DISCLAIMER: This site is in no way affiliated with Fender Musical
Instruments Corporation, CBS Musical Instruments, or any other company. The Fender
brand names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners, and
are not specifically endorsed by the owner of this website. We are faithful to Leo's original ideas building amps with hands of people, not machines. We are in no way, even remotely related to any products sold by FMIC. At the request of FMIC, I have renamed the specific models of Deluxe, Vibrolux, Princeton, Vibro Champ, Bassman, Vibroverb and Twin. As each is built, photos of amps will be posted with new logos. Vibrolux is first up.
Tube-Tone Amplifiers are re-creations of the 50s~60's amplifier designs of George Fullerton, who basically designed the Fender amplifier designs for the company started by "Doc" Kauffman and Leo Fender using the same construction
methods used by Leo and Doc, prior to Leo selling the
Fender Musical Instrument company to CBS in 1965. The tried and true designs used by Fender were those of George Fullerton which we faithfully copy. We use the Weber AlNiCo and ceramic speakers
considered as the best replacement speaker for 60's amplifiers for that
ultimate vintage tone, ordered pre-broken in on a variac.
Modern amplifiers (including many re-issue models) made today use printed circuit board technology with thin signal traces and inferior components. Jacks, switches, tiny pots, and sometimes even tube sockets are attached to the board only by the solder, yet they are bolted to the chassis, almost designed to fail from the built-in fatigue on solder joints. These components fail over time from extreme temperature changes and general use.
All our amplifiers are hand soldered using cloth covered solid core wire and RoHC compliant (lead free) silver solder. All use quality components such as JJ power and preamp tubes, F&T and Sprague electrolytic caps, Mallory 150 tone caps, Switchcraft jacks, Alpha and CTS
potentiometers, Carling switches, and finger-jointed pine cabinets. We also use the Weber AlNiCo and ceramic speakers considered as the best replacement speaker for 60's amplifiers for that ultimate vintage tone, ordered pre-broken in on a variac. All transformers are Magnetic Components "Classic Tone" or Heyboer. For the Mercury Magnetics lovers, we are now a dealer of the full line of MM Toneclone and Fatstack transformers at extra cost. All components are RoHS compliant for the new international sales requirements.
We carefully follow Leo's example of lead dress for the best signal-to-noise ratio which gives the
quietest idle hum. We follow Leo's schematics to
the letter, with a few additions that make absolutely no difference in
the tone of the amplifier. If Leo was around today, he would have done
the same such as adding a line/record out jack. In the 60's, it was
unheard of to send a line out to the PA system. Back then if more
volume was needed, they simply added more amplifiers in a stack.
Another
innovation we use is a separate bias adjustment pot for each power
tube. In the 60's, tubes were made with tight tolerances for high
quality tubes that all had about the same power output. Today's tubes
can vary considerably in plate current. Power tubes need to be ordered
in matched sets for optimal bias voltage adjustments. With our
innovation using a bias pot for each tube, you never need to pay extra
for a matched set of tubes again. When power tubes are changed, the
tech simply replaces the tubes and adjusts the bias voltage for each
tube separately, for exact matching of output current yielding the
optimal power and life from the power tubes.
We manufacture all the popular Fender blackface, brown and
tweed amps including the '59 Bassman, Twin-Reverb, Super-Reverb,
Vibrolux-Reverb and Deluxe-Reverb. Of these, our favorite is the
"Deluxe", patterned after
the blackface Fender Deluxe-Reverb AB763 circuit from '63-'67. Small
and compact with single 12" speaker, yet loud enough to cut through
animal drummers and monster bass players in gigs where the amps are not
miked.
We now have discounted rates with FedEx for international shipping. Contact us for a quote to all other countries. Most amps require a 50% deposit on ordering. Build time depends on order load. Current built time is 4-6 weeks from order until the amp is ready to ship. If requested, amp will be gig-tested before shipping. Custom ordering can include mods such as bias modulating tremolo (not LDR), extra gain stage, G-10 glass epoxy eyelet board, bias adjusting jacks, preamp out/power in jacks, switchable solid state/tube rectifier, Pentode/Triode switch, channel switching pedal, different speakers, as well as different coverings. Contact us for any special orders.
Lacquer finished pine cabinets are available on all models, $100-$150 extra charge. All covering options on "Coverings" page are no additional charge except the "aged tweed" is + $30.
