcome to the club, brotha! We need to get together so we can A/B the difference between a new RI and my vintage silverface. Plus we can have a high-volume multi-tank kick-a-thon that will surely amaze all of your neighbors!!! Twisted Evil

A reverb tank for playin Bass????
Hmmm...

Kidding, kidding... congrats... I was shocked at the difference the 6k6 tube made to my RI still haven't done the 12at7.

"Maybe there aren't any surf bands; there's only surf music?" Tuck

Congrats man,
next stop,
Bass VI
and Dual Showman.
Big Grin

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Woot! Woot! Nice move, Johnpaul!
Thumbs Up

Fady

El Mirage @ ReverbNation

I hate to say it but I'm in that massive guilt mode that I got rid of my tank a few years ago. Since I'm only a home player/recorder, when the FRV1 came out, I decided to sell my Fender tank. I've got where I have my amp and effects where I want them, except that I want the tank again Sad

Shawn Martin
http://www.drummerman.net
http://www.youtube.com/GKacedrummerman
http://www.facebook.com/drumuitar

drumuitar wrote:

I hate to say it but I'm in that massive guilt mode that I got rid of my tank a few years ago. Since I'm only a home player/recorder, when the FRV1 came out, I decided to sell my Fender tank. I've got where I have my amp and effects where I want them, except that I want the tank again Sad

I'm right there with you! I sold my Gomez G-Spring when I went into panic mode after being unemployed for over a year. Stupid!!! As if the few hundred $ I got for it was really gonna matter in the long run! Like you, I'm not in a band or playing out, so my practice rig is more than adequate. But selling that Gomez was just plain stupid and I've regretted it every day since. Face Palm

You're not drunk if you can put your socks on while standing.

Last edited: May 26, 2012 21:57:03

Congratulations, Jonpaul! My first reverb unit was a MAJOR gateway drug to starting a surf band. I came across a used brown reissue in mid-'95 - $250!!! - and couldn't resist it. At the time my amp was a 100W Marshall JCM800, and I played it through a huge pedalboard plus a rack multiprocessor (Korg A3). All of a sudden, this thing that I've been trying to reach for months, the real surf tone, came within reach. It wasn't long after that that I got my first Fender amp, a blonde Blues Deluxe. It was a very short step from there to deciding that I REALLY gotta get me a surf band! Here I am some 16+ years later, all because of that chance find in mid-'95....

(BTW, that original brown RI unit is still in my possession and has been on indefinite loan to Patrick since the start of the Madeira.... Still sounding great!)

Anyway, mod it right, and enjoy the hell out of it!

Ivan
Lords of Atlantis on Facebook
The Madeira Official Website
The Madeira on Facebook
The Blair-Pongracic Band on Facebook
The Space Cossacks on Facebook
The Madeira Channel on YouTube

Congrats! Greeting from Argentina!

First, I bought the Malekko Spring Chicken (discontinued), then I bought the Danelectro Spring King because I could kick the shit out of it. But after I tried the real deal, I was blown away by the drip and ordered one the next day. It's all in the drip.

I agree with you. A real reverb tank is THEE single most important gear element for surf. I mean, you can have the best guitar and amp out there, but without the tank... I think THEE most important thing is the amplifier. You can have the cheapest guitar that goes out of tune and has the worst neck (speaking of a Fender/Squier/etc kinda type) but you have a tube amp that saves you. It's not the same having your dream Fender guitar and some cheap amplifier. You just can't make it sound.

And I can tell after working on a music store. For example, random guy wanted to buy a cheap guitar but wont do it because he thinks it would sound bad. We would go to the amp showroom and connect it through a Mesa Boogie Express 5:50. Random guy would try it and he would go: "Woo meeeeen, this guitar is freaking amazing, look how it sounds!" Yeah, that's right... I had to make a living haha. Which amp do you have?

Enjoy it!

Thumbs Up

Juan Manuel Peraita
Licuadoras Playeras (surf terror) on YOUTUBE
Licuadoras Playeras (surf terror) on FACEBOOK

Awesome! Welcome to the cult.

The Mystery Men?
El Capitan and The Reluctant Sadists
SSS Agent #31

I totally get it. I just purchased my first Fender Reverb Tank a week ago today. I felt the same way and thought you guys would think I was nuts for saying so. I'm so glad others feel the same. My wife says I was like a little kid getting his first bike. She kept staring at me like I'd ate all the cookies from the cookie jar. I scored a mint 63 Black tolex unit. I wanted a black one to match my sooped up Fender HotRod Deluxe. When I took it to my open mic gig I play at on Thursday nights people went crazy. They asked my what I did to my guitar. I told them I tanked it :-).....they didn't get it!....:-)

JonPaul,

Welcome. Better late than never.

Talk to you later,
Norm

Nuthin' boings like a tank

He who dies with the most tubes... wins

Surf Daddies

Last edited: May 29, 2012 20:46:32

Geez, thanks a lot everyone! I'm now auctioning a bunch of used gear so I can get another tank :). Selling mine has become my biggest gear regret, especially since I had paid $250 and will now be lucky if I can get one at twice that. Why the hell do the Fender silverface solid state units sell for so much now? In several cases, they're going for more than the tube units!

Shawn Martin
http://www.drummerman.net
http://www.youtube.com/GKacedrummerman
http://www.facebook.com/drumuitar

Last edited: May 29, 2012 23:37:30

I love me some tanks. Oh yeah. There's nothing like the high you get from the real deal. Many onboard tanks come very close, but outboard tanks go to 11!

And Stokemon, your inbox is full! Empty it! Wink

Matt "tha Kat" Lentz
Skippy and the Skipjacks: 2018-
Skippyandtheskipjacks.net
https://www.facebook.com/skippyandtheskipjacks
Otto and the Ottomans: 2014-2015
The Coconauts surf band: 2009-2014
www.theamazingcoconauts.com
Group Captain and the Mandrakes 2013
http://www.gcmband.com/
The Surfside IV: 2002-2005, 2008-2009
the Del-Vamps: 1992-1999, 2006-2007
http://www.dblcrown.com/delvamps.html

Last edited: May 29, 2012 23:39:24

drumuitar wrote:

Geez, thanks a lot everyone! I'm now auctioning a bunch of used gear so I can get another tank :). Selling mine has become my biggest gear regret, especially since I had paid $250 and will now be lucky if I can get one at twice that. Why the hell do the Fender silverface solid state units sell for so much now? In several cases, they're going for more than the tube units!

I've noticed that people are now wanting a lot of money for the solid-state reverb units. They really stink too. A friend of mine got one years ago for like $50 and he hated it. I'd hate to find out how much it sucks after dropping $600!

Matt "tha Kat" Lentz
Skippy and the Skipjacks: 2018-
Skippyandtheskipjacks.net
https://www.facebook.com/skippyandtheskipjacks
Otto and the Ottomans: 2014-2015
The Coconauts surf band: 2009-2014
www.theamazingcoconauts.com
Group Captain and the Mandrakes 2013
http://www.gcmband.com/
The Surfside IV: 2002-2005, 2008-2009
the Del-Vamps: 1992-1999, 2006-2007
http://www.dblcrown.com/delvamps.html

Yeah, there are several of the solid state models on eBay now that have BINs of close to 600. There's also been a bunch of those Lafayette echo/reverb units. I've never heard one but assume they're just an oilcan delay

Shawn Martin
http://www.drummerman.net
http://www.youtube.com/GKacedrummerman
http://www.facebook.com/drumuitar

I just got lucky on craigslist. I was going to give up and go for a brown one. I checked the one I was going to go for and there was a new listing for a 63 black one. I paid $475. just so you have a reference. There are out there, you just have to stay on it everyday.

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