Fender Super Reverb RI. To be or not?

[Frippified]

Looking at a Super Reverb RI and wondering about the pros and cons of this amp. Would the Super Reverb be able to pull double duty as a practice amp? Can I use an attenuator on it? Looking to use it with my Strat and Les Paul. Thanks in advance for the feedback!

[ES350]

nay...save your dough and buy a early SF Super---the prices are coming down by the day. A Super is a pretty big amp to use as a practice amp if you expect it to break up at low levels...it won't.

[Splattle101]

I tend to agree with ES350: grab an early silverface Super Reverb. You can pick them up for under a grand US. I have a 1973 or 74 silverface that I’ve refurbished and converted to 65 blackface standard. You would probably need to have the filter caps replaced and get it some general TLC, but you’d have a kick-arse, hand-wired amp for your trouble and expense.

Regarding duties, it can double as a practice amp, but only if you have pedals to kick it along. With a Les Paul, mine starts to break up at about 3.5-4 on the vol. That’s loud. At 5 it’s nicely saturated. At 6 it’s a beautiful thing. That’s where I like it.

Yes, you can use an attenuator very easily.

I have heard good things about the RIs, but I’d go for an old one anyway. Apart from the initial outlay being less, it’ll also be hand wired. This means it’ll be easier and cheaper to repair down the road. Also easier to mod: it’s a two channel amp. Do you want a Fender on one side and a Marshall on the other, perhaps? There are a lot of possibilities.

Cheers,
Splat

[Jake 2112]

The Super reissues are great amps. I'm sure, even though it's big, it could be used as a practice because you can get good tones at a low volume setting.

[Frippified]

I've found a great deal on a lightly used Super RI at <$700.
About the same price as the cheaper SF Supers. I was hoping that an attenuator would allow me to play the amp at higher levels, 5-6+, and not drive everyone else out of the house while practicing. I thought that an attenuator would bring the volume down while retaining the break up, saturation etc... I must admit that I hadn't considered that the the older Supers would be easier to mod.

[Splattle101]

I'm not sure about the 2nd hand market in the US, but that looks like a good deal. Just make sure the speakers aren't knackered.

Regarding the attenuator, yes, it will do what you're talking about. But to get it sounding really good, you will still need a bit of volume.

cheers,
Splat

[ES350]

Look around---SFSR's are in that price range and they will outlast that cheapo PCB 'RI' by a couple of decades...

[coldsteal2]

Nothing wrong with PCB's i manufactured
them for over 12 years, if they are quality
PCB's they can even be better than PTP.
The world runs on quality PCB's

[Splattle101]

The problem with PCBs in this application is not performance. They work fine (for the most part: I have heard of some exceptions with bad PCBs, those are, well, exceptions ). However, the components on them often have finite lifetimes. Electrolytic caps, for example. When these components fail, the PCB can then become an issue in a couple of ways.

Firstly, they're difficult to work on. In some cases, fiendishly so. The manufacturers themselves don't work on 'em: if they get a faulty one in on warranty, they don't diagnose it. They rip it out and put a new one in. Your techie will curse and swear working on PCBs.

Secondly, when some components fail, they are carrying quite high loads. All that is separating the conductor leading to the failed component from the next conductor over is...a very small plastic gap. If the voltage difference between adjacent conductors is sufficiently high when a component craps out, it is not uncommon for that nasty electricity to find the next easiest path to ground. You can get arcing and fires and other frying of other components.

So you're right, PCBs work fine. It's when they or the components on them fail that they become an issue.

Don't get me wrong: I bought a Bassman that choc' full of PCB goodness. No problem. It works fine. And as soon as it's out of warranty, the next component that fails will be the trigger to pull those PCBs out and replace them with turret board. Maybe. If I feel sufficiently exercised by it at the time.

It's certainly not a show stopper.

Splat

[tigerfan22001]

I like the RI's. My dad has one. It sounds great. Not as good as my uncle's original 65 but still damn good. At low volumes though it isn't going to break up, but with at attenuater it will. Get it you won't regret it.

[Frippified]

Thanks everyone for all the input and feedback! Think I'm going to hold off on the RI for two reasons. After playing with the amp, cranking the amp with an attenuator is still pretty loud to get the break up. Current thinking is a separate house/practice amp. It would be nice to find a two channel practice amp to cover both the fender cleans w/ & w/o reverb on one side and the marshall crunch on the other. In the same light the idea of a modified Super Reverb with a Fender on one side and a Marshall on the other sounds very appealing. Seems a hard wired older version would lend itself to this more readily.