Fender Twin reverb

Fender twin Reverb amp 70's model

is that a good amp ?

how much money should I give for it ?

Owner: 1970 silverface twin. What Cybersurf said.............ditto!
I could put the highest gain tubes in the power and preamp section and hear hardly a grumble...............it was designed to play clean and it does..............and fairly loud too! But put a decent pedal in front of it and you can get as much sizzle as you need south of metal. Just ask my neighbors............................

I assume the '73 has a master volume? How do you like the sound when you turn the volume up to 10 and then put the master vol up...well...as loud as you can stand it? (Heh damn they're LOUD amps!) This would be "overdriven" tone (as opposed to distortion tone) right? How does it compare with an OD pedal?

I've got a '72 and it was modded to black face specs though I left the master volume working. It's got celestions in it. Sounds great to me. I would expect to get at least $400 US for it and wouldn't take less. I might get as much as $600, but I would be surprised at $700.

Of course I was listening, you mentioned two of my favorite amps! My ears perked right up.

I think you'd be surprised. There's a nice long "sweet" gradient between clean and dirty on the AC30. To get it REALLY dirty, it needs to be roaring. Look around for a used reissue. They sound marvellous.
A friend of mine just picked one up for around $800.

Yeah I know what you mean. Once the tube-amp gurus get to arguing about things like plate voltage, cathode bias, and class A -vs- class
A/B, I start realizing how dumb I am about all those innards. ;^)

Peace & music,
-dave
www.themoodrings.com (green ring = sounds)

I recognize that there is no point asking the Twin to do what it doesn't do well, but do you have an opinion about this:

Say I overdrive the tubes as described, and it's nice. How would that sound compare to using an overdrive pedal of one make or another? I suspect there would be quite a difference, and I think I have an idea how it would sound. (But I wouldn't know how to describe it quite.)

Anyway, I would be into a relatively simple, relatively low cost way to alter my Twin's basic tone but there's no point in pushing very far. As you say I would be better off with a different amp. Or a 2nd amp! Doubt I'll part with the Twin anytime soon.

I'm sooooo interested in investigating Marshall amps......

I recently saw a nice '74 for $700 US, I would have bought it if I had the cash to spare but I prefer the old Deluxe Reverbs.

The '73s and below still have alot of pre-cbs influence and can be slightly modded to get them very close to black face specs.

"A whisper?" I've told you a million times not to exaggerate. ;^)

I have both an old AC30TB and a '69 Twin (no master vol). Both are lovely, but very different.

Both will reach the "Oh my God, you're loud; please turn down!" level fairly easily. But while the AC30 will start to get nicely furry and chimey and interesting (as they do) after this point, the Twin will continue to stay clean as it gets substantially louder. Of course, we're comparing a 33-watt amp to an ~80(?) watt amp.

This is hard to describe, so bear with my attempts at terminology:
Tonally the Twin has a deeper bass, and more of a top-end "spank" to it. The AC30's low end is a bit murkier, not as deep or focused. It's top-end is smoother. I find the AC30's vibra-trem to be more useful than the Twin's, although it's not so adjustable. The Twin also has that sweet Fender reverb, which is simply the best there is.

I think you'll find a nice Twin for less money than a nice AC30.

Peace and music

Huh. Well mine certainly plays loud and clean, but if I set the volume at 10 and otherwise turn up with the master volume, the sound does break up. In a pleasing way I mean. I understood that was an advantage to the Twin with the master volume. You can overdrive the tubes and get the sound to break up allowing for more variety besides the Twin's hallmark, loud and clean.

Lots to learn for me!

You forgot to mention that the reverb and tremelo are sublime...I miss my
Twin every day, wish I hadn't sold it (back in the early 80s!) because I can't afford a reissue, right now at least...

And get this, I was playing punk back then (probably why I never progressed as a guitarist) and it sounded awesome...

I had a twin reverb a long time ago, loved it. Can't beat the tremelo/reverb combo.

As a former fender twin reverb 70's model owner I can answer that one.
If you want to use it as a jazz amp or on a clean setting, it's ok..but the cabinet will buzz and you'll never figure out where the buzz is coming from.
If you want van halen type overdrive...forget it. It sucks.
If you're holding a microphone and reach around behind the amp to turn on the power, you'll get a really nice electric shock
If you turn it past about 5 using the original speakers and play an open
E chord...you'll probably bust the speakers.
If you buy JBL speakers as replacements they'll weigh so much it will bust the wheels off the amp and the handle on top will snap off.
The highs on the amp are ear piercing, especially if you lean it backwards on the 'legs'
About the only thing the reverb is good for is kicking the amp and getting a really cool crashing sound

I bought mine original for about $400 in the 70's
Sold it about 5 years ago for the same.
Finally bought a Marshall with an attenuator and wished like hell I'd done that 25 years ago.