FENDER BROWNFACE AMPS
WAMPLER BLACK 65 + CATALINBREAD PAREIDOLIA / TOPANGA
The so-called brownface amps from Fender are
among the most legendary of all Fender equipment.
Manufactured after “Tweed” and “Blonde” eras, the
brownface era was produced between 1959 and
1963. Tube-based spring reverb was the hallmark
of these amps, as well as their chewy tones.
Originally, the brownface amps were somewhat
low-output and more unrefined, making them
great rock ‘n’ roll amps, yet they still cleaned
up stupendously with the guitar’s volume knob,
making them exceptional at both ends of the
floor, so to speak.
Aside from tube-based reverb, a big plus for
the brownface era was Leo Fender’s “not-quitea-vibrato” vibrato circuit. Much debate has
raged back and forth as to what kind of effect it
actually is, with each side landing in ambiguity.
Such an ambiguous yet beautiful effect begs to
be recreated via pedals and I would be remiss
to speak of brownface amps without it.
Firstly, the Black ’65 from Wampler makes a pretty
convincing brownface sound. I know, I know—
BLACK ’65. However, diming the pedal and then
rolling the guitar’s volume knob back just a hair
will suffice nicely. The pedal has a full three-band
EQ, so tailoring it a guitar’s pickups is a very easy
task. The Catalinbread Pareidolia and Topanga
offer the distinct vibrato circuit and tube spring
reverb emulation, respectively, to help duplicate
the brownface tone in the player’s head, as
there are six different models in this era.
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TONE TALK //
How to Create Classic Amps from Pedals