Old fender super ID

[Vandenberg]

I have recently discovered in the attic of the house I bought an old Fender amp in very good shape.

I called the people at Fender and they were not much help. ( they said the transformer that is in mine never existed!) I have looked at old Fender books and can't find it. Can anyone tell me about my amp & how much it's worth? or tell me who would know?

 

Fender super amp '57-'59? SN# S01789

has 6L6 tubes ( the tube chart read 6V6 but was scrached out by the person that initialed it)

Transformer: Triad 8087 Potentiometer: 304641

[Gabriel E.]

RAD! That's a Super just like mine. The 8087 power tranny is normal (same tranny as in the 5F6 Bassman). It's no suprise the people at Fender couldn't help you; the company has changed hands several times in the last 37 years and no one from the pre-CBS days still works there.

 

The Tube chart should have the model # on it. Either 5E4 or 5F4. Mine says 5E4 although it's actually a 5F4 (made after '56). The tubes on the chart were also marked over with new values. I thought a previous owner did this but it turns out that the Fender employees would just re use left over charts (Leo was a penny pincher) and mark over them with a pen. Hence the 5E4 tube chart in a 5F4.

 

The tube chart should also have two letters stamped in it (i.e. "GG" or "GC"). This is the date code and will tell you when it was produced. What's yours say?

 

The 6L6s make me think it's a 5F4 (5E4s had 6V6s). The tube complement should be:

5U4G

6L6GC

6L6GC

12AU7

12AX7

12AY7

 

What condition is the amp in (mine was totally messed up)? Does it have the original Jensen P10Q or P10R speakers? Does it work?

 

It will need to have a cap job (have a good tech replace the filter caps. Don't change anything else!) and new tubes. Also have him/her put a 3-prong plug on it so you don't die. After that it will sound like God. These amps are pretty rare and one in good condition is worth $1500 to $2000 although I don't recommend that you sell it.

 

You can experiment with different preamp tubes to boost the gain. Also try plugging into input 1 of the "mic" channel and running a jumper cable from input 2 if the "mic" channel into input 1 of the "inst" channel. This will cascade the preamps and further boost the gain. While only about 28 watts, these amps are LOUD and deliver tons of crunch. For more fun, run it through a Marshall 4x12. Also has the best clean tone I've ever heard.

 

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

 

EXCELLENT find, Gabriel

[Vandenberg]

Cool! I have had it retubed even though the originals were still exellent, I put 'em in the closet. The caps look great-preserved better than any tweed I've ever seen. (though I have not seen that many.) Do the caps need replacing anyway? What could happen if I don't? I have heard that you need to play these amps occasionally to keep them young, Is that true? I have always wondered if I should let it sit in the closet or crank it regularly to keep it in good cond? I have had the amp out and on for 4 hours a couple of times and man does it get hot!!

I have a marshall 4x12 and agree with you.

AWESOME clean sound! Super bottom end! Super awesome tube breakup.Some of my freinds scoffed at it at first like a peice of usless furniture but when they plugged in and I cranked it to 8,I couldnt peel them off it to go get a beer!

The chart reads 5E4 GG I have taken the speakers out & replaced with Carvin vinage 10's those Jensens look like I would blow 'em. That thing is loud!

Thanks for the reply it is so cool to know that my amp has a brother out there!

[Gabriel E.]

While the filter caps may LOOK good, they aren't. Electrolytic capacitors have a useful life of 10-15 years whether they're played or not. Yours are 45 years old. Changing them out won't adversly effect the value of the amp. However a catastrophic tube failure and blown tranformer resulting from a failed filter cap WILL effect the amp's worth. CHANGE THE 4 FILTER CAPS (the non-electrolytic caps last forever and don't need to be changed). You should change to Sprague Astron or Mallory caps of the same values. I've also heard really good things about Solen caps although they are very expensive. If you want, carefully cut off the paper covering from the old caps and put it over the new caps. This will preserve the original look. BTW, DON'T touch the filter caps without discharging them first or you may die.

 

A good cap job should cost $50-100 which is considerably less than the price of a new output transformer (custom-wound since they aren't made anymore) and a new set of tubes and sockets. It will also improve the amp's headroom and bass response.

 

Also have the tech put in a 1N4007 silicon diode ($0.25) in place of the selenium bias rectifier (that little green/blue box with fins that sits in the chassis between the power transformer and the circuit board. Not to be confused with the rectifier tube). Selenium rectifiers are unstable and if your's goes, you can expect similar results to a failed filter cap. You can leave the selenium rectifier bolted to the chassis for looks. Again, an amp that works is worth more than one that doesn't.

 

The "GG" on your tube chart means the amp was assembled in July of 1957 (mine says "GE" which is May, 1957).

 

While it says 5E4, yours is a 5F4. The giveaway is the 6L6 tubes. There should also be a 6800 resistor between the selenium rectifier and the power transfomer (bottom left of the circuit board if you're looking at it with the power tranny on the left). The 5E4 has an 18K resistor. The schematics are otherwise identical.

 

The original Jensens should be able to take the power (it's 28 watts so that's only 14 watts going to each speaker). They won't be as loud as the Carvins because they're not as efficient but they should sound really good. Whatever you do, don't sell the Jensens separately - the amp will be worth a lot more if you have the original speakers. Also, keep the original tubes, caps, etc. in case you ever want to sell the amp.

 

I haven't heard anything about needing to use an amp regularly to keep it in shape. However, you should take advantage of the fact that it's a great amp that sounds fantastic and use it. An equivalent reproduction amp built today by Kendrick or Victoria costs $2,000.00+.

 

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Also check out Schematic Heaven for the 5F4 schematic and layout and Fender Field Guide for more info.

 

Gabriel