ASK SKIP
ANY ISSUES WITH FENDER RE-ISSUES? Skip Simmons
Hi Skip,
door, and since almost every vendor allows a
I’ve been wanting a vintage Fender Reverb Unit
full refund on any piece of gear you don’t like,
for a while, but the price continues to increase
you can try them out in your rig with zero risk. I
We should also take into account just how
on the ‘60’s era models. Are the new re-issues
was knocked out recently by the Fender/Boss
long the amp has been idle. If you have a
worth the money (about 40-50% of vintage
“63 Reverb.” It uses the same dwell, tone, and
nice vintage amp that hasn’t been turned
ones) and can they be “tweaked” to sound
mix controls as an original and functions in
on for several years, it really needs to see a
close to the vintage 60’s reverbs?
much the same way. If you are wondering, the
knowledgeable tech who will use a piece of
Thanks,
“dwell” is a volume control for the wet signal,
gear called a “Variac” to gradually turn the amp
William
the “mix” controls the amount of wet or dry
on while monitoring the voltages and current.
signal heard in the output, and the “tone” is a
One last thought: proper use of the standby
Hello William. Thanks for writing! I would begin
treble control that only affects the wet signal.
switch. Be sure to have the standby switch in
by saying that the re-issues actually sound
Since any reverb effect is heard mostly in the
“play” mode when you turn the amp on.
pretty darn good, as do many of the current-
higher frequencies, this tone control makes a
production Fender “re-issue” amps. However,
huge difference in the way the reverb sounds.
they do use printed circuit-board construction
always burn out right when you turn it on!
Hi Skip,
I have a 1959 Silvertone. When I got the amp it
and are therefore more fragile and difficult to
Hi Skip,
played, but buzzed and rattled when I got on it.
service, repair, or modify. The only mods I might
I saw your column and thought I’d take a shot
So, thinking it was the speaker, but not having
suggest would be to try some different tubes.
at a question.
anything to replace it, I decided to replace the
There are only three tubes (12AT7, 12AX7, and
I have a Fender Twin Reverb II that I’ve owned
tubes. It has a 6AU6 6V6GT and a 6X5GT. The
6V6) and a good set of ears could certainly
for many years. I haven’t used it for a while and
only one my local shop had was the 6V6GT so
discern some differences between various
recently plugged it in and it blew the fuse. I tried
I decided to put it in to see if anything changed.
brands. The original reverb units used the
with another fuse, same result. All of the tubes
Nothing. It just barely tried to light and made no
(interchangeable) 6K6 rather than a 6V6 as the
look OK. Is there anything related to not being
sound anymore. So I put the old tube back in
reverb-driver tube, and since vintage 6K6s are
used that may be the cause of the problem
and when I turned it on it made sound again,
very affordable, it would make sense to try one.
before I bring it to a shop?
but then the 6X5GT flashed and got super
Thank you.
hot and the amp makes no sound now. My
Mike
question is: Why would the older tube mess up
Now let’s discuss whether or not the new reissues are “worth the money.” If you find a re-
after replacing the new tube and then switching
issue at a good price that is obviously clean and
Hello Mike. Thanks for writing. The only thing
it back? I know nothing about electronics
working great I would say yes, but a printed
that the average person can do when turning
except maybe changing a tube or speaker and
circuit-board reverb unit (or amp!) that has had
on a tube amp that has been idle is to pull all
that would be it. Any advice or thoughts on why
a hard life may be expensive to put into working
the tubes in and out of their sockets a few
this has happened? By the way, the speaker
shape. Also, while blackface reverb units seem
times before turning on the amp. Dirty preamp
appears to have been the problem, wish I had
to be selling for about $800 and re-issues are
tube or socket contacts are a very common
started there.....
more like $500, it is important to remember
cause of noise, and in the case of your amp,
Thanks, Tony
than nearly every re-issue will eventually end
a dirty contact on a power tube or power tube
up in a landfill, but an actual vintage Fender will
socket could cause the tube to draw too much
Hello Tony. This is a tough one! On one hand,
remain serviceable indefinitely and will always,
current, resulting in the blown fuses you are
it is not the purpose of this column to teach
always, increase in value over time.
experiencing. Another possibility, especially
people how to actually repair a broken amp, but
with an amp that has been sitting for a few
on the other hand, I wouldn’t want to answer
Finally, if your actual goal is groovy reverb,
years, is a bad capacitor in the power supply.
every question by telling the owner to take it
consider trying some stomp-boxes. With a
These components (usually called “filter caps”)
to the repair shop! If you suspect a speaker
credit card and a computer, you can have a
tend to fail at the moment of start-up. An
problem, it is not too difficult to disconnect
huge variety of reverb pedals delivered to your
incandescent light bulb is similar - it will almost
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Sep Oct 2016
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