Tweeds on the march (reverberato content)

Concluded an interesting deal lately. Traded for some Victoria gear. Never owned a Vicky, but it was hearing a Vicky 35115 years ago that launched me in pursuit of the tweed pro sound. So now it comes around. Got one yesterday -- with the Vintage C15N Jensen Mark Baier originally put in there years ago. Plugging in to this was just like coming home. Man, I am a sucker for that fat pro sound!

Even better, a Victoria Reverbarato was part of the deal. Has anyone here tried this? I always wanted one, sounded like the coolest thing. Bottom line: it is. The reverb sound is way different than my much modded Fender outboard RI, not gainy/hot, has this rather amazing clarity. At least paired with the tweed twin, it let's the low end of that amp come through in a way I had not heard before.

The tube trem section is the proverbial icing on this cake. More than a touch of unvibe, chorus, flang in here ... in the brownface Fender trem zone only more intense. Maybe because I've only tried it with the tweed twin, don't know, but this effect sounds MASSIVE. Wall-shaking if desired. Much more experimentation is called for. The Reverberato is bigger than I expected, looks like half a tweed amp. Extremely rugged and well built. It was a great holiday weekend!

Whoa, that's some nice gear! Congratulations! Never played a Reverberato, but I'd love to try one - never heard or read a bad word about them, except the price.

Reverberato on CL here Pretty cool MD!

There was a very nice article about Victoria amps, their founder, history, quality, etc. in Fretboard Journal earlier this year. Summertime, I think.
Congrats, mad dog!

Thank you gentlemen, for your comments. It's a privilege to play through anything Victoria. I am feeling most fortunate. My wish list grows shorter, as I trade my way into cool stuff. The Vicky Double Deluxe is still on that list. As is his new "Electrovoice" amp.

Not to mention Guild guitars. How long have I been on this list, and still don't have one???
MD

mad dog said:

Thank you gentlemen, for your comments. It's a privilege to play through anything Victoria. I am feeling most fortunate. My wish list grows shorter, as I trade my way into cool stuff. The Vicky Double Deluxe is still on that list. As is his new "Electrovoice" amp.

Not to mention Guild guitars. How long have I been on this list, and still don't have one???
MD

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Congrats on the Vic!!! Keep us posted on the experimentation process......sounds like you are only at the tip of the tone iceberg with that Reverberato.

(Note to self: Need to check out a Reverberato sometime!)

A Vicky update, this time on the 35115:

What with all the reverberator fuss, the Vicky tweed pro didn't even get plugged in 'til last night. Where, head to head with the Sewell Wampus Cat (very much tweed pro inspired), the 35115 ran for cover. No contest. I expected a volume disparity (the Vicky has a vintage C15N compared to the Emi Big Ben in the WC), but still. Nice, sweet sound, not a great deal of force.

So today everything got changed. Swapped out preamp tubes, put in the best NOS choices I could find. It came with NOS GE 6L6GC tubes, which were not impressing. Turned out to be biased very cold, certainly part of the problem. I tried JAN Phillips 6L6WGB set (long time favorite), then JJ 6L6GC, which stayed. Lastly, swapped out the antique speaker for the Weber Cali ceramic paper dome that came stock in the Sewell. It sounded so fine in that amp, and this one too. Buttoned back up, it was literally a different amp. Much louder, with a fat, rich resonance at higher volumes. Switched on that harmonic trem, DiPinto in hand, I'm telling you it's swamp city. Happy new year everybody!

Link to pics and specs of the Victoria 35115. The 5E5A reference is to a Fender Pro - schematic here.