Fender 65 Super Reverb Reissue Guitar Amplifier Review

Fender 65 Super Reverb Reissue Guitar Amplifier Review

I would be so bold as to call the Fender ’65 Super Reverb line of amplifiers the holy grail of clean tones from Fender or any other guitar amp for that matter.  What am I basing this crazy statement on?  I’ve owned so many amps over the years but nothing has come close to the overall warmth, clarity, openness, and body of sound of this amplifier.

Context.

While this isn’t all the amplifiers I’ve owned over the years here’s a quick list of the amps I’ve had that I really liked at the time but I feel the Super Reverb blows them all out of the water.

• Fender Twin
• Fender Blues De-ville (2×12)
• Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue
• Fender ’68 Deluxe Reverb Reissue
• Fender Hot Rod Deluxe
• Two-Rock Studio Pro 22 (Head and Box)
• Two-Rock Studio Pro 35 (Combo)
• Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue
• Fender Super-Sonic 60
• Vox AC-30
• Laney VC-30

Check out this video review of the Super Reverb Amplifier with both a Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars.

Lots to love about the Fender Super Reverb

There’s a few things to love about the Super-Reverb.  I love the fact it’s not 100 watts so I can take it to gigs and not kill everyone.  If you want a dead clean and loud amplifier the Fender Twin would be the choice for many but I feel it’s a little bit too hard sounding for my ears. I actually preferred the Fender De-Ville 2×12 over a Twin because it was a lot more lush sounding than the twin in my opinion but the Super Reverb is even more lush sounding.  The Super Reverb sports the best Reverb tone I have ever heard and I spend my time living on the Vibrato channel of the amp because of this.

Tube Distortion

When you get the Super Reverb up to about 4.5 on the volume control it’s close to breaking up.  Get it past 5 and you’re really starting to get some kick ass tube distortion that sounds amazing.  Having the amp break up at this volume for my sort of music is perfect, I can push it harder with an overdrive pedal and it will sustain for days.  The best thing about this amp to my ear is how clear the notes are even when running an overdrive pedal.  The 10″ speakers have a voicing that I really love especially for pedals.  I have never had an amp with multiple 10″ speakers before and I had no idea what I was missing out on until now.

This video of the Fender ’65 Super Reverb Reissue below gives an in-depth look at both channels of the amplifier as well as how it sounds with different guitars and pedals.

The Size and Weight

This is where things will be divided.  This amplifier is quite large and could be awkward for some people no doubt.  For me, I use a trolley/dolly to get it around whenever I can.  It’s not over the top heavy or awkward like my AC-30 was and it doesn’t feels as heavy as my twin either thankfully.  This amp is slightly lighter than I imagined it would be but if you’re going to get a big amp make sure you can wheel it around to make sure you’re not going to hurt or twist your back.  If I need to walk more than 30 meters, I would usually take my trolley.

Room Size and Power

I wouldn’t recommend this amp to people if you can’t turn it up.  While it sounds great with pedals it sounds even better with pedals from about 4 on the volume control and up.  If you’re playing really small venues/venues you can’t crank it up then I wouldn’t recommend it.  If you take your Hot Rod Deluxe or similar amp to a gig and you’re allowed to let it rip, this is a great choice.   The Fender ’65 Super Reverb is 45 watts so it’s about the same output as a Fender Blues Deluxe or Hot Rod Deluxe amplifier but the 4 speakers gives you a mass of audio that really surprised me.  Take this amp to somewhere you can get it to easily and run it on 4-5 on the volume (or higher) and you’re loving it.

Here are some live tones from a recent gig with the Fender Super-Reverb Guitar Amplifier.

Overall

Tone wise, this is hands down the nicest to my ear of any of the amplifiers I have owned in the past.  The physical size of it is large so that’s one limitation. I would never take it to a gig if I had to climb a flight of stairs for example, I would end up taking my Fender Blues Deluxe reissue for that sort of situation. For gigs that I can wheel the amp inside and are allowed to play loud, it’s the choice hands down.  Having tested and owned so many amps in the past was my basis for comparison when it came to buying this.  I would put this clean tone leagues ahead of anything I can recall from my own collection or anything I have tested in the past.  The amp takes pedals so well too which is a real bonus and like I mentioned the Reverb tones are fantastic.  The built in Tremolo/Vibrato effect is also great for adding a different dimension to your sound.