True Vintage Guitar Blog

This vintage Stratocaster stands out as one of my favorite guitars to ever grace the pages of Truevintageguitar.com: An original 1964 Fender Stratocaster, one family owned since '64. The Stratocaster model debuted from Fender in 1954 with many player inspired design breakthroughs like the Comfort Contour body, Synchronized Tremolo tailpiece, three single coil pickups, etc. Leo Fender's team likely had no idea what kind of effect it would have on the entire world of music and style. The Stratocaster model started life with a neck made of Maple bolted to a body made…Read more

This content copyright Truevintageguitar.com!   Leo Fender's Broadcaster, later renamed the Telecaster, wasn't the first solid body/Spanish style electric guitar. It was the first commercially successful solid body electric Spanish guitar. Its design was so perfect that it's been in continuous production in basically the same style since its introduction in 1950. This example from the 1952 production year has been ridden hard - for decades! The entire guitar has been refinished probably a few times. Still, it retains a lot of its original parts. The new owner has it up and running…Read more

The Fender Electric Instrument Co was established in 1946 immediately after Doc Kaufman left the K&F brand. The first run of amplifiers for this new company consisted of three models: the Princeton, the Model 26 "Deluxe", and the Professional. Their lacquered wood cabinets and combination metal strip and cloth grills made them easy targets for the collector nick name of "Woodies".   This Model 26 Deluxe amplifier bears the speaker manufacturing date of the 22nd week of 1946 and serial number 395. Somehow it made it through life without losing its original canvas…Read more

1964 was a transitional year for the entire Fender amplifier line. All amplifiers were now covered in a new black material that was striking in appearance and extremely sturdy: black Tolex! Much of the line was already utilizing brown or white Tolex material but the Champ was still dressed in the cool looking but very fragile tweed covering. Not only that, but effects were starting to become standards in guitar tone. Fender's Reverb unit was a hot seller but required hauling around and servicing an additional piece of gear. Fender's research and development…Read more

I recently received this question from a friend: "Hey John, As my most trusted source on music equipment, can you help me understand if I should purchase a tweed fender champ?  I already have a 1965 blackface champ.  Am I incorrect in thinking the tones will be worlds apart? --Friend" I'm flattered! I've narrowed my focus for vintage amps largely on clean examples from Fender recently because of the intersection of their prevalence here in the US and desirability. Champs are some of the most fun because they are simple, affordable, and can…Read more