Fender drip edge

[Randall]

Is replacement drip edge available?

[Chuck H]

I couldn't find it as "Fender drip edge" replacement trim. Well, I did find one guy on *bay, but it looked poorly finished. Repro corners on *bay look a little better. As for the actual strips, I think you'll need to get creative. I found this stuff (below). I was looking at the first size. 1/4" x 3/4". You may need to trim the unseen end.?.

Angles Unequal Leg

[Tom Phillips]

Fender uses the edge (with corner caps) on the current "'68 Custom Princeton Reverb" model. If you can source parts from Fender or a cooperative dealer / authorized service shop then maybe you could buy the exact parts that Fender uses. However, sizing may be an issue if they only sell pre-cut replacement parts assuming they sell the material at all. It might be nice to be able to buy the corner covers though.

If that's not an option then you can make your own drip style edge from aluminum counter top edging (also called face nosing).
The raw material looks like this

Here is a listing of available shapes from a supplier at https://retrorenovation.com/2011/05/01/aluminum-countertop-trim-from-eagle-mouldings-and-retrotrims-com/
However, I would first look for material at local building supply and Home centers.

I used to buy this type of stuff at building supply stores and use it on amps I was building in the late 1960's when we thought the Silverface look was cool. You need to find material that has the correct or reasonably pleasing couture on the narrow side which will be exposed to view.
Here is what the finished installation looked like.

One needed to plan ahead and reduce the dimensions of the baffle board appropriately to allow room for the edge.
The material pictured has been in place for 50 years and, as you see, it still looks pretty good. It is aluminum with a clear anodized finish.
I had no source for drip edge corner covers like Fender used so I always just beveled the corners.

Cheers,
Tom

[bob p]

I was going to post my experience about dealing with Fender parts, but I was reluctant to do so, for a couple of reasons -- one being that I didn't want to say what I'm about to say about counterfeits, as I didn't want to imply that Randall had any interest in that sort of thing.

It used to be that you could order a replacement faceplate for the reissue amps, as well as the replacement drip-edge trim. To do this you had to order through Fender repair parts; you had do be a service center to do that, or you had to place the order through a friendly service center. Unfortunately, a lot of people who knew how to do that would order BF faceplates and SF drip edge to "upgrade" amps, effectively using less desirable amps to create counterfeit amps that were more desirable. That resulted in an awful lot of fraud in the used amp market. Fender responded by shutting down access to the parts that were commonly used to create fraudulent upgrades. I've heard stories that you can't get those parts anymore unless you trade in a defective part to get the new one.

Personally, I mourn the loss of being able to get a BF faceplate with a Fender logo on it, or a set of aluminum drip-edge for my own amps. To me there's nothing wrong with upgrading your own amp's faceplate if you prefer the BF cosmetics, or to add drip-edge if you prefer the drip-edge cosmetics. I've done it on amps that weren't intended to look like a Fender, just because I like the drip-edge trim. The problem comes along though, when people sell those "upgraded" Fender amps to unsuspecting customers at an inflated price. My understanding is that Fender is cutting off the supply at Fender parts so that they don't make the problem worse. The result is that to get the cosmetics, many people are now buying new Fender reissue amps and parting them out to get the controlled parts. It's pretty common to see the non-controlled parts being sold on ebay.

In keeping an eye on the market, I've seen a lot more vintage drip-edge amps appearing on the used market in the wake of the 68 reissues. I don't think it's a coincidence, so I don't shop for the old drip-edge amps.