Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

From all the information I've found, I'm under the impression that the Fender Showman (and Dual Showman) are basically a Fender Twin Reverb in head/cabinet form. I know that the Showmans have 15" speakers in their cabs (Showman has 1, Dual has 2) while the Twin has 2 12"s in it.

I've test drove a Twin many times (with a Strat, two Rics and a Tele), and while I do like the sound of it, the sound is too powerful (I think the Bandmaster, Vibrolux or Super Reverb is as good as it gets, but I've never played through any of those before). I'm guessing a Showman is just like a Twin, but louder due to the 15" speaker(s)?

Yes and no, depending upon the vintage. Earliest Showman amps had the AA763 and AB763 circuit, shared with early Twin Reverbs.

In between was the the AB568 and AA768 (post-CBS), which were Showman-only chassis, and then came the AC568, AA769 and AA270 , all shared with the Twin Reverb.


The 2-15s of the Dual Showman amps of the mid-'60s move lots of air...bass response goes much deeper (perceived, not measured, incidentally).