The Eric Clapton signature Fender amp series was announced for general release in October 2011 and boasts a range of options for the blues inspired guitarist and Clapton fans alike. With the look of their original ‘50s counterparts, the EC series includes the 5 watt Vibro Champ ®, 12 watt Tremolux™ and the 40 watt Twinolux™.
These are great looking amps with hand wired circuitry feature the usual Fender Tweed settings with a few extra features requested by the great guitarist himself. All of the models include built in output bias tremolo – creating a more throbbing tremolo that Fender’s later models and a single control for speed (with an additional control for intensity for the larger Twinolux™). This in itself is a rather unique feature for an amp.
The other feature consistent with all three models is the power attenuator switch. This feature allows greater control of the output volume without sacrificing the “crunch” achieved at higher amp levels. Simply dial up the amp to its sweet spot with the volume control and hit the power attenuator switch to maintain the sweet spot but drop the overall volume allowing lower level.
Unfortunately, for humbucker lovers, you may struggle to achieve the full spectrum of harmonic richness with the amps in this series. That’s not to say, there is reason to dismiss any of them outright. Experimenting with the tone pots on your guitar and the amp, altering your picking attack and avoiding use of the neck pick up will help achieve a blues-ier feel. In essence, a guitar armed with single coils or mini humbuckers is going to get the liveliest of sounds from the amps.
If you’re in love with the sound of ‘50s Tweed amps with that vintage Fender sound spectrum, then the EC Series is going to be something you wanna check out if you haven’t already.
For a full list of specs and a full picture gallery Fender.com
