Fender Pawn Shop Excelsior Guitar Combo Amplifier (13 Watts, 1x15")

No longer available at zZounds
Turn heads and drop jaws with this vintage-style tube combo guitar amp from Fender.

The Pawn Shop Special Excelsior is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive tube combo amps in Fender history. Its brown textured vinyl covering, smartly stylish "E" grille design, and bold crossed-swords front-panel badge convey a decidedly stately vibe, with a marked air of cold-war cool. Beneath its refined surface, the Excelsior harbors tube tones from polite to raw to raucous.

The 13-watt Excelsior elegantly encloses a single 15-inch Special Design speaker, with a bottom-loaded primary chassis and top-loaded control chassis for operating convenience and low noise. Powered by two 6V6 output tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes, the small-but-mighty Excelsior looks and sounds like a vintage-era Fender amp -- minus the time spent digging for buried treasure in dusty pawn shop.

Distinctive features include "guitar," "microphone" and "accordion" inputs with individually optimized circuitry; tremolo circuit with speed control, bright/dark tone switch (for treble or bass emphasis), volume control and 1/4-inch internal speaker disconnect that lets the amp drive an external speaker enclosure. For playing at home, smaller gigs and studio sessions, the Excelsior is a class act that brings a fresh and unconventional new vibe to your playing.

- Amplifier Type: Tube
- Speaker: 15 in. Special Design Speaker
- Impedance: 8 ohms
- Power Tubes: 2 x 6V6
- Inputs :
- GTR Input
- MIC Input
- ACCORDION Input
- Controls:
- Volume
- Tremolo
- Bright/Dark Switch
- Height: 21 in. (53.34 cm)
- Width: 19.5 in. (49.5 cm)
- Depth: 9 in. (22.9 cm)
- Weight: 33 lbs. (15 kg)

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Phone: 800-488-1818

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. (5 ratings)
Submitted April 14, 2012 by Henry F in Reston, VA

"Excelsior arrives 4/12/12."

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This unit is heavy, about 35 lbs. It appears to have a wood construction and a particle-board baffle on which a large cheap-looking speaker is mounted. Nowhere on this unit is the word "Fender" to be found; the speaker is branded 'Excelsior'. There is no rear enclosure screen and the unit is accessible to dust, moth larvae, and here in Virginia, stink-bugs.The mechanical layout is logical and neat although cramped. The two chasses,upper and lower, would have to be removed to change the speaker. There appears to be some consideration by the manufacturer for wire routing and noise shielding.The unit appears to be an old PA amp such as were the original guitar amps used when I was a boy and like them has a guitar input and two other inputs suitable for PA use (record player, microphone,etc.).The design didn't cost Fender any money since dual 6V6 amps were considered state-of-the-art electronics in 1953 along with the Telecaster. Incidentally, the 6V6 is the best-sounding guitar tube ever made, not as harsh as the low-power 6BQ5 (EL84) or the high-power 6L6 (EL34) and this Excelsior amplifier natively captures the sound and ambiance of the saloon, smell of beer, Hank Williams music, and the magical Telecaster. In short, this amp provides the proverbial Fender sound more than any other I've heard since I was a kid. No small part of this sound comes from a great tremolo circuit and a stiff speaker which provides a remarkably high treble response for its size. I feel no attempts should read more be made to modify this amp since anything at all would destroy the Fender sound. Keep the kids away.

Musical Background:
60+ years on guitar.

Musical Style:
Adult music--pop-country-blues.
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