Weak Reverb in Fender Super Reverb

[JammyDodger]

Hey All,

I am working on a friends '64 Super Reverb amp. The reverb itself is very weak. I know the tank to be good and I've swapped out the reverb driver tube with another. If I shake the tanks it makes quite a bit of noise (like it should) so it seems the circuit on the output side of the reverb tank is good. If I turn the reverb up to 7-8 I get a little effect and it almost starts feeding back. Any other suggestions on what to look for here?

Cheers, Mike

[M Fowler]

Test the reverb driver by plugging in a speaker to the out jack of the reverb take a listen. The reverb driver could be bad.

[Firestorm]

Make sure it has the right tank: AB3C1B. I've seen some where the tank got replaced with whatever was on hand. If the impedance is wrong (especially noticeable with Ampeg type tanks) the reverb will be very weak. Also check the cables. The shield wires tend to break where they're soldered to the RCA plug.

[rbryerton]

Just to add an experience I had: I picked up an early 80's Pro Reverb on the cheap, but noticed the reverb was really weak. From what I remembered, these amp have a very pronounced reverb.

In going through the amp, I decided to replace the speakers. I boxed up the old Jensen's, tossed 'em in the spare parts room, and installed some new Celestion Vintage 30's (a lot of people don't like these speakers, I love 'em)

After I fired up the amp, I noticed the reverb was very strong like it should be. The speakers I removed must've been worn out/on their way out. I thought they sounded dull & crappy....

[Firestorm]

Interesting. The reverb is all higher frequency, so if the speakers couldn't reproduce that, no wonder they sounded crappy!