HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (February 12, 2019)—Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) today unveiled the all-new Fender ‘62 Princeton Chris Stapleton Edition amplifier. Available for purchase beginning this week at local dealers and on Fender.com, this amplifier release is Fender’s first Artist Signature Amplifier collaboration in the country music space. As part of the collaboration, Stapleton personally requested all artist royalties be donated to his charity, “Outlaw State of Kind.” OSOK is Chris and Morgane Stapleton’s charitable fund that supports a variety of causes that are close to their heart. The Outlaw State of Kind Fund was founded in 2016 and is administered by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
The brown ‘62 Princeton amp’s sensitivity and smooth organic tremolo made it a long-time studio favorite and the ideal partner for Grammy®-winning country artist Chris Stapleton. During Stapleton’s early touring days, he discovered a modified ‘62 Princeton amp and instantly fell in love with the sound and the versatility. Fender set out to recreate and revamp Stapleton’s favorite amplifier not just cosmetically, but also internally and sonically, all kept to the specs of his original find.
“We took a good amount of time, probably about a year-and-a-half really digging in to some prototypes back and forth, trying to get the nuances and the magic of what makes those old amps really sing,” said Chris Stapleton. “Fender has done a phenomenal job in every possible respect replicating the magic of the 1962 Princeton amp.”
Chris Stapleton’s take on the iconic Princeton amp keeps the old-time charm with upgraded technology. The hand-wired Fender ’62 Princeton Amp Chris Stapleton Edition boasts the classic Fender ‘62 Princeton 6G2 amp circuit and comes enhanced with Stapleton’s favorite features and personally-chosen artful touches: Fender Vintage “Blue” tone caps; Schumacher™ transformers; an upgraded Eminence® 12” Special Design “CS” speaker; output tube-biased tremolo circuit; and an engraved brass plate with Chris Stapleton’s signature.
“We are extremely honored to have worked with Chris on this project,” said Shane Nicholas, Director of Product Development – Amplifiers, Fender. “He’s a Grammy Award-winning, arena-filling artist, and an extremely talented musician who also loves his gear, just like any other musician. This is the first hand-wired reissue from the early ‘60s “brown era” Fender has ever done, and I think every Fender fan is going to want to try and hear this amp.”
“Throughout music history, Fender instruments and amplifiers have played a key role in the evolution of country music,” said Ben Blanc-Dumont, Artist Marketing Director, Fender Nashville. “We are honored to have Chris in our Nashville artist family and to have been able to bring his vision to life. Collaborations like these continue to expand Fender’s legacy not only in country music, but also the global music community.”
The acoustically resonant solid pine cabinet wears a rough brown textured vinyl covering, a wheat grille cloth and a thick dark brown leather handle, while the mahogany control panel sports dark brown “radio” knobs. The amp also features a retro-styled Filson™ Rugged Twill fabric cover. Rugged Twill is preferred for its durability and dependability in the field. The 22-oz. cotton industrial twill is lightly brushed with wax to repel water and densely woven to reduce snags and tears. All Rugged Twill amp covers were sewn in Seattle, Wash.
“It’s an amp that’s easy enough that a kid could learn how to use it,” added Stapleton. “And it’s small enough that you can carry around if you’re playing club gigs, but it more than does the job if you’re playing in arenas and stadiums. They’ve gone above and beyond what I thought any amp builder could do.”
In true tradition, Fender’s Artist Signature Series models honor popular and iconic musicians through product progression and storytelling, creating amplifiers inspired by the unique specifications of the world’s greatest guitarists and bassists.
