STUDENT NEWSLETTER 23 July 2008 
I hope you all are having a good summer and staying nice and cool. THIS is the summer of guitar. Because of high gas prices folks are staying home and taking up new hobbies. Many new students this summer.
Just got in 3 Fullerton Fenders. These are the best of the best.
Fullerton Stratocasters sell for $6,000 now days on eBay.
Look what a real 1962 Stratocaster sells for today:
The "Fullerton" USA reissues were made at the same factory with the same tool and dies as the original. All work done by hand by many of the original pre-CBS employees. The Fullerton models were only made for three years. 1982, 1983, and 1984. Only a few were made each day. Fender could not afford to produce such high quality and they shut down the Fullerton plant and moved the operation to Corona CA in 1985. The high quality reissues were made in two levels. The regular production and the Custom Shop. Today a Custom Shop Reissue Relic is about $3,000 but still plays like a new guitar. The aging process looks fake and the new guitars are not great investments.
Considering all that the Fullertons are still a good value. They cost as much today as the real vintage did 8 years ago.
Keep your eyes and ears open! You may just stumble upon a great guitar deal too!
SUPER 1982 Gibson SG with Tim Shaw humbuckers on the way from Connecticut. Natural relic. LOTS of finish checking. Side input! Super player.
In my never ending search for the perfect tone another level has been achieved. The 12" JBL D120F Orange frame that (went in my 1972 Fender Deluxe Reverb amp) I got on Ebay sounded so fantastic after the recone that I had to get a 15" JBL D130 F. The ultimate guitar speaker. Then I needed a cabinet to put the 15" JBL in. So using the research of my students back during Tweed Fest '08 I had J.D. Newell build a top of the line cabinet to house the monster speaker. Top of the line building techniques he was the only builder I found that used finger jointed solid pine for the cabinet. Almost like it was built by the Amish! He then covered it in the same black tolex as Fender used back in the 60s. Also added the silver/blue grill cloth and Fender hardware so that it would match my other Fender amps. This extension cabinet could be used with all my Fender amps making my recording situation much more flexible. Here are some pics.
I got such a good deal on the speaker that I fully expected to have it reconed ($235) but it sounds just fine. It appears to have been reconed back in 1987. This is an improvement in sound by extending the range. MUCH lower lows and fatter highs. The speaker is not bottom end heavy but very well balanced. Much like a concert grand piano. Very satisfied with the sound and I am sure many of you will go this way.
OK. So I am going for more. I found an extremely rare original Fender Dual Showman cabinet with two stock JBL D130F 15" speakers in Peoria IL. This cab has the original JBL logo badges on the front and back. Made in 1969-1970. It is huge. 46" tall X 30" wide X 12" deep. 118 pounds. Bigger than my Marshall 1960tv cabinet. The seller tried to talk me into buying the road case for this cabinet and I told him I did not have room for it. The road case is bigger than the speaker cabinet! It is like somebody giving you a sofa that you can not sit on that is REAL ugly. I refused to buy it and he decided to send it anyway as a way to pack the speakers. SHOOT! Maybe I can make a shed out of it.
This is a 4 ohm cabinet. Two 8 ohm speakers. I will plug my Vibrolux Reverb into this. My Vibrolux is one of my favorite amps and going from the stock two 10" speakers to two 15" JBLs should be night and day! Very rare cabinet. Will arrive tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.
OK. Now from the ridiculous to the sublime.
Just in from Florida is one of the smallest Fender all tube amps ever made. The tiny Vibro Champ. This rare 1968 "transitional year" model is in great shape. Sounds very good at low levels. All tube amp would be a great practice amp that is only going up in value. 40 years old work horse.
15w all tube amp. 1968 was the year Fender went from "black face" to "silver face". The circuit inside was still black face this year. You can spot the transition amps a mile away by the aluminum "drip edge" around the grill cloth on the front and the "tailless" logo. Super sound from a very small package.
JBL speaker update: I have finally located some original 10" JBL D110F orange frame speakers, but they are in a giant amp in Houston. I may have to drive down and get it. Let me know if any of you is planning on going to Houston this week. The amp is a Super Six Reverb and comes with a trailer hitch and Texas tags.
I was also able to procure TWO JBL D120F Orange frame 12" speakers from the original owner. They are due a recone. Came in yesterday and I took one to Freeman Tuell on Ferguson Rd. in old East Dallas for a fresh recone first thing this morning. GUESS WHAT! They have gone up on the price from $208 to $230 per recone! I want to put one in my Princeton Reverb. Have not decided what to do with the other one.
UPDATE! I found ONE JBL D110F black frame 10" speaker for my Vibrolux Reverb. Now I need one more. The drive to Houston seems unlikely for me. I am just too busy to take a day off to drive that far. HOWEVER...if one of you is making the trip in a large vehicle that can haul a huge amp and would like to pick it up for me I would be happy to pay for your gas one way.
As you all know; my search for the perfect tone never ends. But after years of consideration, trial and error this is my rig more or less. It is not easy to find the original vintage stuff anymore, so this is the new equivalent.
Every bit of my new gear comes from MusiciansFriend.com or Guitar Center for the past eight years. Best prices, selection, and return policy there is. AND they bring it to your door! If you click thru to MUSICIANS FRIEND .com or Guitar Center.com from this web site to buy something, I get an advertising credit and it does not cost you a penny extra! Musicians Friend and Guitar Center is where I get all my new gear. Click on the link below to go there. If the link does not appear on your browser go here and click on the MusiciansFriend or Guitar Center link at bottom of that page.
Always Stay Tuned. A lot is going on around here!
Rock On,
Joe "TheGuitarman" Pacciano, C.G.P.
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