My Surprising Journey with Vintage Fender Amps

As an amp tech and vintage Fender amp collector for the last 30 years, I’ve been exposed to more guitars and amplifiers than I can possibly remember. But I do remember the best and worst ones. I’d like to share some ups and downs of my encounters with Leo Fender’s amps. I hope these examples inspire you to experiment and find your own joy with vintage Fender amps.The Fender Super ReverbIn my 20s, I was all about maximum punch and output. I always went for efficient loudspeakers with a strong attack and a bassy punch. I still regret selling an almost-mint, transitional 1968 Super Reverb loaded with CTS alnico speakers in the late ’90s. It wasn't until 20 long years later that I started to appreciate these speakers after coming across similar amps. My original amp, which first belonged to my brother, had a beautiful contrast between the brown, naturally aged grille cloth and the silver-sparkling aluminum frame around the speaker baffle. The CTS alnicos with the blue square magnet are famous for their low efficiency and vocal tone, with a dominant upper midrange and great touch sensitivity. They are perfect for that clean, touch-sensitive Mark Knopfler tone. These speakers, found in black-panel Supers and early silver-panels up to around 1970, are definitely worth trying out.The Trouble with the BassmanNext up is my complicated relationship with the black-panel Bassman. I had read a lot about it and knew it had a great reputation among both bass and guitar players. I first tried a 1964 Bassman, which was deafeningly loud. I found it almost impossible to dial in a warm tone. I thought the massive 2x12' enclosed cabinet with a pair of punchy Oxford 12T6 speakers was too much for a regular electric guitar. The attack was brutal from the diode-rectified 50-watt power amp with large power and output transformers. I also realized I’m dependent on reverb, which the Bassman lacked.There wasn’t much I liked about the black-panel Bassman until I came across another model, an AB165, also from late 1964. I inspected the schematics and learned that the AA864 and AB165 circuits were different. The AB165’s “normal” channel uses an extra 12AX7 preamp tube, where both triode gain stages boost the signal. In the AA864, only the “bass” channel uses this preamp tube. This means the AB165 is capable of serious preamp distortion, but only if pushed hard, which still made it too loud.“The attack was brutal from the diode-rectified 50-watt power amp with large power and output transformers.”I then hooked up a 1x12' extension cabinet with an 8-ohm Eminence Reignmaker speaker that had a built-in attenuator. The impedance mismatch and attenuated speaker lowered the headroom significantly, allowing me to get heavily cranked tones at moderate levels—even quieter than a Deluxe Reverb, but with more distortion. With an SG plugged directly into the AB165, getting AC/DC tones was no problem. You can also push the AA864 into distortion this way, but it won’t deliver the same amount of preamp distortion.The Vibrolux ReverbSince I love Super Reverbs, I’ve owned and played many Vibrolux Reverbs, too. With two 10' speakers instead of four, plus smaller transformers, it’s a little brother to the tall Super Reverb. Its reduced weight and size are a big plus, but at the same time, the fewer speakers represent a risk worth mentioning. I’ve serviced several Vibroluxes with blown speakers, particularly Jensens and Oxfords, which have low wattage ratings. The weak paper cones and smaller coils of these delicate original speakers are easily damaged if you hit them with too much bass and volume from the 35-watt, 6L6-powered Vibrolux.One time, I installed a 12' Eminence Swamp Thang along with a 10' Celestion Gold in an early-’70s Vibrolux Reverb—the original Utah speakers were too flat and bright for my tastes. I used the original baffle and simply drilled new holes for the 12' speaker screws. Those of you who are familiar with these speakers can imagine how much more powerful and punchy the amp became. The Swamp Thang, in particular, is famous for its chunky and fat tone—never muddy or brittle, no matter what I threw at it with guitars, pedals, and amp settings. When I had this amp, I used heavy.012-gauge strings and tuned down a half-step. The low-end response was impressive when I hit the bass strings and played 12-bar Chuck Berry rock ’n’ roll. I had a lot of fun with this amp, as it easily outperformed larger amps. For low-volume occasions, I simply disengaged the 12' speaker and kept my friendship with bandmates and the audience.The Princeton ReverbFinally, I have to mention the time I came across a great player’s silver-panel Princeton Reverb that taught me a few tricks I have used countless times. When I bought it, it had an ultra-light Celestion Century Vintage 12' neodymium speaker and a Deluxe Reverb output transformer. This Princeton Reverb was still super portable but played twice as loud as an original silver-panel equivalent. I regret selling this amp, and since then, I’ve had many Princeton Reverbs in my basement that have received the same mods for customers and friends. I’ve yet to hear of anyone who has rolled these amps back to original specs after trying these modifications.