Fender Twins are monsters – both in sound and weight – and, for those times when you need to get it up off the ground, your choices are often limited. Can you depend on using a chair in a random club gig? Sometimes one chair will do it; other times you’ll need two chairs. The biggest problem that I have with using chairs is that I cannot tilt the amp upwards to fill the room with the sound; most of the time I end up pointing those fire-breathing speakers directly at some poor sods at a close-to-the-stage table.
The best choice, for me, is to put my Twin on a dedicated amp stand, specifically one that gives me ranges of tilt control. In my home studio, the carpet absorbs too much of the bass – I certainly don’t want that – so I set it on my stand. In a a “live” setting – whether solo or with a band – setting my gear on the ground is definitely sub-optimal. When you want to buy a stand for a Fender Twin, here’s what most people don’t take the time to consider:
With a Fender Twin, you are limited in your choice of stands to only those stands rated for 125 pounds or higher.
“But wait, Scott – my Twin doesn’t weigh anywhere close to 150 pounds!” That may be true – the ‘65 Fender Twin Reverb Reissues weigh in at “only” 64 pounds. Even the old Blackface models are only about 70 pounds. And you can get any one of several amp stands that are rated at 100 pounds and they will probably work great for your ‘65 Fender Twin Reissue. However…
Changing the Stock Speakers Affects the Weight
Most pros today change the stock speakers out in the Twins to get a better sound. Whether your choice is a JBL, Weber, Tone Tubby, or “other”, here’s the thing: better speakers have bigger magnets and bigger magnets add weight – a lot of weight. One of my Twins has two Tone Tubbies in it and those weigh in at almost 25 pounds for the pair. That means my Twin is probably in the 80-90 pound weight range and, although that is within the weight limit of a 100 pound amp stand, I don’t feel comfortable loving that close to the edge. What if my guesstimate is off by 5 pounds – what it the amp is really 90 pounds? I don’t ever want to have to think about whether or not my amp stand can cut it.
If I spend even as little as two seconds thinking about my amp stand while recording or playing live, that is a distraction.
Distractions are the death of creativity. By going with a 150 pound amp stand, I eliminate that distraction.
What I Went With
I ultimately chose the ProLine PL7000 amp stand (a.k.a. the PL-AS from what I can see). You can get it at Amazon, Guitar Center, or any one of a few dozen others. There are only a few 2×12 combo amp stands that handle 150 pounds and the ProLine gave me the most flexibility at the lowest cost. I bought mine through Amazon for $29.99 with free shipping. What a deal!
Pictures
Eventually I hope to take some pics of my gear and put it here but I just haven’t taken the pics yet. Here are a few stock photos showing the amp stand with a Fender Twin:
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