It's funny how jaded our thinking can become. Thoughts, words and concepts that have assumed familiarity in minds of musicians can hold completely different meaning for those outside the "inner circle". I'll never forget the first time I used the word "humbucker" in the presence of my mother. I nearly got my mouth washed out with soap and was told to sever all ties with my musician friends who were deemed "bad influences". Maybe this is how the term "misunderstood artist" got started.

     Occasionally these terminological misunderstandings have been known to occur within the musical brotherhood. Amongst guitar players there are certain subject matters that you are just expected to know, and if you ask questions about them then you obviously aren't a real guitar player. It's as if you were supposed to have been given a handbook and taught the secret handshake after you learned your first three chords. "Now you're one of us. Tell no one". Well, there is no handbook, and I'm not at liberty to discuss the handshake. But I would like to clear up at least one misconception that I hear about quite often - the difference between Blackface and Silverface Fender amps.

     First, we need to go back to late 1964. Leo Fender, owner, founder and soon-to-be legend of Fender Electric Instruments, had decided it was time to call it quits. He had built a successful company, was working harder than he wanted to, and suffering from failing health when he accepted what was considered a generous offer of $13 million from CBS, Inc.

     On January 1, 1965, CBS assumed ownership and operation of Fender Electric Instruments, and in doing so created a distinction that is still noted today among guitar players, guitar and amp collectors and music historians. Technically speaking all instruments sold from this date forward (until early 1985 when the company was sold again) were given the stigma of being CBS-era instruments, while instruments sold prior to this date were given the more preferred pre-CBS designation.

     So what does this CBS/pre-CBS distinction mean, and how does it tie in with Silverface and Blackface amps?

     There is a common perception that any company built from the ground up, especially one that has one's name attached to it, will have a higher degree of quality and integrity present since it's creator is directly involved and has usually poured his pride, blood, sweat, tears and most of his soul into it. It is equally perceived that when a company is sold to an outsider, especially a large company, there may be a gradual diminishing of its character as it evolves from one man's ideals to anothers. The philosophy being that a labor of love is greater than a device of profit. It's safe to assume that CBS purchased Fender purely on a business level with the intention of increasing corporate profits and not because they were a group of musicians who wanted direct access to a bunch of cool gear whenever they wanted. The typical, transitional pattern to follow a business purchase is to keep things status quo until the basic operation is fully understood and then begin making changes to increase profits, help create a new identity, and improve the current product line as well as adding newer, more technologically advanced products to keep up with the changing needs of the market. Unsurprisingly, this is exactly the path that was chosen for Fender by its new owners.

     In 1965 when Fender was sold, they were producing what are now referred to as the "Blackface" amps. These were and are great sounding amps that were given this nickname due to the black faceplate that was used during this time; the faceplate being the metal plate that the controls (volume, tone, effects) were mounted to. To many people the term "Blackface" is synonymous with being pre-CBS although this is technically not accurate as the Blackface amps continued until sometime in 1967, well after CBS took over. Around 1968 the first noticeable changes implemented to the tube amp line by CBS surfaced. This was the birth of the Silverface amps. Externally these changes consisted of the changeover from a black faceplate to a silver one with blue lettering and a newer blue, white, and silver grill cloth with an aluminum trim. But what about internally? Since the only important changes to an amplifier are the ones that affect the tone, what makes these amps different from their Blackface counterparts?

     This is where it starts to get really interesting and oddly enough a little confusing. But we'll save it for next time when we discuss how things are not always what they seem to be.