VINTAGE Fenders amps VS. NEW ones VS BRUNO! Orange as well!

Had a chance to do some SERIOUS A\Bing with a Fender CS Dual Profesional, a Silver Face Pro Reverb (an amp I LOVE), a blackface Twin reverb, Blackface Deluxe Reverb a Victoria 2\10 and a new Orange. (Not sure which one)

The Dual Pro is a GREAT sounding amp, that in every way, holds its own with the vintage Fenders. The highs were every bit as clear, without one bit of harshness compared to the other Fenders. The Twin reverb I have never liked. Not enough bottom, not enough punch, and all around just weak and sterile sounding. The Pro reverb is KILLER! Nice punch, nice note detail all over the entire frequency range, and a nice tight bottom until you REALLY crank it up. The Deluxe reverb I have never liked either. They sound nice when they are almost wide open, but flub if you try to add any bottom, and are a bit thin sounding at lower volumes. If I was going to buy one of these amps, it would be the Dual Profesional for sure. The fat switch is really cool, and I like the fact you can leave it off on channel one, and have it on for channel two. Nice touch! All in all, the SRRI and HotRod Deville sound every bit as good as any of these. They are all just slight variations of the same basic Fender clean tone. NONE of these touch the Brunos cleans or natural sounding reverb. They are a large step UP.

Now the surprise. There was a new Orange amp head there as well. I hate to say it, but I am not sure which one. It was not the rockerverb as it had no reverb. It also had a problem, and was humming really loudly. HOWEVER, these amps KILL! What a great clean tone! While it is more compressed sounding than the Fenders, it had great detail, nice tight bass, and just a great feeling amp as well. VERY cool! It also had lots of gain on tap. Give the knob a twist, and a rocking you will go! :RoCkIn Nice even and smooth overdrive. Never a buzzy moment. A totally unique and different sounding amp, that is SOOOO cool sounding. It reminds me of a LARGE, ICE COLD glass of Orangeade on a hot summer day. Completely refreshing! KILLER amp!

 

Hey Steve! Agree 100%. The DP is with out a doubt WAY louder than the deville or SRRI. WAY more headroom for sure! Tonally is what I meant. Very similar, just each a slightly different type of tone.

The DP has the 3 knob verb, but it is not nearly as natural sounding or deep as the Brunos. The UG 30 has the 3 knob 4 spring tank, the Cowtipper has a 2 Knob 4 spring tank. Very different sounding, but both are just the best I have heard. I still cant decide on which I prefer.

 

The Victoria was a tweed 2\10 combo. I thought it was nice, but the Fenders were really a step up. I would say it was on par with the Carrs and Tonekings I have played.

 

I like the DP more. I A\Bd two VKs with the SRRI and 3 vintage SRs when I bought mine (66 SR). I thought the Vibro was the weakest of the bunch. Still nice, but the others were better.

 

Hey Vaughn,
I hear the vibro the same way. It is a bit stiff, and just sterile when played next to a nice SR. (Maybe it has a SS rectifier??)

You would have liked my 66 SR. It was darker than most, but SOOOO punchy. I think you would dig the Dual Pro as well. Much louder with way more headroom than the SRRI, but not quite as organic sounding. What I mean by that is that the SR always has a bit of distortion on the note, even when totally clean, while the DP is just cleaner. (Still not as clean as the Twin Reverb though, which I dislike)

I know you would fall in love with a Bruno. Any of them. Its just that the Cow22, 45, and UG 30 all have something different to offer, and each is just as good. I could easily settle for just one, but I want them all. The UG 30 is the most rubbery feeling amp you can imagine, but NEVER too loose or farty. A paradox Bruno seems to have total control over. Brunos have to be the most easy to play clean amps ever. You can just burn even when totally clean. It makes you feel like you never need any overdrive at all. When you do use a box, you can keep the gain way lower than with other amps, and still get the same feel. VERY,VERY good!.

 

I always judge an amp STOCK. Why would I bother changing tubes, speakers etc. to get them to sound more alike? I find different tubes to have very little effect on over all tone. They can fine tune an amp, but they never change its natural voice. I have boxes of different NOS tubes right here.

Once you have an amp you liike, you can mod anyway you want from there. These were all stock amps with original speakers, transformers etc. Thats the way I ALWAYS judge and compare amps. Once you start modding\changing things, its no longer the same amp IMO.

 

I have a 66 Pro reverb, just sold a 66 Super reverb, and I still have a Vibrolux reverb as well. My HR DeVille sounds as good as any of them totally stock. No need to retube or change speakers.
Plugging it into my different cabs changes the tone a bit, but they do not sound "better". The stock speakers sound great IMO.
Putting in everything from Telefunkens to RCAs to Mullards seem to make the amp sound worse. I actually like the stock groove tubes the most.