I have a Fender FM65R which I love, but the reverb is so subtle. Is this the tank itself or somthing else.
-Dream
I'm not totally sure. But isn't that an actual spring reverb? Kick it and it should sound like a bomb went off in a spring factory full of PA equipment.
There are plenty of differencies between spring reverbs. For example, some reverb tanks have just one spring, some have three or more. Some springs are very tight and some are loose. Some springs are short, some ar tall. One tight string results in a very unpleasent and metallic sound and many loose strings with dissimilar tension have a fuller, sustaining tone. I have observed that the lenght of springs does not matter as much as tension does, which is actually quite logical. Then there are ways to drive and amplify the reverb signal: Some amps push the reverb with full bandwidth, some amps attenuate low frequencies. Some amps are able to push the reverb hard and some push it just mildly. Reverb send pre or post tonestack makes difference too. Some amps distort the reverb output, some keep it clean. I prefer sustainable, full and undistorted reverb. In my opinion it sounds more natural.
I know its an actual spring reverb, I picked it up and move it once when it was one. Frightened the living *s!!t* out of me.
-Dream
My mate has an FM65R and, cranked up, the reverb is anything but subtle. Could be you've had a spring come adrift.
i second that, my bedroom fender m-80 had a subtle reverb until i discovered that one of the spring's end was not attached to the pickup. Its weight was damping the overall reverb capabilities of the tank. fix that and you'll have a great reverb! probably the tank on your fm65 is similar to mine: accutronic short tank with three springs (it's a medium reverb lenght model.)
So just open it up and check for unhooked springs.
Any precautions?
-Dream