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Pete’s Gear: Fender Vibrasonic amp

Pete Townshend’s brown Fender Vibrasonic 1×15 combo amplifier. Used 1965.

Before the advent of the traditional mutli-amplifier/cabinet arragements, Pete Townshend used a Fender Vibrasonic, along with a Fender Bassman top or Fender Tremolux top, to drive two Marshall 4×12 cabinets, creating the first “stack.” He had originally devised this setup using his Fender Pro “head” and the Fender Bassman.

The Vibrasonic was a 40-watt amp, covered in brown tolex and appears to be faced with wheat grille cloth; featured a 15″ JBL D130 speaker, 2×5881, 4×7025, 2×12AX7, solid-state rectifier.

Selected quotes from Pete Townshend

All quotes and references are copyright their original owners and are included for reference only.

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 4×12’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.

Photo Gallery

Click to view larger version. Ca. 1965, feeding back a 1964 Rickenbacker 360/12 Export through an early “stack” of Marshall 4×12 cabinets powered by a Fender Bassman atop the stack, which is daisy-chained to a custom Fender Pro head at lower right.

Ca. 1965, at the Marquee, playing the 1964 Rickenbacker 360/12 Export through an early “stack” of Marshall 4×12 cabinets powered by a Fender Bassman atop the stack, which is daisy-chained to a Fender Vibrasonic at lower right.

Click to view larger version. Ca. 1965, feeding back a 1964 Rickenbacker 360/12 Export through an early “stack” of Marshall 4×12 cabinets powered by a Fender Bassman atop the stack, which is daisy-chained to a custom Fender Pro head at lower right.

Ca. 1965, at the Marquee, playing the 1964 Rickenbacker 360/12 Export through an early “stack” of Marshall 4×12 cabinets powered by a Fender Bassman atop the stack, which is daisy-chained to a Fender Vibrasonic at lower right.

Resources and Information

Acknowledgements

Tremendous thanks to the following for assistance with this page:

  • Mark Herman

This page last updated 24 May, 2011