From larrys–(at)–ol.com Tue Aug 25 10:35:30 CDT 1998
Article: 123410 of alt.guitar.amps
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From: larrys–(at)–ol.com (LarrySB)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.amps
Subject: Re: Silverface…. WHY?
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Date: 25 Aug 1998 03:23:09 GMT
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<<< Can someone point me to any on-line photos so I can see the differences and perhaps come sort of chronology? >>>
Hmm, I see you are outside the states. I’m only saying so because some idiot
will pop-off not knowing that there are other countries on the planet.
The historical and cosmetic distinctions coincide. Each major change in
Fender’s amp design was generally accompanied by a change in cosmetics.
There are MANY books you can find that cover the history of Fender and guitar
amps. One source of some pictures and LOTs of schematics are the Groovetubes
amp book and Gerald Webers Hip Amp reference. Other books aren’t as technical,
but have lots of pictures and history.
Anyhow, the Fender amp era’s go like this:
tweed – so named because they were covered with a tweed like fabric, which
fender called “luggage linen.” 1948-1960
brown – these were the first amps with upside down chassis and controls up
front. Usually covered with brown tolex (vinyl cloth), though some had cream
colored too.
blackface – these tend to be the most commonly discussed. They were covered
with black tolex, and the control panels were painted black. These amps
sported sophisticated electronics and tone controls, most models came with
vibrato effect and many models came with reverb as well. 1964-1967.
silverface – most models were the same as the blackface models, but a number of
engineering changes heralded these models. The front panels were bright
aluminum. Over their run, the silver era saw a lot of changes mostly to squeeze
out more power. Mostly reguarded as players, they are built well, and most of
them can be modded to BF era schematics, if the owner so chooses. 1967-1980.
This was the end of hand-wired construction.
After 1980, Fender re-introduced the BF era cosmetics, came out with the much
hated “red-knobs”, and played around with different types of cosmetics.
Today, they make amps on PC boards, which sound OK, but will probably not hold
up after years of road use.
So, there you go.
—
Dr. Nuketopia
Compiling at this very moment.
Read the Blue Glow in Tubes FAQ at http://www.persci.com/~larrysb
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