think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

[PVFan]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

good luck with the tweed deluxe. Have you checked out ceriatone.com?

$500 for a put together one? Everything but the speaker?

That might be the answer, because this How-To Vid looked exhausting and frustrating and I just wanna play it.

 

[PVFan]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

man someone needs to reel me in here, seriously: help.

I'm lookin at Victoria 20112s and Double Deluxes and now Champs and Weber kits and Ceriatones and Youtubin this and that and some guy goes "Check out a Princeton, my boy" so I'm all okay EXCEPT THERE ARE 14000 VERSIONS OF EVERY FENDER and holy crap. I'm obsessed and going crazy. I have no patience to wait months trying everything only to get more confused about what I want.

I think I want a 5e3 head, and a separate speaker cab so I don't shake the tubes too much like the 57 I played the other day. Easy to swap speakers that way, also.

I think I'm lookin a little too hard at the tweaks 1000 people have made to various 5e3 interpretations.

I think a pre-built (not a kit) Weber / Ceriatone / Mission head and homebuilt 112 is the EASIEST way for me to get into a 5e3. No way to know which co. I figure when I'm ready to order I will just call all 3 and see who's nicest. I need to force myself not to think about this for just a minute, OMG I am just all spazzola.

 

[Baltar]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

$500 for a put together one? Everything but the speaker?

afaik Nik can also build it with MM irons.
I'd also ask him to use SoZo mustards or mallories instead of ODs in that 5e3.
(imo anything is better than ODs in that amp)

 

[PVFan]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

afaik Nik can also build it with MM irons.
I'd also ask him to use SoZo mustards or mallories instead of ODs in that 5e3.
(imo anything is better than ODs in that amp)

thanks, Nik is at Ceriatone then?

Mercury Magnetics transformers, check. A power, output, and what, a 60~ choke? The rest of that is capacitor talk?

okay I'm back on Earth, a bowl of cereal helped.

 

[PVFan]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

...Folks. I've always had a blind spot about Fender. Now, I have a CS strat coming, and I discovered Fender amps. And there are soooooooooo many, and each and every single one of them is known for something, is the best at something, and there have been improvements to some, and numerous revisions, and what do I really want, and yadda yadda yadda.

....but I have been doing the Wikis, the Youtubes, the reading, and the playing when I can !!!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

thanks, Nik is at Ceriatone then?

Mercury Magnetics transformers, check. A power, output, and what, a 60~ choke? The rest of that is capacitor talk?

okay I'm back on Earth, a bowl of cereal helped.

Ok, don't take this wrong but if you don't know what a choke is then build an amp should be out of the question...

Just buy an amp and be done with all this...

If I were buy a 5E3 today I'd buy a Mission w/o a doubt but there are other good ones out there.

Merc trannys are mostly hype IMO but if thats what you want go for it.

As for all the tweaks the Fender you played was pretty much stock except for using 12AX7 tubes and a Celestion speaker...get one that is stock first and start there.

 

[PVFan]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

okay. small lol.

phew. I thought a choke was used to isolate hum, but even if that *is* correct I think you're right and I shouldn't be building anything. what a relief. I don't have the cycles to learn that crap now anyway. And I'd be playing it always wondering if I screwed something up even if it was perfect. Better to have the peace of mind and buy from a pro.

 

[PVFan]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

what the hell have I been smoking

 

[PVFan]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

Ok, don't take this wrong but if you don't know what a choke is then build an amp should be out of the question...

Just buy an amp and be done with all this...

If I were buy a 5E3 today I'd buy a Mission w/o a doubt but there are other good ones out there.

Merc trannys are mostly hype IMO but if thats what you want go for it.

As for all the tweaks the Fender you played was pretty much stock except for using 12AX7 tubes and a Celestion speaker...get one that is stock first and start there.

if price did not matter how would you compare a Victoria 20122

 

[Baltar]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

thanks, Nik is at Ceriatone then?

yepp.
Using a choke in a 5E3 is changing it's charakter. You may not like it.
Niks PT will definately work, but the OT I would choose from eg MM (lot of builders also like Heyboer or Mojo, taste is different).
I have suggested Mercury, because I was told that Nik is offering them as upgrade. However they are my fav's lot in Blackface builds.

 

[Curly]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

OK ...
I have a '56 Deluxe and a Mission 5E3 I built.
Deluxes are magic amps ... small, crunchy, touch responsive tone machines with a simple circuit and simple controls that are very effective.

I'm partial to the original circuit, unless someone has a good reason for a tweak. The most common tweaks that make sense are to address a loose bottom end, especially for those who use humbucker equipped guitars. (But you could also just use the #2 input.)

I think one reason you liked the Celestion Blue is not only are they great speakers, but they are well suited to a Deluxe, and really close to the original Jensen alnicos ... that is, an alnico speaker rated around 15 watts.
(I have a Weber 12A125-O in my Mission. It's based on a mid-50s Jensen P12-Q, and it sounds GREAT.)

Some people get ceramic speakers because it tightens up the bottom end, but I feel that it's at the expense of a more vocal, singing tone.

I'll repeat what I said recently ... I'd recommend Bruce's Mission 5E3. He's probably sold more of these kits than anyone, and he's also provided a lot of free support on the amp forums to others.
So you're getting a very "tried and true" kit.

If you want, you can also discuss transformer and speaker upgrades with Bruce.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

$500 for a put together one? Everything but the speaker?

That might be the answer, because this How-To Vid looked exhausting and frustrating and I just wanna play it.

Yes, yes, and yes.

 

[PVFan]

Re: think I'm gonna build a Fender clone and there are 2 amps I have in mind

feel much better now.
thanks everybody. think I got a plan for having one built. nothing crazy or weird.

but I'm wondering if I'm straying too far from the "stock magic" by getting a head and separate 112 instead of a combo. The biggest reason for the idea was the tubes shaking so much in the one I tried. Does that happen with anybody else's? I guess I'd rather get a combo, but the tubes rattling so much in the 57 I played scared me.