Amplifiers

Crude guitar amplifiers had been around for a few years when Leo Fender started renting out his homemade amplification systems in the late 1940s. He struck a deal with Radio-Tel, and soon artists everywhere wanted his simple, tweed-covered amps. These are the most valuable Fender vintage guitar amplifiers, closely followed by the late 1950s and early 1960s amplifiers used by surf and rock musicians (e.g. the Vibrolux and Dual Showman models).

Also worthy of note is Marshall, which began making guitar amplifiers in 1962, essentially copying Fender models. Their early models, the JTM45's and 50's, are quite valuable, and today vintage Marshall amplifiers are used by a great number of famous musicians...