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The Perfect Pedal Platform...with breakup...? Yes please!! Fender's Classic - Pro Reverb

Updated: Jan 13, 2024




About the Fender Pro Reverb… the (slightly) smaller and lighter Twin


Hand wired, Vintage, 6L6GC


The Fender Pro Reverb is the less powerful, less heavy, and often, much more practical version of its sibling, the Fender Twin Reverb.   The tone circuit, controls, and 2x12 speaker setup make it virtually identical to the Twin, the only real departure being the amps power section.  

Unlike the diode rectified Twin, the Pro Reverb uses a GZ34 Rectifier Tube to convert AC to DC power.  In addition, at 40 Watts, the Output power is half that of the Twin.  This combination of tube rectification along with lowered output creates an amp that has Classic Fender Twin clean tones, yet has the ability to breakup when driven.

What to Expect?:

Classic 6L6 Fender Clean tone with plenty of power to adequately handle a small to medium venue.  The headroom makes for a great pedal platform and at the same time the Pro will break up with pushed gain.  Expect the Reverb and Tremolo Tones to be very similar to the Twin.  With less power, expect slightly less sustain.

Teagle and Sprung, authors of the definitive book on Fender amplifiers (Fender Amps: The First Fifty Years) described the Blackface Pro Reverb as the best amplifier ever produced likely due to its combination of the two twelve inch speakers, its high quality reverb and tremolo, and just the right amount of power to get either classic Blackface Fender cleans or natural tube breakup at reasonable volumes. They wrote, "the author recommends these amps as the best all-around amp ever made—by anyone".

Production Years:

  • 1964 -1967 blackface circuits AA165, AB668 - 40 Watts

  • 1968 -1982 silverface circuits AA1069, AA1009, AA270 - 40-70 Watts

Tube Layout:

AA165 Tube layout (from behind, V1 is to the right side)

  • V1 12ax7 = Preamp normal channel

  • V2 12ax7 = Preamp vibrato channel

  • V3 12at7 = Reverb send

  • V4 12ax7 = 1/2 Reverb recovery and 1/2 gain stage for vibrato channel

  • V5 12ax7 = Vibrato

  • V6 12at7 = Phase inverter

  • V7 6L6 = Power tube #1

  • V8 6L6 = Power tube #2

  • V9 GZ34 = Rectifier tube

What’s it Sound Like?

Fender Twin Reverb, Classic Fender, Lots of Clean Headroom





Tone on! - Patrick


 
 
 

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