Fender Reverb Tank Unit

[tubezipper]

Talk about it!

 

who has one? Reissue, original?

 

 

[Fender&EHX4ever]

I don't have the tank, but I have the first model of Fender amp to include a spring reverb.

[surferbeto]

I'm GASsing for one, but unlikely to buy anytime soon.

 

They are the real dope deal, if you wanna play surf guitar.

 

AFAIK the reissues sound good, but there will always be corksniffers who say the old ones have some special je ne sais quoi not captured in the new ones. I have no informed opinion on that subject.

[tubezipper]

what, so only limited to playing Surf?

 

As my current amp has a spring though i will change it in the future

 

However i was thinking to get a Holy Grail, but the Fender tank has made me think

would it be sensible to use it for all reverb needs?

 

I suppose i wouldn't mind as it sounds great!

[El Glom-o]

They're cool, but don't overlook other ones like the Premier Reverberation 90 (very nice), or the models made by Alamo, Danelectro, or other lesser-known makers.

[Fender&EHX4ever]

 

However i was thinking to get a Holy Grail, but the Fender tank has made me think would it be sensible to use it for all reverb needs?

 

 

The Holy Grail does a good Spring Reverb, and certainly more affordable. Those Fender tanks go for close to $500, don't they? For that much cash, I'd just as soon save up a few hundred more and get a used reissue Vibroverb, Vibrolux, or something.

[Zachman]

I have them (3), and they sound good. I prefer my Lexicon PCM-80, and Eventide H8000FW reverb sounds.

[HeartfeltDawn]

If I lived in the US, I wouldn't bothered with a Fender reverb tank. I'd be up and ordering one from Clark Amps:

http://www.clarkamplification.com/premuimtweedreplicas.htm

Zach, when you use your PCM80 and Eventide, what sort of reverb do you use? Spring settings, room settings, etc?

I love reverb. I'm happy with my VanAmps Sole-Mate and Laney Supergroup reverb but I do want a proper valve reverb unit. It has a depth nothing I've used can equal, and I'm as anal about reverb as most of you here are about delay pedals

[Zachman]

If I lived in the US, I wouldn't bothered with a Fender reverb tank. I'd be up and ordering one from Clark Amps: http://www.clarkamplification.com/premuimtweedreplicas.htm Zach, when you use your PCM80 and Eventide, what sort of reverb do you use? Spring settings, room settings, etc? I love reverb. I'm happy with my VanAmps Sole-Mate and Laney Supergroup reverb but I do want a proper valve reverb unit. It has a depth nothing I've used can equal, and I'm as anal about reverb as most of you here are about delay pedals

 

With the Lexi- Halls, Rooms, Plates

 

With the Eventide- ALL kinds of whacky stuff from reverse, to modulated reverbs, halls, rooms, plates, spring sims.

 

re: the H8000FW-- check out the preset manual online at www.eventide.com.

 

It'll give you an idea about how insane that device is.

[Uma Floresta]

My summary of the Fender 63 Reverb:

WANT

[veil]

I have them (3).

Pics?

I realized recently that I will probably never be happy with pedal reverb unless I have one.

[Zachman]

Pics? I realized recently that I will probably never be happy with pedal reverb unless I have one.

[GuitarSlim101]

They're cool, but don't overlook other ones like the Premier Reverberation 90 (very nice), or the models made by Alamo, Danelectro, or other lesser-known makers.

 

 

The Premier 90 is a great box. Mine is pretty much always on.

 

Sadly I've never played through a Fender reverb unit, so I can't compare them.

[Liberty Belle]

with a couple simple mods the reissue tanks can sound just like the originals, heres the info.

LINKY

The major difference is simply by swapping one stock tube for another.

[HeartfeltDawn]

With the Lexi- Halls, Rooms, Plates With the Eventide- ALL kinds of whacky stuff from reverse, to modulated reverbs, halls, rooms, plates, spring sims. re: the H8000FW-- check out the preset manual online at www.eventide.com . It'll give you an idea about how insane that device is.

Oh, it's a fine device by the sound of it. I haven't used one personally. The closest I could get to that is a Lexicon 960L. Very cool reverb, sound sgreat but I prefer an actual spring. It just seems to react better with my playing. I'm very happy with the Sole-Mate I picked up and the Laney Supergroup is pretty cool too.

[erksin]

Mine is an original 1965 6G15:



It sounds excellent for the splashy/aggressive stuff, but IMO it really sounds like more of an 'effect' than the more naturally decaying Hammond reverbs I get from my vintage Ampeg and Gibson combo amps. It adds a slight bit of gain to your signal and as a consequence makes your EQ slightly brighter - but thats a cool side benefit IMO.

The reissues sound good, but can be made to sound much closer to the originals by swapping out the 6V6 for a 6K6 like the originals used. There are also some transistor mods that can be done, but the 6K6 swap will get you 90% of the way there.

IMO the best Fender-branded bargains to be had are the first 'reissues' that were done in the '70s - they're silverface models but are basically the same handwired jobs as the '60s units. They often go for less than the '90s reissues.

I've played the Premier units and they are very gainy and quite noisy - much more lo-fi sounding than the Fenders. The Supro units are really cheesy sounding in a good way since they use really short pans - I liked the one I played more than the Premier.

I don't think I'd ever gig mine as I'd be afraid of somebody stealing it or damaging it. Plus, its another thing to haul around. Cool for home or studio use, but not the most practical thing to bring out with you - unless its a vital component of your overall sound.

[LoneStarGuitar]

I own a reissue.

Sounds great to me.
Even better with my Echoplex

[mark7171]

a all tube DRRI has a tube reverb that is splashtastic !

[phishmarisol]

Mine is an original 1965 6G15:

awesome.

[surferbeto]

The Holy Grail does a good Spring Reverb, and certainly more affordable. Those Fender tanks go for close to $500, don't they? For that much cash, I'd just as soon save up a few hundred more and get a used reissue Vibroverb, Vibrolux, or something.

 

 

Sorry, I played Holy Grail and HG plus at GC. To my ear, it was nowhere near the wet, dripping sound of real Fender spring reverb. The hall reverb sound is pretty good but it's really a different sound than the spring reverb. HGs spring reverb sound can't touch the real deal.

 

Lacking the $$$ to buy the Fender tank, I went for a Danelectro Spring King, which is a great little spring reverb unit which also mixes in a little IC chip reverb too. It's not directly comparable to Fender spring reverb, but it has a pretty great sound of its own.

 

+1 on the suggesiton to just get a Fender amp with spring reverb in it. Though some cork say those are less good than the standalone Fender tanks, and I've never demo-ed them side by sdie so I'm not sure.

 

I know the reverb in my old Fender Super Reverb was the drippingest, wettest, coolest rever sound ever. The amp is long gone, but the sound is in my DNA now.

[erksin]

+1 on the suggesiton to just get a Fender amp with spring reverb in it. Though some cork say those are less good than the standalone Fender tanks, and I've never demo-ed them side by sdie so I'm not sure.

 

 

The biggest difference is that the 6G15 has a mix and tone control that the amps obviously lack. Once you hear what those two additional controls add to the party, you get a better appreciation for what those 'corks' are on about.

 

I'm not saying that the standalone is worth the additional expense to everyone, but the guys who appreciate the difference (and its not a minor one) certainly feel its justified.

 

I got lucky and bought mine in the late '80s when nobody wanted {censored} like this - no way would I drop the coin it takes to get one like mine now.

[El Glom-o]

I've played the Premier units and they are very gainy and quite noisy - much more lo-fi sounding than the Fenders. The Supro units are really cheesy sounding in a good way since they use really short pans - I liked the one I played more than the Premier.

 

 

 

The Premier that I have was pretty noisy when I first got it. Aside from just being generally noisy, it had a pronounced "clank" sound with the attack of a note.

 

Fresh tubes and filter caps took care of the overall noise and hum, but I think the greatest inprovement in sound came from removing the cobwebs, dust, and mouse droppings from the reverb springs.

 

 

The description of "cheesy sounding in a good way" is what I was getting at in suggesting reverb units other than Fender, although I'd just describe them as different. The main thing is that there are lots of tube-powered spring reverbs out there other than Fender that can be usable, it just depends on if the player happens to like the sound that a particular unit makes.

[erksin]

The Premier that I have was pretty noisy when I first got it. Aside from just being generally noisy, it had a pronounced "clank" sound with the attack of a note. Fresh tubes and filter caps took care of the overall noise and hum, but I think the greatest inprovement in sound came from removing the cobwebs, dust, and mouse droppings from the reverb springs. The description of "cheesy sounding in a good way" is what I was getting at in suggesting reverb units other than Fender, although I'd just describe them as different. The main thing is that there are lots of tube-powered spring reverbs out there other than Fender that can be usable, it just depends on if the player happens to like the sound that a particular unit makes.

 

 

Yep - totally agree.

 

I have a good buddy who rocks a Premier 90 as his only reverb source and it sounds very cool. I'm not sure what components were replaced in his but he was able to knock down a significant amount of noise in his as well. But you're right - it definitely has its own flavor.

 

Ampeg also made a standalone reverb - the Echo Satellite, and Gibson did as well - the GA-3RV.

[El Glom-o]

What do you think of the Tel-Ray "oil-can" echo/reverb units? I have a few of them in various states of repair. The ones that are working have what I think is a very cool sound.

[erksin]

What do you think of the Tel-Ray "oil-can" echo/reverb units? I have a few of them in various states of repair. The ones that are working have what I think is a very cool sound.

 

 

 

I'd love a Gibson GA-4RE (the Tel-Ray licensed Gibson unit) - they got real expensive a couple of years ago though, not sure I'd use it enough to warrant the expense and maintenance hassles.