vintage fender

Fender’s American Vintage II Series

For these new recreations, Fender focuses on the little things that make original golden-era Fenders objects of obsession.

If there’s one thing players love more than new guitars, it’s old guitars—the unique feel, the design idiosyncrasies, the quirks in finish that all came from the pre-CNC era of instrument manufacturing. These characteristics become the stuff of legend, passed on through the years via rumors and anecdotes in shops, forums, and community networks.

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The Bandmaster Reverb head was built from 1968 to 1980 and has enough grille-room to install a pair of 8" speakers—a popular mod.

An introduction to Fender's classic amp heads of the '60s and '70s.

Fender's black-panel piggyback amps are not as widely known as the combos that every guitar player on this planet has either seen, heard, or played. They have lost appeal in a time when practicality and economy are guiding amp selection for most of us. Thanks to PA and monitor solutions, we no longer need big, powerful amps to fill rooms and stages. But, as we know, tone and size are related. So, let's look back at the great Fender piggybacks, from an era before the world needed to be so efficient and compact.

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DIY Vibrato Shorting Plug for Blackface / Silverface Amps

If you own a vintage Fender amp with reverb and vibrato, you've probably had those moments where you think the vibrato has stopped working, only to realize that you forgot to plug in the footswitch. Luckily, there is an easy way to eliminate the need for a footswitch.

If you own a vintage Fender® amp with reverb and vibrato, you've probably had those moments where you think the vibrato has stopped working only to realize that you forgot to plug in the footswitch. Luckily there is an easy way to eliminate the need for a footswitch. A shorting plug or “dummy" plug can be used instead and these are really easy to make.
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