John Hendow

Last weekend marked the debut of my new guitar amp, a 65 reissue Fender Twin. I’ve been using a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for most shows, but this amp is designed to distort at medium volume. That’s great for the 1 Uppers (my country band), but not ideal for The Dudley Manlove Quartet where I need a loud clean tone. For the past few months I’ve been looking at options for amplifiers and narrowed my search to a Fender Twin. The remaining question was whether to find a vintage silverface or get one of the reissues. After some hunting and a few test drives, I found a 65 reissue in fabulous condition and purchased it. I’ve already noticed how much fuller and warmer the tone is, and onstage it produces a beautiful sound.

So, why a Fender Twin? It’s probably the most common amp in the world, although I’m told the Hot Rod Deluxe has actually surpassed it in terms of total number sold. Still, the Twin has been omnipresent on stages since the mid-sixties, from blues to rock to country and beyond. It has the characteristic “big” Fender tone, can delivery prodigious volume, and has glorious reverb and tremolo. When we play music festivals, the stage is usually populated with “back line” equipment that has been rented by the promoter. You almost always find a Fender twin as the amp option. I’ve had many years of playing through this amp model, but until now have not owned one. Being a confirmed gear tweaker, I’m already considering some possible upgrades to this amp such as Weber speakers and a Mercury magnetics transformer. But my next purchase will be a flight case to protect this amp from the perils of the road. This weekend I’ll be using it at the DMQ “80s Prom” at Neumos. Come on down and join the fun!