Tweed Fender Deluxe... Barn find... (Kind of)

[The Salt]

Well, kind of. I responded to an ad placed on a local Craigs List type of free advertising forum. The ad said "Fender Amp, Deluxe 85 watts" This peaked my interest so I text the guy. Turns out he was out feeding his cows. He said that he had owned the amp since 1970 and that he was the second owner. He said he played in a jazz band in high school and that he even played the amp in a jazz solo for Governor Reagan. Haha. I offered him $200 sight unseen over the phone based on his information and he agreed on the deal. I had a buddy of mine swing by the farm and pick up the amp for me yesterday. Anyway, this is the amp. # D09714 (Anyone know what year? I think is a 1959 or 1960. Kind of speaker?)

Looks like something was living in it. I hope i dont get the hantavirus.















40 year old barn mouse poop!

[The Salt]

Stripping off the old bad tolex. Anyone know of a good product besides sandpaper to get the decroded old glue residue off? I kind of like the idea of a wooden amp... Shellacked instead of re-tweeded. Any thoughts?














You can see the holes from the leather handle.


Gluing the knot back in.

[Silverface]

You scored.

It appears to be a 1960 narrow-panel Deluxe. What's interesting is the serial number is WAY at the tail end of the run of these models, before they changed to a front panel and brown tolex.

I'm fairly sure the black tolex is NOT original - but weirder things have happened in Fender history than black tolex showing up 4 years early. It's be hard to sell as original, but, well, with the number of amps I've had that have had "nonexistent" features you never know. Besides, it's one of the best "player" amps ever made, so it's a keeper. The knobs are wrong but easily replaced with chicken-heads; the speaker definitely looks like a replacement.

But most important -

DON'T TURN IT ON!

Don't let your curiosity overcome good sense. It has original filter caps, and if it's been sitting for years they are probably crystallized inside. Turning it on could blow one - or all - and take out a transformer in seconds.

Get it to a tech, have them replaced and a 3-prong cord installed. Have the rest of it checked out.

You'll be glad you did.

I'm serious about turning it on. It's happened to more amps than most people think. ESPECIALLY ones that have not been played in a long time.

EDITED TO ADD - you added more pics (of the stripped tolex) since I posted, and it IS obvious now that the tolex was not original - you can see the remnants of old tweed glue lines.

If you want a natural finish I would not recommend shellac unless you have a furniture refinisher apply it. I'd sand it smooth (and glue the cracks with Titebond) and coat it with gloss lacquer. Shellacs and varnishes tend to look inconsistent and have runs (especially if applied by hand); Lacquer sanding sealer followed by 20 or so coats of clear lacquer would look good; you can get lacquer in different toner shades if you want to "age" it a bit, which I would do on old, slightly damaged wood.

But if it was min I'd have it re-tweeded.and lacquered.

[Bohdan]

Wow! Great find! I think it would look great shellac'd but may be too soft? Dings?

[Ricky D.]

Originally Posted by Silverface

You scored.

It appears to be a 1960 narrow-panel Deluxe. What's interesting is the serial number is WAY at the tail end of the run of these models, before they changed to a front panel and brown tolex.

I'm fairly sure the black tolex is NOT original - but weirder things have happened in Fender history than black tolex showing up 4 years early. It's be hard to sell as original, but, well, with the number of amps I've had that have had "nonexistent" features you never know. Besides, it's one of the best "player" amps ever made, so it's a keeper. The knobs are wrong but easily replaced with chicken-heads; the speaker definitely looks like a replacement.

But most important -

DON'T TURN IT ON!

Don't let your curiosity overcome good sense. It has original filter caps, and if it's been sitting for years they are probably crystallized inside. Turning it on could blow one - or all - and take out a transformer in seconds.

Get it to a tech, have them replaced and a 3-prong cord installed. Have the rest of it checked out.

You'll be glad you did.

I'm serious about turning it on. It's happened to more amps than most people think. ESPECIALLY ones that have not been played in a long time.

EDITED TO ADD - you added more pics (of the stripped tolex) since I posted, and it IS obvious now that the tolex was not original - you can see the remnants of old tweed glue lines.

If you want a natural finish I would not recommend shellac unless you have a furniture refinisher apply it. I'd sand it smooth (and glue the cracks with Titebond) and coat it with gloss lacquer. Shellacs and varnishes tend to look inconsistent and have runs (especially if applied by hand); Lacquer sanding sealer followed by 20 or so coats of clear lacquer would look good; you can get lacquer in different toner shades if you want to "age" it a bit, which I would do on old, slightly damaged wood.

But if it was min I'd have it re-tweeded.and lacquered.

Incredible find!

Great advice from Silverface, every bit of it.

[The Salt]

I didnt get the post about not turning it on. To late. Good advice, I should have figured, but still too late.






This thing RIPS!

I plugged the amp into my Blues Junior cab which houses an Eminance Swamp Thang and HOLY HELL... what a great sound, esp with only one tone knob! Not shrill or ice picky. I dont know what the old red speaker is but its nothing compared to the S.T. Awesome tone and sustain.. Also, a lot louder than I would have expected.

So, should I take it to a tech anyway? just to make sure all cylinders are firing? It sounds great but I dont want to screw anything up.

I am gluing the knot back in the cab right now and I think you are right... I should have it re tweeded. Is there a company that is more recommended than others?

Thanks guys!

Matt

[Radspin]

I would take it to a tech. That amp is one of the all-time classics and deserves to be in top condition (and worry-free whenever you turn it on).

I don't know who to recommend for re-tweeding. While you're getting it re-tweeded, get a repro logo also!

I can't imagine the speaker is original. There should be a number on it somewhere that indicates the manufacturer code. Here's a link with more information:

http://www.planet10-hifi.com/EIA-SpeakerCodes.html

[acalan]

Originally Posted by Bohdan

Wow! Great find! I think it would look great shellac'd but may be too soft? Dings?

I would tweed it new grill cloth .Great find.They never have anything like that down here

[jmiles]

Jim is right! Don't turn it on again! Get it to a tech. Re-Tweed it. My tech is so anal that he put the new caps inside of the old cap bodies.

[Rod Parsons]

Originally Posted by jmiles

Jim is right! Don't turn it on again! Get it to a tech. Re-Tweed it. My tech is so anal that he put the new caps inside of the old cap bodies.

I think that doing that was nice.. To preserve a little of it's originality.. I have read of other techs doing that too.. What a great find... $200.00 was a steal for that tone alone... Yeah!,,, I would tweed it too.

[donh]

I got one of those many years ago. Serial number about 1100 before yours. It had blown up and the owner traded it to me for a repair to his wah pedal. It had been painted at least twice over the original tweed and the output transformer was toast. So I stripped off the cloth, taking the horrid paint with it, belt-sanded it 'til the glue was gone and put on a couple coats of polyurethane (the horror! poly! - it was thirty years ago, ffolks!). I had a transformer lying around that matched all specs perfectly, did a cap job and the thing has sounded and performed quite nicely ever since. Everyone loves both the look and the sound - I was able to save the metal logo plate and the distressed-wood look is positively commented upon often.

[The Salt]

So, at this point... do I retweed the original cab or just buy a whole new cab for the chassis? It would cost less to get a new one. Thoughts?

[Ricky D.]

Originally Posted by Silverface

... it's one of the best "player" amps ever made, ...

DON'T TURN IT ON!

Don't let your curiosity overcome good sense. It has original filter caps, and if it's been sitting for years they are probably crystallized inside. Turning it on could blow one - or all - and take out a transformer in seconds.
Get it to a tech, have them replaced and a 3-prong cord installed. Have the rest of it checked out.

You'll be glad you did.

I'm serious about turning it on. It's happened to more amps than most people think. ESPECIALLY ones that have not been played in a long time.

...

Originally Posted by The Salt

...

So, should I take it to a tech anyway? just to make sure all cylinders are firing? It sounds great but I dont want to screw anything.

Matt, the risk is real. Get the cap job ASAP.

[noah330]

Cool Find!

I got my '49 Deluxe on ebay for $400 two years ago.

As it arrived:









Today (took a lot of time but I got most of the paint off):

[The Salt]

Originally Posted by Ricky D.

Matt, the risk is real. Get the cap job ASAP.

Thanks Ricky... I called my amp tech this morning and filled him in on the job. He is stoked to dig into it. He is a 74 year old "fender Certified" amp tech to boot. I will let him have it for a few days and let him take his time. He fixed my DRRI a few weeks ago and did a great job sleuthing out the problem. He is the man for the job! :-)

Matt

[Ricky D.]

Good plan. Your tech sounds like a good man for the job.