Hi everybody, I have been wondering about vintage/reissue amps. I recently purchased a Fender '63 reissue reverb unit, and I'm looking for a really good amp to plug it into. I want to get a good traditional surf sound. What kind of amp would you suggest?

In the cheaper range, a used reissue Vibroverb or Vibrolux.

I think out of the current Fender Vintage Reissue line the Twin 2x12 is going to get you the clean sound associated with surf. I've never been much of a Twin guy, but I have a '65 Super Reverb, and the reissues I've played pale in comparrison to the artifact. The Twin 15 may be better for surf, it's got the 15 like the single Showman, but one main component to what makes the Showman sound so good is the ported cab.

For what you will be spending on a reissue amp you may be able to get a beat up blackface Bandmaster(my personal favorite) or a Bassman. I traded stuff for my Bandmaster, but I probably could have gotten it for under 800 bucks, and the piggy back amp looks much cooler than the combo.

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Playing through a Showman for the first time is a dangerous thing.
Once you do it you'll want one bad!

And they're getting really pricey.

Its the watts along with the big 15 that gives the Showman that huge ultra clean sound and the guys in the band hearing loss

The Bassman (50watts) and Bandmaster(40watts) are just as good, they just don't have the head room that the Showman(80watts) has but who of us really needs all that power. I doubt any of us is booked at the Rendezvous Ballroom in the near future. So the Bassman and Bandmaster are great choices. One of these three is really the ultimate for the trad surf sound.

The other good option is the brown Concert with 4 tens but again a rare amp pulling down prime price tags, and not as shimmering tone as the piggy back amps.

Twins all ways sound too harsh to me.

I agree that the RI. are too much cash compared to the real thing to make them worth it, unlike the RI tanks.

All that said there are good options out there for folks who can't /don't want to spend a grand or more for a vintage amp.
The sears 1484 twin twelve piggy back amps from 63-66 can be great surf amps.
They're plenty loud and clean if in good condition. If not well...

I actually play through a solid state 4X12 Standel.
The solid state Stadels are the best kept secret around.
Bob Crooks was one of the pioneers of solid state amps and knew how to make them sound great with out the harshness of the other early solid staters. The best thing about them is you can still find them cheap.
I paid $300 for mine.
It is a stop gap deal though, I will own a Showman.

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I, personally, am not a fan of my Showman for lead. For rhythm there is nothing else I would want. When playing lead it doesn't color my tone enough to even out tiny mistakes.

Awesome guys. Thanks a lot for the input. I have one more question, though. What does 'ported' mean?

bigtikidude
What's more common with Showman cabs, Ported or sealed?
I guess I see more sealed cabs, and thought they were the norm, except for the tone ring ones of course.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

BillAqua
, but one main component to what makes the Showman sound so good is the ported cab.

I heard Eddie Bertrand had one of the first ported cabs....

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dp

Jon
Awesome guys. Thanks a lot for the input. I have one more question, though. What does 'ported' mean?

"Ported" refers to openings in the speaker cabinet: either round open "ports" on the front of the cabinet...or an "open-back" style speaker cabinet.

Most Showman speaker cabinets are closed-back...therefore, not "ported".

"Ported" and "Closed" designs effect the way the speaker cabinet sounds overall.

-dp

one main reason for me to prefer closed (sealed) cabs is this: with an open back or half open back, a lot of sound is coming through the back and via reflections - this makes the sound very dependent of positioning and what's behind the amp. I find it much easier to dial in the amp with a sealed cab than when I used an open back combo, less variation in setttings.

also, since more sound is coming from the speaker directly, It's easier to mic the amp ... with the open back I often suffered from a thin and high pitched sound through the PA - only later did IO ralize that that was probably because I got all my bass frequencies on stage via the back .... and the PA mic obviously didn't pick that up. btw, 'true' porting (front of the cab) is rather difficult to do yourself.

oh, and I completly echo DP's bassman sentiments!

WR

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Just a quickie note....

A closed back style cab is called an "infinite baffle" enclosure. The idea is that the front and back of the speaker is completely isolated, thus giving you the results that Wannes just noted. While there are no reflections off of the immediate back wall, the walls and the floor will still have some effect on the overall sound. Still, when you need volume, this is a better solution for obtaining your desired tone quickly (as in setting up in a hurry at a gig). I see musicians with this kind of cab messing around a lot less when they set up, they're just ready to go.

We used to call a port a tuned port, because it is tuned to give a certain frequency response out of an otherwise 'infinte baffle' enclosure. More or less, one can follow commonly found charts that will show you how to build a cab with a port that points in any direction, the usual being the front. All the theory aside, no matter which way the port exits the cab, the net result is noticibly more bass overall. Nearly all the benefit of a closed back, with even more bass.... what more could a guy ask for?

Which leads us to the partially closed back cabinet such as found in combo amps. These things have covers on the back for protective purposes only, and the openings between the covers are not tuned in any way. Therefore, they don't meet the definition of a port, or tuned port. Whatever is coming out of them is pretty much the same thing, frequency-wise, as what you hear out of the front. An old live-mic trick is to place the mic in the back of the cab, pointed away from the speaker. You can also place it just outside of the back, pointed in various ways until you find the best recording tones/levels.

If you want to check out some really freaky speaker cabinets, look up folded horns, particularly the old Fender Bassman 400 PS.

OK, I'm outta here, got an important show to catch!

unlunf

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