New Amp: 1965 Fender Pro Reverb

[Nick]

Long story short I bought a busted Hot Rod Deluxe on marketplace for $100, which turned out to be more/less totaled out (final repair cost would have been the same as just buying a used working one). I was offered a little more than I paid as a trade-in, I thought about buying one of the silverface Twins at the shop but decided to put some more trades and cash towards this Pro Reverb:



So yeah one impulsive decision led to a much more expensive one but I absolutely love this amp, it’s objectively the best sounding amp I own.

More photos on the shop's website, he hasn't taken the listing down:

http://www.loveoffuzz.com/listing/fend ... p/38647218

[Thom]

Beauty!

[lorez]

that looks great

[sunshiner]

Nice one. How do you compare it to a Deluxe Reverb?

[NickD]

Looks and sounds lovely, even through iPad speakers.

It’s in such good condition too.

[Nick]

sounds lovely, even through iPad speakers.

Good to know, I had no idea how an amp into my webcam mic sounds on a 10-way zoom call so I was worried I might be torturing ears or speakers by playing it.

Nice one. How do you compare it to a Deluxe Reverb?

I haven’t A/B’d them directly yet, may try to do an demo this weekend.

[Nick]

Nice one. How do you compare it to a Deluxe Reverb?

I haven’t A/B’d them directly yet, may try to do an demo this weekend.

Last week I replaced the stock Celestion V70 speaker in the 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb with a Jensen C12N, which helped open it up a bit more and give a more traditional Deluxe tone (the V70 seems to be love or hate in the Deluxe, personally I felt it was a bit too dry and lacked clean headroom compared to the 65 reissue/any vintage Deluxe Reverb I've played.)

With the C12N in the Deluxe, the amps have much more in common than I would have thought. Tonally they sound very similar to my ears. In general, the Deluxe sounds tighter and crisper (smaller and boxier? But only by comparison) whereas the Pro Reverb sounds more thick and open, and has much more dynamic range if you push it. The Pro has more prominent sag (both are tube rectified), also the reverb gets deeper and splashier while the vibrato is more subtle and pleasing. So far I think the Deluxe takes to pedals better but I may just need to play with settings.

Being honest, the Pro is probably overkill for most of the local venues I'll play if live shows ever even become a thing again, and I don't even want to try using it at practice out of fear of an ensuing loudness war. The more compressed character of the Deluxe would probably translate to an overall better recording experience for rock band applications-but I'll need to get some actual recording in to confirm. If I had to choose only one to keep, it would be the Deluxe (with the Jensen C12N) for overall practicality/versatility.

[sunshiner]

Thank you, Nick. That's really interesting and the kind of information you can rarely stumble upon. There are probably not many people who own both a vintage Pro Reverb and a modern reissue of Deluxe Reverb to compare them against each other

[Mike]

Ah man I missed it being played on the zooom?

Looks so amazing for an amp from 1965

Same age as my Jaguar which looks like it was dragged through every hedge

[plopswagon]

The lifting was even more impressive than the tone.

[henkstroem]

What a beautiful amp, nice find.