Oct 24, 2008 - The Hot Rod Deluxe is possibly the best-selling Fender guitar amplifier of all time. There have been a number of incarnations (including a. Dating Your Fender Amp. Date Codes; Letter Code Vintage Year Reissue Year Month; A. 1965--P: 1966--Q: 1967-- How the 'Hand Stamped' Date Code Works. The Code on the tube chart of your Fender Amp is made up of two letters. The First letter equates to the Year and the Second letter to the Month. DATING FENDER TUBE AMPS BY SERIAL NUMBER. Serial numbering didn’t change immediately because instruments continued to be made using existing, tooling, parts and serial number schemes. The chart below details Fender serial number schemes used from 1965 to 1976. There used to be a link on the Fender website for amp dating from the serial numbers. However Superior Music has done a really good summary and here is a.
This article outlines how to establish the date of manufacture for a Fender Twin Reverb amplifier.
Check the faceplate. Of the amplifiers labeled 'Twin Reverb' (opposed to Super Twin Reverb or Twin Reverb II), there are two eras. Amps from the blackface era, which have a black faceplate, were manufactured from 1963 to 1967. Amps from the silverface era, which have a silver faceplate, were manufactured from 1968 to 1982. In 1992, Fender began producing the '65 Reissue Twin Reverb.
Find the tube location. According to Fender, amplifiers produced through 1969 have a sticker near the tubes. This is commonly stamped with a two-letter date code.
The first letter indicates the year: M 1963 N 1964 O 1965 P 1966 Q 1967 R 1968 S 1989
The Second Letter indicates the month: A January B February C March D April E May F June G July H August I October J September K November L December
Check the EIA number. Fender recommends dating unstamped amps by the EIA number on the transformers. The format is always EIA 606-Y-XX or 606-YY-XX where Y indicates the year (196Y/197Y or 19YY respectively) and XX the week.
Try the serial number. Dating by serial number, while less accurate, can be of some use. Stamped on the metal backing of most amps is the serial and production number. It is typically in the A00000 format.
The following list, compiled by Greg Gagliano, establishes dates through 1976: A00100 to A01200 - 1964 A01200 to A04300 - 1965 A04300 to A07000 - 1966 A07000 to A10400 - 1967 A10500 to A11300 - 1967 A10500 to A16500 - 1968 A16500 to A21400 - 1969 A21400 to A25600 - 1970 A25600 to A37000 - 1971 A37000 to A50500 - 1972 A50500 to A68000 - 1973 A68000 to A99999 - 1974 A81000 to A99999 - 1975 B01000 to B15000 - 1975 B15000 to B68000 - 1976
Dating Fender Tube Amps By Serial Number
How To Date A Fender Amplifier
If these steps are unsuccessful, a number of books have been published that help to date amps based on part codes. Some are listed on Fender's website.