Fender '65 Super Reverb Reissue

Bought just a few months ago (Feb 09 to be exact) new from Dawson's in Bangor Northern Ireland. 4x10" Jensen Speakers, 2x6L6 output tubes, tube rectifier, about 40 to 45 watts, Normal and Vibrato channels as per what we all know, the Vibrato channel has Middle control, Reverb and Vibrato (Tremolo in reality). Normal channel just Vol, Bass and Treble. No channel switching, effects loops, headphone jacks or any of that kind of stuff, this is a vintage style amp. This has become my main gigging amp for any stage or venue, I consider myself to be a 'Roots' player i.e. real Blues, Rockabilly/Rock and Roll, Country, Roadhouse Rock with experience of other styles of music like Jazz, Fusion, Funk, Reggae/Ska, Hard Rock etc. At the moment i've been working with a multicultural group with members from Slovakia, Zimbabwe and Poland (i'm the only Irish one) that leans toward Funk, Reggae, African traditional and Jazzy Prog type stuff and a Ska band who play really loud, this amp fits my style like a glove, i'm going to give it a 10 because for my range it's perfection, it's the right output level married to the very efficient sound radiator of four 10 inch speakers.

My three gigging guitars are all "Partsocasters". I mainly use two strats, one alder, one light swamp ash; both with very big D/U profile custom built slab board necks and both with Van Zandt pickups and traditional Strat wiring although the alder body guitar has a RW/RP middle pickup. I also use an alder body early 60's style Telecaster with rosewood board and Bare Knuckle Brown Sugar pickups. A while ago when I bought this amp I was also using an ash body strat with one-piece maple neck and Fender US Reissue pickups. Even with single coils this amp stays very quiet on stage in terms of hum or buzzing although my experience with Fender amps has helped in this way i.e. bring EQ up very slowly and gradually in conjunction with the vol control to dial in your sound. There really should be no need to have any of the EQ controls past 5 (or 6 at a push) because the sound is naturally there and increasing the volume will increase the depth and sonic content of the sound anyway, if you over EQ the thing it'll sound noisier, same as any valve amp i've ever tried except Marshalls, where the EQ does almost nothing anyway. Effects wise I use two modded Dunlop wahs, Roger Mayer Octavia, Boss TU-2 Tuner, Fulltone FD-2, Roger Mayer Voodoo-Vibe and Boss DD-20 Delay. I use effects sparingly and have gigged with the Super and just the footswitch for the Tremolo and Reverb, the clean sounds available from the Super are to die for, think of a far spunkier livelier Twin and your almost there, much cleaner than the Bassman combos but with that same juicy character where your note is just right there with you even at moderate levels (3 or 4 on volume), possibly as it shares the same tube layout and rectifier tube (not to mention 4x10 speakers) as the Bassman, but with first class Reverb and Tremolo. This amp really starts to come into it's own though when you wind the volume up to around 6 and 7, then it's the realm of the magical fat, mostly clean but dirty note and the amp becomes extremely Super responsive (pun intended) to pick attack around this point, we're talking very pricey boutique amp standards here, the thing is though that it's very responsive at any volume past about 2 and a half and always sits well in the mix both on stage and out front, it's also a great recording amp, the Twin on the other hand is a terrible amp in the studio and sometimes can be overbearing on stage, bear in mind that at this stage the speakers still aren't fully broken in (I reckon it takes a full year or so) and it's still got the stock Groove Tubes (red label) in it and things can only get better, i've two pairs of Phillips 7581a Tubes waiting to go into this amp, then things are going to be something else. The Super amp sounds great with any of my pedals and guitars although i prefer the out-and-out overdriven sound of the Telecaster with FD-2 (boost channel on)through a Twin Reverb but maybe another booster pedal like a Maxon OD-9 or FlynnAmps booster will help this. Just try one if you liked the swirl of a Bassman and poke of a Deluxe but need cleaner headroom.

Can't comment since it's still pretty new but the '65 reissue Twin i also have has had a good track record for the last 9 years. The cabinet feels more solid to me than my Twin did new although they've still got that flimsy baffle and back panel, i'd pay extra if Fender would stop doing this and use hardboard like the old ones, Leo's thing was all about functionality and practicality after all.....

Hope I don't need to.

I love this amp, I've never played an amp that suited me better than this for the styles I play and the bands i'm in. For me, most important thing is that sonically it sits perfectly in live mixes and records extremely well and responds brilliantly even relatively low on the volume. Thing is although some people think 40 or 45 watts isn't enough, the 4x10 speakers spread that sound so well, you'll be heard really clear but your band mates and soundman will still love you! It's still pretty heavy but easier to move around than Twins or Marshall cabs. Although i'm certain i've found my soul mate in an amplifier, i'd still love to try out a Vibrolux Reverb (2x10) as an extra amp, which i've never been lucky enough to play through.

Speaker out is only 2ohm. Good luck finding a cab with that rateing, but you could build one. It has a "Normal" chan and a "Vibrato" chan. Reverb sounds pretty good as does the vibrato, (after tube upgrade!) but only works on the vibrato chan. Can only access vibrato, (which is really tremolo) and reverb with the supplied footswitch. It IS a very good looking amp!

Over all a good amp, but... Be prepaired to upgrade your tubes to quiet down the all too aggravateing Fender hiss. When it comes to this tube upgrade, cheap replacements just dont do as much as more expensive preamp tubes. Be prepaired to swap your OT and PT with a Mercury Mag rig. They also offer a choke and reverb trany, but at a minimum, replace the output and power trany. That will set you back 3 to 4 hundred bucks. Add another 1 to 2 hundred for a "cap" job and you'll have a sweet sounding Super! It's a shame they skimped on the wood for the cab. You can find a good replacement at Allen Amplification. This makes a pretty noticeable difference in tone! Don't get me wrong, it's not too bad right out of the box, but it could, and should (SHAME ON YOU FENDER!)sound better though for the ammount of cheese paid!

Fender amps are like old VW's, you either get a good one or you dont. If you don't, it will nickel and dime you till you sell it. I wish the folks at fender would pay attention to what people are saying about thier product and get back to what Leo did- put out a quality product AND NOT CHARGE AN ARM AND A LEG! Fender tube amps from "back in the day" are still working and sound GREAT,(although they are CRAZY expensive-they were'nt back then though!!). I wonder if this reissue will be around in 20 years?

Good luck on this. If you have a problem, do yourself a favor and just find the nearest Fender authorized repair shop, or if your warranty has expired, a good amp tech, or even better, start reading up on amps and take care of stuff yourself,(always remember that there's LETHAL voltage present inside your amp, even if it's been unplugged for awhile, BE CAREFUL!!!) There's ALOT of good books out there that will get you on your way,(check out JK Lutherie). Of course, doing stuff yourself voids your warranty, but you'll end up with a better product!!

I was lucky that mine sounded just ok out of the box. A good friend of mine who ordered his the same day from the same place as me was not so lucky. First one went back, just didnt work. Second one worked but was insanely loud, (snap crackle pop), it went back. Third time was the charm sort of. While it didn't sound as "good" as mine right out of the box, I was able to show him what he needed to do to get it right and he decided not to send that one back. After the afforementioned "upgrades", this amp will sound fantastic. You just gotta ask yourself if it's worth the hassle, or fun, depending on how you look at it. In closeing, I again say, COME ON FENDER!!! YOU REPRESENT A SLICE OF AMERICANA!!! GET YOUR S@#T TOGETHER!!!!!

bought it in 06 in hong kong. 220V. dont know what difference it makes compared to 110V around here. first channel is useless. why even have it without verb or vibrato? one channel would definately suffice. the 4x10 jensen setup is a great thing. not necessarily knocking the first channel's sound, etc, but it doesnt enhance anything. sounds identical to channel 2 w/out reverb/vibrato

when i was in china with this amp, i used a 92 SG Special. just some off the rack deal. no mods. seems only zappa bragged about the Specials. quite underappreciated guitar if yoou ask me. wish i had an older one. Anyhow, the band in china (we're all 'westerners' though) was kind of early pink floyd sounding stuff...mixed with a bit of janes addiction, and some heavy moments. (jeez i hate describing bands like this, but in this forum, there aint really another way is there?)
soundwise......absolutely fantastic. i really lucked out, cuz i just picked it out of a catalogue, and didnt try it out in any shop. VERY sensitive to how hard or soft you play (eg. just listen to the Meters' Cissy Strut). good sound at almost any EG setting, although the bass was kind of flubby. if you like the sound of fender amps and what they are all about, this is a great example.
as for the effects, whats been said about fender reverb has already been said. just beautiful. vibrato- same, except it makes a loud pop when you turn it on at high volumes with the reverb on as well.
exceptionally bright, gorgeous clean sound. nice amp to sculpt. can spend hours just sitting in front of it experimenting with its voicings. cant make it not sound like a fender though. which is of coourse why you buy a fender in the first place.
not to be a negative nacy, but it rattles a lot. some say its the stand, but it defiately comes from inside the thing. sounds like if you shake a blown light bulb. its loud sometimes, but at other times, it doesnt show up. it was a bit of a headache during recording.
i would have given it a 9 if it wasnt for the rattle.

unfortunately, it blew up a month after i got it. i didnt trust the guy at the shop, so i really dont know whats wrong with it. so he changed the tubes and the transformer and got it working again. it never sounded the same though. the bass was almost 'bad'. stick with the tubes that fender puts in. groove tubes i think. i have no idea whats in there now. but its not the same. anyone who says tubes dont make a difference is lying. i wont give it a terribly low score, cuz A0 i dont know what perils this amp went through in hong kong, or at shipping, and B) i wasnt the one who blew it up. i was not present when it blew up. some damn wannabe probably dropped it or whatever.....

china has no support there at all. you go with what the shady sales man says or else you got nothing.

not much to add here. it captures the Fender vibe if its working and not rattling. dunno...maybe i just got a lemon. Fender makes some kickass stuff, to be sure. I LOVE the sound when its behaving. and yes, i am in the market for a new one. had to leave it behind when i came back to canada. if you want a fender amp, save your money and get this one, or the other 'vintage' tube amps. dont waste your bread on their cheap generic crap. i personally recommend this one cuz of the 4x10 jensen setup. nice and punchy. cuts nice at gigs and practice. dont have to hassle when recording. only mic placement of course. except for that darn rattle. if you like the fender sound, give this one a try. maybe youre luck can be better than mine. after all, fender didnt get this good reputation building bad amps, now did they?

'07 Super. Very versatile. Everyone knows the details.

Careful on the mods on this one boys and girls - you might be chasing a tone ghost. I mean this unit is great out of the box. Tubes are fine - big, rich, wide tone with a slight "in between" clip that's great for rhythm (especially blues or raw funk). It also yields a nice Stones raunch when you really crank it. However, it won't be liquid molten leads with endles sustain (enter your pair of Rat pedals) - just raunchy. So, does swapping out preamp tubes, etc. to lower the gain work? Why not plug into the low input for less gain first to see if that gets you there. Maybe your pickups are way too hot to begin with. Some folks think hotter pickups give more tone then are bummed when they can't get a good laid back sound that is clean enough - not the amp's fault. Also, the speakers will break in over time and smooth the tone too. Point is - spend some time with this amp (or any amp) before you start swapping stuff out. I'd suggest maybe six months with a few gigs under your belt to see what works. Think about it - if after a gig you think the amp really let you down - you probably bought the wrong amp! Change around the EQ alot to see what works. If you dime this amp's volume (or any amp), you will lose a little articulation on your notes as you push the speakers out hard. Maybe try micing through the PA to get that balance of "fillin' out the amp" with volume, but not maxing it out into the fart zone. I don't believe this amps sweet spot is at 10 from what I've heard - probably 5-7 is peak for tone and is a nice place to sit using your guitar volume for different textures. In my opinion, Fender built a good amp here and you can save yourself time and money having a little patience before you launch into the mod zone. Believe me, I totally respect the quest for the tone you're "hearing in your head", but I see too many people rush out and swap speakers, tubes, and have circuitry modded before they get a chance to REALLY know their amps. The ultimate joke is ripping out the printed circuit board for old time point-to-point wiring - talk about $$ down the toilet!! (LOL). ;) This amp is great native! I highly recommend it!

Fender actually picks up the phone now - very nice.

Solid

Review update . I have had this amp for 2 years now.

I love this amp ! I have lowerd the first gain stage by changing the 12AX7 to a 5751 . I also change the reverb recovery tube to a 5751 this soften the tone and gain in the Vibrato channel. I use a Nashvill Tele , a 335 with Seth lovers and a Schecter Banshee it is like a strat with a humbucker in the bridge and a lipstick pickup in the neck. I had alot of pedals (all true bypass) from delay to different OD/distortion/fuzz/treble boosters pedals and a wah I think I had 14 pedals in all . But, over all the amp sounds best with just a guitar and a volume pedal to control gain and volume . I ended up selling all the pedals. When I play live and run the volume at 6 ,treble at 5, mid's at 7 and bass at 5. I have also rewierd the speakers all in parallel for 2 ohm's .Fender has it set up parallel/ seriers so all the power goes to one speaker then it drives the other three. which makes the speakers sound flaby in the bass and treble ice pick in the ear. Now she is so sweet !

O.K. I like it loud and I have gig alot with this amp. The cabnit back pannels that protect the tubes and reverb pan had losen up they rattle so bad I thought I had blown my speakers . I fix that with weather stripping at poits of contact of cab. One of the legs had got bent and I took those off they would rattle when I played also. Power tubes and recterfier tube all went bad around the same time. And also most of the preamp tubes were microphonic at the time of purchase. So if I bought it agian I would take to a tech after I left the store. Also the bright switch's were bad when I bought it.But the warranty fix that.

They back that warranty 100% !

I have been playing for over 20 years and this is my favorit amp . I play Blues ,Surf, Country , Rock and Jazz. Loud or quit this amp sound nice . I would buy it again.

I played an '08 model.

The amp was amazing for my style of music. Mostly blues and modern acoustic rock type stuff.

2 channels. 1 regular with only treble, bass, and volume control. The other with Reverb, Tremolo (speed and intensity control), bass, mid, treble and volume. Bright switch for extra treble/transparency.

I used all the features and they were all great.
Perfect for home jam sessions with small bands.

No drive channel but that's not really important. Most amps have shitty built in drive channels anyway. No channel switching, but I can't think of a reason to ever use the first channel. You can turn the reverb/tremolo off and its basically the first channel but with a mid control.

I used a Fender American Standard Strat with stock pickups.
Fits perfectly with styles where you want TONE! No heavy metal or emo ****.
The amp was surprisingly quiet even with noisy single coil Strat pickups.

The amp responds really well to the EQ. I was able to quickly dial in various amazing tones simply with the EQ. The tremolo/reverb really gave alot of new options as well. The bright switch is AMAZING. It adds some treble/transparency and sounds unreal.

I played it in local shop so I didn't push the hell out of it. I did get the volume up to about 5-6 and 10 on the guitar and it was loud and had TONES of amazing tone.

AMAZING sounding amp. As the volume increases, its sounds better and better. I stood and played into it for an hour. I almost made the music store owner stay a while and let me play longer.

I don't know how dependable it is.
But I would 100% gig with it. SOUNDS SOOOO GOOD!

I've been playing for 7 years. 19 years old. My other guitar is a Gibson Chet Atkins SST and a crappy Behringer ACX1000 Acoustic amp.

I will be buying this amp very soon. I CAN'T WAIT!

I compared this amp to the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and Deville, the Blues Deville Reissue, the Custom Vibrolux Reverb, and the Twin Reverb.
The Hot Rod series is a decent value, but has 1/4 the tone of this amp. The Blues deville has some shrill tones and bad OD channel. The Vibrolux has alot of noise and terrible bass response. The Twin Reverb is way too much power and too twangy.

I chose this one because it has the best tone and is the perfect size. I play in a basement/garage band.

BUY THIS AMP! You won't be sorry.

Most everyone already know what the features of this great amp are, If not go to Fender web page and read!!

I have a SRV signature strat and an Eric Clapton Signature Strat. I read a lot of reviews that everyone had written in this form on many different subjects. But let me tell you one thing!! If you have not changed the sorry,crappy, no good tubes in your Super Reverb, you don't have any Idea what your missing in "TONE"!! It will be like you just went out and bought a new amp!! That is no kidding, that much of a difference, night vs day!! I can't stress just how important it is for any of you that has not change your stock tube to do it ASAP. I just bought my amp this week played it 2 days, then I ordered a set of JJ tubes, gold pin tubes for the pre-amp section..and this amp went from being boring to WOW!! I have a 1965 Deluxe Reverb, no reissue..my only point bring that up is when I first brought the Super Reverb home and played my Deluxe then the Super..I was sick, my Deluxe sounded better...no kidding, yes I have made some mods..but still, I was expecting so much more out of the Super Reverb and I just wouldn't deliver...When I put the full Set of JJ tube in her "WOW" is all I can say!! I played for 2 hrs straight not even taking a break..it sounded that damn good...Now I know why this is the best amp and Stevie used them, one damn good sounding amp if you replace the tubes!! Expensive yes, but well, well worth the investment..and I am 150% happy with the JJ tubes...when you pull the old ones out just compair the quality of the gold pin tubes and the pre amp tubes rectifier tube is a Ruby, and they suck....anyway just put then in tonight so guess just blown away by the difference and had to write this to let everyone know, that changing the stock tube is not an option it is a must!! The longer you wait, you don't have a clue what your missing!!!! Glad I listened to what some of you had to say in the reviews...Thanks Guy's....wouldn't have done it with out your advise....Sound Quality rating stock tubes..I give it a 4 to 5, with JJ tubes I give it a 10 to a 12, simple math guys...

No problems, never had problems with Fender products yet, hope I don't...5yr warranty!! Most of them in the past were built tough!

No contact

If this amp were stolen, I would go out the next day buy another one pull the sorry ass tubes out of her and put in a new set of JJ gold pin tubes before I ever even pluged the amp up!! Playing guitar too long..30yrs..damn getting old...lol.

Basic. Would like Channel switching on the pedal, reverb on both channels, Channel one to have a gain control. I know, I know, this is a reissue. but a guy can dream can't he? I guess an A/B switch, reverb, and distortion pedals would cure my griping.

I've been playing since I was 8 and grew up hearing my uncle play a '72 tele. through a vintage twin with 12" JBL's. Over the years, I've tried many lower priced amps, even rackmount tube preamps, trying to get that "sound" in my head. Admittedly, spent 26 years, and much more money than if I'd just saved for a great sounding amp in the first place. I know I'd have played it more, and that is what we're all about isn't it! Great tone, lots of pop and twang, sweet reverb and vibrato, plenty powerful on stage with bass and drums!

This amp takes my banging it around, (in and out of the back of my truck) just as fender tube amps have for years. The tubes don't take 20 min. to warm up and I've taken this thing from below freezing temperatures to playing in just the time it takes to warm my fingers.

My Fender dealer in Churubusco, NY. takes great care of me. I buy my equipment locally and get the personallized service that comes with it.

Kind of heavy, but that's the price to pay for the great tone of 4 10" jensens at 2ohms. for the price, it should have came with removable casters and a cover. My dealer would have thrown in the cover had I pressed the issue, but it's fenders fault, not his. One more thing, I get an annoying rattle on stage with the tilt back legs, havng to keep moving the amp around a little until it quits. I've thought about taking them off and puting the amp on a chair.

Were it stolen I'd definitely buy another one!

'65 Super Reverb reissue made in March 2001. All tube including tube rectifier, 2 - channels, footswitchable reverb and tremelo. Fairly accurate repro of original '65 Super Reverb, the differences are plywood case (original was pine), printed circuit board (original was handwired), resistors and caps are going to be modern style but with same values. The reissue also uses six 12AX7's (the original had four 12AX7's and two lower gain 12AT's).

Overall tone is excelent. The reverb on this amp is fantastic! At full gallop, the reverb is very wet making this amp applicable for surf music. I also have the '65 Twin reissue which doesn't have as wet a reverb. A Guitar Player magazine article comparing the '65 reissue to a '64 original Super Reverb (Google it) found the reverb on the original max'd out at 10 only approached the level of reverb on the reissue set at 5. The tremelo is also excellent on the reissue with wider range in depth and speed than the original (see GP comparison).
I compared the '65 Super Reverb reissue to a mid '90's Fender Super Amp (4 - 10's, similar tube layout but solid state rectifier). the '65 RI has a wider range of tone sounding more present than the Super Amp (neither amp has a presence knob) and again the reverb on the '65 RI smoked the reverb on the Super Amp. Both amps had very good bass response.

Too soon t'say. I got it recently.

This is one great all around amp. I play primarily Fender strats through it.

Blackface vintage amp features. nothing too fancy. Basic stuff. I'll rate it a ten because this is a vintage amp, not some lame new digital terd of an amp.

I use my special strat with this amp, and it SOUNDS AWESOME!!! I love it! My setup is: Strat>Crybaby classic wah>Robert keeley modded Tubescreamer>Keeley modded Ds-1 distortion. This setup kills! I am a blues player with a wide range ability to play other styles. I needed a versatile tube amp. Sooo I got the Super. It has the best clean sound i have ever heard, great for jazz, country, blues, and many others. I also occasionally play some shred, and some 80's metal (van halen, etc.) and suprisingly this amp does that great too! If you use a good, high quality distortion pedals like the Keeley ds-1, and ts-9, it sounds great.

In that setup i use the ts-9 somewhat as a pickup/volume boost so i turn the gain on the ts-9 to 9 o'clock and the volume all the way up (it's not horribly loud UNLESS you turned of the ds-1.) And the ds-1 is at its normal setting with its volume anywhere and it's gain all the way up. This thing does it all!

This thing is a rock!

This is the last amp i will ever buy...EVER...