FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Fender Tube Amp Twin Reverb

Question:
I was thinking about how it works, and this is what I figured! Fender Twin Reverb has 2 inputs per ch, 2 chanels, what means 4 inputs, plus reverb and vibrato efect. There are 6 preamp tubes, of wich 4 are of a same kind, and two of some other. Does it mean, that each input has its own tube, and each efect its own. Please correct me if I'm wrong. When I plug my guitar in 1/2 input (1st input 2nd chanel) is it only the tube No 3 is activated, or there are all four that are working all the time??? Is it possible for amp to function with only one tube in preamp, let's say, that tube No 3, or not? If so, I could rotate tubes from chanell to chanell each time it finishes its lifetime. I mean, it would be such a pitty to throw away all 4 tubes, becose one of them is gone.... I must be wrong, it's sipley to obvious....

Answer:
Looking at the amp from the REAR, numbering the sockets from RIGHT to LEFT (which is the way the signal flows inside the amplifier), here's what each tube does: NORMAL channel preamp/tone stack. VIBRATO channel preamp/tone stack REVERB drive tube (feeds signal to the spring tank) REVERB recovery and mixing tube TREMELO oscillator Phase inverter (drives the power tubes) As far as pulling tubes goes, you can pull the NORMAL channel tube (which will kill the NORMAL channel, of course; Derek Trucks does this - it gives a little extra bite to the VIBRATO channel, for reasons I won't go into) and the TREMELO oscillator tube, and the amp will still work just fine (on the VIBRATO channel). You can pull the REVERB DRIVE tube, too, and the amp would still work on the VIBRATO channel - with no reverb, of course.