Howdy, Steve! Long time listener, first time caller. Local of the Fayetteville AR area. Been a huge fan since seeing SK&F at Chester’s 20 years ago when I was barely old enough to get in. Also got to hang with you and Reed a little bit backstage after George’s Spring ’07. The last 3 night run at George’s in ’19 was magical, and I’m looking forward to all 3 nights of Zero in Dec!
Here’s my query. I picked up a ’67 Super Reverb (SF, AB763) that was in need of some love. Someone had swapped in an 8ohm OT and the baffle for a 1×15, obviously attempting to cop a pseudo BF Vibroverb vibe. It had a ’66 C15N with a 1″ tear in the cone, so I popped in an original cone D130F I had laying around. Sounds really good, but something feels constipated about the output. I expected it to peel paint with that speaker, but I can comfortable play it at 5 in my garage. Maybe the OT is bottlenecking the juice? What would Kimock do? Swap in a different OT, something beefier, 4ohm? Convert back to 4×10 with a 2ohm? And if so, what 10″ speaker that is readily available would please your ears? Help me bring this beast back to life!
As always, thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience with us dilettantes!
Brad
Brad, AR
That’s hilarious, I’ve got a Super I’m planning on redoing for 1×15 and I’m still going in circles about how to deal with the OT.
First off, I think the stock 2 ohm Super Reverb is great amp, only downside is weight.
I wouldn’t be thinking of modding the one I’ve got but I need it for the west coast.
My normal east coast rig is 3×10 and 1×15.
I already have 3×10 in California so the Super is going to get the Vibroverb treatment.
I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t already have a 4×10 Bassman, two Vibrolux Reverbs, a 2×10 Brown Super, and my 3×10 ext cab.
I’ve got ten’s covered. .
If you don’t have a Fender amp with 10’s you ought to consider restoring your Super Reverb to 2 ohms and 4×10 assuming you have the resources to accomplish that.
Otherwise, if the amp’s just not doing it for you, sell it, save up for something you’ll like better.
Best place to start would be find a competent knowledgeable Fender amp tech and make sure the amp is working properly.
Decide from there, but in my experience you’re always better off with a proper, stock, Fender amp than something cobbled together over time.
Ok, good luck!
Thank you for the reply, Steve! I think I’m going to go the 10s route. That said, what 10s would you go with? Would it be sacrilege to put a 3×10 baffle and a 4 Ohm Bandmaster OT in it?
3×10’s rock!
Only reason not to would be need for lower volume, more mid-forward response from amp.
Three 8ohm loads in parallel on a 4ohm Fender OT is stringier, less scooped, and apparently a little louder than two 8ohm speakers.
A single 8ohm speaker on the same OT will be a little less loud, more mid-forward. The opposite of scoop.