Look on the inside of the amp’s cabinet for a “tube sticker.” This is a small sticker on the inside of the amplifier designed to identify the tube’s type and location within the amplifier. Look for two-letter stamps over this sticker. The letters can be used to identify the year and month in which the amplifier was manufactured.
Use the first letter to determine the year of production, remembering that the first year, represented by “A,” is 1951, and the last year, represented by “S,” is 1969. Use the second letter to determine the month in which the amplifier was made. “A” represents January and “L” represents December, with the other letters working sequentially through the months. For example, a “GF” stamp shows that the amplifier was made in June 1957.
Look on the transformer box of the amplifier for an “EIA” number on the back, starting with “EIA 606” and then followed by three or four digits. Look in the back of the amplifier for the transformer box. Depending on the number of digits that follow “606,” the first or first two digits indicate the year in which the amplifier was made.
Read the first number if only three numbers follow “606” to determine the year in which the amplifier was built. The first number out of the three digits represent the year in the 1960s. For example, a “4” means the amplifier was built in 1964. If there are four digits, use the first two digits to determine the year. For example, “68” on the sticker represents 1968. Use the last two digits to determine which week of the year it was made in. The number “24” after the year means that it was made in the 24th week of that year.
Look for tell-tale characteristics, such as tweed covering to generally date the amplifier without the precision granted by numbers. A tweed covering was common on earlier Fender Deluxe amplifiers. Use a website, like Amp Wares, to search for the amplifier according to the characteristics you can observe. If you were able to determine the year, select it from the options on the bottom right of the screen to narrow down your search. Otherwise, select “Blackface,” “Brown” or “Silverface” depending on the main color present on the control panel. Search through the results to identify the specific vintage Deluxe amp.