Why Brown Face Fender Amps are absolute MAGIC!

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HW shows why his 1962 Fender Pro Amp and Brownface Amps are absolutely Magic! Sitting somewhere between Tweed and Blackface these Brownface amps can get beautiful Jazzy cleans but still have a touch of tweed, enough to rock with the best Vintage American amps out there.
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[@Timbretwo]

The Fender brown face amps are THE sound of the original Motown songs. 1960 to 1965.

[@claesvanoldenphatt9972]

Brownface amps were the backline for all the stages around the world until they got replaced by Blackface amps.

[@HofiAgilAghov]

The most articulate video I've seen about the essence of Fender Brownface amps. Thanks

[@matthewtucker1699]

I am lucky enough to own a brown face deluxe, it is the most dynamic amplifier I've played. your description of using the knob to get clean and dirty sounds hit the nail on the head, I can plug straight in to the bright channel on 5-6 and have everything I need clean or gain wise. beats the tweed fart box into the ground in my opinion.

[@1Dcorace]

100% agree.

[@MaxPower-js1sk]

I love Brownface, especially with the harmonic trem.

[@loneguitar66]

62 Pro may be my favorite profile so far!

[@aishaish1885]

Wow! these are epic tones! I love using my volume pot to alter between clean(ish) to dirty, these profiles capture that incredibly well...KEEN!

[@LukasHaydenOfficial]

Woah that tone is mindblowing

[@LAMBERTONES]

Gorgeous tones, I’m a fan 😍

[@michaelaugust3626]

Great Job as ALWAYS HW! Soooo versitile amp!

[@Glorybound1313]

So glad I bought this patch. And a big thank you for the detailed history of the amp, how it's different to the tweeds and black faces. Good stuff to understand.

[@Tonetwisters]

Tones are fab!

[@coryfraser7554]

Just bought the 62 pro and dumble pack for helix. Man your profiles are so tight.

[@Tonetwisters]

Good for you on that PRO. I played through my brother's 1960 PRO when it was brand new. Loved that amp. I am blessed to own a 1962 Bandmaster head, and it is wonderful. The browns have more mid range than do the blacks.

[@devensevils]

Absolutely wonderful dynamics and tone! Eventually I'll get a MojoTone kit to build out!

[@bmwtravel1100]

I had a brown face bandmaster (with the Presence control) and Showman tone-ring bottom with the single D130F inside. this was during the late 1960's. still miss that rig - it was heavy, bulky, but what a sound ...

[@krystiandoss5956]

Fantastic tones! Now if only the Kemper could capture the magic that is the brownface harmonic tremolo. 😭

[@ToneJunkieTV]

This!! I desperately wish the Kemper had a Harmonic Tremolo… I’d bet a modulation update is on the way.

[@SwnkyTiger]

I'm not sure whether you are familiar with it or not but just in case, JAM has a pedal called the "Harmonious Monk". It was a collaboration with TPS to recreate this unique tremolo and according to Joey Landreth (of Brothers Landreth) it's the closest in pedal format to the real deal (I'm not sure which models he owns) supposedly he put it up against his two brown amps and it gets closer than anything else he has tried.

[@claesvanoldenphatt9972]

Surfybear makes the CANONICAL Brownface tremolo, and MOSFET spring reverb. No one else comes close.

[@clovergrass9439]

Never.

[@MaineBluesman]

Thanks for the tasty demo without getting all tech-nerdy. 👌

[@Glensully]

sounds great. I like Marshall amps as well - yes you can make a Marshall go very clean to gained in the same way. I have a DSL40 and i can control it really well with the guitars volume

[@jacksonrussellband]

I love tweed and blackface. I have both. I have tried to like brown face. It just sounds murky to me in the upper mids... Very nice presentation though. Maybe I'll wake up one day and have an 'ah ha' moment. Thank you for sharing!

[@shadowm3ld]

Love these educational vids HW! Keep up the great work!

[@ToneJunkieTV]

More on the way my friend!

[@mcmSEA]

If you love Brownface Fenders, you should check out Fat Jimmy amps. There's Brownface DNA in almost all of his amp models.

[@Inertiatherockband]

Always a good video upload. Thanks for putting in the grind ToneJunkie Tv. I know how it can be. :)

[@CaufiCarlsson]

Ready To buy a 63 6G16 :) Rebuild - Your play is so cool

[@Rhythmicons]

Did you buy it?

[@millichips1]

I have a grey face red knob twin which I loved for years. It’s just way to loud for many of the gigs I ended up doing these days hence the kemper is my gigging amp. Love the sound of the brown face tho.

[@djangoknight]

Great playing dude 🔥

[@bootlegapples]

Brown era amps - yes,I like. 6g2 is dirty somewhat like a tweed but firmer/quicker response in the blackface direction.

[@ziccuj]

Thank you for your excellent video! For me the Brown/Blonde era is the absolute pinnacle of Fender amps. It is - like you mentioned - the perfect blend between Tweed and Blackface amps: just the right amount of breakup, definition and bottom end 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. All the best from Finland and take care!

[@ziccuj]

We? Didn't know I was a part of a bigger group. 😃 Thanks for the comment anyway!@@chiefline7084

[@darrellpapazoni3690]

I got the brownface Bassman Amp. Cream with oxblood grill cloth. I've had it since 1972 or so. It has always been special to me. It breaks up into a powdery smooth distortion when cranking the guitar. Tweeds are still my favorite, especially the 5E4 with 6V6 tubes. Magic happens with the 5E4 when the bass is set to full and the treble set close to or full. No other amp sounds like that, ever. Your Bandmaster might be similar, don't know.

[@svbarr]

I agree they seem to have maybe 5% more headroom than the amazing tweeds. My 59 Bassman is great but that extra clean volume before breakup is right for so many tunes/styles.Black face have even more headroom but they can get thin imho...

[@kenster865]

In violent agreement. All things going as planned, I hope to pick up a new Suhr "Hombre" in a few days. It's based (I think??) on the brown-faced Deluxe (6V6) and is amazing. Lots of reviews here on YT so check 'em out. Cheers!

[@1176hambone]

brownface bassman with 6G6 circuit is the amp. George Harrison approved

[@patrickbluebus]

I bought the pack. It's fantastic.

[@bretsmith1053]

7:02 - When you hit that F#, I immediately heard Hemispheres by Rush.

[@I.M.Guitar-Nerd]

Love that intro!

[@katamedo5703]

I’ve got a 61 Vibrasonic. ❤❤❤

[@alvinyoung911]

Looking for this profile in Quad Cortex

[@alzenno4333]

Yes, the brownface amps got that crunch, but they're lacking that Fender reverb which is why I prefer the blackface models.

[@TG-vg3qe]

63 Vibroverb

[@michaelarthur4764]

Appreciate your video and the settings on the guitar …. But what were the settings on the amp knobs?

[@ToneJunkieTV]

Normal channel- gain at 7, treble at 5-6, bass at 4-5, presence at 8. That’s usually how I set it up.

[@offtherip207]

That tone kills. Yeah, keep that guitar...

[@nilsmortenalexandersen5582]

HI there. What Fender Amp sold today would come closest to the Fender Pro amp ? Nils .

[@bluerazors]

everyone sold their souls, went tone deaf and went china digital

[@mohamedtlass3842]

@@davidthomas9960 not quite

[@michaelwoods9005]

None of them. Fender ignores this era of their amps.

[@clovergrass9439]

Lol...

[@neilkorsgaard]

Do you have any brownface Tonex captures?

[@sempercompellis]

This circuit is closer to the black VVerb than the brown VVerb is (and of course , the brown VVerb is closer to the black Vlux than the black VVerb)

[@embreesmith7613]

Fender lost focus when they went Silver face Guitar amps are not HiFi amps

[@1Dcorace]

I also love brownies. I have a brown deluxe. I'm not sure why you mentioned Marshallizing it???

[@claesvanoldenphatt9972]

Dario Gomez made great clones of Fender Brownface amps until he went broke. All the surf guitarists loved his stuff. Suhr now makes a small combo like a Princeton that’s lovely but no good for a surf band. The thing about Brownface amps is there is no ‘sweet spot’ on the gain curve. It’s all sweet from barely audible to cranked. Supposedly Eddie Van Halen used a Brownface Bandmaster on early VH records. I can vouch for that amp’s sheer rock power. 45w RMS cranked into a 4x12 with a pair each of JBL D120s and Celestion V30s sounds pretty fekkin brash.

[@jeffreyjordan5325]

Wow, excellent tones and playing! Can you tell me where the volume was set on that Pro?

[@jasoneugenides5770]

50's and early 60's Magnatones have this same quality

[@claesvanoldenphatt9972]

I’ve played Magnatone 280 and Estey amps that I owned and had a 1961 Bandmaster with matching 15” tone ring cab (w/JBL D120F). They all have this rich velvety midrange, very easy on the ears. Those vintage amps are pretty expensive these days but well worth the price. Matchless amps remind me of their hifi solidly.

[@mns8732]

Everything is sold out at British audio? What the hey?

[@ToneJunkieTV]

Not sure, I’ll give them a call.

[@johnreid1234]

Hey HW, great sounds here. Question- what kind of cab are you playing through? 1x12, 2x10, 4x12? thanks!

[@voodoochile7702]

man you really know how to use this shit and thank you for sharing

[@voodoochile7702]

but how you manage the volumen diference in a live situation? i mean between the clean sonund and the distorded you MUST have a big diference that we are not geting here in the video... give a clue please beacuse its still a big question for me. Volume pedal? or maby a compresor pedal ?

[@hakonmoen3438]

Sounds mega! which of the two channels did you use in this video?

[@willdenham]

Who's the maestro playing us out?

[@garyyarago2096]

I agree, the amp sounds great, and no slight on the playing, but he seems to be even better at making ridiculous faces (Mick Taylor ,among others can play sublimely without acting ) to indicate his self satisfaction - lf he sounded like Robin Trower he could be forgiven ,but he doesn't. So many of the "guitar dude " programs are guilty of this, and it really detracts from enjoyment of the materiel they need to focus the shot on the hands and cut the head out while playing for the most part IMO.

[@ToneJunkieTV]

I just enjoy playing the guitar and I guess it shows. Thanks for watching!

[@eitanazulay9239]

Hi can you tell which circuit is this it's the most beautiful amp I ever heard and I want one

[@Boogieplex]

do they make reissues or clones of these? id like to obtain one without having to track down and pay thousands for an original. also, what year would you say is best,62,63,etc?

[@Rhythmicons]

Black panel.

[@eitanazulay9239]

Which amp is that? Sounds owsome

[@ericmendez3661]

What’s the red sparkle guitar?

[@steakncheddar]

Hey what was you signal chain in recording this? Effects after the amp or in front?

[@morbidagogo882]

“Brown Panel”

[@stringlocker]

At the time Distortion was not Magic. It was an annoyance. So Leo kept trying to clean everything up. It was like are tube car radios that used to distort.

[@chickenlickin3820]

i have a modern handwired Chris Stapleton brownface and its great but the tremolo is not the best.

[@fotoajojo]

What is the guitar?

[@BITESIZEJONES]

Doesn't strike me as the perfect amp for the smaller venue.

[@Phoboss32]

Why do you delete comments which question the negative feedback topic?

[@ToneJunkieTV]

I’m not maybe your hitting the KZbin spam filter? What is a negative feedback topic?

[@allrequiredfields]

I genuinely can't understand why people think this sounds good. It's sounds terrible to me. Its harsh, fizzy and thin. It's like listening to music on those gas station headphones you can get for $5