Happy Trade-Backsies...

[Surfysonic]

In August 2023, I traded my '62 Fender Pro for Matt22's Magnatone Twilighter Mono (1x12, 22 Watts).



A while later, Matt put the Pro up for sale. As much as I liked the Magnatone, I liked the Fender Pro just as much.

Recently in early March, Matt had bumped his OSG listing (along with a Ric 330) for the Pro and it got me thinking. Here I've been enjoying the Magnatone but the Pro didn't work out for Matt and since it was still out there for sale after all this time, I decided to reach out to him to see if he wanted to trade back. I figured, if he's having trouble moving the Pro, maybe he'd have better luck moving the Magnatone if needed or if he'd be happy having the Magnatone back. Some may think me crazy for trading it back as these new Magnatone amps are highly regarded and sought after amps.

As I've been striving to downsize my gear, I've had to really consider what amps need to go and which I want to hang on to for another (hopefully) 20 or more years). Although I've owned and tried several different brand amps and many (like the Magnatone) are amazing. At the end of the day, though, I always gravitate toward my Fender amps.

Slight sidetrack but there is a point to it eventually, I promise - You know how some songs get stuck in your head? A couple that come to mind for me is ("Ride My SeeSaw" by The Moody Blues and a modern, soulful song, "Love Me Again" by John Carter. Love Me Again was the opening theme song to a short-lived series starring Lauren Cohen (Walking Dead) called, "Whiskey Cavalier" an action/comedy/drama series that only had 13 episodes. I thought it was a decent show, FWIW.

Anyhoo, I stumbled upon its official video a few weeks ago where John Carter is singing in a dancehall with his band - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfihYWRWRTQ. In the very quick camera shots of the guitarist, I noticed he was using a likely '62 or '63 Fender Pro with an early '60s Fender Reverb Unit (or '63 Reissue). I re-watched and paused to make sure what I saw. Silly, I know, but I felt the universe was telling me something.

I then got on a YouTube video hunt for early '60s Fender Pro content. One of them was Johan Segeborn's "5 Classic BROWNFACE Fender Amps! Comparison". Amps played were the Pro, Twin, Concert, Vibroverb, and Bassman. Coming from a guy who's been GASsing for an early '60s Fender Concert for years, I'm kind of relieved I never got one as I found the one in the demo a bit too bright for me. Maybe it's due to my 60 year old ears, but I preferred the Pro and Bassman overall.

Two weeks ago, I drove the almost 2-hour trip down to Matt's home in Fredericksburg, VA and made the trade.

Back at home and reunited with my '64 Fender Reverb Unit...



Alongside my '63 Fender Bandmaster...



I've gone from 7 guitar amps down to 4 guitar amps with 1 bass amp (my Fender Rumble 500 bass amp with Rumble 1000 4x10 cab), including the '62 Fender Bandmaster in the 2x10 combo cab (my pseudo Fender Super) and the Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition.



Last week, Matt came up with his family (on there way to do some tourist fun in Baltimore and Washington, DC) where I traded him my '63 Fender Showman and 1x15 Tone Ring cab (with '60s JBL D-130F speaker) for a couple of his guitars (more on them in a NGD topic). I never played it as much as my other amps even though it is wonderful. Since I have no plans to gig out anymore, there's really no point in owning an 85 watt beast like the Showman and the 1x15 Tone Ring cab is huuuuuge. I was happy to make the trade as no shipping was involved and I know Matt appreciates these vintage amps as much as I do. Vaya con dios, '63 Fender Showman!

[46346]

oh golly, each of those is sublime. the Maggie, too.

i've retained a '61 Bassman and a '61 Vibrasonic, by any means possible. the Brown amps are some of strongest ever from Fender.

that Showman! i got to spend quality time with two of my biggest rock heroes - Dick Dale, and Billy Talbot. that is the amp they were using on all their gigs last i was with them.

i'm actually making good use of a Fender Twin lately, so that Showman is especially appealing. Surf heaven on a big stage!

back when i found my Vibrasonic, 'vintage' wasn't a huge deal, and my tech mentioned that it came stock with the same Showman chassis, with two of the power tube sockets blanked out, and the same OT from the Blonde Twin. so , we could easily add two more power tubes and have Showman power. it also had the D130 - coulda been a Showman combo! it was very tempting, but i was getting hip to the vintage/classic vibe of these amps, and chose not to mess with it.

which i remain happy about.

What's the story with that Reverb Unit? i guess i recall that they didn't make them in black tolex until 1965?
but it's curious because there were no Brown amps by 1964. you'd think they would be smooth blonde tolex.
but of course that '63-64 period of transition may be the most varied and interesting of all.

cheers! and Stay Brown!

[Surfysonic]

oh golly, each of those is sublime. the Maggie, too.

i've retained a '61 Bassman and a '61 Vibrasonic, by any means possible. the Brown amps are some of strongest ever from Fender.

that Showman! i got to spend quality time with two of my biggest rock heroes - Dick Dale, and Billy Talbot. that is the amp they were using on all their gigs last i was with them.

i'm actually making good use of a Fender Twin lately, so that Showman is especially appealing. Surf heaven on a big stage!

back when i found my Vibrasonic, 'vintage' wasn't a huge deal, and my tech mentioned that it came stock with the same Showman chassis, with two of the power tube sockets blanked out, and the same OT from the Blonde Twin. so , we could easily add two more power tubes and have Showman power. it also had the D130 - coulda been a Showman combo! it was very tempting, but i was getting hip to the vintage/classic vibe of these amps, and chose not to mess with it.

which i remain happy about.

What's the story with that Reverb Unit? i guess i recall that they didn't make them in black tolex until 1965?
but it's curious because there were no Brown amps by 1964. you'd think they would be smooth blonde tolex.
but of course that '63-64 period of transition may be the most varied and interesting of all.

cheers! and Stay Brown!

Nice! I've had a '62 Bassman and '60 Vibrasonic but eventually moved them on to pay down the old gear debt at the time. Wonderful amps for sure. Yeah, the Showman was fantastic - I could really feel the air move through the 1x15 tone ring cab.

I bought the '64 Fender Reverb Unit online from Carter Vintage Guitars. It was listed as a '62. The previous owner was its first owner and he used it with his '62 Fender Concert, which he also sold to Carter Vintage Guitars. Both were in immaculate condition, total museum quality. I do my best to keep it in that same condition, giving it a good cleaning every so often.

I wasn't educated with knowing what to look for in terms of dating Fender amps (and reverb units) at that time. When I posted on the SurfGuitar 101 forum's Gear section about it, a kind, knowledgeable member on there messaged me to let me know it was likely a later year due to the raised logo. I'm pretty sure it was at this point where I learned about the 2-letter date code on amp *and reverb unit tube charts as well as when the transition from flat logo to raised logo happened.

Before prices shot up even more, I acquired a '63 Reverb Unit in blonde that I wish I hung on to - at a certain point, I needed to let one go and the '64 sounded better. The day I packed up the '63 after selling it on Reverb, I went to secure the locking mechanism for travel only to realize the whole time I had it, it had been locked! Which explains why it didn't sound as good as the '64.

There's a brown '63 Fender Reverb Unit at Atomic Music here in Maryland (online @ Reverb) that I'd consider getting but someone drilled two holes in the top of the chassis by the controls for potential modding, I guess. I never tried it out while I was in the shop. Maybe next time I'm there, I'll test it out.