1950 Fender Pro TV Front Tweed Vintage Tube Guitar Amplifier 1x15, w/ RCA 6L6GC
$2,324.99
$2,324.99
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Up for sale, a 1950 Fender Pro, well-maintained with the original tweed, Triad transformers, and complete vintage tube set. This was the very first iteration of this classic lacquered tweed "TV front" model, and this era Pro is perhaps best known as being the amp Buddy Holly recorded all of his hits on at the Norman Petty studio in New Mexico. A very powerful and high fidelity amp in its day, the Pro pushed close to 40 sweet and dynamic tube watts through one vintage 15" green frame alnico speaker. The early octal preamp tubes give these TV front amps a different tonal color than any later Fenders, as the octals have a more girthy midrange and a kind of warmth that can't be achieved with the later dual triode (12AX7, etc) tubes Fender used from the mid-1950's through the present day. Just like you'd expect with Buddy Holly's cutting and robust rhythm sound, the Pro can give you primitive Fender cleans that chime and growl, with surprising headroom and a tone that overall really fills out the frequency spectrum when paired with Fender's single coil pickups of the day. There's nothing like playing an early Fender through the amp for which it was designed!
The circuit has been maintained to operate within original factory spec, with a full recap of the power supply with high quality Sprague Atom filter caps. The preamp has been completely rebuilt, with a combination of Sprague and Panasonic capacitors, and some new low noise metal film resistors too. The original trio of Stackpole pots date to 1950. Both original Triad transformers are intact, and the output transformer (originally mounted to the speaker frame) has been remounted inside the cabinet. The amp has also been fitted with a modern three-prong power cable. The power tubes are a pair of vintage properly-biased USA-made RCA 6L6GCs, with a vintage Japan-made 5U4 rectifier and 6SC7 preamp tubes of various brands.
The chassis itself is in great overall condition, with only a light speckling of patina and the majority of the original white silkscreen text intact. All three original chicken head knobs are present too, along with a modern leather handle and original metal Fender logo on the face. The vintage speaker is a viable replacement with a modern cone, with no manufacturer stamp on the edge of the dark green frame, and a large alnico magnet well-suited to the Pro's wattage. The original tube chart is present as well and very clean with crisp corners and hand-inked serial number.
The original low contrast diagonal tweed is intact and fairly worn, with some notable staining on the bottom 20% of the cabinet sides, and tweed missing on the bottom of the cab. The grillcloth is original too, with minor staining. It's an honestly worn look that's impossible to replicate, and the cabinet is structurally sound.
The circuit has been maintained to operate within original factory spec, with a full recap of the power supply with high quality Sprague Atom filter caps. The preamp has been completely rebuilt, with a combination of Sprague and Panasonic capacitors, and some new low noise metal film resistors too. The original trio of Stackpole pots date to 1950. Both original Triad transformers are intact, and the output transformer (originally mounted to the speaker frame) has been remounted inside the cabinet. The amp has also been fitted with a modern three-prong power cable. The power tubes are a pair of vintage properly-biased USA-made RCA 6L6GCs, with a vintage Japan-made 5U4 rectifier and 6SC7 preamp tubes of various brands.
The chassis itself is in great overall condition, with only a light speckling of patina and the majority of the original white silkscreen text intact. All three original chicken head knobs are present too, along with a modern leather handle and original metal Fender logo on the face. The vintage speaker is a viable replacement with a modern cone, with no manufacturer stamp on the edge of the dark green frame, and a large alnico magnet well-suited to the Pro's wattage. The original tube chart is present as well and very clean with crisp corners and hand-inked serial number.
The original low contrast diagonal tweed is intact and fairly worn, with some notable staining on the bottom 20% of the cabinet sides, and tweed missing on the bottom of the cab. The grillcloth is original too, with minor staining. It's an honestly worn look that's impossible to replicate, and the cabinet is structurally sound.
