Herb Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 (edited) OK, jazz fans, the new Fender '65 RI Twin Classic 15 finally arrived in Kansas City at my local music store, and I got to test drive it. I took my ES-355 and my LeGrand, and my real '65 Twin so I could do an A/B amp comparison side by side. Set it all up, identical settings on both amps, plugged in the 355 to the Classic 15, and started playing. Ooooh, very full and rich! Now I've always loved the way my '69 and '65 Twins sounded, but after the Classic 15, I plugged in to the '65, and started playing, and it sounded like someone was holding a clothespin over it's nose. Hmmmm...... So then I picked up the LeGrand. Now I was going to be concerned about resonant feedback with the 15" speaker because of it's fuller bass qualities. Same scenario, started playing, no feedback at higher volume than the '65, rich and full, and with the LeGrand's tone, I got an instant crowd around me. Plugged into the '65, had to turn it down, and it sounded real midrange-y and nasal. I also took the '69 twin with me. It was old and tired, needed caps, tubes, and the cabinet was about shot. I didn't bring the '69 home, it got traded for the new Classic 15, which is now sitting in the living room, waiting to be played and gigged with. I took the '65 over to Don's, where we rehearse, to be used as my rehearsal amp, and brought the Vibrolux that was my rehearsal amp home, so I could play the Tele through it. I am HAPPY! This new amp is just full of tone for jazz. B) B) Edited June 5, 2004 by Herb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 Ah, the eternal Quest of all guitarists. Sounds like you got yourself a good one. What do these things retail for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zizala Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 Hey Herb, You're everywhere....must mean you have good taste! Someday if I ever get amplified I might understand what your talking about. And believe me...I'll look you up for sage advice...... D :rsmile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted June 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 Thanks, ziz! Remember, you turned me on to this forum! (From the DMF) Joe, the store matched the MF price of $1099, but I traded the old, tired, broken down '69 Twin straight across for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted June 7, 2004 Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 I've got a '64 Twin that I've had since 1981. It had been messed with before I ever got it (master volume, different speakers, etc), and never has performed very well. It's been in mothballs for the most part ever since I got it (I've been using a 4X10 Bassman reissue for the last 12 years or so. I've been thinking about dumping the Twin for some time, and getting a second amp with one 15. So... this news is intriguing. How much does the new Fender weigh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted June 7, 2004 Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 Classic 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robviti Posted June 7, 2004 Report Share Posted June 7, 2004 seeing thiss thread, i had to check out the fender website. the recreated '65 super reverb certainly brings back memories. my favorite amp was a '67 blackface super reverb. while most of my cohorts were slinging les pauls blasting through marshall stacks, i managed to cut through that wall of sound with my super reverb and '63 strat. ah, those were the days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolff Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 Do you do much tube rolling to customize the sound of the amp? 4 X 12AX7, 2 X 12AT7, 4 X 6L6,......many new old stock and current manufacture to try in these types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casanovas347 Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 ...i working in a musicstore (as service-technician for all kind electronics...& tube amp repairs of corse )...and had the pleasure to test the new fender amps....i was really surprised.....made some tests with my ES-347 over the new ProReverb Amp.....full rich tone.....sounding even better as the "normal" Twin Reverb '65 with 2x12".... now its really hard for me....i wanna buy a new amp my favs: Peavey Delta Blues with 15" Fender ProReverb Peavey Classic30 (the one i rent form my store ) or wait until the Twin reverb Classic 15 cames in.....i'm in europe, and i guess they came in the next two months..... B) @ thx herb for the pre-test, sounds very cool what you talking about! greeetz paco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herb Posted June 14, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 Trust me, Paco, it was MY pleasure! Wolff, I stick with NOS RCA tubes. Expensive, but absolutely no questions about the sound that's going to come out of the amp. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted July 29, 2004 Report Share Posted July 29, 2004 I still haven't managed to try one of these out yet. I just got a mail order catalog (Musician's Friend) and saw the Classic 15 again, and was reminded of this thread. I know this is wishful thinking, but as I look at this new amp I kind of wonder why it was designed this way. I'm sure it sounds fantastic, but to me, 64 pounds (even with casters) is a big negative. I ain't getting any younger, and even my tweed Bassman is a pain to move around at 50 pounds. I guess what I'm getting at here is that in addition to almost never seeing amps with 15" speakers anymore (unless you get into smaller companies and hard-to-get stuff), amps seem to be getting bigger and heavier (even the '65 Deluxe Reverb weighs in at 42 pounds). I miss my old Gibson Vanguard, which had a 15" JBL, and didn't weigh a ton. Anybody got any other recommendations for a smaller, lighter jazz amp with a 15? I never see jazz type amps in local stores, which makes shopping around all the more difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casanovas347 Posted September 11, 2004 Report Share Posted September 11, 2004 (edited) ok....i'm now a proud owner of a new Peavey Classic 50/212BT Amp..... never got the chanche to test the fender 15" twin .....everybody here in switzerland says, it would sounding like a normal twin, so its not a big difference just the 15" speaker...blablabla...they made me mad...but thats typical switzerland! They know how to produce tasty cheese and good chocolate....but when it cames to guitar-amps....they have no f*cking idea..... so i tryed various amps (Peavey Delta Blues 15", Fender ProReverb, Classic 50, Fender Deluxe Reverb, H&K Puretone, and some other stuff i couldn't remember.....at the end, the Peavey Classic 50 was my fav.... great clean sounds, cool chrunchy tones (i play in a jazzrock-trio, i need some overdrive sometimes! ).....nice Reverb.... Edited September 11, 2004 by casanovas347 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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