Leo Fender's personal 1946 Fender Deluxe Model 26 'Woody' amp!

Where do we begin with this one? The fact that it predates the solid-body electric guitar? Its appearance in the book "Fender: The Sound Heard Round The World" by Richard R. Smith? The fact that it lived most of its life in the possession of one of Leo Fender's first traveling salesmen? Or maybe its because of its life on Leo's shop bench...

We'll let our friend Chris Jansen tell you all about the amp, and how incredible this family heirloom's story is.

Music: The Hollers "When We Were Young" and "Zeb" (Instrumentals)

[LeftyPem]

Leo’s personal bench amp and a lefty Telecaster. Heaven.

[elbik]

After all those years, that thing still sounds heavenly.... Un-freaking-believable

[Dad_K]

All dislikes are boomers that sold their parent's 'old crappy' amps

[skullheadwater]

That is SUPER COOL! What modern tube amp manufacturers don't get is the simplicity makes it sound that way. Lokk at all modern tube amp schematics vs. modern ones. You will get it.

[wilsonperepelecia]

'9:32 what an amazing bend job and melody!!

[Tonetwisters]

I was hatched in 1947. We lived in a four-room, tarpaper shack ... literally. Outdoor "plumbing" and walls made of roofing felt. But my dad had a speaker cabinet that looked a lot like this one, without the handle and the colored grill cloth ... speaker was about that big or a bit larger. It was driven by a Newcomb amplifier which I still have. We played 45 RPM records through it, on an RCA Victrola record player which I also still have. We also had a mic stand and a small round microphone. The Mic and stand and speaker cabinet went away through the years, and I wish I still had those. But I heard my first music through that system, that I can remember first hearing ... "Where Could I Go But To The Lord, " and "Peace In The Valley, " by Red Foley, starting around 1947 when I was just a little hatchling. Not quite as great as this Fender stuff, but none-the-less, great stuff back then ...

[gbdaeye]

This video is an example of how the internet can be a wonderful thing. Thank you for sharing valuable musical and personal history.

[rodmclean]

Old Fenders are like VW you can't kill em. Leo was a genius. i have a bunch of '50s Tweeds and nothing beats that tone or those stunning Jensen alnico speakers. Plug n play !

[henryhunter]

A really historic piece! Sounds great too. Electronics from those days were built to last, I’ve seen lots of radio sets from the 1940s that are still working fine.

[adamgutierrez]

Thank you for your service Leo and guitars.

[TheGuitologist]

Never plug this amp again without getting it checked out by a tech. Those caps in that thing are not something you want to keep in there. Leo would have told you the same thing.

[timothycormier]

Super cool man!! And now because of this little amp. It has given you the chance to make this video and now the world knows that your grandfather existed. Most of us will live and die without ever being remembered outside of our loved ones. I’m glad that I took the time to watch

[Slugg-O]

Beautiful tone but please us a variac. Those components are 73 years old and that amp was never designed for 124 VAC.

[MAP]

Wow! I love the old family stories that accompany things. I'm glad you got to spend so much time with your Grandfather. We always want more time with our loved ones. It's also cool how your uncle was a steward of the amp for such a long time. He took great care to keep it & pass it along to someone that he loved & trusted as well.

[ChrisJones-htzn]

What a great piece of history. Your stories make the monetary value of the amp insignificant, which is exactly how things should be. Thanks for sharing.

[malcolmadams]

Fantastic story. fantastic family. fantastic amp
built for a legacy
“Fender” from our family to yours.

[mariushebnes]

I thought early amps were bad, but this thing sounds amazing! Really like that crunchy tone and how easily it distorts

[johnlebeau]

I have a '49 tweed Princeton. The caps have all been replaced, but the guy that did it heated the old caps to soften the wax, removed the guts, and potted new caps in the old paper sleeves. It looks original. The Jenson speaker was reconed too, so you might say it's not a real tweed anymore, but it sounds unlike any other amp I have ever heard, a chimey, almost chorus sound, but without a chorus attached. Similar to what you hear in this video, but cleaner. I love it. Mine had been painted too, with brown latex house paint. He did manage to get most of it off fortunately.

[jonashuckphoto]

What a beautiful format! I always enjoy the artful shots and love to detail you put into those videos.

[nickbruni]

Awesome piece of music history ! Priceless, ,,due to how many are still in existence ... thanks for showing it