Pro Reverb please help!!!!!!

[jackaroo]

Thoughts on BF Pro Reverb

I own a 65/6 Pro Reverb. While I like the sound I'm getting, I'm sure there's room for improvement. Does anyone out there know any tubes/tricks/mods that help/change the tone W/O trashing the amp's resale value. I hear that swapping the transformer from a Bassman or the like, tightens up the lows and extends clean headroom...true? Also, the amp has got a couple of speakers in it that I know can't be original. They sound alright, but I'm curious, what speakers did Pros come with and what are some good options for replacement?

[Blue Strat]

First, what's the status of the amp? Has it had a cap job in the last 15 years? If not, it needs one now.

What tubes are you currently using? How would you change the tone if you could?

The Bassman transformer mod does work but may not be what you're looking for. There are lots of tube swap possibilities but guidance from you is necessary.

[jackaroo]

The amp sounds pretty good. My problem: Sometimes on stage with my 335, it gets a little mushy. Not always in a bad way though. What I'm talking about is probably just the amp doing it's thing, the power section clipping a bit... and it works sometimes, or perhaps, I'm hearing it get hot and tired.

Granted, onstage with everyone, isn't really the best place for analysis, but due to my NYC locale, cranking it up isn't an option at home.

I think all the caps are solid, and have had the amp gone though and inspected by a few guys. The irony is that I got the Pro because I knew my Dlx wasn't going to keep up with my drummer and here I am having this problem. It's pretty close, but lacks a little low end clarity in critical situations, especially, when I start stacking up the gain. I think it's doing what they (BF Fenders) typically would do under these circumstances, but, that said, I wish it was a little more together in terms of the low end girth/muscle, without sacrificing the sweetnes, slight overdrive, spongy sag and compression thing that happens at gig volume.

Usually I have it set up to be just about to break-up. About 4&1/2. Just on the verge of OD so that my pedals do as little work as possible, and basically just drive the amp a little harder, with the exception of some Fuzz etc...

As far as tubes go...I haven't really sweated that detail too much. It looks like the tubes are a GT 5ar4 (although the diagram on the inside says it should be a GZ34) in the rectifier. The 6l6's I think are Ruby Tubes, they say made in Russia on them, and have a C inside a circle as the logo. I used to like the Sylvania tubes in my old Twin that I sold to get the Pro, but I really stopped with the whole NOS thing when I got into my Dlx, don't know why. Pre-amp stuff left to right is as follows: GT 12at7, GT 12ax7, GT 12ax7, GT 12at7, GT ax7& another GT ax7. This differs from the diagram as well, who knows? Apparently, nothing fancy going tube wise.

Is it a speaker issue? I can't suss out the origin of the speakers. They are black and have a small siver circle on the back, and in yellow they're stamped 7407:2090 and then below that they say 575430. When I shine a flashlight through the grillcloth I see (yikes) shiny silver in the center (JBL?) but they have pretty reasonable weight and magnet size. ???????? Help!!!

[Blue Strat]

Speakers could be an issue. If they're indeed JBLs then you need no help in the speaker dept.

When you say "the caps are ok", have they been replaced or not? If they're older than 15 years REPLACE THEM. There's no point in continuing this discussion until you do.

Are the power tubes biased properly? They should be biased around 35mA for the amp to run clean.

If the caps and speakers are in good shape that leaves the output tranny (very strong contender here) and/or power tubes. For power tubes I recommend JAN Philips 7581As which are the cleanest possible 6L6GC types. However, the speakers, caps and output transformer will all inhibit the power tubes from reaching their full potential so it's essential to work those issues first. You may want to save the output transformer for last since it's a semi radical mod.

People with humbuckers often like a lower gain tube in the first gain stage (V1 or V2 for the normal or reverb channel respectively). JAN GE 5751s are a favorite. They'll help keep the preamp cleaner.

A better (NOS) 5AR4/GZ34 may help. The Russian and Chinese ones are very poor in terms of (at least) reliability.

[kevmin]

Mike is right on the money with all his recommendations. I highly recommend a 5751 in the first gain stage. Make sure your amp has been serviced and outfitted with good tubes that are matched and biased properly. After that, I would suggest that you play with different speakers before you change output transformers. I dialed mine in without making the tranny swap.

I tried a bassman tranformer anyway, and it made the bass too overpowering. I had to keep the bass control all of the way off. I put the original tranny back in! Sounded great.

I play an ES347 with Tom Holmes pickups.

One other thing to consider is your guitar cord. Make sure it is of good quality. Switching to the George L cable really helped me dial it all in. My old cord sounds muddy in comparison.

[jzucker]

What happened to the rest of this thread?!?

[jackaroo]

Nobody liked talking about my little sick Pro. They're all to busy trying to be Robben Ford. Ugh!!!

[jzucker]

Originally posted by jackaroo
Nobody liked talking about my little sick Pro. They're all to busy trying to be Robben Ford. Ugh!!!

I don't get it. Didn't you post the same thing in the other board and you got about 25 replies?

[Blue Strat]

Originally posted by jackaroo
Nobody liked talking about my little sick Pro. They're all to busy trying to be Robben Ford. Ugh!!!

Huh? Didn't this thread pretty much run it's course? Did I miss something?

[jackaroo]

Yes and yes- case closed

Peace-

JD

[rosewoodsteel]

Originally Posted by jackaroo

Yes and yes- case closed

Peace-

JD

Well, it was closed !! :BEER

I love my BF Pro Reverb and Deluxe Reverb and Super Reverb and Vibrolux Reverb

Nice speaking with you on the phone (although I couldn't hear 50% of it...)

rws

[1guitarslinger]

Well...don't leave us hanging...

Have the filter caps been replaced or not?

[Pedro58]

Uhhh... You can try the Ayan Smooth n' Slim to help with the bass frequencies. I use one with my Super Reverb and it helps the low end tighten up some.