Vintage

Fender Deluxe amplifiers date back to the early days of the company but, by the mid-1960s, they were almost unrecognisable when compared to amps from the tweed era. We take a look at what happened during the first half of the 60s and compare amplifiers from the brown and black-panel eras.

Despite its name, many guitarists regard the 100-watt Marshall Super Bass as the ultimate in vintage Plexi tone. We check out this very early example and find out why… 

The SG Special took over from the single- and double-cutaway Les Paul Special models in 1961. This example features the short-lived Maestro Vibrola.

Not all ES-330s were created equal and, during its lengthy first run in Gibson’s catalogue, there were some notable changes – the most significant coming in 1968 when the neck join was shifted from the 16th to the 19th fret.

The Electric XII was only manufactured from 1965 to 1970, but its contribution to the sonic legacy of guitar music is significant.

A vintage Gibson acoustic is many a producer’s secret weapon and this gorgeous example certainly has ‘that’ sound.

Late-1960s Telecasters are not especially rare – unless they happen to have a rosewood body and neck like the guitar George Harrison played on the roof of the Apple building in 1969.

The ultimate secret weapon in the recording studio?

Fender’s Jazzmaster and Jaguar might look similar, but when we put a pair of vintage custom-colour offsets through their paces, they prove to be very different animals.

Much is made of the desirability of pre-CBS Fenders, but how does a 1952 Telecaster from the golden era stand up to a model from 1968? Time to find out if the answer is as cut and dried as you might think.