I need help dating my twin reverb silverface

[Joel]

Hi,

I bought this amp used in 1981 (it was pretty beat then, and had
already been recovered) with another layer of tolex. I'll describe it
any list the numbers that I could find/read.

The face is silver with black lettering and a 'pinstripe', the words
Twin Reverb are in blue. The Fender logo on the grill has a 'swirl'
under it. It has a 'Bright' switch, on the left side.

The numbers off of the transformer ae 606-2-20 and 022889
The label inside has the numbers 047944 and the serial number (upper
right side, stamped in metal) appers to be 51772.

Any help dating this would be great. i would like to restore it, it
needs new covering and grill cloth (the old covering is not original
and the grill cloth was painted at one point). Other than that it is
fully functional and jut needs a good clean up.

Thanks,

Joel

[Anthony Tetrow]

Hi:
 
Plese consult below for dating your Twin.
 
Best,
 
Anthony
 
Twin Reverb AB763, AC568, AA769, AA270 (silverface)
 A10500 to A11300 - 1967
 A10500 to A16500 - 1968
 A16500 to A21400 - 1969
 A21400 to A25600 - 1970
 A25600 to A37000 - 1971
 A37000 to A50500 - 1972
 A50500 to A68000 - 1973
 A68000 to A99999 - 1974
 A81000 to A99999 - 1975
 B01000 to B15000 - 1975
 B15000 to B68000 - 1976
0100 to 3400 - 1970
 

 Establishing An Era

1.                 Step 1

Check the faceplate. Of the amplifiers labeled "Twin Reverb" (opposed to Super Twin Reverb or Twin Reverb II), there are two eras. Amps from the blackface era, which have a black faceplate, were manufactured from 1963 to 1967. Amps from the silverface era, which have a silver faceplate, were manufactured from 1968 to 1982. In 1992, Fender began producing the '65 Reissue Twin Reverb.

 

2.                 Step 2 

This label reads OJ, indicating September, 1965.

Find the tube location. According to Fender, amplifiers produced through 1969 have a sticker near the tubes. This is commonly stamped with a two-letter date code.

The first letter indicates the year:
M 1963
N 1964
O 1965
P 1966
Q 1967
R 1968
S 1989

The Second Letter indicates the month:
A January
B February
C March
D April
E May
F June
G July
H August
I October
J September
K November
L December

 

3.                 Step 3

Check the EIA number. Fender recommends dating unstamped amps by the EIA number on the transformers. The format is always EIA 606-Y-XX or 606-YY-XX where Y indicates the year (196Y/197Y or 19YY respectively) and XX the week.

 

4.                 Step 4 

This number reads A09833

Try the serial number. Dating by serial number, while less accurate, can be of some use. Stamped on the metal backing of most amps is the serial and production number. It is typically in the A00000 format.

The following list, compiled by Greg Gagliano, establishes dates through 1976:
A00100 to A01200 - 1964
A01200 to A04300 - 1965
A04300 to A07000 - 1966
A07000 to A10400 - 1967
A10500 to A11300 - 1967
A10500 to A16500 - 1968
A16500 to A21400 - 1969
A21400 to A25600 - 1970
A25600 to A37000 - 1971
A37000 to A50500 - 1972
A50500 to A68000 - 1973
A68000 to A99999 - 1974
A81000 to A99999 - 1975
B01000 to B15000 - 1975
B15000 to B68000 - 1976

 

5.                 Step 5

If these steps are unsuccessful, a number of books have been published that help to date amps based on part codes. Some are listed on Fender's website

 

 
> Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:16:52 -0800
> Subject: [The Amp Guide] I need help dating my twin reverb silverface
> From: joel.b...@gmail.com
> To: the-am...@googlegroups.com

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[KT]

Probably a late '72 or '73. Carry on.

Nice work by the way posting gg's serial listing!

KT

[B L]

Power transformer is from the 20th week of 1972  (Given the other details you supplied) she's a mid 1972 manufacture date. A nice piece.

[Joel Bienvenu]

Thanks for the information, much appreciated. I guess it was a good investment then, I traded an old Lab L-4 bass head that I paid $50 for at a music store in MA.  I had to cut back the reverb springs about an inch because they were a bit saggy. As it's pretty ugly, would you think replacing the tolex and grill cover would increase or diminish the value? I stupidly painted the grill cloth with my old bands logo around a hundred years ago, and spray painted the Fender logo gold (duh).

 

As a testament to how strong these things are, I once played a birthday party for a friend, that was held in a basement. As I was walking down the stairs, the handle broke and the thing fell down, not just a few, but the entire staircase, bouncing and tumbling all  the way. Guess what? Nothing broke, and I could only see a few skuff marks on the covering and one of the knobs cracked.

 

Oh, the speakers are not original, I had to replace them in 1985 using a pair I pulled out of a 1976 Ampeg 10W 4-12 amp I had purchased.

 

Any idea of what the Fender twin might be worth?

 

Thanks,

 

JB

--
Joel B. Bienvenu

Research Manager, Production and Wide Format Print

IDC Research
5 Speen Street
Framingham, MA 01701
Phone (954) 326-8966
email: jbie...@idc.com
personal email: joel.b...@gmail.com

[frank]

would be a nice piece if the cosmetic mods described had not been done...

[Anthony Tetrow]

Unless you are an "antique dealer," the cosmetics are a minor issue.  It's "the sound" that matters!
 

---

To: the-am...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [The Amp Guide] I need help dating my twin reverb silverface

From: fanz...@aol.com
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 10:39:37 -0500

[frank]

i was speaking to the actual dollar value of a cosmetically hurting amp; fender or otherwise.

 

my hobby is following the values of vintage gear sold on ebay.

 

 there are thousands of twins out there in the interwebs. one that is appearing as that is described might be worth 1/2 the value of a pristine example. 

i can not remember seeing a twin in the condition described. something like that would probably be parted out. the parts would bring more $$ than the whole.

 

eg: this 1957 gibson ga-40 sold for less than $600. in pristine condition it might have brought $1200.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/1957-Gibson-Les-Paul-GA-40-GA-Tube-Guitar-Amplifier-Amp-/280596302757?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4154d7cba5

 

such as:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/GIBSON-GA-19RVT-TWEED-FALCON-1960-1961-AMP-AMPLIFIER-/160513060965?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255f52f065

[KT]

Sorry, have to chime in. Parting out cosmetically challenged amps means fewer old, good sounding amps for younger players--or for people who actually play out on the road and do not have collector style budgets. This whole collector thing is great for keeping pristine examples pristine. 

Leave the ugly ducklings to the rest of us. Thank you.

As far as the amp we are talking about is concerned...why not put some elbow grease into it, re-rolex it, put a new logo and grille cloth on and proudly play the crap out of it.

kt

[frank]

that is one way to deal with an old beat up amp. the problem with that is, by the time you get done with all the "fixes", you might have more invested than the amp is worth.  a '72 twin is not that rare or collectable/desirable model. it might not be worth the cost of restoration. even a cosmetically good 40 year old amp will need a cap job, at least.

as the baby boomers are aging, we are gravitating toward smaller amps, hence the rise in value, and reissue, of the "student" models. i hauled a new '67 twin around in high school. it was not fun then, and impossible now.

 i have 5 tube amps now; all under 20 watts. not many players today need an 85 watt amp that weighs 85 lbs with today's pa systems.
on ebay last month only 10 "vintage" (not reissue) TR'S were sold out of around 100 total listed.(counting reissues)

not sure how many smaller models were sold in the same time frame, but i, myself, purchased a vox 4 watt head and a cyber champ.

 

again, i agree, keeping a "beater" in circulation, is a good idea, esp. this model, since it is not worth restoring (at least in monetary terms). the same reasoning applies to  the laws that encourage the crushing of vintage cars. in the case of autos, though the price of restoration is much higher than vintage amps.

[B L]

In that condition? Maybe five - six hundred dollars?

[B L]

Also, remind all the old boomers that a forty year old Fender amp IS now an "old classic" to a whole passel of young whipper snappers who've never seen a vacuum tube in their life. harharhar

[frank]

no way...that is the selling price on ebay for a vg cosmetic cond piece; a '73 anyway. prices raise from there to a pristene pre cbs bf selling for 2 grand, on a good lucky day for the seller.

-----Original Message-----
From: B L <coolbl...@gmail.com>
To: the-amp-guide <the-am...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Dec 16, 2010 6:31 pm
Subject: Re: [The Amp Guide] I need help dating my twin reverb silverface

[frank]

i would estimate half that in the described cond.

-----Original Message-----
From: B L <coolbl...@gmail.com>
To: the-amp-guide <the-am...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Dec 16, 2010 6:31 pm
Subject: Re: [The Amp Guide] I need help dating my twin reverb silverface

[B L]

Yeah, Frank's right. Just checking, I see the average for 72-73 SFT's at about 700 on fleabay, according to Ampware's tracking. But I see that 13 of them have sold in Nov. of 2011 at an average price of 605, down some from their historic and stupidly overpriced recent highs...so Frank's probably more realistic. Condition reallly affects the price, so maybe 350? Some folks start parting them out, because at some point it becomes more cost effective to do that than to sell whole. Personally I resist parting them out if there is still hope. Maybe I'm just an old softie...but why butcher a good old workhorse just because she's a little spavined? 

:-)

[frank]

spavined?

 

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spavined

 

new word for me...

 

i dig this thread. it's about the philosophy of vintage amps, it's not just "my amp don't work" or "what's my amp worth".

[frank]

THE TUBES SURVIVED THAT MUCH IMPACT?!?!?

[B L]

Yeah..."Spavined" That is a term for a horse that has inflamed hocks. Not good, but not fatal right away either. Still, probably means she's eventually going to the glue factory though. :-/

I say an amp is kindly spavined when she needs tolex, a recap, has been dropped down the stairs a few times, etc. :-)

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

CBG

[Joel Bienvenu]

Thanks for all the input, I think I will restore it, not to sell, but to use again AND I have had the thing for about 25 years and after cleaing it and vacuuming out the cobwebs it doesn't look too bad.

 

Maybe I can ask you guys for some advice?

 

Can anyone recommend a good repair guy? I'd like to pull the amp out of the cab and send it out for some 'maintenance'?

 

Or if anyone knows of someone in the West Palm Beach Florida area, that would work also

 

How much tolex should I order? Should I buy the 'special' adhesive or will regular vinyl adhesive suffice?

 

I'm assuming a yard of grill cloth will do.

 

What is a good cleaner for the silver face? I'm thinking of something like Noxon.

 

The speaker grill 'frame' needs replacing, it look like particle board painted black? Any suggestions?

 

Any tips or tricks would certainly be appreciated

 

jb

[frank]

right, i sent the dictionary listing...

[Joel Bienvenu]

Oh, the ride down the stairs did make one of the tubes pop out, but it didn't break and after plugging it back in, played the gig.
 

One more bit of advice I need, what are the best tubes to use? The ones in there are Peaveys, probably installed when Reagan was still president.

[frank]

the frames, with cloth and tolex are avail on ebay. how much i would not know.

 

tolex is also avail from many retailers. goggle tolex.

 

i would p/u a vintage guitar mag to locate a amp tech.

 

DO NOT CLEAN THE FACEPLATE. the printing is easily removed.

[frank]

the "best" are what is called "nos". these are tubes left over from wwII. these are VERY expensive. tube choice is a very objective thing. i would do some web research.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joel Bienvenu <joel.b...@gmail.com>

[Joel Bienvenu]

Thanks Frank, I'm heading to Sam Ash tomorrow, they can probably recommend a decent tech.

 

Yeah, I've seen some of the 'new-old-stock' tubes being really expensive,

[frank]

the choce of tubes is SUBJECTIVE....I ALL WAYS MIX THOSE UP. (I'M A BIT DYSLECTIC)

[woodw...@aol.com]

Hello Mojotone Musical Supply out of Burgaw ,NC. has everything you need to re-do your amp.Tolex, Grill cloth.Original Fender. Everything.

Google Mojotone.

Good luck.

Will Wood

[B L]

Mojotone is the way to go. Great selection, very responsive, good guys. No I don't work for them. You are, after all, on amp guide, which is supported by mojotone.

:-)