Any Premier 90 Reverb unit owners?

zak

Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 2728
1 Link Pin

Posted on Dec 12 2007 05:27 PM

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 16:10:47

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jimmyjazz

Joined: Apr 20, 2007
Posts: 47
Twin Cities
1 Map Pin

Posted on Dec 13 2007 08:03 PM

andy
Update:

I still have the guts - if anyone needs any replacement parts to bring a Premier 90 back to life, fire me an email as I would like to them put to good use!

btw, I'm very happy with my '64 6G15!

I PM'd you but thought I'd reply to the list too.

We have three Premier 90's and I'm sourcing parts to build a 6G15 over the holidays.

If no one wants the remaining parts, let me know. From your pics, it isn't too pretty :).

—

Looking for some jazz and a little libations - js

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andy

Joined: Nov 24, 2006
Posts: 34

Posted on Dec 13 2007 08:35 PM

Hey jimmyjazz,
Not sure if there's much there that would be of use for a 6G15 (I don't have the reverb pan anymore) - I sent you an email but it was before I saw this post. I can email you a few pictures this weekend if you want a better look at what parts are there.

Cheers.

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Richard

Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 1683
Georgia
United States

Posted on Dec 25 2007 08:11 AM

andy
Richard - I'm surprised those old units were written off by those techs. Maybe it was a time/cost judgement call on their part? The design of the circuit is decent enough, so it's just a matter of upgrading or replacing parts until it works. As the Premier units don't fetch anything near what Fender unit goes for maybe they didn't think they were worth putting any effort into 'em?

Late reply! The two units I had sounded cool, though they couldn't be played at practice/gig volume because of the high-pitched shriek that came from them. I don't know anything about how circuits are designed...in fact, I barely remember what the inside of the thing looked like. There were two amp techs I took both of mine to, about two years apart, and they both told me that they couldn't be fixed. Since I didn't understand how or why, I eventually sold them.

—

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

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tubesNtweed

Joined: Sep 07, 2011
Posts: 507

Posted on Jul 02 2012 11:41 PM

I never played through an outboard tank (use onboard on my Twin Reverb 'cause I'm cheap), but these things look really cool. Never heard one, and they used to get like $150-$250 on ebay, but now they're going for like $450-$550 and it's ridiculous. I guess anything can look like the coolest 50's sci-fi robot thingamajig, but still be a junky $500 paperweight that can shock the hell out of ya. I should've gotten one when they didn't require a loan to buy.

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mad_dog

Joined: Sep 23, 2008
Posts: 349
Montclair, NJ

Posted on Jul 03 2012 10:30 AM

I had one long ago. What I found was the unit was prone to noise. Good tech help can make a huge difference here. My go to amp tech rerouted some of the wires, quieted it down considerably. As to reverb sound, it's gainier, soupier than surf lovers might favor. Really fine for west coast jump blues. It's a more obvious pre-amp type effect than you might be used to in the Fender unit, less precise and even more atmospheric.

For cleaner sounds, probably not your best choice. Still, a really cool reverb if you can find a good one.
MD

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Richard

Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 1683
Georgia
United States

Posted on Apr 26 2013 11:33 AM

IvanP wrote:

I remember reading somewhere that Evan Foster used one of these in the early days of the Boss Martians. I believe he even used it on the song "XKE" which is simply awesome, one of the great surf tunes of the nineties. And the reverb there sounds great.

Ivan

I posted on "XKE!"'s Youtube vid about this where someone else (probably from this board) made the same assertion, but I recently asked Evan about his use of the Premier 90 and his response was:

"Not a rumor at all -- got my first Premier unit in 1994 and used it for about half the tracks on our 1st Dionysus LP/CD, then about 6 songs in I finally got my Oct '64 Reverb unit"

He also told me he used a Fender solid state reverb.

—

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

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RaistMagus

Joined: Mar 30, 2011
Posts: 388
Copenhagen
Denmark

Posted on Apr 26 2013 03:27 PM

I've had the opportunity to play through one. It worked well as kind of a preamp, tube-coloring the tone. It's reverb was somewhere between the one found in Deluxes/Twins/Supers and the 6G15.

Not bad, but if I had to invest money in a reverb unit (and lug around a big box just for the reverb) I would go for the 6G15 (as I eventually did).

—

https://zakandthekrakens.bandcamp.com/
https://www.dirtyfuse.com

Last edited: Apr 26, 2013 15:28:40

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SamDBL

Joined: Sep 19, 2016
Posts: 239
Tampa
United States

Posted on Dec 05 2016 09:59 AM

So I'm researching this unit as there is one near me (not near enough to just go try out real soon) for an ok price. Right now I play through an sf super, twin, or pro. I find the reverb to be a little cavernous. I would like a fender unit at some point, but not enough money for that yet. The surfy bear is cool, but I can't put stuff like that together. Hence I'm considering this premier. I have a couple of questions:

Prevailing opinion seems to be that to not suitable for the typical surf sound. But the videos I'm seeing sound pretty drippy. What's the big difference between this and the fender, tone wise?

Are these inherently too noisy for gigging levels? I see reports of them humming, hissing and squealing. But is that just due to not being maintained and old (caps, tubes, etc)? This one has supposedly just been serviced by tech.

Would I be better off trying the mod of putting the amps reverb send into the normal channel on amp? I assume that just gives me the eq options of the channel rather than really changing the qualities of the reverb.

—

Guitarist for Black Valley Moon & Down By Law

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zak Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2728	Posted on Dec 12 2007 05:27 PM This post has been removed by the author. Last edited: Sep 23, 2009 16:10:47 Top
jimmyjazz Joined: Apr 20, 2007 Posts: 47 Twin Cities	Posted on Dec 13 2007 08:03 PM andy Update: I still have the guts - if anyone needs any replacement parts to bring a Premier 90 back to life, fire me an email as I would like to them put to good use! btw, I'm very happy with my '64 6G15! I PM'd you but thought I'd reply to the list too. We have three Premier 90's and I'm sourcing parts to build a 6G15 over the holidays. If no one wants the remaining parts, let me know. From your pics, it isn't too pretty :). — Looking for some jazz and a little libations - js Top
andy Joined: Nov 24, 2006 Posts: 34	Posted on Dec 13 2007 08:35 PM Hey jimmyjazz, Not sure if there's much there that would be of use for a 6G15 (I don't have the reverb pan anymore) - I sent you an email but it was before I saw this post. I can email you a few pictures this weekend if you want a better look at what parts are there. Cheers. Top
Richard Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 1683 Georgia	Posted on Dec 25 2007 08:11 AM andy Richard - I'm surprised those old units were written off by those techs. Maybe it was a time/cost judgement call on their part? The design of the circuit is decent enough, so it's just a matter of upgrading or replacing parts until it works. As the Premier units don't fetch anything near what Fender unit goes for maybe they didn't think they were worth putting any effort into 'em? Late reply! The two units I had sounded cool, though they couldn't be played at practice/gig volume because of the high-pitched shriek that came from them. I don't know anything about how circuits are designed...in fact, I barely remember what the inside of the thing looked like. There were two amp techs I took both of mine to, about two years apart, and they both told me that they couldn't be fixed. Since I didn't understand how or why, I eventually sold them. — The Mystery Men? El Capitan and The Reluctant Sadists SSS Agent #31 Top
tubesNtweed Joined: Sep 07, 2011 Posts: 507	Posted on Jul 02 2012 11:41 PM I never played through an outboard tank (use onboard on my Twin Reverb 'cause I'm cheap), but these things look really cool. Never heard one, and they used to get like $150-$250 on ebay, but now they're going for like $450-$550 and it's ridiculous. I guess anything can look like the coolest 50's sci-fi robot thingamajig, but still be a junky $500 paperweight that can shock the hell out of ya. I should've gotten one when they didn't require a loan to buy. Top
mad_dog Joined: Sep 23, 2008 Posts: 349 Montclair, NJ	Posted on Jul 03 2012 10:30 AM I had one long ago. What I found was the unit was prone to noise. Good tech help can make a huge difference here. My go to amp tech rerouted some of the wires, quieted it down considerably. As to reverb sound, it's gainier, soupier than surf lovers might favor. Really fine for west coast jump blues. It's a more obvious pre-amp type effect than you might be used to in the Fender unit, less precise and even more atmospheric. For cleaner sounds, probably not your best choice. Still, a really cool reverb if you can find a good one. MD Top
Richard Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 1683 Georgia	Posted on Apr 26 2013 11:33 AM IvanP wrote: I remember reading somewhere that Evan Foster used one of these in the early days of the Boss Martians. I believe he even used it on the song "XKE" which is simply awesome, one of the great surf tunes of the nineties. And the reverb there sounds great. Ivan I posted on "XKE!"'s Youtube vid about this where someone else (probably from this board) made the same assertion, but I recently asked Evan about his use of the Premier 90 and his response was: "Not a rumor at all -- got my first Premier unit in 1994 and used it for about half the tracks on our 1st Dionysus LP/CD, then about 6 songs in I finally got my Oct '64 Reverb unit" He also told me he used a Fender solid state reverb. — The Mystery Men? El Capitan and The Reluctant Sadists SSS Agent #31 Top
RaistMagus Joined: Mar 30, 2011 Posts: 388 Copenhagen	Posted on Apr 26 2013 03:27 PM I've had the opportunity to play through one. It worked well as kind of a preamp, tube-coloring the tone. It's reverb was somewhere between the one found in Deluxes/Twins/Supers and the 6G15. Not bad, but if I had to invest money in a reverb unit (and lug around a big box just for the reverb) I would go for the 6G15 (as I eventually did). — https://zakandthekrakens.bandcamp.com/ https://www.dirtyfuse.com Last edited: Apr 26, 2013 15:28:40 Top
SamDBL Joined: Sep 19, 2016 Posts: 239 Tampa	Posted on Dec 05 2016 09:59 AM So I'm researching this unit as there is one near me (not near enough to just go try out real soon) for an ok price. Right now I play through an sf super, twin, or pro. I find the reverb to be a little cavernous. I would like a fender unit at some point, but not enough money for that yet. The surfy bear is cool, but I can't put stuff like that together. Hence I'm considering this premier. I have a couple of questions: Prevailing opinion seems to be that to not suitable for the typical surf sound. But the videos I'm seeing sound pretty drippy. What's the big difference between this and the fender, tone wise? Are these inherently too noisy for gigging levels? I see reports of them humming, hissing and squealing. But is that just due to not being maintained and old (caps, tubes, etc)? This one has supposedly just been serviced by tech. Would I be better off trying the mod of putting the amps reverb send into the normal channel on amp? I assume that just gives me the eq options of the channel rather than really changing the qualities of the reverb. — Guitarist for Black Valley Moon & Down By Law Top

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Any Premier 90 Reverb unit owners?