While this may not be news to some of our more experienced readers we wanted to include this basic information so that those in need would have a quick resource.
Dating Blackface, Brownface, Brown Tolex, White Tolex, Or Tweed Fender Amps From 1951 - 1969 with the Tube Sticker.
Look on the inside of the amp's cabinet for a sticker that shows the location of the tubes. This sticker should be stamped with a two letter date code where the 1st letter equals the year and the 2nd letter equals the month of production.
To illustrate:
a "HF" date code from the table below indicates a production date of June 1958.
| Date Codes |
| Letter Code |
Vintage Year |
Reissue Year |
Month |
| A |
- |
1990 |
January |
| B |
- |
1991 |
February |
| C |
1953 |
1992 |
March |
| D |
1954 |
1993 |
April |
| E |
1955 |
1994 |
May |
| F |
1956 |
1995 |
June |
| G |
1957 |
1996 |
July |
| H |
1958 |
1997 |
August |
| I |
1959 |
1998 |
September |
| J |
1960 |
1999 |
October |
| K |
1961 |
- |
November |
| L |
1962 |
- |
December |
| M |
1963 |
- |
- |
| N |
1964 |
- |
- |
| O |
1965 |
- |
- |
| P |
1966 |
- |
- |
| Q |
1967 |
- |
- |
For Amps that do not have the tube sticker there are other ways to find the date of the amp. Here are some further resources:
http://www.tcguitar.com/articles/gagliano_pt5.html
http://www.ampwares.com/ampguide_dating_info.asp
http://www.fender.com/support/amplifiers.php
Fender Amps the First 50 Years
John Teagle and John Sprung
Available through your local Authorized Fender Dealer
pn# 099-5011-000
U.S. MSRP $34.95
The Fender Amp Book
John Morrish
GPI Books, Miller Freeman Inc. Publishing
ISBN 0-87930-345-X
The Tube Amp Book
Aspen Pitman
Distributed by Groove Tubes
What is a vintage Fender MA6 mixer worth and what is the dating for them?
Comment by Richard Cameron — December 15, 2008 @ 2:33 pm
Hi. My amp has a production code
15 HH Will that tell me the year and date? It is a Fender Deluxe.
Thank You.
Comment by David — June 1, 2009 @ 1:10 pm