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sat4n
Publié le 22/08/08 à 17:19
(contenu en anglais)
(contenu en anglais)
The Super Reverb '65 is a reissue of Fender's legendary 4x10 blackface combo, often considered the mid-sixties to the legendary late-fifties Bassman. It is an all-tube amplifier, running a bunch of pre-amp tubes (mostly 12AX7s) a pair of 6L6GCs in the power section, and a single 5AR4 rectifier tube. It's rated at 45 watts.
There are two non-switchable channels: "normal" and "vibrato." The normal channel features a bright switch, a volume control, and treble and bass controls. The more elaborate vibrato channel also has the bright switch and volume knobs, but it steps up to three band eq (treble, middle, and bass). It also features reverb (with one knob) and vibrato (with controls for speed and depth), both of which are accessible only when using channel two. Each channel has two inputs, with the second one being padded a bit, allowing you to get a cleaner sound when using high-output pickups. There is a retro-style two-button foot switch which controls reverb and vibrato.
The one major difference between this reissue and the original blackface Super Reverb is that the reissue uses a printed circuit board, while the original used a hand-soldered tag board. The latter allows for much easier repairs and mods, and many people argue that it sounds better, too.
UTILIZATION
This is a classic non-master-volume amp. The three-band eq on the vibrato channel is extremely easy to use, allowing more flexibility than many more complicated eqs because the three bands cover the entire sonic spectrum. With all three knobs at zero no sound gets through; with all three knobs at ten you get a significant boost in signal being passed from the pre-amp to the power amp. With all three knobs at five you get a lush and detailed picture of what your guitar actually sounds like. Usually the best way to get the sound you want is to put all the knobs on five and then turn one of them down a notch or two. The bright switch is there essentially to compensate for the differences in tone between single coil and humbucking pickups.
SOUNDS
The clean sound on this amp is heavenly! Extremely well suited to jazz or clean-guitar rock. Maybe country, too. The clean sound of a Fender blackface is desirable enough that other companies make pedals emulating it, and this amp delivers exactly what those pedals try, and usually fail, to approximate.
One thing to consider, though, is that the amp only stays clean until the volume knob reaches about four, after which you get a distortion sound that is great for blues and classic rock, but less great for other types of music (I play indie rock). The amp is loud enough that in practice, or in a small room, or with a quiet drummer, the clean sound is more than loud enough. But if your drummer is loud, or you're playing a medium-sized club, you will get significant distortion before you get loud enough. This might be a problem, because the clean sound is where this amp really shines. I give it a perfect 10 for clean, a 6 for distorted tone, and a point off for failing to deliver the clean tone at big-club volume levels.
OVERALL OPINION
I used this amp for about five years, and only parted with it to trade up to a real early-seventies Super. It was my only amp during that time and I used it at practice, club gigs, and recording. It was great in every one of those situations as long as 1) I got my distortion tone primarily from a good pedal, and 2) the drummer was not so loud that I had to turn the thing up past four to be heard.
In spite of these limitations, I'd recommend this amp to anyone who wanted to buy a Fender amp currently in production. The clean sound and the reverb are as good as any I have ever heard anywhere, and it's rare that you face a situation where the amp is too quiet and yet can't be mic'd. Most places that are big enough to overpower this amp assume they're going to be micing the guitar amps anyway.
If you play jazz this is a great amp, because you don't need to play loud and the clean tone is great. If you play blues this is a great amp because it's got awesome blues/classic rock overdrive tone and real tube sag. If you want clean, modern rock tone, you may be better off with a Twin.
There are two non-switchable channels: "normal" and "vibrato." The normal channel features a bright switch, a volume control, and treble and bass controls. The more elaborate vibrato channel also has the bright switch and volume knobs, but it steps up to three band eq (treble, middle, and bass). It also features reverb (with one knob) and vibrato (with controls for speed and depth), both of which are accessible only when using channel two. Each channel has two inputs, with the second one being padded a bit, allowing you to get a cleaner sound when using high-output pickups. There is a retro-style two-button foot switch which controls reverb and vibrato.
The one major difference between this reissue and the original blackface Super Reverb is that the reissue uses a printed circuit board, while the original used a hand-soldered tag board. The latter allows for much easier repairs and mods, and many people argue that it sounds better, too.
UTILIZATION
This is a classic non-master-volume amp. The three-band eq on the vibrato channel is extremely easy to use, allowing more flexibility than many more complicated eqs because the three bands cover the entire sonic spectrum. With all three knobs at zero no sound gets through; with all three knobs at ten you get a significant boost in signal being passed from the pre-amp to the power amp. With all three knobs at five you get a lush and detailed picture of what your guitar actually sounds like. Usually the best way to get the sound you want is to put all the knobs on five and then turn one of them down a notch or two. The bright switch is there essentially to compensate for the differences in tone between single coil and humbucking pickups.
SOUNDS
The clean sound on this amp is heavenly! Extremely well suited to jazz or clean-guitar rock. Maybe country, too. The clean sound of a Fender blackface is desirable enough that other companies make pedals emulating it, and this amp delivers exactly what those pedals try, and usually fail, to approximate.
One thing to consider, though, is that the amp only stays clean until the volume knob reaches about four, after which you get a distortion sound that is great for blues and classic rock, but less great for other types of music (I play indie rock). The amp is loud enough that in practice, or in a small room, or with a quiet drummer, the clean sound is more than loud enough. But if your drummer is loud, or you're playing a medium-sized club, you will get significant distortion before you get loud enough. This might be a problem, because the clean sound is where this amp really shines. I give it a perfect 10 for clean, a 6 for distorted tone, and a point off for failing to deliver the clean tone at big-club volume levels.
OVERALL OPINION
I used this amp for about five years, and only parted with it to trade up to a real early-seventies Super. It was my only amp during that time and I used it at practice, club gigs, and recording. It was great in every one of those situations as long as 1) I got my distortion tone primarily from a good pedal, and 2) the drummer was not so loud that I had to turn the thing up past four to be heard.
In spite of these limitations, I'd recommend this amp to anyone who wanted to buy a Fender amp currently in production. The clean sound and the reverb are as good as any I have ever heard anywhere, and it's rare that you face a situation where the amp is too quiet and yet can't be mic'd. Most places that are big enough to overpower this amp assume they're going to be micing the guitar amps anyway.
If you play jazz this is a great amp, because you don't need to play loud and the clean tone is great. If you play blues this is a great amp because it's got awesome blues/classic rock overdrive tone and real tube sag. If you want clean, modern rock tone, you may be better off with a Twin.