Fender

Any search engine can provide a wealth of information on Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender (1909-1991) and the Fender Electric Instrument Company. The son of orange growers in Anaheim and Fullerton, California, Leo developed a fascination and affinity for the new field of electronics. After losing a series of clerk-type jobs in Depression-era California, Leo borrowed $600 and started the Fender Radio Service. In addition to repairing radios, musicians and band leaders were coming to Leo and asking him to build public address systems.

After World War II, rather than working on just radios, Leo decided that a more profitable vision of the future would be to build and sell electric musical instruments and amplifiers for a nascent electric music scene. Leo started a company he named the "Fender Electric Instrument Company" (FEIC).

Fender created a large array of electric music equipment. Most of the Fender company's products are not germane to our focus, but many are documented here to help create context and understanding. Below is a basic breakdown of the early FEIC and their products (as pertains to the roots of LOUD and HEAVY). We are aware and need to inform you that there are transition periods. Before the Tweed era, Fender was just getting its start and was more of a boutique operation. Between the Tweed Era and the Blackface era, there was a brief period called the "Brownface". We happen to believe that if you're attempting to understand the pedigree of loud and heavy music, there's little point in discussing minutiae that really, only hardcore Fender afficionados like to get into. There are plenty of other places for that kind of discussion to be found.

With respect to dating the eras of the FEIC, please note that there really aren't definitive dates, because Leo Fender was very frugal, doing everything possible to make sure that there was no waste. Tweed era materials, circuit designs, and production practices bleed into Brownface which in turn bleed into Blackface. Blackface era materials bleed into Silverface. In this case, it's better to think of the different Fender eras as defined by their peaks, as opposed to their edges.

Amp Circuit Categories

Fender categorized their amplifier circuits together with their amplifier models beginning in the 1950s. Here's how their categorization works. Think of it as a guide for linking the model names of their amps (like a "Deluxe", or a "Twin") to the associated circuit designs.

First digit = decade built	Second alphabetical = circuit version	Third (and/or fourth) digit/s = amplifier model
"5" = 1950s.	"E" = E version	"3" = Deluxe

• 1: Champ
• 2: Princeton
• 3: Deluxe
• 4: Super
• 5: Pro
• 6: Bassman
• 7: Bandmaster
• 8: Twin
• 9: Tremolux
• 10: Harvard
• 11: Vibrolux
• 12: Concert
• 13: Vibrasonic
• 14: Showman
• 15: Stand-alone Reverb unit
• 16: Vibroverb

So:

• A "5E3" would be a 1950s (Tweed), Deluxe, version "E".
• A "5F1" is a 1950s (Tweed) Champ, version "F".
• The "6G15" is a 1960s standalone reverb unit, circuit version "G".

Tweed Era (1948-1959)

The Tweed era of FEIC is characterized by lower powered amplifiers (40 watts and below), that for all practical purposes established the Fender brand into the music community. Yes, we're aware that Fender made amps beginning in 1946, but these amps tended to be what we would call "boutique" amps today. They have little to no schematic information, and didn't fall under what became more of a "factory line" manner of production for Fender. Prior to the Tweed period, the amplifier cabinets tended to have no fabric covering. The Tweed era begins in 1948 when Leo started covering the amp cabinets in what is now popularly known as the "Tweed" covering. In fabric terms, the fabric itself is not an actual tweed fabric, but a yellow-and-brown step-laddered textured fabric. Internet searches will show many examples. The other characteristics of the Tweed era include amplifier circuit designs that, have only single volume controls per channel, and which are relatively low headroom. The low headroom circuits resulted in the amplifiers that wander into overdrive very early in the sweep of the volume control, usually even as low as when the volume control would be set above 2 or 3.

Notable Tweed Amps

• 1948: Deluxe
• 1948: Professional
• 1948: Dual Professional
• 1948: Princeton
• 1948: Champion
• 1952: Bassman (5B6 circuit)
• 1955: Champ (5C1 circuit)
• 1955: Deluxe (5E3 circuit)
• 1955: Tremolux (5G9 circuit)
• 1955: Twin (5E8-A circuit)
• 1957: Bassman (5F6-A circuit)*

So this is a pretty impressive list. There's actually more that can be listed here, but doesn't add to the current conversation. The first interesting development and jumping off point into LOUD and HEAVY happens with the 1957 model (5F6-A circuit) Bassman. (A second "jumping off point" occured with what was likely a Fender 6G2 Princeton, but we'll get to that later...) The Bassman was originally developed to amplify the Fender Precision Bass. Guitarists also plugged into it and decided that it sounded good. Really good. It sounded so good that when Jim Marshall was asked by Pete Townshend and other members of The Who to develop a 100-watt amplifier, the 1957 5F6-A circuit served as the blueprint for the 45-watt JTM, which went on to be developed into the 100-watt "Marshall Stack" that just about everyone knows about today.

Brownface Era (1959-1963)

The "Brownface Era" isn't terribly long, and is considered by most a "transitional" period. Possibly the best well-known from the Brownface era is the "Tremolux".

The Tweed Era is best characterized by amplifier designs that were modeled off of the original patented amplifier design by Western Electric. There are other things that characterize the Tweed Era: amplifiers that were quick to break up due to low headroom, high compression rates inherent to the amplifiers due to their design, again, as mentioned before, low volume amplifier/circuit designs. The Tweed Era is also characterized by strictly combo amplifiers.

It really takes the Brownface Era for the advent of separating the amplifier from the speaker cabinet to take hold, but the Brownface Era is also characterized by a greater number of entrants to the amplifier market. In 1960-1961, Vox became competitive with the release of the AC-30 in Great Britain and by the use of Vox amplifiers by the Beatles until Brian Epstein ceased being the band's manager.

So "Brownface" can be thought of representing a time where Fender was reimagining their product offering and what FEIC might be as a company moving into the future. Most of the things that characterize the "Blackface Era" actually get worked out in the Brownface era: louder amps, cleaner, higher headroom, and experiments in separate amplifier and speaker cabinet configurations.

Blackface Era (1963-1967)

The Blackface era is oftentimes considered the "classic" era of Fender. It's a point in time when the company was, by most, considered to have been at its highest level of technical execution and musical expressiveness. The improvements imagined during the Brownface period reach their higher levels of execution, and are reflected in more sophisticated amplifier circuit designs. This era is called "Blackface" because Fender introduced many stylistic innovations that represented a radical break with its previous "Tweed" and "Brownface" eras:

1. Amplifier control panels were changed from a stamped chrome facing to a much cleaner screen-painted white-on-black
2. Tweed Chickenhead and Brownface unadorned knobs were replaced with numbered "hat-brim" knobs
3. Better filtering with retooled circuit designs to make the amplifiers as non-distorting as possible
4. Tweed fabric and "blonde" tolex covering on amplifiers was replaced with a textured black tolex
5. Previously-employed oxblood speaker grill cloth was replaced with silver and black-and-white threaded speaker grill cloth
6. Control knobs were labeled from 1 through 10, whereas in the Tweed era, the control numbering was labeled 1 through 12.

So as it turns out Nigel Tufnel had nothing over Leo Fender, whose amps didn't just go to 11. Leo's amps went to 12.

Like their Tweed and Brownface predecessors, most Blackface-era amplifiers did not have a "mids" tone control. The Twin Reverb and the Super Reverb were built with mid controls. In addition, the Dual Showman from this era sports a mid control on the tremolo channel.

As documented by Sam Dunn in the video series "Metal Evolution", the evolution of heavy music might not have ever happened without Dick Dale, the Surf Music movement, and the first incarnations of the Fender 100 watt Dual Showman that Dick pushed Leo Fender to build so that he, Dale, could play loud. Very loud.

Leo Fender sold FEIC to CBS in January 1965 for $13 million. Leo had exhausted himself running both FEIC, and fighting a strep infection he'd caught in the 1950's. As a result, he'd been unable to regain his health. After the sale, Leo was able to focus on himself. He changed doctors soon after the sale and was cured. Leo then, in 1971, joined Tri-Sonix, funding it. In 1975 he became president and changed the name to Music Man. In 1979, Leo left Music Man and joined old partners (most notably George Fullerton) to form the G&L (George and Leo) Music Company.

Notable Blackface Amps

• 1960: Showman
• 1963: Bandmaster (AB763 circuit)
• 1963: Super Reverb
• 1964: Princeton

Other Blackface Amps

(need dates!)

• Bassman
• Pro Reverb
• Deluxe Reverb
• Showman
• Princeton
• Vibroverb
• Vibrolux
• Tremolux
• Bandmaster

Silverface Era (1967-1981)

With CBS now in full control, the Silverface Era is characterized by a a few things:

With FEIC (Renamed "Fender Musical Instrument Company", or FMIC) now under CBS corporate control, there is broad opinion that the company's previous commitment to quality changed. On the larger scale:

• FEIC is renamed the Fender Musical Instrument Company (FMIC).
• Quality Control took a back seat to the other values of cost-cutting and profit-taking by CBS.

There was also, again, a very visible stylistic change to the presentation of the amps, and that was with chrome or brushed-aluminum faceplates on the amplifiers, combined with new turquoise screen printing of the amplifier model names on the faceplates. The amplifiers continued to be wrapped in black tolex. While the older Blackface grillcloth continued to be broadly used for a short time, eventually a new "Silverface" grill cloth came out with turquoise threading in it to match with the turquoise printing that had been added to the faceplates. For most aficionados, and despite no such empirical evidence, Silverface amplifiers are considered "less musical" and "less clean" than their Blackface counterparts. Many musicians and tinkerers have purchased cheaper Silverface amplifiers have retrofitted those Silverface-circuit amps back to Blackface specifications. And despite what is listed above regarding quality, and probably due to many amp retrofits, as Fender Silverface amplifiers have begun to age into a "vintage" status, the "low quality" reputation of these amplifiers is being reconsidered.

One short-lived style innovation of the Silverface era was the "drop-edge". The drop-edge consists of aluminum channeling placed along the surround of the grillcloth facade on both combo and head-only amplifiers.

As collectibles, Fender musical instruments and amplifiers from 1965 and earlier (from when Leo owned FEIC outright) are held in much higher esteem than those that came after Leo sold FEIC to CBS.

Not all should be considered dark for the Fender Silverface era:

1. Midrange tone controls were added to compliment the existing Treble and Bass tone controls on most of Fender's amplifier circuits.
2. FEIC licensed and released the "Echo Reverb" from Tel-Ray which is the first example a music delay that did not use magnetic tape, and existed before analog bucket-brigade electronic technology had been invented.

Before he became an international star, another notable user of the Fender Dual Showman, like Dick Dale, was Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix is today always associated with Marshall Amplifiers, but if you were go to back and look at the documents and films of performances at the time, Jimi quite clearly used Fender Dual Showman amps. In fact, he recorded "Are You Experienced?" with them.

Notable Silverface Amps

• 1966 Bassman
• 1966 Bandmaster
• 1966 Showman
• 1967 Dual Showman

Solid State Amplifiers

While the Fender Musical Instrument Company has and does make solid-state amplifiers, this is not something for which Fender is renown and therefore is not something one which we currently intend to spend much, if any, time or energy.