1967 Fender Super Reverb

The Black-Panel Fender Super Reverb is a favorite touring amp for some of the biggest known players in history. With 40 watts of power and 4x10” speakers this model sits a little more than halfway on the scale of most power in the classic Fender lineup. It’s a big and heavy amp with lots great bass response and output volume - being a bit less loud than a Twin Reverb. The Super Reverb has a larger 50 watt output transformer (same as the blackface Bassman) than the other Fender 2 x 6L6 amps' standard 40 watt transformers. The larger transformer adds output volume and headroom and gives the Super Reverb a distinct voice. The Normal channel has only Treble/Bass controls while the Vibrato channel has an added Middle tone control. The Super Reverb's 2 ohm output transformer supplies the negative feedback circuit with 41% less voltage so it has less negative feedback than the 4 and 8 ohm 6L6 AB763 amps. Less negative feedback leads to a thicker clean tone, earlier dirt and a lazier transition to overdrive. The Super Reverb, and Concert use .022uF mid caps where all other AB763's use .047uF mid caps, this shifts the Mid tone control frequency band higher and reduces the mid scoop. Notable users include: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Derek Trucks, Robben Ford, East Bay Ray, and Fred “Sonic” Smith.

This amp came in to my shop having been worked on many, many times over the decades. The amp had almost every single resistor and capacitor replaced, a replacement Power Transformer, and at least a dozen modifications. The quality of the work was terrible and many of the mods not only directly counteracted one another but also just didn’t make any sense. A lot of the resistor values were incorrect and their material composition were not in the style of a 1960’s Fender. Two of the speakers were blown as well. This one needed not only a full restoration but almost a complete re-build including a complete cap job for all electrolytic and film units, total de-modification, new power/misc. resistors, cleaning, all new speakers/wiring harness, new octal sockets, and new tubes.

Amp was completely restored including three mods to the circuit. All filter/bias/bypass caps were replaced with upgraded voltage and temperature rated MOD/Vishay brand electrolytics. New 2 Watt Metal Oxide/5 Watt Cement power dropping resistors were installed for better reliability and lower noise floor. The cathode resistors for V3 and V6 were replaced with 2 Watt Metal Oxide type units due to heat damage and for preventative maintenance. All plate resistors were replaced with 2 Watt Reduced Mass Metal Film type units for preventative maintenance and reliability. All screen resistors were replaced with 3 Watt Cement 470 ohm type units for same reasoning. New Carbon Film 1/2 Watt resistors were installed for all other positions to bring back collector’s grade build quality/tone to the amp. 1 ohm 2 Watt Metal Oxide resistors were installed on pin 8 of the power tubes to provide an easy way to check the bias. All of the coupling capacitors were replaced with Mallory 150 630v film type units - the coupling caps present in the amp were almost all replacements and not at the correct capacitance ratings. Three 500v Vishay brand Ceramic capacitors were used for the Tremolo circuit. 500v Silver Mica caps were used for all positions in the Picofarad range. All capacitor and resistor values were chosen to make amp compliant with AB763 values. A 1N4007 1000V 1A Diode was installed in the bias circuit for reliability. A new 3 Prong AC cord was installed to replace the worn out original. A new 3AG Fuse Holder was installed as the one present was the wrong model and was broken.

A .01uf 630v Mallory film cap was used to mod the Trem circuit to stop it from ticking. The ground switch was deactivated for safety and that spot was used for a new mod/switch that allows the Negative Feedback Circuit to be disconnected for a more aggressive tone or placed at it's original factory value. A Trainwreck Style Type-3 Master Volume circuit was put in to replace the "External Speaker" jack, per customer request.

Due to the speakers being blown, the customer wanted them changed to a model that was in line with what came in the amp originally but with higher power ratings for reliability. Four new Weber 10F125, 30 Watt 10” Speakers (Light Dope @ 8 Ohm each) were installed to replace the previous Fender branded units. These were installed with all new high quality lock-nuts and a new custom made wiring harness.

The original tubes did not all test good and some were replaced. This was the final lineup: V1/V2/V4 = MULLARD 12AX7, V3/V6 = EHX 12AT7, V5 = SOVTEK 12AX7WA, V7-V8 = JJ 6L6GC Matched Pair, V9 = JJ GZ34. These tubes were picked for best tone, and reliability. The 6L6GC's Fixed Bias was set to %59 Class AB Plate Dissipation with a B+ of 423VDC. The octal tube sockets were all replaced with high quality ceramic units and completely re-wired. This was done to stop the tubes from jiggling or falling out while they hang upside down and because of broken pins internally that were damaged by previous attempts at repair and old age. The preamp tube sockets were all treated with De-Oxit to remove/prevent corrosion. New chassis strap screws and nuts were installed as the originals were bent, rusted, and stripped. The upper back panel was missing and was replaced with a Mojotone made re-pop. The pots were sprayed out and the amp was cleaned inside and out. This amp is now a fine example of a Black-Panel Super Reverb.