Hey Mr. Stuart, I must confess I was laughing my butt off at your consternation and grumbling over this amp. That's a Twilight Zone amp for sure. Stay out of that thing. Cool looking combo though. Thanks for the video.
Hi Stuart. In the Gitec-forum you can find a three-part article with a detailed extplanation of the schematic of the Fender Twin Solid State Amp. That's really interesting. Unfortunately it's impossible to send you a link in the comments. Greetings from Germany, Wolfgang
Unbelievable! Amazing piece of history. Thank you for showing this. This was quite entertaining as you provide a unique opinion on things like the "thing you screw off." It is obvious why people didn't buy these amps. Sound bad!
In his book "Amps! The Other Half of Rock'n'Roll", Ritchie Fliegler wrote: "I can only assume low sales at the time and their legendary unreliability rid the earth of this terrible sonic blight".
Hi Nick, ah but your premise is wrong here. I didn;t know one end of a valve from another until I was 50! My background is solidly in microelectronics. Designing microprocessor systems, writing all the code etc etc. The only 'scoffing' I do about solid state is that it's harder to repair than valve gear. Often it's impossible due to surface mount chips etc. Plus of course a standard tranny amp sounds crap compared with a decent valve amp.
For some reason I couldn't edit my previous post, but wanted to add the following. In the Oct 1968 price list, the tube Twin Reverb listed for $499, with $9 additional for the cover. Go figure, a premium of $80 for the solid state amp.
The late 1960's were not a good period for Fender. Some guitar production was good, but there was a lot of 'cost cutting' and corner cutting going on . Opening up the amp , it looked like a prototype which is never a good sign for a second year production example. Well done for fixing it Stuart. It looked a nightmare and some components would have been almost impossible to source had it come to that.
I had a gentleman bring me a Gibson solid state about the same vintage had separate pre and power amp chassis's. Crappy small speakers. He bragged how he got a good deal on this great "lead" amp. Over $200 in early 2000s. I left a note it was not worth fixing.
Ha ha! Yes several comapnies trashed their brands in order to try and make profits. E.g. I always tho9ught it was a mistake for Mercedes to bring out their C class, 'low' cost Merc for the masses. Trashed their brand. WOuld be like Rolls Royce introducing a 20k hybrid runaround car.
I give you full marks for finding, and effecting repair on this abortion of an amp. If it is only worth a few hundred quid in working condition, this example is as mint as it can be. It was smart for the owner to keep it under its dust cover. The assembly looks rushed, and amateurish. It is of course important to point out that Leo Fender was no longer with Fender at the time this tip destined junk was designed and marketed. It was nevertheless revived to its former operating condition. Well done, Stuart. Cheers.
The point here is that transistor POWER stages are very clean and distortion free. Remember chasing 0.0001% THD in those HiFi amps back in the day? Guitarists HATE this super clean sound. The reason they love valve amps is because of the distortion - well over 2%! They perceive this as 'warm' etc. BTW there is a HUGE market in top end HiFi valve amps, yes with 1%+ distortion!!! Again, perceived as 'warm'.
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Tube amps for guitar, but when it comes to hi-fi I prefer solid state all the way. Not class D, but ordinary class A/B with overbuildt power supplies, and high rail voltage for maximum headroom and dynamics.
I’d rip the guts out and build a valve amp inside it. Depending on the current and voltage output of the original power transformer, you could build a quadrupler or even hextupler to create a decent power supply, add a small filament transformer and output transformer and the rest is caps and resistors
Well, I don't think the construction quality is that bad, early PC boards and all. And, serviceability wasn't as important in a solid-state device that didn't need to be serviced as much as a tube rig. I kind of like the styling and think that the tone is ok, maybe with better speakers...? It's not a Baldwin, that's for sure.
Early solid state amps were way less reliable than tube amps (which had decades of r&d behind them at that point). HH and Carlsbro were about the first vaguely reliable solid state guitar/bass amps.
CBS engineers, shortly after the CBS takeover of Fender, though they could make better solid state amps and get rid of that "nasty distortion" and made a series of shiny metal turds, this being one of them. They were so badly designed that strumming your guitar hard while plugged into one of these amps was all you had to do to overload and blow it up. When CBS debuted the lineup in 1967 at a trade show (which may or may not have been NAMM), people plugged guitars into the new amps and so many of them were quickly blown up that they stopped allowing people to try to play them. The line was a failure with a very poor reputation and they weren't sold for very long. While I collect old Fender amps I won't bother with those.
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 , British fingerpicker Martin Simpson took banjo lessons from Peggy Seger as a kid, and she wrote "slowly!" on the back of his hand with a marker to remind him to work towards accuracy first before trying to increase his speed! (He's now one of the best fingerpickers around, incredibly precise as well as incredibly fast, but with a very light touch).
I owned one of those back in the early 70's
Hey Mr. Stuart, I must confess I was laughing my butt off at your consternation and grumbling over this amp. That's a Twilight Zone amp for sure.
Stay out of that thing.
Cool looking combo though. Thanks for the video.
Cheers! YEs I get a bit ratty sometimes when I see a piece of c***!
Great job STUART , hope you have a wonderful Holiday ❗️
A true electronic engineer ‘curiosity got the better of you’ moment.....well done.😊
That's exactly what happened!
Hi Stuart.
In the Gitec-forum you can find a three-part article with a detailed extplanation of the schematic of the Fender Twin Solid State Amp.
That's really interesting.
Unfortunately it's impossible to send you a link in the comments.
Greetings from Germany,
Wolfgang
Ok thanks Wolfgang
I think it might be worth a bit because of it's rarity and great condition. A collector might like this one.
Yes some really crappy amps go for big money, e.g. Selmer etc.
how has that not blown up? That's why you don't see them . Blimey that should be in a museum... How clean is that?
Yes it was nearly mint!
Young Stuart! The man!
Many thanks!
Belongs in a museum, that condition is unreal.
Yes it was mint on the outside.
Unbelievable! Amazing piece of history. Thank you for showing this. This was quite entertaining as you provide a unique opinion on things like the "thing you screw off."
It is obvious why people didn't buy these amps. Sound bad!
Thanks Michael. Yes I wouldn;t give it house room.
In his book "Amps! The Other Half of Rock'n'Roll", Ritchie Fliegler wrote: "I can only assume low sales at the time and their legendary unreliability rid the earth of this terrible sonic blight".
I love it!!!!
I absolutely love older guys scoffing at solid state stuff. hahahaha
Hi Nick, ah but your premise is wrong here. I didn;t know one end of a valve from another until I was 50! My background is solidly in microelectronics. Designing microprocessor systems, writing all the code etc etc. The only 'scoffing' I do about solid state is that it's harder to repair than valve gear. Often it's impossible due to surface mount chips etc. Plus of course a standard tranny amp sounds crap compared with a decent valve amp.
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 That's awesome! I meant that in good fun! Hope it wasn't taken too offensively!
@@nicksregor4208 No worries!
Strange... But very cool knobs, I like it.
Yes quite 1960's
Never seen one of these old girls .. awesome thanks for your efforts 🙏
YEs it was unusual thanks Jock.
The Beatles used some of these SS pieces in ‘69 briefly. I currently own and enjoy a SS Reverb unit, though it’s been fully rebuilt.
Ok interesting thanks. Very clinical and nasty sound, I thought.
Holy Moly, never seen one.
And probably never want to again!
When old equipments in mint condition, it usually means it sounded terrible, it broke down too often, or both.
YEs! So bad it was only used once!
For some reason I couldn't edit my previous post, but wanted to add the following. In the Oct 1968 price list, the tube Twin Reverb listed for $499, with $9 additional for the cover. Go figure, a premium of $80 for the solid state amp.
Makes no sense.
Hello Stuart.You didn't happen to get the measurements of that amplifier did you ?
Alas I didn't. Why? I could ask the customer if it's important.
The late 1960's were not a good period for Fender. Some guitar production was good, but there was a lot of 'cost cutting' and corner cutting going on . Opening up the amp , it looked like a prototype which is never a good sign for a second year production example. Well done for fixing it Stuart. It looked a nightmare and some components would have been almost impossible to source had it come to that.
Yes I was quite surprised that I fixed it. As you could tell from the video I was in the mood for dumping it.
I had a gentleman bring me a Gibson solid state about the same vintage had separate pre and power amp chassis's. Crappy small speakers. He bragged how he got a good deal on this great "lead" amp. Over $200 in early 2000s. I left a note it was not worth fixing.
Ha ha! Yes several comapnies trashed their brands in order to try and make profits. E.g. I always tho9ught it was a mistake for Mercedes to bring out their C class, 'low' cost Merc for the masses. Trashed their brand. WOuld be like Rolls Royce introducing a 20k hybrid runaround car.
I give you full marks for finding, and effecting repair on this abortion of an amp. If it is only worth a few hundred quid in working condition, this example is as mint as it can be. It was smart for the owner to keep it under its dust cover. The assembly looks rushed, and amateurish. It is of course important to point out that Leo Fender was no longer with Fender at the time this tip destined junk was designed and marketed. It was nevertheless revived to its former operating condition. Well done, Stuart. Cheers.
Thanks Alex.
Is it horrible?
Would have loved hearing you swear while you were fixing it in the lost footage!
Hmmm good idea for a video "THE LOST FOOTAGE" Never before seen footage now revealed her for the first time....
I get you but, how many tube amp guys use Solid State pedals with their beloved tube amps?
Still, the tubes will filter out the odd harmonics from your solid state pedals and make them sound better.
The point here is that transistor POWER stages are very clean and distortion free. Remember chasing 0.0001% THD in those HiFi amps back in the day?
Guitarists HATE this super clean sound. The reason they love valve amps is because of the distortion - well over 2%! They perceive this as 'warm' etc.
BTW there is a HUGE market in top end HiFi valve amps, yes with 1%+ distortion!!! Again, perceived as 'warm'.
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 Tube amps for guitar, but when it comes to hi-fi I prefer solid state all the way. Not class D, but ordinary class A/B with overbuildt power supplies, and high rail voltage for maximum headroom and dynamics.
YEs agreed as that reproduces the original sound the best, which is what HiFi is supposed to do!
Horrible! I feel for you, Stuart. Is it possible to get 100W RMS from a pair of 2N3055s? Sincerely doubt it? Thanks for the vid. Peter
Quite agree, operating in class a/b, you can expect about 30 watts rms. I used to build hi-if amps using them.
If you want to get 100w, you need a pair of 2N-3773 transistors, used in HH and Peavey amps. You also have to crank up the supply voltage some.
@@ingekvam324 Yes, that’ll do it. I had an H/H combo, blinken’ heavy thing to lug about.
Absolutely with a 4Ω speaker.
No chance of 100W from a pair of 2N3055. Well, at least, not for long!
I thought if anyone could repair it it would be you Stuart. Maybe it wold sound better with a chorus or phaser pedal?
I think it would sound better if you changed the speakers. Then swapped out the chassis for a valve amp. Finally, put it all in a different cabinet...
What does the Power Resistor do?
From memory it was a dropper resistor in the HT line.
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 thanks
I’d rip the guts out and build a valve amp inside it. Depending on the current and voltage output of the original power transformer, you could build a quadrupler or even hextupler to create a decent power supply, add a small filament transformer and output transformer and the rest is caps and resistors
Nice idea!
What a monstrosity, I’ve never seen one before is it a prototype I wonder ? Whatever it is, it never caught on thankfully.
Worth reading some of the otjer comments here.
Well, I don't think the construction quality is that bad, early PC boards and all. And, serviceability wasn't as important in a solid-state device that didn't need to be serviced as much as a tube rig. I kind of like the styling and think that the tone is ok, maybe with better speakers...? It's not a Baldwin, that's for sure.
Early solid state amps were way less reliable than tube amps (which had decades of r&d behind them at that point). HH and Carlsbro were about the first vaguely reliable solid state guitar/bass amps.
CBS engineers, shortly after the CBS takeover of Fender, though they could make better solid state amps and get rid of that "nasty distortion" and made a series of shiny metal turds, this being one of them. They were so badly designed that strumming your guitar hard while plugged into one of these amps was all you had to do to overload and blow it up. When CBS debuted the lineup in 1967 at a trade show (which may or may not have been NAMM), people plugged guitars into the new amps and so many of them were quickly blown up that they stopped allowing people to try to play them.
The line was a failure with a very poor reputation and they weren't sold for very long. While I collect old Fender amps I won't bother with those.
Thanks. There's an interesting long post above this one which supports what you are saying..
Hey Stuart, kinda' weird amp to be honest..Pity you lost footage, still ian nteresting unit...Very thin sound..Ed UK..😊
Hi Ed YEs it's wprth reading some of the otjer comments here as there are some good ones!
Hi Stuart truly horrible! BTW currently in UK
If an amp of that stupid design and construction ended up to production line, I wonder what kind of prototypes and designs were rejected. 🤔
OMG I hadn;t thought about that! YEs, this is the one they said "Great! We Love it. Let's run out a few thousand!"
That thing is so ugly haha
Yes b ut it makes up for that with this really ... erm ... awesome ...er... sound....
Stewart, please write "SLOWLY" on the back of your camera hand with a Sharpie marker, as a reminder; your shakey-cam video just about gave me vertigo!
Yes sorry about that! Must try harder.
@@stuartukguitarampguy5830 , British fingerpicker Martin Simpson took banjo lessons from Peggy Seger as a kid, and she wrote "slowly!" on the back of his hand with a marker to remind him to work towards accuracy first before trying to increase his speed! (He's now one of the best fingerpickers around, incredibly precise as well as incredibly fast, but with a very light touch).