Completed the home built Tweed Deluxe amp kit tonight

[Scott_F]

Got the tweed cab and put in the new P12Q speaker in it. Sounds really nice. Not enough clean headroom, but I'm addressing that.

This was the most rewarding hobby-type project I've ever taken on. Fun as heck. Learned a lot. NOt afraid of amp insides any longer.

Highly recommend it if you get the chance. Lew's brother Bruce is a great guy to deal with as well.

www.missionamps.com

 

[Al.C]

Great to hear Scott. Still awaiting my Vox AC 30 clone from my brother (clips to follow). After long talks with my brother (a professional amp tech), you realize that boutique amps are not mystical. They just take basic circuits that go back to basic fender circuits ,like your tweed (which go back to old RCA tube manuals) and tweak a little here and there. THe crux of the problem for all us tone hounds is we want one amp to do it all. It ain't possible folks. You wouldn't expect a single coil strat to sound like a les paul but you expect an amp to reproduce sweet fender tones and biting marshall tones equally well. thats were your new knowledge will help you understand basic preamp and power amp circuits. By the way when is your custom amp to arrive?
Al

 

[Curly]

great, Scott!

I love the P12Q in mine - great bottom end.

yeah, people say they'd like more clean headroom on those amps ... I'd have to A/ B with my original, but I think it probably does breakup a little sooner due to two things - the taper on newer pots is a little different, and the trannies are different.

still I say, with the main volume on 10, the second about halfway, you get such beautiful crunch and sustain, you could just about forgive the lack of headroom - it begs to crank!

 

[Lewguitar]

That's great Scott. Those kits Bruce makes are based on my own two original 5E3 tweed Deluxes. When the kit sounded as good as my originals Bruce put it on the market.

Deluxes like that don't really ever get a loud clean tone...that's not really what the intention is. Just the opposite: you crank 'em up and then go for from clean to scream by adjusting your guitar's volume knob.

Here's a good tip: put a Celestion Alnico Blue 12" speaker in there. The Weber P12Q is cool, but lacks bass and breaks up very easily. Also it is not especially efficient so you have to turn the amp up louder than you would with a more eficient speaker like the Celestion Alnico Blue.

The Blue is the ticket! I use 60's Celestion Silver Bulldogs in mine, but the RI Celestion Blue is the bext best thing.

This next tip won't clean up your tone...it'll add mids and thicken it up and do just the opposite. But it's something to know: turn the volume up to where you like it and then start to turn up the other volume control from the unused channel up to a little past 1/2 way. At about the 3/4 point the tone will start to get thicker with more mids...that's one trick Neil Young does with his old 5E3.

It's a good one. The volume controls are interactive and you do NOT have to jump the two channels together with a short guitar cord to get the benefits of this interaction.

Glad you like the amp. Do try a Celestion Alnico Blue tho...it's the best speaker in that amp.

Lew

 

[Scott_F]

I've got the Jensen p12q in mine. Might try the blue bell, but it's 229 bucks at Avatar. Pretty pricey.

 

[Stratman]

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/tweeddeluxe/PJMarshall.html

For that Fenshall tone machine

 

[Lewguitar]

I've got the Jensen p12q in mine. Might try the blue bell, but it's 229 bucks at Avatar. Pretty pricey.

Yep...but worth it. Lew

 

[casblah]

Great job Mr. Scott! When will you be taking orders? ...

 

[Scott_F]

I know you're pretty much kidding about the orders thing, but it would be fun. Butl, it's time consuming and I'm kinda limited on time these days...

I figured I have around...

$385 for the kit
$80 for the speaker
$195 for the cab

So, what is that... $660 or so

I put about 12 hours into the build. Something like that. So, if I made 20 bucks an hour, we're now up to 900.

Not sure anyone would pay that kind of money for a new Tweed Deluxe.

Pretty sure I could shave some of the cost off the kit by buying my own parts. But then you have to end up having to buy from a few different vendors, so now you're talking talking shipping charges from multiple vendors.

Just not really worth it. Besides, you could build it yourself for $660. Just have to buy a soldering iron and some solder. It's not that hard in reality. I'm so swamped with work these days, I'm totally decompressing on the weekends. Building that amp was way cool and it was very relaxing.

I'lll likely be building another kit at some point.

 

[Lewguitar]

The hardest part about out sourcing your own parts is finding affordable trannys that sound GREAT. You can spend a bundle on trannys from Hoffman or Mercury Magnetics...but finding great sounding AND affordable trannys is time consuming, takes alot of knowledge and it's expensive because you have to order a few dozen or more of each. Most of the after market trannys from Magic Parts and the like don't really sound like the original TRIAD trannys in the late 50's 5E3 Deluxe. The ones Bruce provides DO. Lew