Grateful Dead Music Forum

When I got this amp shipped to me I plugged in, cranked up and was dissapointed to hear that the reverb was very lacking. So I dialed in the reverb to 10 and thought I should be swimming in it, but the amount was still a tad below what I desired. I did`nt ship it back because I was`nt sure if that`s just the way they`re supposed to be. I also had to wait 4 weeks for it to ship and was`nt about to go thru the hassle of shipping it back and parting with it. I already had a Boss Reverb pedal so I just ran with that for a while. My question (FINALLY!) is: Is this a problem that I can fix by myself by perhaps changing a tube? If so, which (location) tube and what kind of tube? Thanks again for your patience and help!

Are you talking about a Fender Vibrolux reissue?

The reverb on mine is definitely less "deep" (talking surf reverb) than on, say, a Twin. It's been enough for my personal taste, but I don't think there's much to be done to get more out of it. I swapped out that 12AT7 reverb tube for a 12AX7 but it didn't make much difference.

You could swap the tank, do that sort of thing, but others may know more about the circuit itself.

It's not a tube... Geez, somewhere on this huge interweb somebody talked about this and it was something like replacing a single cap.

FOUND IT! Mark Moyer Mod:

http://www.thefenderforum.com/forum/sho ... hp?t=36220

I've got this same amp and have all of the moyer mods stuff printed out, just waiting for motivation to get the parts and tear into the thing. There are 2 issues here: 1) is for fuller, lushlike reverb. The other 2) is to take out the annoying hiss that you can hear when the guitar is not being played (but amp is on). The amp is good and has some unique qualities, but these 2 issues are ones that I hope to fix. The reverb is so weak-with no light or indicator I have a hard time knowing if it is on or not-even cranked. Where as on a twin or DR I've got plenty of reverb at 3.

The amp does have a good wattage (40, or 45 I forget) 2 10"s (Older Jensons) and a solid state rectifier which I believe gives you a quicker response for attack. It also doesn't hide mistakes as well. I've never tried modifying an amp, and am aware of the caps and dangers of playing with electricity, however I think I could fix it. Its hard around here to find someone who wants to work on amps to do a custom mod like this one. I need to reread the Moyers.. Good luck.

Thank you for your help guys! I`m going to have those mods done sometime soon. In the meantime I`m waiting for my new Holy Grail Reverb Plus to be delivered as well as a Boss Equalizer. Then vee vill be exactly pervect! Yeah, I know. Keep dream`n!

I`m diggin it! Got the EH Holy Grail Plus and found that I like my Boss RV-5 alot better. I guess I like a more glassy than warm verb. I also find the RV-5 to be more versatile with options that border on delay. I also got the Boss GE-7 Equalizer and I must say I don`t know how I lived without one. What I`ve been going for really is my interpretation of my favorite aspects of JG`s sound. To me it`s a nice clean snap on the E, A and D strings and piercing but sweet tone with just a hint of breakup if I dig in hard enough on the G, B and E strings. The problem for me (and others here, so I`ve read) is how to get that snap on the bass strings without having the high strings sounding cold, thin and anemic. The GE-7 is allows me to boost up the mids so that I feel thicker highs that really seem to cut much better when I`m playing along with Dick`s Picks. Have yet to try it in a band set-up but I`m feeling confident that it might do the trick.