Super Reverb Layout?

[Lonely Raven]

I used to have a couple web pages bookmarked that had some high rez photos of Super Reverbs with perfect layouts...but those web pages seem to have dried up over the years.

Does anyone have or know of a great high rez photo of a "perfect" Super Reverb layout I can use as a guideline to clean up this '73 spaghetti monster I have?

I used to know Super Reverbs pretty well, but not having touched one in 6+ years...I've forgotten it all!

I think I'm going to fix this one up well, then sell it to fund building one from Scratch. I still have an empty Blackface Super Reverb cab that I pulled out of the trash, and an empty (modern) chassis to start fresh from!

[Gibsonman63]

I don't know about perfect, but this one sounds really good. I gutted my 1972 Super Reverb and rewired it with cloth covered wire. I used my 65 Vibrolux Reverb and my 65 Twin Reverb as go-bys.

[Gibsonman63]

Started with this, so I know what you mean about spaghetti.

[mshowson]

Was just on Hoffman amps website and he has a photo image of the original layout and schem. I thought it was very easy to read despite the paper he photographed was a bit wrinkled. Also, look on ebay for a for sale one with good images of the insides. Those two sources should get you there.
I've redone a couple of '70s supers replacing the pvc junk with cloth. Not that difficult but best to use a neat blackface version for a reference.
Mark H.

[Lonely Raven]

Gibson, thanks for those photos!

Are those some you worked on? Mine looks almost exactly like the one with the orange drops. I've got all the e-caps replaced already, and I'm considering swapping out the brown turds while I'm cleaning up the lead dress. This is one amp that I've always felt lead dress was a huge part of the tone...*every* 65 Super Reverb (real not modern) sounded fantastic to me, no matter what speakers and tubes where in there. Well tuned, they were simply magical.

If I can't find blue molded caps, and suggestions on caps that would get me that mojo (without spending $7 a cap on the modern blue "clones")

I got the amp cobbled together and plugged in today, it's starting to look like a Super Reverb again, but the pots are dirty, and I've got an occasional popping going on. So I'm going to do a good cleaning and retensioning and see if that helps.

[Bob S]

Great stuff guys.
I've got a 72 super & I replaced the lytics, turd caps and some resistors.
Still not quite that super tone...
Maybe a decent re-wire will work.
Thanks.

[Gibsonman63]

Are those some you worked on?

Actually, it is the same amp and yes I've owned that one since the mid 80's. Sad to say the orange drop and MF resistor foolishness is was mine, before I knew better.

After trying repeatedly to cure the ice-picky-ness, I gave up and did the shotgun approach and stripped it down to the board, then got rid of the metal film resisters and orange drops.

It's pretty close to the original BF layout with a few tweaks here and there to keep everything flat against the chassis and to cross wires at 90 degree angles when I absolutely had to.

Some people hate it, but I found the cloth covered wire really easy to work with. You never have to strip it. Just cut it to length and push it back to solder.

[Lonely Raven]

Some people hate it, but I found the cloth covered wire really easy to work with. You never have to strip it. Just cut it to length and push it back to solder.

That is if you get the right kind...I bought the Weber "cloth covered wire" about 6-8 years ago, and it was some cloth covered PVC. You have to muss with the cloth and PVC so much, that it's easy to break the solid core wire before you even finish soldering.

I hope they don't sell that same stuff now, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the remainder of these spools...

[Gibsonman63]

I got a few spools of that stuff too. Same problem. I'll probably never use it, but I can't bring myself to throw it out.

I think I got the good stuff from Hoffman.