FENDER

CIRCA 1958, FENDER TWIN-AMP MODEL 5F8-4

Details

FENDER
CIRCA 1958, FENDER TWIN-AMP MODEL 5F8-4
With metal plate stamped Fender Twin-Amp, serial number A-00 502, tweed covering, brown speaker cover, two 12 inch speakers -- 26½in. (67.5cm.) long

Eric Clapton has been using a 1958 Fender Twin Amp, modified to increase the output by the late Cesar Diaz, for recording since the late 1980s. This model of amp was first seen on stage on the Blues nights during the 1991 Royal Albert Hall 24 Nights season. When Clapton started to play more blues numbers on stage in 1993, initially he used the Tweed Twin for the early part of the set, alongside his Pete Cornish/Soldano/Marshall rack set up. By 1995, Clapton was using the Tweed Twin Amp exclusively and had by this time acquired a number of spares. In 1997, Fender Amp Custom Shop built three replicas of his modified Tweed Twin using vintage parts and old pine, to replace the vintage Tweed Twins for stage use. (2)

Literature

Claptones - The tools of a journeyman's trade in Guitar World May, 1998.

Lot Essay

Del Breckenfeld from Fender discussed how the Clapton replica amps came about in an article in Guitar World Magazine in 1998. "...In addition to requiring a golden axe, Clapton issued another challenge to the Fender custom Shop: to create a duplicate of his favorite late-fifties Fender tweed amp."..."Eric had what he considered to be the Holy Grail of amps, but since he only had one [at that time], he was afraid that if it broke, he'd be out of luck. Our mission was to clone that amp, which was quite a difficult task. We started by having a top technician spec out Eric's amp to the 'T', then we searched for old parts. We even had the transformer hand-wound to the original specs. After all that, it still didn't sound quite right. At that point, John Page suggested old pine. We found some that came out of an old church's floor, and that made the difference. We nailed it. We built a total of three. We built them, and then subjected them to the acid test - Clapton's ear. Eric loved them..."

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