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Post subject: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 7:29 pm
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We tend to hear a lot about the Blackface era and the Tweed era amps. The classics are revered and there's quite a few reissues of many of their variants.

What about the Brownface era amps? They look a lot like Blackface amp but just different tolex and grillcloth. Did they have a tone of their own? Why are they generally ignored by the reissue and even cloner manufacturers?

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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:13 pm
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Reb or Arjay...care to enlighten our Canadian friend here on the circuit and tonal differences?

I know the Vibrato on many of the Brown Faces is considered to be Leo's best use of this effect. Seems to me every Brown Face amp I have heard sounded fantasctic, don't think I have ever heard one that sounded bad ever.

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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:38 pm
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oh yeah!...they certainly have a tone of their own...to really put it in a short answer they're really in between Tweed and Blackface amps,a transitional time in Fender history when Leo and crew moved the contols in front,increased the power,and experimented with the circuitry,
We all know that Leo was constantly trying to increase the headroom in his amps,and rock and roll was growing right along with Fender...Leo was all about clean tone and dependable music gear for hard working musicians,so that's the reason for the Tolex,tweed can become ratty when it's roadworn,Tolex wears like a good tire.
The tone can be described as cleaner with more headroom than a similar tweed,but still has a lot of the midrange honk and has a really rich growl and throaty distortion when pushed hard,the bottom is second to none and the highs are not as thin as the Blackface amps.
Being the transitional amps they were not in production as long as the others,and some are really rare,the first onboard reverb was in a Brown amp,the Vibroverb.
Arjay always comments on the very rich harmonic tremolo that some of the early browns had to hear it in person is really an eye opener compared to the vibrato of a Blackface.
Arjay can educate you some on the technical aspects of the components,some of the models are very unique.


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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:42 pm
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A couple of mine..'60 Super and '62 Princeton.
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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:44 pm
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My '62 Vibrolux
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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:51 pm
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My newest toy,'63 Reverb!
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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:56 pm
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Ain't this pretty! all those cloth covered wires and vintage caps.
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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 8:59 pm
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Spent most of it's life covered up...it's in perfect shape.
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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:57 pm
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That is one great looking Reverb Unit! Very cool. How does it sound? What 6K6GT you using?

A little side note... some of these older units have the final 7025 runaway. To prevent that the RI has a 1 MEG ohm tying the grid to ground (see R13, on the Reissued schematic).

http://www.webphix.com/schematic%20heav ... _schem.pdf

http://www.studiosoundelectronics.com/s ... manual.pdf


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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:55 am
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It sounds great BMW,...this is the first reverb unit that I've owned,to me the sound is like I've heard people talk about,(maybe you were one of them),it is warmer and softer than the onboard reverb of the Blackface amps,which is what most of my others are...I'm not a big 'verb user and on the BF amps rarely get it above 2-3 on the knob.
The stand alone unit with the different controls enhance the effect and I like what I've heard out of it so far.
Two things...I'm not sure of the 7025 runaway that you mentioned,I'm a schematic junkie and I appreciated the link to the manual...I had the schem. to the original unit.
So if you would,educate me on that problem...I haven't gotten a chance to study the manual yet,I'm at work.
Second...yesterday afternoon I installed a three prong cord on it,and it never dawned on me that when I would plug it in to use with my amp,there would be a "ground loop"!
I immediately recognized the hum associated with it when I heard it....since I've dealt with that when using two amps in tandem....a two prong adaptor stopped it,but it's plugged into a power strip with the amp for now...the adaptor isn't my favorite remedy.
I did not change the wiring between the fuse and switch as I normally do when changing it on my other amps...I hated to unsolder factory work for one thing but I'll change that later..I just soldered into the aux. socket and left the rest original for now.


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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:57 am
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BTW...the 6K6 is an RCA blackplate....and I have some other NOS 6K6 tubes that I've had for years.


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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 6:18 am
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i had the same princeton amp as rebelsoul- my first amp in the 60's

it was a great amp soundwise, but no reverb (which was big when i started playing surf music and similar songs). it was also underpowered for live gigs, so it got put away in the mid 60's, and not brought out again until 5 years ago.

i sold it for a great price to a harmonica player who just raves about the sound.

me-i'm back to fender amps


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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 7:44 am
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If you had to try and find something to explain what the tone of my 1966 Fender Unit Reverb sitting on top of by brownie 1962 Pro Amp--- this might be it. Warning NSFW...

http://usr.audioasylum.com/images/2/207 ... bayo-8.jpg


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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 8:58 am
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Rebelsoul wrote:
Spent most of it's life covered up...it's in perfect shape.
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That is pretty RS!

Another beauty that looks like it just came off the assembly line!

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Post subject: Re: Tell me about Brownface Amps
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 9:12 am
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Is it my imagination, or is the handle a dark brown and not black? Kinda interesting mix of blackface style handle on a brownface unit.

Rebelsoul... pretty dang cool unit. I have both RCA and Sylvania BP 6K6GT. The Sylvania gives the unit a slightly brighter tone and the RCA a browner tone. Both are GREAT tubes.

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