Despite Fender’s marketing efforts, the idea didn’t catch on with consumers. Unfortunately, solid-state technology just wasn’t there yet. The cabinets had a “tube emulation” setting, proving to be one of the first times in history this feature appeared. The head featured cascading channels and built-in effects like fuzz, vibrato, and delay. This unusual design was comprised of a preamp and two self-powered cabinets. The solid-state Super Showman was designed by former Gibson employees Seth Lover and Richard Evans. Set at a lower price point, they were designed to appeal to beginners and the cost-conscious. They were combo designs that didn’t offer much by way of features. It wasn’t just solid-state amps that Fender built, but reverb units and PA systems as well.ġ969 saw the release of the Zodiac series, as well as the Super Showman System. Fenders first solid-state amps started appearing in 1966. Transistor-based amp circuits started to gain traction in the mid-1960s, and Fender jumped on the technology with the intent on making the unreliable vacuum tube-based amps a thing of yesterday. And the “Custom” channel has a modified tone circuit. Each of these have reverb and tremolo effects on both channels. Models included the Twin, Deluxe, Vibrolux, and Princeton. In 2013 the ’68 Custom line was released. But some like the Deluxe only saw superficial changes. The master volume control was introduced, and there was an overall push to increase power on certain models. In 1968 some circuit changes were made to various models like the Twin, Dual Showman, and Super Reverbs. In 1967 and the following year, the Twin and Super Reverbs were altered to correct an operating issue. However, an amp having Silver Panel aesthetics doesn’t always coincide with the circuitry underneath. The sparkling blue and silver grill-cloth is still popular today, though some came in silver and orange. The look included an aluminum trim and “tail” logo. Managing to hang around relatively unchanged for over a decade, the silver panel era of Fender amps remains one of the brand’s most enduring lines, being offered from 1967 all the way through to 1981. This placed more importance on the amp’s controls, helping to take the cabinet out of the tonal equation. The cabs of this era were intentionally designed to resonate as little as possible. ![]() Other than the Champ, Black Panel amps used ceramic speakers. The improved Schumacher transformers was also one of the biggest parts of the electronic recipe. This was a big step forward in Fender’s tone stack, adding in a mid knob while phasing out the presence control. The next year Fender would change the tolex covering to black. The familiar “witch’s hat” control knobs were introduced, as well as the bright switch. ![]() Early models featured white tolex covering with a black control panel. Perhaps the most recognisable and enduringly popular Fender amps, between 19 Fender entered the ‘black panel’ era. And after the standalone reverb unit was released in 1961, Fender began adding on-board reverb to their amps starting with the Vibroverb in 1963. They started experimenting with different types and brands of speakers. Fender created the novel and entrancing photocell vibrato effect. Due to updated output sections, they provided a more predictable response. Brownface amps had some significant circuitry changes.
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