Chico, CA, United States
About this listing
Perhaps because I am obsessed with vintage amps, our shop has become the place to shop for pieces you never see, like this rare and very early tweed Pro. The amp came in with a 1955 Stratocaster. Both items had sat dormant since 1990 or so until they arrived here.The amp made its way through a local repair shop in the very early 70s. There is a stamp from the shop inside the cabinet. Dates on the capacitors that the old radio shop installed dated to early 1971, and there were a bunch of orange drop caps installed in place of original coupling caps. We brought the amp up slowly on our Variac. Everything worked, but there was a good deal of hum and some fritzy bass, so we dug in and got it right with quality components throughout.It runs nicely now and it sounds incredible! The octal preamp tubes are a bit microphonic, but that is pretty standard.The transformers and the speaker are original - a beautiful thing! The tweed is in amazing shape, as is the grille. You just never see early Fenders in this shape. The handle is a hand-made replacement - the nicest handle I've been able to find. The original handle was replaced long ago, so I added this icing on the cake.Now lets dig a little deeper...When vintage Fender enthusiasts discuss their favorite amplifiers, the conversation typically centers around the Deluxe, Bassman, and Twin. The Pro-Amp is the unsung hero of that golden-era lineup — the tweed era's best-kept secret. The Fender Professional Amplifier predates all of them in the lineup hierarchy. It was Leo Fender's flagship professional instrument from the late 1940s onward — the amplifier that working musicians chose when they needed the most Fender had to offer. The 5A5 is the earliest circuit designation in the TV-front Pro series, used from the late 1940s through roughly 1951, before the 5B5 revision took over. A 1950 example with the 5A5 circuit is among the oldest surviving TV-front Pros in any condition — and this one is in excellent shape throughout.The Fender Pro Amp was a groundbreaking guitar amplifier in its day, delivering impressive tone and power that made it a stage-worthy professional-grade option for the performing musician. With its unique TV-front tweed-wrapped pine cabinet and single 15" speaker delivering upwards of 18-20 watts output, it secured itself as one of Fender's most crowning achievements in the budding industry of electric guitar. The TV-front cabinet design — named for the squared-off front panel that resembles a 1950s television set — is the visual signature of the earliest Fender production era, before the wide-panel and narrow-panel tweed cabinets of the mid-to-late-1950s replaced it. Original pine cabinet, original brown grille cloth, original tweed covering, all in excellent condition. The 5A5 circuit uses the 6SC7 octal double-triode preamp tube — the same preamp architecture found in the PA amplifiers and phonograph amps of the period, carried into the guitar context by Leo Fender in these earliest designs. The cathode-biased pair of 6L6G power tubes along with the 6SC7 preamp provide lush tube power that saturates into overdrive with a woody and harmonically rich response. The Pro-Amp excels at delivering pristine, articulate clean tones perfect for country and jazz, yet when driven hard produces a warm, harmonically complex breakup ideal for blues and rock. The single 15-inch speaker and compact power section create a tighter, more focused sound signature than the Bassman. Past about 6 on the volume control it doesn't get any louder, just gives more sustain and body — the 15" speaker simply barks the blues. Playing slide through one of these is magical. The 15" Jensen Alnico 5 speaker is the original unit, speaker manufacturer code confirming Jensen production from week 7 of 1950. The speaker has been professionally reconed, well before it was stashed in a closet back in 1990. Both original Triad power and output transformers are intact. The filter caps are brand new, the correct and responsible service approach for a 75-year-old amplifier. The INST channel volume pot has been changed with a late 50s, correct spec pot— the remaining two pots are original. The leather handle is a beautiful reproduction that is the best replacement in the business. Power cord has been upgraded to grounded three-prong. The chassis carries the stamps and signatures of a repair shop right here in Chico, CA— a shop that dated back to the 1950s. RCA 6L6 power tubes, RCA 5U4 rectifier, three RCA 6SC7 preamp tubes. No case.Mahar's Vintage Guitars is a brick-and-mortar and web-based retailer. We are happy to talk with you before you make a purchase. Please reach out if you feel so inclined! We cross market our items here and on our own site, so items are subject to sale elsewhere at any time (however we will never cancel a sale if it happens here first). See our profile here, our Google reviews as well as our 100% positive Reverb feedback. Also, Reverb limits us to only 25 pictures of our items. There is a good chance we have more. Contact us if you’d like to see them.No sales tax for direct sale customers outside California. Reverb sales are always taxed.SPECIFICATIONS:Date: 1950Where Is Date Noted?: Serial#, codesWeight: 38lbs 0.5ozDimensions: w 22" x h 20" x d 9-1/2"Watts: 18 wattsCase/Cover?: noCase/Cover Brand: n/aCase/Cover Condition: n/aCovering Material: tweedCovering Color: tweedCovering Original?: tweedCabinet Material: pineCabinet Condition: excellentCabinet Repairs/Changes: noneCabinet Original?: yesGrille Style: brown clothGrille Condition: excellentGrille Original?: yesBaffle Material: pineBaffle Condition: excellentBaffle Original?: yesBaffle Repairs/Changes: noneChassis Material: sheet metalChassis Condition: excellentChassis Original?: yesChassis Repairs/Changes: noneKnobs Original?: yesHandle Material: leatherHandle Original?: no - but it is a beautiful reproduction!Speaker 1 Brand: Jensen Alnico 5 Speaker 1 Size: 15"Speaker 1 Manufacturer Code: 220Speaker 1 Date Code: 007Speaker 1 Cone Code: hard to readSpeaker 1 Cone Original?: no, reconedSpeaker 1 Condition: excellentSpeaker Original?: yesPower Transformer Manufacturer: TriadPower Transformer Manufacturer Code: n/aPower Transformer Model Number: 6516Power Transformer Original?: yesOutput Transformer Manufacturer: TriadOutput Transformer Manufacturer Code: n/aOutput Transformer Model Number: 1846Output Transformer Original?: yesChoke Transformer Manufacturer: n/aChoke Transformer Manufacturer Code: n/aChoke Transformer Date Code: n/aChoke Transformer Original?: n/aReverb Transformer Manufacturer: n/aReverb Transformer Manufacturer Code: n/aReverb Transformer Date Code: n/aReverb Transformer Original?: n/aReverb Onboard: noReverb Tank Original?: n/aTremolo Or Vibrato Onboard: noPedal Included?: noPedal Condition: n/aPedal Original?: n/aRectifier Tube: 5U4Rectifier Tube Brand: RCAPower Tubes: 2 x 6L6Power Tube Brand: RCAPreamp Tubes: 3 x 6SC7Preamp Tube Brand: RCAPotentiometers Original?: 2 original, INST pot changedFilter Caps: replacedInternal Repairs: yesPower Cable: grounded upgradeAccessories Included: noneDocumentation: stamps and signatures of repair shop in chassisSmells?: noneShipping PolicyBy completing your purchase you are agreeing to this shipping policy. Shipments require signature on delivery, no exceptions. Less than 1% of our shipments are damaged in transit, and we are committed to making sure your item arrives safely. If there is damage, retain all packing materials intact, photograph them immediately, and send the photos to .Amplifiers: We take additional precautions to prevent common shipping damage. Depending on the amp, this may include removing tubes, pulling the chassis from the cabinet if heavy transformers present a drop risk, or removing heavy speakers that could crack baffles in transit. Reassembly is required on delivery — we label everything clearly. These measures add to shipping costs but reflect hard-won experience. All amps are tested in our shop upon intake and again before shipping. We cover shipping damage but cannot be responsible for the failure of vintage components in instruments that are 20 to 50-plus years old.
Original Price$6,999.95
$700 off
New Price$6,299.95
+ $180 Shipping to
