How to Build a Solid-Pine Head for a Fender Twin Reverb with Dovetails

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More at: www.beckspeed.com
I recently picked up a mid 70's Fender Silverface Twin Reverb (I say late 60's in the video). The Amp was well-loved and well worn. The combo weighed a ton, even though came without speakers so I decided to convert it to a head to use with another cabinet I already had laying around. Head is made from furniture-grade, solid pine and dovetail joinery. Once the head was complete I decided it seeded a solid pine cab to match, with Eminence "Lil Texas" speakers. Finished with Nitrocellulose Lacquer and buffed by hand to a satin finish. Sounds great and is WAY easier to transport now.

[@hedonisticpunkvatos]

This is like visual potato chips. I couldn't stop watching! Awesome and beautiful work.

[@stevemitchell9848]

Awsome build! Allways loved the separate head and cabinet.. it splits the weight ... and when the speakers are in an enclosed cabinet that just sounds so much more thick and full-bodied!

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

Thanks! It did sound great.

[@econohound]

The most talented people are the most inspiring because they make it look easy.

[@drbooks]

I've built two cabs with the help of a friend who knows more than I do. Felt pretty good about it. Watching this makes me see what we are missing. Nice job. BTW went with the varnish too.

[@devonpuryear7355]

wow, that looks bad ass man! I didn't know what to think of those dove tails at first but after a few minutes it all came together, you're a wood genius man.

[@cannedmilk]

That’s beautiful work! I love that natural wood look.

[@MrSwanny66]

Great work Adam, looks fantastic

So addictive to watch! I saw it more than 5 times!! Thanks for the post! Great work Adam!!

[@TKDFORCEART]

"We got wood" -Nice, yeah, you'll need it for.. "We got the dog" -OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@EverySingleDayHawaii]

Nice job!!! I use the same jig to cut my dovetails, but I get chipping on the exit side. Now I try to rout from the “far side” inward towards me first, then finish going “away from me. But you don’t get chipping at all! Impressive.

[@Killstrike6660]

That inspires me to make a new speaker cabinet. Excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail.

[@roncarter2188]

Beautiful! Ive got a Ampeg B25 head that needs to be recovered, but the way you have constructed this tongue and groove, natural wood grain looks awesome.

[@bogdanpashchenko2142]

Looks fantastic how easy you do a complex thing! Thanks!

[@egads2]

Brilliant job on that. Glad you didn't wrap it because it would've just looked like a reissue or refurb of the reverb. Now we can see your artistic skills. I had a brand new Super Reverb I sold back in the 70s and I still regret it. "Keep On Truckin'!"

[@tdalb8985]

Rad, I'm glad you kept the wood exposed, looks great.

[@killer268]

That's awesome, I'm actually doing the same thing for a 67 blackface, doing it in blonde/ Oxblood to match my cab.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

Cool! This is the first time I've ever played through a solid pine cab. Its very lively with no extra ribs or reinforcement. It's quite different from the shimmery-clean sounds I get from my other birch-ply cabs with celestions. This has eminence "Lil Patriot" neo speakers. It's clean but when I play a humbucker through it and get past 6-7 on the channel vol (master at 10) this thing really roars - very similar to a Tweed twin or Blackface tube distortion.

[@killer268]

Yeah I'v e been using pine for years for cabs, it's cheap, readily available, and sounds pretty good. I've always felt fender amps, being bright complement gibsons well. I play fenders, but with a marshall on at the same time to add some ass since I mostly play fenders.

[@glisteningkabana8154]

Gorgeous.

[@SpeedoBaggins]

Can’t believe I stumbled across this video. My dad wired a Blackface Twin kit and built a head and extension cab. Was one of the last things he did before unexpectedly passing. It looks eerily identical to this.

[@trevordeke]

Man, I tell you- I'd love to hear a voice over explaining what you are doing. Already really instructive though! Thanks!

[@kencohagen4967]

Beautiful craftsmanship!

[@MaghoxFr]

This is gorgeous.

[@SurfingAli3n]

superb job mate, really enjoyed watching!

[@antonioalcada9477]

Hi Beck....wonderfull project! very well done and clean, solid, just beautiful.... But you should have refurbish the original cabinet... to preserve the Fender Legacy...thank you for showing your skills....Antonio Alçada

[@SmokeFlame1]

Lovely work. Looks great.

[@scottchristopher4503]

Beautiful work, very nice! Maybe you can buy a few "build your own" amp kits and fit them to your heads/cabs.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

I actually have built one of those kits. It was a 5w Ampmaker.com SE-5a kit. Sounds awesome. Built a little cab for it too. Simple birch plywood box and black tolex, no dovetails or anything though. Its actually cheaper most times to find and restore old amps than it is to build the kits. instagram.com/p/lVEbiEqzrN/ instagram.com/p/lVEmboKzrg/

[@baumfr]

"Don't know if I'm gonna finish it or wrap it." The I remembered the word "dovetail" in the title. Right then, I knew you weren't gonna wrap it. Nice work, Adam.

[@mmullerman]

Thank you. I will never, ever, complain again about the price of a custom made cab. Well done.

[@billygage6899]

Very nice work, been thinking about doing mine similar too yours

[@denniss8644]

Really enjoyed this video, nice work.

[@danmatthews3102]

Nice Job! My wish list has my Twin head in a recessed box so that the knobs don't get raked off during transit.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

give me a shout if you want to make that happen!

[@TheOldBoy101]

Great Carpentry !!!! Thanks! I need that dovetail jig !

[@hearpalhere]

Looks fantastic, nicely done! I love the look of the exposed wood... much nicer than most tolex in my opinion :-)

[@backspin6698]

Nice work. Really enjoyed to watch this video.

[@bobmacdonald4267]

What a great project I think any guitar player would like this! I wish I could find an old Fender Deluxe Reverb I lost mine years ago in a house fire, best amp I ever had! That would be a great project!

[@Jeff-S]

What a great deal for a beautiful vintage head and cab. New ones go for that without the beautiful wood work.

[@optimistichorizon]

It looks really good.

[@tigerhunter8878]

This is one of the most coolest and bad ass things I’ve seen

[@AndyDrudy]

Love it. Wish I could do this!

[@thomboy54]

i could of used you just made my carvin vintage 16 combo in to a head it works well but it's not even as close to nice like yours great job

[@ironpirites]

Beautiful job!

[@hugomejia593]

Tweed on wood great skills nice job cab & head very gorgeous congratulations my friend

[@ferris5150]

this is awesome! Has inspired me to make my own!

[@thejmrexperience2349]

that was awesome man! congrats!

[@dcbluez4883]

Dropped it off a 3 story building yesterday, aint broke and still works.

[@ZillaCabs]

Excellent video, it looks great!

[@anthonyleavingtexas]

Beautiful job.

[@absinha6209]

That. Was beautiful!

[@smokepeddler]

So nice man. Just perfect.

[@EndreGiovanni5869]

Love your tutorial man! Would’ve loved it more if you would’ve added a narrative on the steps you were doing while you were putting it together.

[@nicholasnovak7106]

Bueatiful man! Good look for the twin!

[@TempoDrift1480]

That's pretty slick!

[@AC-iz6fg]

I really enjoyed this video.

[@teepeerock7015]

yea man, thats what im talkin' about right there! good work!

[@therapscallion23]

I love you work, sir! More good content, views and subs to your channel!.

[@talynhamish998]

Amazing work mate 👍✌️👌🏽

[@jdl2180]

That beautiful!

[@damirkaleb8092]

CONGRATULATIONS. A true masterpiece.👍👍👍

[@mattvdh]

you could also use some moving straps to reinforce the square mold

[@UncleJoe1231]

Looks nice, really like the dovetails!! I like to made my cabs from MDF & cover them with veneer, its denser.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

Thanks! Fender made cabs out of MDF for many years (70's and 80's I think). It's fine. I was trying for the vintage 50's quality when fender was built from solid pine. Also MDF is easy to work but is a nightmare if there is any moisture or gets knocked into. I prefer to use 3/4 birch if I'm doing plywood, it's super strong and sounds great too.

[@UncleJoe1231]

@@AdamBeckSpeed Yeah, it is a problem if MDF gets wet. I don't remember what you used for a finish but, I started using Osmo about a year ago & really like it. It's called a "hard wax oil."

[@stricknine8623]

That is jam up and jelly tight ! It may be more practical to wrap it,..But I think it would almost be a friggin crime to cover up that beautiful wood. Use a sanding sealer and then go with a satin clear finish.. The cab and the head are absolutely BEAUTIFUL !!

[@toddweller]

Super cool!

[@GICK117]

The CORRECT way to do cabinetry. Well done..............Sweeeet!

[@TheKennlynn52]

Looks great! I'm sure it will sound great too. Now you need to build a nice road case to protect it. Unless you want to sell it. I would buy it is heartbeat if you were interested. Great job thanks for the vid.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

unfortunately I already sold it! It lives in Texas with a pedal-steel player. Thanks

[@mitchellcizmas5996]

BEAUTIFUL.

[@diego2246]

Beautiful!

[@Burnin-U]

Very nice work

[@dale8809]

Nice work for sure. Dang!

[@CountrySingerWannabe]

Man I love select pine

[@mikeault]

Nice job!!

[@xdx2653]

amazing job!!

[@jonatansuarezoveja5876]

Exelente .... felicidades es una hermosura ...

[@Karma-kr5dd]

Nice job... Excellent.

[@electronicshelpcare]

great job

[@gorgewashington1216]

buttiful work !

[@johnhutsenpillerjr1785]

well done !!! enjoy it ! Ohio should be proud of you.

[@freecitizen2760]

Now try this: pull out 2 of the 4 power tubes, either the middle 2 inside ones or the outer 2 outside ones, NOT 2 adjacent tubes. Now the amp is around 50 watts instead of around 100 watts. It now also wants to “see” an 8-ohm load instead of a 4-ohm load. With Fender amps, you can usually safely go up or down in ohms but only one level. So an amp that “prefers” an 8-ohm load could go to 4 or to 16 but not to 2-ohms. An amp that needs a 2-ohm load could go to 4 only. Run that now 50-watt twin into a single 8-ohm speaker (or 2-16ohm speakers or the original speaker set-up but it won’t be the ideal impedance match), It will be much easier to carry and you‘ll be able to turn it up and hear the power tubes working.

[@karymwillemsen5564]

very beautiful.

[@derekhenderson1730]

Great work my friend, I wish you were my neighbour.

[@jussaraaldrenceciliosouza8288]

magnifico parabéns belo trabalho

[@ericgendell8874]

Superb craftsmanship, beautiful result. Can you post a video of how you made the jig for the dovetail joints? I am very interested because I just bought a Quilter amp but decided to make a speaker cabinet for a 15" and 12" speaker, to make it sound like a Solid state Fender Bassman which I returned, not because it didn't sound great, but because it is too heavy to carry up and down 3 flights of stairs.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

The dovetail jig is form Peachtree woodworking, it works great.

[@possessive9088]

WE GOT THE DOG!!! the best help

[@jonathon1334]

Great work Man. Looks so good. wanting to do something also. Where are you located at? I live in Los Angeles. Got a few ideas I would like to see come to fruition. Take your time but please get in touch with me if possible. Thanks Man Cheers!

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

JOHNATHON HUNTER Sounds good, I'd love to hear you ideas . I'm in Ohio - shoot me a message here beckspeed.com/blog/info-request/

[@KK-no7be]

I made a pine cab in 2004. The dovetails were that tight I didn't bother knocking it apart again to glue it. It's still in one piece 17 years later. I didn't use tolex, it's too much work just to make it look like every other cab. Natural wood looks much better anyway.

[@martinwilliams9098]

Fantastic

[@jaycee30865]

Holy cow you are fast. I’m going to start drinking coffee again.

[@agusvai1]

Love it...

[@fretkillrlives]

It would be interesting to post the weights of the finished separation. My Twin with EV's is at least 70 lbs. and rarely leaves the studio.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

Hard to say the exact weight savings. The head alone still weighs 40+. Much easier to handle when separated from the cab. The biggest savings is the use of Eminence Neodymium speakers which weigh 4 lbs each instead of 10+ each for Jensens.

[@nickpeterson6647]

Very nice

[@cgavin1]

Me watching this video @3am getting to 10:00 "Good God! Hundreds of headphone users will die.. " You editing this video in 2016 .. "Thousands."

[@cubbiemusic]

How much would you charge to build one of these? I would pay for this.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

I'd be glad to help! Shoot me an email we can discuss. beckspeed.com/blog/info-request/

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

$600-$800 for labor and materials. You provide the amp and speakers. Thanks!

[@hunterfagan6272]

I would love to have this done to my amp someday. Just expensive. Ive seen an amp from 74 that was just like this. It looked sick

[@whatyoumakeofit6635]

@@AdamBeckSpeed hi Adam ! I just watched your video where you mad a head cabint for you twin reverb chassis. Are you located in the United States ? Im interested in a cabinet. Im located in Indiana, near Chicago.

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

Bryan Keith I’m in USA! Not too far either. I’m in Ohio between Dayton and Cincinnati. I’d be glad to discuss building one for you. Thanks!

[@gabet3754]

Clean.

[@myrnacasillan3061]

The stationary guide where did u got it sir?

[@rrjf432]

Very nice job. I want to do the same to mine. How much does the head weigh now and the cabinet being seperate

[@AdamBeckSpeed]

I actually sold this - and I forget the specifics. The head is still heavy but in line with my marshall. 45-50 lb I think. way easier to handle than the cab with jensens

[@chengliu872]

This looks beautiful, although as a minor personal preference thing; I would have went with a tweed color grill cloth.

[@myrnacasillan3061]

Sir, May I know where did you got your tools.

[@Eric_DiRisio]

I would have stained it darker but this is so badass

[@cdrakecarpentry2390]

Pine is a funny wood to stain. It often turns out really splotchy (even with conditioner). It's always a gamble as to whether it will look good

[@DONDESONS]

Hello mate. The contribution is very good, I saw that the head has no advantage, does the fender amplifier work well, or did it focus?

[@Joe-mz6dc]

Amazing

[@wrongchordsrecords]

looks great , a lot of hard work though

[@VAdu56]

superbe ! Bravo !!