NAD Fender Pro Reverb 1980 master volume, line out, ultralinear

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invisible man
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NAD Fender Pro Reverb 1980 master volume, line out, ultralinear

Post by invisible man » Fri Nov 23, 2018 6:30 pm

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wproffitt
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Re: NAD Fender Pro Reverb 1980 master volume, line out, ultralinear

Post by wproffitt » Sat Nov 24, 2018 7:12 am

Can you tell us more? How do these sound compared to, say, a twin reverb? I’m curious.

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Re: NAD Fender Pro Reverb 1980 master volume, line out, ultralinear

Post by Telemnemonics » Sat Nov 24, 2018 7:49 am

Oy!
I had one of those with a BF panel and the MV stuffed inside the chassis.
As heavy as a friends BFTR and probably as loud.
Rated for 70w where the Twin was rated for 85, but the bright tone and tightness adds perceived volume.
Stiff sounding though, yet if you want more punch and clarity you'll like it better than the earlier Pro Reverb.
Much higher voltage in the UL amps, I've owned three and never quite bonded with them.
Some players are well served by them though.

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Re: NAD Fender Pro Reverb 1980 master volume, line out, ultralinear

Post by invisible man » Fri Nov 30, 2018 5:34 pm

wproffitt wrote:
Sat Nov 24, 2018 7:12 am
Can you tell us more? How do these sound compared to, say, a twin reverb? I’m curious.
I was pressed for time when I got it, and havn’t had much time to play it yet. I’ve been looking for a good deal on a ~40 watt silverface Fender reverb amp for a while, reading up on all the models and listening to demos. Then I saw a significant discount on this 70 watt model located between my residence and my parents home. I put it on layaway over the phone, and on the way to Thanksgiving tried it out in the store. My son had fun playing piano, bongos, and drums while we waited for them to bring it out. Then he threw a major tantrum when my attention was drawn to the amp. He is 4 years old, is diagnosed with autism, mostly non-verbal, and really attached to his Dad, which makes it difficult to do anything. My wife took him out of the store, but I didn’t have very long to try it out while his tantrum continued outside. It’s been well maintained, is very quiet at idle, has new tubes (JJ 6L6). I paid $640 out the door for it, crammed it into the loaded car and continued on with the holiday. Brought it home with great physical effort, played it at low volume with various combos of master volume, preamp volume, guitar volume, and pedal volume. Seems pretty versatile, can be very clean or can get some preamp breakup at low level. Reverb seems a little weak at quiet volumes. I had looked at the specs on Ampwares.com expecting it to be ~58 pounds. I guess their data is incomplete, this ultralinear Pro Reverb is 72 lbs on my analog bathroom scale! I’ll get some casters before I take it anyware, and it needs a knob on one pot. The difference between 72 and 58 lbs is weighing on my mind and spine, especially as we live in a second floor apartment with stairs. Contemplating a head cab from Mojotone to split the load but add 9 lbs of cabinet wood. Work has been insane, when I get more time (and casters) I will take it to a rehearsal studio near by and turn it up a bit. Looking forward to trying my Jazzmaster, lapsteel, and new (used) Squier Bass VI through it. I’m kind of second guessing myself now, maybe 70 watts and 72 lbs is too much. I knew a Twin Reverb was overkill, but wanted more headroom than a Deluxe Reverb. This might be closer to a twin than I need, but the price was so good I’m hoping I could flip it or break even if I decide I need to find a mid-70s 40 watt 58 lb Pro Reverb with master volume at some point. Really hoping to get more effect out of the reverb too. I am 39 years old and self aware enough to know that this is probably my midlife crisis amp, and perhaps a ZT Lunchbox, Surfybear reverb pedal + tank, tremolo pedal, core muscle workouts and back massage appointments are more appropriate, but I guess I’m going through the motions anyway.
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Re: NAD Fender Pro Reverb 1980 master volume, line out, ultralinear

Post by invisible man » Sun Dec 02, 2018 2:31 pm

Played a little more this morning, figured out a preamp and a reverb recovery tube are bad. I’ll replace those which should cure some noisiness and weak reverb.
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Re: NAD Fender Pro Reverb 1980 master volume, line out, ultralinear

Post by invisible man » Sat Dec 22, 2018 9:20 pm

New tubes in the preamp and reverb recovery positions cured some noise and weak reverb issues, sounds a lot better now. Casters and knob installed. Hasn’t got any lighter. Now there’s a lot of intermittent static that seems to change with the position of the master volume knob. I hope it’s a simple issue like a tube and not a big one like a transformer.
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