Pro Tube Pro Reverb

[GitFiddle]

Anyone have any experience or opinions on the Fender Pro Tube amps?
I understand it is not the same as the original Pro Reverb but have some interesting features. There is one up for sale locally for a bit over $500.
They have the solid state rectifier.

Amp Guide » Fender Pro Tube Reverb

 

[Fracture]

I have a ProTwin, great clean channel, Not so much for dirty.
Clean,warm, takes pedals well. Downside, heavy, like 86 lbs. heavy.

 

[GitFiddle]

That's what I have read so far. Everyone likes the cleans but not so much the overdrive. It is supposed to be like the Fender Twin's little brother but still weighs as much. Also switchable between 50 and 12 watts. I guess there wasn't much love for the Pro tube professional line of amps? Seems like they discontinued them after only a few years.

 

[Yardbird Mac]

That's what I have read so far. Everyone likes the cleans but not so much the overdrive. It is supposed to be like the Fender Twin's little brother but still weighs as much. Also switchable between 50 and 12 watts. I guess there wasn't much love for the Pro tube professional line of amps? Seems like they discontinued them after only a few years.

The story I read about the PTPR was that one of the reasons it didn't sell was that the "TWIN REVERB" Amp and the PTPR have an almost identical profile which confused a lot of potential buyers (page 439, THE SOUL OF TONE, by Tom Wheeler). These were discontinued in 2005.

The overdrive is kind of tricky. It doesn't sound all that good at low volume. The tubes need to "cook" a little. At home, I use the 1/4 power setting. The trick is dialing in a good tone on the distortion channel. When you are on that channel, the Treble becomes inactive. The tone has to be dialed in using a balance between the Middle and Bass settings. The highest I have the gain set using a Les Paul is somewhere between 4 - 5. With a Strat or my G & L Comanche, I use just a little more gain.

I have two of these amps and I almost sold both of them. It took me almost 8 years to get the gain channel figured out. Make sure you read the manual carefully. It also helps to replace the JENSEN C12N with an Eminence Cannabis Rex (smoother and less harsh).

I'm having a head cab built for my newest PTPR. At age 60, the weight factor with these amps is just a bit much!

 

[tazzboy]

I had one once. It was very nice amp, but I traded away.