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Would you swap 04 Hot Rod Deville 2x12 for 78 Fender Twin Reverb with Master Volume (135 Watts)
Yes 56%  56%  [ 5 ]
No 44%  44%  [ 4 ]
Total votes : 9
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Post subject: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THANKS!
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:12 am
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Hi Everyone!

I'm very new to this forum and new to forums in general so I'll apologize upfront if it appears obvious that I don't know what I'm doing lol:)

I have an opportunity to pick up a what I believe is a 1978 Fender Twin Reverb (Serial number is A812140). This is the monster 135 watt beast with the master volume control. Its the Ultralinear Twin.

I am still researching the amplifier and I see mixed reviews online. I have a couple of questions that I am hoping some of you may be able to help with as I am relatively new to tube amps in general. I do have a Hot Dod Deville that sounds really warm. I run that with nothing more than my Highway One Strat, a Boss Blues Driver, A TS808, a Vox Wah and a Blue Comp. The sounds is fantastic! I almost never use the dirty channel. The pedals work fine.

I have A/B'd both amps though I have not had a chance to turn the twin up. I will get that chance tonight at rehearsal. First impressions of the twin leave thinking the Deville is much warmer.

The Twin's reverb is very week. It's there and its ok, but its nothing like the Deville. The Twins reverb on 10 sounds like the Deville's reverb on 3 or 4. I'm wondering if this is because I need to turn it up a little more?

The amp is original. The tolex is rough but not abnormally so for an amp tis age. Otherwise it seems in good shape. No buzzes or hums, no noisy pots etc. As I mentioned I did expect more from the reverb side. The Vibrato works as well and also has the footswitch although its not original as it says Made in Mexico on the bottom ;)

I'm hoping the amp will further impress me when I turn it up tonight and I'll report back on my thoughts.

Its heavy but to be honest my deville feels almost equally heavy and lacks wheels so I'm not worried about that.

The guy who has the amp is asking 750. Apparently has new tubes and has been biased recently. I have a buyer for the Deville.

Questions:

What are you thoughts on these amps?
It seems there are TONS of 100w Twins but I don't see these as often. Were less made?
What about the price of 750?
Has anyone else had the Deville (2004) and compared to this Twin?
Is this amp still Point to POint wiring?


I apologize for the longwinded post its just that I have a lot of questions and I am relying on the expertise of the kind folks here to help me out.

THANKS!!

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Post subject: Re: 1978 Fender Twin w MV control
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:33 am
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I've owned one of these amps for the last 33 years and based on reliability/durability alone, I'd make the swap in a heartbeat.

That said, you can expect only two sonic traits from the UL TR......

LOUD

And

CLEAN

Forget the push-pull boost switch -- it's as worthless as Bill Clinton's credibility at a Promise Keeper's rally. The master volume isn't much more useful either. Get yourself a good set of overdrive/distortion pedals if you expect any grunt and grit from this amp. You can connect a variety of speaker loads to the amp since the output tranny features multiple-impedance taps and self-switching output jacks. If you intend to really push the amp you'll need beefy speakers too, so forget about any import Jensen C12Q's, Weber 12F150's, or even Celestion V30's. Likewise, the amp will require the most robustly-constructed 6L6's available as the plate voltages in these models exceeds 500VDC.

$750 is a bit "optimistic" as far as fair-market price goes -- I've seen these amps routinely listed for $600 to $650, contingent upon cosmetic condition.

HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 1978 Fender Twin w MV control
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:43 am
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Thanks Arjay!

Great insight. I'll be sure to watch out for Slick Willy at the next rally :lol:

I think there are Sovtek's on the Power Amps side at the moment. I'll confirm tonight. Supposedly pretty reliable but I've little experience with tubes so I would wonder what the best option would be there.

What speakers would you recommend?

I play a lot of Mayer, Schofield, Ford, Colin James, Jeff Healey etc...

Cheers!

Retroverbial wrote:
I've owned one of these amps for the last 33 years and based on reliability/durability alone, I'd make the swap in a heartbeat.

That said, you can expect only two sonic traits from the UL TR......

LOUD

And

CLEAN

Forget the push-pull boost switch -- it's as worthless as Bill Clinton's credibility at a Promise Keeper's rally. The master volume isn't much more useful either. Get yourself a good set of overdrive/distortion pedals if you expect any grunt and grit from this amp. You can connect a variety of speaker loads to the amp since the output tranny features multiple-impedance taps and self-switching output jacks. If you intend to really push the amp you'll need beefy speakers too, so forget about any import Jensen C12Q's, Weber 12F150's, or even Celestion V30's. Likewise, the amp will require the most robustly-constructed 6L6's available as the plate voltages in these models exceeds 500VDC.

$750 is a bit "optimistic" as far as fair-market price goes -- I've seen these amps routinely listed for $600 to $650, contingent upon cosmetic condition.

HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:47 am
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The Sov-Tek's are perfectly acceptable for this application.

What speakers are currently in the amp?

OEM drivers during the '78 era would include Eminence, Rola, and (as with mine) JBL D120F's.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:50 am
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I think they are stock. There's a blue sticker that reads Fender Musical Instruments.

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:53 am
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I have JBL D120F's in my BF Twin Reverb and it projects SUPER CLEAN tone into the Stratosphere. The reverb in the amp is as good as any I've heard. So maybe the 12AT7 driver or 12AX7 (7025) recovery tube has gotten a bit tired on your Twin?

The UL Twin seems to have similar reverb section as most earlier Twin Reverbs. So, I'd suspect tubes or defective tank...

http://www.webphix.com/schematic%20heav ... _schem.pdf


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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:57 am
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Somewhere on those "Fender Special Design" speakers you'll find some numbers. They'll reveal who made the speaker, and when. Rola's will be marked with a six-digit number prefaced by "285" while Eminence uses the prefix "67".

HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:02 am
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There's two sets of numbers on the speakers.

Left
(large numbers) 0055379
(Small Numbers) 1098838

Right
(Large Numbers) 005379
(Small NUmbers) 1098836

I have no clue what information is in those codes lol

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:36 am
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"1098" is the EIA code for Pyle and the speakers were made in 36th and 38th week of 1978. They're adequate for the task but not particularly remarkable in tone.

The "005379" is the Fender P/N.

HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:44 am
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Thank you so much Arjay!

You are indeed a knowledgeable cat!

I'm rehearsing with the guys tonight and this is the first "real" test with this amp. I'll let you know my thoughts.

Again I really appreciate the time you have spent helping me and I'm always interested in learning more!!

CHeers!!

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:49 am
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Let us know how it works out.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:02 am
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Well I gave it quite a work out last night. About 2 1/2 hours of playing in total. It actually sounds pretty good. Louder seemed to equal better tone.

I cranked the MV to about 6 or 7 and then used the other volume to control it. My understanding is that the best way to get unimpeded tone from this typ of amp is to crank the MV and run it that way. Is that true?

It doesn't seem to have the bottom end that the deville has which surprises me a little but I think maybe with a speaker swap it could be a real gem.

It gets damn hot though! I wonder if that's normal because the silver face near the MV was hot to the touch when I shut her down.

I'll post a few pics and maybe I can get some feedback on the value of this amp.

Turns out someone had painted it RED at one point then painted it black again:( that's gotta hurt the value.

The tolex is beat up pretty bad and the piece that goes along the back behind the tubes is missing.

The reverb is ok. Not as nice as the Deville by any means so if I buy it I'll check those preamp tubes. Wonder if maybe it would be best to just replace them all. I was told the amp was recapped recently also.

No buzzes or any other oddities though.

Overall a nice sounding rig.

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 9:08 am
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Ordinarily I'd recommend a re-Tolexing for a tired cab but in the case of a post-1970 amp, I'd be more inclined to replace the cab outright. In '71 Fender switched from lock-jointed dove-tails at the corners of the box to a cheaper rabbet joint. Likewise the baffle board design was altered from a screw-in type to one permanently glued to the box via dadoes cut into the interior. Thus, these cabs neither resonate like the Leo-designed enclosures nor are they as sturdy. My '78 UL TR cab wobbles whenever the chassis is removed because the glue holding the rabbet joints together has dried out and the corners are loose. A new standard-spec cab built to original pre-1971 Fender standards will run between $230 to $250 depending upon whose you prefer.

HTH

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 12:22 pm
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Thanks Arjay,

Are you a collector? You are very knoweldgable on this gear and I appreciate the insight.

I think I'll play it for a while and decide what to do from there.

I might want to warm the sound up a bit.....I love that Two Rock Mayer / Schofield sound. I get close but I don't have the 8 grand for a Two Rock Custom Reverb lol!

Cheers Mate!

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Post subject: Re: HELP PLZ! QUESTIONS RE 1978 Fender Twin w MV control THA
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 12:42 pm
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I have a *small* collection......

Image

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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