Someone has one from 1968 or 1969 listed on Reverb. They say it's "set up with an original 15 inch JBL Speaker".
Someone has one from 1968 or 1969 listed on Reverb. They say it's "set up with an original 15 inch JBL Speaker".
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Maybe a one-off? I've never seen or heard of them doing that from the factory, but I'm no authority. I once had a '69 Twin w/a JBL 15". The guy sold it to me as original, but I was pretty ignorant of such stuff & only found out much later that it had been modded. It never did sound right until I found some stock 12s & installed them w/a new baffle.
Looks like a field-expedient mod to me. Look at the condition of the original cabinet's interior and compare it to the relatively pristine state of the baffle board. Add to that the fact that Fender used only F-series JBL's and based on the alleged year of the amp, it would have an orange-and-silver foil-cal identifying the speaker as such. I call bogus on all counts.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I looked at the online catalog and price list for 1968, and could find no mention of a 15" speaker of any brand being an option in the Twin Reverb. And I agree, the color of the baffle is much darker than the rest of the cabinet. Oddly enough, the seller's description of the amp is "Fender Twin Reverb "Drip Edge" 2-Channel 100-Watt 2x12" Guitar Combo 1968 - 1969".
But later on, he/she refers to it as the "SRV" twin. So perhaps Stevie Ray modified a twin in this way, and people have copied it.
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That is a common mod for pedal steel players, saw one in the 70's that our local dealer had modified. He told me he thought the original 2-12 with JBL's was more robust, but the 15" speaker reproduced the low end needed with a C6 tuning.
My "Twin" clone has a 15" SRO that sounds great!
Last edited by Bill Moore; 12-29-2021 at 11:18 AM.
Good to know Bill, I have a 2 x 15 Peavey Cabinet, and a 1 x 15 plus a horn cabinet that I built. I may have to try my Super Twin thru those. They are both 4ohm impedance.Originally Posted by Bill Moore
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I think to say "set up with an original 15 inch JBL speaker" is supposed to be ambiguous. At worst it is misleading.
Fender did in fact build two Twin Reverb variants that featured a single 15-inch speaker -- the first was the Vibrasonic Amp which mated the standard ultra-linear (135-watt) TR chassis of the late '70s to a single 15, either a JBL D130F or a Cetec-Gauss PS15. The second occasion was the relatively recent "Custom Twin Reverb", using a standard blackface TR re-issue chassis and a 4Ω Eminence driver. The specimen shown in the above photos is neither.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Good info Phantomman. From the pictures of the front of the amp in the listing, and also the inside the chassis pictures, this amp does appear to be a late 1960's Silverface model. So, as suggested someone did the conversion to a 15 inch speaker. I'm not familiar enough with JBL speakers to even know if the one in the picture I posted is a JBL. There were no close ups of the EIA code on the speaker indicating the manufacturer or year. Because the amp in the listing is in Virginia, I guess I'm not interested in buying it.
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The speaker shown is in fact a JBL but it is not an F-series type. It seems to resemble a driver used for PA/SR applications. JBL never conformed to the EIA coding protocol, thus no number was ever assigned to the company and none will ever be found on any of their products.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I would like to get my hands on a Super Six Reverb, just for the novelty of it, but certainly wouldn't want to pay for shipping. Is that amp essentially a twin reverb with six 10 inch speakers?
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Yes.
The speaker output jacks will be labeled "TOTAL LOAD 5 OHMS 100 WATTS RMS" but the chassis is otherwise identical.
If seriously interested, try to find one with the alnico CTS drivers. Amps equipped with the ceramic Oxfords or Utahs sound like mierda.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I'm not seeing many Super Six Reverb's for sale. Perhaps they weren't that popular, or they were all re-purposed as boat anchors for ocean going ships.
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Likely just as their stablemate, the Quad Reverb.I'm not seeing many Super Six Reverb's for sale. Perhaps they weren't that popular, or they were all re-purposed as boat anchors for ocean going ships.
World's first crew-served combo amps.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Was the Quad Reverb a 4 x 12? If so, my back is hurting, just thinking about it.
"When You're Riding Down the Highway at Night, And You're Feeling that Wild Turkey's Bite" ZZ Top
Albert Collins used those ampsLikely just as their stablemate, the Quad Reverb.
World's first crew-served combo amps.
Yes, equipped with four JBL's. I'm certain that the weight of such an amp approached 140 lbs.
Pity the roadies.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
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