Loud can be Beautiful
But that’s not all there is to Fender. It has been equally influential in guitar amplifiers. This influence can be seen in the designs emulated by any amplifier companies. In fact, Marshall Amplification got its start by producing direct copies of Fender amplifiers.
Fender Guitar Amplifiers have long been the backbone of music history, and have become an icon of quality along the way. They can be found in nearly every live setup, recording studios or garage band practice rooms. They’ve earned the reputation for being a touch, dependable amp.
Pre-Fender Electric Instrument Company
Leo Fender started producing amplifiers around 1945. These early amps were manufactured under the K&F Manufacturing Corp. and are now extremely rare. The first Fender amps came in three size options: 1 X 8 inches, 1 X 10 inches and 1Z 10 inches. These were known as the first true “Fender” amp0s, though the Fender name was not adopted for the company until 1946.
Early Fender Amps
Fender actually began producing the amps that bore the Fender name in 1946. The first line of Fender amps was the Woodie amps that continued production until 1947. These were replaced the following year by the more popular Tweed line of amps. The name was derived from the tweed covering that Fender used until 1960.
Blonde and Brownface
Fender started producing the Blond and Brownface amps in 1959, which were the first amps to use Tolex to cover the amp cabinet. The difference between the two lines was the color of Tolex used for each. These amps marked a number of advantages in Fender Guitar Amplifiers technology, particularly the stand alone reverb spring which was introduced in 1961. Fender also began using a silicon rectifier to decrease the heat being caused by the amp tubes.
Blackface
Blackface amps replaced the Brownface and Blonde models In 1964. The changes to the amps were largely cosmetic during this period. This was when the notable change of name occurred – from “Fender Electric Instruments” to “Fender Musical Instruments”. This amp line ran until 1967.
Silverface
The Silverface amps started production in 1967 and continued until 1981, the name having been derived from the brushed aluminum face plate. Although a lot of these models were offshoots of the Blackface models, some design changes to the newer models were considered to be less desirable. These changes varied from model to model, with the Twin Reverb and Super Reverb receiving significant changes to the circuitry. Models like the Deluxe Reverb received only superficial changes.
Modern Fender Amplifiers
Around 1982, what can be loosely considered as the modern Fender amps with a reintroduction of Blackface cosmetics, came to being and started production. There have been other lines like II and the Red Knob Series, but many of the amps produced since then have been continuations of already produced amp models and cosmetics. While Fender does continue to add innovative features to many of their amps, they also frequently produce reissues or models based on their older designs.
Today you can find many variations of these older designs with some or more upgrades. One thing is sure, though. The same meticulous quality that brought Fender Guitar amplifiers to the top can still be found in the newer models.