Services





 

Consignment Items (Amps and More)

 

     Speakers

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We also stock George L's cables, Mojotone Extension Cabinets, amps and effects on consignment, and more.  Stop by the shop and see what we have!
 

This term refers to the conversion of Fender Silverface (SF) amps to the more desirable Blackface (BF) configuration.  Most SF Fenders can be converted to BF spec. for much lower cost than purchasing a vintage BF model.

Blackface amps were made with a black faceplate and featured the pre CBS circuit design used by Fender in the mid 60's.  It featured a better bias circuit that allowed for more precise bias settings for your output tubes. Blackface models also had some different value components in various places throughout the amp which resulted in what most players consider to be a better tone.  The number of changes varies according to amp model and year.

When we blackface your amp, we change these components, re-bias the amp, and on some amps we make changes to the wiring.  Selected wires are re-routed and/or shielded to to stabilize the amp so that it will not become unstable after changing the components.

These wiring changes are often necessary because some SF amps become somewhat unstable after converting to blackface spec.  This is because CBS made changes to the SF wiring to lower manufacturing costs.  These changes sometimes caused instability in the amp which required them to make other circuit changes to offset the new wiring problems.  These circuit changes fixed the instability but adversely effected the tone of the amp.  This is one of the reasons why blackfacing can improve the sound of your amp. 

Pricing for this service varies but is generally about $55 - $75 for most late 60s and early 70s Silverface Fender amps.  Master Volume and high power models such as Twins and Showmans are a little higher.  Ultra-linear amps can be considerably more.