Used value of Tremoverb combos in UK/Europe?

[Le Chat Noir]

Hi, my name's Teddy, I'm new here - been using Orange for the past 8 or so years and will never part with my AD30 as it's my perfect mid gain amp, but I've recently found myself craving a thick, meaty high gain amp to add to my stable. I love the tone of bands like Unsane - think heavy alt rock rather than metal. I've spotted a couple of Tremoverbs knocking around and have read up about these amps - seems like they'd be perfect for what I do! However, the sellers seem to be asking a lot for them - one wants 1200GBP and the other is asking 850GBP. Considering I see a lot of Rectoverb combos go for significantly less than these prices it seems a bit high. Was just wondering if anyone could give me a guide price for a good condition 2x12 Tremoverb combo in the UK or Europe? Thanks!

 

[LesPaul70]

Don't get Trem-O-Verbs and Rect-O-Verbs mixed up - two different animals. Apples and oranges.

TOV is one of the finest Recto versions ever. Some people on this board swear by them.

ROV, on the other hand, is just a plain Single Rectifier in combo format. Not exactly coveted or sought after. More people are trying to get rid of one than get one. Don't look at their prices if you are after a TOV.

Also, do you plan to gig with the amp? If so, I would suggest getting a head & cab. Or anything but a 2x12 combo. It will kill your back.

 

[Le Chat Noir]

Yeah, I'm aware that Rectoverbs and Tremoverbs are different animals - was just looking at those for a rough guide price as Tremoverbs don't come up very often any more!

I'm not too fussed about the weight as I'm used to lugging heavy gear around - including a flightcased Orange PPC412, which weigh 110 pounds even without the flightcase! If it's too heavy I'd consider a speaker swap for Century Vintage neos as I prefer them over V30s anyway, similar vibe overall but no upper mid spike.

Anyhow... what do you think is a reasonable price? I've seen Tremoverbs go in the US for anything from 600-1000 dollars, but of course Mesas are a lot dearer over here to begin with so it's hard to fathom a good price just from looknig at what they sell for Stateside...

 

[boss4]

Mesa still does the Rectoverb, the Tremoverb is a discountinued model. They sound different, but the difference in the price have this consideration also. As for the prices in the UK I cannot help you but in the classified section you have a topic just for the UK people, ask there. Remember you can buy one from the U.S. and put a transformer for your current voltage, I'm planning doing that myself.

 

[94Tremoverb]

The prices you've seen are accurate. £800 to £1200 in the UK depending on age, condition and grille colour. The heads are worth the same or even slightly more - it's the weight of the combo that brings the values down (and makes them hard to sell on Ebay etc because shipping is such a hassle) even though you get a couple of speakers thrown in .

Not sure why that seems expensive, given the quality and power of the amp, and the price new! (Around £2000 ten years ago.) It's totally different amp from the Rectoverb, 'twice as much amp' in several ways, for a lot less than twice the price.

The cost of shipping an amp that big and heavy from the US, plus customs duty and the cost of a new transformer, is going to make importing one prohibitive. I wouldn't bother, they aren't very rare over here.

 

[Le Chat Noir]

Thanks for your advice! I have an opportunity to buy one fairly locally for 850 so I'll mull it over. It looks like it's in really good condition, it's the standard black grille and tolex with no wear visible externally.

 

[94Tremoverb]

I would definitely take that - you're unlikely to do better.

The one thing to check is that the LDRs are all working - it's the weak spot of these amps, and although changing them isn't a really big or expensive job for a tech to do, it's a hassle and not something you can easily do yourself if you're not good at soldering work on PCBs. They don't fail *that* often, but there are 25 of them in the amp so there is a higher chance that one or more will go than with a simpler amp.

Basically, check that all the channel switching functions work properly - including the 'Channel Cloning' switch on the back panel, the FX loop switching, the reverb and the tremolo (you can use the channel footswitch to test these even though it says 'for channel only' on the switch ). The channel cloning should change the sound of all modes except Blues, and the Orange presence control should work on the Red channel when red is cloned to vintage (this isn't a fault).

If all that checks out OK, make sure you can lift it!

 

[Le Chat Noir]

Thanks again 94Tremoverb, that's all really helpful advice - I'd read about the LDR problem, but it sounds like a very reliable amp otherwise.

One annoying thing is that down here in Devon there is a serious lack of good techs - there are two reputable guys locally that I know of, but both are always incredibly busy... my amp waited a year for a service last time I needed one! I'm fairly handy with a soldering iron but don't like to poke around in amps much!

The weight, from what I can gather, is about 100lbs so 45kg - this sounds very heavy for a combo but I've shifted worse in the past! My current combo is 38kg and no problem for me. I'm pretty fit.

If the worst comes to the worst, V30s weigh 4.7kg each, and Celestion Vintage Centurys weigh 1.66kg each - so I could get the weight under 40kg with a speaker swap Plus I generally prefer the Vintage Centurys, they sound quite like V30s minus the upper mid spike.

Finally, is it possible to identify the age of a Tremoverb from a serial number or anything? The seller says he's unsure of age but if I could ask him to check that might be good. Is there a particular production run that is considered the best?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[94Tremoverb]

No problem .

You can date them roughly from the serial number, which is under the chassis near the power cable. They share the same serial number series as the standard Dual Rectifier heads, so they don't start at zero - they start somewhere in the 3000s (my '94 is just under 4000) and went up to about 15000 or so in 2000 when they were discontinued, I think - so it looks like about 2000 per year from '94 until 2000 on average. You can get an exact date (month/year) inside the chassis, it's written on by hand in marker pen.

There is no actual difference in the amps - there is no 'revision history' like there is for the DR heads - but it seems that Mesa may have had a bad batch of LDRs around the end of the production run in '99 or 2000. From hearing a few (but not many) I would say that my old '94 sounds better than the later ones, but that may be a) wishful thinking/guitarist "older is better mojo", b) the extremely well-broken-in speakers (it was thrashed by its last owner), or c) the NOS tubes I've fitted it with!

Yes, it weighs 100lbs - but it's actually not as bad to move as that sounds because of the very nice wheels and end handles - although remember that the top handle is a steering device for when it's on its wheels, not for lifting it!