Scott Henderson Discussion

[Thanasis]

Hi Scott,

Just wanted to ask a few questions, hope you don't mind.

I recently bought a 45Watt Master Volume Super Reverb which seems to be from the late 70s and from the CBS era.
It was extremely cheap and it works fairly well so I bought it, but....

On full gain (no pedals) it sounds like a fly in an empty coke can and my Boss OD doesn't seem to help me get a decent sound at all. It also doesn't like the Big Muff alone.

I'd like to ask you if there is an OD pedal that works well with this kind of amp. I am happy with its cleanish sounds but when I try more gain it just doesn't work (Tried different preamp tubes and the 'pull out the normal channel tube' mod for extra gain, but NO).

Would a Suhr Koko boost or something like that be a good thing? I heard Guthrie Govan say that a Koko boost is a good pedal to have if you favor higher gain and come across a Super Reverb.

Sorry for the essay, I am an amateur on gear hope you guys don't want to hang me or anything..!


Thanks for your time,

Thanasis

[Scott Henderson]

My favorite boost pedal is the Xotic RC Booster but the Koko boost sounds good too. Try turning the output of the pedal all the way up and the amp gain down. You'll get better results from the amp if it's giving you a mild crunch and the pedal does the rest.

The problem with those Fender amps is the gain from the master volume circuit - as you say, it's terrible. I have a Hot Rod Deluxe and I never use the crunch or lead channels - only the clean channel, but I turn it up until it gets crunchy (about 7) and put a volume pedal in the FX loop to control the master volume.

[Thanasis]

Thanks for the help Scott, I'll try both and hopefully a few others and decide.
It's not a bad amp for its dead cheap price, cost me around 200$ and I am quite happy with it.

As you mentioned in a previous post about the reverb circuit adding a bit of gain to the sound, It does add a lot of unwanted mess and makes a screaming sound when I turn the reverb to more than 6. I might take it to a tech and fix it. For now, I'll be calling it the 'Fender QuiteAlright Reverb'

[dizzy]

The master volume ones from the 70s don't sound as good as the older ones in my opinion. But you can take it to an amp guy and have him pull out that circuit and have it modded to blackface specs. This means you got a good deal because the amp was inexpensive and the mod is probably a few hundred bucks.
I had this done to a Princeton and it sounds good.
With the super you won't be able to run it crunchy though because you won't have a master and you won't have an effects loop to put a volume pedal in like Scott does.
I like light over drives in front of clean amps. Scott doesn't so what do I know:). His tone is better then mine.

[Thanasis]

Well Scott's tone is something else! Especially on the new abum. I am afraid to comment on it because you guys know a lot and have already discussed the matter in serious depths. I just know what I like.

I agree with you that the older ones are a lot better and for someone that likes the clean sound of a true Super Reverb, blackfacing is the option.

I'll mess around with it cause I quite like to drive the preamp tubes a bit, I'll try different pedals too and I'm sure I'll get there someday.

[countandduke]

I too urge you to get your amp modded to "black face specs" in fact t, one (or both) guitar magazines have put the information on how to do the mods and what to do in the past. I would say to check the internet but make sure where you get the info. I think Gerald Weber of Kendrick Amplifiers has this mod in one or more of his books.

I would also have your amp checked because capacitors do have a life of (I think) 20-30 years? Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Those old amps are great but a good amp tech can help REALLY make sure it's working the best it can. There ARE LETHAL VOLTAGES IN YOUR AMP, so please don't go poking around in there unless you know what you are doing, even with the amp unplugged.

Lastly, check those speakers too and make sure they are in good working order.

Best,
Chris