Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Make it loud here.
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Swansonron
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Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by Swansonron » Tue Oct 09, 2012 2:35 pm

I really love my Fender "evil" twin reverb. I think the red knob Fenders are great, and I'm willing to admit it. Granted, it weighs slightly more than Finland, and the drive circuit sounds like Tom Jones on fire (in a bad way).
I just love the clean sound and how it never gets harsh, no matter how much the highs get cranked.
Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone else shares this dirty secret.

It's also important to keep in mind that the price makes the difficult to repair PCB construction a but less painful.

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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by 46346 » Wed Oct 10, 2012 2:40 am

the rivera designed princeton reverb II is my care-free, gig anywhere amp. something like a more compact Deluxe Reverb. not as exciting as some of my other amps, but reliable with a rich 6V6 type tone. i'm only out $350 for it, so i'll take it almost anywhere.

mine is hand-wired, no PCB.. is the red-knob twin actually using a PCB?

you're right though, avoid the drive channels and enjoy the SMOOTH cleans.

viva rivera!!
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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by Swansonron » Wed Oct 10, 2012 2:39 pm

The Twin definitely has PCBs in it. Preamp board, amp board, power supply board, and output/rear panel board. The tube sockets are thankfully chasis mounted.
Easy to build, and probably easy (and expensive) to repair when they still made the boards.
I do really love the sound of an AC 30 or a Blackface Vibrolux when I play on my own, but I like the sterile cleans for cutting through a band.

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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by dinosaurkale-> » Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:40 pm

super 60 is currently my main touring/gigging amp...i love this era of fender.

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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by 46346 » Thu Oct 11, 2012 5:07 pm

Swansonron wrote:The Twin definitely has PCBs in it. Preamp board, amp board, power supply board, and output/rear panel board. The tube sockets are thankfully chasis mounted.
Easy to build, and probably easy (and expensive) to repair when they still made the boards.
I do really love the sound of an AC 30 or a Blackface Vibrolux when I play on my own, but I like the sterile cleans for cutting through a band.

agreed. my current band (The Cooling Time) is fairly loud. i set up my '61 Bassman as kind of a grind machine that can still do clean, but sometimes i miss the deep cleans of my Reverberocket 2/PR 2 pairing. someday i'll bring them all!
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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by apreswho » Fri Oct 12, 2012 8:48 pm

I used a rivera era concert for a few shows recently and it sounded suprisingly great. I was apprehensive (mostly i just get intimidated with all those knobs! my main amp has 3 and i've had a SF SR for long enough now that it just IS dialed in) but it sounded pretty incredible. I can certainly see how people seem to dig them

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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by 46346 » Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:29 pm

apreswho wrote:I used a rivera era concert for a few shows recently and it sounded suprisingly great. I was apprehensive (mostly i just get intimidated with all those knobs! my main amp has 3 and i've had a SF SR for long enough now that it just IS dialed in) but it sounded pretty incredible. I can certainly see how people seem to dig them
good enough for Lee Ranando, he and his other guitarist each were rocking rive-era Concerts on this last tour. yeah - best to ignore most of the knobs!
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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by Swansonron » Sat Oct 13, 2012 7:27 pm

46346 wrote:
apreswho wrote:I used a rivera era concert for a few shows recently and it sounded suprisingly great. I was apprehensive (mostly i just get intimidated with all those knobs! my main amp has 3 and i've had a SF SR for long enough now that it just IS dialed in) but it sounded pretty incredible. I can certainly see how people seem to dig them
good enough for Lee Ranando, he and his other guitarist each were rocking rive-era Concerts on this last tour. yeah - best to ignore most of the knobs!
Tell me about it, The Twin even has push/pulls on most of the knobs!

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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by invisible man » Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:31 pm

I just put down a refundable down payment on a silverface 1980 Fender Pro Reverb, master volume & line out, too good a deal to pass up. This is Rivera era, correct? Will hopefully be able to try it out over Thanksgiving and make a decision. What should I be thinking about to evaluate it? It might be too much amp for me, but I think I do want some headroom. I know the prevailing wisdom with Fender Silverface is to go late 60s, as close to blackface circuit as possible. However a master volume and line out seem really useful, maybe worth the difference in circuit? This should be a great pedal platform high headroom amp, right? If it is too heavy I might buy a bandmaster type cabinet for the head.
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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by invisible man » Fri Nov 16, 2018 4:31 pm

invisible man wrote:
Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:31 pm
I just put down a refundable down payment on a silverface 1980 Fender Pro Reverb, master volume & line out, too good a deal to pass up. This is Rivera era, correct? Will hopefully be able to try it out over Thanksgiving and make a decision. What should I be thinking about to evaluate it? It might be too much amp for me, but I think I do want some headroom. I know the prevailing wisdom with Fender Silverface is to go late 60s, as close to blackface circuit as possible. However a master volume and line out seem really useful, maybe worth the difference in circuit? This should be a great pedal platform high headroom amp, right? If it is too heavy I might buy a bandmaster type cabinet for the head.
After reading up some more I guess this would be just pre-Rivera. Might get a chance to see it next week.
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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by Danley » Fri Nov 16, 2018 4:50 pm

I want to be, but I've never tried one. I work a couple blocks from the old Fender factory/headquarters in Brea - I really want a 'Brea' amp of any sort just for the sake of it.
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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:40 pm

I had a rare Bassman 20...weird little vertical amp with a single 15" if I'm remembering right. I didn't know much about amps then (still don't)..but the thing was interesting. One of the main attracting points was the PTP wiring and the fact it was a "bassman". The EQ always sounded a bit muffled/throaty...not really good for intricate clarity type playing. That being said...the thing really excelled at power cord/QOTSA type of stuff and stoner rock stuff. I don't miss the amp..I didn't hate it...but it just wasn't anything like my bassman 50 silverface that I was hoping it would have something in common with.

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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by redchapterjubilee » Tue Nov 20, 2018 4:59 pm

Unicorn Warrior wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:40 pm
I had a rare Bassman 20...
I have one of those too.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=109586

It’s like a non-reverb Princeton without Trem and with a decent dose of mids. I don’t know that I would’ve liked it so much stock but cut up as a head through guitar-voiced speakers it’s a rather nice little amp.

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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Tue Nov 20, 2018 8:54 pm

redchapterjubilee wrote:
Tue Nov 20, 2018 4:59 pm
Unicorn Warrior wrote:
Sun Nov 18, 2018 8:40 pm
I had a rare Bassman 20...
I have one of those too.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=109586

It’s like a non-reverb Princeton without Trem and with a decent dose of mids. I don’t know that I would’ve liked it so much stock but cut up as a head through guitar-voiced speakers it’s a rather nice little amp.
I would be that set up helped coax some magic out of it.

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Re: Anyone else in to Rivera era Fenders?

Post by s_mcsleazy » Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:44 pm

as i said in the bassman 20 post. i've always been curious about the 20's. see if it was like a micro bassman.

i did try one of the princeton II's and it was a fantastic amp. while my heart will always belong to the SF princeton reverb, the evil bastard in me would rock the hell out of a princeton II
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