1958 Fender Twin Part 2

tjmangum

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Got the Twin back from the tech and I understand now why this is so desirable and one of the holy grails of amps. Original transformer and speakers. Only replaced the caps and the on/off switch and removed the aftermarket reverb unit. Turns out it dates to the summer of 1957 and not 1958 as I first thought. Clean and loud. The tone I've heard on hundreds of records. Need to document and take some good pictures before letting it go. Here's some quick pics.

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GAD

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Nice.

Are those vintage tubes? Those look like a score unto themselves!
 

AcornHouse

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See if there's a piece of tape with a name written on it anywhere inside on the chassis. That will tell you who built it. (My '54 Deluxe is a Lupe, for Lupe Lopez.)
 

gilded

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get all the old caps and resistors from the repair shop. Seriously.
 

tjmangum

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The tech said a couple are replacements from the 60s, so not far off. I've been trying it out in our auction house, which is about 3600 square feet with 14' ceilings and 4 on the volume is about as high as I dare go. Yes, I've get everything that has come out of it.
 

gilded

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Good for you. It makes a lot of difference to some people. Best of luck!
 

gilded

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Re-tweeding would help some people visualize the amp better, but it might turn other potential buyers away.

I'd let the next owner re-tweed it. Every time you do a repair on a vintage amp, certainly a cosmetic repair, you are cutting down on the number of people who want to buy it. They might want to do the 're-tweed' themselves, or they want their 'special guy' to do it, or they hate the quality of work of the person who re-tweeded it, or they want it to look brand new, or they want it to look relic'd, etc.

I'd take the chassis out of the cabinet and take pics of everything from every angle, so they potential buyers can 'see it all', including the shape of all of the inside of the cabinet panels (sometimes the upper panel will crack near the control cut-out).

I don't think I'd take the speakers loose from the speaker board, unless you've already done it. Sometimes the old paper speaker gaskets have permanently adhered to the speaker board and won't come loose. Those same gaskets can also attach themselves permanently to the speaker cones and the cones will tear when you pull the speaker loose from the board (seen it happen).

I would take detailed pictures of the back of the speaker cones so the buyers can see if they are original. If they are looking for small holes in the cones, put the cabinet (with the speakers in it) in a dark room, shine a flashlight on the back of the speaks and see if any holes or tears show up (as spots of light) from a 'frontal view' of the cabinet.

Again, good luck.
 

AcornHouse

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I think I see, on the inside of the chassis, all the way to the right on the bottom, in between the 1st and second tubes, the magical piece of tape. If that's it, can you read a name pencilled on it?
 

Quantum Strummer

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That is one killer amp! If I still had a place where I could crank it up from a safe distance…

My '53 Tele is a Gloria (Fuentes), but I only have a photocopy of the piece o' tape as it was removed when the original owner had the body oversprayed and the wiring converted to "modern." Both tweed amps have also been "orphaned," either by adhesive degeneration or chassis rehousing ('59 Deluxe in a '60 Princeton cab).

-Dave-
 

tjmangum

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That is one killer amp! If I still had a place where I could crank it up from a safe distance…

My '53 Tele is a Gloria (Fuentes), but I only have a photocopy of the piece o' tape as it was removed when the original owner had the body oversprayed and the wiring converted to "modern." Both tweed amps have also been "orphaned," either by adhesive degeneration or chassis rehousing ('59 Deluxe in a '60 Princeton cab).
-Dave-
I have looked closely and no sticker. There is some tape residue where perhaps there was one at one time.
 

Jeff Haddad

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The chassis tape appears to be under the RCA jacks which must have been where the reverb circuit that you mention connected.

When I first saw one of these masking tape "signatures" I didn't know what it was. I thought it was some kind of number. Then I realized I was looking at it upside down and it said 'Lily', one of the wiring assemblers. This is in my '57 champ that I bought the same year my daughter Lily was born. Karma!

Will you be posting a link to the auction of this amp?
 
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