Duane Allman’s 1966 Fender Twin Reverb Blackface
In early to mid-1969, ABB purchased a Blackface Fender Twin Reverb with two JBL speakers at Lipham Music Shop in Gainsville, Florida for $605,00 [Willie Perkins & Jack Weston, Memorabilia, p. 5].
Based on the serial number (PA 1045), the amp was made in January 1966. [Fender Tube Amplifier/Amp/Serial Number, Date – Dating, Speaker code & Tube Information] Also, according to Don Butler, the Twin had the output section rewired at some point to be cathode biased.
Duane using the Twin Reverb
As far as using the amp live, in pictures from 1969, Duane was seen splitting the signal of his guitar between the Twin and his Marshall head with a Y-cable going into the Vibrato input on the Twin.
Regarding studio use, apparently, Duane bought this Fender Twin to Muscle Shoals with him in May 1969, to record the first Boz Scaggs album. As to why he did this, as opposed to using the equipment that Muscle Shoals Sound Studios owned (which most likely included a Fender Twin) – we have no idea.
Be that as it may, Duane did bring the amp with him, and on the return trip to Macon, was arrested for driving with no valid driver’s license. He was subsequently released but had to leave the Fender Twin behind as collateral since he had not enough money to bail himself out [Galadrielle Allman, Please Be With Me, p. 186 – 187].
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If this was a 66 it would be Blackface, with retro fitted JBLs added later. Fender did not ship with JBLs in 66.
I realize this is a Duane blog. i have a little input. I have 2 fender twin reverb I’d like to sell. # 1.is a 1965 ( June) serial # A 02381. Tube chart stamp O F. # 2 twin serial # A 1915. If there is another number the drill bit took it out from modification. Tube chart stamp O D. I was contacted about this amp from Reliable Music ( owner Melvin Cohen ) in Charlotte NC. I was contacted by Melvin who told me it was just traded in by Grinderswitch and said they had gotten it from the Allman Bros. This music store is no more & Melvin passed away in 2004. Melvin was a stand up guy and no BS. Several groups favored this store such as Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, ABB & more. I got the amp i the late 70s with no speakers and the black vinyl was removed and used it in my band for a few years. This was a working man’s amp. It had several modification. I have it in a shop to be checked out for operation and get a list of the mods. I would assume from the time line that Duane and or Dicky Betts used the amp but no documentation. Just word of mouth from Grinderswitch & Melvin and I don’t doubt either one. My story here and curious if anyone has an idea on selling it or just hang on to it. Don’t need the money but there’s someone out there that’s probably interested.
Thin line silver face Drip edge amps Transition period amplifiers to CBS around late 67-69 maybe early 70.
Fender did not have silverface in 66. The 66 would be a blackface. Maybe a 69
Correct-o. The absolute 3arliest silver face amps showed up in very late ‘67. But some Amp models were made and put on a shelf, so I guess it’s possible a Twin was wired and in inventory, finally finding a cabinet and faceplate after Silver cosmetics were adopted.
I think I’ve made a mistake, and the amp on the photo behind Duane is actually a blackface Twin. Note the lettering below inputs on the left. They are above inputs on the silverface. The sunlight fooled me, and I didn’t bother to look twice…
The last Blackface Fender amps were shipped in August, 1967 and were the Super Reverb and the AB165 Bassman. I own one of each. September, 1967 was the first month that ALL Fender Amps were officially Silverface. Some models were phased in to Silverface earlier in 67 such as the Pro Reverb, Princeton and Deluxe Reverb.