Amplification Choice
1978 Fender Pro Reverb
Pro Reverb (Rear View) showing service dates
1978 Fender Twin Reverb
Front View (Twin Reverb)
Rear View (Twin Reverb)
My current amplification consists of two legendary American made valve amplifiers. Fender amps are my amps of choice these days; (I've also used Marshall, Laney, and Mesa/Boogie in the past) giving me the array of clean tones I'm particularly after, especially in the realms of Chicago blues / English blues domains.
I'll start with the Pro Reverb. I got this amp about 10-11 years ago from a local collector in PJ. Being a fresh graduate at that time, I lusted for vintage Fender amps after amassing a large collection of vintage electric guitars I had acquired from the States. After all, justice could only be done to these beautiful instruments when you pair them up with their 'old friends'.
Due to logistic and obvious reasons, one could not simply 'hand-carry' amplifiers as opposed to its six string cousins on long haul flights, yeah planes... Plus, the difference in North American voltages compared to the Asian voltages meant I had to always plug in a step-down transformer whenever I were to play through a US sourced amplifier. The hassle and all....Hence, the only way I reckoned, was to procure it locally. This I had to do, for the sake of the beloved instruments I brought in...
So I got it. The difference? Well, my ears could not really differentiate at that time (due to my nature of playing at that time; heavy distortion, 20 something alternative rock, etc. thru the Boogie amp). My desire of just wanting a vintage Fender amp really outweighed all other factors, seriously. It really sounded OK to me as an overly tone-insensitive player at that time. However, as the months and years passed by, I realised that the Boogie amp, while great and all that, was really more of a heavy rock/alternative music guitar amp. than anything else. The tones while thick and saturated, were often single dimensioned, largely due to the single 10" speaker configuration housed in a small enclosure. On the other hand, it's great for Santana stuffs, especially with humbuckers and solid bodies.
It is during this period that I played through the Pro Reverb more and more and slowly finding its character and persona. It was during this period too I was digging Eric Clapton's repertoire and gears in a fuller dimension. Gradually, the pieces all came together like a jigsaw puzzle... :-)
Well, I could go on and on.... To cut the long story short, if you love the blues and play electric guitar, you'll need a vintage Fender Stratocaster and a vintage Fender valve amp. There's no two ways about this. Well, you could opt for a vintage Gibson / Marshall / Boogie combination, but if you want clean and no-nonsense performance, nothing beats this combo. The purity of tone this setup gives you elevates your status and personality because it showcases your actual guitar playing and touch. Your tone and style is easily recognizable with this combination. Having said that, this setup is also very unforgiving, revealing any mistakes and shortfalls you may have and may embarass you in gigging situations if you're not up to it. Caution especially when using maple fingerboard Strats... Any mistake whatsoever will be instantly (i mean, literally the speed of sound) amplified.
For players who prefer the muddy tone zone, it is suggested that the humbucker / marshall / boogie combination be sought instead. Not that it is wrong to do otherwise, I guess it's a matter of choice and preference. The Pro Reverb I have is a 70 watts RMS model with two 6L6 power tubes supplying enough juice for the many gigs to come. With a moderate power section, it overdrives pretty easily, especially with a Master Volume control and even easier if you own a humbucker equipped axe like the Gibson Les Paul, 335, or a PRS Custom 22. Simply because, they pickups are often hotter and higher output than a single coiled bell tone Strat pickup.
Some years later, I got hold of a Twin Reverb amp. In similar chassis and footprint with the Pro Reverb, this amp is however, a totally different animal altogether. For one, it's more powerful; 135 watts RMS with four 6L6 power tubes through 2 12" Fender speakers. With the additional power it has, the top end of the tone frequency seem to shine more than the Pro Reverb. The shimmers I get especially with George L cables and a Stratocaster through this amp is really satisfying. The reverb..... man.... is really great too, like halls in concert. With my EC strat, I could get real clean sounds with the TBX fully open, and with the 25db boost of the EC's active circuit, the sound suddenly becomes mid apparent 'Marshall' like. So, it's best of both worlds with this amp. Highly recommended for versatility and robustness.
Sadly, this amp is just TOO fine, I'm trying not to gig with it so often... but heck, you only live once :-) What say you? Ha Ha
I'll start with the Pro Reverb. I got this amp about 10-11 years ago from a local collector in PJ. Being a fresh graduate at that time, I lusted for vintage Fender amps after amassing a large collection of vintage electric guitars I had acquired from the States. After all, justice could only be done to these beautiful instruments when you pair them up with their 'old friends'.
Due to logistic and obvious reasons, one could not simply 'hand-carry' amplifiers as opposed to its six string cousins on long haul flights, yeah planes... Plus, the difference in North American voltages compared to the Asian voltages meant I had to always plug in a step-down transformer whenever I were to play through a US sourced amplifier. The hassle and all....Hence, the only way I reckoned, was to procure it locally. This I had to do, for the sake of the beloved instruments I brought in...
So I got it. The difference? Well, my ears could not really differentiate at that time (due to my nature of playing at that time; heavy distortion, 20 something alternative rock, etc. thru the Boogie amp). My desire of just wanting a vintage Fender amp really outweighed all other factors, seriously. It really sounded OK to me as an overly tone-insensitive player at that time. However, as the months and years passed by, I realised that the Boogie amp, while great and all that, was really more of a heavy rock/alternative music guitar amp. than anything else. The tones while thick and saturated, were often single dimensioned, largely due to the single 10" speaker configuration housed in a small enclosure. On the other hand, it's great for Santana stuffs, especially with humbuckers and solid bodies.
It is during this period that I played through the Pro Reverb more and more and slowly finding its character and persona. It was during this period too I was digging Eric Clapton's repertoire and gears in a fuller dimension. Gradually, the pieces all came together like a jigsaw puzzle... :-)
Well, I could go on and on.... To cut the long story short, if you love the blues and play electric guitar, you'll need a vintage Fender Stratocaster and a vintage Fender valve amp. There's no two ways about this. Well, you could opt for a vintage Gibson / Marshall / Boogie combination, but if you want clean and no-nonsense performance, nothing beats this combo. The purity of tone this setup gives you elevates your status and personality because it showcases your actual guitar playing and touch. Your tone and style is easily recognizable with this combination. Having said that, this setup is also very unforgiving, revealing any mistakes and shortfalls you may have and may embarass you in gigging situations if you're not up to it. Caution especially when using maple fingerboard Strats... Any mistake whatsoever will be instantly (i mean, literally the speed of sound) amplified.
For players who prefer the muddy tone zone, it is suggested that the humbucker / marshall / boogie combination be sought instead. Not that it is wrong to do otherwise, I guess it's a matter of choice and preference. The Pro Reverb I have is a 70 watts RMS model with two 6L6 power tubes supplying enough juice for the many gigs to come. With a moderate power section, it overdrives pretty easily, especially with a Master Volume control and even easier if you own a humbucker equipped axe like the Gibson Les Paul, 335, or a PRS Custom 22. Simply because, they pickups are often hotter and higher output than a single coiled bell tone Strat pickup.
Some years later, I got hold of a Twin Reverb amp. In similar chassis and footprint with the Pro Reverb, this amp is however, a totally different animal altogether. For one, it's more powerful; 135 watts RMS with four 6L6 power tubes through 2 12" Fender speakers. With the additional power it has, the top end of the tone frequency seem to shine more than the Pro Reverb. The shimmers I get especially with George L cables and a Stratocaster through this amp is really satisfying. The reverb..... man.... is really great too, like halls in concert. With my EC strat, I could get real clean sounds with the TBX fully open, and with the 25db boost of the EC's active circuit, the sound suddenly becomes mid apparent 'Marshall' like. So, it's best of both worlds with this amp. Highly recommended for versatility and robustness.
Sadly, this amp is just TOO fine, I'm trying not to gig with it so often... but heck, you only live once :-) What say you? Ha Ha
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