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Topic: Fender Twin Reverb Settings? |
Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 22 Feb 2009 7:47 am |
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David Doggett wrote:
Bass 3-4
Mid 6-8
treble 3-4
I assume he means bright switch OFF with those treble settings.
Ricky David wrote:
brite switch (freakin' ON!!!!)
Treble 4
Mids (freakin OFF!!!!)
Bass 5-6
Joe Camacho wrote:
Treble 4
Mids 4
Bass 4
Reverb 4
James Morehead wrote:
Ricky Davis' settings, but Bass at 3.
Donny Hinson wrote:
Vol. 10
Treble 3
Middle 2
Bass 7
Reverb 3-4
Pete Burak says Buddy Cage uses:
Treble 7
Middle 7
Bass 7
James Pennebaker wrote:
Volume about 5-6
Treble between 3-5 (bright switch usually "on")
Middle between 7-8
Bass between 6-8
Reverb on 3
I'm sure that if you ask enough people, you can fill up the entire 3-dimensional space of treble, mid, and bass parameters. Ever hear of Buffon's Needle Problem?
I think the steel, pickup, and volume pedal matter a lot also. Everything matters - it's the final product that counts, not one thing in isolation.
OK, I'll add my 2 cents. I generally put the treble around 3-4 to put the midrange center frequency in the 700-800 Hz range (you can read posts on this if you look for them), adjust the bass to suit, and then scoop the mids quite a lot to get the woof out. Using such a low setting on the treble causes me to use the bright switch quite a bit. I prefer a passive volume pedal and tend to like Lawrence pickups.
The tone controls are interactive - one affects the response of another. So it is a bit tricky and not as simple to use as the very sophisticated active tone stack on, let's say, a Peavey NV 112 or 1000. I found that treble 3-4 trick useful. You'll note that a lot of the responses have this treble setting in common.
I agree that the reissue Twin Reverb is a different amp than an old Twin, but my main issue is servicability. Definitely the pc board, transformers, and speakers are different, but the circuit parameters are the same. If the bloody things were more reasonable to work on, I think these would make a much more desirable platform to work with.
On bias pots - I've never seen an old blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb and above without a bias pot that was accessible from underneath the chassis. Hard to believe they wouldn't have put that on the reissue, but I don't actually know since I've never owned one - I prefer the old ones. The people on this thread that seem to know something - http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?p=29302030 - say it is actually accessible, but I don't necessarily consider it authoritative without looking at one myself. The relevant post says "If you have a bias probe, you won't even have to pull the chassis. Just turn the combo upside-down. The hole to the bias pot is located behind the Reverb transformer. You will just need a flat head screwdriver to adjust it." Not hard to just check yours for yourself. |
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James Holland
From:
Alabama, USA
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Posted 2 Jan 2024 6:30 am
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| 7,7,7 is a common Fender starting point from earlier times. I still do that. I remember the zero-flat amp response happens at 10,10,10 so you can only remove, not add gain with tone controls? Turning the bass down is a common remedy for lots of things. Its good to remember, the tone knobs are not linear, nor independent on many instrument amps, they cross influence and interact. Thats all i got. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 2 Jan 2024 8:12 pm
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| James Holland wrote: |
| 7,7,7 is a common Fender starting point from earlier times. I still do that. I remember the zero-flat amp response happens at 10,10,10 so you can only remove, not add gain with tone controls? Turning the bass down is a common remedy for lots of things. |
Sorry James, that's just not the case. Fender amps are famous for their "scoop", that big dip in the mid region. The Twin Reverb setting for "flat response" is actually treble 0, mids 10, and bass 0. My own starting settings (somewhat closest to Ricky's) are as follows:
Treble 3 to 3 1/2
Mids 0 to 3
Bass 8 to 10
Volumes always at 10
Reverb 3 to 4
Brite Sw. on
And yes, I can play quietly at home with the volumes maxed out, but a lot of players can't. |
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James Holland
From:
Alabama, USA
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Posted 3 Jan 2024 3:25 pm
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[quote="Donny Hinson"]
| James Holland wrote: |
| The Twin Reverb setting for "flat response" is actually treble 0, mids 10, and bass 0. |
That's right, I remember that from an online tool that plotted the frequency response as you "twist" the online knobs. What I should have said, is to get the full intended response, without EQ, you have to max all the tone controls? Its very unlike mixer board tone controls, hi fi reciever controls or othe active controls, correct? A tech showed me that, and it increased my clean headroom drastically. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 5 Jan 2024 7:36 am
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[quote="James Holland"]
| Donny Hinson wrote: |
| James Holland wrote: |
| The Twin Reverb setting for "flat response" is actually treble 0, mids 10, and bass 0. |
That's right, I remember that from an online tool that plotted the frequency response as you "twist" the online knobs. What I should have said, is to get the full intended response, without EQ, you have to max all the tone controls? Its very unlike mixer board tone controls, hi fi reciever controls or othe active controls, correct? A tech showed me that, and it increased my clean headroom drastically. |
"Full intended response"? Well, with all the tones maxed out on a T/R, you do get maximum output, as the traditional tone stack is a passive resistor-capacitor network, and all the controls are subtractive. The network is also very efficient, because when all the tone controls are set at zero, there is no output at all! |
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