A Brief History Of Blackface Era Amplifiers
Probably the most commonly seen of the Fender
amps (in both original and reproduction form) are those of the Blackface
Era. Production of these amps started in
1963 and carried on until around 1967, with a few amps still being produced
this way into 1968. The first of the
piggyback amps of this era were actually covered in white tolex but still
featured the other Blackface staples such as the additional back control panel
features, the skirted hat-shaped knobs (with numbers), and even bright
switches. It wasn’t until 1964 that the
Blackface circuit designs were actually covered in black tolex.
Many people believe that the standard
Blackface Era cosmetics imply that the amps were produced in the pre-CBS era
(this is the era prior to which the CBS company bought out Fender). The CBS takeover actually happened in 1965
and the Blackface amps were still produced in full until 1967, so it is quite
possible that your Blackface amp could be either pre or post-CBS. One way to know is by taking a quick look at your
front panel. If it features the words
“Fender Electric Instrument Co.,” you should have a pre-CBS model on your
hands. Conversely, if your front panel
features the words “Fender Musical Instruments,” you have an amp made after the
buyout. Luckily, no real changes were
made to the circuits after the buyout...until the Silverface line was
introduced...but that’s a topic for another time.
Blackface Era amps maintained that faithful
quality of build Fender had become famous for over the years, with a more
pointed intention of creating high fidelity tone. These created headway for a midrange control
in their tone stacks although some circuits still replaced the potential
midrange control with a fixed resistor, like the Deluxe Reverb. The bridging of channels on these amps was
something that was compromised as the channels were designed to output opposite
polarity which essentially causes interference when bridged. While still mostly employing the use of
fixed-bias circuits, Fender made great use of Schumacher output transformers
during this time, and the presence control disappeared almost entirely. While the Champ during this Era retained its
use of an AlNiCo speakers, almost all others featured a ceramic magnet speaker,
and Fender’s choice of speaker manufacturers further broadened. The Blackface Era speaker cabinets are said
to be some of the least resonant construction types of all Fender amps. Some players consider this a good thing as
the cabinet does not color the overall sound of the amps and the user can
reliably dial in the sound they are looking for without the external factor of
the cabinet sound interfering; this, of course, is for you to decide.
As always, there is a world of knowledge out
there regarding the Blackface Era of Fender amps. Some of it will get rather controversial,
some of it will just be cold hard facts.
Our goal, again, is to provide you with unbiased knowledge (no pun
intended) that will lay the foundation for you and help you understand why
certain amps sound the way they do, and how things evolved over time. For a closer look at some of the Fender
Blackface Era amps, please visit ampwares.com.