Lee Flier Posted September 10, 2001 Share Posted September 10, 2001 Hey all, I have a '65 Fender Pro Reverb. This is the second one I've owned, the first one having been stolen some years ago http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/mad.gif. Anyway, although this one is in terrific shape, and basically sounds great, it doesn't have quite the fatness that my previous Pro did. The store where I bought it told me at the time that I bought it, that it has a solid state rectifier whereas my old one had a tube rectifier, and that it's very easy to switch them out and makes a definite difference in the tone. Other people have told me since then that it's just a socket and all I have to do is pull the old rectifier out, find the right tube and plug the tube in. Is this true? Anybody know how I can find out what tube I need to get, and where on the amp the rectifier is located so I can make the switch? I am not completely stupid about electronics but have never done any work on amps other than changing tubes and speakers. --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted September 10, 2001 Share Posted September 10, 2001 Well given that a tube rectifier operates on higher voltages/current than it's solid state brother, I would make a wild ass guess that it ain't a plug in swapperoo......but it ain't that hard to fix, with a modicum of electronics knowledge. Go to ampwares or some site like that, and theres all kinds of schematics for those projects. Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
take5 Posted September 11, 2001 Share Posted September 11, 2001 I Have a Fender Bassman RI and I swapped out the solid state rectifier for the tube rectifier. The Bassman RI was designed to accept either without any electronic modification. The solid state rectifier is round and about 1' high with 4 pins on it like a tube, the tube rectifier looks like a tube and costs about $18.00 Cnd. FWIW I didn't notice a big difference in the tone...the solid state rectifier gives about 5 watts more power than the tube rectifier. Check the schematics on your amp then go to tube rectifiers at www.thetubestore.com Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted September 11, 2001 Share Posted September 11, 2001 lee, you can usually swap 'em as long as previous owner didn't do something weird. 65 pro shouldn't have a solid state in it anyway. i gotta run out, but i post the tube for ya later (should be a GZ34) but i'll double check.. -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Gauss Posted September 11, 2001 Share Posted September 11, 2001 GZ34 is what ya want... (for a rectifier tube that is...:} ) -d. gauss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 I've also got a 59 Bassman RI and it came with both. The solid state rectifier just plugs in the tube socket. I'd first check all the sockets and see if one of em has this black deal plugged into it. If so, yeah, it's just a matter of pulling it out and plugging in the proper tube. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted September 13, 2001 Share Posted September 13, 2001 Originally posted by take5: FWIW I didn't notice a big difference in the tone... Yeah....it's the transformers that make the big diff sonically. I had no idea a blackface amp would have a solid state rectifier....but I don't think it's that critical. Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted September 14, 2001 Author Share Posted September 14, 2001 The store where I bought the amp told me that a previous owner had replaced the stock tube rectifier with the solid state one. These guys are very meticulous about going over their vintage amps and instruments and informing their customers exactly what is, and isn't, original. Anyhow, the fact that the solid state rectifier adds another 5 watts of power would probably explain the loss of tone I'm getting - namely that it's still too clean for my taste when turned up about halfway, which used to be enough to get a great tone on my previous Pro. Now, you have to turn it to 6 or 7 to get the same tone, since it's got more power. And since I mostly use this amp for pretty small gigs and at rehearsal, I don't want the extra power! Anyway thanks guys, and thanks d gauss for identifying the tube! I'll let ya know what happens. --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strat0124 Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 Originally posted by Lee Flier: - namely that it's still too clean for my taste when turned up about halfway--Lee A lady after my own heart.....yeah theres gotta be some "grind" at halfway!!!!! Tube selection will do that for ya...... Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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