Twin Reverb practicalities?

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by fortytwo » Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:04 pm

It's a great amp if you need clean and/or loud. If you want something that is going to get dirty fast, look elsewhere.
Yeah, like everyone else said, it's heavy, but it's not so heavy that it can't be moved, just make sure you lift with your legs, and not your back.

Depending on what kinda music you play, it might be a really good amp for you.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by Larry Mal » Sun Jan 21, 2018 1:16 pm

I think it depends on what model you get, also. I had a nice mid-seventies "master volume" silverface, and it sounded great, and weighed I think 120 pounds or something. I think it was the heaviest of all the Twins that has ever been produced, and it was no joke.

I will own a Twin someday, though. Like I say, there's just nothing like them. To me they sound like lightning cracking silently across the sky, just a bunch of pure sound erupting from a bottomless black. When they are clean and running well, they sound fantastic even at lower volumes.

My question is, though, what the fuck do I do to keep the kids away from it? That's just too tempting to crank up, you know? I better have a big house.
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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by O Drones » Sun Jan 21, 2018 1:56 pm

I love Twin Reverbs, but before I had a Twin I had a silverface Quad Reverb so when I switched to a Twin it felt featherweight in comparison :D
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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by spacecadet » Sun Jan 21, 2018 3:22 pm

Even the new ones weigh 87 pounds (mine's been weighed), so yeah, heavy. Top tip: if you have a hardwood floor (or any kind of flat floor, really), stick heavy duty felt pads under it. Suddenly it's very easy to move! At least around the house.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by OffYourFace » Sun Jan 21, 2018 6:00 pm

Pros: usually sounds pretty great

Cons:
-need to turn it up pretty loud to get best tone from guitar and pedals
-too loud for 90% of venues
-reselling them sucks cuz you lose $$ (especially Reissues)
-they're heavy so venues with stairs will suck for you
-uses 10 tubes total, re-tubing will be expensive

Alternative:
-Deluxe Reverb (if you want to stay with 12" speaker)
-Princeton Reverb (cool tone but doesn't 'sparkle' and 'chime' like a DR)

If you must have a Twin:

There are things you can do to make them work when you need to be quieter.
Here's what I did... I've had about 5 different vintage SF Twins (1970-1974) but this should work for a RI.
Also, I would never buy a RI Twin Reverb. Vintage Silverface Twins can be found cheap. Anyway....

-Remove two of the power tubes (pull the two outside tubes, leave the middle two in). The Output transformer wants to see 8 ohms now
-Remove the connection from one speaker so the OT gets that 8 ohms.
-the amp will still be loud but much more manageable.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by Singlebladepickup » Sun Jan 21, 2018 6:06 pm

Another pro: they are cheap because someone is losing money, and they are pretty common (at least where I live).

If it were me, and I were set on something like that, I'd try to find someone who put a super six or one of those varieties into a head cab.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by derekstudt » Sun Jan 21, 2018 8:29 pm

OffYourFace wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 6:00 pm
If you must have a Twin:
-Remove two of the power tubes (pull the two outside tubes, leave the middle two in). The Output transformer wants to see 8 ohms now
-Remove the connection from one speaker so the OT gets that 8 ohms.
-the amp will still be loud but much more manageable.
I've not heard of this trick before. Does it affect the bossing of the amp or change the tonal qualities (or simply less volume?)

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by OffYourFace » Sun Jan 21, 2018 9:12 pm

derekstudt wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 8:29 pm
OffYourFace wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 6:00 pm
If you must have a Twin:
-Remove two of the power tubes (pull the two outside tubes, leave the middle two in). The Output transformer wants to see 8 ohms now
-Remove the connection from one speaker so the OT gets that 8 ohms.
-the amp will still be loud but much more manageable.
I've not heard of this trick before. Does it affect the bossing of the amp or change the tonal qualities (or simply less volume?)
Bias setting will still be fine. It'll sound 'narrower' on stage due to the 1 missing speaker but still full.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by MechaBulletBill » Mon Jan 22, 2018 1:54 am

Singlebladepickup wrote:
Sun Jan 21, 2018 6:06 pm
Another pro: they are cheap because someone is losing money, and they are pretty common (at least where I live).

If it were me, and I were set on something like that, I'd try to find someone who put a super six or one of those varieties into a head cab.
On paper, this is good advice but on UK eBay I've seen more than once somebody list a head converted Twin with a ridiculously high asking price, more than a bassman or showman. It's as though their hack job head conversion is worth a premium on just getting a twin.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by djw » Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:26 am

It's always nice to have the headroom. IMHO the most impractical aspect is the size and weight -- a 2x12 combo is big, heavy and awkward and if you're moving it in a car you're asking for a slipped disc.

Personally I prefer having a manageable-sized head (i.e. a Mesa or maybe a BF Bassman) and a variety of cabs to match the gig. You can always downsize with a 1x12, and keep a 2x12 or 4x12 around when you really need to move some air.

Twins sound great at almost any level though, and if that's what you want, that's what you should get. The 65RI is pretty solid overall.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by Embenny » Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:29 am

djw wrote:
Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:26 am
It's always nice to have the headroom. IMHO the most impractical aspect is the size and weight -- a 2x12 combo is big, heavy and awkward and if you're moving it in a car you're asking for a slipped disc.

Personally I prefer having a manageable-sized head (i.e. a Mesa or maybe a BF Bassman) and a variety of cabs to match the gig. You can always downsize with a 1x12, and keep a 2x12 or 4x12 around when you really need to move some air.

Twins sound great at almost any level though, and if that's what you want, that's what you should get. The 65RI is pretty solid overall.
Yeah, switching to a head/cab approach 10 years ago changed my life. There's literally no reason to combine the two heaviest items you carry to a gig into one hernia-inducing package. You can have a variety of cabs, even stack them if your amp allows that and the situation calls for it, and you'll never lug a 100lb amp up or down a flight of stairs again.
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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by HNB » Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:54 am

I just ordered a head cabinet so I can pull the chassis from my combo and make it into a head. It is a UL Silverface that I like the sound of but the MDF baffle has a crack. Rather than do a new combo, I thought it would be more enjoyable as a head that I could plug into my different speaker cabinets. I carried it upstairs once and I really don't want to do it again. Only thing I have that sucks that much to move is my Peavey Renown 212.
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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by bacca51 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 6:23 pm

I found an insane deal on a vintage silver face twin and I love it, that being said.... I hate lugging it to band practice. Its so fucking heavy. But I really like to practice with it cuz it sounds so damn good. If it was just a reissue I think id sell it and get a deluxe reverb. Seems like a happy medium and has a similar sounds imo.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by marqueemoon » Tue Jan 23, 2018 9:51 pm

What about a Vibrolux? Like others have said moving a Twin around is awful, and really nobody needs that much clean headroom these days.

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Re: Twin Reverb practicalities?

Post by cestlamort » Tue Jan 23, 2018 10:39 pm

I regret selling my sf (1968) twin. It originally (to me) came with huge ev sro speakers and I literally could not lift it onto a high stage by myself. That said, the best full clean sound I've ever had, even at reasonable volumes. I traded out the speakers for Jensen neo 12 and it still sounded good but weighed not much at all. (In retrospect: I should have balanced one sro opposite the transformers).

I then sold it to fund a 1978 vibrolux reverb (which wasn't much lighter) and eventually sold that when it didn't quite do it for me. (Now playing the super reverb I started with).

If you like the clean fender sound, a twin is really great. They are heavy, but if you get an older (not mdf ) one it's not too heavy. Put in neo speakers and it's almost light.

I don't know if I'd recommend a reissue when sf ones can still be pretty cheap and will run forever, but the bigger amps can be a bargain. Better too much clean headroom than not enough...

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