# An Ode to the Fender Brownface



## Sunny1433 (Nov 23, 2018)

Since the new '62 RI Chris Stapleton Brownface Princeton Reverb (that's a lot of words!) is coming out, I was wondering if anyone has any brown face amps (originals or custom builds) and what you think about them. Care to share any pictures or sound clips? It's definitely my favourite era of Fender, I think, and that harmonic tremolo of the bigger sized amps sounds unbelievable. Any brown face love?


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

I have a 6G2 I’m being buried in....


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

Brownface era amps? You bet. I do indeed like them. Actually, come to think of it from 1948 to 1975 all the different eras of Fender amps have special qualities that I love.

I currently own a 1962 Brown Vibrolux. Dual 6L6 1x12 amp. About 28W. Bias vary tremolo. Love it. Nice break up. Awesome trem. A rarely seen amp it seems.










A few years ago sold my original 1963 6G2 Princeton on here. I proceeded to build my own clone. In a head format. Dual 6V6 and bias vary trem. Wonderful amps. Love it. I usually run it into a 1x12 cab, however also have 2x12 cab option.










I just recently sold a 1962 Blonde Twin with 5 triode harmonic tremolo. 80W four 5881 power tubes. 2x12. Wow. Loud and proud. More amp than I can use these days. I tried to find a buyer in Canada. Unfortunately it went to New Orleans. I got a good dollar for it. The new owner is on cloud 9.
















My clone 6G2 during the build. Not dressed up yet:


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

I have a re-issue Vibroverb


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The big brother of one of my high school friends had a brownface Deluxe Reverb with two 10s as I recall. He played a Watkins Rapier through it. I forget whether it was a 2 or 3-pickup model. He sold me his castoff Kent guitar and Symphonic amp.

I have a dual 12AX7/dual-6V6 tube head I bought at a Songbird Music garage sale a decade back, to turn into something else. I think it may be ideal for a 6G2 conversion.


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## RBlakeney (Mar 12, 2017)

I don't, so someone sell me one!


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Thanks EVERYONE who posted in here, that new reissue sounds great. @keithb7 that Vibroluxe just derailed my (first of 2) 66 Pro Reverb for favourite vintage Fender. First one I got cheap at a music store in Saskatoon, having taken back a Marshall 50W combo, totally no good for a young family in a cheap rental townhouse lol. That would have been...94-5. A few years later, I sold it to Brian at Avenue in a young family type cash crunch, and regretted it to today. 10-12 years later, I got another one, from Avenue. And I spent lots on it, a pair of old C12Ns, a visit to the tech, tube rolling...it never sounded as good as the first one.


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

I had a brown Deluxe for a while and really liked it. Unfortunately was a casualty of a GAS attack.

The new Stapleton one sounds nice in the clips.


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## Sunny1433 (Nov 23, 2018)

These are such amazing amps everyone, thank you so much for sharing!  

I haven't ever even played one but I definitely hope to own a Fender Brownface style amp someday. It's a bucket list thing.


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

62 tremolux


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## vokey design (Oct 24, 2006)

I do not have one but after listening to Joel Landreth in this episode of that pedal show I WANT ONE! This episode is mostly talking but some tasty playing mixed in here and there through a vintage brownface super.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

There is a brownface concert 4x10 on Facebook Marketplace in Hamilton www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/148111335808950/


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## King Loudness (May 3, 2010)

Chitmo said:


> I have a 6G2 I’m being buried in....
> 
> View attachment 242296


This is a great sounding amp. The pair of them really but the 6G2 is special. 

W.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

RBlakeney said:


> I don't, so someone sell me one!


Can't sell you one, but I might know where you'd be able to 'dig one up'.......



Chitmo said:


> I have a 6G2 I’m being *buried in....*


.....just hopefully not for quite a few decades.


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## Sunny1433 (Nov 23, 2018)

knight_yyz said:


> There is a brownface concert 4x10 on Facebook Marketplace in Hamilton www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/148111335808950/


Oh man, $2800... Yea, i'll need to save up for a lifetime to be able to buy that. Definitely bucket list stuff.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

King Loudness said:


> This is a great sounding amp. The pair of them really but the 6G2 is special.
> 
> W.


Yes, yes it is.


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## Sunny1433 (Nov 23, 2018)

High/Deaf said:


> Can't sell you one, but I might know where you'd be able to 'dig one up'.......
> 
> 
> 
> .....just hopefully not for quite a few decades.


The Princeton, at 12 watts, doesn't have much headroom I figure.. clean up till like 3 or 4? Could you gig with it?


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

It's going to be direct competition with the new Orange, similar combo with Trem, probably similar $$. I need to listen to both clips back to back.


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## Davestp1 (Apr 25, 2006)

_There is a brownface concert 4x10 on Facebook Marketplace in Hamilton __www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/148111335808950/_
_Oh man, $2800... Yea, i'll need to save up for a lifetime to be able to buy that. Definitely bucket list stuff._

From memory, I think Nonreverb from this board had (may still have) one for sale for less than that....


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Sunny1433 said:


> The Princeton, at 12 watts, doesn't have much headroom I figure.. clean up till like 3 or 4? Could you gig with it?


Non-reverb Princeton’s stay pretty clean all the way up. EDIT I think that may apply more to the black ace ones.

Here is one of my old brownies, long gone now


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## ga20t (Jul 22, 2010)

My old 6G2. I owned a Pro for a while in the early '00s as well. My favourite thing about them, besides the fact I think they look great (especially the brown/oxblood combo Concert), is definitely the tremolo; the bias-vary of the Princeton, the harmonic tremolo of the larger amps. Thankfully both of those are available in much cheaper pedal form more and more these days as I don't actually prefer the sound of the brown-era amps to the later blackface models. But they are super cool, and I'd like to own a Concert one day if prices ever come back down to earth or I find a good deal.


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

The reverb and tremelo on the Vibroverb was what made me pull the trigger.


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## Sunny1433 (Nov 23, 2018)

knight_yyz said:


> The reverb and tremelo on the Vibroverb was what made me pull the trigger.


Can't even imagine how good that would sound! Do you have any sound clips you could share?


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## knight_yyz (Mar 14, 2015)

ugh... I don't have anything to record with except my phone. I don't think it would do it justice.


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## StevieMac (Mar 4, 2006)

Don't get me started on my love for brownies  I've had them all, literally, and I think my favourite would have to be the Vibrolux. As @keithb7 noted, 28 watts through a single 12 with Treble & Bass controls on _both_ channels makes it perfect for gigging: portable, loud enough, and you can really tone shape those 2 channels using different preamp tubes. 

I still have a brown Super which is similar sounding but with more power and punch due to the 2x10 configuration. To be honest, there hasn't been one dud among the dozens of brownies I've owned so I think that says something about that entire line of amps.


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

Brown amps are my favourite era of Fender amplification. I've had a bunch of them.
I currently have a 61' Deluxe (thanks Derek !!!).
I also have a Headstrong brown Deluxe knockoff that I got on the Forum here from @GeorgeMich that is AWESOME !!!!


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## Sunny1433 (Nov 23, 2018)

faracaster said:


> Brown amps are my favourite era of Fender amplification. I've had a bunch of them.
> I currently have a 61' Deluxe (thanks Derek !!!).
> I also have a Headstrong brown Deluxe knockoff that I got on the Forum here from @GeorgeMich that is AWESOME !!!!


Oh man those look so good! I'd just love to hear them in person sometime!


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Gary Clark Jr was getting some great tones out of a brownface Vibro King head into some unknown cab on SNL last week. No idea if it was vintage or RI but it sounded good.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

A friend of mine sold a brownface Princeton on Reverb - and Fender was the buyer! They are now putting out a reissue and we are fairly certain that his amp was the one they used when creating the reissue.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I have never played a brownie. ;(


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

High/Deaf said:


> Gary Clark Jr was getting some great tones out of a brownface Vibro King head into some unknown cab on SNL last week. No idea if it was vintage or RI but it sounded good.


The Vibroking is not a brownie. It is an amp all in it's own category. While there is a reissue, there is no vintage. The VK was created by Zinky in the Custom Shop circa 1993.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

cboutilier said:


> The Vibroking is not a brownie. It is an amp all in it's own category. While there is a reissue, there is no vintage. The VK was created by Zinky in the Custom Shop circa 1993.


Cool. I didn't know that. It had the same aesthetic as the brownface amps shown here (right down to the script), and I don't recall seeing a head version of it before, either.

The other guitar player in the band was right-handed and playing a left-handed Tele - which seems like a long way to go to get bad upper fret access and controls in a poor location for live playing. Jimi played a wrong-handed guitar because he didn't have much choice. This guy has all the choice in the world. But I guess it looked unique.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

High/Deaf said:


> Cool. I didn't know that. It had the same aesthetic as the brownface amps shown here (right down to the script), and I don't recall seeing a head version of it before, either.
> 
> The other guitar player in the band was right-handed and playing a left-handed Tele - which seems like a long way to go to get bad upper fret access and controls in a poor location for live playing. Jimi played a wrong-handed guitar because he didn't have much choice. This guy has all the choice in the world. But I guess it looked unique.


I do believe the VK uses the reverb circuit from the blonde/brown era standalone reverb units. They are a glorious amp.


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## Chitmo (Sep 2, 2013)

faracaster said:


> Brown amps are my favourite era of Fender amplification. I've had a bunch of them.
> I currently have a 61' Deluxe (thanks Derek !!!).
> I also have a Headstrong brown Deluxe knockoff that I got on the Forum here from @GeorgeMich that is AWESOME !!!!


A brown Deluxe is on my bucket list, that’s a sweet amp


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## keithb7 (Dec 28, 2006)

In my opinion the Vibro King is extemely loud at break up. It does mimic the 6G15 reverb tank. It sounded similar to a Super Reverb I thought. However louder!


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

I gigged with a first year Vibro King, for about a year. It was glorious in the store but it had no headroom on stage and we weren't a loud band-so back to my '64 Vibroverb. The VK reverb was great but the EL84 driver tube was run beyond it's maximum plate dissipation and tended to go south regularly. I believe the later models went to a 6V6.
The best trem was undoubtedly the harmonic circuit.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

WCGill said:


> I gigged with a first year Vibro King, for about a year. It was glorious in the store but it had no headroom on stage and we weren't a loud band-so back to my '64 Vibroverb. The VK reverb was great but the EL84 driver tube was run beyond it's maximum plate dissipation and tended to go south regularly. I believe the later models went to a 6V6.
> The best trem was undoubtedly the harmonic circuit.


Wow. I expected them to have far more headroom than that. The '64 isn't a crazy loud amp itself.


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## WCGill (Mar 27, 2009)

cboutilier said:


> Wow. I expected them to have far more headroom than that. The '64 isn't a crazy loud amp itself.


I read quite often, as above, that the VK is quite loud but that wasn't my experience. It was loud but it wasn't possible to get a decent clean tone. Defective right from the factory?


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