Introduced in 1952 and built until 1954, the Gibson GA40 Les Paul Version 1 amplifier was designed and built in-house at the Kalamazoo plant. It had two channels, with three ‘Instrument’ inputs on one channel and one ‘Microphone’ input on the other, and delivered 14 watts through a single Jensen P12Q 12 inch speaker.
Originally introduced as the Dual Professional in late 1946 and renamed in 1947, the Fender Super Amp started as a 20 watt, 2×10 combo, rising to a whopping 40 watts by 1962, and was discontinued in 1963 as Reverb-equipped models displaced several designs. Here we’re looking at a Fender Super Brownface amp, with the ‘brownface’ trim putting it directly between the ‘Blonde’ and ‘Blackface’ eras. (In the vintage amplifier world, the terms ‘Brownface and’ ‘Blackface’ – referring to the amp’s white lettering on a brown or black control panel – have no relation to what those terms mean in current political or cultural contexts).
The Fender Pro Amp, first named Professional from 1946 to 1948, was aimed at performing guitar players and vocalists and put out a whopping 15 watts. From 1946 to mid 1953, it used a tweed-covered ‘TV Front’ cabinet as seen here. The Pro amp was discontinued in 1965 and became the Pro Reverb amp, following the pattern Fender was using with other non-reverb amps. Here we’re looking at a Fender Pro Amp dating to 1952 with the 5B5 circuit.
The Fender Twin Amp was the go-to amp for performing and touring guitarists from 1952 to 1963, growing from 15 to 80 watts through two 12 inch speakers and finally replaced in 1963 by the Twin Reverb. By late 1959, the ‘Piggyback’ style of amp, with separate head and speaker cabinet entered production, and the Twin Amp was the most powerful Combo style amp available from Fender. The early ‘Piggyback’ amps – the Bandmaster, Bassman, Showman and Tremolux were wrapped in a ‘Blonde’ tolex, and the only combo to get that was the Twin Amp.
The Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue brings back one of Fender’s most popular amps in the ‘Blackface’ variant from the mid 1960s. The Deluxe Reverb is a 22 watt, two channel amp and its moderate power makes it ideal for use in studios and small to medium sized venues – past that, put a mic in front of it!
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Here’s a Gibson GA79RVT Multi-Stereo combo amp, featuring two ten inch speakers in a wedge cabinet each powered by its own 15 watt amplifier. This model was introduced in 1960 as the GA-79 and upgraded with Reverb and Tremolo to the GA-79RVT in 1961, and the entire line was discontinued in 1967 when Gibson ceased amp production in Kalamazoo. On this example, the two 10-inch CTS speakers on this Gibson GA79RVT bear dates of the 8th week of 1966 – late February, and the Tolex covering is black faux-gator with a naturally faded silver/grey grille cloth.
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