This Fender Pro dates from 1958. Like many of the late 50s Fender amplifiers it has a Tube chart from an earlier 5E5 chassis, which did not have a Presence Control. The tube chart has the 2 letter Date Code of "HL" which puts the factory date at December of 1958. All of the other date codes are earlier than December of 1958. (Specifics are listed below in Dating Information.)
The tweed covering is long gone, as well as the original feet and the handle. The original lettering was worn off, and the cabinet had multiple coats of paint, stain, hide glue, nails and wood filler.
Remaining Original Parts:
All of the Knobs, coupling caps, switches and jacks, pots, the output transformer, choke, tube sockets, 15" Jensen appear to be original. The Power transformer is a Triad in a B style case, it appears to be original, but that is uncertain.
Non Original Parts: grille cloth, feet, handle, external mounting hardware.
Here's a breakdown of the restoration work:
Cabinet: sanded bare and coated with clear urethane.
The amplifier chassis and speaker baffle hardware has been replaced with bright nickel 10-32 bolts and locking nuts, along with the handle and steel capped rubber feet.
The speaker mounting nuts were tightened and doped to prevent any rattle.
The chassis was stripped of all hardware and new lettering applied using decals that are close to the original white lettering in size and style. The top panel was then clear coated to protect the new lettering from damage.
Electronics:
Tube sockets: cleaned, re-tensioned, new rubber grommets installed, broken ground wires replaced. Mounting screws doped. Spring holders installed on 3 octal sockets.
Capacitors: The power supply filter caps and cathode bypass caps have been replaced, the new caps are rated at 105ºC.
Interstage Coupling and Tone Control capacitors: measured out of circuit with an LCR meter; all are at specified values (test photos available by request).
The pots, jacks and switches were dismounted, cleaned, inspected and treated. The lock washers, nuts and dress washers were replaced with new hardware.
Chassis: degreased, cleaned, ground points inspected and resoldered, bypass caps on switches tested with LCR meter. The original wiring has been retained where feasible, and shrink tubing has been installed over the fuze holder terminals, wiring paths restored to original factory layout.
A grounded RF screen was added to the rear plywood panel to reduce interference from broadcast, ham radio and other sources.
Dating information:
- Presence control indicates this chassis is actually a 5E5A.
- Tube chart reads "5E5, HL" the HL indicating December, 1958..
- Chassis serial Number is S02420, indicating 1958
- Speaker: 15” Jensen Special design, C15N, C8225-2 date code of 220629 (29th week of 1956) Cone stamp 3015B14W3. NB: Jensen only used 3 digits for the year and week, so it is possible that this C15N was manufactured in 1966, not 1956.
- The original Astron Filter Capacitors bore date codes from 1956 and 1957
- Potentiometer codes:
- 2 vol controls are 1 Meg w date code 304738 (stackpole Sept 1957) Aluminum shafts
- 2 tone ctls, 5Kohm pn3724 date code137.820 (CTS May 1958)
- 1 tone ctl, 1 Meg: 3594 137.820 (CTS May 1958)
WEIGHT: 39 lbs.
DIMENSIONS: 22"Hx20"Wx10"D
Notes:
The Fender Professional (shortened to Pro after 1947) debuted in 1946 and was aimed at players who needed more power than the original 1x10 Deluxe amp provided. The 1x15 Professional started out with the same style “woodie” cabinet as the Deluxe and the Princeton, with three long metal protectors mounted across the grill cloth. By 1947, the Pro and the rest of the amp line obtained a tweed covering and a TV-style front. This look lasted until 1953, when a wide-panel cabinet took over and remained standard until 1955.
The ’55 Pro got the same narrow-panel look as the rest of Fender’s amps, but retained only one tone control for the rest of the year. It wasn’t until 1956 that the Pro was upgraded with bass, treble, and presence controls—as reflected in Fender’s recent reissue of the amp as the ’57 Custom Pro. The original Pro remained unchanged for the rest of the decade.
The Fender Pro listed here matches the specifications for 1957 in the Fender Catalog:
“The Pro Amp features the solid-wood lock-jointed cabinet, covered in brown-and-white-striped airplane luggage linen. It features the top-mounted chrome-plated chassis with the following controls: bass, treble, and presence tone controls, two volume controls, four input jacks, ground switch, on-and-off switch, and stand-by switch. It employs a heavy duty 15” Jensen speaker and is capable of producing considerable power without distortion.”
