Amp Trends...

I'm always noticing the gear bands use and I think I have noticed a trend in the Fender amps bands use. 

Fender Musical Instruments, which started producing amps in 1945 went through a series of amps all easily identified by their cosmetics. There were the "woodie" amps then the tweed, the brown and blond and next the blackface which were made from 1963 to 1968 and are still widely used by players onstage as vintage originals and modern reissues. Then there are the Silver faces made from 1967 through 1981. Seems I am seeing more silver faces onstage these days. 

They may be modern reissues but all the fender amps were known for a sound. Earlier models were known to get quite nasty in a good way as you cranked them up. By the late 60s as venues became larger and bands needed to be louder Fender came up with the silver face to be clean sounding and loud as piss. I own two silver face Fender amps. 

I saw this band, Locos Por Junta, with members from Columbia, Argentina, Venezuela and the USA  at Festival International. It was Latin/Reggae very danceable and certainly modern in the fact the claimed to have no cds. Only way you could get their music was by downloads. The guitar player used a silver face Fender. I was too far away to identify the model but there it was.       

I kind of thought the trombone players were cute but a tall handsome guitar player, hair to the waist and a gold top Les Paul guitar what is not to like? 

Also at the fest was Robert Finley. A long toiling in obscurity Louisiana blues musician Robert has had music produced by Jimbo Mathus (to appear with the Squirrel Nut Zippers at the Angelina Arts Alliance Temple Theater show in October) and Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.     

Guess what? Roberts guitar player had a silver face Fender amp. 

Last week I caught the Malpass Brothers show at the Pines Theater in Lufkin, Tx. Guess what? again silver face Fender amps. That's the sound you have heard on all the old country hits of the late 60s and the 70s though the last time I saw Merle Haggard who had a few of those hits he was playing through a tweed and sounded pretty scronchy. It was only a few months before his death.  

One thing I have noticed in the modern digital age is when some influencer mentions a certain piece of guitar gear on the internet the price goes through the roof. 

Did I mention I owned two silver face Fender amps? I have had them longer than they were old when I bought them and probably won't get rid of them anytime soon.