Fender Super Reverb "Blackface" 4×10 (CTS Alnico)
Fender Musical Instruments · 1965
What It Is
The Fender Super Reverb is a 40-watt combo amplifier, and its open-back 4×10 speaker configuration is one of the most musically distinctive cabinet designs in guitar history. The blackface-era Super Reverb (1963–1967) was loaded with CTS Alnico 10-inch speakers — Alnico referring to the magnet material (an alloy of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt) rather than the more common ceramic magnets used in later production. Alnico magnets result in a softer, more compressed transient response and a warmer high-frequency rolloff. The open-back design adds further spaciousness. This is the amp and cabinet setup most associated with the clean American blues tone.
Tonal Character
Wide, open, and extraordinarily musical. The Alnico speakers respond to pick dynamics in a way that ceramic-loaded cabinets don't — there's a softness and bloom to note attacks that feels organic rather than mechanical. The open back adds spatial width and removes the tight 'punchy' quality of a sealed cabinet. Four 10-inch speakers provide surface area and spread without the mass of a 12-inch driver. Bass is less tight than a closed-back — it breathes rather than punches.
Found In
| Platform | Model Names |
|---|---|
| HeadRush | 4X10 BLACK SR |
Videos
Manual
Manual not yet available — check back soon.
Famous Uses
- →Stevie Ray Vaughan — defining clean tone (used Vibroverb, same driver concept)
- →Eric Clapton — various periods
- →Albert King
- →The preferred clean tone cabinet for Texas blues players