Heart throb

[MWaldorf]

Personally, I'm a big fan of Fender piggy back amps. I'm lucky enough to have a '63 Brownface Showman Amp as my main rig. I also have a '67 Twin Reverb, which, for sake of my poor back, I've put in a piggy back also, as seen below. I had to use a small reverb pan to fit in the narrow head, but it works and I use an outboard Fender Reverb anyway. The cabinet is a mid 60's Bandmaster bottom with two 15"s shoehorned in. For big shows our keyboard player uses this, and for small shows, it's got plenty of volume for two guitars, and less to shlep for small stages. It's interesting how playing two guitars through one amp really makes you aware of when you're playing on top of each other vs more complimentary parts.

[zak]

I had a dual showman that I had modded to sound like a mesa boogie dual rectifier.

Where is the "puking" emoticon?

[dubtrub]

Interesting modification Mel. I bet it still weighs a ton even as a piggy back with the Twins transformers and the 15's in the bottom box. Got in pics of that brownface Showman?

[MWaldorf]

Yup, it still weighs a ton, but at least it's in two half-ton pieces. Here's a picture of my Showman, next to the Twin for comparison purposes. The tone-ring cabinet is from the mid 60s. Missed from the picture is my brown/wheat '63 Reverb unit, essential to that surfin' sound. Yes, I know the tolex is a mismash, but hey, they sound great.

[Dennisthe Menace]

So, Mel, is this a "Signature Trademark" of yours? With the 3 Pickups, no matter what kind of
guitar it is? I noticed the J.M. is 3 p'ups as well as the JAG, and now you are working on a
Gospel/Victory/Century/V-III (Mosrite with 3 Pick-ups) as well? Like I said, is this a "Signature"
of yours on your Guitars? It's very interesting.....

[MWaldorf]

Yes, I suppose it's an unintentional signature. I've never felt comfortable playing Strats but the sounds are useful, so I started futzing with my Jazzmaster and realized a middle pickup would fit. Once I got that done I added a mute. Before I had the Bass VI switch plate on there I had a strat 5-way switch set up neck, neck+bridge, bridge,middle+bridge, middle. That way I got the classic Jazzmaster sounds in addition to one strat "quack" and the middle pickup sound.

It does a decent impersonation of a strat, especially with the thin switch on. In fact, after setting up my Jazzmaster I helped Zak put a middle pickup in a Jazzmaster he had, only for his we used two three way switches so all pickup selections were available. My Jazzmaster was my main gigging guitar for about 10 years before I got a MIJ Jaguar, to which I added the middle pickup and mute so that it would be as versatile as my Jazzmaster. Later I upgraded to an AVRI Jaguar and did the trick to that.

Then, last year I finally got my mitts on a Mosrite Excellent, which got me going on the Mosrite buzz so I upgraded to a 66 Ventures Model when the opportunity presented itself. I thought about added a middle pickup to the Excellent but it wouldn't fit. Fritz, who owns the Excellent now, is probably happier that I didn't take the knife to it. So, here I am, loving my Mosrite but missing the extra sounds and I see the VIII bodies popping up on ebay, and then one shows up in targetburst and I decided to pull the trigger (sunbursts are another signature of sorts, as I'm a matching guitar dork). Figuring I've got some guitar futzing skills, I should be able to take on most of the project of assembling the VIII with critical assistance on the neck as that requires a real luthier to set up.

As an aside to this I had a Jaguar Baritone which also got the treatment, plus a vibrato, but sadly it got stolen at a gig earlier this year. So, here's the gratuitous photo. From left to right, 80s Squier Jazzbass, Jag Baritone (stolen), AVRI Jaguar, MIJ Jaguar (sold)

[-90-]

OK, time for a personal question.
Major brand amps are outrageously expensive here in Brazil, but on the other hand there´s plenty of boutique amp makers.
I´m planning on joining the ranks of amp DIYers next year, starting with a Champ kit, then maybe an AC15 clone, and then a Fender clone on the 40-50 watt range. Problem is, I´m a bit overwhelmed by the amount of models Fender put out in the past, so I´m not sure which model to clone, considering I won´t have an opportunity to play the different models and find out which one I like the best. I´m looking for an amp which won´t crunch the sound too easily at a higher setting. What would you guys recommend? I confess I´m a bit inclined towards building a bandmaster clone. Also, regarding surf + instro, which Fender "era" fits the genre best? Silverface? Brownface?

[Slippery fingers]

I love Fender amps as well, I currantly only have one though, it's a 4x10 Hotrod Deville, a great amp, I also like Traynors, I have a 1971 Traynor YGL3 Marklll, affectionatly called a Twinn on steroids, and a Traynor YCV40WR. I also have a Vox AD50VT 2XL that Im going to sell, I just don't like modeling amps. Whithin the next few days though Im going to GC and pick up a reissue Fender Champ.
Paul

[zak]

I love my brownface '61 Super, it's been my #1 stage amp for almost a dozen years now and it sounds beautiful - at any volume level.

As our band keeps getting louder (to the point of insanity...our bass player just bought a 300 watt Sunn Coliseum head because his Dual Showman isn't loud enough haha), opportunities to use the Super diminish. It sounds great but it's not that loud. The '64 Dual Showman I've been using this past year sounds pretty dull and stiff in comparison. Recently picked up a '69 Bassman to see if I can find some middle ground. So far...it's LOUD, but not very refined sounding. It's still a work in progress.

[Haole Jim]

Warning, (semi-) resurrected thread!

Thank you for sharing, both piccies and commentary.

Some of those Fender amps are positively stupid-beautiful. Yes, they are splendid and in many instances, arguably the pinnacle of production amplifiers.

Here's the "semi" qualification: So is the "Improved Reissue" Bandmaster just coming out on anyone's Christmas / Hanukah / Kwanza / year-end-bonus-spending list...?