How2Day: Fender Dual Showman Specs

The Fender Showman has become a highly sought after guitar amp. Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
The Fender Showman amplifier is a model of guitar amp which was produced in the mid 1960s. Since being discontinued, this amp has become one of the rarest and most coveted guitar amps on the market. Adding to the amp's legacy, many of today's top guitarists, including Jack White of the band The White Stripes, sought out used vintage Showman models to use in their musical arsenal.

The Fender Showman, model number AA763, is an amp from Fender's "Vintage Modified Amps" series.The Showman was produced between 1963 and 1967 before being discontinued. This type of amp is what is known as a "Hybrid Tube/Solid State Amplifier," which means its uses vacuum tubes in the preamp section in conjunction with the solid state power compartment.

The Fender Showman amp has two parts, the head and cabinet. The amp head has a dimension of 8 by 26 by 11 1/2 inches, while the cabinet measures 24 1/2 by 36 by 11 1/2 inches. The amplifier itself is made from 3/4 inch 7-ply birch/maple plywood, and is covered with black textured vinyl. For most models, this amp comes with black tolex and a silver grill, however, the 1963 model had a smooth white tolex with a gold grill. One of the effects that separated this amp from others is the Tremolo feature, which created a rapid increase and decrease of the volume when it is engaged.

This amp boast 85 watts through its one 12-inch JBL-D-120F speaker. The Showman also features two 7025 preamp tubes and four 6L6 power tubes, which gives it its classic sound. One of this amp's unique characteristics is its two channels. In most amplifiers, the two channels are "Clean" and "Drive," but the Showman amp has "Normal" and "Vibrato" channels. The Normal channel does not add any effects to the signal coming through the speaker, however, when plugged into the Vibrato channels, the sound can achieve a level of vibrato, which is a continuously subtle change in pitch.

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