History · Fender-style

The Super line

The Super is Fender's two-10-inch, 6L6-powered step above the Deluxe. It begins in 1947 as the twin-speaker "Dual Professional" — Fender's first two-speaker amp and an early finger-jointed cabinet — soon renamed Super, and runs through the tweed sequence gaining inputs, jacks, a standby switch, and finally the narrow-panel 5F4 with its cathode-follower treble/bass tone stack and long-tailed-pair inverter. The 1960 brown redesign moves to fixed bias, a GZ34 rectifier, and vibrato before the name passes to the blackface Super Reverb. As with all tweed circuits the early production dates are approximate, and factory power ratings across this family are notably inconsistent.

1947–1967 9 models 4 documented 2 verified 5 history-tier

Era timeline — each bar spans a model's production years; the chain from top to bottom is the line's succession.

Verified circuit — operating point checked against a published chart Draft circuit — drawn and sourced, verification not complete History entry — placed & sourced, circuit not drawn yet Succession within the line

The models

Designation	Years	Watts	Output stage	Key change	Circuit
Dual Professional	1947–1953	—	push-pull 2x6L6	The origin of the line: introduced in 1947 as the Dual Professional, Fender's first amp with two speakers (a pair of 10-inch Jensens in a "V-front" baffle) and an early finger-jointed cabinet, then renamed Super. A cathode-biased 6L6 pair on a 5U4G rectifier sets the family's power template. Running changes in this era feed straight into the numbered circuits — a fourth input appears at the 5B4 and under-chassis speaker jacks at the 5C4. Sources for Dual Professional (2) Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'V Front Super' — Dual Professional origin, 1947 onward, two 10-inch Jensen P10R, two 6L6/6L6G, 5U4G, cathode bias; fourth input added at 5B4, speaker jacks at 5C4 — mojotone.com Fender 'Dual Professional' schematic archived at EL34World (designation-indexed anchor; drawing not reproduced) — el34world.com	history entry Open requests for Dual Professional ↗ Suggest research for Dual Professional ↗
5B4	1953–1954	—	push-pull 2x6L6	The first wide-panel-cabinet Super circuit. Relative to the V-front era it adds a fourth input, keeping the cathode-biased 6L6G pair, 5U4G rectifier, and twin 10-inch speakers. Sources for 5B4 (1) Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'Wide Panel Tweed Super' and 'V Front Super' — wide-panel window 1953-1955; fourth input added as of 5B4; two 6L6G, 5U4G, cathode bias, 12AY7 — mojotone.com	history entry Open requests for 5B4 ↗ Suggest research for 5B4 ↗
5C4	1953–1954	—	push-pull 2x6L6	Adds a speaker jack and external-speaker jack under the chassis over the 5B4; output stage and tube complement otherwise unchanged. Sources for 5C4 (2) Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'V Front Super' — speaker and external-speaker jacks added at 5C4 — mojotone.com Fender 'Super' 5C4 schematic archived at EL34World (designation-indexed anchor; drawing not reproduced) — el34world.com	history entry Open requests for 5C4 ↗ Suggest research for 5C4 ↗
5D4	1954–1955	—	push-pull 2x6L6	The last wide-panel Super, adding a standby switch (seen on 1954-1955 examples). Still cathode-biased 6L6G into two 10-inch speakers on a 5U4G rectifier, just ahead of the narrow-panel redesign. Sources for 5D4 (2) Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'Wide Panel Tweed Super' — standby switch on 1954-55 examples; two 6L6G, 5U4G, cathode bias; schematic references the Super 5D4 — mojotone.com Fender 'Super' 5D4 schematic archived at EL34World (designation-indexed anchor; drawing not reproduced) — el34world.com	history entry Open requests for 5D4 ↗ Suggest research for 5D4 ↗
5E4	1955–1956	—	push-pull 2x6L6	The narrow-panel redesign. The 5E4 moves to the tighter cabinet and a fuller preamp (12AY7 plus 12AX7), keeping a 2x6L6G output stage and a 5U4G rectifier over from the wide-panel line. No distinct, verifiable factory drawing for the plain 5E4 has been located as of this research pass (2026-08-08) — every schematic found under a "5E4" label (thetubestore's "Fender-Super-5E4-G-EE-Schematic.pdf", and two independently-hosted copies of a "Super-5E4-Schematic.pdf" — Mojotone's own field-guide link and vintagefenderamprepair.com's copy) is, on inspection, the 5E4-A drawing (Fender code G-EE, below) with the "-A" and its "*NOTE — (A) WAS 22K OHMS" revision footnote edited out of the title block; none show a 6L6G-tube, non-selenium-bias circuit distinct from 5E4-A. Vintage-amp restorers report the same gap first-hand. No circuit is drawn for this row pending a genuine primary source. Sources for 5E4 (2) Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'Narrow Panel Tweed Super' — 5E4 (1955) tube complement (2x6L6G, 5U4G, no selenium bias rectifier) distinct from the 5E4-A variant; this entry's own hosted 'schematic' link resolves to the 5E4-A drawing instead, as the row above explains — mojotone.com AmpGarage forum thread ('Super 5E4 schematic') confirming no distinct 5E4 (non-A) schematic is known to circulate — every source claiming one 'ends up to be 5E4-A' — ampgarage.com	history entry Open requests for 5E4 ↗ Suggest research for 5E4 ↗
5E4-A	1955–1956	—	push-pull 2x6V6GT	The narrow-panel Super as Fender's own drawing describes it, and the one circuit of the two this archive can document. The title block reads "MODEL 5E4-A", and the asterisk points at the sheet's own boxed footnote, "(A) WAS 22K OHMS", against the bias-supply series resistor now drawn at 18 kΩ: a running revision annotated in place rather than redrawn, which is why no separate sheet exists. Two 12AY7s carry the whole preamp — a two-channel input pair on one shared 820 Ω cathode, then a gain stage DC-coupled to a cathode follower driving a passive treble/bass network — and a 12AX7 provides a driver and a split-load cathodyne. The output pair is 6V6GT, fixed-biased at -32 V from a selenium cell, screens straight on the +385 V node. The panel carries the five knobs (Presence, Bass, Treble, Inst. Vol, Mic. Vol) the 5F4 keeps. Everything the 5F4 is remembered for is already here; what the 5F4 changed was the output bottles, back to 6L6G, and the rails. Sources for 5E4-A (2) Fender 'Super-Amp' Model 5E4-A drawing (G-EE), both pages: the schematic sheet's title block reads 'FENDER "SUPER-AMP" SCHEMATIC / MODEL 5E4-A' with the boxed footnote 'NOTE — (A) WAS 22 K OHMS', and page 1 is the matching 'FENDER "SUPER-AMP" LAYOUT / MODEL 5E4-A' sheet, same code, footed '* SEE NOTE ON REVERSE SIDE'. Both carry 'VOLTAGES READ TO GROUND WITH ELECTRONIC VOLTMETER / VALUES SHOWN + OR - 20%'. Tube complement (12AY7 x2, 12AX7, 6V6GT x2, 5U4GA), rail structure (+390/+385/+300/+250, -32 V bias via a selenium cell behind an 18 kΩ series resistor), preamp, tone network, driver + split-load cathodyne and output stage all read directly and transcribed in full — this circuit is documented in full here. Not reproduced here; archived at EL34World — el34world.com Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'Narrow Panel Tweed Super' — 5E4-A tube complement and selenium bias rectifier confirmation — mojotone.com	5E4-A circuit ↗
5F4	1957–1960	26 W	push-pull 2x6L6	The definitive tweed Super and a sibling to the 5F6-A Bassman preamp architecture: a 12AY7 two-channel front end into a 12AX7 gain stage and a DC-coupled cathode follower feeding a treble/bass tone stack, then a 12AX7 long-tailed-pair phase inverter driving a fixed-biased 6L6G pair on a 5U4G. A selenium rectifier sits in the bias circuit. Published output is inconsistent — the corpus's own DC-verified circuit is documented at 26 W, while the field guide lists the narrow-panel Super at 30 W. Sources for 5F4 (2) Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'Narrow Panel Tweed Super' — 5F4 (1956-1960), two 6L6G, 5U4G, 12AY7/12AX7 preamp, selenium bias rectifier; field guide rates the narrow-panel Super at 30 W — mojotone.com Fender 'Super-Amp' 5F4 schematic archived at EL34World (designation-indexed anchor; cathode-follower-fed split tone network + driver/cathodyne inverter + fixed-bias 6L6 pair read from the drawing, not reproduced) — el34world.com	5F4 circuit ↗
6G4 / 6G4-A	1960–1963	40 W	push-pull 2x6L6	The brown-Tolex redesign, the last amp to carry the plain Super name before it passed to the blackface Super Reverb. Fixed non-adjustable bias and a GZ34 rectifier replace the tweed cathode-bias/5U4G scheme, and the amp gains vibrato plus a Normal/Bright two-channel panel with presence. The 6G4 ran 6L6GC output tubes; the later 6G4-A moved to 5881s. Twin 10-inch speakers continue; the field guide's 40 W rating is a factory figure and higher than the tweed Super's. Sources for 6G4 / 6G4-A (2) Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'Brownface Super' — 6G4 (2x6L6GC) and 6G4-A (2x5881), 1960-1963, 40 W, GZ34, fixed non-adjustable bias, vibrato, Normal/Bright channels, two 10-inch speakers — mojotone.com Fender 'Super-Amp' 6G4-A schematic archived at EL34World (designation-indexed anchor; drawing not reproduced) — el34world.com	6G4 draft ↗
AB763	1964–1967	40 W	push-pull 2x6L6GC	The Super becomes the Super Reverb. The brown 6G4's fixed-bias, GZ34-rectified 2x6L6GC output stage and 40 W rating carry straight over from the same amplifier; what is new is an onboard spring reverb driven by a 12AT7 and recovered by its own stage, a tube tremolo working through an optocoupler, and four 10-inch speakers in place of the 6G4's two 10s. Unlike the Deluxe Reverb and Twin Reverb siblings on this same platform, the two channels' tone stacks are asymmetric as printed: the Normal channel keeps a fixed two-knob (Treble/Bass) ladder, while the Vibrato channel's third position is a genuine Middle potentiometer. Adjustable bias (a 10 kΩ pot on the negative supply) and a 1.5 kΩ grid stopper ahead of each 6L6GC's 220 kΩ bias leak are two more details this drawing prints that the Deluxe Reverb's 6V6GT stage does not carry. This is the Super Reverb's own AB763, documented in full here, where the printed AB763 voltage chart is read and simulated. Sources for AB763 (2) Mojotone/Ampwares Fender field guide, 'Fender Blackface Super Reverb' — production window 1963-1967 under AA763 then AB763, 40 W, two 6L6GC, GZ34, fixed bias with an adjustable pot, four 10-inch speakers, reverb and tremolo — mojotone.com Fender 'SUPER-REVERB-AMP AB763' schematic archived at EL34World (designation-indexed anchor; component values and the printed voltage chart read from the drawing, not reproduced — the circuit's own page carries the full title-block transcription) — el34world.com	AB763 (Super Reverb-style) draft ↗

The circuit column says how far this model has been documented, in three states. A circuit ↗ badge links a verified circuit: redrawn schematic, parts list, and a simulated operating point held against the published voltage chart under a maintainer's sign-off. A draft ↗ badge links a circuit that is drawn, sourced and published, but has not completed that chain — its own page states what is unresolved. A history entry is placed, dated and sourced here, but its circuit isn't drawn at all yet.

Dating & notes

Power ratings across this family are inconsistent between sources and eras: the field guide lists the wide-panel tweed Super at figures that look like a Deluxe template carry-over (~15 W) despite its 6L6 output stage, the narrow-panel Super at 30 W, and the brown 6G4 at 40 W, while the corpus's DC-verified 5F4 is documented at 26 W. Wattage is left null where only a doubtful factory figure exists (the wide-panel and 5E4 circuits) and carried with a source note where a specific rating is defensible. Tweed sub-circuit dates are approximate; the "Dual Professional" entry uses the pre-5-series name because the numbered designations had not yet begun, mirroring how the Deluxe line's "Model 26" woodie is handled. Fender used the AB763 designation on more than one drawing: the blackface Deluxe Reverb carries it and so does the blackface Twin Reverb, each documented with its own line, and the Super Reverb's AB763 is the one documented here. All three are contemporaries on the same reverb/tremolo blackface platform rather than parent and child of one another, so no family file claims another's circuit and the archive draws no derivation arrow between them — each Reverb circuit's own lineage arrow instead points back to its own line's pre-reverb ancestor: this line's AB763 points back to the 6G4, the brown Super.

Sources

Each model's own citations are listed in its row above, under “Sources for …”. The complete data behind this line — every model's fields as stored, including those the page doesn't print — is in history/families/super.yaml.

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