1966 Fender Pro Reverb

The Pro Reverb is lesser known than many other Fender models, but is possibly the best sounding amp of Fender’s 1960’s lineup. It sounds like a cross between the Deluxe Reverb and the Twin Reverb coming in at 40 watts with 2 x 12” speakers. This is the AA165 circuit which is very close to the AB763 circuit found in many 60’s Fender amps. The Pro Reverb has the standard Black-Panel preamp with Reverb/Tremolo, and a power section with two 6L6GC’s. This amp has a 5AR4 tube rectifier providing just a hint of sag and compression which gives it less of the stiffness of a Twin and more of the vibe of a Deluxe, but with much more power and headroom. The Pro Reverb uses the same power and output transformers as the Super Reverb. Famous users include: Dave Immergluck from Counting Crows, Tomo Fujita, Guthrie Trapp, Peter Hayes from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Poison Ivy of The Cramps.

This amp did not need a ton of work - it had already had an excellent electronic restoration in the past with just two parts values needing revision. It also had a couple of speakers that were just not right for this amp and were badly installed. They had drilled out the surround holes to fit the bent speaker screw posts and left metal shavings attached to the magnets and voice coils.

The amp was given a partial restoration to complete the previous one from years earlier. The competency of the older restoration (parts quality/technique) was very good - but there were two parts that did not match the original schematic values. The power dropping resistor and electrolytic capacitor in the bias circuit were replaced with a 3 Watt Cement type unit and a Vishay 22uf 100v unit respectively. The customer wanted the speakers changed to a model that was more in line with what would have been in the amp originally - which was the Jensen C12N. New Weber 12F150 50 Watt 12” Speakers (Light Dope @ 8 Ohm each) were installed to replace the previous EHX 75 Watt units. This is Weber's take on the Jensen C12N - an extremely close and high quality reproduction.

The original tubes all tested good and were kept in place. This was the lineup: V1/V2 = RCA 12AX7, V3/V6 = RCA 12AT7, V4 = RCA 7025, V5 = GE 12AX7, V7-V8 = GE 6L6GC Matched Pair, V9 = RCA 5AR4. The 6L6GC's Fixed Bias was set to %53 Class AB Plate Dissipation with a B+ of 472VDC. The tube sockets were all re-tensioned to stop loose tubes from potentially falling out and were then treated with De-Oxit to remove/prevent corrosion. The pots were sprayed out and the amp was cleaned inside and out. New Knobs and new Back Panel Hardware were installed as both were in need of attention. Amp now functions well.