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Post subject: Fender The Twin "black knob" question
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:07 am
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Hi! I just bought me a black knob The Twin. Fender made The Twin available as either red or black knob during 1990-1994 (Wikipedia).

First of all, mine is all black. I've seen many photos of The Twin black knob owners, where the grill cloth is Fender silver, and the metal parts are chrome. I've seen/found no photos or info about this "all black" -version.

In my Twin, the cloth and the metal parts are black as well. I studied the paint in the metal parts, they are factory made, ie. nobody hasn't painted them afterwards. It's also missing the Fender nameplate. The seller had bought this as it is.

The serial number begins with letters LO xxxxxxx. I tried to date this amp back, but I found no records for this letter combination. In some records at fender.com, the L refers to December, but the year is a mystery.

The amp itself is in VERY good condition and sounds as it should, it's the real deal, but I'd like to know what's this all black thing is about.

I would like to know when this amp is made. Is this some kind of "third" version made available by Fender itself or what?

If you have any facts, I'd be thrilled to know.

Thanks,
K

http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y31 ... p/twin.jpg

more detailed photos on request..


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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:16 pm
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Hi koopop,

I believe that the letter codes are not referring to the serial number, but are referring to a two letter code that is on the inspection sticker on the back of the amp chassis, or somewhere inside the cabinet. From the Fender website:

"All Fender amplifiers manufactured from 1990 to the present include a date code, printed on the quality assurance (QA) sticker on the back of the amp chassis. This black-and-silver sticker contains several lines for "sign-offs" on completion of sound and electrical testing. The final line contains a date code of two printed or handwritten letters denoting the amplifier's production date by year (the first letter) and month (the second letter).

In the table below, for example, a "CE" date code indicates a production date of May 1992."

http://www.fender.com/support/amplifiers.php

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:29 pm
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Hi Shimmilou, thank you for your reply!

here's a photo
http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y31 ... C07946.jpg

There's something but you couldn't tell. :) Or is that just a scratch..?

Too bad. I was hoping that the serial "LO" would be the case..

I'm still very curious if anyone has anything to tell about this all black amp..

-Kai


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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 3:02 pm
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:lol: Yeah, I can't tell what that is supposed to be, no help there. Retroverbial may be able to help if you can get the numbers that are stamped onto the transformers....maybe. :idea: Put the [img]and[/img] before and after your link so that it looks like this:

Code:
[img]http://i1025.photobucket.com/albums/y319/koopop/DSC07946.jpg[/img]


To get this:

Image

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 3:13 pm
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Koopop,
I can dig on the way your amp looks all black like that.I suspect that somebody most likely replaced the grill cloth with black and just didn't put the Fender nameplate back on and painted the chrome black. I am a painting contrator by trade and I could make that look like it came from the factory no problem.I suppose there is a chance it was shipped out that way but I have never seen one like yours.I got mine from the Fender facility in Brea California brand new way back than.I grew up right near it and knew someone that worked there.I don't recall ever seeing one like yours come out of that place.Definitely one of a kind.

Heres a pic of mine
Image

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1986 Fender Sidekick Reverb 35
1990 Fender Red Knob - "The Twin"
1992 Fender Newporter - Acoustic
2000 Fender American Series Strat - Natural ash
2010 Fender Mustang 1
2011 Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster -Sunburst
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Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 5:44 pm
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Look on the Tube chart. I have the same amp. I,ll look on mine when I get the chance.


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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 3:07 am
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Yes, it makes sense that somebody has painted the grill cloth black and left the logo out.

In the red knob photo you can see a triangle shaped piece of wood supporting the nameplate (where to screw the plate), and that's missing in mine. That indicates that somebody has taken the front cloth and the frame off. I can't tell if the canvas itself was painted, but it makes sense now.

I earlier assumed that the metal parts were originally black, because I stratched the surface to see the metal and it didn't look like paint-over. A friend of mine said that that was factory painted. But now that you say, you're right, it's easy to make the paint look like original if you know what you're doing. Brush the chrome (sand blow?) away and repaint with professional tools..

I wish that this was a special amp. Now it's just ruined :) Just kidding, the amp itself is like new and in super mint condition. Hasn't been gigged and smells like new.

There was on eBay a red knob cabinet for sale for 100$ (in Oklahoma), but I couldn't bid on it because I'm in Europe. Damn! I would like to collect the original parts (cloth and the logo) back. That would give me a higher resale value, if I'm ever gonna sell this. At least I could have another cabinet for different set of speakers. Or maybe I could separate the amp and the cabinet, so I don't have to break my back trying to get this thing to move down the stairs.

Thank you,
Kai


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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 3:17 am
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tbazzone,

the tube chart is clean. Right next to it there is blue round sticker and handwritten "RK" on it. Fender dating chart didn't match with that, so that isn't the case, I think.

There is a chance that this has actually been a red knob, who knows! You can easily buy and change the red/black knobs..

It would still be nice to know the year. Could be anything between -85 and -94.


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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 3:31 am
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Image


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Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 11:54 am
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Mine is a 94 and came with black knobs. I changed them to red when some of the knobs and pots got damaged during shipping once. The amp is a killer though. I don,t use mine much its to loud besides I have a 1990 59 bassman RI. I use.


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