Stevie Ray Vaughan Discussion

[voodoo364]

I am curious about the SRRI vs the original. Any input would be appreciated.

[Vaughanabe13]

Technically the Fender 1965 Reissue amps are supposed to be produced the same way as the originals. But for some reason, I have always found the original blackface amps to come out on top. Maybe it's just that fact that they're so old now, and good tube amps just get better with age.. or maybe Fender isn't 100% accurate in their reissues.

BUT, I will say that the difference in sound quality is NOT that noticable, and the average person would not be able to tell the difference. Both are excellent amps. If you can afford vintage, ALWAYS take that route. But the Reissue's are a cheaper alternative.

Personally, my philosophy would be just to get a small 6-15 watt Fender Blackface, all original 1965 combo amp (such as the Champ or Princeton Reverb), crank that baby up, and let'r rip! If you need more volume you can always mic it for gigs. Personally, I have found that smaller is better, when it comes to amps. You'll break your back carrying that Super Reverb.

[TTrahan]

I've owned the SRRI, it's not a bad amp. Throw some NOS tubes in across the board and that amp turns into something pretty good. BUT, there's much better deals out there. And Vaughanabe is right, it is one HEAVY amp.

Any of the Allen amps would be a MUCH better deal. All PTP, high quality caps etc. Great customer support, too. Fender obviously couldn't match the customer support a small time builder would offer, in most cases.

http://www.allenamps.com/

If you're going to buy vintage, make sure you know what to look for as far as transformers, tube sockets, speakers, etc. I got burned on a '68 Twin Reverb one time, it was pretty awful. I didn't do my research.

The 9-15 watt thing might be okay for people who don't ever play clean, but if you need some headroom than you'd be better off getting something above 30w in my experience. You would have to get some of your OD from pedals, but atleast it wouldn't be all overdrive all of the time. Playing clean is good too.

Some other amps to consider:

Old Bandmaster heads, old bassman heads, vintage Pro Reverbs, silverface Deluxe Reverbs.

The old bassman heads are awesome bargains, IMO.

Or you can go the route I went, get a custom Fargen Blackbird from Ben Fargen at www.fargenamps.com for the nice cranked Fender sound.

and get a '64 Vibroverb built for the big clean sound.

Cheers,

Troy

[voodoo364]

Thanks for the info guys! I am currently running a 65 Bandmaster into a 2x12 EV SRO equipped cab. I like the sound but really miss some reverb. The BM is a very cool amp..very happy

[Blind Melon Chitlin]

[rockindillo]

I make you right there Blind Melon. Those early 70s 40w (pre master volume) Pro Reverbs are essentially the same chassis as the Super Reverb/Bandmaster reverb of the day and of the three, the Bandmaster Reverb is my favourite.
The thing is that for a 40w head, it's a great big, clumsy, heavy old thing that people tend not to want so much as the combos, so you can pick them up relatively cheaply. I've had two and paid £120 and £250 for them.
But they're really easy to build into a combo. I made a 2x10 which was a ringer soundwise for a brown Vibroverb. Sadly, I let it go a few years ago.
Wish I could find it again...

I've got another one now that lives in an old Gibson Lab Series 4x10 combo cabinet someone gave me - it makes a pretty good, inexpensive substitute for a Super Reverb.
It's always been a great-sounding amp, but the original tag-board was starting to get porous and was making the amp crackle and buzz rather alarmingly, so I ended up replacing the circuit. It now sports what is basically a '64 Vibroverb circuit and sounds wonderful. (That's what Alex was using on the more SRV-sounding solos on the Armadillos' Honeytrap that I played you last September in Austin.)

It's got that BF Super vibe at a slightly lower volume, which keeps things manageable on smaller gigs or at lower volumes.

My other hot tip for a great-sounding amp with a real SRV vibe about it is the 1980s Blackface Fender 75. They come in a head and a 1x12 and a 1x15 combo and are absolutely wonderful amps to plug a Strat into and let rip! Much loved by Chris Duarte and the great Jesse Davey (ex The Hoax)