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Topic: Fender Pro Studio Bass Amp??? |
Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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KENNY KRUPNICK
From:
Columbus, Ohio
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Posted 22 Aug 2009 4:40 pm |
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| I almost bought one of those back in the 80's. I recall,it has a 15" Electro-Voice bass speaker,and a whale of 6L6 tubes. A monster tone machine. |
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David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
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Posted 23 Aug 2009 6:36 am
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This is not a '60s black-face Fender. It's better, at least for pedal steel, because it plays clean to the top. This is apparently the same chassis as the late '70s - early '80s Rivera era Super Twin and Super Twin Reverb (but without the reverb). The controls seem the same, including the switchable 5-band EQ, except there is no mention of the pull-boosts on some of the Super Twin EQ and volume controls. You can search and find several past threads about the glories of Super Twins for steel.
The Super Twins came in 2x12 combos, which these days some of us split into head cabs. The 2x12 combos weigh around 100 lbs. If you need that much clean tube power, they are fantastic steel amps, with about the volume of the solid-state 300 Watt Nashville 1000, but with clean tube tone. That EV 15 (if that's what's in it) probably is great for steel. If it doesn't meet your preferences, you can sell it easy and try a Peavey Black Widow, or the Eminence 15 that is used in the Fender Steel King solid -state steel amp. It will also be great with two JBL 15s or Weber 15s (California or Neo) in separate cabs (but it has too much power for a single JBL or Weber).
The only problem I see with this one is the price. Super Twins and Super Twin Reverbs regularly sell in the $500-$600 range. But those are seriously underpriced for the value, because they are just too loud and clean and heavy for the masses of guitar players. But aside from the comparative street price, this baby is worth way more than $900. A modern hand-wired, 200 watt all tube amp with a great speaker like that would have to cost over $3000. And if you can stand the weight of a combo this heavy, that 15" speaker gives this bass version an edge over the 2x12 Super Twins for many steelers. Plus, there is the rarity factor.
Frankly, this rare and incredible steel amp should get into the hands of the steel community, to save it from being taken by some metal-head who trashes its clean-to-the-top tube tone to "black-face" it for early breakup and distortion. |
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Ken Fox
From:
Nashville GA USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2009 8:39 am
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Pete, Jim Wallace has had one since it was new. 6-6L6GC tubes and all tube preamp as well. In the book on Fender Amps (First Fifty Years) they say it is the best bass amp Fender ever produced!!
Year: 1977-1980
Model: Stuido Bass
Circuit: ?
Config: Combo
Control Panel: Black forward facing w/ white labels
Front Conrol Layout: Power Sw, Standby Sw, Pilot Lamp - In, In, Vol, Treb, Mid, Bass, Presence - 1850 Hz, 1000 Hz, 390 Hz, 180 Hz, 80 Hz - Output
Rear Conrol Layout: Speaker Jack, ? Jack, Hum Balance Adj, ? Jack, Output Tubes Matching Adj, Fuse (3A)
Knobs: Black skirted w/ chrome center, numbered 1 - 10 (EQ knobs numberd -5 to +5)
Speakers/Load: 1 x 15"/8 ohms
Speaker Model: Electro Voice
Effects:
Active EQ
Output:
200 Watts
Preamp: 2 x 7025
Power: 6 x 6L6GC
Bias: Fixed Bias
Rectifier: Solid State
Phase Inverter: 2 x 7025 (long tailed w/ cathode follower)
Active EQ: 12AU7 |
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Pete Burak
From:
Portland, OR USA
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Posted 23 Aug 2009 11:28 am
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Oh Man, I just realized it does not have reverb, and that "Fender reverb mojo" is like 50% of my sound!
Thanks for the inputs!
pb |
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KENNY KRUPNICK
From:
Columbus, Ohio
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Posted 24 Aug 2009 10:20 am
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Pete,you could always get one of the new Fender/BOSS reverb pedals that just come out.  |
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