Fender Silverface Twin Reverb
Model/Circuit Number: AC568, AA769, AA270
Years of Production: 1968 – 1982
Era: Silverface
Configuration: Combo
Controls: Silver, forward facing w/ blue labels
Knobs: Black skirted w/ chrome center, numbered 1 – 10
Faceplate
- Front: 68-71: Normal: In, In, Bright Sw, Vol, Treb, Mid, Bass – Vibrato: In, In, Bright Sw, Vol, Treb, Mid, Bass, Rev, Speed, Intensity – Pilot Lamp ; 72-83: Normal: In, In, Bright Sw, Vol, Treb, Mid, Bass – Vibrato: In, In, Bright Sw, Vol, Treb, Mid, Bass, Rev,
- Rear: AC Outlet, Ground Sw, Fuse (2½A), Power Sw, Standby Sw, Speaker Jack, Ex. Speaker Jack, Vibrato Jack, Reverb Jack, Reverb Out, Reverb In
Cabinet
- Dimensions: 20 x 26 x 10½
- Hardware: Large Chassis Straps 5 5/8”
- Handle: Black Strap Handle
- Feet: Glides (68-71) or Casters (72-82)
- Corners: Corner Protectors
Covering Material
- Tolex/Tweed: Black Tolex
- Grill Cloth: Black/White/Silver
Logo: Grill mounted, raised, chrome & black script
Weight: 69 lbs.
Speaker
- Size: 2 x 12
- Impedance: 4 ohms
- Model: Oxford 12T6, Utah 12(For more info, check out the Jensen Replacement Speakers)
Effects: Reverb, Tremolo
~Watts: 68-76: 100 Watts ; 77-82: 135 Watts
Tubes
- Pre amp: 7025
- Power: 4 x 6L6GC
Bias: Fixed, adjustment pot or balance pot
Rectifier: Solid State
Comments: A master volume was added in 1972. Other late seventies circuit changes included a Line Out jack, hum balance pot, and a pull boost sw. Fender switched back to the blackface era cosmetics some time in 1980. Twin Reverbs produced between late 1980 and 1982 have a black control panel and silver sparkle grille cloth.
Average prices?
1968 – 1971 ~ $500 – $1,000 depending on condition.
1972 – 1983 ~ $400 – $800 depending on condition.
*** JBL speakers bring a premium.
This is approximate and regional also. (higher in California & New York).
Check Ebay fro completed listings and you can see what has sold for what amount.
How much of a premium would you estimate?
Just some other notes I’ve some across while trying to figure out what year mine was. The “Push/Pull” knob on Master Volume was added in 74. The Fender logo also lost the “tail” under it in 1974. Hopefully this will help some other folks ID their SFTRs.
For the person asking average prices, check eBay completed auctions for a good general number. I just $300 worth of synth stuff for a 72 in great, original condition, but I think I got a good deal there.
Dave,
Not trying to be a pain here, but I have a 1973 TR, w/JBL L120s, Tailed Fender Logo, and a master volume control. I bought it new in 1973. Therefore, I believe the master volume addition must have been part of the 1973 model year and not 1974.
– Steve
Sorry Dave, I completely missed the “push/pull” part of your comment. My ’73 does not have the push/pull master control.
From my research, the push/pull was around almost as long as the master volume, introduced mid-1972. I have an early 1972 which does not have the push/pull, but does have a Master; while researching it I found most commentary about ’72s mentioned the push/pull, and some mentioning the brief period in which it wasn’t present in the design.
I could be wrong, but I think the pull-boost potentiometer for the master volume was added in 1965 rather than 1964. I’ve never seen a verifiable ’64 chassis with the push-pull pot. Then again, I don’t think I’ve seen a verifiable 1965 chassis without one.
So in dating these antique amps, do the transistor serial numbers not mean anything? I am looking for any information to date my silver face twin. Original speakers, has the pull boost but the transistors say the 24th week of 1964?
Are you talking about the transformers? No transistors that I know of.
The best way to identify the production year is to look at the stamped serial numbers on the back of the chassis or on the transformers. Check out this website.
http://www.superiormusic.com/page195.htm
I WAS A SOUND-TEKHNIK,& I DID WORK WITH THAT AMP. – VERY” GOOD AMP. .
I’ve seen some with more jacksockets on the back, I don’t suppose anybody knows what they would be for?
hey james id say they are for an after market effects loop
The write up mentions 4 RCA jacks, and 2 1/4″ speaker jacks. That’s it, except for line out which was a later addition (also mentioned above).
I don’t think there was ever an effects loop on the silverfaces.
I own a ’72 and a ’73, both beautiful amps. Work great with Rhodes and Wurlitzer Pianos (my main use for it).
I have a Fender Twin Reverb Silverface. The serial number on the back (A605859) amp chassis dates the amp as made in 1973. My amp also has the push/pull master volume pot?
I’ve noticed a fair amount of this. Fender didn’t switch to master vol, or remove the logo tail, or any other change, right on the start of a calendar year. To date the amp, I go by the chassis serial first, and then confirm tranny and maybe speaker date codes (if the speakers appear stock). These will date earlier than the amp, usually by a few months. For example, my drip edge ’69 has a ’69 serial, but no black lines on the face plate (late 67-68), and the transformers all date to the 50-52nd week of ’68. So, likely a Jan/Feb ’69 amp.
Point being, don’t rely on just one thing, and don’t expect differences to fall nicely along calendar year. Because of the way the amps were built – parts pulled from bins, multiple lines building – it’s entirely possible to have a slightly ‘earlier’ amp with slightly ‘later’ features.
I have transformers from 1945 and 1949 in my 1976 Twin Reverb the silver (main) transformer is 606-6-08. Can’t find a serial #. So yeah, they used whatever they had in stock on the shelves to build these. However, mine is black grill cloth when it should be the silver. Don’t know if it came that way or someone changed it.
Do you have the wurlitzer side speakers or the side man drum unit?
Is the ac outlet there so you can power the amp without having to use tubes?
How much dies the amp weigh?
“.. AC outlet there so you can power the amp without having to use tubes?” What in the world are you talking about? Sorry, but I don’t where to start. Tube amps all run on electricity from a wall outlet. They use vacuum tubes to amplify your guitar signal.
I have a drip edge ’68 which seems lighter and less powerful than other twin reverbs.
Any one else?
Early Silverface Twins, and Showman amps were nominally rated at 85 Watts, rather than 100W. I have one of the earliest Silverface Dual Showman Reverbs (a ’68 drip edge) which is rated at 85W. It shares the same chassis with the Silverface Twin Reverb. Still plenty loud tho’!
Should be same power up until 77 when they went to untralinear PT. As for weight, your 68 cab is solid pine. later cabs (not sure how much later, but my 71 was also solid. I think 71 was the last year for solid) were made of birch plywood, which is a lot heavier.
i have a 100watt head i cant seem to find it anywhere on the net ….it looks just like the combo shown …but its just the head the knob plate is silver with blue lines it has two inputs under – normal with a bright switch ….then 4 knobs – vol -treb – mid- bass …then 2 inputs under vibrato with a bright switch ….then 7 knobs – vol – treb – mid – bass ..with reverb – presense- intensity knobs …then master volume ….the grill is black …maybe painter ? …any info on this would be greatly appreciated ….also has footswitch ….thanks tom ….
“i have a 100watt head i cant seem to find it anywhere on the net …..”
Tom,
Does it say TWIN REVERB on the control plate? If so, its probably just a TR converted to a head cab
I had a blackface twin in the seventies… sold it to fund some KB gear. I now have a ‘twin killer’, hands down winner over the blackface; construction wise and sound.
I have a 73/74 Dual Showman Reverb, built into a Twin Reverb style cabinet with two G12-100 speakers. Master Volume, Pull Boost.
Now this amp isnt a Blackface, and has no circuit mods. Original Bias and Hum balance. It should,I am repeatedly told, sound utter crap.
Truth is, it is one of the sweetest sounding amps I have ever heard, everyone who plays it is blown away with it.
My other amps are a 64 JTM45 and a 67 Deluxe Reverb. Both sound great, but have had so many caps and resistors over the years, cannot be considered stock or vintage.
The Showman is 100% stock…all caps…..all resistors. Its sounds so good I am not changing a thing.
Many early 70s SFs sound fantastic! There were enough of these produced that I don’t think there’s much vintage ‘collector’ value, not like with the blackfaces. Don’t let originality stop you from maintaining the amp, if you like to play it. Those filter caps are past their expected lifespan, and when they fail they can take a transformer with them. That would be a disaster.
Hello!
Can you please help me out with recommendations for speakers and tubes for my amp 100watt 12in 4ohms
Hey fellas, I was wondering if anybody is familiar with the “Twin Reverb” logo on the fender twin having a copyright symbol at the bottom right corner. I have the opportunity to purchase a silverface that’s marketed as a 1970, but it’s got a master volume. As some have stated here, the Master volume didn’t come out until 1971 at the earliest. Not sure if the amp has a PPB yet. So yeah, wondering if the amp can be dated using the fact that the blue “Twin Reverb” logo has a copyright symbol. Thanks in advance.
I have what I believe is a 74 Silverface Twin. It has no MV control, and one other oddity – The name printed on the front is ” Twin Reverb”. It is centered and there is no “-amp” as I’ve seen on most other SF twins. Is anyone familiar with this specific variant?
There were non-master volume Twins in 1974. This feature was introduced 2 years before.
Hey guys, I’m trying to figure out exactly what I have here. This was my Dad’s amp and I got it when he passed away. It has the Twin Reverb silver plate with master volume, serial A 75847. Based on my research I think it is a 1974 model. BUT, it only has one speaker which is a D130F JBL speaker. It still has the original cover and is in excellent condition. Has a foot switch and it sounds great. I’m thinking I will sell it, but I’m searching for a starting price. Any help you can offer would be much appreciated.
i have a SF / TWIN. pots date to 73. master volume/push pull. someone dissabled the mv and push pull.first things first. is the push pull a boost? the schematic has it tied in to the reverb input circuit. are they using the reverb tube for the boost?
It states here that the BF & SF TRs had solid state rectifiers. Is that true? For those above with ‘what year is my amp really’ type posts, remember that Fender had an ‘economy (read ‘cheap’) manufacturing’ culture internally, regardless of who owned the company, and generally used up all of the parts they had in stock, on a ‘per assembler’ basis, before they switched over to the newer parts used in updated models (unless it was impossible to do so for and ‘fit’ reasons) hence the age/model year identification chaos that is well documented above. So Fender switches from ‘tail to ‘no tail’ front grille amp logos as each assembler runs out of them, etc. This means you will have age overlaps with all non-circuit parts (chassiss, logos, faceplates, grilles, cabinets, tube charts,… and on) and even some circuit parts. This is especially true of speakers. It’s easy to have an amp with parts from a 3 – 4 year range depending on the part. IMHO, the best way to date an amp is look at the sales receipt. If you don’t have that and the amp has original parts in it, a combination of cabinet wood & style, grille cloth & style, pot (if on), speaker & transformer date codes, and finally, the chassis serial number, will serve you best. You can usually narrow down an amp’s age to a 3 year window max. If you’re lucky, one year, but it’s usually a ‘one year +/- 1’ so you can call one a ‘1972’ but qualify it as a ‘…but maybe 1971 or 1973’. The least reliable date information is from the tube chart, circuitry and the grille logos. Fender was cheap and wasn’t wasting any parts it didn’t have to so everything was used up. ‘Date accurate manufacturing provenance’ was never part of their standard operating procedure…. …just love the tone, whatever the year 🙂
IMO as far as Twin Reverbs goes, from 72 to 76 are the best Twin Reverbs. The MV makes all the difference. It’s Topical to say the MV sucks the tone out of the amp, but it doesn’t. With the Negative feedback wiring of a Twin Reverb.. you’re just not going to get massive overdrive. I’ve never once had that expectation of a Twin Reverb. IMHO the MV was designed to produce gain (in the truest sense) in the signal. I know when I dial the volume up to 6 and adjust the MV, it increases the compression and sustain. Past that point, the amp starts to overdrive (in a limited way) and obviously with the MV you can manage the overdrive at sensible volumes. If I dime the master volume and just use the regular volume (i.e. 99% taking the MV out of the signal chain) the amp’s tonality becomes rounder and slightly fuller, the bottom end characteristics change. However, gone is the compression and sustain till you cranked the volume up to 5 (and that’s very loud)
Myself, I installed some Jensen RI C12Ns. Little cautious at first being 50watts. Realizing they were a low-efficiency speaker was a bonus. After getting broken in they sound classic and seemed to be holding up fine.
Hola a todos. Se habla mucho del twin reverb silver face 135w que si el trafo que si esto que si lo otro pero la mayoría habla de oídas y no han visto ni probado este amplificador y motivados por unos patrones idealista pero en el fondo no tienen ni idea de lo que están hablando.
Yo poseo un twin reverb 135w Black Face del 81y si se mantiene en perfecto orden les aseguro que deja a todos sus antepasados en la cuneta. La gama de sonidos que se le puede sacar es muy superior en posibilidades a cualquier twin reverb sea del año que sea. Los que hablan de este modelo seguramente el amplificador tiene alguna merma.
Lo compré de segunda mano y la verdad sonaba a perro se lo llevé a un amigo aficionado que aspiró todas las soldaduras quitó y reemplazó la mayor parte del cableado hizo limpieza de potes y ahora esto es un verdadero misil.
Hemos tocado con algunos fender místicos y el sonido del mio los supera en calidad así que no se a qué viene tanto desprestigio es solo un amplificador fabricado con otra filosofía pero no por ello peor que sus antesesores y si se compara los esquemáticos en el fondo la variación es mínima.
Hello, I’m being offered a 1980 With JBL Speakers very well preserved. How much would it be nowadays?
I just paid $600 for one and I think it was a hell of a good deal!
I just recently picked up a ’69 Silverface. Does anyone know the latest date the much-undesired AC568 circuit was used? I think I got one! 🙂
Nevermind if it’s a AA568 or whatever.
Simply, purchase the parts here from Mojo Tone and convert it over to the AB 764! (Grins)
Soon every silverface will be AB 764 and Mojo will still be in business as people will then want to collect Silverfaced amps and will want them restored to orig.
Whatever ya do, please don’t modify any Drip Edged Silverface and all will be Golden!
I have a 1976 Silver Face Twin Reverb but the grill cloth is black, Shouldn’t it be silver? Or is this a unicorn or someone changed the cloth?