Having been bitten by the early '60s (brown era) Fender amp bug, I've gone a bit nuts these past few years and acquired these:

'63 Fender Showman - 85 Watts, re-covered in brown tolex and oxblood w/gold stripe grill cloth by previous owner. I re-covered my 1x15 Tone Ring cab to match the head.

'62 Fender Pro (1x15, 40 Watts) with '64 Fender Reverb Unit

'62 Fender Bandmaster chassis in a custom 2x10 custom combo cab made by Armadillo Amp Works in Texas. Not vintage correct, but suits my home needs/portabiiity for playing out. It's like a Fender Super 2x10, but not.

Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition - 1x12 Fender designed Eminence speaker, powerful 12 Watts. It can get loud if you want it to.

Most recently, I bought a Fender Blues Junior IV Limited Edition "Western" - 15 Watts, 1x12" Cannabis Rex speaker for something a little different. I had a Fender Blues Junior years ago (Lacquered Tweed) and the latest iteration has made some improvements that I thought it would be fun to get another - plus, I love the Western tolex. Onboard reverb seems much improved over previous iterations, but it I want to get my surf on with the Blues Jr., all I need to do is pair it up with my Surfy Bear Classic.

1995(?) Fender "Custom" Vibrolux - 40 Watts, Fromel Mods done to fix all the production-release issues (hum, fizz, reverb not working). Has a SurfyBear Surfypan reverb pan in it. Pictured here with my Vox AC15C1-TV (15 Watts, 1x12 Celestion Greenback spearker) and Basil the Wonder Dog.

The Showman is a great outdoor playing amp. Even at home with volume on 3, it's not overbearing and it has a lovely airy tone. It's different tonally from my other brown era amps. I'd say it's a hybrid of brown and black era Fenders. It's really a guilty pleasure to enjoy this for home use because it's quite a beast to take out as I'm closing in on 60 this Fall.

The Pro is perfectly gig-worthy and pairs up nicely with the '64 Fender Reverb Unit or a SurfyBear Classic or my Surfybear Reverb Compact.

The Bandmaster is also perfectly gig-worthy. I may restore it into a blonde head and 2x12 cab configuration someday but I'm loving it in its current configuration.

The "Custom" Vibrolux is also a gig-worthy beast. I found this one used at Guitar Center for like $700 a few years back. They may have gone up in price since then. I shelled out another $400 to get it working right with the Fromel Mods installed (shipped it out to John Fromel in Seattle). Worth every penny to me. I recently had to decide what to sell on - this one or my '63 Reissue Vibroverb. As much as I loved the Vibroverb, the "Custom" Vibrolux (with all its fixes and upgrades) was the keeper.

The Vox AC15C1-TV is fantastic for home use/recording and likely gigging, however, it's a heavy beast. I rarely take it out.

If you want a brown era (early '60s Fender) amp for surf, I can't recommend the modern Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition. It's handwired (if that matters to you), convenient portability-wise, and it has that brown/early '60s tone.

For a time, I had a '62 Bassman head/cab, since sold to fellow Surf Guitar 101 member, DeathTide. I never compared them at full volume but for home use (3 or 4 on Volume), they were identical to my ears. Now and again I get the urge to get another Bassman as they're fantastic - then I remember my Princeton really is all I need (plus tremolo)! Pairs up well with my SurfyBear Classic or any of my reverb pedals. I got lucky and got a used one at a decent price. Deals can be had if you're on the lookout for one.

I also had, for a time, a Princeton Reverb Limited Edition and I highly recommend it if you prefer the Fender black amp era and of course, a Fender Deluxe Reverb is another solid choice.

The doofus formerly known as Snorre
Surfysonic on YouTube
World Famous Philistines: 2014 - 2015
K39: 2013 - 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv9JADQ4ukw

Last edited: Apr 23, 2023 11:52:17

Thanks! Well, the Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition does not have an onboard reverb tank, so yes, you would need either an outboard reverb unit (i.e., Fender '63 Reissue Reverb Unit, SurfyBear Classic (or Metal, or Compact), or a reverb effects pedal of your choosing.

If you meant the Princeton Reverb, well, the onboard reverb is decent enough but if you really want that surfy drip, I personally prefer an outboard reverb unit. However, I played surf music with onboard reverb just fine for many years before I got outboard reverb units.

The doofus formerly known as Snorre
Surfysonic on YouTube
World Famous Philistines: 2014 - 2015
K39: 2013 - 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv9JADQ4ukw

Blackface Princeton Reverb (the 65 model) if you're going to leave your apartment with it. If not, Champ/Vibro Champ and a 6g15.

I use my Princeton in my house with people at home all the time. It's not that loud at the lowest level. If that's too loud then get a Mesa Mark V:25 and use headphones at home and have plenty of power when you go out. The reverb is about on par with the Princeton. I'd still rather the Princeton because of the tremolo.

Tqi wrote:

It honestly depends if you want "a" surf sound or "the" surf sound

This deserves its own thread! What a brilliant distinction. I prefer a mix of 70% harmonics-laden tinny "classic" tone mixed with 30% "tight with more bass" modern tone.

Steve's old '62 Bassman is one of two main amps, the other one being a '62 Twin. Anyone ever notice if you took the bee off of the logo it would say assman?! haha! I don't even know what the original question was but I love seeing Steve's amps with their cool custom tolex.

Daniel Deathtide

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Last edited: Feb 02, 2024 16:15:01

Last year I bought a Blues Jr LTD Tweed with a Jensen and it was awful for bedroom or for gigging. Not sure if I bought a dud but the onboard reverb was awful and even with my surfybear metal it was like playing through a tin can. Way too bright and boxy. The other day I walked into guitar center(the only music store in town) and they had two 65’ TRRI. One new and one used, I flew home immediately and grabbed the tweed so I could trade. With a $600 price difference I traded for the used model. Played on both of them and they sounded no different. The thing is heavy and loud as ever, definitely not a bedroom amp. But it was too good to pass up and now I have a twin. My bedroom sounds like 1965 with the surfybear on top of the onboard reverb/tremolo(vibrato) which also sounds great. One day I might look into trading for a Princeton or Deluxe which is definitely more ideal but for now this thing is a dream come true, finally got the sound.

Meant to ask… does anyone know if the SurfyBear Classic sounds better with a twin than the Metal? I purchased the metal as soon as it came out and it’s been played through many amps, but I have yet to try or even see a Classic. I remember surfer joe saying the pedal you need depends on what you’re playing (amp, guitar, what kind of strings, etc). The Metal sounds phenomenal and has volume control, and I know the Classic will cut your signal like a true fender outboard unit, but I also remember Ryan from 60 cycle hum saying the metal sounded like the original fender unit better, but I couldn’t be a judge since I’ve never played a Classic, let alone on a Twin

let me know! Thanks everyone

Last edited: May 28, 2023 19:19:26