Chuck Berry

Berry used two stock Dual Showmans (Showmen?) live, as stated in this November 17, 2008 Premier Guitar article, this concert rider taken from this The Smoking Gun page and this December 15, 2011 Questia article. Listings for two of Berry's 1971 D.S.R.'s are linked here and here.

Premier Guitar, "My Amps' Date With Chuck Berry"

He confided that Chuck preferred to play through two Dual Showman Reverb amps, unaltered from factory specifications. “Hmmm,” I thought, rubbing my hands together like a little fly about to feast on a tasty morsel. I then asked, "What would be a fair rental price for you?” He said, “Well I could pay $300 if that sounds fair.”

Not wanting to appear too eager I said I thought that should suffice and made arrangements for someone to come pick up the amps. Only having a Lincoln Town car, I knew I couldn't load those behemoths by myself. So it was agreed that Sharna would come by in the early afternoon of the concert to help fetch the amps. I later found out that Mr. Berry has a stipulation in his contract that unless two Fender Showmans are provided by the promoter, there is an additional $5,000 fee for his performance. This made me feel like my $300 was a paltry fee in light of this information.

Questia

Since his '70s comeback, Berry has managed his own career, and his concert rider has included the following provisions: "Three professional AF to M muscicians, capable and familiar with Chuck Berry's music, to serve as a backup group which must consist of only a 'show' drummer with drums, a pianist and a grand piano, an electric bass guitarist with a bass guitar, and two unaltered Fender Dual Showman Reverb amplifier sets." Now that's rock and roll.

Vintage and Rare listing

I would like to offer my Fender Dual Showman Reverb amp with the original cabinet (2x15'' JBL) and flightcase that comes with it. I bought the amp for rider.nl, which is a backline company in The Netherlands. The amp was used by CHUCK BERRY on an European tour in 2007-2008.

The amp is in superb condition and had a retube this year.

2017 Reverb.com listing

UNIQUE FENDER DUAL SHOWMAN REVERB (HEAD+CAB) FOR SALE PROFESSIONAL FLIGHTCASE FOR THE 2X15INCH CABS.

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY INCLUDED.

YOU CAN SEE CHUCK BERRY USING HIM IN THE LINK BELOW: [Chuck Berry, Let it rock Amsterdam 19 nov 2008]

In this vid you can see Chuck using it, stacked on 4x12 cabs. Those amps were german made, and they were part of the backline of the Beat-club TV show along with the Oranges and Matamps.

Specified in this concert rider (taken from this The Smoking Gun page) and visible in this 2017 Reverb.com listing for one of Berry's 1971 Dual Showman Reverbs.