Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp
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Get pawn shop looks and vibes without spending a fortune.
The Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 model is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive tube combo amps in Fender history. Its brown textured vinyl covering, smartly stylish “E” grille design and bold crossed-swords front-panel badge convey a decidedly stately vibe with a marked air of cold war cool. To say nothing of its admirable tone and power. The 13-watt Excelsior elegantly encloses a single 15” speaker, with a bottom-loaded primary chassis and top-loaded control chassis for operating convenience and low noise (powered by two 6V6 output tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes). Distinctive features include Instrument, Microphone and Accordion inputs that each have individually optimized circuitry; tremolo circuit with speed control, bright/dark tone switch (for treble or bass emphasis), volume control and 1/4” internal speaker disconnect that lets the amp drive an external speaker enclosure. The Excelsior is perfect for playing at home, smaller gigs and studio sessions. Bring a fresh and unconventional new vibe to your playing.
Features
- 13-Watts
- Single 15” Special Design speaker on Brown version, 15" Eminence Legend on all others
- Bottom-loaded primary chassis and top-loaded control chassis for operating convenience and low noise
- Powered by two 6V6 output tubes and two 12AX7 preamp tubes
- Instrument, Microphone and Accordion inputs each with individually optimized circuitry
- Tremolo circuit with speed control
- Bright/dark tone switch (for treble or bass emphasis)
- Volume control
Stop searching the pawn shops and pick up this treasure today!
Review Snapshot®
by PowerReviews(based on 46 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
93%
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Pros
- Excellent sound (37)
- Warm / comfy (36)
- Easy to use (35)
- Portable (32)
- Good power output (20)
Cons
- Limited functions (13)
Best Uses
- Home studio (30)
- Amateur recording (25)
- Performances (23)
- Professional recording (21)
- Outdoor events / games (20)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Experienced (31), Professional musician (14)
Most Liked Positive Review
great amp for blues and rockabilly
fantastic to see that someone brought back those great department store sounds! i play guitar and blues harp and this amp is great for both. i have spent an arm and leg on amps ...Read complete review
fantastic to see that someone brought back those great department store sounds! i play guitar and blues harp and this amp is great for both. i have spent an arm and leg on amps and none of them come close to this amp. for harp it's easy to obtain the big and little walter sound as well as the chess studio vibe. this baby overdrives on it's own. don't let the 13 watt rating fool you, this amp is loud! that being said this amp is very pedal friendly. harp players have got to check this fantastic amp out. you wont be sorry you did. great job fender giving the working musician this affordable, tone monster. i can't think of any way they could have done a better job in regard to tone ease of use and great sound thank you fender!
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Pawn Shop Special
I played one of these at my local shop today...it would make a decent practice amp for a guitar player and a good mouth harp amp for gigs. The tremolo is very functional...Read complete review
I played one of these at my local shop today...it would make a decent practice amp for a guitar player and a good mouth harp amp for gigs. The tremolo is very functional - a strong point. Here's the deal with the tone: turn down your guitar volume all the way, turn the amp volume up to *9*, and then roll up your guitar volume to season to taste. Think "old guy clean channel" style. I played this with a 60s strat and, my opinion, it sounded best using this method on either position 4 or 5. The bridge pickup was too shrill for this amp, even with the tone switch on 'warm'. I don't see this taking dist or OD pedals very well, but I didn't try it.
Overall, it had a nice sound to my ears using the method above. Trying to dial in a nice sound using just the amp volume didn't work for me. You can definitely pull off the Link Ray sound that way, but it's not too versatile.
If I had to have only one amp, this wouldn't be it. Nor would I probably buy one. If I was given one I'd play it, but it's pretty limited as a guitar amp.
Reviews
Reviewed by 46 customers
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Displaying reviews 1-10
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Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Powerful
Cons
- Limited Functions
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Events
- Home Studio
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
Great sound, easy to use and looks cool. Wish it had reverb, but a pedal can be added. It has a nice sound by itself and the tremolo works very well .... and there's plenty of volume too, the 15" speaker is awesome. Some complained about the bright/dark switch going from one extreme to the other but with my Strat I can dial in the sound I want.
I'm very happy with it, a lot of amp for the money.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
Cons
- Limited Functions
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Events
- Home Studio
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
The Pro Edition is not just different color but an upgraded speaker to the Eminence Legend with lager mag and louder response. This is the speaker many people mod with later. So a good deal.
Good vintage sound. Works well with pedals. Ran a few guitars through it from singles, hums to actives. All sounded nice.
Would prefer a tone knob instead of switch, and effects loop, a stand by switch... but really ... this amp is very nice. It is your basic cool looking tone machine!
I have about 20 tubes amps. Most are over 30 years old. I was pleasantly surprised that it exceeded my expectations.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
Cons
- Limited Functions
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Home Studio
- Professional Recording
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
I have many old vintage amps (60's Fenders, Valcros, Gretch, Homes, etc, etc). I was very surprised to hear how well this amp sounded and felt. Yes... it feels like the good ol stuff. It is good stuff.
The Pro series is not just different colors... they come with the Eminence Legend speaker. If you follow the forums this is the speaker everyone replaces in the amp anyway. So for same difference you get the better speaker and nice color and one of only 800 special series made.
I will say that it is much louder than expected. To get it break up you really have to crank it with this speaker. Almost too much for a bedroom amp. Also... I do plan on changing the tubes. They seem a little bland... but even still... this amp is great.
My son cam out try it and plugged in a 12 string with pickup. We were both shock at how well that sounded. It was warmer and fuller then most other amps we have plugged the 12 string into. SWEET!
I also tried some single coils, humbucks, and one guitar with active pickups... in all cases the amp responded well. A tone knob would have been nice instead of the switch as that has a strong impact on the type of guitar you plug in.
I was not impressed though with the packaging. My box had a hole right through it and looked used and re-boxed. However, MF customer service took very good car of me. So no worries.
I highly recommend this amp if you are looking for basic old school sound and feel. It looks so cool I left it in my living room.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
This is a great amp for the money. In fact, I don't think you can find a better amp for this price.
It has a nice warm tone to it, is supurb for single coils, and the tremelo is wonderful. I bought it as a grab and go amp so I wouldn't have to lug around my 80lb Black Pearl.
The bright/dark switch accomodates humbuckers and single coils. You need to dial in the tone from your guitar after that. The bright switch is a bit noisy.
A lot of folks have modded the amp (new speaker, tubes, replaced the tone switch, etc.) but I think it sounds great as is. Not sure about its durability yet so maybe the cheap price will show itself there.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Powerful
Cons
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Events
- Home Studio
- Performances
- Professional Recording
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
Amazing amp right out of box. SOunds incredible, built well, and simple straightforward interface. I eventually did replace the tubes with some JJ's and threw in a Eminence Legend 1815 speaker which really elevated this amp to a whole new level. I highly recommend this amp whether or not you choose to modify it. People have said that they think its limited due to the bright dark switch instead of a tone potentiometer utilizing the already set dark and high clip. I think its just fine with the switch, if its too bright for you tone down on guitar...problem solved, def an amp to bring you closer to the controls on your guitar and its capabilities.
Pros
- Blues Tone Vintage Vibe
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Powerful
Cons
- Tone Switch Poor Design
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Events
- Home Studio
- Performances
- Professional Recording
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
This amp really is an amazing beast. First off, for the price you can't beat it new. I bought the amp used from MF and it just made the purchase that much sweeter. This amp is not much of a Fender but I mean that as a compliment as it has it's own MOJO going on. This amp is really like an old Gibson Skylark meets an old Ampeg Jet. I have had the amp for 2 weeks now and I am just blow away by the tone as it suits my style very well. This amp is perfect for modding and right away you need to do the "tone pot mod" which replaces the "bright, dark" switch with a linear audio 500k tone pot (took 30 mins). Super easy mod that instantly makes this amp usable as I found the bright option too bright and the dark too dark. CHeck out Bill M's mod's for this amp. The tone pot allows me dial in the right amount of a neutral tone and from there is where this amp becomes a tone beast. This amp takes pedals like a pro and I know people talked bad amount the amp not having reverb but any reverb pedal in front of the amp sounds great (Strymon Flint is what I have and love it). A boost pedal or any overdrive just makes this amp screen creamy overdrive tones and the 15" speaker allows for some great playing dynamics that are really touch sensitive. I play a lot of smaller venues and so far this amp has had no trouble being loud enough for what I need without breaking up. I will say that I have a Reverend guitar with p-90's and I have played Strat's, Tele's through the amp and they sound very clean with mild breakup starting to happen. Gretsch's Filtertron sound great too. PAF Humbuckers will have little headroom into this amp but if that's what you want then it will drive the amp really nicely.
Future plan's are for JJ 6V6 power tubes and maybe an Eminence Legend replacement 15" speaker to really take this amp over the top. In all honesty the amp doesn't need these upgrades as it sounds really well stock. I would though recommend the "Tone pot mod" as it instantly makes this amp so much more usable. Super easy mod that took 30 mins, solder 3 wires and costs a little five smacks in parts (potentiometer).
I hope others like this amp as much as I do. I sold my Blues jr to get this amp and I don't regret it at all!!!
Pros
- Excellent Sound
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
This is a really nice amp. If you are thinking of changing anything you should buy a different amp. Or maybe two and always keep one the way it is. It is a Classic born amp. Thanks Fender,nice job! Oh yea, I wish the back wasn't as open for fear my cat will climb in it.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Powerful
Cons
- Limited Functions
- Need Rear Panel 2 Protect
- Would Have Loved Reverb
Best Uses
- Events
- Performances
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
The rear panel is completely open. I had to cut a piece of fiberboard to keep in the rear of the amp when it's not being used, to prevent a mic or guitar stand form sliding into the amps rear, and puncturing the 15in speaker. (15 inches is a pretty big target)!
Also the on/off toggle switch (no stand-by) is located way on the bottom. That makes it rather inconvient between sets.
Covers aren't available for this amp at this time.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Powerful
Cons
- Limited Functions
- Tough To Use At Home
Best Uses
- Amateur Recording
- Home Studio
- Performances
- Professional Recording
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
An incredible amp. No, it's not feature rich, and no it doesn't give modern metal tones. It does give beautiful tone and a good amount of volume. If you are capable, turning this amp up to 3/4 volume and using your volume knob, you can come very close to many of the tones associated with famous bands from the 60's through to some of the lighter 90's bands (Pearl Jam, not Alice in Chains). This amp can get pretty loud, absolutely not an apartment amp. Sold my JCA20h for this amp and don't regret it a bit. Absolutely DO NOT pass on this amp. This amp can become as versatile as you want with the addition of pedals and/or an attenuator.
Pros
- Easy To Use
- Excellent Sound
- Good Warmth
- Portable
- Powerful
Cons
Best Uses
- Events
- Performances
- Professional Recording
Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Special Excelsior 13W 1x15 Tube Guitar Combo Amp:
Bought this to pair up with my Jet City 20 watt combo. I Y split the signal & mic both amps. its nice to add tremolo on the Excelsior only,love that subtlety.Overall it works perfectly,i love the simplicity & the stock tubes are ok but yes, a little rattly. i'll change em' when worn but will get all i can from them. I own Ascendent Instruments where i build cigar box guitars & low watt tube amps. I use this in my shop to compare different amplifier responses to the handmade pickups & instrument electronics i build. Then i also use it as an option when playing out. Great amp thats inexpensive enough to add to your collection.
