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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink Help With Amp Selection

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A grand for a Fender reissue 6G15? Sounds crazy to me. There are lots better alternatives, IMO. Geez, I think I could turn up a vintage blackface one for that kind of money.

IMO, the very best deal on a good loud-and-clean tube amp is a well-maintained 70s hand-wired Silverface Twin Reverb. Preferably pre-ultralinear (generally '76 and earlier). Of course, pre-master-volume even better, but they're still just fine up to mid-70s. They are loud, for sure, but that's why they're reasonable - most guitar players do not want loud and clean. But I beg to differ that a mid-size to large Fender combo amp doesn't surf just fine. The reverb is not exactly the same as a 6G15, but lots and lots of surf and surf-style bands use silverface Fenders. Every time I ever saw or opened for Los Straitjackets back in the 90s and early 2000s, they were running either Deluxe or Vibrolux Reverbs in a club situation, and sounded great to me on the surfier stuff. In fact, that's what I typically use(d) myself, unless people whine too much about the volume in which case I mic a Princeton Reverb through the house PA. And I have an old 6G15 and a bunch of other reverbs. I only break them out with a larger amp on a big stage, which is pretty rare these days.

Over on the steel guitar forum, Michael Brebes (So Cal) has a nice-looking '74 Silverface with no speakers for $650. Michael is a solid amp tech, and he went over this one. You can read the story on this one here - https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=362866

I don't know Michael except via that forum, but I drool over the stuff he posts over there. If I didn't already have a '66 blackface Twin Reverb, that amp woulda' already been headed here. Of course, shipping ain't gonna be cheap, your location says Eastern time zone. But I routinely see nice 70s silverface Twin Reverbs pretty reasonable in the vicinity here (PA, NJ, MD, etc) if you're willing to be just a little patient. If you just gotta have something, I'd just get something really cheap until I found what I wanted. Just me.

Don't buy a new amp. And don't buy a Deluxe Reverb!

I agree on not buying a new (printed circuit board) amp. But if a vintage silverface Deluxe Reverb turned up reasonable (good luck on that), I'd grab it in a heartbeat. The most versatile amp ever made, IMO. Any gig I play, pretty much any style including when I play pedal steel (whenever we get back to playing again after all this covid mess), I could handle with a DR provided there's good PA support in a larger place. Unless you really want to shake the rafters. And a Twin will do that.

The Delverados - surf, punk, trash, twang - Facebook
Chicken Tractor Deluxe - hardcore Americana - Facebook and Website
The Telegrassers - semi-electric bluegrass/Americana - Facebook

Yeah, that Custom '68 Vibrolux is just the ticket. It's also built on the same board as the two I mentioned previously. Brownface circuit. That plus a Surfybear and you're sounding 60's authentic!

EDIT: No, I guess it's not based on the same circuit but is closer to blackface. I'd still recommend the Vibroverb reissue or the Custom Vibrolux over this.

Last edited: Oct 23, 2020 21:26:00

well... what about this fella...

super long link

with a surfybear? thats a bit of a drive... I'm northern Virginia... but... maybe I can make an offer..

Last edited: Nov 05, 2020 09:47:41

It might be a little too far really... dang.. I do think I will go with a surfybear for now though. I listened to some samples online. That gives me say...1100 to find a nice amp...

again guys.. I really appreciate all the help and knowledge... Thanks!

You should really edit that long Reverb link. It's forcing a long scroll off the page. All you need it this:

https://reverb.com/item/30470681-fender-band-master-1967-head-and-2x12-cabinet-piggy-back-excellent-condition

The Bandmaster looks pretty nice. Replaced speakers, which affects the value - but the transformers look right. And those 75 Watt Eminence Legends may well be better for surf anyway. But I'd ask a lot of question, and might try to dicker some before trekking up there. Media PA is just southwest suburban Philly, about 140 miles from Tyson's Corner VA. If you hit it when the traffic isn't bad, it's probably 2-1/2 hours or so from there. Of course, DC-Philly traffic can be nightmarish.

My first 'good' amp was a '65 blackface Bandmaster. I built a cab for it, I could just afford the head at the time (high school, circa 1969 or 70). They're great clean sounding, but don't have a lot of juice, especially with a Fender Mustang. I ran a Electro-Harmonix LPB-1 (Linear Power Booster) - the one that plugs directly into the amp. That brought it to life. At some point, to get reverb, I took a line out off the speaker of a small Univox that had reverb and ran that into the input of the Bandmaster - that could goose it up pretty well. But as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather have a silverface Deluxe or Vibrolux Reverb any day, for that kind of money.

I'd still take my time if I were you. It doesn't sound like you really know what you want. Buy in haste, repent at leisure. Smile

The Delverados - surf, punk, trash, twang - Facebook
Chicken Tractor Deluxe - hardcore Americana - Facebook and Website
The Telegrassers - semi-electric bluegrass/Americana - Facebook

Any decently-powered Fender amp will work with the reverb tank. You want a nice guitar too, so that playing is enjoyable and relaxing

If you can afford vintage gear, a 63 Blond Showman and tone ring cab(s) loaded with D130F

66 Pro Reverb with 2 x 12" speakers is good for surf

63 Vibroverb with 2 x 10" speakers is awesome (with bias-vary trem for hypnotic tremolo).

63 Brown Vibrasonic with a JBL D130F with harmonic trem is about as musically awesome as you can get - and you'll never want to play another amp again

If you want a big bathtub, get a 73 Dual Showman Reverb with a 2 x 15" cab loaded with JBL D130F - you'll hear every nook and cranny in the sound

He who dies with the most tubes... wins

Surf Daddies

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 14:56:15

Thanks again everyone. I have a Jazzmaster Vintera which is new and I really like it. I also have an older Jag but I like the Jazzmaster better already. It just feels good even though it is probably a less expensive guitar.

I have narrowed it down to the bandmaster with cabinet posted earlier or the Vibrolux reissue here (not 68 version)
The guy with the bandmaster can meet me in MD this week and I’m still waiting to hear if the Vibrolux owner will ship it to me.

I am going with a surfy bear after much reading and listening to samples. Seems like a great value for what it is

I think I have narrowed it down to those 2 options. The Vibrolux is probably a good deal judging by the condition and would save me some cash. The bandmaster looks sweet though. Tough call. If I can’t make up my mind I will grab the pawn shop excelsior and mate it with the surfy bear. It’s a tough call but I will narrow my choices to those two with the plan C audible. Haha. Feel free to chime in on those options. Again, many thanks for helping me out.

Mahalo!

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 14:56:42

Right now I have DAddario flatwound 11s on, but I am going to get some 12s of something. I’ll look into those! Thanks

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 14:56:48

As long as it's been well-maintained, I'd go vintage hand-wired over modern PCB reissue any day of the week. But well-maintained is essential. Almost anything on a vintage Fender is fixable, but it can get expensive if you have to do a lot.

As much as he's not a PCB fan, a Fender Excelsior and a SurfyBear Metal will cost you about $600 and give you a great surf sound.

Yeah, a relatively simple PCB amp like the Excelsior or Blues Jr. is fine if you don't want a lot of power. There's not a lot in those, so they're not so hard to repair. The problem with a lot of PCB amps with higher-power and a lot of circuitry in them is that often don't handle the heat generated by that power well and they're relatively harder to repair. There's no problem with PCB amps if they're well designed, but a lot of them aren't, IMO. Many feature sketchy wave soldering, pots and jacks directly mounted to the circuit board, which means if you handle the amp roughly at all you're likely to crack the board, as well as the soldering/heat issues.

I personally love the '63 Vibroverb reissue - I've had a few, IMO the best-sounding reissue Fender's ever made. PCB, but they were made early-on in Fender's reissue program and seem well made. If you're getting an outboard reverb, you could also consider a tweed 4x10" Bassman. The reissues are PCB also, but the early ones have been workhorses, can generally be had fairly reasonable, and the lack of reverb keeps the circuitry somewhat simpler. The very best amp I own is a real '57 2-input Bassman. With a good reverb tank, it is glorious. If you find an early Bassman reissue that has been well-maintained, they are good amps - I know players who have been using them all along for the last 30 years since they came out.

I also agree that any good-and-clean sounding Fender amp with good reverb will do the trick. But there are a lot of variations, which may suit one's personal situation better or worse.

The Delverados - surf, punk, trash, twang - Facebook
Chicken Tractor Deluxe - hardcore Americana - Facebook and Website
The Telegrassers - semi-electric bluegrass/Americana - Facebook

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 14:56:54

Thanks agin everyone... Hopefully something works out... I'll probably order the surfy bear today. I'm sold on that. It definitely helps my budget out. I'll spend the rest of the day/weekend poking about for an amp. The bandmaster may be a bit too far even with the Maryland location the seller provided... it is like the farthest place in MD from me.. haha. Anyway.. still thinking and got some new things to think about/ look at. I think the overall goal is to keep my budget at 1500 including the surfybear. So roughly 1000 for the amp... I think the used vibrolux I posted is definitely in contention. Something more vintage would be cool for sure, but I have to consider the cost. Nothing says in a year I can't sell what I get after getting more comfortable with surf and get some showstopper vintage setup. I should find something respectable for a grand for sure. I'm super glad I found this community. Very grateful for all the opinions.

I had a '73 silver face Twin for years, but I haven't played out for quite a while so I traded it it for a Vibrolux. I liked that ok but I ended up getting a 2015 Mustang II (40W), which is an awesome little amp. I can get the Twin, Deluxe, Princeton and more. Being able to use headphones is a plus for me, been playing at home a lot more since I got it.

I ended up getting a second one recently, $90 from Reverb.com. It's lightweight and versatile, definitely worth looking into!

Well, the verdict is in. I purchased a vintage 70s silverface deluxe reverb. Thanks everyone for your help!

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 14:57:08

Haha. I’ll get something uploaded soon with the whole setup.

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