Fender 75
Model/Circuit Number: 75
Years of Production: 1980 – 1982
Era: Rivera
Configuration: Head, 1×12 Combo, 1×15 Combo
Controls: Black face plate with white letters
Knobs: Black skirted with chrome center
Schematics
Faceplate
- Front: Bright Switch, Volume (clean), Treble with pull-knob boost, Middle with pull-knob boost, Bass with pull-knob boost, Lead Drive, Reverb, Lead Level, and Master Volume.
- Rear:
Cabinet
- Dimensions: Head: 11” x 22¼” x 10”, 1×12 Combo: 18” x 10” x 22”, 1×15 Combo: 21”x 10” x 22”
- Hardware:
- Handle: Black Strap
- Feet: Glides
- Corners: Black Plastic Corner Protectors
Covering Material
- Tolex/Tweed: Black Tolex
- Grill Cloth: Black Grill with White Trim
Logo: Grill Mounted, Raised, Chrome and Black Script Fender without tail
Weight: 1×12 and 1×15 Combo: 65-70 lbs (depending on the speaker)
Speaker
- Size: Ext Cabinet options were 1×12, 1×15, 4×10 and 2×12
- Impedance: Combo: 1 x 12” -8 ohms or 1 x 15” -8 ohms
- Model: Electro Voice and Blue Label Fender (Eminence)(For more info, check out the Jensen Replacement Speakers)
Effects: Reverb
~Watts: 15 (Lo) or 75 (Hi) Watts
Tubes
- Pre amp: 3x12ax7 2x12at7
- Power: 2 x 6L6GC
Bias: Fixed
Rectifier: Solid State
Comments: This amp came as a combo mainly..a head was available but combos were with either a 12″ or 15″ speaker. although it says 8 ohms, schematic says 4 ohms minimum.
Schematic/Layout:
fender_75.pdf
Model/Circuit Number: 75
Years of Production: 1980 – 1982
Era: Rivera
Configuration: Head, 1×12 Combo, 1×15 Combo
Controls: Black face plate with white letters
Knobs: Black skirted with chrome center
Faceplate
Front: Bright Switch, Volume (clean), Treble with pull-knob boost, Middle with pull-knob boost, Bass with pull-knob boost, Lead Drive, Reverb, Lead Level, and Master Volume.
Rear:
Cabinet
Dimensions: Head: 11” x 22¼” x 10”, 1×12 Combo: 18” x 10” x 22”, 1×15 Combo: 21”x 10” x 22”
Hardware:
Handle: Black Strap
Feet: Glides
Corners: Black Plastic Corner Protectors
Covering Material
Tolex/Tweed: Black Tolex
Grill Cloth: Black Grill with White Trim
Logo: Grill Mounted, Raised, Chrome and Black Script Fender without tail
Weight: 1×12 and 1×15 Combo: 65-70 lbs (depending on the speaker)
Speaker
Size: Ext Cabinet options were 1×12, 1×15, 4×10 and 2×12
Impedance: Combo: 1 x 12” -8 ohms or 1 x 15” -8 ohms
Model: Electro Voice and Blue Label Fender (Eminence)(For more info, check out the Jensen Replacement Speakers)
Effects: Reverb
~Watts: 15 (Lo) or 75 (Hi) Watts
Tubes
Pre amp: 3x12ax7 2x12at7
Power: 2 x 6L6GC
Bias: Fixed
Rectifier: Solid State
Comments: This amp came as a combo mainly..a head was available but combos were with either a 12″ or 15″ speaker. although it says 8 ohms, schematic says 4 ohms minimum.
That’s my amp in the pic. It is NOT a Rivera amp. Neither is the super champ. Both were Ed Jahns amps. Look it up. Very well documented. Rivera came aboard after it was designed and being sold. Please fix your page. Super champ too. Actually Rivera didn’t even design many of the II series either.
Jim Keeley
I have removed the Rivera tag. Let me know any more details to correct via the comments section on the other amps.
“Rivera Era” tag still there bud.
75 isn’t Rivera, Super Champ IS. Rivera designed the Super Champ – he brought it as a home-brew design into Fender, but, yes, the others were designed by Ed Jahns according to Rivera’s specs.
The 75 was designed before Paul Rivera’s relationship with Fender. The model was made in 1980 and 1981 only. I was one of the first artists to use the 75 starting with the prototype and still have an early production model I got from Fender in 1980.
Getting OT but I’m not sure the Super Champ was a Rivera “home-brew” design. Look at the Princeton Reverb w/ Boost schematic. It looks a lot like the Super Champ, already using the reverb driver to boost gain (but no fancy Vactrol switching). It seems like a cut and paste into the Super Champ. Seems more likely the features were spec’d by Rivera then handed off to an engineer who worked off a known circuit to get a basic design going.
The new layout is not very good.
make it simple and put everything on one page so
users can scroll up and down the entire page and
look at every amp, all the clicking and navigating
will just lag the server and make the site slow.
I hope this is what you were aiming for: http://ampwares.com/amps/.
Also, we are about to upgrade servers with our host in order to decrease lag time.
Thanks for the feedback!
I hope this is what you were aiming for: http://ampwares.com/amps/.
Also, we are about to upgrade servers with our host in order to decrease lag time.
Thanks for the feedback!
I hope this is what you were aiming for: http://ampwares.com/amps/.
Also, we are about to upgrade servers with our host in order to decrease lag time.
Thanks for the feedback!
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Where can I find a cover for it. Or which Fender amp cover is compatible with it.
I use a fender bassman cover
Thanks!
My 75 is now covered in black leather (real leather)
Your listed dimensions of cabs are not consistent between head and combo cabs as to what is length x width x height. If the chassis is the same in all, then the width of all should be the same. Only the depth and height would change. According to my 1980 75 combo with the 15″, the width is 22 1/4. My other head only 75 is also 22 1/4.
This was pre-Rivera. Paul thought of it as a Boogie copy and hated that Fender was following, not leading.
I used (and fried) a pre-production model, bought 2 in 1980 and have one still.
Why not a pic of an original 75? The grill-cloth is wrong.
I will change the image if you have one that is original spec.
came in both black mesh and silver,,,i owned the all blike(like the super twin) ;my by has the silver grille***possible the 12″ were silver/the 15′ were black
I own two 75s; 75/15″ (at now EV 12″) and 75/12″; different grill colour. It lasts from ’80 and still perfecly works- Definitely I prefere the second ore because the 75/15 is much “regular” sounding. Awesome all purpose sound, reverb, vibrato but too loud in power & weight !!! Cesare Bianco
I wanted a nice tube amp that I could leave at The band rehearsal space so purchased a Fender 75 (fairly mint cond) sounds killer for $ 275. Love the amp as it is a nice clean sounding tube fender with balls to boot. Did I get a good deal? thoughts..
i have a fender 75 that i bought recently. it is a 75 watt tube head with a 4/10 cab. i love the way 10s sound they have alot of punch and this thing is LOUD. it cuts off but if you flip the standby switch it comes right back on. i’m not that well versed in these amps got any ideas? switch impedence? mz
Hi Michael, I am not sure what you mean about the cutoff problem with your amp. Does it cut off while you are playing it? Does the pilot light go out, or do you just lose sound? You want to pull the chassis out and just look at the general wiring around the switches, is there a broken solder joint, or loose wiring?
hey thanks for writing back. the amp loses sound when you are playing. the pilot light stays on i don,
‘ lose power
i was thinking speaker impedence because the guy i got the amp from wired the cab it is series parallel with 4 i think 50w 10s i love the amp i have a 60w fender concert from the same year and i use them together split through a stereo chorus and it’s the best tone i’ve ever gotten mz
Hello,
My Fender 75 outpout traformator is dead! Do you know where i can find one please?
A starting point would be checking this item out – http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/transformers/Blackface-Bassman-Super-Reverb-Vibroverb-Output-Transformer
Anyone know how much one of these is worth please?
Custom Amp Covers, 248 650 2509
To whom it may concern, Hi all i have the head 75version, its a great amp but like so many i have been less happy with the lead channel especially as it was suppose to compete with Mesa. Well i have found a non evasive work around thet you may want to try if you desire a switchable screaming lead tone. Replace the V3 and v5 with the best 12ax7/ecc83 you can afford and find ( i use Valvo’s) disconnect your reverb out/in and place a single lead to bridge and bypass the spring reverb in your combo or head. Now for the good part switch the amp on and use the reverb control to dial in whatever amount of gain you need to my ears it sound great. if you dont like it reverse the procedure and you ve lost nothing. You can still utilise the effect sen/return for an analog reverb panel or even a fender reverb unit if you can afford it. alternatively you could A/B box the reverb in out and still have the extra gain for lead at a tap of the foot.footnote for those hardnosed Fender fans,….Carlos santana appearantly is quoted regarding Mesa engineering when he tried a souped up Fender princeton as ” hey man this amp boogies” hence the name of the company that follod, just remember that amp was a Fender!!! designed by Ed Jahns who worked for NASA before he joined Fender, blessed be he,….he ‘s left some great amps behind.
p.s KT66 tubes are just a drop in affair and compress/tidy up the massive gain achieved, dont forget to tweak the little pot meter at the back for output balancing, just listen for hum with no volume and fix at quietest point.
happy play & practice
Richard- I just bought one of the Fender 75 head only models from GC Langhorne for $150. They thought it was screwed because when using reverb at all they got the loud buzzing sound. I cleaned the oxide off the RCA conns on the spring unit and it now sounds great, no buzz at all. But the lead master has no effect at all when turned. Is this shot or do I need to plug in two instruments for this feature to work? Or do you need the foot switch to work this feature? I just got it and have not tried these since cleaning it up. Its cosmetically great though. Thinking about getting a Celestion G12 75w 8 ohm single cabinet for it but maybe I should get a dual cabinet because it really barks and it may blow out a single. What do you think?
Hey Rick,
Sounds you got a very good deal on the amp!, you must be delighted, yes you will need to have the footswitch which unfortunately a bespoke one for the amp, You can get them from TAD or check this link for a work around to disable the lead channel , otherwise both lead and clean channel are on.http://www.stratopastor.org.uk/strato/amps/prii/footswitch/footswitch.html
Consider this amp a keeper it took me ages to get good sounds but when you do,ooooooh man sheer bliss!!
try this after you have disabled the lead channel as per link sent. starting from left: bright switch on, volume 6, trebel 6, middle 3, bass 2, reverb 2.5 or nearly 3. master 4 or 5.
sqeeky clean i say.
good luck rick!
I bought this amp brand new in 1982, its the silver grillcloth combo with the 15″ speaker. Can you elaborate on what you said here–disconnect your reverb out/in and place a single lead to bridge and bypass the spring reverb in your combo or head. I would like to try this but unsure how to do it. Also, i would like to swap out the original speaker but not sure what to replace it with, any ideas? Thanks
CORRECTION
🙂
Well … I got my 75 with a 15″ around 1980 … so I must have been around 18
It is the only amp I have ever used live & well … here is the story … I loaned it to a friend and he fried the transformer … the problem with that model was that electricity could jump out of the transformer … so I had mine rewired and moved the transformer … which ruined the quality of the “Lead” tone … since then, that channel has been kind of bluesy and ratty and not often used by me
These days I run that amp into a Mesa Boogie CabClone & from there to the desk
I have never had ANY trouble getting a wide range of super cool sounds out of it
It is a versatile amp
Best of all, it can sound like a Fender amp from the 60s
When used live, I don’t use the Lead channel much. Instead I put a Boogie v-Twin Pedal in the line
1976 Fender Telecaster Custom >>> Morley Power Wah >>> EHX Memory Man Deluxe >>> Boovie v2 Preamp >>> Fender 75
You will find you can get all the Santana tones with that kind of set up & a lot more!!!
& if you want to sound Metal, try a Seymour Duncan Twin Tube Mayhem preamp b4 the amp. You can get anything from Laney to Pexi no trouble
p.s. this amp also has the best Reverb I have ever heard. Shame it has no Vibrato. To solve that problem, I have been putting a Strymon Flint in the FX Loop
To use the FX loop you will need a 2x Mono to Stereo cable. Mine is Planet Waves 🙂
The Fender 75 is also one of the only amps ever made which both Bells, Rings and Sings … these are terms concerning the way the cabinet affects the tubes … so it a great amp in many respects and much maligned by people who hate it because it is not a Twin Reverb LOL … I have no troubkle at all getting mine to sound like a Twin Reverb …
This amp says pretty clean on the clean channel up till around Gain = 8
O. pps. The soldering in mine was kind of brittle — too much flux
I got somebody to fix that
At this stage, they are all so old, they will need new tubes and caps
I had mine done 2 years ago
You’ll know because the volume will drop off
g& yes, these amps are frigging LOUD
pps. I love dummies
I got my telecaster 2nd had from a dummie who liked the looks and then got it home and hated it because it did not sound like a strat
Finally sonic breakthrough on my fender 75 Headversion. When low power is selected plate voltage to the 6l6gc power tubes is halved to 250Volt and grid voltage to -25 volt i believe, anyhow i stuck a matched pair of 6v6GT in place of the 6l6 sockets and slowly increased volume and lo behold a very pleasing ring on the first strum. Also my nady overdrive pushes the amp in nice distortion. Mine was build in 1981 so i am not sure if all fender 75 models can take this simple conversion. Mine seems very happy and so am i.
Even the lead channel seems improved a little with less noise at least, i get a nice slightly broken sound, which to my ears and style is very usable.The amp has no other modifications and is 100% original.
Hey guys – I own this amp and was looking into effects looping (wanting to run Pinnacle distortion to the front and chorus / delay to the effects loop). There is only an “Effects IN/OUT” not one in and one out. Am I confused, or is there a work around for this? Thanks for any help or direction.
You need to use a cable which has on one side a stereo jack and on the other side two mono jacks.
Hi guys, I’ve heard the sound of this combo on you tube and I really like it.
I might have a chance to get a Fender 75 Combo with 12″ speaker for about 400 euros (= approx 450 USD).
The seller says the amp needs new tubes and new bias, but here I read that the Bias is Fixed on the Fender 75.
1) So how do I get this Biased?
2)Can I do it myself easily enough or do I need to bring it to a tech workshop?
If I change the power tubes on my own it’s going to cost me additional 50 Eur (56 USD) but If need to get it biased professionally it’s going to be expensive, I don’t know how much but I guess more than 50 Eur only for biasing.
3)Considering I haven’t seen or heard the amp live (it’s located 350 km away) Is this amp worth gambling more than 500 Eur (560 USD)?
Thank you so much for you help
Hey Edo,
I would say buy that amp! I picked up a fender 75 1×15 combo a few years back as a quick replacement for an amp that blew. It was 300$ canadian. Ive never liked it with the 1×15 speaker, but i have plugged it into a 2×12 and a 1×12 (both different eminences) and it sounds just like a fender deluxe. To get it biased just take it to the shop. its not something you want to mess around with. I would say for your total cost esitmation, 560 US is not bad, and you will have a really great amp on your hands, that is plenty loud for shows.
Still says Rivera.
I have a cosmetic question re. the Fender 75’s grille cloth set up. The picture above shows a baffle mounted cloth but I have a picture of a Fender 75 with an early silverface era ‘drip edge’ style grille cloth. Did the amp ever come with a drip edge grille cloth arrangement?
I have the 15″ version of the 75 amp with black cloth and a metallic drip edge. These also came with silver cloth. Though, the grill cloth frame is separate from the speaker baffle. It is attached to the speaker baffle via velcro, like a vintage Polytone amp.
It is my understanding that Paul Rivera had nothing to do with the design of the fender 75 amplifier and by the way the overdrive channel sounds on this amp I would say this is correct because I actually have one of these amps and it totally sucks, that is the overdrive channel now the clean channel sounds okay.
I bought a Fender 75 115 a couple years ago in a thrift store for $200. It was very dirty, scratchy pots, but worked allright. The EV 15L speaker was in great shape. I changed several microphonic pre-amp tubes. I’ve gigged this amp a few times. I don’t use the lead channel, but I really like the normal channel alot as it reminds me of a cross between a 60’s Twin and a Deluxe Reverb with my Telecasters. I play straight into the amp. Depending on the venue, I use either power mode. Either way, it always sounds great. And that six spring reverb is absolutely the best sounding reverb I have ever played thru. Overall, an exceptional Fender tube amp.
I have a Fender 75 I bought a few years ago. It’s a beast, heavy to move around, but loud enough for any venue. I really like the sound I get from it. I don’t have a footswitch and didn’t really care for Fenders overdrive section anyway. I blend both channels and get a smooth bite like sound from it. Mine has the 15″ speaker and black grill cloth. Was going go silver but it’s original.
Recently had a problem with the volume dropping up and down. Had the problem diagnosed and found a spring switch that is suppose to let the amp warm up slowly and then open the connection for full power. The switch was defaulty and it was removed completely. The schematics do not show this part. The amp plays perfect now without any issues. Yes, definitely a under rated amp. Lots of different settings to dial in whatever you like. And don’t forget the push/pull controls on the eq’s. That makes this thing a total tone monster. Excellent reverb as others have stated.
I bought a 75 for $250 and have done a bunch of mods to it. This amp is a steal – even if you gut the entire thing, you still have a great Fender cabinet with a blackface chassis, a decent speaker, and a pair of transformers that can handle anything you throw in there. Buying all of that new plus the reverb tank, knobs, sockets, switches, etc. would run near $1,000!
The first mods I did involved just coloring by numbers according to this mod from the Seymour Duncan Forum:
https://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?252313-Pasta-Fender-75-style
I noticed some improvement in the tone, then went on to add the following:
1. Adjusted the cap & resistor values in the EQ/boost section until I had something I liked. Still need to make a few tweaks to balance it out, but I like what I have better than the original.
2. Undid the distributed load tap in the OT.
3. Biased the amp for EL34’s – disabled the low power function to make it easier.
4. Installed a Weber Ceramic Thames 15″ speaker.
It sounds pretty decent now! I just experimented with lowering the voltages with a variac – it seems to tame the boomy effect of the 15″ speaker, so I may mess with the preamp bias a bit to see if I can get that effect all the time.
I’m tempted to start over with an entirely new circuit, however I’m fairly happy with it. I tried using lower value B+ filter caps on the suggestion of an amp tech, however it just made the amp lifeless – I went back to the original values and am happier with it this way.
I have the 1×12 version. Great clean sound and reverb but the reverb is not so great with the distortion on. With a 25 dB boostpedal you can get the clean channel to the edge of break up. Put drive pedals in front of it and it swallows them pretty good. Not all 12” speakers fit the 1×12 version because of the place one of the transformers. I wish I could find an extra wooden ring to bring the speaker like 5 mm further to the front. ( originaliteit there is already such an adapter ring in it but it’s not thick enough.)
Just one more time for simplicity sake, to make the fender 75 sing and go brown distortion instead of all harshness, just do this, unplug the reverb tank at the back of the amp just run any old audio left or right lead across the input and output. switch out the 12at7 for a nice 12ax7 and switch on. now you can dial in another 12ax7 gain stage with your reverb channel!,…..simple and totally reversible no need to gut the whole amp and you will get some good lead channel sound this time!!! i can live without reverb otherwise just use the effects loop with a reverb/delay pedal.
I have 2 questions for 75 amp combo:
1.When mid boost is turned on, the mid potentiometer stops working.
2.When you turn on the Lead channel, the reverb stops working. Who has the same features? The amplifier looks without interference or modification.
Hello, I am looking for the correct fuse to purchase for this amp? What is it and where do I find one,please? Mine has the 12″ speaker.
i have two Fender 75 amps that i purchased in the 1980. its time to let them go, any one have an idea of the value in today’s market?
Depends on the condition. Up to $500 if they’re in really great shape.
Looking for wattage ratings for my Fender 75 CB-12 speaker cab. Speakers are Fender “special design” (small blue circular label with chrome colored magnets.)Eminence? Cab ID label says 16ohm wired for 8ohm but no wattage rating listed. Can find info anywhere.
What is the wattage rating on the fender blue label speakers in the CB-12 cab?
Thanks in advance.