Are you looking for the sound of a vintage Fender Tweed amplifier but don’t have enough money to buy a vintage Fender Deluxe from 1958? Take a look at an amp-in-a-box effect pedal.
There are more and more manufacturers that market effect pedals that mimic the sound of a (known) amplifier. With such a pedal you have the sound and feel of the original amplifier but not the cost. In this blog I go into 10 guitar pedals that imitate the sound of iconic Fender amplifiers as precisely as possible, i.e. a Fender in a box!
What are amp-in-a-box pedals?
The name actually says it, an amp-in-a-box pedal is a pedal that mimics the sound and feel of an amplifier as precisely as possible. Some pedals do this in a general sense, without having a specific amplifier model in mind. Examples include the Sweet Honey by Mad Professor and the Wampler Tweed. Other pedals mimic a specific amplifier. Think of amplifiers from Vox (AC30), Marshall, Supro, Bogner, HiWatt, Orange, Dumble and Gibson and so on. Often this is a specific model and/or a specific year. Fender in a box pedals mimic iconic Fender amplifiers, usually involving the well-known Tweed amplifiers made between 1948 and 1960.
What’s in it for you?
An amp-in-a-box is often used for two reasons: as an eq and/or as an (extra) gain.
Gebruik als eq
Als je een amp-in-a-box als eq gebruikt krijg je er een tweede versterker bij. Als je bijvoorbeeld in een coverband speelt heb je waarschijnlijk behoefte aan een zo accuraat mogelijke benadering van het originele gitaargeluid. Een amp-in-a-box is dan een relatief goedkope oplossing waarmee je een goede basis legt. Uiteraard zijn de gebruikte gitaar en een flinke dosis talent voor minstens zo groot gedeelte van invloed op het eindresultaat 😉 Als je een amp-in-a-box combineert met een booster of overdrive ervoor of erna krijg je bovendien een heel scala aan geluiden waarmee je zowel slag- als sologeluiden kan verrijken.
Use as an extra gain The second way to use an amp-in-a-box pedal is as an extra gain. These pedals often display the sound of an amplifier that is in ‘the sweet spot’. This means that the amplifier is just about to transfer (to the clean channel). Since amps often take place at high volumes, a pedal that does the same at low volumes is a useful tool to give an extra boost to, for example, an overdrive or distortion pedal. The bottom line is that you send the signal from an overdrive pedal to an already (slightly) oversteered amplifier, giving you even more overdrive.
Fender in a box pedals
The 10 pedals below are perhaps the most famous Fender style pedals. And there are undoubtedly more than these 10, let me know which one I missed by leaving a comment on this article.
Pedals based on 50s Tweed Twin
The Twin was introduced in 1952, even before the Stratocaster was sold, and is known for its ultraclean sound. Many different versions have been made over the years, including the famous Twin Reverb, the Super Twin, the Twin Reverb II and the Twin Reverb ’65 Reissue. In 2001, the Cyber Twin was released, a tube amplifier with a digital processor. In 1958, a variant of the Twin was introduced that had more volume than its predecessors. This version had four 5881 power tubes that allowed the amplifier to produce no less than 80 watts of sound.
This ‘high-powered’ version of the Twin formed the basis of Mad Professor: Big Tweedy Drive and love pedal: High Power Tweed Twin. The Big Tweedy has four controls, namely tone, presence, volume and drive. The High Power Tweed Twin has only two drive and master volume controls and a three-position switch that allows a timbre preset to be chosen. I haven’t had the pedals in my hands yet, how they sound you can judge below.
Pedals based on a Tweed Deluxe
Catalinbread has a large number of pedals based on famous amplifiers, all released in the Foundation Overdrive Series. Two pedals from this series are based on a Tweed Deluxe. Both Formula 5 and Catalinbread Formula 55 are based on the 5E3 preamp of the Tweed Deluxe. Formula 5 is perhaps the most exact replica including all the design flaws of the original.
Unfortunately, some of the components used in Formula 5 were no longer available and this was partly due to the creation of Formula 55. This pedal is an improved version of the original, with more layer, more head room and a larger overdrive range. With this pedal you create the sound with which Tom Petty, the Black Crowes and ZZ Top became famous.
The Les Lius of Love Pedal is another pedal partly based on the same iconic amplifier. This pedal has the extra that a mini toggle can be switched between a Tweed Deluxe and a 50’s Fender Twin or a combination of these two. So the best of both worlds.
Which one should you choose? I use a Formula 55 myself so I’m not completely objective and otherwise I never heard the Catalinbread and the Love Pedal side by side (at the same time). Both have True Bypass, so the signal does not pass through the effect circuit when the pedal is off. The Love Pedal has the advantage that it has an extra boost foot switch. Formula 55 has more options to ‘shape’ your sound with the presence and tone button. The purists probably choose Formula 5, as this is the most exact replica of the original. In terms of price, the three pedals don’t get away much either, all three cost about 200 euros.
Pedals based on a Tweed Bassman
In the Foundation Overdrive Series, Catalinbread also offers formula 5F6, based on fender’s narrow panel Tweed Bassman with 4 x 10 inch speakers introduced by Fender in July 1957. Although the Bassman was marketed as a bass amplifier by Fender, it quickly became popular among guitarists. Kurt Cobain, Josh Homme and Brian Setzer were avid users. Furthermore, the Bassman circuit also formed the basis for marshall’s first JTM45 amplifier summit launched in 1962. In short, it’s worth having under your feet!
The Formula 5F6 has gain (although it was not on the original amplifier) and volume buttons as well as treble, middle and bass with which the sound can be colored. In addition, there is in the pedal, under the flap, a presence trim potmeter and a fashion switch. With the presence potmeter, the presence can be fine-tuned. With the fashion switch you can choose the standard bassman or for the secret lead mode. In this last position you get a fair amount of extra gain.
In addition to Catalinbread, Boss also offers a very affordable Bassman emulation: the FBM-1 Fender ’59 Bassman. This pedal is very affordable and costs about 120 euros. The ’59 Bassman amplifier (also known as 5F6A) was the latest version of the tweed series and had a different rectifier tube and an adjustment to the Presence control circuit compared to the previous version.
Which one should you choose? In my opinion, the 5F6 is currently the best choice of these two. Although the Boss approached the sound of a Bassman nicely, you still miss something that the 5F6 does have.
Pedals based on a Deluxe (Reverb)
The Deluxe Reverb was introduced by Fender in 1963. The existing Deluxe amplifier was modified by adding a Reverb. The Deluxe variant was introduced in fender’s Blackface period and these are recognizable by a black panel with white letters. The sound of the Deluxe Reverb is particularly loved because it has a crystal ‘chime’, pronounced highs, a clear middle area and a good overdrive sound that is easy to reach.
Boss currently has a pedal in the range based on a ’65 Deluxe Reverb: FDR-1 Fender ’65 deluxe Reverb. The pedal has all the controls that are also on the original amplifier: level, gain, treble, bass, vibrato and reverb. In addition, there is a pedal of Joyo the JF-14 “American Sound” that is based on a ’57 Deluxe. The pedal has no less than 6 drive controls, voice, volume and also low, mid and high. The most striking thing about this pedal is that it has a built-in speaker simulation. So you can connect the pedal directly to your mixing console or sound card.
And what does that sound like? The Boss pedal comes pretty close to a Deluxe Reverb in terms of sound, but the way in which differs. The amplifier sounds more dynamic than the pedal and reacts more directly to the touch. Price/quality technically, however, this pedal is certainly not bad. I haven’t been able to hear the Joyo live yet.
Pedals based on a Tweed/Blackface
Finally, there are a number of pedals that do not mimic a specific amplifier model of Fender. Both Wampler and Flickinger have pedals based on tweed amplifiers. Wampler has the Tweed ’57 and Flickinger de Cranky Atom. I haven’t been able to test both myself. Online, however, there is plenty to find about it.
Blackface is not a type of amplifier but the indication of a period in fender history. Blackface amplifiers were made between 1963 and early 1968. They are often split into two categories, namely pre-CBS (between ’63 and mid ’65) and CBS (between mid ’65 and mid ’68). Virtually all well-known Fender amplifier models also have a blackjack variant including the Champ, Princeton, Deluxe, Vibrolux, Vibroverb and the Twin Reverb.
Wampler has a pedal based on the amplifiers from this period in history, the Black ’65 Vintage Overdrive. Unfortunately, the pedal is no longer made, second hand it can still be found. You can see/hear what it sounds like in the video below.
I hope we provided you with a nice overview of different fender-in-a-box pedals. Please let us know what you think of this blog and if we missed anything.
I own a 1970 Twin Reverb with JBL speakers. I also own a 1990 Fender Performer 650. Both are sturdy and solid amps, but I wanted a Fender Tweed amp, also, but could no longer afford the overpricing of tube amps, especially hand-wired amp. So, an acquaintance recommended the Joyo American Sound Pedal. I was skeptical, but the price was very affordable. When I played this through each amp, I was so impressed that I could mimic this sound without having to buy another amp. Just keep toggling each of the knobs and play live music to get the full essence and root sound, AND remember to take a snapshot of the settings on the pedal as well as your amp, because this pedal can go full tweed to pure fender surf tone. I bought it for the blues growl, but now I can mimic the ‘60’s blackface amp which my 1970 Twin does not sound like at all. Both my amps sound excellent for jazz and bebop on their own, but with the American Sound pedal, it can mimic the old blues masters tones, i.e., delta blues growl (go right) or Chicago style pitchy tones (go left). I am overjoyed with these new emulator pedals, but I think you still have to have at least a very good amp and speakers to mimic the tones.