Just bought a Fender 75, anyone used one before?

[jimboyogi]

Hi all,

Just picked up one of these 1980 gems on ebay, picking it up this weekend.

Anyone got any experence/opinions/advice on these?

Cheers

[Superfuzz]

isn't it the one that Johnny Greenwood uses?

[mynameisjonas]

isn't it the one that Johnny Greenwood uses?

i think he uses the deluxe 85 (solid state).

[Deckard]

isn't it the one that Johnny Greenwood uses?

i think he uses the deluxe 85 (solid state).

Thats the one. For distortion sounds i believe. Could be wrong like, but i do think i've read it somewhere.

[mjet]

I have had one for nearly a year but, I'm embarrassed to say, I really played through it. "Embarrassed? Why?" You ask?

Well, I bought it on German eBay and brought it back with me on one my short trips there. I brought it home and fired it up, only to realize (too late) that the multi-voltage switch had been moved to 120v. So the main fuse in my flat blew and the amp made a horrible "pop" sound.

Long story short, I had to have a new power transformer built for it and it's sitting at my amp tech's workshop. Oddly enough I might go there tonight to collect it as he's finished his repairs and is going on holiday for three weeks.

They take a sort of oddball footswitch - does the one you're buying have it?

Which model do you have? Mine's a 1x15" combo. They also made a 1x12" model I believe. Mine looks just like this one, but mine doesn't have the drip edge (went missing??):

[Orang Goreng]

During which time did they use the black grille cloth and drip edge? I used to have a Bassman 135 that had a silverface face plate, but exactly those appointments. Originally I thought it was a custom job, but then I saw another one just like it, and now this. Early 80s?

[mynameisjonas]

1980-82, according to the FFG.

[Orang Goreng]

Right, thanks. Odd that the guide doesn't list these specs for the bassman...there it just says "blue sparkle grille cloth". Hmm. Then again, they seem to stop at '80, while they mention it was made until '83. Ah well, nothing is ever really complete, is it...

[øøøøøøø]

those are cool amps.  Oddly enough, of all people, Stevie Ray Vaughan used them sometimes, I'm told. 

[jimboyogi]

I have had one for nearly a year but, I'm embarrassed to say, I really played through it. "Embarrassed? Why?" You ask?

Well, I bought it on German eBay and brought it back with me on one my short trips there. I brought it home and fired it up, only to realize (too late) that the multi-voltage switch had been moved to 120v. So the main fuse in my flat blew and the amp made a horrible "pop" sound.

Long story short, I had to have a new power transformer built for it and it's sitting at my amp tech's workshop. Oddly enough I might go there tonight to collect it as he's finished his repairs and is going on holiday for three weeks.

They take a sort of oddball footswitch - does the one you're buying have it?

Which model do you have? Mine's a 1x15" combo. They also made a 1x12" model I believe. Mine looks just like this one, but mine doesn't have the drip edge (went missing??):

Yes MJET, Mine is coming with the footswitch, apparently they don't work properly without it. It is the 15" combo with the original EVH speaker.

How do these speakers compare with the JBL's that you have Orang?

Mine has had a new silver grill cloth added recently, the whole amp has been gone over and serviced I'm told.

Really excited about picking it up tonight, hope it sounds mighty with my '59 TS JM plugged in (when that arrives!)

[AMILCAR]

it`s been my only amp for years ...the clean sound is so fat ,(due to the 15 inch speaker i guess),that ìs too much at times ...even with a mij jaguar ...never really understood the lead section and footswitch,it´really odd ,but don`t care much ,as i really like the basic tone a lot ...you can get wicked jazz ,surf ,and country tones ...by the way rivera`s chris duarte model it`s based on these amps ,he used to played for a long time ...
with the valves working rigth ,even live with a medium-loud band it still cut trough with class ...

[jimboyogi]

AMILCAR - glad to hear that you love yours!

MJET - Have you got yours back yet, and if so, how are you finding it?

Thanks to all else for the feedback/info 


Got some pics of mine...






White edging is gone, and black cloth replaced with new silver. New tubes, caps and resistors i'm told. 15" EV original speaker. Some tolex replaced. Not mint!

This amp has done some work, it was the main guitar amp for 'The Australian Doors Show' in the '90's. These guys were huge back then, they would have played at least 2 big shows per week for most of 10 years! Apparently they took this amp with them when touring internationally also, so it has covered some ground.
The guy I got from (the singer) raved about it's reliability and sound, and said they only switched it onto full power mode (75 watts) at a couple of outdoor festival gigs without PA' ing it. Damn it's loud! Even at 15 watts - low power mode.

I need more time with it to really find the best sounds, but I'm sure that they are there. The clean chanel is super clean, with heaps of headroom. I have been running the clean volume at 10 and seeing zero distortion, even with a humbucker feeding it. Doing this gives you very low noise/hum, because your master is generally turned right down. The reverb is classic 3? spring fender, very lush, interestingly the reverb effect drops to almost nil when the 'lead' chanel is switched on. This clean is as tonefull and beautiful as any Fender clean that I have heard, I think that the 15" gives presence and depth (just like you said AMILCAR - fat)

The lead chanel seems to be the most contenscious feature of this amp, apparently it was designed like a Mesa Mark II, with cascaded gain stage. I haven't nailed the perfect sounds from this yet, but I like the fact that it gives you a gritty/buzzy/fuzzy drive, not smooth crunchy Marshall at all, unless you wind the treble right back! With the lead volume on 1 you get a mild buzzy drive, on 10 a very buzzy drive with a mid level sustain. I am keen to put a good treble boost pedal in front of this lead stage, to see how insane this drive can get. The lead master then adjusts your lead chanel volume in relation to your clean volume, this is a great feature.

All in all, I like it! If it had tremolo and weighed a bit less, it would be approaching the perfect amp.

[mezcalhead]

it was the main guitar amp for 'The Australian Doors Show' in the '90's.

No way, how cool is that? .. Dave Graney has a funny story about gigging with those guys in the snowfields somewhere ..

[mjet]

MJET - Have you got yours back yet, and if so, how are you finding it?

I do have it back, but haven't had a chance to do much of anything with it. Time, time - where does it all go?

White edging is gone, and black cloth replaced with new silver. New tubes, caps and resistors i'm told. 15" EV original speaker. Some tolex replaced. Not mint!

Mine still has the black grill cloth but not the aluminum drip edge binding. I wonder if there's some source of similarly-sized (say that five times fast!) material that could be added on?

All in all, I like it! If it had tremolo and weighed a bit less, it would be approaching the perfect amp.

While I was carrying it up the stairs I kept saying "I hope I don't like this amp!" to myself so I don't have to lug it anywhere.

[jimboyogi]

MJET - Have you got yours back yet, and if so, how are you finding it?

I do have it back, but haven't had a chance to do much of anything with it. Time, time - where does it all go?

White edging is gone, and black cloth replaced with new silver. New tubes, caps and resistors i'm told. 15" EV original speaker. Some tolex replaced. Not mint!

Mine still has the black grill cloth but not the aluminum drip edge binding. I wonder if there's some source of similarly-sized (say that five times fast!) material that could be added on?

I would love to find some, mine looks a bit wrong without it.

All in all, I like it! If it had tremolo and weighed a bit less, it would be approaching the perfect amp.

While I was carrying it up the stairs I kept saying "I hope I don't like this amp!" to myself so I don't have to lug it anywhere.