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Came across the following while searching eBay for a reissue Reverb unit. W=
as wonderin' if
someone with a decent amount of amp knowledge might comment on it. First pa=
rt is a
retube, second part gets into a simple mod.
_____________________________________
We also had a pristine `62 brown Fender Reverb on hand for comparison, and =
we bought a
NOS Sylvania 6K6GT tube on eBay. We compared our Sylvania and a NOS GE 12AX=
7 and
12AT7 to the original JAN Philips 12AT7 and Groove Tubes 12AX7 and 6V6 ship=
ped in our
reissue, and the difference was dramatic. The 6K6 was less aggressive and s=
lightly
scooped, adding more depth and clarity to the reverb effect rather than the=
more ballsy,
midrange-heavy 6V6. The GE's also smoothed and warmed the tone compared to =
the
other preamp tubes. Then we posed a question to our resident amp tech and b=
oard
member, Jeff Bakos: "What else can we do to improve the sound of the Fender=
reissue that
will be simple, inexpensive and within the scope of most guitarists capable=
of simple
soldering (but not on the printed circuit board!)?" We repeatedly listened =
to the reverb
sound at Jeff's shop as I offered the opinion that many guitarists viewed t=
he Fender reverb
unit as a tool exclusively appropriate for Surf players, and that the sound=
of a Marshall
50W with Fender reverb made for a killer blues amp that would absolutely ba=
ffle
toneheads when they heard it. Jeff produced a `71 small box 50W Marshall, a=
nd after
another long listening session, we both agreed that the Fender was too touc=
hy. Any `Dwell'
or `Mix' settings beyond `3' produced the precise gonzo reverb effect that =
has stereotyped
the Fender tube reverb as a strictly Surf, Rock-a-billy, West Coast Swing e=
ffect. There was
also a slightly trebly, pingy harmonic character to the reverb sound that w=
e wanted to lose
if possible.
Jeff did some math and suggested that we try tying in a 270K resistor on th=
e input jack. He
calculated that we could leave the 1 meg stock resistor on the board unmole=
sted, add the
270K at the jack and tame the reverb while expanding the usable range of th=
e `Mix' and
`Dwell' controls. It worked! 270K Resistor Now we could play with the criti=
cal `Dwell" and
`Mix' pots, dialing in an expanded range of usable reverb settings for diff=
erent amps.
Boosting the `Dwell' control while minimizing the `Mix' setting produced a =
purer, fatter,
rounder affected signal, while the reverse setting emphasized the `preamp' =
tone of the
reverb circuit. The overall reverb sound was lush, rich and much more contr=
ollable.
The mod sounds interesting but the...
"Any `Dwell' or `Mix' settings beyond `3' produced the precise gonzo
reverb effect that has stereotyped the Fender tube reverb as a
strictly Surf, Rock-a-billy, West Coast Swing effect. There was also a
slightly trebly, pingy harmonic character to the reverb sound that we
wanted to lose if possible."
Part scares me. I got my Fender Reverb to be a Gonzo Stereotyped
Reverb for Surf & Rockabilly! Why would anyone want ot get rid of it?
;-)
--- In , Zone Fighter <zonefighter@g...>
wrote:
> The mod sounds interesting but the...
>
> "Any `Dwell' or `Mix' settings beyond `3' produced the precise gonzo
> reverb effect that has stereotyped the Fender tube reverb as a
> strictly Surf, Rock-a-billy, West Coast Swing effect. There was
also a
> slightly trebly, pingy harmonic character to the reverb sound that
we
> wanted to lose if possible."
>
> Part scares me. I got my Fender Reverb to be a Gonzo Stereotyped
> Reverb for Surf & Rockabilly! Why would anyone want ot get rid of
it?
> ;-)
My guess is they were trying to make it sound like the onboard solid
state reverb usually associated with Marshall valvestate amps ;-)
on a different note, it seems like the mod is simply lowering the
input in the reverb, sort of having a pre-first-tube-"volume"-pot.
Also, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to do a knob because the
thing is working well when set at three. There must some macho
marshall psychology at work "hey, i like it at "3", I want to like it
at 10". the guy probably drives a VW beetle to be able to "step on
it" without speeding....
400+ USD is too much for a RI if you ask me anyway, I recently saw
some go for under 300.
wannes
