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What to look for when buying a fender silverface deluxe reverb to avoid a dud?


hangwire

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other than the caps and tubes, you'd want to make sure the trannys are stock/correct. I would just crank it up for a few minutes and listen for loud hum or ghost notes which would point at bad caps. talking to the seller will give you an idea of what the amp is all about. if the seller knows the history of the amp and has service bills etc. that would factor in. if the seller doesn't know much about the amp and it's never had a cap job or tube replacement, you might want to factor in a 2-$300.00 cap/tube/servicing by a Fender amp guru. if the seller is a player and has had all this stuff done and has a receipt, the amp is worth a lot more than if he/she doesn't. my best friend just got a Deluxe Reverb from his dad, he bought it at a garage sale for $15.00. my friend spent $250.00 for servicing and it's good for another 10-15 years.

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$425 is dirt cheap.

 

Go to this page and read up on Deluxe Reverbs:

 

http://www.thevintagesound.com/ffg/

 

Then go to this page and read up on EIA codes:

 

http://www.triodeel.com/eiacode.htm

 

You'll want to triangulate some stuff to really be certain that what you are buying is legit. If it's say a '75, you'll want it to have '75 cosmetics, the transformers should have a date code that dates to 1975 (or earlier, NOT later), the speaker if original should have a '75 or earlier code, etc. If you can pull the chassis, the pots will also have date codes on them that should be similar to the code on the speaker.

 

Definitely turn it on and crank it up and let it sit for awhile to warm up and then listen for bad noises.

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Serial number check...not prefect but might be of help

 

http://www.superchamp.dk/papers/dating_fender_tube_amps.htm

 

Deluxe Reverb AB763, AB868 (silverface)

A24000 to A26000 - 1967

A26000 to A28500 - 1968

A28500 to A33000 - 1969

A31000 to A33000 - 1970

A33000 to A34500 - 1971

A34500 to A37000 - 1972

A37000 to A39000 - 1973

A39000 to A42000 - 1974

A42000 to A43000 - 1975

A43000 to A45000 - 1976

 

DW

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2lbdpco.jpg

 

looks to be a A731174 serial, so 1977... or a 1974 chasis from a different amp they used in it :lol:

 

but upon closer inspection it does have slight orange stripes in the grill that are not as pronounced as I have seen, but they are there... so 1977 seems right...

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nice. what kind of speaker?

 

Fender Blue label... looks like the amp as a whole might be all original and not used much since it was purchased...

 

 

and i didnt post a pic next to one of my jazzmasters because I didnt want to embarass your... well you know... sunburst, meh, etc...

 

 

 

j/k bro... see you at the minn marathon in 2 weeks. ;)

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2lbdpco.jpg

looks to be a A731174 serial, so 1977... or a 1974 chasis from a different amp they used in it
:lol:

but upon closer inspection it does have slight orange stripes in the grill that are not as pronounced as I have seen, but they are there... so 1977 seems right...

 

it's in nice shape, you scored bigtime

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Fender Blue label... looks like the amp as a whole might be all original and not used much since it was purchased...



and i didnt post a pic next to one of my jazzmasters because I didnt want to embarass your... well you know... sunburst, meh, etc...




j/k bro... see you at the minn marathon in 2 weeks.
;)

 

lol.

 

if you let me know where you're going to be, i could hand you a whiskey shot at the halfway mark.

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lol.


if you let me know where you're going to be, i could hand you a whiskey shot at the halfway mark.

 

you probably would have to be right before a water stop as that shot would be havoc without water to dilute it FAST :lol:

 

https://www.tcmevents.org/_asset/mb5kr7/2011marathonmap.pdf

 

starts downtown near the football stadium... our friends live near Hiawattha [i guess the train will be not in service?] and 4o-something [43rd?] close-ish to minnahaha falls and the river... that's about halfway

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