It seems like a no-brainer to me that they would build a few of these legendary amplifiers. Do I consider it to be a big market for them...no. However, Marshall's most expensive amp is the JCM800 2203 which is the legendary amp that built metal in the 80's. it sells for 3400.00. Other amp company's build circuit board amps for the consumer market but also build hand wired professional series amps that do have a big price tag. I just think it's time for Fender to recognize it's heritage a little further and pick a couple of the piggybacks and reproduce them. The used market value currently is rather expensive. You'd think they would put a few dollars into a production line of these beasts and set a few up in shops. Just build a few hand wired, top of the line, flagship amps to celebrate your heritage and market the Fender name more intently.

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Good answer! See Fender...…...

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Never understood why the 6g6b Bassman has never been reissued. Plus so many other legendary amps in the old range. They seem more intent on banging out yet more strats and teles. And those grey suited dull combos

The Brownface sound is the sound of early Surf. I have a Winfield Tremor, which is essentially the same circuit as a Brownface Princeton and the Surf is perfect. It would be great to have some larger Brownface amps to choose from. Fender could do it fairly easily.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

SurfBeat wrote:

Way back around 1996, a local celebrity (who has used Fender equipment since around 1959 or 60 and use to endorse Fender) and I went to the Fender lab in Scottsdale, AZ.

Bruce Zinky was the head honcho at the facility and tried to persuade my friend to replace his brownface amp with a new Fender amp, the Tonemaster, a custom shop 100W amp that was about the size of a Bandmaster, blonde/ox blood covering.

My friend played it and put it aside, stating he would only use it for a boat anchor. I thought the Tonemaster sounded way mo betta than the 61 amp he uses for shows. I was offered a huge discount, about $500 for a $2400 amp, so I bought it, thinking it was a fantastic replacement for my 61 Showman. Then, a few months later I played it with a band whose leader was using a Blackface 66 Showman. The Tonemaster had no personality in comparison, no tone to my ears. Plastic sounding.

I immediately bought the 66 from the guy who I met at the show because he did not like the tone.

Although I usually use one of my 61 Showman's or 60 Vibrasonic, to my ears, the 66 has much more headroom and better tone.

The morale of this story is that Fender may make great guitars now, much better than my 59/60 Strat, but in my opinion, they cannot not make an amp that sounds as good as an old brownface, or blackface, or silverface, except for maybe the Vibrolux.

But, that is just my opinion and not an attempt to state my amp is mo betta than yours.

The problem is not that they can’t make amps as good as the old ones. That’s simply a matter of recreating the old circuits using high quality parts. The problem is that almost all products are “thrifted” by cost accountants whom strive to increase margins by using less expensive components. It happens with cars, guitars, amps, TVs: you name it.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

stratdancer wrote:

Agreed. This would be an undertaking of pride and let the chips fall where they may as far as price is concerned. People source the right components and build these today so why not Fender. These amps wouldn't be for QVC. They are for discriminating tastes with deeper pockets. They built them before and made money.

One good thing about tube amplifiers is that they don’t require extensive tooling in order to make a production change. Designing and fabricating a faceplate would be required and the chassis would require the right-sized openings to accommodate the transformers. A build sheet would have to be created and parts provisioned, but the historic designs provide a great starting point for the industrial engineering required.

I don’t think it would end up being an inexpensive amp, the hand-wired Deluxe Reverb hits the street at about $2,400, but I think it would be doable. Once people in our time got to hear these amps in action, they might find that they truly love that sound. IIRC, Freddie King’s Hideaway was played through a Brownface Showman and that was an awesome R&B sound. I know that my little Princeton clone sounds fantastic for Surf, R&B sorts of things, etc. and the bias varying tremolo is wonderful.

One other thought, with piggyback amps, is that they might just prove popular with the aging population base among guitarists. I’m in my sixties, quite healthy, free of back pain, and I want to stay that way. Most of my amps are little, grab and go amps with a single 12” speaker, weighing somewhere between 30 and 40 pounds. My Twin was converted to a Showman lookalike years ago because it is a lot easier to load into my pickup than the original configuration.

Actually, I think a 35 watt, Brownface Tremolux might prove to be a very desirable amp. It would be a great size for many gigs and the sound is classic. Put a tank in front of it and you’d have a Surf juggernaut sized for the gigs most of us play.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Tqi wrote:

If weight is a problem, Neo speakers are also a good solution that finally seem to be gaining more traction.

True.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Times change. How many folks need. Big cab and a 100w head, especially when you're over 50 and bar gigs and small clubs is the best gig available. I just sold a great 4x12 for 200 dollars and the head is still in the shop looking lonely. Plus small combo amps are great these days, lots of choice, loud and full of great features

This is a great thread, I would love to see these amps reissued. What if they only made them with a modern circuit board, would you guys still want to buy one?

I don't want to hijack this thread, but since neo speakers were brought up, I do have a question. I am about to buy an Eminence EPS-12C neo guitar speaker, but the connectors are round instead of having the normal prong style ends.

Could someone please PM me and let me know if there is a way to make this work? Anyway, continue on with the brownface talk.

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 14:11:43