To re-tweed, or not to re-tweed

[HarpmanBob]

Hello all. HarpmanBob from southwest Missouri here. First post on this forum. Play bass (Fender J or Fender Zone) in a duo at a local lounge two nites a week....an ongoing gig for nearly 5 years now. Older rock and country material. Prior to that, played in a 50s--early 60s band for 23 years (same guys all that time, believe it or not). Age 63. My main form of fun is the harmonica. Had one since I was a kid. A while back, lucked into a 1959 Fender Bassman 4x10 amp. Had it repaired, now works pretty well. Just re-tubed with JJs from Eurotube. So, the question is---the amp was recovered probably in the 1970s with a chocolate brown vinyl and matching brown grille cloth. Since it's not tweed, hardly anybody notices what it is. That can be both good and bad. Anyhow....one local vintage guru said he didn't think a re-tweed job was needed. Some others have said it might be desirable. So, just thought I would ask people who like and know Fender amps for their thoughts. Any and all comments are welcome. Bob

[Cogs]

I like to tinker w/stuff, but I also like a traditional look so I'd say either re-tweed or at least re-cover it in a tweed-style fabric. DEFINITELY get new grill cloth.
BTW, welcome!

[Kap'n]

Looks like the baffleboard has been replaced, too.

[ziess]

Is it just me that thinks that's quite cool?

Obviously whoever did it deserves to be shot, but if it was any other amp I think i'd like it!

[Don]

Tough decision.
I think it looks fine the way it is. As long as it's done well, I'd leave it alone.

On the other hand, it'd look pretty cool in tweed.

If it was mine, the question would haunt me until I had it restored.
No fake relic-ing though. That just looks bad, besides, tweed relics on it's own pretty quickly!

[4960]

Hello HarpmanBob,

I'd love to see the amp with tweed and a 4x10 speaker setup. On the other hand, since you play out with it, if no one knows what it is then maybe that decreases the chances of it being stolen. I'm sure that doesn't help a bit.

Ken

[Cogs]

What looks like a single 12" cutout in the baffle is actually a groovy peace sign painted on the grillcloth.

[HarpmanBob]

The amp is all original in terms of the cabinet itself and the amp unit. It was not working when I got it.....sent it to a fellow who put in new tubes, capacitors, couple switches, one pot, power cord, and four new Jensen P10-R speakers. Still have original speakers--they need to be reconed. I put on new chickenhead knobs and a new leather handle. The recovering was done by some unknown person back quite a few years......they obviously thought putting the peace sign on the grille cloth was cool. I like the kinda grungy, well used look. But maybe doing a re-tweed with the shellacking process that makes it look a little older, but not necessarily relic'd, would be good. Just looking for outside opinions.

[HarpmanBob]

1947 Plymouth Special Deluxe. Flathead 6. Hope you don't mind the pic.

[ziess]

If it was mine, i'd retweed it. Simple as that.

[Tonedog]

Cool Amp!!

It's totally up to you. If the amp works great and you plan to keep it, there is no real reason to change it. If you're going to sell it, having a really high quality re-tweed and lacquer job done on it would probably help it to fetch a higher price, but you'd have to pay someone to do the work, so depending on how much it costs to do the work and the difference in the selling price, you may or may not end up ahead by doing the work. My guess is that you'd end up ahead though. If it was me, I'd send it to mojo musical supply and have them re-do the tweed and the grill cloth. They can do a good job of shooting lacquer over the tweed as well. They have a slideshow on their web page showing the restoration of an old tweed amp. They do good work.

[Kap'n]

Keeping it looking like it does now might go a long way towards keeping people from stealing it.

On the other hand, making it look closer to a reissue might be a good idea, too.

What a strange world we live in.

[Guitar_Mc]

Cover it with stickers!

[95strat]

Not a big fan of the peace sign. Don't get me wrong I like peace, but the sign just doesn't do anything for me on a bassman...just me.

Other than that I like the brown. Tweed would be cool too, but it won't be as vintage.

It's all up to you.

[ziess]

"Don't get me wrong I like peace, but the sign just doesn't do anything for me..."

I'm not sure you meant that 95strat, but that came across as really funny!

[Don]

If re-tweeded, I'd have it lacquered for a nice glow but I wouldn't relic it anymore than I would the '47 Plymouth (which is to say not at all). I'd play the shit out of it like I'd drive the shit out of the Plymouth too.

Nice car. When I was a mechanic (many moons ago), the shop truck at the garage that I worked at was an early '60s Dodge with the flathead 6.

[Hutch]

I wouldn't change a thing. Seriously.

[HarpmanBob]

Hey, guys, thanks for the input and thoughts.
About that peace sign---I wouldn't have done it myself, but since it was there when I got the amp, I have just left it as a vintage sort of thing to go along with the old and funky incorrect covering. I doesn't bother me, and occasionally gets a comment. It would be easy enough to cover with a little spray paint. Will have to decide which way to go about the tweed...but no rush.

[Gtrplyr]

Will have to decide which way to go about the tweed...but no rush.

I'd restore it because that's just the way I am. I'd like it to look like it was originally intended to be. Things like the wrong grill cloth or covering would always bug me. It's a curse.

[95strat]

ziess, I'm just glad someone found it humorous.