I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin Amp

NBarnes21 · Post by **NBarnes21** » Sat May 31, 2008 11:33 pm

WTF? I got a Fender Twin for free (not sure the model year, but it is the kind with the 2 separate inputs), and it's got some options that the Blues Jr. doesn't have, but for some reason the Jr. just sounds better to my ears. Maybe the tubes need replacing or rebiasing (I don't know much about amps), but I'm kind of bumming that a 400 dollar amp sounds better than my 2000 dollar one. The 2nd channel on the Twin sounds like a cheap hot rod amp, and the clean setting doesn't sound amazing, but hey it was free, so I got more than what I paid for. Any suggestions?

wooderson · Post by **wooderson** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 1:10 pm

Sure you didn't get one of the later, solid-state Fender Twins?

dug · Post by **dug** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 2:08 pm

My traynor ycv80 sounds better than my bands other guitarists silverface twin.

It upsets him.

NBarnes21 · Post by **NBarnes21** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:15 pm

øøøøøøø wrote: I wanna know where I can find one of these $2000 twins.

Not to buy of course, just to look at and figure out why it's worth $1000-1500 more than any other twin!

(just teasin' ya)

I threw that number out because it's what the new ones retail for now. You think Twins are only worth $500?

If you got the Twin for free, maybe it's time to spend a little bit of dough to get a thorough servicing to bring it up to snuff. They should sound great.

I think that's probably a really good idea, I'm just worried of the cost. How much would that run for? More than $100?

wooderson · Post by **wooderson** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:21 pm

Twin reissues retail for ~$1300

RumorsOFsurF · Post by **RumorsOFsurF** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:52 pm

You can find used Twin Reverbs for around $500-$600 if you look. I have no idea about Fender's "The Twin" amp.

BTW, I think my Silverface amp sounds waay better than my bandmate's AC30. It's a new CC model. It's all personal preference. I likes my Fenders.

NBarnes21 · Post by **NBarnes21** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:09 pm

wooderson wrote: Twin reissues retail for ~$1300

List price is 2000, most places sell them for around 1500.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=480649

RumorsOFsurF · Post by **RumorsOFsurF** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:12 pm

I think he was talking used. Nobody sells stuff at list, either.

NBarnes21 · Post by **NBarnes21** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:16 pm

RumorsOFsurF wrote: I think he was talking used. Nobody sells stuff at list, either.

.
True, I was throwing out the 2000 dollar figure (the list price) to fully express my frustration that my much more expensive amp sounds worse than a much cheaper one (Blues Jr). So does anyone have any idea what an amp tune-up would cost, assuming no tubes need replacement or anything?

RumorsOFsurF · Post by **RumorsOFsurF** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:22 pm

I totally see what you're saying, though. What exactly is frustrating you about the Twin? I assume you've tried a bunch of EQ settings and such?

NBarnes21 · Post by **NBarnes21** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:29 pm

RumorsOFsurF wrote: I totally see what you're saying, though. What exactly is frustrating you about the Twin? I assume you've tried a bunch of EQ settings and such?

Yeah, I've tried messing with it a lot, it just sounds a little dead to my ears. There's no sparkle or shimmer to the speakers, it sounds a bit dull and generic, if that makes any sense. The Blues Jr. sounded like it had more life to it.

RumorsOFsurF · Post by **RumorsOFsurF** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:32 pm

It's likely that the Blues Jr. was being worked a little harder than your Twin. Does your Twin have a Master Volume and/or "Drive" knob on the overdrive channel? Twins(not Twin Reverb) have an overdrive/distortion channel, right?

If so, set the drive really low, and control the vol with the master. Then raise the drive a little at a time, until you find a nice tone. That's what I do on my Hot Rod Deluxe. It's always on the "Drive" channel, but the gain's pretty low. That way, the amp's always right on the edge of breakup.

NBarnes21 · Post by **NBarnes21** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:36 pm

I'll have to try that, I have mainly been using the clean channel. Also, I have it set at 25 watts instead of 100, would that make any difference? I thought it would work the 25 watt harder, resulting in a better sound. I'll have to experiment more with the overdrive channel.

RumorsOFsurF · Post by **RumorsOFsurF** » Sun Jun 01, 2008 8:41 pm

I don't know about the 25 watt setting. My bandmate has a 100watt tube Carvin amp that sounds great on the 100 watt setting, but utter shit on the low 20 watt setting. Just too tinny and gritty.

cestlamort · Post by **cestlamort** » Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:36 am

Get it biased by a tech. Many fender amps are set up "cold" (more headroom!) that makes them sound lifeless. New tubes might be in order, too. It'll cost a little bit (less than $75 in labor) but will be worth it.

Think of it like changing the oil/timing on a car. It can be a great car, but if something's not set right, that little Ford Pinto will leave you in the dust.

Used twin reissues go for about $400-600 around here.

OffsetGuitars.com

I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin Amp

I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin Amp

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Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin A

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin A

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin A

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin Amp

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin A

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin Amp

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin A

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin Amp

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin A

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin Amp

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin A

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin Amp

Re: I think my brother-in-law's Blues Junior sounds better than my Fender Twin A