fender "the twin"... thoughts, info?

[minorseventh]

I just picked this up late last night in a trade, and I was only able to play it very briefly at low volume. I was told it was one of the Rivera designed models, and that it has alot of gain... but it being so ridiculously loud I might not ever find that out.
and heavy. my god getting this out of my car and into my house at 2 in the morning was not fun at all.

anyway... fender "the twin", 2x12, 100 watts, black knobs, monstrous... what is it??!!

 

[Mad_Scientist]

Does it have 3 rocker switches on the upper right front of the amp? If so then I think what you have is an "Evil Twin" just with black knobs instead of red.

 

[BudLite]

I had one in the 80's, good cleans w/ a ok overdrive station, but I used a pedal most of the time. You will always be loud enough. The problem is it weighs 85lbs....I had wheels on mine. In the end it was overkill, didn't need that kind of volume and plus I like the clean channel to break up a little for my tastes. Went to a BFDR and that did the trick.

 

[minorseventh]

Does it have 3 rocker switches on the upper right front of the amp? If so then I think what you have is an "Evil Twin" just with black knobs instead of red.

yes it does, and it does sound pretty evil indeed. ive had a little time this morning to play it, still cant get the volume all the way to 1.. but its taking my scod and BB+ pretty well. and wow..what a huge bottom end.
havent decided if its a keeper or not.

 

[poonman66]

More info available here: http://www.ampwares.com/amp.asp?id=116 Same one, I assume. Apparently some came with black knobs during the so called "Red Knob" era?! Decent amps IMO...my buddy's been making his sound great for 20+ yrs now.

 

[Aldo]

If its this http://www.ampwares.com/amp.asp?id=116 I have one. I like it. Ways a freakin' ton though. Not a 3-D like a Blackface Twin or the Hi-Fi sound of a Mesa but I thought it was good in its own way. The thump is the thing! Huge bottom & still keeps that Fender spank. It really cuts thru the mix. I love it for funk & soul. The gain channel gets some grief. I kept the gain way down & I found if you want to put just a little hair on it it works well. I would use it so its "unclean" (rather than "dirty") when I dimed the gtr. if you know what I mean. Any more gain than that it isn't real useful for me. You can also play thru the 2 channels at once. For more gain I used an Analogman modded Tubescreamer. It'll take any pedal though, pick your favorite flavor for any style of music. I wish the volume didn't jump so quickly on it, it is WAY LOUD over 2-3. It can get a little beamy, but I'm sure there are some speakers available that would be better than the stock ones to tame that.

These are known to have some reliability problems & true to form, mine has some. I haven't gotten it checked out yet. Major/minor/expensive I don't know. I've been using a small 18W combo (Victoria Regal I) because I don't play big places. But summer is approaching & so are the block parties. So I will get her checked out for the outdoor stuff.

For the right price I think she's a real diamond in the rough. Enjoy.

 

[minorseventh]

yes the body and thump of this is almost indescribable. i have been playing both channels and eqing them in all kinds of combinations, and then using my BB+ and just getting some really cool and usable tones. the hi/lo power switch doesnt do much though at less than deafening volumes, and the sheer power is going to be an issue.
this is like outdoor venue, large crowd, dont bother micing it territory.

 

[Aldo]

I'll never be able to really crank mine. Truthfully, even under those cicumstances (outoors/big crowd), the rest of my band wouldn't deal w/that type of volume. Maybe on a real wide stage. Nah. Fortunately, it sounds pretty good & "thumpy" at moderate volumes.

Its definitely overkill. Its way too heavy, way too loud but... when you're gettin you're k-chankity, chanks & thumpity, thumps on its alot of fun & inspiring.

I hope I wasn't getting too technical there.

 

[Rick360]

Howdy,

I've got a near mint red knob "The Twin". Had her for just two years, but no problems so far. Great for clean tones; pure Bakersfield. Also she's very good with Rickenbacker 12 strings.
As for overdrive, it's do-able if one simply activates the "Lo-power" switch (25%) and then turn up the volume. This amp sounds and feels huge with those big 12-inch speakers. Underrated amp, IMHO.

Eggman

 

[cugel]

Howdy,

I've got a near mint red knob "The Twin". Had her for just two years, but no problems so far. Great for clean tones; pure Bakersfield. Also she's very good with Rickenbacker 12 strings.
As for overdrive, it's do-able if one simply activates the "Lo-power" switch (25%) and then turn up the volume. This amp sounds and feels huge with those big 12-inch speakers. Underrated amp, IMHO.

Eggman

i had that amp too and the clean channel was nice
and with a dirt pedal it was great
keef tones easily
the od channel wasnst for me
but god that thing was heavy and LOUD

 

[mt1782]

I got one of these in trade for doing some computer work, carried it out once.. and only once...
Designed to kill your spine and stun children at 50 feet.
Clean was great but I wasn't going to try and load it again, it made me feel old.

 

[sickboy79]

Great amps, IMO! My Dad has the Red Knob Showman head - which is the same amp in a head and without reverb. I really dig it. Classic Fender tones on the clean channel with lots of headroom and a very very good overdrive channel - at least for what I do. And, I REALLY like how you can combine the channels. I recommend them for what you can get them for used.

 

[hobbes1]

i've had one of these red knob twins for about 20 years. only once in that time have i had a problem and that was taken care of for not much money to the amp tech.
the amp is loud as hell but keeps the cleans pretty well as you go up on the volume. you can pull the inner pair of 6L6's and disconnect one speaker for a watt change to 15w/60w. this helps some, taming the sheer power of the amp. i use mine now as with Amplitube 2 software and the StompIO. i run the unbalanced line from the stompio to the power amp return of the twin. this works really well as the stock speakers seem pretty neutral and don't color the sounds much. so, a marshall patch sounds pretty marshall-like, etc.
as i recall, steve cropper has been using this amp for many years and he is pretty well known for great chops and great tone. some people hate the amp but i think it's pretty useful for some things. it has a balanced xlr line out for direct recording, lots of tone options with push/pull pots, huge bottom end, cuts through a mix well, can be used as a master for slaving other amps or adding extra speaker cab. lots of versatility from a time before many other amps could say the same.
enjoy yours but do bring a back brace when moving....

 

[blastastick]

Robben Ford uses them often, just don't tell TAG.

 

[soundchaser59]

Wait til you hear it with a pair of Cannabis Rex in it.

Or if it breaks up too early, try a pair of Swamp Thangs.

More highs? Use Tonkers.

More vintage? Put a pair of alnico Tone Tubbys in there! (use the 25 watt setting) That'll get rid of mice and roaches. :AOK

For some reason, Fender amps seem to like Tubescreamers.

 

[Rick360]

Howdy,

SoundChaser and Hobbes1: I've often wondered if the natural 6L6 overdriven tone could be enhanced by switching to AlNiCo speakers. I'm talking about when I use the 25% power switch and simply turn up the volume til it breaks up..
It's a tad harsh with the stock Ceramic Eminence speakers for that kind of tone. (clean, they're great.). So you think Tone Tubby AlniCo speakers can be overdriven for decent "Keef" tone at the 25 watt setting with the volume turned up?

Rick360.

PS: I like this amp!

 

[Caribou]

I've had one of these amps for almost ten years (a mid 90's model) and it's been a solid amplifier. I've never liked the lead channel, but it's not something I ever use anyway. And the reverb is noisy (hisses) as well. On the plus side, the clean channel is nice and has lots of headroom (duh). I've always liked the way this amp takes pedals too.

 

[hobbes1]

hi rick. i have never swapped speakers out on this one, being happy with the clean sound of the stock amp. it is an interesting idea, but not one for which i personally have opted to cough up the cash (tone tubbys are pretty pricey speakers for a random trial).
please report back if you should go that route with what you discover works or does not work.

 

[Rick360]

Howdy,

hobbes1: Come to think of it, replacing even one speaker in my RK Twin would cost at least $150 for an AlNiCo speaker. One such speaker might be juuust enough to get me at least halfway "there", though. I'll post here, should I decide to get an AlNiCo replacement speakers(s).

Rick360