Fender Super Reverb (AB763) distortion quality?

[VintageCharlie]

Guys, sorry, i missed that there have been more replies and very good input.

I retubed the amp and for the most part i think it is good now.

The advice on the reactive load was very good, but i am using a suhr reactive load in combination with a weber z matcher - i mostly use all my 10+ tube amps with this and i totally trust in these 2 great tools. I also hear 0 effect of the Z matcher on tone when testing amps that allow me to run directly into the reactive load vs over the z matcher.

Keep an open mind with IR'S try tons of different ones 4x10 4x12 2x12 etc
Whats sounds great with one amp can sound complete crap on another

The super reverb is looking for a 2 ohm load not sure what your reactive load is rated at
Always add a bit of room effect on the IR and cut some highs with eq

Here is a link on using IR's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i770M9pM0_k

Here's a link to amazing super reverb tone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h_iujpSUqA

Bob

What Phase inverter tube are you using? 12AX7 or 12AT7?

If the blocking distortion is an issue, you could drop the PI output couplers somewhere around 22nF-33nF to reduce it, without shaving off much audible bass.

I record amps direct into my DAW through a reactive load. My experience is that this way, after applying a good Impulse response to the signal, it sounds pretty much identical to how the recording through a mic would sound.

but the Super just sounds quite thin, a bit harsh and, well, scooped. Instead of getting a nice smooth overdrive like here (which is pretty much the tone i would hope to get from my Super Reverb):

So here's something no one talks about, what reactive load are you using? A LOT of the reactive loads on the market have very inaccurate impedance curve simulations that don't really resemble the impedance behavior of most speakers on the market. Two of the biggest offenders that are SUPER common on the marketplace are the UA OX and Two Notes Captor line of products.

The simulated impedance curves of these two devices are extremely scooped and "bathtub shaped". To my understanding, amps with more negative feedback will succumb less to this inaccuracy (as is the main purpose of applying negative feedback to a power section) but those without negative feedback in theory would sound wildly different than if they were mic'd up and connected to a real speaker because of the curve they're being shown from the reactive load.

Here are some impedance graphs that someone made of a real marshall cabinet, a suhr load and the two products mentioned above.

real cabinet and suhr.PNG

ox and captor curves.PNG

I highlighted the impedance curves and you can see just how not realistic the OX and Two Notes curves are. These curves from what I understand represent the behavior of an amp with negative feedback, thus making any amp that runs through this load box more like an amp with negative feedback. I imagine an AC-30 will sound awful through one of these boxes.

It could be that this is what you're experiencing. The problem being, the suhr box is fixed at 8 ohms so you can't test it on your Super