1966 Pro Reverb questions - Average price? Pros/Cons?

[RichSZ]

Hey all,

Saw a '66 Pro Reverb 2x12 w/ Jensens for sale but it was listed quite high at $2200.

Just wondering what a more reasonable value is for this amp in fair/good shape.

It does have a 3-prong power cord so I assume this is not original. Looks to have two footswitches with it as well.

Any advice or pros/cons about this amp will be well appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

 

[Tag]

Hey all,

Saw a '66 Pro Reverb 2x12 w/ Jensens for sale but it was listed quite high at $2200.

Just wondering what a more reasonable value is for this amp in fair/good shape.

It does have a 3-prong power cord so I assume this is not original. Looks to have two footswitches with it as well.

Any advice or pros/cons about this amp will be well appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

I have an all original 65. Great amp, but spend a little more and get a Bruno Cowtipper. Much better sounding amp.

 

[TopJimmy5150]

I paid $1200 for my '67 back in August. It was in fair/good shape, also. Mine has the original Oxfords and all old glass. That price seems VERY high.

Pros: Fender Sparkle, warmth, BIG sound. Lighter than a Twin Reverb, breaks up earlier than a Twin. It will continue to appreciate in value. Takes pedals well. It's basically a 2x12 Vibroverb.

Con: Small OT means some farty lows. Very Heavy.

The Pro Reverb has been considered by many to be the best amp ever made.

 

[thepimpdaddy]

TJ - Does the "breaks up earlier" change if you run the old Pro thru a stouter set of speakers?

 

[TopJimmy5150]

I've never tried another speaker in it, so I can comment on that. I've toyed with investing in some period-correct JBLs but if I lose any of amp's current qualities, I'd consider it money poorly spent. I'd love to lose the farting out, but from my research it sounds as if any change to improve that issue will effect/degrade other qualities the amp possesses now.

 

[JimAnsell]

i paid 1200 for mine too.
it was used at gc. all old tubes, telefunken gz34, new electroytics, good shape, original utahs.

i've seen them go anywhere from 1100-1800. check the completed ebay listings.
blackfaces will do nothing but go up in value.

 

[p.snail]

I'm curious about these amps also, how do the silverfaces compare. I see them going for 5-600 on ebay. Are they of inferior quality. '66 is still CBS isn't it? Just curious because the silver ones are more in my neck of the woods price wise.

 

[ES350]

The early SF Pro Reverbs are great deals---a few changes if you want to get them to BF specs (pull the 2000 pF snubber caps, change bias setup, etc). Last one I bought was cosmetically challenged with no speakers---300$.

 

[RichSZ]

That price seems VERY high.

I'll give you one guess as to what mega-chain has it for sale :NUTS at that price.

-Rich

 

[Bullhonky Deluxe]

I have an all original 65. Great amp, but spend a little more and get a Bruno Cowtipper. Much better sounding amp.

Yeah, go out and spend more than what you've already stated as being too much.

 

[TopJimmy5150]

All Blackface Pro Reverbs were built after CBS takeover, but the design is all pre-CBS....it's the pre-CBS Vibroverb Circuit in a 2x12 configuration.

 

[zenfreud]

You have some very good options. If the decision is strongly influenced by the potential for appreciation, vintage Fenders seem to keep going up. Seems like the tulip craze to me, I'd pay no more than $1200 for a BFPR, just doesn't seem worth it to me. But if it were me, and I wanted vintage Fender tone at a reasonable price, I'd get a SF Twin for under a grand, you get bigger iron which gives tighter bass. Admittedly a Twin will be hella-loud before it breaks up, but a Pro will be pretty loud (by most club standards) before it breaks up too. No, not as loud as a Twin, but its not a bedroom amp. The Pro and Twin are both bears to load.

If you'd consider non-Fender options, look at a Fargen or Allen (to start, I'm sure there's others in the Fender tonal camp) and you won't have to worry about the upkeep on the 30 to 40 year-old electronics. I had my BFVR serviced by two different techs in the last year, expensive and time-consuming. It truly is like owning an old car, has character but at a price.

 

[CarlH]

Hey all,

Saw a '66 Pro Reverb 2x12 w/ Jensens for sale but it was listed quite high at $2200.

Just wondering what a more reasonable value is for this amp in fair/good shape.

It does have a 3-prong power cord so I assume this is not original. Looks to have two footswitches with it as well.

Any advice or pros/cons about this amp will be well appreciated.

Thanks,

Rich

Unless the amp is a collector, mint condition, amp, the price is too high. The price for a BF Pro Reverb should be between $1,200 to $1,800, even for a clean one. The Jensens (if they are original to the amp) make it worth more. My bet is that the Jensens are not original to the amp, which lowers its value. Very few came with Jensens.

In terms of wattage, the BF Pro Reverb is a step up from a Vibrolux Reverb and a step down from a BF Super Reverb. The Super Reverb has a bigger output transformer and the same power transformer, and the Vibrolux Reverb has a smaller power transformer and the same output transformer, if I am not mistaken.

I don't think mine is heavy at all. I have a '66 with vintage Jensen C12Ns in it (not original to the amp). I think mine weighs about 55 pounds, which is light for a 2x12 combo.

They are very nice amps. I like mine.:AOK

 

[RichSZ]

This is all great information guys. Thanks!

I'm stopping by there today to see what sort of deal I can walk away with.

-Rich

 

[LR1400]

I have an all original 65. Great amp, but spend a little more and get a Bruno Cowtipper. Much better sounding amp.

Or spend a lot less and get a Hot Rod Deville. Better Sounding amp. Fatter and thicker on all notes but for sure on the lows. Little more HiFi but I dug it better than the Pro Reve:AOK

 

[teleman55]

The Pro's a great amp. I've got a 1970 silverface and love it. But, even for a nice blackface, they're asking too much.

 

[Texsunburst59]

You could probably go for a mid 70's Vibrolux Reverb and still get the same tone as the BF Pro. I did some clips a while back in which I recorded a '66 Pro Reverb, '69 & '76 Vibrolux Reverb, '65 Super Reverb PTP Repro all through the '69 VR 10" CTS speakers. I purposely tried to EQ the amp to have a similar tone. The clips were tone with clean tone and therefore my have helped for them to sound similar. Anyway, you can listen to the clips for your self. Here's the link to my soundclick page. Look for Fender Clips 1-4:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=633883

 

[TopJimmy5150]

Or spend a lot less and get a Hot Rod Deville. Better Sounding amp. Fatter and thicker on all notes but for sure on the lows. Little more HiFi but I dug it better than the Pro Reve:AOK

:NUTS

No offense....I had both...sold the Deville. It was an easy decision. Devilles are decent enough amps, but it was no contest.

 

[LR1400]

:NUTS

No offense....I had both...sold the Deville. It was an easy decision. Devilles are decent enough amps, but it was no contest.

Good for you, but I have Tag's clip where he is A/Bing 65(or66) Pro Reverb, his own, with a 4x10 HR Devile, his own, with the same guitar and the HR Deville sounds thicker on all the notes and has more lows and is a tad more modern/hi-fi sounding. I mean a tad more modern sounding. The Pro sounds thinner on all the notes.

If more lows and thicker ain't your thing no big deal. I don't think it is nuts at all to think new "less well made, poor quality" instruments and amps can sound as good or better than 40 yr old vintage or boutique. A lot of the "vintage" tone is mystique and "mojo", not all but a lot.

I A/b'd my HR Deville with various silverfaces when I bought it and I would NOT trade with them. If they had sounded better I would have bought one of them, price was no option there.

I'm gonna A/B it with some all original blackface SR's soon and see if it sounds as good as them. Maybe, maybe not.

If it sounds good it is good. Period!

 

[TopJimmy5150]

I don't recall saying the Deville is bad. I actually liked mine a lot when it was cranked. At lower volumes, there were some issues such as bass boominess that could not be dialed out, and a level of touch sensitivity that made playing it a constant chore of adjusting the overly sensitive volume controls constantly. Although it has great sound qualities, there was no comparison to the Pro. THe Pro possesed a sparkle, shimmer and swirl to each note that does not exist in the Deville. Each note sounds like it's coming out of a piano...it's just a beautiful sound.

As for A/B'ing and sound clips, I know nothing about your friends amps, their state of repair, or even if Fender just turned out a bad one that day back in the 1960's and a really good HR another day 30 years later. I know what I know and like and sound clips will never convince me of anything like having both amps in front of me did. Again, I'm not saying the HR is bad...I just preferred with Pro.