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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Fender Dual Professional Amp question

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Badger
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Link Posted on Jul 06 2014 06:04 PM

This amp has some mention before (including mostly search hits on the Vibro King thread), and I've seen Ralf's xlnt video from a few years back when he had his for sale. (Some picking; wow.)

Local shop has one of these, pristine, for what would be $2-300 more than they seem to go for (when they come available). Frankly, it is the first amp of 'modern times" in quite awhile that I walked up to, set the tone controls (incl reverb) and literally fell in love. (Even Ralf said in his vid it's kinda hard to appreciate the tone from it without being in the room.)

It's probably running more coin because the speaker complement was recently changed to a pair of Weber 12A150W's. Sorry to bother but it's the first thing in quite awhile that's actually made me contemplate selling something.

  1. Was this 90's era amp pre- PCB days?
  2. For those who've played on, or worked on one, or are familiar with that speaker, would that speaker color the tone from the Celestions I understand it came with? (More curiosity; the way it sounds now is awesome.) So is that Alnico speaker pair what I'm appreciating or is the amp that good?

I don't care if I never turn it up past 3. I don't need it but... I might need it. Thanks for listening.
Smile

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Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

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LeeVanCleef
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Link Posted on Jul 06 2014 06:47 PM

For Fender, the "pre-PCB days" ended in the mid 80s with the "Red Knob" series. However, since the Dual Professional is a Custom Shop amp, I'm pretty sure it's handwired.

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Old punks never die... They just become surf rockers.

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Badger
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Link Posted on Jul 06 2014 07:19 PM

Thanks sir! Smile

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Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

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eddiekatcher
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Link Posted on Jul 06 2014 08:32 PM

It is hand wired but it uses a boat load of push on connectors. These are notorious for becoming a bit loose, building up corrosion and giving annoying problems. I had one for quite some time and converted it into a piggy back head (did a couple of these) however, I soldered all my push on connectors to eliminate potential problems.

I was never really into mine because it was really too clean, a bit sterile and refused to develop that compression that so many tube amps are noted for. It was a hoss though. Damn loud and damn heavy.

I know Ivan used one for quite some time and got great results out of it, but Ivan can great sounds playing through a box of cereal.

Make sure you exercise regularly and pick it up using your knees........not your back.

Best Reverbs,

ed

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Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

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Badger
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Link Posted on Jul 07 2014 06:52 AM

eddiekatcher wrote:

It is hand wired but it uses a boat load of push on connectors. These are notorious for becoming a bit loose, building up corrosion and giving annoying problems. I had one for quite some time and converted it into a piggy back head (did a couple of these) however, I soldered all my push on connectors to eliminate potential problems.

I was never really into mine because it was really too clean, a bit sterile and refused to develop that compression that so many tube amps are noted for. It was a hoss though. Damn loud and damn heavy.

I know Ivan used one for quite some time and got great results out of it, but Ivan can great sounds playing through a box of cereal.

Make sure you exercise regularly and pick it up using your knees........not your back.

Best Reverbs,

ed

Ed, thanks for your insights. (It wouldn't be gigged, it would sit at home like a gun-safe; install in house, in perpetuity. Have been there done that with TR's and 1/2 stacks back in the day and don't have the $$ for a roadie, lol.) I appreciate the tonal impressions; that was the other question - if perhaps I was listening to something special based on the alnico speakers that had been put in it.

Thanks sir for the intel about the nature of the build & components inside. Maybe I'll just save my pop bottles & have Allen build me something a bit smaller.
Smile

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Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

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WoodyJ
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Link Posted on Jul 07 2014 09:59 AM

I had one as well, serial # 0061, purchased new in 1996. And, one of the two that Eddie K converted into a head is in my basement. It belongs to an ex-bandmate.

Without getting technical, here's my take on these:

I agree with EK regarding the too clean/sterile thing. I HATED the Celestion Vintage 30's that came in the amp. They may be suitable for some some types of music but they were horrible for the trad surf we were playing at the time. I believe Ivan replaced his V30's with Weber Californias which had to have been a massive improvement. I also believe a tube swap would have been beneficial since Fender's factory-installed ones aren't the best.

The 3-knob reverb was good but not as good as an outboard tank even though it was advertised as being the same thing. It was better than the usual one knob onboard Fender reverb. Nothing beats a tank.

The reason I sold mine was twofold: I had a '67 Dual Showman setup that would blow the Dual Pro into the weeds. And at the same time I had an early (90's) reissue Twin Reverb that just plain sounded better than the Dual Pro. Even though the Twin was a dreaded PTP amp and had no mods - it even had the stock "Fender" speakers and crappy original tubes - it sounded wonderful.

The Dual Pro is a lovely amp, has more volume than you will ever need and sounds pretty good if you like a uber clean, choked sound. I am pretty sure that changing tubes and speakers ($$$) would make a world of difference but I'm not sure if that would make one of these sound as good as that old reissue Twin that I stupidly sold for $700 over 10 years ago.

Just my experience, others will probably disagree since "that" (your) tone is such a subjective thing. Since the one you are looking at has had a speaker swap (I am a big fan of Webers) and most likely the tubes as well, so if has "your" sound - Go for it! These are rare amps. BTW, the original MSRP on the Dual Pro was $3000 back in the late '90's.

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Jack Booth
(aka WoodyJ)

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Last edited: Jul 07, 2014 10:05:59

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Badger
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Link Posted on Jul 07 2014 10:51 AM

Jack, thank you as well for weighing-in. It sounds like what I was hearing (or a substantial factor in it) was the Weber Alnicos, since I've heard similar things now as to the basic amp without. So maybe I just gave myself a free road-test of those speakers; and that's always worth filing away. I'll have to dig deeper & see what's in it for tubes, etc.

Again, much appreciate the response.

—

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

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