Dating early Fender amplifiers is sometimes quite challenging. While dating Fender amps made before 1994 by serial number is all but impossible (as records of these numbers were never kept), all hope is not lost—the charts below should prove helpful in dating your Fender amp. Remember, your amp is newer than the newest component. For example, if you find pots from late ‘64 and transformers from early ’65, you can be pretty sure your amp is a 1965. A small number of the last 5F1 style cabinets were covered with the "Blackface" amp cosmetics around this transition, as the factory most likely ran out of the tweed cloth covering. Fender brought back the blackface cosmetics for a short time in 1981 before discontinuing the Champ the following year. Cosmetically similar to the original Champion 600, internally it features a modified blackface Champ circuit (with the settings of the tone stack being hard-wired rather than adjustable via Treble and Bass controls, and a couple of additional resistors reducing input-stage gain) and a switch to solid-state rectification from the original 5Y3 tube. Comments: The speaker jack and fuse (1A) are located under chassis. Even at we struggle with keeping a correct amp and speaker model overview. There are also exceptions to the rules where Fender delivered non-standard speakers in special orders, Christmas campaigns etc. See our Buyer’s guide to vintage Fender amps for a guide and picture gallery of the known original speakers in the blackface and silverface amps.
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