Fender Pro ‘head’
Click to view larger version. Ca. 1964, at the Railway Tavern, Fender Pro head on top of early Marshall 4x12. Guitar is Rose Morris, Co. LTD., Rickenacker 1998 fitted with trapeze tailpiece from Gibson EDS-175.
Pete Townshend used a Fender Pro “head” in 1964 and 1965 on stage and in the studio.
This amp appears to be a 1962 or 1963 G65-A brown-era Fender Pro amp, either removed from its original combo chassis and inserted into a custom-made or Fender Black Face-era Bandmaster-sized “head” (covered in black tolex) to hold the Pro amp, or simply cut down and resized to “head” size. This work was likely done by Jim Marshall’s music shop (J&T Marshall Musical Instruments, LTD, a music shop in Uxbridge Road, Hanwell, West London).
Pete purchased a Fender Pro combo with 1x15 JBL speaker from John McLaughlin at Selmers music shop around 1962 or 1963, which he used extensively up through the High Numbers era. It is possible that it was this original combo that was modified for use as the top.
Specification
The G65-A Fender Pro amp were 40 watts and featured Fender’s 12AX7-based Tremolo vibrato effect and an 8-ohm output transformer. (Note: It is unknown whether there were modifications made to the amp or the early Celestion G12-loaded Marshall 4x12 cabinet Pete used with this amp, since the Marshall would have likely had a 15-ohm input and the Pro had an 8-ohm output.)
Controls
- Two inputs (normal)
- Volume
- Treble
- Bass
- Two iputs (vibrato)
- Volume
- Treble
- Bass
- Speed
- Intensity
- Presence
Cosmetics
- Brown round knobs
- Brown-era control configuration (with Presence control at right)
Case details
- Appears to be 8″x24″ case dimension.
- No corner hardware
- Chassis straps intact
- Flat, chrome and black script Fender logo
- Black tolex
- Grille cloth appears to be either wheat or silver sparkle.
Selected quotes from Pete Townshend
All quotes and references are copyright their original owners and are included for reference only.
From April 1980 issue of Sound International article, courtesy Joe G’s site.
I had Fender amps, a Fender Pro and a Fender Bassman and two 4 x 12s. Each one didn’t drive its own speakers, it drove those two Marshall 4 x 12 cabinets. And I kept that set-up for a long time.
Guitar Player, October 1989
I never, ever used a stack with one amplifier until I got into Hiwatts, and I didn’t use Marshalls very long. In fact, I never used Marshall in the beginning at all. I used to use Fenders; I had a Fender Pro and a Fender Vibrasonic and a Fender Bassman top, and I used to drive Marshall 4x12’s with those amplifiers. I thought Marshalls were awful, and I’m afraid I still do, although that’s just a personal opinion. I don’t mean it’s bad stuff: I just mean I didn’t like the sound. And when I heard Hiwatt I was over the moon, because they sounded to me much more like a really good, top-line mid-’60s Fender amp. I still think it’s hard to beat Fender amps; they’re astonishing.
Guitarist, August 1994
“Johnny McLaughlin [yes, that one] had sold me my first Fender amp — a Pro — when he worked at Selmers, and it was a really great buy. I eventually took the Fender Pro and a Bassman head to Jim Marshall and said, I want this sound but I want it 10 times louder.”
From May 2002 interview with Guitar Center
“A few years later I bought my own first Fender amp — a Fender Pro with a 15″ JBL. John McLaughlin sold it to me. I was a Steve Cropper fan, and getting his sound was my main aim. JBLs were legendary then. There were other good speakers, but JBLs looked good, and sounded extraordinary. The treble penetration was so good.”
In the photos below, the amp is driving an original Celestion G12-loaded Marshall 4x12 cabinet mounted on a stand.
Photo Gallery
Ca. 1964, at the Railway Tavern, Fender Pro head on top of early Marshall 4x12.
22 July 1964 at the Scene Club, Pete plays through the Fender Pro “head” and the early Marshall 4x12. Guitar is Rose Morris, Co. LTD., Rickenbacker 1998 fitted with trapeze tailpiece from Gibson EDS-175.
In 1964, closeup of the Fender Pro “head” from the above High Numbers photo.
22 July 1964, Pete plays through the Fender Pro “head” and the early Marshall 4x12. Guitar is Rose Morris, Co. LTD., Rickenbacker 1998 fitted with trapeze tailpiece from Gibson EDS-175.
Side view of same 22 July 1964 Scene Club gig, with side of Fender Pro head visible, showing tolex detail.
Ca. 1965, with Fender Pro head on top of single Marshall 4x12 on stand (with torn speaker grille cloth). Guitar is Rickenbacker 360/12 Export 12-string, with 1997 or 1998 6-string at right on table. (Marshall amp in back is likely another group’s.)
Click to view larger version. Ca. 1965, grinding a 1964 Rickenbacker 360/12 Export into an early “stack” of Marshall 4x12 cabinets powered by a Fender Bassman atop the stack, which is daisy-chained to the custom Fender Pro head at lower right.
Resources and Information
For more information about the Fender Pro amplifier, see:
- Fender Field Guide: ampwares.com/ffg/pro_brown.html.
- Guitarium and Ampeteria (1961 Fender Pro G65-A): ggjaguar.com/pro.htm
- Vintage Amps Bulletin Board: vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewforum.php?f=8