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Author Topic:  Fender Showman
David Farrell

 

From:
San Diego, California, USA
Post  Posted 6 Dec 2022 7:59 am    
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Hi friends,

I have a blackface Showman with a 1x15 tone ring cabinet. Does anyone have any opinion about this amp/speaker? Do you like these for pedal steel?

Thanks, Dave
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Dave

Fender pedal steels, amps & guitars. '73 Sho~Bud PRO 1 CUSTOM. Emmons ReSound'65 S-10 4x5.
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Bob Hoffnar


From:
Austin, Tx
Post  Posted 6 Dec 2022 8:22 am    
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My main recording amp for years in NYC was a Blackface Fender Showman. I used a reverb pedal with it. It was perfect amp for steel. Like a Twin but easier to carry around. Eventually the circuit boards started to crumble and after multiple repairs I could never get that perfect sound again so I moved on to Milkman amps.
But... while it was working it was glorious.

If it is in good shape it might be worth a bunch of money too.

Also check the speaker. If it is an original JBL you have a holy grail steel amp on your hands !
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billy tam

 

From:
baton rouge, louisiana
Post  Posted 7 Dec 2022 2:03 pm     Showman
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I have owned a ‘67 Dual Showman head and currently have a’68 Showman head.
Both are excellent for steel imho.
I’ve used Evans amps since 1973 and have a small cab Fet500 with an EPS 15C that is a great steel amp but there is a warmth and smoothness above the 12th fret with the Fenders that is special. Again my opinion only. Billy
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David Farrell

 

From:
San Diego, California, USA
Post  Posted 7 Dec 2022 6:01 pm    
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Thanks gents.

The cabinet weighs 54 pounds & the head weighs 35 pounds. The speaker is a JBL D130.

It's a bit on the big heavy side for me, but I'm going to have to bring this ol gal out for a lil steelin!
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Dave

Fender pedal steels, amps & guitars. '73 Sho~Bud PRO 1 CUSTOM. Emmons ReSound'65 S-10 4x5.
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Dave Grafe


From:
Hudson River Valley NY
Post  Posted 8 Dec 2022 5:10 am    
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With a decent reverb appliance this is just about as good as it gets, just sayin'
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Jim Kennedy

 

From:
Brentwood California, USA
Post  Posted 8 Dec 2022 7:12 am    
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I started playing about 25 years ago. At that time a lot of players preferred the Fender Twin series amps--Twin Reverb, Showman, Dual Sowman, Quad Reverb, Super Six. The same amp design was also used in some Fender Rhodes pianos and Fender PA heads. I have a Quad Reverb that I split into head and speaker cabinet to lighten the load. Using a neo speaker will also help with the weight. Weight is the big drawback to using these amps.Gigging with one all depends upon how much weight you want to lug around. The modern stuff is light and sounds fantastic, but, IMHO, there is nothing like the real thing. I absolutely adore the way my Shobud sounds through my Fender head.
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Ken Morgan

 

From:
Midland, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 8 Dec 2022 7:32 am    
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Just opinion, but the Showman is perhaps the finest amp to ever come along. Gives great sounds with steel, 6, bass, even keys. Can be used to push any cabinet you like

Wish I still had mine
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67 Shobud Blue Darling III, scads of pedals and such, more 6 strings than I got room for

Ken Morgan
Midland, TX
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Tim Whitlock


From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 8 Dec 2022 9:48 am    
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I had this monstrous setup briefly. It sounded unearthly but the cabinet loaded with two Altec 418b 15" speakers was super heavy and awkward so I had to let it go.

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Tony Prior


From:
Charlotte NC
Post  Posted 9 Dec 2022 1:39 am    
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While I had a 67 head for a while , I rarely used it on a gig, But I can say, my opinion of course, the Showman Head has the absolute best clean NORMAL CHANNEL tone of any Fender amp. Remember kids , the only difference between the Single Showman head and the Dual Showman head is the Dual has a 4 ohm OT and the Single has an 8 ohm OT. Mine was a Single with a 4 ohm OT.

A great amp, wish I kept mine.
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Len Amaral

 

From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
Post  Posted 9 Dec 2022 9:11 am    
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The Fender tone ring speaker cabinet is rare. The speaker is mounted on a ring that is suspended from the baffle board.

I posted a topic on this cab a while back as there was one for sale on Craigslist.

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=351750&highlight=fender+tone+ring
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I survived the sixties!
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Chris Boyd

 

From:
Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.
Post  Posted 10 Dec 2022 8:45 am    
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Yours is a GREAT steel amp ! A '69 Dual Showman Reverb is my go to amp and it's wonderful..
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Peter Freiberger

 

From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 10 Dec 2022 11:06 am    
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I remember getting great tone out of a friend's Twin with D120 JBL's (but heavy!). I'm inspired now and Variacing my Dual Showman head (tubes removed) back up to 110 volts to run with a JBL D130 cab. A cool old amp I got from Jay Graydon 40+ years ago. It was my always reliable bass head for many years after that. So far no smoke, bad noises or smells coming from the head... Wish me luck.
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