The Famous 1967 Blackface 2x10 Fender Super Reverb Amp!

What, you’ve never played through one?  Never even SEEN one, you say?  Actually, I’m not just too awfully surprised; you see, this is yet another of my "Amps that Don’t Exist"!  Check out the previous installments in this series: The 1959 Brown Fender Super Amp, and the 1965 Fender 1x12 Bassman Combo Amp.  Cool, no?  So, on to this weeks phantom amp!

First the background:  I’m a super-fan of the blackface Super Reverb; a blackface Super is my amp of choice in almost every imaginable scenario.  Honestly though, my back ain’t as young as it used to be, and it sometimes complains when I ask it to carry a Super.  So, I’d always had in mind the idea of trying to make a more portable version of a Super Reverb.  This is where the story gets interesting.

A few months back there was a dead-stock all original 1964 Fender Super Reverb on Craigslist for $900.  Awesome deal, but there was a catch: it was in a modern repro cab with four of those awful new Jensen P10Q’s.  I have a speaker connection, and so I bought her anyway.  However, there is a back-story!  I already owned an original 1964 Super Reverb loaded with original uber-sweet CTS AlNiCo 10’s;  but strangely enough, my ’64 had a 1967 chassis in it.  Betcha know where I’m going with this doncha?  Yep, I put my new ’64 Chassis in the ’64 cabinet.  Ah, just as Mr. Fender (& God himself) intended!  That was my first chance to look at my newly acquired ’64 chassis; let me tell ya, it exemplifies beauty and perfection, all original!

So, I now had an entire perfect 1964 Super Reverb amp.  What to do with my ’67.  I could just put it in the repro cab, but, well ... yuck!  So I hit eBay, and there it was: an original 60-something cab that had been cut-down to a 2x10 configuration.  There is a God, and he likes me!  How fast can you say Buy-It-Now?  Days later she arrived, looking just like a vintage Super cab should ... only smaller, much smaller.

So, now I had to start thinking about what speakers to load in this 2x10 Super Reverb.  Original CTS AlNiCo’s are not only expensive and hard to find in good condition, but they wouldn’t handle the Super's output in only a gang of two.  If you’ve followed this blog, you know that I’ve done EXTENSIVE shoot-outs of ten inch speakers.  To recap (Best to worst):

   #1: Original CTS AlNiCo’s

   #2: WGS G10A

   #3: WGS G10C

   #4: WGS Vet 10

   #5: Almost any vintage American or British 10

   #6: Current production Jensen P10Q’s

   #7:(dead last)Current production Eminence Blue AlNiCo’s

So, if I can’t have #1, why not #2 or #3?  Well, remember that old back?  Yep, my goal was to have a small, lightweight Super!  So I choose a pair of 4-ohm Vet 10’s; those little buggers sound VERY good, are fairly light weight, and can easily handle the Super’s output.

So, the big question: how does she sound?  Well ... a lot like a Fender Blackface Super Reverb!  Honestly, she does not have the same ultra-huge room-filling three-dimensional vibe of a 4x10 Super, but it’s pretty darn close!  And, honestly, ain’t she cute?

emailVaughn     About Vaughn Skow

Bye for now, my "outside" blog recommendation this week is the Fender Amp Guru’s site on the Super Reverb; check it out!   http://fenderguru.com/amps/super-reverb