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FRENZEL "Super Twin Plexi Reverb"
Hi everyone! This is an amp that has a lot
of soul...so much so it needs more than specs to describe it. The FRENZEL "Super Twin Plexi Reverb"
was designed as the ultimate amp for the serious player. We have sold a lot of Retro Twin and Plexi amps
.…but this is the first one we have ever built with separate dual "Marshall – Fender" voiced preamps. It comes
in three different power levels. The FM-25STPR 25 watt is the standard version. The FM-50STPR 50 watt and FM-100STPR
100 watt versions are upgrade options. All models come standard with the classic Fender type tube driven reverb tank coil.
There are two independently voiced preamps each with its own separate Gain control, 3 band tone stack, and Master
control. One preamp is voiced like the Fender Twin…the other the Marshall SLP Plexi. This amp is a unique
one of a kind designed totally for the creative player in mind. It will give you just about any sound you ever dreamed of…..including
pure tube driven tank reverb tones on the Plexi channel!
The basis for the design is a combination of two of the greatest
vintage amps ever built, the Fender 5F8A Twin and the Marshall SLP Plexi. For those of you who have never looked at
the schematics, the amps are nearly identical. The Fender 5F8A twin is basically a 5F6A Bassman with four 5881’s
in the output stage instead of two. It also uses the same fantastic cathode follower fed 3 band tone stack. It is a
design made in heaven by the tube amp God and passed on to Fender. Marshall copied the 5F6A, added two more inputs, changed
to KT66’s in the output and called it the JTM 45…..then followed Fender’s idea about the Twin
and went to a four tube output and made the Plexi. Both amps produce such great tones that one is hard pressed to improve
on them…so we have designed this amp to be basically both amps in one…plus we have added a few mods to the circuits….and
tubes suggested by our “rock on “ guitar buds from all over the world.
We left the output stage design pretty much undisturbed except
we replaced the 5881’s Fender used with EL34’s. Marshall did this in his Plexi…it was
a great idea which really gave the amp some depth and warmth…...but he did something else that hurt the tone and displeased
the tube amp God by going to solid state rectification. This removes all of the natural compression provided by the
tube rectifier. Some say, he did this because it provided a faster pick attack….which is true, but the real reason was
...it was cheaper. The bean counters won again! For the purists out there who want the true vintage tube
amp sound, you know you can’t get it without a tube rectifier, so we kept the tube rectifier and went a step further
by using two 5U4’s in parallel which gives a good compromise on pick attack and compression.
For trannies we chose the Marshall output for the original
classic vintage sound. This trannie provides you, the player, with extended low-end warmth and those incredible enhanced
Marshall overtones. All the while, maintaining a perfect balance between the highs, mids, and lows. The trannie has
4, 8, and 16 ohm output taps which are selectable by a switch on the back of the amp. For the power supply section
we used a monster Hammond for the power, and a large Hammond filter choke. The large power trannie provides great voltage
regulation so that you don’t sag when you get on it hard. The voltage is filtered for low hum by an equally large choke.
To help protect the trannies in case of a shorted tube, we have installed an extra fuse on in the secondary winding.
The heart of any amp is the preamp…it generates nearly all
the tones. The preamp in this amp is a killer tone machine like none you have ever heard. It has separate HIGH - LOW input
jacks for each channel. This allows you to match your guitar pickup to the input of the amp....and to use an AB switch select
either channel for tones you have never heard before! The output of these input jacks feeds two separate preamps
each with its own Gain Control, 3 Band Tone Stack, and Master Control. One preamp is based on the Fender Twin preamp
circuit, the other is based on the Marshall Plexi preamp circuit. Both Preamps share the same Presence control which
is part of the output circuitry. Also, we have put a pull-switch on the Presence control that defeats the negative feedback
which allows you to get that “really open” sound. The reverb is pure tube and uses a classic Accutronic long
reverb tank. The combination of all these options generates just about any sound you would ever want…from Clapton….to
Van Halen…to…. But, if you want to create more sounds we have also installed a Classic 60's style Serial Effects
Loop with Return Jack, Send Jack, and Send Level Control. The Return Jack provides Power Amp input. The Send Jack provides
preamp output.
The front panel controls are Top Row: Fender - Gain, Bass, Middle,
Treble, Master. Bottom Row: Marshall - Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Master. Middle Row: Presence with pull switch
feedback defeat, Reverb Level, Power Switch: (Off, Standby, On). The back panel has two ¼” Speaker Jacks, Impedance
Selector Switch 4 - 8 - 16 ohms, Effects Loop: (Receive, Send, Send Return Level Control), Reverb Pedal Jack, Secondary
Fuse, Power Line fuse.
We checked the amp on the bench and on speakers. If you like playing
clean you will love this amp….but it will also kick and crunch and sing when you crank it up. The sound is clean
and crisp and develops three distinct types of crunch and distortion depending on whether you are overdriving the preamp
tubes, output tubes, or both. It will give you the great high mids of the Marshall and the warmth of the Twin….and
a lot more! The 100 watt upgrade version puts out a "heart throbbing" 100 watts RMS, that sounds like
200 watts RMS through a pair of 12" Alnico Tone Tubbies. It will rattle the walls and the windows.
Comes with a classic TOLEX HEAD CAB - Made from 3/4"
cabinet grade birch plywood. Corners screwed and glued for maximum strength. Covered in genuine Tolex, heavy duty nickel plated
steel corner caps, large rubber feet, and Fender style strap handle. Comes standard in vintage elephant black. Also
available in custom colors. Email us for availability and pricing on custom colors.
All the parts in the
amp are top-of-the line…..polypropylene caps, metal film resistors, Alpha pots, Switchcraft jacks, ceramic sockets..
etc… The preamp tubes are all brand new JJ's and the EL34’s are a matched EH's It This is
a rock solid point-to-point hand wired amp…. a real one of kind collectors item.
FEATURES:
Input Jacks isolated from chassis for low noise, eddy currents, and hum.
DC on preamp and driver filaments for low noise and hum.
Star ground system to reduce induced current chassis noise.
4 Input Jacks - Hi - Lo Jacks for Clean and Boost inputs with separate Gain controls for the unique
smooth warm clean tones or the great overdrive crunch boost tones....or you can use an AB-Y switch and
create your own distinct tones.
Classic 60's vintage style 3-BAND TONE STACKS for extended flexibility in shaping your tone....plus Bright capacitor
on Gain Controls for extra sparkle!
MASTER level controls so you can crank the GAIN's up and overdrive the preamps and drivers without overdriving
the output tubes.
Classic vintage style Presence control .
Unique NNFB "Edge" switch on the PRESENCE control that transforms the power amp section into a No-Negative-FeedBack
style amp for more open, less compressed tones.
Classic 60's style insertion type Serial Effects Loop with Return Jack (Power Amp In), Send Jack (Preamp Out), and
Send Level Control.
Class A EL34's for the purest reproduction of sound possible.
Power Output - Three Models – 25, 50 and 100 warts
Dual Speaker Jacks
Speaker Impedance Selector 4 - 8 - 16 ohms
Dual 5U4EH heavy duty rectifiers for optimum pick attack and sag selection.
Primary Power fuse to protect the transformers in the event a tube shorts.
Extra long (10') three prong grounded power cord.
STANDBY switch to turn off the high voltage during warm-up to protect the tubes.
Rock solid point-to-point hand wiring using only the best of parts...low noise tubular polypropylenes caps, metal film
resistors, ceramic sockets, switchcraft jacks...etc.
Sweet vintage clean to classic overdrive tones with three different types of distortion depending on whether you are
overdriving the preamp, output... or both!
Weight - 30 lbs
Tube compliment: 5 – ECC83, 1 – ECC82, 2 - EL34(50 watt) 4 –EL34(100watt), 2 - 5U4
FRONT PANEL:
- CLEAN HI - LO INPUTS
- CLEAN GAIN
- BASS
- MIDDLE
- TREBLE
- MASTER
- BOOST HI - LO INPUTS
- BOOST GAIN
- BASS
- MIDDLE
- TREBLE
- MASTER
- REVERB
- PRESENCE with NNFB PULL SWITCH
- PILOT LIGHT
- STANDBY / POWER SWITCH
REAR PANEL:
- POWER CORD
- POWER PRIMARY FUSE
- REVERB PEDAL
- PREAMP OUT LEVEL WITH FX PULL SWITCH
- PREAMP OUT JACK
- POWER AMP IN JACK
- DUAL SPEAKER OUTPUT JACKS
- SPEAKER IMPEDANCE
SWITCH 4 - 8 - 16 OHM
PRICE: $1695.00
UPGRADE OPTIONS:
1. HIGH POWER VERSIONS - Available with 50 watt or 100
watt power output. Please add $100.00 for 50 watt version and $200.00 for the 100 watt version.
2. 240 VOLT POWER TRANSFORMER -
for operation outside the USA. Add $55.00
3. EDGE FOOTSWITCH - adds
jack to rear panel for footswitch control on the NNFB EDGE switch. Includes classic heavy duty footswitch with LED. Add
$120.00
Customer Review:
Words cannot describe what this amp sounds
like! It has exceeded everyone of my expectations. Thanks for taking the time to answer all my questions so I was able to
get what I wanted, and the way I wanted it. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it, Oh and did I say it sounds amazing?
Thanks Again, Larry A.
FM-STPR100 - Jim, Received my amp a few weeks
ago and have been dialing it in. It sounds wonderful through my Marshall 1960 Lead cabinet. The reverb is great,
the cleans are beautiful, and the flexibility is amazing. It loves pedals and it is super quiet.... I’ve been
doing some research on running two heads at once and finally tried it with my FRENZEL JF-AB763 that I got off of eBay, and
the new STPR. I run the JF clean with delay in the effects loop, and then run my STP/R with my pedals out front. Both
are going in stereo to my 1960 Lead and the sound is amazing. It’s smooth and the sustain is fantastic.
Again, thanks for everything. Take care and God Bless. Eric E.(Tennessee)
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