Fender '65 Super Reverb Reissue

Lets be honest here. Its a reissue of a 65 Super Reverb. If you want features like effects loop, etc, you should not be looking at a reissue. For what it does, it does awesome, and I only gave it an 8 because some people will be put off by the lack of modern features. What DOES it do? well....

TONE!!!! Thats what this is all about.Ok guys. Let me preface this so I dont have any "purist" flame me. When I was 16 (27 now) I started playing w/ my now ex father in laws country/country rock band (he wasnt my father in law yet then :) ) We played old and new country, and classic rock. The closest guy to my age was 33. The rest were all in their 40's and 50's. Everyone, and I mean everyone, used real, vintage Fenders. Not only that, but the guys were all cool enough to let me borow them "between shows" so sometimes I would have a BF twin, Super, Tweed Bassman, etc for 1-2 weeks at a time in my possession. At the time, I wasnt to jazzed, since I was into gain monsters, like my EVH 5150 I was using (Hey, I was a kid.. cut me some slack. :) ) So I know what the vintage stuff sounds and plays like. Not all twins sounded the same, nor did the bassmans, deluxe reverbs, etc. Ok.. *whew* Now that that is done.

I recieved my Super RI on a Thursday at 5:00. I had band practice at 6:00, so I took off, new amp in tow. Immediatly my drummer noticed the tightness of the bottom end. For the 4 hour practice, I didnt have time to toy with it, but my tone, I felt was awesome. On Saturday, we did 2 shows. A private party from 2-5 PM and then a 9-1:30 AM show in Deleware, Oh. I got tons of compliments on my tone. To me, its sounded a little harsher then I remember, but I really think its the new speakers, which I can break in over time. Other then that, it was dead on to some of the best supers Ive played. All in all, I play Blues, Classic rock. This amp is awesome. Its not as heavy as I was expecting, nor is it as loud as I was told as well, which is good. I played at the outside part on 6-8 and inside I was on 4-5. Great tone. If you can aford it, get it.Im glad I did. I got my modded Ts-9/808 back that day, and what a combo. Theres a tube mod someone told me about on here I did for a little more gain. Email me if you're interested in it. Its subtle but will make a difference if you're doing small venues/bars/clubs. I have now had this amp for 2-3 months. I've used it on about 15-20 shows. It kills everytime. I've really dialed in a great tone. I've bought a lot of equipment. I'm not talking about my guitars here, since I always labor over there purchase. However, I have bought a LOT of amps and effects. Usually the honeymoon is over in 2 weeks, and I regret wasting the money on it. This amp, in all of my years of playing, is the only purchse I never looked back upon with contempt. It was expensive. $1200 is a lot to me, but if it were stolen I would have to buy it again. Chances are, if you're looking at this review, you're NOT in the market for a high gain Mesa, or 5150, or what have you. This reissue is up to par with some of the best BF's Ive ever heard. You will not lose if you get this amp. It sings, and lets me be me. What more could you want?

So far no tubes have went. However, heres a piece of advise, if your outlet at the gig is right next to where the drummer crawls back behind the kit, tell him if he knocks it out, DO NOT HURRY UP AND PLUG IT BACK IN!! My drummer did this and blew my fuse. I panicked, but my bassist had a spare and I was up and running again in 5 minutes. This isn't Fenders fault, but a clumsy drummer. Heck, he didn't know, and neither did I. I do now.

The one good thing Fender did is make it so the power cord can detache from the unit. While it increases the chance of losing it, it makes it easier to replace if something happened to it.

We practice at my drummers house (damn him!!!) and his basement flooded. My amp was up to the bottom 2 inches of the bottom 10's.I took it apart and let it dry. Put it back together, and it was fine. I was really worried I'd have to replace the parts, and one day I might, but it was fine to my ears. Some people will say "The speakers will sound like crap now" but I really didn't notice. And my ears are pretty good. Outside of human ignorance, I don't see any problems coming with this amp.

Hadn't had to use them, and hopefully, won't!

I'm using an SRV Strat/American Deluxe Strat into a Texas Square Fuzz>Ts9/808>Teese RMC 3 or Picture, depending on my mood> Octavia into the Super. Not a lot of effects. This, for me, is tone heaven. I bought a dolly to lug it around. This thing is heavy. Oh well, whats a hernia among friends? ;)

I have to be lenient in this category because it is a reissue, and is not intended to compete with the new digital modelling amps or a Marshall TSL. If you buy this amp you are either a 'less is more' player or intend to do channel switching and effects via a pedal board. What it does have is useable power, deep reverb, and tremolo that takes you from slow motion swirl to helicoptor rotors. If I could have one additional feature on this amp, it would be footswitchable reverb levels. I would love to go from 2 to 8 at the click of a switch.

I own a '57 Black Beauty (not a reissue), and a Les Paul Classic. I also use a TS9 pedal and a Budda Phatman preamp. I play classic rock, blues, bluegrass, folk, funk, jazz, and sometimes even metal.

I realize that many of the people looking at these reviews own or have owned an original Super. My favorite guitar players use original Supers, but I have never been able to find one that is affordable. I have read the reviews of the originals, and the reissue closely matches up.

My favorite settings are with volume between 3 to 4. After 4 the natural distortion kicks in. It sounds great, but I don't want to loose the ability to strum clean chords.

The bass has a wider range than is necessary. With bass on 1 it sounds like you are playing through a tin can. With bass on 10 it has tightness that is not common to open back amp designs. Also, the amp does not rattle when the volume and bass are turned up. I find many combo amps rattle too much. I can't vouch for all of these amps, but mine is perfect.

The trebble is pleasant as well. It provides enough bite, and at the right frequency. My Black Beauty is an all mahogany guitar, and generally has a mellow bass/mid tone. The trebble allows me to go from a jazz sound to a screaming lead tone without changing guitars.

At first, I didn't like the reverb, but now I love it. I have owned a Matchless Chieftain 210 and a Vibrolux, both with subtle but muscular reverb. This thing has "super" reverb. With the Super Reverb set at 3, it compares to a Vibrolux at set at 10. When playing lead at high volume and at high reverb levels, this amp swallows you whole. It sounds as if there is a slight echo added to the reverb.

The tremolo is extremely versatile. With the depth set a 10 the volume swells from off to full. I find that a good tremolo can shut completely off at the bottom of it's sweep. And the speed range is much wider than the Vibrolux on both the slow and fast side.

My only complaint is that two pieces of particle board (protecting the tubes and reverb tank) are flimsy. The originals had the same flimsy construction, but since they changed the power chord, I expect they could provide thicker or stronger wood on the back without loosing offending anyone.

This amp has not failed me yet. I'll get back to you in a few years.

No experience with Fender, although I like the warrenty. I hope I don't have to use it.

I have been playing for 11 years. This amp may not be point-to-point wired, but sounds much better than my Matchless Chieftain ever did. It lets my guitar occupy it's own tonal niche. I would love to own an original, but I'm not complaining.

Easy enough to use without even reading the manual. Simple straightforward 2 channel amp. Great for Jazz/Rock/Blues/R&B.

I mainly use my 98'Fender American Deluxe and Ibanez AS120 semi-hollow body. The 65 Super Reverb works great with both. What I love about this amp is that when I plug in my AS120, and it gives me this wonderful well-balanced jazzy tone that I allways wanted. It is even more amazing when I use it with my Fender American Deluxe. I usually run my signals through Guitar -> BOSS CS-3 -> BS-2 -> DS-1 -> GE-7 -> DD-5-> CE-5. When I stomp on my BS-2, this amp instatntly turns into a classic Blues machine. Since I work for axjacket.com ( guitar on-stand cover ), I always have the chances to try the amps and guitars in our show room, and I have come to the conlusion that the Super Reverb Reissue is definetly your best buy for music styles like Jazz,Classic Rock, ALT Rock, and Blues. I had to buy one for myself, and I did. I certainly am very happy about my decision. The 65 Twin Reverb Reissue is also great but does not sound as good as the Super Reberb Reissue. NOTE: The 72 Twin Rever is a wonderful choice as well. I will try to post more reviews about the gears I have at home and here in the office.

Don't know. Only have it for about a month. But the one in the office is about 2 year old and no problem at all.

Don't need it yet!

I have been playing electric guitars for over 15. I am very happy with this amp.

bin done,,you all know what it has.Best feature is TONE!!!

This is an update from my last post. Had the amp a month now, and I haven`t touched my other amps since I got it! Even my keyboard player noticed the improvement in tone, and said it was way more versatile than the Bassman Reissue I used as my #1 rig. Totally satisfied.

I was wondering if any amp techs have had a chance to look inside one of these bad boys. Is the build quality as good as the tone? Will I be looking for a Hoffman board kit in a few years, or will this last me the rest of my days?? You can email a response, or opinion to me.

no comment. My local dealer sucks. Period.

Too pricey,,but I bought it anyways. Don`t tell my wife!

We are all familiar with the features of this amp. I`ve owned origionals and i must say, this one is damn good. The reverb could be better, but maybe a tube swap would fix it up.

I am a blues player, and I use a Strat, `62 reissue. The usual pedals. Modified Vox 847,old Bluesbreaker, modified to 808 spec tube screamer, ce2 chorus, Digitec delay pedal to A,B,C, to Super, and Reissue Bassman. I`ve got all the tonal bases covered for what I do. smooth jazz textures, to screamin` Buddy Guy stuff! When I get the dough, i`m gettin` Hoffman kits for both! Just love the Jensen rissues too!! ( Listen to me,,,I sound like a re-issue freak! Can`t afford the origionals tho`!)

Too soon to tell, but if my Bassman is an indication,, I`m ok.

I`ve bin playing 30 years, now, and haved owned the origionals, and wished I`d never sold them. I bought this amp because I missed out on a mint origional 65, and a glad I did. Everything I liked about he origional, I like on this one. It`s about tone, and it`s got it in spades!

04/20/01

After being convinced of the validity of Fender?s reissue Amp line by the outstanding performance of my ?65 Deluxe Reverb RI, I had no reservations about ordering one of Fender?s new ?65 Super Reverb RI?s sight unseen. Now that I?ve spent just over
2-hours exploring the terrain of the amp?s sonic landscapes, I?d like to give you my first impression of the Amp.

First, some details for those of you who have not seen this Amp ?in person?.

Features:
40 watts of output power
Four, 10? Jensen P-10R AlNiCo speakers
Two, 6L6GC power tubes
Four, 12AX7A tubes
Two, 12AT7 tubes
One, 5AR4 tube rectifier

Height: 24 7/8 in.
Width: 25 1/8 in.
Depth: 10 * in.
Weight: 63.8 lbs.
Sound: LEGENDARY

The over-all vibe and appearance of the Amp is astounding. Especially to a lover of vintage Fender amplifiers, and even more so if you dig the ?Blackface? era as much as I do. The front panel looks much the same as a vintage Super Reverb does at first glance. On the back panel, however, a knowledgeable Fender fanatic will immediately notice a design change. The power cord is no longer hard-wired into the amp. It has been replaced with an IEC power socket. I applaud this decision by Fender; I think it makes good sense to have an easily replaceable power cord (You never know when a clumsy drummer is going to drop a 16? crash on your power cord). Of course, this arrangement also makes it easy to misplace, so be careful!

As with many of the other reissue designs this one has a printed circuit board (PCB) signal path as opposed to the point-to-point (PTP) wiring of the original design. It also uses a ply-wood cabinet instead of the original solid pine finger-joined design. Along with the PCB signal path, and the ply-cabinet, the transformer, pots, and several other internal workings are also not the same as an ?original? Super Reverb. Does this mean that the amp will sound different? Sure it does. Does it mean the amp sounds bad? Hell no! Let?s face it, the 60?s are over. Things have changed. Some for the better, and some for the worse. However, in my opinion the ?new? Fender company was somehow able to capture the true feel and sound of the 60?s era Super Reverb in this reissue using modern design and hardware. I was able to dial-in an amazing and familiar ?blackface? tone the instant I took the Amp off Stand-by. Thank you very much Fender, for a job well done!

I am going to put this amp through its paces by using it live this weekend. I plan to put it to the test on the music it was ?made? for; blues, funk, soul, and rock. I?ll update this post after I?ve had a chance to get to know this Amp better. Although I can tell you now that after only a few minutes it felt like an old friend. If you are already familiar with the blackface sound you will have no problem getting to know this Amp.

04/23/01

With high expectations and childlike eagerness I brought the Super-Reverb RI to the gig this weekend. Don?t you love bringing a new piece of gear to its first gig? It makes live performance even more exciting than it already is. Now I?d like to give you my observations of the Amp?s performance on the job.
Before I get started with the Amp, I should tell you about my Guitar/Effects set-up so we can establish a ?ground-zero?, and hopefully you?ll be able to decide if the tones I experienced will apply to your situation.
Although I primarily use the ?dry? amp sound, I run my Strat?s signal through the following effects, in the following order: Stratocaster>Vox V847 Wah>Boss CS-3 Compressor>Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer>Boss OC-2 Octave>Boss CH-1 Chorus>Danelctro Dan-Echo Delay>Amplifier.
I plug into input #1 on the Vibrato channel. I like to have the amplifier set so that it is just beginning to break-up. With the power tubes working to make the amp slightly dirty I am able to roll-off the volume on my guitar for clean-clean tones, and I add the Tube Screamer when I need more gain. I was able to achieve power tube break-up with the Super-Reverbs? volume set at just over 4. (I use a medium-output single coil pick-up, the Fender Custom Shop Fat 50?s.) I ran the rest of the controls at the following settings: Treble, 5; Middle, 4; Bass, 4; Reverb, varied from 0 to 4. The stage volume of the amp at this setting was perfect. I had no problem competing with the drummers? volume and cutting through the mix when I wanted to. The amp has a full and rich sound. I noticed that the amp?s tonal range is broader than that of my black face Fender Pro-Reverb. The Pro-Reverb has a more ?even? tonality when you play a scale from the low-E string to the high-E string. The Super-Reverb has a more dynamic range when you play the same scale; the lows are ?lower? on the fat strings, and the highs are ?higher? on the thin strings. Combine that with the fact that the amp has terrific touch sensitive dynamics throughout its entire frequency range, and what you have is an all-around amazing amplifier! Keep in mind that this is an ?off the shelf? amplifier. This is the first ?non-boutique? amplifier that I have taken to a live performance and been completely satisfied with. I have no plans to alter the amplifier from its stock configuration. I think Fender has outdone all their previous efforts with this reissue.
Concerning the amps built in effects; I didn?t use the amps? vibrato, so I can?t give you a fair assessment of that feature, but the reverb is very useable and sounds very much like the usual black face reverb I?ve heard on many vintage Fenders.

It's Fender. These amps have never let me down.

Never needed the company's help.
I use my own tech for repairs.

Most of you reading this who have been playing for a number of years have come to realize that most of your ?tone? is in your hands. What you are looking for in an amplifier is a dynamic and responsive instrument that can reproduce all of the nuances of your playing. Even if you are relatively new to the guitar, and just beginning to learn about tones and the importance of a quality amplifier, you will benefit from the responsiveness of this amplifier because it will make you a better player.
If you are looking for an amp that will help you reproduce the traditional and familiar sounds of classic Blues, Funk, Rock & Soul music, and you don?t want to have 2K tied up in a boutique amplifier, look no further. This amp has the sound and the versatility to take your music wherever you want to go.