Episode 39: Brownface Fender Amps

[@ziccuj]

Thank you for your excellent and informative video! For me the Brown/Blonde era is the absolute pinnacle of Fender amps. I've found it's the perfect blend between Tweed and Blackface amps: just the right amount of breakup, definition and tightness - and so much tone! Also the looks are stunning all across the board. I have quite a few of them in my collection and I'm glad to share my view on them below. The 6G2 Princeton is a killer studio / session / recording amp with the most pleasant tube overdrive and a hypnotizing tremolo and can actually act as the single main amp on pretty much every gig if properly miked - been there quite a few times. At higher gain settings the tremolo - if engaged - actually steps out of the way when playing hard and it only creeps in the moment you stop hitting your strings. It's like having a compressor with a slow attack controlling the effect - very musical indeed! The 6G3 Deluxe on the other hand is a true mini-Marshall with ridiculous amounts (relatively speaking, of course) of gain on tap, and as I've read, the key factor in early ZZ Top tones. Paired with a Marshall 4x12" cab (or two!) it's a ridiculously fun rock'n'roll amp. It's funny that both 6G2 and 6G3 have a 2x6V6 output stage yet the latter really feels much more powerful. It has to do with slightly larger transformers and the fact that the Princeton is a 1x10" by design whereas the Deluxe uses a 1x12" configuration. Some Princeton owners actually have swapped their 10-inchers out for a 12" speaker. As for the bigger units, the 6G6 Bassman and its later -A and -B revisions have so much punch that it's just ridiculous. Especially the 6G6-B has that super snappy attack and delicious midrange roar that's been good enough for The Beatles, Brian Setzer and The Cardigans, just to name a few. It can stay reasonably clean for quite some time - and even when it breaks up, it's very very musical indeed. Because the Bassman has larger transformers, it seems to have more authority and bottom end than the Bandmaster even though they both share a 2x5881 power tube section. And speaking of the 6G7-A Bandmaster, albeit being slightly less powerful than the Bassman (40 watts vs. 50 watts), it is a ridiculously fine sounding amp with the lush Harmonic Vibrato circuit that's a cross between a chorus, a phaser and a Univibe - it's psychedelic, it's mesmerizing and just downright beautiful. Some might think it is a high-gain amp since there are 6 (yes, six!) preamp tubes. You'll have to remember though that three of them are dedicated to the Harmonic Vibrato circuit. Actually, if you're only using the normal channel, you can remove three of the preamp tubes. I also have a "Tuxedo" or "BFWK" (Black Face White Knob) 6G2 Princeton from 1963 that's a Brownface on the inside but a Blackface on the outside: black tolex and all. It's one of the later units from the time Fender was already transitioning to the Blackface era. You have to remember: Leo Fender never threw anything away, so while there were parts left, they built whatever they could from the remaining components - this is why you will find these interesting units, some better and some not-so-well documented. Actually the BFWK Princetons were produced for about a year. I'd love to grab a Brown Vibrolux just like yours one day, but the prices are getting ridiculous.... All the best from Finland and take care!

[@Tonetwisters]

GOOD on you for that supply of BROWNS! And yeh. A brown Vibrolux would be glorious in the collection. And yeh. Ya gotta be wealthy!

[@forestyogin2218]

I have to say that this is the best tone video I have seen in years. I had to watch it over again right away. I am a Tele/Fender amp guy. ... I can help those who have later-than-brown-face Fender amps and want this tremolo sound. The Kingsley "BARD" is bias modulated tube tremolo ("vibrato") pedal. It is not a simulator, it is the actual thing, with 270 plate voltage etc. The gut shot looks like an actual pre-amp/amp, because it is. All of their pedals are the actual amps, with magically compatible capacitance to be pedal chain friendly. I use this with my FDRR, and also with my '57 Custom Champ. It is exceptionally close to your tremolo tone here. The FDRR is a slightly different and more open flavour, and of course the "57 Champ is more mid focused tweed sound .:)

[@forestyogin2218]

. . . and put the drive pedals after the tremolo for even more magic.

[@MrGus937]

First time I see your content. Bro, I legit felt like we were chilling in my living room

[@doc_matter]

Agreed!

[@redwaveofketchup7457]

Hey Austin, I am a a 66 year old ex bar band warrior that actually made a decent living in the 80s and 90s, and I had several brown face fenders , but the Vibrolux was my main amp for years. Nothing had that early ZZ Billy G sound like that amp. I used a 70s SG at the time it was perfect for filling a decent size room full of drunks. Damn good times!!! It ended up catching on fire after something let go when it was dimed. I think it is in a landfill in Colorado, but boy howdy do I wish I still had it. I just picked up a Suhr Hombre and it comes really close to the sound I remember. I just found your channel and I dig your vibe and knowledge, It warms my heart to see the younger generation keeping the brown face love alive!!! Cheers DJ

[@austinskinner]

@@redwaveofketchup7457 that’s amazing!!! I love the stories

[@Frettedchaos]

I went down a brownface rabbit hole and found your channel. Boy, I’m glad I did! Awesome man!❤

[@mattcampbellmusic]

Hey Austin! Just wanted to express my gratitude and enjoyment of this video. It was nice to sort of deepen my knowledge of my favourite era of Fender amps. I'm a whole lot younger than my '63 Concert but its already been like an old friend to me. I got mine at a stupidly good deal in the first year of the pandemic. It had been rescued by a museum curator for the Royal Ontario Museum.. Though not fully restored, it was mighty close.. NOS electrolytics and other caps got pretty close, albeit for a speaker swap sometime in the 80's.. but those old Oxfords and Utahs are a lot less common here in the great white north, so some old Celestion's will do for now. I had admittedly started playing it less recently, favouring amps with smaller wattage. And while I will still probably add something smaller to my collection for gigging, this video really made me fall back in love with my old Concert. It's not the perfect sound for everything.. but when it's the right thing, it's really the only thing for the job. Thanks for giving me an excuse to pull the cover off again :) Keep doing what you do! Thank you. You've got yourself a new follower.

[@austinskinner]

@@mattcampbellmusic thank you so much for the compliment as well as the story! If you ever want to part with that amplifier, you know how to get in touch with me lol

[@TheChadPad]

Love the getup. Brown suit to match the brown amps. You're keeping your grandpa alive with that. That is a perfect sounding Vibrolux. That Weber Alnico suits it perfectly.

[@austinskinner]

@@TheChadPad thanks brother!

[@TheChadPad]

@@austinskinner you’re very welcome sir! Thanks for sharing

[@Tonetwisters]

Weber makes some darn fine speakers, and TA is a first rate person, to boot.

[@TheChadPad]

@@Tonetwisters yes sir they do! The Weber Alnico Chicago 12’s are fire and I highly recommend people check them out. They’re high wattage alnicos

[@austinskinner]

@@Tonetwisters agreed!!!

[@hughmanetti1908]

Love my Super. Great tone, no doubt.

[@rogerwilliams2629]

Man, i really enjoyed learning from you. Been playing 60 years and three quarters of that for a living, knowing almost nothing about amps LOL The kast ten years ir so i e become obsessed with them and this was a pleasure to listen to

[@didamnesia3575]

I was going to buy a hot rod deluxe to go with my 65 dlx reverb reissue, but the 63 vibroverb reissue was sitting next to it for double the price.

[@cactus-mcjacktus]

these brown amps are so fantastic. i’ve played through a few choice vintage ones, with the super being the best amp i’ve ever played. Now i have a clone of a Vibrolux, made for 6V6s instead of 6L6s, and with black panel tremolo. Got a pair of 10” Greenbacks in it. The 6V6s bring the volume down so it’s crispy clean but still midrange-y at home, and at a gig i can really get it going and have it cave in just a bit but still have it clean enough to play pedals through, and with those speakers it REALLY cuts through. Just magic.

[@nickshaw6085]

Thanks for this awesome content, man, from a fellow brownface fan.

[@Tonetwisters]

I was fortunate to start guitar life through my brother's new 1960 PRO and got to play through two early '60s Concerts when they were nearly new. Blackface Fenders need a compressor running and an appropriate rectifier tube, such as a 5R4GY in a Super Reverb. Brownfaces just produced more low midrange, which is quite wonderful. I scored a '62 Bandmaster head for around $1200 shipped. Love that amp. Browns are indeed wonderful. Would LOVE to own an early Concert, for sure. IT would fit loverly between my '64 4X10 Super Reverb and my '66 1X15 Super Reverb, with my '73 ES-355 running through them along with an amp switcher. Woof.

[@austinskinner]

@@Tonetwisters wow! I would love a 1x15” super reverb!!

[@Tonetwisters]

@@austinskinner It came to me with a 1X12 orange frame JBL in it. I decided to make it like my brother's PRO, so I made a 3/4" birch baffle board. Still need to do some tweaking on it, though. I love this video you did here of your appreciation of the browns. Haven't had anymore come into my feed, though ... And BTW: My grandpa's name and my little brother's middle name is "Austin." Thanks for your kind reply!

[@cgavin1]

Either that tele is really small or Austin Skinner is a beast of a man. 💪

[@Tonetwisters]

Yeh, it do look rather toyish, what?

[@austinskinner]

@@cgavin1 I’m not small

[@teresathomley3703]

Very good stuff

[@patricknolen6744]

On the brown face amps, the vibrato varied the bias on the output tubes,, later designs in the black face era, the vibrato varied the signal feeding into the grid of phase inverter, using an optical coupler design, The design change was to save wear and tear on the output tubes, and to help stabilize performance. That’s why the brown face vibrato sounds better,

[@surfysonic9847]

Nice to see another Fender Brown amps fan! I've been fortunate to have owned a '60 Vibrasonic, '62 Bassman, and '62 Pro. I currently have a '63 Showman and a '62 Bandmaster chassis in a commissioned 2x10 combo cab (same measurements as a brown Super) made for me by Will @ Armadillo Amps in Texas. Also have the modern, handwired Fender '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition - a fantastic amp in its own right. A worthwhile buy to find a used one if vintage amps are out of budget. Looking forward to more of your content, Austin!

[@bobbyblair6862]

I just lucked into a cherry 62 deluxe. These are such incredible amps

[@bobbyblair6862]

Oh duh, it's a 63 pro, not deluxe

[@Rhythmicons]

My '64 6g6B Basman isn't blonde. It's not as yellow as the blonde and it doesn't look at dark as the Vibrolux. I've been calling it blonde though. I sent you pics via FB.

[@jegr3398]

Browns are great, I'm lucky enough to own a 63 concert that I acquired about 15 years ago, blue caps. I love the fender brown amps, they're ugly as hell and they just rock. Amazing cranked tone, and they got that cool harmonic vibrato.

[@mohamedtlass3842]

Except they aren’t ugly! I think they are gorgeous!

[@Tonetwisters]

I don't think they are ugly at all; but that's all there was when I got started, so I've grown up with them. I think they are quite snappy, actually, especially with the oxblood grill.

[@OgamiItto70]

"Pedalboard Culture." LOL! Now _there's_ a band name!

[@austinskinner]

@@OgamiItto70 it’s a thing I accept but don’t necessarily care for

[@MaxPower-js1sk]

What a beautiful tone. I love the harmonic tremolo.

[@austinskinner]

Hey Max! That’s actually bias tremolo! The harmonic tremolo is available on the LARGE brown amps: Concert, Super, Pro, and Vibroverb.

[@MaxPower-js1sk]

@@austinskinner My ignorance, Austin. That was a lovely sounding amp. I’ve never seen a real Brownface Fender. I live in a part of Australia where there’s not much good guitar gear. There’s an amp builder about 500 miles south who makes beautiful replicas of 50s and 60s Fenders, including the Brownfaces. I might replace my Silverface Princeton with one of his Brownface Princetons. They sound so nice. Thanks for your excellent video.

[@mohamedtlass3842]

@@austinskinnerand the bandmaster!

[@michaelwoods9005]

​@@austinskinner the brown vibroverb is bias tremolo too. They didn't have enough room in the amp for tubes to power reverb AND harmonic trem:)

[@blueeyephil]

Interesting video. My dad has a Brown Deluxe. I'm thinking 63. Bought it in the 60's along with on old Tele. Somewhere along the way he changed the grill cloth so it's not correct, but it sounds really nice. I've even played acoustic through it at lower volume and it was really nice. Anyone know if you can get period correct grill cloth anywhere?

[@austinskinner]

That sounds sweet! Modern reproduction cloth is available at Mojotone. As far as an original roll? Best of luck on that one!

[@Tonetwisters]

The second and third amps I ever played through, were nearly new Concerts. First amp I ever played through was my brother's 1960 PRO. I am blessed to own a '62 Bandmaster in really good condition. I run it through a single 12 Mesa cab. I always thought a great stage rig would be a brownface Vibrolux and a blackface Vibrolux to switch between and/or run in unison.

[@austinskinner]

My favorite brown Fender is the Concert! Tweed Bassman’s barkier cousin!

[@Tonetwisters]

Yessir! They are fab amps! I had a chance to buy one that was in a new cabinet, but I already had two Super Reverbs and running out of room! This is a real fine video, Sir! BTW: Did you ever see a Vibrasonic? Essentially, a brownface PRO, but with a bigger OT and a JBL 15". IIRC, they were 50 watts!@@austinskinner

[@guitareveryone]

Very cool amp. And I love the harmonic tremolo. It doesn’t rob the note attack.

[@austinskinner]

The Vibrolux and Princeton are bias tremolo. The concert, pro, super, & vibroverb are harmonic. They all sound lovely, and different!

[@guitareveryone]

@@austinskinner I stand corrected. That Trem sounds so smooth and the note attack doesn’t seem to get smothered. I guess the intensity control is not set too high to suck out the attack. Thanks for the info.

[@YeatzeeGuitar]

Ever try the rare 3x10 bandmaster?

[@drewsollars2239]

Count the pre-amp tubes. If it's blonde or brown and has 6 it's got harmonic trem. Unless it's a vibroverb.

[@zenmaestro04]

Really enjoyed the video! I've got a 67 deluxe reverb and a 5e3 I built but I'm very interested in adding a brown amp to round things out. Curious what you think of the brown deluxes since you've played them all. I hear they're absolute monsters when cranked and hold up better than the tweeds...

[@colinpoulton]

Can confirm, a brown deluxe cranked is revelatory

[@frankieconcepcion7860]

A Brown Deluxe is the ultimate mini Marshall. A Brown Princeton though Is probably my favorite besides my '63 Vibroverb. The Vibroverb is my Desert Island Amp and the harmonic tremolo is to die for.

[@austinskinner]

Brown deluxe is a boxy and very much a one trick pony. Not bad at all. But if I was gonna buy one small brown, Princeton. Big? Pro.

[@mohamedtlass3842]

@@austinskinnerI agree about the pro and Princeton but my Deluxe is anything but boxy

[@ashbody3499]

Super interesting video. That Vibrolux sounds glorious. Brownface tone can’t be beat imo.

[@austinskinner]

Video coming on it!

[@ashbody3499]

@@austinskinner Nice!

[@johnanderson27]

Nothing like a brown face fenders amps great video

[@austinskinner]

Thank you

[@willdenham]

I was going to convert my 65' bandmaster to an ab165 bassman. Lately I've been considering changing it to a blonde bassman instead. Of course, like a genius, after I purchased the BF output transformer.

[@matthewtoeneboehn7784]

Awesome demo. Just got an amazing deal on a tuxedo Princeton in mint condition. Only this is it’s missing the power tubes. What’s your go to 6v6?

[@austinskinner]

Every amp tech I’ve had always said something like this: “the best tubes are the ones that spec accurately”. Most tubes aren’t accurately matched. That being said, a tech will make sure the tubes are right and that the amp is setup to pull the right amount of current.

[@matthewtoeneboehn7784]

@@austinskinner that makes sense. Thanks for the advice! Oh I meant to ask, what speaker did you end up with in the Princeton?

[@phillipasby9202]

This was super interesting. I have a Vintage Sound VS22 deluxe style amp that was modded to have the normal channel to run through reverb and the tremolo ... and has what Rick calls the "brown mod" to apparently make it closer to brown face specs. So basically a blackface and brown face in one box. I've mostly used it through the blackface channel since that's kind of what I'm used to but I am going to spend some more time with the brown circuit. It definitely has a different tone and at least on mine breaks up earlier than the blackface channel. Not a ton earlier and both are pretty doggone loud by the time they break up (like 5/6 and with the Jupiter speaker ... it's loud ... might have to find a less efficient speaker actually for this amp although I use a power station to good effect ...). Thanks for walking through these and helping me understand some of the differences.

[@austinskinner]

My pleasure! I love the Browns! The “character” translates SO well in a band playing live! BTW…Which specific Jupiter do you have? I might trade ya!

[@phillipasby9202]

@@austinskinner I'll drop you a DM via Instagram (or let me know if you prefer another channel) :)

[@Tonetwisters]

This stuff sounds so good it's ridiculous ... guitar, amp, playing. Holie Molie ...

[@felixrodriguez3527]

I’m a brownface guy myself too ! I have a Super , Tremolux and Bassman . Which Blackface models in your experience have the best sound ? Great video thanks !!

[@austinskinner]

Because the blackface preamp sought to be midscooped and clean, it really comes down to power and speaker configuration for me. Anything I can put a 12” with (and specifically a British 12”) I’m gonna be happy with. Deluxe. Pro. Almost any head works too. 👍🏼👍🏼

[@guillaumegilbert2389]

What speaker did you end up using on the CS Princeton?

[@austinskinner]

For now I’m really enjoying an EVM12L!! Lots of power and efficiency!

[@guillaumegilbert2389]

@@austinskinner Thanks and all the best!

[@paulsmith1807]

great video and you win the award for the best dressed video review I have ever seen 🙂

[@natedansmith]

Ok I’m liking this flag design I’m seeing what you’re doing there.

[@austinskinner]

Could it be my new t-shirt design? Maybe!

[@natedansmith]

@@austinskinner I’d buy one but I need to make it to Tennessee soon!

[@Tonetwisters]

Tremolux.

[@gregkosinski2303]

Justin Trudeau signature series

[@colinpoulton]

Not gonna lie, gonna have to disagree about Mesa cleans being sterile. Had to switch to the producer’s deluxe on a session for a tune because my DC-5 was too dark.

[@austinskinner]

Mesa makes so many different models with various voicings. The cleans on a Tremoverb aren’t the same as a .50 Cal which aren’t the same as DC-5 or Mk. I, II, or III. Generally, Mesa is deserving of credit for the “clean platform” sound with their OG rack pre-amp which went through a hot period. But generally it’s viewed as “sterile” as in “no character”. Not a bad thing

[@piedaterre8843]

-mismatching impedence is fine as long as the load (speaker) is larger than the source- it is generally good form not to go beyond doubling ohms but i believe it can be done (although it will sound like shit)- NEVER go with a lower load (never plug a 4 ohm speaker into an 8ohm speaker jack) -Combo's were brown tolex (early ones were a pinkish brown) with brown knobs and heads and cabs were blonde tolex (early ones having rough blonde later ones having smother blonde) with cream knobs -vibroverb brownface had bias vary trem, like most of the lower wattage brown faces, high wattage had the harmonic tree

[@kristofer603]

Wish I could afford one.Have had my eye on the Suhr Hombre but need a reasonable payment plan.Hauled off and just bought the Reissue Fender Deluxe Reverb in Red wine.36 month pay plan-SWEETWATER.