chapter 1
1991 Norco CA – bought a 1977 Fender Twin (ser A768591) from some guy named Viv, who lived in a geodesic dome.
? (date pending research) city unknown – Jim “Flames” Brennan bought a 1977 Fender Twin (ser A769024)
Both amps were initially serviced by Smokey “The Amplifier Man” Stover. Both amps had the Pre CBS mods done. They were also completely recapped (including some caps replaced with polystyrene). Flames also opted for Smokey’s “Grunch” mod (which removed the master volume and tremolo and replaced the “intensity/speed” controls with “grind/crunch” controls) .
I’ve forgotten exactly how the “grunch” mod works on a technical level. I just remember that I wanted to keep that part of my Twin stock.
Flames used his Twin (the Flames Twin) until approx 1995 before selling it to a friend.
I still have mine (the Norco Twin) and even though it’s been modified with a number of speaker and power tube configurations (KT88’s and currently 6550’s) it’s been my primary amp.
In 2012 I converted the Norco Twin to a piggyback (aka Frankentwin). I decided that I really didn’t like that configuration and intended to completely restore it cosmetically to “as new as possible” and leaving the electronics alone.
In 2013 I was able to buy the Flames Twin from the person he sold it to. The cabinet was already in bad shape when Flames originally bought it. The repairs that held it together for nearly 20 years didn’t survive the cross country journey (it appears most of the damage happened on the crater infested section of I40 between Garth Brooks Blvd and OKC).
This thread (click here) is the journey both of these amps will take from their current state as two bare chassis (pic above) to their completion.