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I'm so grateful for this list! There's no better resource for the type of
question that I'm about to ask. A few weeks ago, I
posted to this group because I had bought a re-issue, black Fender '63
Reverb from Musician's Friend and it arrived with a loose part inside. That,
in addition to footswitch problems prompted me to return it. I told
Musician's Friend to send me a brown one as a replacement and then had to
wait for them to issue a credit for the difference. So, I got the brown
Reverb yesterday. I expected the tube compliment to be 6V6 - 12AT7 - 12 AX7,
but when I took out the tubes this morning, I discovered that the reverb
unit has 6V6 - 12AT7 - 7025. The weird thing is that the 7025 is a NOS
Sylvania tube! At first, I thought that somebody had returned the unit this
way, but the tube chart inside the reverb unit indeed says: 6V6 - 12AT7 -
7025. Then, I looked at the schematics and it says that the tubes should be:
6V6 - 12AT7 - 12 AX7. Also, the Fender web site says: 6V6 - 12AT7 - 12 AX7.
Any ideas about why I got a NOS Sylvania 7025 and why the tube chart says
7025? I know that the original '63 reverbs had 7025. Do you think that I
should leave it alone? The pins on the NOS 12AT7 and NOS 12AX7 tubes that I
got are the same. Should I perhaps replace the NOS Sylvania 7025 with one of
these? Or, should I send this unit back? It's very confusing. If the tube
chart didn't list the 7025, I'd be convinced that someone else had replaced
the 12AX7 and sent the unit back. Do you think that Fender is making them
this way now? I guess it's not too hard to make a new tube chart yourself
and somebody could have done that before sending the unit back, but it seems
like a lot of work just to send a unit back. I'm just not sure why my unit
is set up this way. By the way, some of the other re-issue units that I've
seen have plastic handles, but mine is leather. Again, I wonder if Fender
has made these changes? It seems unusual that Fender would make a new unit
with a NOS Sylvania 7025, but I'm really ignorant about how these things are
done. Thanks for any help you can offer!
Tom
Hey Tom!
Glad to hear you got your replacement RI reverb tank! The 7025 tube
is a mystery, though . . .
My reissue tank is about a year and a half old; it was shipped with
the 6V6 - 12AT7 - 12AX7 tube lineup. However, the tube chart does
list a 7025 instead of the 12AX7 (maybe Fender is trying to give the
tube chart a "vintage vibe" - just like the originals). Oh yes, it
also has a leather handle, FWIW.
The 7025 tube is essentially a low-noise version of the 12AX7. The
reference book "Tube Lore" (a great reference authored by Ludwell
Sibley)calls the 7025 a "low-hum/noise/microphonics version of the
12AX7". To my knowledge, 7025s have not been in production for some
time, so I would be astonished that Fender would provide one in
a "stock" unit. In any event, no harm would come from leaving that
tube "as is" - in fact, it's a pretty good tube!
However, your suspicion that the tube was replaced by someone is
probably correct . . . if you don't mind having a unit that may have
been returned by someone else (with bonus NOS tube intact), I would
keep the unit. I might give MF a call and explain the situation -
if they tell you that Fender is shipping the RI tanks with NOS 7025s
(unlikely, IMO), then you can always send the tank back for
replacement if you're not happy with the unit. If Fender is not
shipping the units with NOS Sylvania 7025s, then they have some
explaining to do . . . maybe you can get a little financial
consideration from them for sending you a previously returned unit
as "new" (although they might say "But you got a vintage NOS tube!
What more do you want?"). Although it's cool to gain the benefit of
a NOS tube in your unit, it's not cool if they sent you a "used"
unit with the representation that it is a "new" unit. Makes me
wonder who might get your old tank :)
Or maybe MF is giving you a little gift as consideration for the
inconvenience of having to return your unit and wait for a
replacement (yeah, right!) - that's about as likely as the "Tube
Fairy" paying a visit to pop in the NOS 7025!
I hope these comments have been helpful - good luck, Tom!
-Dick
--- In , "Tom Hinders" <tsunami@o...>
wrote:
> I'm so grateful for this list! There's no better resource for the
type of
> question that I'm about to ask. A few weeks ago, I
> posted to this group because I had bought a re-issue, black
Fender '63
> Reverb from Musician's Friend and it arrived with a loose part
inside. That,
> in addition to footswitch problems prompted me to return it. I told
> Musician's Friend to send me a brown one as a replacement and then
had to
> wait for them to issue a credit for the difference. So, I got the
brown
> Reverb yesterday. I expected the tube compliment to be 6V6 -
12AT7 - 12 AX7,
> but when I took out the tubes this morning, I discovered that the
reverb
> unit has 6V6 - 12AT7 - 7025. The weird thing is that the 7025 is a
NOS
> Sylvania tube! At first, I thought that somebody had returned the
unit this
> way, but the tube chart inside the reverb unit indeed says: 6V6 -
12AT7 -
> 7025. Then, I looked at the schematics and it says that the tubes
should be:
> 6V6 - 12AT7 - 12 AX7. Also, the Fender web site says: 6V6 - 12AT7 -
12 AX7.
> Any ideas about why I got a NOS Sylvania 7025 and why the tube
chart says
> 7025? I know that the original '63 reverbs had 7025. Do you think
that I
> should leave it alone? The pins on the NOS 12AT7 and NOS 12AX7
tubes that I
> got are the same. Should I perhaps replace the NOS Sylvania 7025
with one of
> these? Or, should I send this unit back? It's very confusing. If
the tube
> chart didn't list the 7025, I'd be convinced that someone else had
replaced
> the 12AX7 and sent the unit back. Do you think that Fender is
making them
> this way now? I guess it's not too hard to make a new tube chart
yourself
> and somebody could have done that before sending the unit back,
but it seems
> like a lot of work just to send a unit back. I'm just not sure why
my unit
> is set up this way. By the way, some of the other re-issue units
that I've
> seen have plastic handles, but mine is leather. Again, I wonder if
Fender
> has made these changes? It seems unusual that Fender would make a
new unit
> with a NOS Sylvania 7025, but I'm really ignorant about how these
things are
> done. Thanks for any help you can offer!
> Tom
Hey Tom...
Here is another data point for you:
My brown reissue 'verb also came with a leather handle, and it's tube chart
does indeed show a 7025. It came with 12AX7 though.
Hopefully, if the unit works for you, keep it and the NOS 7025 as a
consolation prize for the trouble they put you through. It does sound pretty
fishy though, like it was a returned unit whose owner had forgotten to
remove the 7025.
BN
PS
Which reminds me, when I saw that 1965 reverb unit at that store recently,
it had a brand new Fender Groove tube 6V6 inside it, with what looked like
the original 6K6 laying in a box inside the chassis. Duh!
