72 Fender Twin Reverb Speakers??

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renton

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Hi, I'm looking for some info on the original guts of a 72 Twin Reverb. I just bought one for $500 canadian...the guy selling collects vintage stuff and didn't like this amp because it had 2 knobs that had plastic chipped off them, and it had a crappy recovering job by an amateur. Those are the cosmetic issues...the speakers were also replaced with some cheaper 12"s...but after playing with the amp for a while, still sounds great even with replaced speakers....I had some trade-ins etc and thought $500 was still a decent price.

Now my next quest is to try and tone it out a little with better speakers and maybe even tubes.

So I'm hopeing some kind fender folks here could help me out and list some good ideas for speakers and tubes to get the richets/warmest sound I can from this twin.

Thanks in advance!
 
Jensen's are nice speakers with a decent sound to price ratio.

I forget the impedience out on a Twin, but look at the Jensen P12Q.

Also, maybe mix and match a couple speakers.
 
from what I've read so far some often used speakers are:

Electro Voice 12L
Jensen
Orange JBL's if you cand find them
Celestian vintage 30
Celestian Greenbacks


As for Tubes how are the sovtek tubes compared to others like Groove Tubes, or the orignal RCA fenders...6L6GB
 
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renton said:
from what I've read so far some often used speakers are:

Electro Voice 12L
Jensen
Orange JBL's if you cand find them
Celestian vintage 30
Celestian Greenbacks


As for Tubes how are the sovtek tubes compared to others like Groove Tubes, or the orignal RCA fenders...6L6GB
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Tubes are a topic of debate. My view is if they still work and you don't know why you need to change them, then wait til they die. Unless you gig, then you need a backup pair so go for it. JJ's are popular. GT and Sovtek are usuable IMO, but not in others.

As for those speakers, I would love to try a green back in a twin, but I don't know if it would really sound that great or not to be honest. A lot of people use them in Marshalls because they breakup early, but that is in combination to the tube breakup....last time I checked, a TwinReverb doesn't like to breakup until your ears have started to bleed...so it would be mostly speaker breakup you would get. And that might sound awsome, but I don't know...I haven't used that many speakers as of yet. But that speaker is one on my list to get at some point in time for an external cab.
 
renton said:
Hi, I'm looking for some info on the original guts of a 72 Twin Reverb. I just bought one for $500 canadian...the guy selling collects vintage stuff and didn't like this amp because it had 2 knobs that had plastic chipped off them, and it had a crappy recovering job by an amateur. Those are the cosmetic issues...the speakers were also replaced with some cheaper 12"s...but after playing with the amp for a while, still sounds great even with replaced speakers....I had some trade-ins etc and thought $500 was still a decent price.

Now my next quest is to try and tone it out a little with better speakers and maybe even tubes.

So I'm hopeing some kind fender folks here could help me out and list some good ideas for speakers and tubes to get the richets/warmest sound I can from this twin.

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...


If you have only had it a little while and don't know this about old fenders, turn all the tone controls all the way down. Turn the volume all the way up or there abouts, Im using a super reverb, only forty watts, yours is a hundred?, might be a little loud. Then turn the tone knobs up little by little, start with the bass.
With the tone controls all the way down and the volume up you shouldn't get much volume until you start to dial the tone in you want with the tone controls.
 
cool...I'll try that...mine has the master volume control as well...you suggest cranking that as well as the channel volume I assume while keeping the tone controls low?

As for the greenback...the vox AC30 is my some-day-dream-amp...actually got to play one for a little while today before I picked up the twin reverb. It was $1300 used with replaced groove tubes and rewireing on the vibrato channel, and while I thought it still a great deal...couldn't find half that cash in my wallet...so it was a bust unfortunately...ONE DAY!

I understand the greenbacks are also a more expensive speaker...but I know that what's in my twin right now is kinda crappy...just pyle driver 12"'s that I think I could be much happier with something different...just need to find the right set for price point/availability used or something.

thanks for the help!
 
Le Basseur said:
http://www.ampwares.com
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AHHHHH!

I have to chim in again on this part.

Fuck that place.

Custom service is non-existant. See what you need based on their website, but don't even risk ordering from them.

That fucker sent me a generic footswitch and didn't even ask if it was okay...then when I send an honestly polite email mentioning there was a mistake, I get no reply. ANother email and no reply. A third email and still no reply.

Fuck them.

And if you do not believe me, this just happend this month. And I am not the only one.

http://diystompboxes.com/sboxforum/viewtopic.php?t=29745
 
My super reverb is a 68, CBS changed the crcuitry by 72 I think, yours may not work that way, with master volume it may not.
All my tone controls are cut, no boost, so when you turn them down, even at full volume you cn barely hear it.
 
dragonworks said:
If you have only had it a little while and don't know this about old fenders, turn all the tone controls all the way down. Turn the volume all the way up or there abouts, Im using a super reverb, only forty watts, yours is a hundred?, might be a little loud. Then turn the tone knobs up little by little, start with the bass.
With the tone controls all the way down and the volume up you shouldn't get much volume until you start to dial the tone in you want with the tone controls.
Click to expand...

That is a good bit of useful information. Thanks on behalf of many who will be cranking up their amps as I write.
And as for wanting a Vox AC30 over a Twin, I traded my AC30 in on my "The Twin" and gear wise it was about the best thing I have ever done. No comparison.
 
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50597&item=5752467000&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

you think those are any good at that price?

Also...I tried the volume and tone trick...I see what you're talking about...however I have a concern. I noticed that when playing the twin at medium volume there is a rattle of some kind...can't pinpoint what it could be...it sounds similar to a rip in a speaker but a lot more subtle and only when it's played loud when a string or strings are strummed more aggressively. It's definitely not overdrive...it sounds similar something metal rattleing on a desk at high volumes...except it really sounds like it's coming from the speakers themselves...and instead of metallic rattle it's like a distorted rattle...not very loud...but definitely noticeable...and not a nice distortion.

That probably made no sense...it's hard to explain...but I'm just a little concerned...hope it's the speakers and not something beyond repair. But the reason I'm mentioning it is because I can hear this a lot more when I tried the volume trick of cranking the volume and slowly turning up the tone's....when I tried it, it sounds really nice...but I get that distant rattle/not nice sounding distortion in the background when I play a chord harder....and it doesn't have to be as loud as with normal knob configurations to hear it.

It sounds almost like digital distortion...definitely not an overdrive sound...and I really don't think it's a metal rattle in the chassis nor a ripped speaker either....any one make sense of what I'm talking about?

thanks
 
renton said:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50597&item=5752467000&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

you think those are any good at that price?

Also...I tried the volume and tone trick...I see what you're talking about...however I have a concern. I noticed that when playing the twin at medium volume there is a rattle of some kind...can't pinpoint what it could be...it sounds similar to a rip in a speaker but a lot more subtle and only when it's played loud when a string or strings are strummed more aggressively. It's definitely not overdrive...it sounds similar something metal rattleing on a desk at high volumes...except it really sounds like it's coming from the speakers themselves...and instead of metallic rattle it's like a distorted rattle...not very loud...but definitely noticeable...and not a nice distortion.

That probably made no sense...it's hard to explain...but I'm just a little concerned...hope it's the speakers and not something beyond repair. But the reason I'm mentioning it is because I can hear this a lot more when I tried the volume trick of cranking the volume and slowly turning up the tone's....when I tried it, it sounds really nice...but I get that distant rattle/not nice sounding distortion in the background when I play a chord harder....and it doesn't have to be as loud as with normal knob configurations to hear it.

It sounds almost like digital distortion...definitely not an overdrive sound...and I really don't think it's a metal rattle in the chassis nor a ripped speaker either....any one make sense of what I'm talking about?

thanks
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I have had that sound before.

The rattle is more than likely the fillaments in the tube making noise. Time te get new tubes. Take them out and shake them. If you hear one or more making noise, replace those. If they are powertubes, then replace in matched pairs as needed. (but keep them for backup)
If not, then try tilting back the amp with the tilt back legs on a carpeted surface.

As for the speaker...are they the right Ohms? Other than that, I never seen those speakers in that color. They are normally blueish w/ a slight green tint. There is no lable either which bothers me a bit. And are they used? Those speakers should be like $90US new if I recall...though mine came in my amp...and mine are 10".

EDIT:
That ebay auction doesn't even mention what ohms the speakers are...so it doesn't matter what your amp is at this point...
 
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you should see my speakers, they have to be the original, they look like they caught fire once and someone put them out with a fire extinguisher, some are rusty,man they are ugly, but they still kick, I think one of them may finally be giving up the ghost though. ;)
 
The vibration type noise use describe sounds like a tube rattle. Could be looking at replacing tubes.

As for speakers, I have greenbacks in my marshall cab. They sound great!!!
Not nearly as harsh or shrill as cabs with stock celestions. You would have to go with 8 ohm models. The fender is probably 4 ohm, but don't quote me on that. Get someone with an ohm meter to check the speakers.
 
hmmm...I took all the tubes out...gave a shake...took a look...everything seemed fine...I did notice however a couple of the non-power tubes were a little loose in their sockets. As in if you wiggled them they would rattle against the metal....not sure if that could be the cause.

I also tried the legs on a carpetted surface and its still there....

is there another way to tell if the tubes have gone? or a way to tighten up some loose tube sockets?
 
Fire up the amp, and set it to the volume where it makes this noise. Lightly tap on the power tubes with your fingernail. Sometimes you can narrow the problem down to one tube this way. The preamp tube farthest from the power tubes is the first gain stage, and is the most suseptible to microphonics. As you tap on the tubes this one may respond with noise no matter which one you tap on. You just have to do it lightly and try to figure out which one is the culprit. The preamp Tubes will make some noise,( just amplifying the tapping), But there shouldn't be any squealing or crackling.
You can remove the tubes and use a large sewing needle to re-tension the tube sockets. Just "tweak" them closed a little to make them tighter.
YOU HAVE TO DRAIN THE POWER FROM THE AMP FIRST.
Unplug the amp, switch it to the on position, and touch a jumper wire from pin 1 of any pre amp tube to ground (chassis).
Keep track of which tube goes where. The preamp tubes look the same, but a couple of them are different, and should go back in the same sockets they came from.
 
You state that the amp has been recovered at some stage and done poorly. If you want to redo it yourself you can get the tolex from a variety of sources, Allparts, tubesandmore and I think Stewmac.
I have recovered 4 amps to date and it is fussy but not too difficult. You have to be patient and not rush.
But the end results are worth it and it looks like it just came out of the factory.
You can also get the vintage knobs from antique audio, which is the same company as Tubes and more.
Modern day Fenders use Eminence, and they have a few vintage type models available.
 
The tolex isn't that bad on the amp...the vintage heads at the place I picked it up weren't impressed enough to keep if for their own collection though...myself I really don't care...I want the sound, not the look.

I made some advancements on the "rattle"...it looks like it is speaker related after all. I tightened all the tube sockets (draining that amp first as kindly directed), and after very close inspection, it seems like it's just the tweeter (very inside of the cone) of one of the pyle driver speakers. I guess it threw me off of the speakers at first cause I never even thought of a component tweeter inside the speaker going...I've only experienced woofer ripps and wasn't aware of the way these pyle drivers are built.

So any ways...that speaker hunt is now in the forefront. The amp says max. 4ohm load...I take that to mean 2 8ohm speakers as they will be in parrellel?
 
I don't think I'd put greenbacks in a twin. Talk about blowing some money and more.

I would suggest the Jensen P12N (what was in my 66' twin) or talk to Dave at Weber ( www.webervst.com ). He makes some of the best repro's out there.
 
Jensens are probably my route...but out of curiousity...

Why do you think it'd be blowing money and more to go with greenbacks?
 
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