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King Loudness « Another cool one »
Published on 12/12/11 at 22:52The '65 Fender Super Reverb reissue carries on the tradition of great remakes of classic "blackface" Fender amps, which many consider to be the company's finest hour of tone crafting. This amp takes a cue from the original Bassman amplifier and used 4 10" Jensens. It puts out about 45 watts of power, making it about medium wattage when compared to Fender's other amps in this series. It has the standard Fender layout of two channels. The normal channel has the volume, bass, and treble setup, and the vibrato channel (accessed by a separate input) has those same controls, but augmented by a middle control in the tonestack, as well as controls for reverb, and vibrato (speed and intensity). Otherwise there is no other channel switching or effects. Just like the classics.
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound out of this amp is pretty simple. It's a bit of a middle ground between the Deluxe and Twin. It doesn't require the ear splitting volumes of the Twin, but it's also not going to be nearly as quiet as the Deluxe reissue either. It's a great amp for gigging or jamming, but you still should take into account the need for at least a bit of volume. The tonestack responds like you would expect a Fender to (very simple control layout = simple tonal tweaking) so there's no surprises there. The onboard reverb and vibrato sound killer as with all the Vintage Reissue amps that use these features.
SOUNDS
The Super Reverb offers a bit of a different twist on the classic Fender tone to my ears. Since most of the classic blackface amps of a higher wattage are using two 12s you're really only getting variations on that sound. However, the 4 10" drivers really offer something different to my ears. The core tone is still the typical Fender sound, but it's a bit sweeter sounding overall (not quite as bright as something like a Twin) and has a bit more natural compression. Also, having the 4 ten inch speakers really offer a little more of a thicker sound that projects out a little bit better to my ears because you're getting more height and lift from the speakers. Definitely an excellent compliment to the line.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Fender Super Reverb '65 is a killer buy for someone looking for a bit of a different take on the blackface Fender sound. It's definitely got that classic tone all there, but the 4x10 setup definitely has its own thing going on, which might really appeal to some players who love Fender tones, but want something different from the pack. They are about $1,400 new for the reissue which isn't a bad deal considering the quality. Definitely worth a look if you're in the market!
UTILIZATION
Getting a good sound out of this amp is pretty simple. It's a bit of a middle ground between the Deluxe and Twin. It doesn't require the ear splitting volumes of the Twin, but it's also not going to be nearly as quiet as the Deluxe reissue either. It's a great amp for gigging or jamming, but you still should take into account the need for at least a bit of volume. The tonestack responds like you would expect a Fender to (very simple control layout = simple tonal tweaking) so there's no surprises there. The onboard reverb and vibrato sound killer as with all the Vintage Reissue amps that use these features.
SOUNDS
The Super Reverb offers a bit of a different twist on the classic Fender tone to my ears. Since most of the classic blackface amps of a higher wattage are using two 12s you're really only getting variations on that sound. However, the 4 10" drivers really offer something different to my ears. The core tone is still the typical Fender sound, but it's a bit sweeter sounding overall (not quite as bright as something like a Twin) and has a bit more natural compression. Also, having the 4 ten inch speakers really offer a little more of a thicker sound that projects out a little bit better to my ears because you're getting more height and lift from the speakers. Definitely an excellent compliment to the line.
OVERALL OPINION
All in all I think the Fender Super Reverb '65 is a killer buy for someone looking for a bit of a different take on the blackface Fender sound. It's definitely got that classic tone all there, but the 4x10 setup definitely has its own thing going on, which might really appeal to some players who love Fender tones, but want something different from the pack. They are about $1,400 new for the reissue which isn't a bad deal considering the quality. Definitely worth a look if you're in the market!