Fender Twin

Gary Hamblin · Post by **Gary Hamblin** » 27 May 2017 9:22 am

I just acquired a early seventies Twin and was wondering if anyone on the forum uses one for steel and what they think and if I need to make any changes.Thanks Gary.

Len Ryder · Post by **Len Ryder** » 27 May 2017 10:18 am

I used one for many years. Heavy, but a great amp. Never once had any problems. Get the settings that are pleasing for you and you'll love it!!

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 27 May 2017 11:31 am

Yes I cut this lastest CD with Fender Twin>
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... uFTaHdIro1
Along with the past 15 years and same Fender Twin on close to 100 CD's and 6 Movie sound tracks(all richard linklater movies) and huge number of commercials, TV and Radio...
So YES I use a fender twin on stage and on all these recordings.
OH and so does Lloyd Green.
And it's not heavy if you split it up like this pic below.

Oh and those cabinets(also Lloyd green has some identical to mine) were made by Rick Johnson.
My Speakers are JBL K-130
My Twin is a 1970 Silverface; but RE-point to point BlackFace wiring and components...but keeping the 100w. of silverface power; but the power tubes are the very expensive Military JanPhillips 6L6's.
Ricky

Jason King · Post by **Jason King** » 28 May 2017 5:24 am

I had Rick build Jacob some cabs for his 78 ultralinear twin, and with a 15in black widow it's not hard to pack and sounds great. Ricks work is first class.

Harry Dove · Post by **Harry Dove** » 28 May 2017 5:51 pm

Ricky, it looks like you might be running an original Bud pickup. When I bought my LDG the pickup was shot so I put a L710 in it. So far I haven't found quite the tone I'm looking for. When I dial out the muddiness from the mids and lows the highs have a little too much bite and sound a little thin. I'm also using a Fender Twin. The only effects I'm using are a Carbon Copy and an RV3. The setup sounded perfect with my old Emmons. However, the Bud sounds like it could be more what I want if I can get it dialed in. I prefer the crisp sound of the Bud. I'm wondering if this pickup is going to get me there.

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 28 May 2017 9:23 pm

FWIW, Lloyd Green has a 710 in his LDG.

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 28 May 2017 9:56 pm

I like my Twin, specially for guitar and steel. I did blow one of these D-130F's last week, but replaced them with D-140F's this week. I did a little tube swapping this week because of some distortion even with the D-140's. Everything seems to be Ok, distortion gone, but a set of new tubes is in order as I used old ones for the swap.

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 29 May 2017 6:59 am

Those look GREAT Jason...good going man.
Bill what a great set up...Love that white tolex.
Harry; Skip is right, Lloyd has the first made Bill Lawrence 710 in his. Do you have those first made ones or newly made 710? for a humbucker yes the original 705 or 710 are a right match. BUUUUT...ha...I have to have single coil and my original Sho-Bud pickup was actually rewound with coil tap by Harry Jackson..it is KILLER man. But yes original Sho-bud pick ups are very responsive; they DO NOT sound like there is a blanket thrown over them..if ya know what I mean? BUUUT..ha...me and Jerry Wallace tested and retested THE TrueTone pickup that would be the perfect response for the Sho-Bud original sound and that is a TrueTone wound to 17,500 ohms....(coil tap and he hates doing that but if you ask him nicely; tap is 11,500 ohms).
If you can't find a original sho-bud pickup that hasn't been kicked down the street for 40 years....get a TRUETONE and you will never look back.
Ricky

Dale Foreman · Post by **Dale Foreman** » 29 May 2017 9:50 am

I did the same thing with my 75. Rick Johnson is da man!

David Zornes · Post by **David Zornes** » 29 May 2017 12:30 pm

The hotter the tubes are, the sweeter the tone.

Tim Whitlock · Post by **Tim Whitlock** » 29 May 2017 3:12 pm

Here is my custom built Twin Reverb. Tweed tonestack in the Normal channel, 1/2 power switch, multi-ohm transformer and Altec 418b speaker. I recovered it in brown tolex and had a custom faceplate built. Altecs or JBLs are a must for me in a Twin.

Harry Dove · Post by **Harry Dove** » 29 May 2017 6:02 pm

Thanks Ricky, mine is one of the new ones and if just doesn't quite have that sound.

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 29 May 2017 7:46 pm

Yes Harry; the new is NOT anywhere like the original ones...or anything for that matter...ha.. If you HAVE to have a humbucker; find a old 705 or 710...or go single coil with that TrueTone I just suggested.
Ricky

Edward Rhea · Post by **Edward Rhea** » 30 May 2017 5:27 pm

Fender Twin & that TruTone, in a round front Sho~Bud = AMAZING!!

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 4 Jun 2017 8:42 pm

Did you check to see if the amp has been serviced any time in the last 10 years? If not it needs to get in to a tech for a checkup asap, and the filter caps (at minimum) will need to be replaced. If they're over 12-15 years old they're beyond their service life, can fail without any warning (or visual clues) and damage major components.

Close to 90% of the used Fender silverface amps I encounter that were bought used have not been properly serviced, even if they sound great. Quite a few end up here because of blown caps - some have needed transformer replacement.

It's worth checking out and definitely should be done if you didn't receive written documentation of service.

Gary Hamblin · Post by **Gary Hamblin** » 5 Jun 2017 3:30 am

Thanks,Gary

Josh Braun · Post by **Josh Braun** » 8 Jun 2017 5:50 pm

Since we're talking twins...

Anyone try any of the new(ish) neo speakers in a twin?

E.g., the Travis Toy speaker, or some of the more guitar centric ones (Eminence Lil Texas).

If so, what did you think?

Steven Paris · Post by **Steven Paris** » 8 Jun 2017 9:38 pm

Gerald Weber, in his book "Desktop Reference of Hip Vintage Guitar Amps" (pg.165), recommends a Silver to Blackface conversion for 70s Twin Reverb amplifiers:
1) Rewire bias supply and add 2x220KΩ resistors
2) Replace 5 resistors and 1 cap in the P.I.
3) Remove 4 small capacitors
4) Replace 2 resistors in the power supply
This should be done by a good amp tech; but the results supposedly are stunning. CBS really DID screw up Leo's designs!!

Steven Paris · Post by **Steven Paris** » 8 Jun 2017 10:06 pm

Ricky Davis wrote:Yes I cut this lastest CD with Fender Twin>
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... uFTaHdIro1
My Speakers are JBL K-130 My Twin is a 1970 Silverface; but RE-point to point BlackFace wiring and components...but keeping the 100w. of silverface power; but the power tubes are the very expensive Military JanPhillips 6L6's.
Ricky

Absolutely LOVE your work!! Thanks for sharing! (I listened to the whole album!)

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 9 Jun 2017 8:25 am

A Twin Reverb and a Sho-Bud. A really great tone match.

Buell Wisner · Post by **Buell Wisner** » 10 Jun 2017 9:26 am

Josh Braun wrote:Since we're talking twins...

Anyone try any of the new(ish) neo speakers in a twin?

E.g., the Travis Toy speaker, or some of the more guitar centric ones (Eminence Lil Texas).

If so, what did you think?

I rehoused my Twin in a Rick Johnson 1x15 combo cab with a Telonics speaker.

It sounds great to me.

Dave Meis · Post by **Dave Meis** » 10 Jun 2017 10:24 am

Buell Wisner wrote:
Josh Braun wrote:Since we're talking twins...

Anyone try any of the new(ish) neo speakers in a twin?

E.g., the Travis Toy speaker, or some of the more guitar centric ones (Eminence Lil Texas).

If so, what did you think?
I rehoused my Twin in a Rick Johnson 1x15 combo cab with a Telonics speaker.

It sounds great to me.

I also re-housed my twin in an RJ combo cab with a SICA 15", and I love it!

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 11 Jun 2017 9:13 am

The blackface conversion, except for rewiring the bias adjustment - useful only if you service your own amps - is not always the best thing for steel. It warms the amp up but also reduces headroom. If you play anyplace where you can turn it up past 4 or 5 it may not sound clean enough for you.

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