Up for sale, a 1960 Fender Pro in museum-grade condition and in perfect working order complete with the original footswitch and a complete vintage tube set. One of the very first Brown Panel amps to leave the Fender factory, this Pro is jaw-dropping in its presentation, purportedly a test amp at the Fender factory, given to an employee with only two subsequent owners. Early Brown Panel design elements of this Pro include the lighter pinkish brown-colored tolex than later offerings, an RCA speaker jack, and a dark green frame alnico magnet Jensen P15N speaker.

This amp delivered 40 powerful, articulate all-tube watts via a vintage USA-made pair of matched Tung Sol 5881 (6L6GC) power tubes. The Pro boasts Fender's unique "Harmonic Vibrato" circuit, and this complex design was Fender's only true pitch-shifting vibrato offered in an amp. Swampy, thick, and very Leslie-esque, it's a three-dimensional, full-bodied tone unlike any other Fender. The perfect middle ground between the dynamic, saturated tones of the earlier Tweed era amps and the shimmering cleans of the later Black Panel line, this Pro has a very warm and nuanced sound, with plenty of clean headroom before pushing into saturated overdrive. The circuit offers EQ controls that have a very wide sweep for everything from classic hollow twang to warm, sweet sounds that will delight any Jazz player.

The circuit is extremely original, serviced sparingly only to ensure optimal functionality. The preamp retains all of the original yellow molded Astron caps which have a sweet, musical quality central to the sound of Fender's early '60s circuits. New components are limited to the main filter caps and smaller electrolytics in the preamp, all cleanly sleeved in their original Astron Minimite wrappers. The transformers are a combination of Triads and Schumachers (Triad being Fender's primary Tweed era transformer supplier, and Schumacher supplying most of the transformers in the Brown Panel era). While the Triads don't have date stamps on the transformer bells, the Schumacher-made choke dates to the 30th week of 1959. All of the original CTS pots are intact, with visible date codes from the 10th week of '60.

The tube chart is intact, and the "JK" date stamp translates to November of 1960. And while the tube chart notes the 6G5 circuit, this is actually one of the first examples with the 6G5-A circuitry. The speaker is the original Jensen P15N alnico magnet driver with a clean dark green frame, blue foil Jensen label on the magnet cover, and date stamp from the 30th week of '59. The speaker has also been professionally reconed.

Cosmetically, this Pro is immaculate in its presentation, retaining the original pinkish brown rough brown tolex and oxblood grillcloth. The faceplate is also in remarkable condition, complete with the full set of original brown barrel knobs. The original flat Fender logo, sphinx glides (feet), and nickel corners are present, along with the original, very well-preserved and unbroken dogbone handle.

The original footswitch is included, along with a replica slip cover that's just a hair shorter than the cabinet.