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Post subject: 65 Twin Reverb Reissue : Reverb / Volume Gremlins
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 12:40 pm
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Greetings. I have a 65 Twin Reissue that I purchased used a little over one year ago. When I first test drove the amp I noticed the reverb was not working at all, whether the footswitch was plugged in or not. I checked the connections and tubes, and after powering down / back up a few times it seemed to come on but was pretty weak. I bought the amp with the provision that I would have it checked in the shop to determine what was going on. The shop tech informed it was a "bad connection" and he also replaced one of the tubes. I've used the amp since then and have always felt the reverb was very weak; when it's on 10 it has less reverb than my Hot Rod Deluxe with the reverb on 1.

Over the past two weeks it's been in the shop getting fully retubed and checked from end to end by a Fender-certified tech (different shop from first tech). He put Groove Tubes in the amp, re-tightened the tube sockets, cleaned all the connections and burned it in for a few hours. He said the reverb was pretty much the same as when he started. I got the amp home last night, and there was zero reverb regardless of whether the switch was plugged in or not. Also, I'm hearing some strange volume jumps up/down when sustaining chords.

At this point I'm suspicious that something may be wrong on the PCB but have no idea where to start. The shop tech has offered to take the amp back to continue working on it, but I'd love to get some ideas from the forum as well. Clearly it's something intermittent and I can't tell if it's a thermally-triggered issue. Ideas???


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Post subject: Re: 65 Twin Reverb Reissue : Reverb / Volume Gremlins
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 12:55 pm
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Hi jhendow,

Intermittent problems usually indicate poor solder joints, or even a broken/cracked circuit trace. Also, check the plugs for the reverb tank to make sure that they are plugged in tightly. But yeah, I would take it back to the tech, so he can finish the work that you may have already paid for. :idea: BTW, nice choice of tubes, GTs are my favorites. :)

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Post subject: Re: 65 Twin Reverb Reissue : Reverb / Volume Gremlins
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 1:16 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
Hi jhendow,

Intermittent problems usually indicate poor solder joints, or even a broken/cracked circuit trace. Also, check the plugs for the reverb tank to make sure that they are plugged in tightly. But yeah, I would take it back to the tech, so he can finish the work that you may have already paid for. :idea: BTW, nice choice of tubes, GTs are my favorites. :)


Thank you! Great information. Since both techs have looked at the tank and the connections, I'm increasingly suspicious that it's either the reverb tank transformer or that there is a thermal intermittent on the PCB. The transformer is easy enough to test (assuming it's not intermittent itself!) and I suppose after that it becomes increasingly difficult to assess the behavior of bad traces or a crack.

The Fender-certified shop tech is very knowledgeable and is someone that has a great reputation. I'm certain if this issue had manifested itself in the shop he would have been able to track it down more easily. He's actually offered to meet me back at the shop after hours to accommodate my work schedule. I'm hoping to eradicate the reverb gremlins before upcoming gigs, but sure am glad I have that Hot Rod Deluxe as a backup!

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Post subject: Re: 65 Twin Reverb Reissue : Reverb / Volume Gremlins
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 2:52 pm
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:lol: Yeah, an intermittent problem is almost always guaranteed not to act up while it's in the shop, like Murphy's Law in reverse. Glad to hear from another HRDlx fan, I've enjoyed mine for about 13 years so far, and it has more than enough reverb (even for surf music). I hope that your tech gets it sorted out for you, sounds like your amp is in good hands, and it's a plus that the guy is willing to accommodate you. Please let us know what he finds. :)

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Post subject: Re: 65 Twin Reverb Reissue : Reverb / Volume Gremlins
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 3:19 pm
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shimmilou wrote:
:lol: Yeah, an intermittent problem is almost always guaranteed not to act up while it's in the shop, like Murphy's Law in reverse. Glad to hear from another HRDlx fan, I've enjoyed mine for about 13 years so far, and it has more than enough reverb (even for surf music). I hope that your tech gets it sorted out for you, sounds like your amp is in good hands, and it's a plus that the guy is willing to accommodate you. Please let us know what he finds. :)


Will definitely share information once we get it figured out.

I really like my HRD. That's a great sounding amp. I'm not fond of the "red" high gain channel, but the clean and "yellow" drive channels are terrific. Eric Johnson strat + HRD = mighty nice! If that amp had another 20 watts of clean headroom I wouldn't need the Twin. For country / jazz gigs I use the HRD. For my pop / rock band (which performs on bigger stages) I really need more clean loud oomph.

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Post subject: Re: 65 Twin Reverb Reissue : Reverb / Volume Gremlins
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 12:51 pm
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So... just a few days after my last post I took the amp back to the tech who did the work on it. He discovered there was a misconnection at the reverb feed and corrected it. The reverb is there again, but only at the same anemic level as before. He says he'll continue to work with his technical contacts at Fender to see if there might be a reverb tank mismatch in this amp.
However, I can report that the new tubes and general spa treatment did this amp a world of good. I've played a few shows with it since getting it back from the shop, including a performance at the Triple Door in Seattle (easily the nicest night club in the state), and it sounded fantastic. We tracked the show for a live CD and I am impressed with the amp's newfound tone and dimensionality. It still needs better reverb, but the tone is great. If Fender keeps making these Twin amps, they might really catch on someday... :)

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