Fender amplifiers

Fender amplifiers have a long history. Leo Fender began building guitar amps before he started manufacturing guitars. The first of these amps were the K&F models, which were produced between 1945 and 1946. The original Fender amps were tube-powered and the company also started producing solid-state models in the late 1960s.

The K&F amplifiers were the first "Fender" amps made. They were made by the K&F Manufacturing Corporation, which was run by Leo Fender and Doc Kauffman. Most of the amps were finished in a "gray crinkle" finish. The finishes were baked in the Kauffman family oven. They were made in three different sizes, 1×8" (one 8" speaker), 1×10", and 1×15". They are all very rare today and few have survived.

The first amplifiers made in-house by Fender is the Woodie series, built in 1946 through 1948. They included the Model 26 Deluxe, the Princeton, and the Professional.

Fender amplifiers began making a name for themselves with the Tweed series, so called because of their cloth covering, which is actually varnished cotton twill (tweed is a coarse woollen fabric, commonly used for jackets, coats and caps; it is often woven in a twill pattern, which is likely the reason for the confusion over naming.) They were produced for more than a decade and are now eminently collectible and praised for their sound quality. The twill was first used in 1946 on the Dual Professional a twin 10" 6L6 powered model of which only 400 were made before being renamed "the Super Amp" in 1948. These early models are commonly referred to as "TV-Fronts" due to the shape of the cabinet when viewed from above. The Dual Pro was the first twin speaker amp and also the first amp to employ a finger-jointed pine cabinet and the first amp with a top facing control panel. The construction of the amplifiers was changed as well: the chassis are mounted to the back with the tubes pointed down, as opposed to having the chassis mounted on the top of the cabinet. This has the benefit of providing ease of access to the inside while providing a strong top.

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