April 2002 Issue - 1959 CF Martin 112 Amp - Fender Tweed Deluxe Clone
By Larry Meiners
Once upon a time… CF Martin wanted to enter the market for electric guitars and amps. By the time Buddy Holly and Elvis created hit rock and roll records in the late 1950s using amplified guitars, it seemed every kid wanted their own six-string. Leo Fender was the solid-body electric guitar pioneer that captured a large market-share with his made-for-production Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster bolt-on neck models. By 1959 CF Martin and Company had retrofitted their famous D size flat tops with pickups and contracted a company to manufacture amplifiers.
Later, Martin designed single and double-cutaway hollow-body electric guitars and transitioned their manufactured amplifiers from tube versions to solid-state transistor models. CF Martin produced their hollow-body guitars from 1961 until 1967 and made an attempt to construct solid-body guitars in 1979. Martin's electric guitars and amplifiers were produced in limited quantities due to lack of demand. Very few of the tube and not many more of the transistor amplifiers were sold. Martin's 112 tube version amps made in 1959 and early 1960 are considered rare. Some Martin collectors and experts aren't aware of this model and production totals were never published.
The Martin Guitar Company contracted with a local Lehigh Valley company, Allen Organ, to construct amplifiers with the CF Martin logo. Allen Organ had experience with amplifier design and amplified keyboards. It is remarkable to note that the final design for the 112 model is very similar to the popular tweed covered, narrow-panel Deluxe amp made by Fender in the late 1950s. These Fender Deluxe amps are highly sought after by recording musicians for their great natural distortion and endless tone. The great Billy F Gibbons of ZZ Top and super guitar player and songwriter Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick are both fans of the tweed Deluxe amp.
Martin's 112 model tube chart and its 12" speaker mimic Fender's Deluxe amp configuration. The 112 was designed to use a 5Y3 rectifier tube, two 12AX7 pre-amp tubes, two 6V6 power tubes and a Jensen speaker designated the P12R. Visually, the Martin amp does not evoke the same passion derived from hearing classic Fender tube amplification for years and seeing a tweed Deluxe located at your feet with the red lens glowing. However, plugging a Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul into this Martin 112 amp unleashes a mountain of tone. If you close you eyes and pull-off a traditional blues riff, you'll swear that you are hearing vintage Fender. Not what one would expect from an amp with a CF Martin logo.
Beyond the circuits, tubes and speaker, the 112's box size is about the same as a vintage Fender Deluxe. Martin's 112 amp weighs in at a stout 28 pounds. The cabinet is sturdy and the front grill-cloth has a unique alternating gold and silver decoration. From across the room the grill appears to be a monster-size basket weave or a large 1950s tail-fin car grill.
If you are fortunate enough to find a Martin 112 tube amp, plug in, turn up and be prepared for tone shock. Vintage collectors and players can also take comfort in knowing that these amps are not easy to find. In the past 40 years other fine guitars and amps sold poorly upon their introduction only to be highly sought after later, like the 1958 Gibson Flying V. Gibson shipped less than 100 late 1950s Flying V guitars and now they are one of the most collectable solid-body guitars ever made. The tone of the 112 will even raise the eyebrows of staunch Fender ampoholics.
2002 © Larry Meiners All Rights Reserved