Myth Buster - The Fender Twin Reverb is too heavy

[BEACHBUM]

It seems like every time the word "Twin" comes up one of the first things you read is, "it's to heavy". Of course it is heavy but what's been confusing me is why you don't often hear that said when other 2X12 tube combo amps are mentioned where as with the Twin it's almost a knee jerk reaction. Of course I know that most of those comments come from folks who like light weight 15W 10" speaker amps but in all fairness I think that's a bit like comparing Volkswagens to Cadillacs and a more fair comparison is, how does the Twin compare to other amps in it's class? Here's what I found.

30 - 2X12 TUBE COMBO AMPS BY WEIGHT

FENDER TWIN REVERB REISSUE - 85W………………….64 LBS.
PEAVEY 6505 - 60W ……………………………….............. ..84.5 LBS
ORANGE ROCKERVERB MKII - 50W………………………82.89 LBS.
ORANGE AD30TC - 30W ……………………………….........73.3 LBS.
LINE 6 SPIDER VALVE MKII - 40W…………………………60 LBS.
FENDER HOT ROD DEVILLE - 60W ………………………..53.5 LBS
VOX AC30C2 - 30W ……………………………….............. ....71 LBS.
BLACKSTAR HT60 - 60W ………………………………........67 LBS.
MARSHALL JVM205C - 50W………………………………...65 LBS.
MARSHALL 62 BLUESBREAKER - 30W……………………66.6 LBS
BUDDA SUPERDRIVE 80 - 80W …………………………….75 LBS.
BOGNER DUENDE - 30W ………………………………........64 LBS.
65AMPS STONE PONY - 25W ……………………………….57 LBS.
EGNATOR RENEGADE - 65W ………………………………75 LBS.
SOLDANO LUCKY 13 - 50W ………………………………...75 LBS.
EVH 5150 - 50W ……………………………….............. ...........84 LBS.
MARSHALL VM 2266CB - 50W………………………………66.14 LBS.
MESA DUAL RECTIFIER - 100W ……………………………100 LBS.
MESA ELECTRA DYNE - 90W ……………………………….87 LBS.
MESA LONE STAR - 100W ……………………………….......89 LBS.
MESA TRANS ATLANTIC - 40W …………………………….74 LBS.
PEAVEY CLASSIC 50 - 50W ……………………………….....59.6 LBS.
PEAVEY VALVE KING - 100W ………………………………64.5 LBS.
VOX AC15C2 - 15W ……………………………….............. .....66.58 LBS.
AMPEG GVT52 - 50W ……………………………….............. ..62.8 LBS.
VOX TB35C2 - 35W ……………………………….............. ......73.85 LBS.
SOLDANO REVERBOSONIC - 50W …………………………63 LBS.
RIVERA FANDANGO - 55W ……………………………….....73 LBS.
RIVERA QUIANA - 55W ………………………………............70 LBS.
CARVIN BELAIR - 50W ……………………………….............5 0 LBS.

TOTAL = 2,117.26 LBS.
AVERAGE WEIGHT = 70.56 LBS.
TWIN = 6.56 LBS. LESS THAN AVERAGE

[docbop]

I will publicly say "too heavy" to all the amps listed above and add my old Mesa Boogie Mk II to the list that I sold back to it original owner (Joe Elliot) because it was..... okay everyone in unison it was "too heavy".

The Twin has been around a long time almost a household name when it comes to amps, it has a great reputation for its clean sound, and its weight. Some people can't or don't want to deal with lugging heavy gear around. I did in my youth, but I don't want to do it any more. So when someone say "too heavy" to a Twin, you look at them and say "SVT" the head alone weights as much as Twin.

[mr. beaumont]

Yeah. All those amps are too heavy.

[SamBooka]

I am going to venture that very few of the amps listed above are actually mentioned in this forum .. maybe 5?
If you compare, for example a JC120 that I think is about the same size and weight people will say that they are heavy too.
I think there are more "should I take a deluxe reverb or a twin?.... dude the twin is a heavy amp" than "should I take a JC120 or a twin? .. dude the twin is a heavy amp" threads.

Nice to have a quick reference tho

thanks

[oldane]

I will publicly say "too heavy" to all the amps listed above.........

...... Some people can't or don't want to deal with lugging heavy gear around. I did in my youth, but I don't want to do it any more.......

+1.

The fact that there are other amps out there which are even heavier, doesn't make the Twin lighter.

[DRS]

Not surprised to find the 2x12 Mesa Lonestar as the heaviest amp on the list. I remember lifting one up at the music store - it was like it was bolted to the floor.

[AlohaJoe]

As a side note... I had the opportunity to work with the lightest amp on the list (Carvin Belair 50lbs) a while back and loved it. I thought it sounded great w my guitar but I was still glad somebody else had to haul it.

[D.G.]

I put a pair of neo speakers into my Twin to make it easier to move, but it's still too heavy to more around very often and it's far louder than I need for my gigs. Of course I'm one of those who keeps the guitar volume wide open and I like a bit of grit in the sound so lots of headroom is not really a consideration for me.

[barrymclark]

My JC120 is a real beast weight-wise. It sounds decent enough...but I'd sooner grab my Cube 80x due to it being half the weight and I prefer the sound of it.

[Bebop Tom]

I agree with what SamBooka mentioned. When discussing jazz amp possibilities, people will say they use a solid state amp because a Twin is too heavy. Or if they are considering a classic Fender sound, they will mention other Fenders as alternatives (Deluxe, Vibrolux, etc) because a Twin is too heavy. They don't compare the Twin Reverb's weight to a bunch of heavier rock amps. Wrong forum for that I suppose. I have a real 1965 Twin Reverb that has Weber California speakers and it weighs 70 lbs. It is getting too heavy to lug around. I just bought a Gries 35 which weighs 40 lbs.

[gianluca]

[customxke]

I think most every guitar player that's made their bones has some kind of experience with a twin. Those other amps? Not so much. That's probably why the twin illicits a universal response.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

My car needs a hoist!

[docbop]

My car needs a hoist!

I hear ya on that one.

When I had the Mesa Boogie it had a anvil case so trying to lift that thing high enough to get it in back of my car a nightmare. Then my next car had big trunk but the opening wasn't big enough to fit the Boogie in the anvil case.

[Gabe]

Buying a trolley/hand cart was the best thing I ever did in terms of getting around with equipment. I lug my Rivera Chubster around on a trolley all the time and it's not too much of a pain. Still sucks when you reach a set of stairs though.

[Jonathan0996]

[woyvel]

9.5 lbs. of ridiculously loud clean tone



5 lbs. Same relative db output as the AC30

Hey, it's my job. I swallowed the pill and now sell them.

[Spook410]

Guitar in one hand.

Speaker box or combo in the other hand.

Amp head and everything else you need in a unobtrusive small pack.

Absolutely no breaking a sweat or straining a muscle.

Anything else is just being stubborn.

[lpdeluxe]

Here ya go: Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight. 24.6 lb, 250 watts. Tell me I need a Twin. Oh, it has tubes? No wonder it's too [not "to"] heavy! You don't like the sound of solid state? I guess you haven't heard this gem.

[Jim Soloway]

I read the OP. No myth was busted. I owned a Twin Reissue for three years. It never once made it up the 15 stairs to my office. Not once (and that was when I was still doing 300 pushups a day). I finally sold it cheap because my wife wanted the space in the garage that it had permanently taken over.

[Woody Sound]

Clever post of the year - so far.

[fumblefingers]

i used to have a twin. great amp. should never have sold it. i used to be a heavyweight weight lifter and martial artist too. not so much now.

yes it's heavy, but great.

interesting minivan. not sure how a twin would work with this:

2013 Chevy Corvette Z06 | Sports Car Photos | Chevrolet

[GNAPPI]

You're right, the Twin has a bad reputation as being heavy, but they still make them.

I have a Fender Super Twin (OUT OF PRODUCTION) that weighs in at 82 pounds, and a Quad Reverb (OUT OF PRODUCTION) with 4x Celestion 60 watt speakers weighs over a hundred. REALLY heavy amps are out of production :-)

TG for heavy duty casters, dollies and ramps :-)

[disco~juice]

My back hurts after reading this...

[BEACHBUM]

You're right, the Twin has a bad reputation as being heavy, but they still make them.

You see, it just happens like a knee jerk reaction. Even though my OP states that the Twin is indeed heavy and that my only point is that in its own class it's less than average in weight the majority of responses relate to, "the Twin is to heavy". You have also pointed out another issue when you say that, "they still make them". If you were to believe the majority of threads and posts concerning these amps you would believe that the day of the heavy combo amps has passed. Yet when looking at the list I've posted (which is only a small sample of the this type of amp) it seems obvious that there is no shortage of companies still producing them and by the same token no shortage of players still wanting to buy them.