1979 Fender Twin Reverb Blackface.

[ndtced]

I am looking at a 1979 Twin Reverb Blackface. I can find little about this amp. I find much about the silverface. It is UL as it is 135w. Speakers are not original and have been replaced with Weber California's.
Was it made a blackface or converted to one?
Give
Me some history if you can, thanks.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

Pics would be nice...

 

[wildschwein]

Pretty sure they would have been Silverface in '79. The Blackface made an appearance again during the Riveria era as far as I know which was a very different amp.

 

[AlbertaGriff]

Yeah around 1980 (so this one with 1979 parts could apply) they reverted to the blackface look. They don't look exactly the same as the 60s versions. They also aren't wired the same. It is essentially the last of the silverface era amps.

So whatever info you find on a 1978/1979 silverface twin reverb would be the same for a 1979/1980 "blackface" twin reverb.

 

[LostGonzo85]

I am looking at a 1979 Twin Reverb Blackface. I can find little about this amp. I find much about the silverface. It is UL as it is 135w. Speakers are not original and have been replaced with Weber California's.
Was it made a blackface or converted to one?
Give
Me some history if you can, thanks.

Post a pic. The "Rivera-era" black faceplate didn't come out until late 80 or early 81, and has a different typeface from the original models, and with the master volume and washer around the jewel light like the silverface - see picture below. '79 would have come with a silver faceplate for sure, so either the seller has the date wrong or the faceplate has been swapped.

 

[Lynxtrap]

Also, the 80's ones with black panels were not rated 135W.

 

[68goldtop]

Hi!

Also, the 80's ones with black panels were not rated 135W.

I´m pretty sure they were




The later "Twin Reverb II" were rated at (I think) 105 watts...

cheers - 68.

 

[Lynxtrap]

Hi!

I´m pretty sure they were

View attachment 1134949
View attachment 1134950

The later "Twin Reverb II" were rated at (I think) 105 watts...

cheers - 68.

I'm confused. The II series are the so called Rivera-era amps. 135W requiers a UL output stage. Was there a black panel amp with SF circuitry before the II series? If so, that must be what the OP has?

 

[Wally]

The cosmetic changes that occurred for the last two years..1980/1981..of production the last handwired descendants of the AB763 circuit were NOT part of the “Rivera-era“ amp line. These amps are the same circuits as they were in 1979.
@ntdced, what is the stamped serial number on the back of the chassis.
For 1979, that number will be A9 followed by five more digits. For 1980, the letter prefix changed to “F”. 1980 = F0xxxxx.
If you are dating by components, those dates could be late 1979 for a 1980 amp. I could even envision a 1979 chassis being found with the BF cosmetics that were re-introduced in 1980.

 

[68goldtop]

Hi!

I'm confused. The II series are the so called Rivera-era amps. 135W requiers a UL output stage. Was there a black panel amp with SF circuitry before the II series? If so, that must be what the OP has?

Yes, it IS, in fact a bit confusing
Like the other guys said above - the last of the Silverface-amps got a black control-panel in 1980/81.
They're quite rare, as they were only produced for a little more than a year (if I remember correctly...) - and yes, the OP is most likely looking at one of these!

The Rivera amps came a little later, and the "classic" line (from 1963 to 1981/82) was discontinued in favor of these.

cheers - 68.

 

[Dacious]

If it says 135 watts by the speaker jack it's the last of the CBS SF era that finished in 1981/82 by which time it was selling in a trickle. It is ultralinear and will have pull boost on the volume control but still the same layout as a 1964 BF Twin Reverb. The last two years of these amps 80-81 Fender reverted to blackface grille cloth and faceplate but they're identical to the last Sf amps in every respect.

The TRII was a different non-UL 105 watt amp implemented during the Paul Rivera era, probably designed by Ed Jahns with extra pull controls for various boosts and instead of Normal and tremolo it had a distortion channel plus a typical Fender clean channel. All tube, and many features in common with things like the Concert II..

This lasted 82-86 until the old Fullerton factory closed as part of the Schulz-controlled FMIC buyout. They were the last of the handwired tagboard Fender amps.

It was replaced by 'The Twin' red-knobber - 25/100 watt PCB guts, pressboard cab aka Evil Twin in '88, which confusingly scored BF looking cosmetics in around 90/91.

Edit: corrected a couple of years.

 

[Ten Over]

The TRII was a different non-UL 105 watt amp implemented during the Paul Rivera era, probably by Ed Jahns with extra pull controls for various boosts and instead of Normal and tremolo it had a distortion channel plus a typical Fender clean channel. All tube, and many features in common with things like the Concert II..

Yep.




As compared to a 135W.

 

[Lynxtrap]

Hi!

Yes, it IS, in fact a bit confusing
Like the other guys said above - the last of the Silverface-amps got a black control-panel in 1980/81.
They're quite rare, as they were only produced for a little more than a year (if I remember correctly...) - and yes, the OP is most likely looking at one of these!

I did not know that, interesting fact! I also managed to miss that someone already mentioned it in a previous post.
It all makes sense then.

 

[Dacious]

I did not know that, interesting fact! I also managed to miss that someone already mentioned it in a previous post.
It all makes sense then.

Fender Amp Field Guide Contents

From the Fender Field Amp Guide:

1980
Fender reintroduces solid state amps into the amp line......
Fender returns to the "Black Face" cosmetics, first as an option and are standard by late 1981
.......
The Bandmaster Reverb is discontinued
The Studio Bass is discontined
The Super Twin Reverb is discontinued

• 1981​

  • Bill Schultz, formerly of Yamaha becomes President of Fender.
  • Paul Rivera hired as Director of Marketing for Amplifiers.
  • The Dual Showman Reverb is discontined
  • The Super Reverb is discontinued
  • The Vibrosonic Reverb is discontinued

• 1982​

  • ...
  • The Twin Reverb is replaced by the Twin Reverb II
  • .....
  • The Bassman 10 is discontinued
  • The Musicmaster Bass is discontined
  • The Pro Reverb is discontined
  • The Vibrolux Reverb is discontinued
  • The Vibro Champ is discontinued

So the last Leo-era amps either became post-CBS 'II' amps or the legacy tremolo equipped amps like Vibrolux, Bandmaster, Showman, Pro Reverb, Vibroking/Vibrosonic were discontinued.

 

[ndtced]

Photos

 

[Wally]

A SF UL Twin Reverb came to me for service today. The chassis date stamp was A 769xxx, which is a 1977 stamp. The OEM Rola speakers, which had blue Fender labels, were dated to the 8th week of 1978…
2857808. This is a situation where the chassis date stamp does not agree with the actual production date of the amp…which cannot be earlier than maybe the third month of 1978 according to the speakers. It will be interesting to see the date codes on the transformers and electrolytic capacitors. Certain date codes can be erroneous as it relates to actual production date of the amp on the cusps of the years.

 

[Wally]

Photos

This amp is an Ultra Linear, 135 watt TR….not a TR II from 1982-1985.
What is the chassis stamp on the right hand side of the back of the chassis?