FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The first Fender guitar amp to produce more than 50 watts was the 1958 Twin (Model 5F8). It used four 5881 power tubes to drive two 12 inch speakers. The Twin was known to blow speakers very easily since there weren't any speakers available that were capable of handling such power until the JBL D-120F came along. The 1950s vertical chassis, tweed covered Twin gave way to a refined version in 1960. This model, the 6G8, had tube driven tremolo, a horizontal chassis, and Tolex covering. The 6G8-A version utilized a more complex tremolo circuit that required one extra 12AX7. The revised tremolo circuit split the signal into highs and lows, modulated and then recombined them. The result was the best sounding tremolo ever offered on a Fender amp since some phase shifting occurred which made the sound richer. From 1960 to 1963, the Twin shared "super power" amp status with the Fender Showman and Dual Showman piggyback amps. In 1963, the Twin was dropped in favor of the Twin Reverb. As a result of their short production life and great tone, blonde Tolex Twins are highly sought after by players and collectors alike.

  Preamp: Tube; 2 x 12AX7, 2 x 7025

  Rectifier: Solid state; silicon diode

  Speakers: 2 x 12" JBL D-120F

  Channels: 2 (Normal, Bright); 2 inputs per channel

  Effects: Tremolo

  Controls: Normal - volume, bass, treble; Bright - volume, bass, treble, tremolo intensity, tremolo depth, presence; foot  switch for tremolo

  Dimensions: 9 1/4 H x 28 W x 20 D inches

  Total Weight: 66 lb

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