Fender is shining the spotlight on its oft-forgotten era of ‘brown-panel’ guitar amps with a new ’62 Deluxe reissue.
The Big F’s black-panel and tweed amps are household names for guitarists, and their history and lineage is widely revered. There was, however, a niche subsection of Fender amps from the early 1960s that bridged the gap between the two.
As such, the short-lived brown-panel amps have often been overlooked in favor of their more popular siblings. Fender has recently been giving brown-panels their flowers, and last summer revived the “hidden treasure” American Vintage ’62 Super Amp.
Now, it’s joined by the more affordable ‘62 Deluxe Amp. Like its predecessor, the ’62 Deluxe looks to bring the unique brown-panel amp sound – defined by its distinct woodiness, warm pokiness, and gritty overdrive when cranked – to the masses.
In other words, Fender says we should expect something that sits between the “raw sound of its ’50s-era tweed” amps and “sparkling clean tones” of mid-’60s black-panel amps.
This one has two 6V6 output tubes, offers 20 watts of power, and comes packing with a custom-designed Celestion 12” speaker. It’s a slightly more streamlined Brown Panel, with Normal and Bright channels (Volume and Tone controls for each), as well as Speed and Intensity controls for the tube-bias tremolo.
“The brown-panel amps are one of those eras not many players have experienced,” Fender Senior Product Manager, Rick Heins, told Guitarist last year of Fender’s mission to bring the amps back.
“They’re rare, expensive, getting harder to find and almost unobtainable at this point.”
“Browns have a punchiness, a sort of immediate feel,” he adds of their tone. “They don’t sag like tweeds. The power section feels more robust. Crank one and it’s a warm, fat overdrive. Not thin, not ‘paper tear’ distortion, but a fuller, fatter sound. That midrange and warmth sits perfectly in a mix, whether live or recording.”
The '62 Deluxe Amp is available now for $1,699.
Head over to Fender for more.
Fender has had a busy few weeks. Alongside the '62 Deluxe, it also recently dropped its annual mid-year gear lineup, which included the return of the Squier Paranormal series, the limited-edition Player Fusion range, and a boatload of pedals, amps, acoustics and more.
