The Fender Showman was a

guitar amplifier A guitar amplifier (or amp) is an electronic device or system that strengthens the electrical signal from a pickup on an electric guitar, bass guitar, or acoustic guitar so that it can produce sound through one or more loudspeakers, which a ...

produced by the Fender company. It was introduced in 1960 and was discontinued in 1993.

Blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

and

Silverface Fender amplifiers are a series of electric instrument amplifiers produced by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The first guitar amplifiers attributed to Leo Fender were manufactured by the K&F Manufacturing Corporation (K&F) betwee ...

models such as the Showman, Dual Showman, and Showman Reverb employed the same "piggyback head" design as the

Bandmaster A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band. British Armed Forces In the British Army, bandmasters of the Royal Corps of Army Music now hold the rank of staff s ...

and the Bassman. Dual Showman Reverb used the

Fender Twin Reverb The Fender Twin and Twin Reverb are guitar amplifiers made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Twin was introduced in 1952, two years before Fender began selling Stratocaster electric guitars. The amps are known for their characteristi ...

chassis and came in non-master and master volume versions with "pull boost" circuitry, mid-1970s "tailless" amplifier decal and a slightly larger head. The Fender Showman is often associated with surf guitarist

Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scale (music), scales and experimenting with reverb eff ...

and was notably used in the 1960s by

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

The Bobby Fuller Four The Bobby Fuller Four (sometimes stylized as Bobby Fuller 4) was a popular mid-1960s American rock & roll band started by Bobby Fuller. First formed in 1962 in Fuller's hometown of El Paso, Texas, the group went on to produce some of its most m ...

, Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green, and in the 1970s by

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...

of Yes.

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

owned one early model, and later a Dual. Showmans and Dual Showmans are heavily sought by

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

players.

Technical data

Six preamplifier tubes, solid state rectifier, four 6L6 power tubes and new output transformer. AB763 model: three preamplifier tubes (7025 Normal Channel; 7025 & 12AX7 Vibrato Channel), 12AT7 phase inverter tube & 4 x 6L6GC power tubes

Showman models

*Showman: 1960–1962 Showman 12 (one 12"

JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. JBL serves the customer home and professional market. The professional market includes studios, installed/tour/portable sound, cars, music ...

D120 speaker), Showman 15 (one 15" JBL D130 speaker) Cream tolex with oxblood grille cloth. *Dual Showman and Showman 15: Starting 1963 (Two 15" JBL D130F speakers for Dual Showman and one 15" JBL D130 speaker for Showman 15, also called Single Showman). **Starting 1960: Cream

Tolex Tolex is a trade name for a flexible, waterproof, vinyl material used as a cover material for books, upholstery, guitar amplifiers, cases, and other products. Tolex was filed as a trademark on August 30, 1945 by the General Tire, and was registe ...

with oxblood grille cloth **Starting late 1962: Cream Tolex with gold grille cloth **Starting 1964: Black Tolex with silver grille cloth *Showman Reverb *Dual Showman Reverb *"Red Knob" Showman *Super Showman

References

{{Fender S