The main exception being the redesign of The Telecaster bass, with new humbucking pickup. This is the final inclusion of the mandolin and electric violin, both of which would be discontinued in early 1974.įender's bass line of 1972 was (mostly) unchanged. Two guitars have been dropped from the line, the Fender Custom and the Coronado (Antigua) six and twelve strings. New models include the Telecaster Deluxe, which takes pride-of-place as the first guitar in the catalog. This catalog is dated 1972, but was most likely printed in the second half of that year, as it includes guitars, amplifiers and finish options not included in early-'72 price lists. Too many 14 year old thrashers complaining Uncle Charlie's '56 Bassman didn't sound like a Crate stack.The early seventies catalogs are longer than those preceding them, typically with one instrument per page this one has 68 full colour pages, including covers - significantly less than the 96 pages of the 1970 catalog, having a smaller amplifier range and no longer including Fender banjos. Unusual and vintage equipment reviews on HC are often garbage. Oh - and if you stick a 12" Weber Cali in it instead of a "looser" speaker, it DOES make a great studio bass amp! I've known a few bass players that used them in the studio - the amp mic and a direct-inject signal mixed together for a really articulate but warm sound. If you just ignore all the prejudices, do the few simple parts changes and *listen*, you'll find a gem in the weeds of one of Fender's worst eras. In fact, this thread has me thinking of hunting for another one! You have to be able to get over the idea that you're looking at a cheap SF Fender Bass amp and ignore all the normal predisposition that goes with it and JUST use your ears. I was told they thought it was worth a shot as the amps weren't expensive (I think they ended up fetching $200 or so on eBay 5 or 6 years ago) but didn't expect much, and were shocked. I sold the last two I had because I have a 5D3 and needed room and money - both buyers were floored. There were quite a few (and still some) who scoff at it - and most of the naysayers are going on an empty tank as they've never HAD one or have but never stuck a decent alnico 12 in it *and* played with tubes (the lower-gain preamp tube is a big piece of the puzzle many buyers of Musicmasters miss). What you end up with is darned close to a 5D3 later wide-panel Deluxe sound. There are websites that list a few tweaks you can do - but honestly out of the 4 or 5 I've had (both the 6V6 and 6AQ7 - note they are NOT 6BQ7's aka EL84's and lots of p[layers by them making that mistake thinking they're getting a Vox clone.6AQ7's are very Fendery-sounding, plentiful and inexpensive) all I needed to do to get an absolutely stunning guitar tone was a simple cap job (needed anyway), a speaker replacement (MANDATORY - the speaker is junk almost anything is an improvement, but a P12Q-type is the secret weapon) and a lower-gain preamp tube (pick your poison - 5751, 12AY7 or even a 12AU7). It's mostly "weird" because it was so unlike Fender to use a more *expensive* system and parts, especially in the CBS days. The transformer-coupled inverter is actually a much better system than a driver tube, which wears out, needs to be precisely balanced and can have a huge effect on tone and gain (in a bad way, mostly). "I read Gerald Weber's first book and I'm no a tech") think there is something "wrong" with them. The transformer-coupled phase inverter invariably makes people with a smattering of technical knowledge (i.e. They are probably one of the great "sleeper" amps of all time for small club and studio use - for guitar. We had several discussions where about these 7 or 8 years ago.
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