Pawn Shop: 1975 Blackfaced Twin Rev (Latest Upgrades)

[Travis Toy]

A Twin that sounds better AND is lighter?!? Take my money. Haha. Glad you like the speakers. Can't wait to try it out.

-t

[Cody Stewart]

Don, would it be too much trouble to ask for a video of how that old girl sounds? I've been thinking of putting the Double T 12's in my Twin. I would really enjoy hearing it.

Respectfully,
Cody Stewart

[Don Mogle]

Hi Cody,

Sure. I can do a video. I went ahead and did the full blackface mod on the amp and it sounds great. Stay tuned...

Don

[Larry Dering]

Don, love to see this as well. I have 2 old Twins and a speaker swap would definitely make them easier on the back.

[Don Mogle]

Here is a YouTube video of the Twin with TT-12s. I made some playing mistakes, but hopefully you get the idea of what it sounds like with these fine speakers. Thanks Travis!

Thank you for watching...

Don

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TimtVgd4sCI

[Larry Dering]

Don, that sounds great. I believe you have a winner there. Thanks for posting.

[Dave Hopping]

Sounds delicious! There's a reason why Fender has been making a high-powered 2-12 with the name "Twin" for 67 years.

[Dan Kelly]

Beautiful Sho-Bud! I miss that baby... but I am glad it is in such good hands! You play it well. Your rig sounds really good. The C6th sound is awesome. Classic.

[Cody Stewart]

Don, The amp sounds great. I'm very jealous of your Pro II. I've been on the hunt for that guitar for a while now. Wish I could locate one to purchase.

[Don Mogle]

Cody,

Yes, I really like the Pro II. The big 3/4" body gives it a thick, fat sound. The single-single changer with aluminum fingers is also part of the sweet sound of the guitar!

Ricky Davis is a huge fan of this vintage.

If you can find one, buy it! You will love it! The wide, curved pedals take some getting use to.

I also think the TT-12s in the Twin is a winning combination. Hope this video helps you make a decision


Don

[Willie Sims]

DON ,I INSTALLED A SMALL COMPUTER FAN, IN MY AMP .IT COOLED THE POWER TUBES A LOT.

[Don Mogle]

Thanks for all the good and helpful comments!

[Don Mogle]

Here is a note from Scott detailing the blackfacing done to the amp recently...

Mar 7, 2020, 12:49 PM

Hi Don,

I have completed the Blackface modifications on your Fender Twin reverb. Along with this I replaced all the incorrect and substandard components installed from the previous work that was done. This caused the job to take longer because I did not start with a clean slate. All the metal film resistors that were installed were changed to carbon composition, all the cathode bypass capacitors were changed to Sprague Atoms and coupling or tone stack capacitors were changed, when needed to Sprague Orange Drop capacitors or Silver Mica capacitors. I also changed the way the two channels were routed thru the reverb and vibrato circuits to a design that works much better.

I retained, at your request the substitution of a 56K resistor for the original 100K resistor in the tone stack for the Normal channel. This mod increases mid and bass response, and also tends to increase the overall gain of that channel by allowing more bass and mid signal to pass. I do like this mod, and think for steel guitar it would be a benefit. The push pull pot is gone along with the mid boost circuit. That circuit was unsafe and I was glad you approved its removal. I don't think you'll miss it.

I also removed the original Fender boost circuit, and changed the master volume to a non push-pull 1 meg linear potentiometer. A linear pot tends to work better in this spot in the signal path providing a smoother taper and more accurate control over the master output.

The amp sounds very good now, but unfortunately there are still more issues that need to be addressed. First are the two filter capacitors in the negative bias power supply, they were changed in the earlier repair to a low quality cap that is not even the correct value. 47uf was used, the schematic specifies 80uf and I would replace them with 100uf@100V Sprague Atom ectrolytic capacitors. This would be an upgrade to that power supply.

Another issue are the screen resistors on the output tubes. The schematic specifies 470 ohm 1 watt resistors, carbon composition. They were changed at some point to 1K ohm, 3 watt metal oxide resistors. These should be put back to the original 470 ohm for proper output tube function. Fortunately I have some NOS 470 ohm 1 watt carbon composition resistors in stock.

I thank you in advance for your consideration.

Regards,

Scott
Vistalux Amplification
817-301-7291

[Don Mogle]

Hey Forumites,

I wanted to post an update on my Pawn Shop Twin. I recently had some orange drop caps installed, other electrolytics tested, MVC removed,, and new blackface plate added. Looks and sounds great!