5E3 Deluxe Questions

Rayvyn · Sep 7, 2019

Anyone out there run a 5E3 57 Deluxe? Are the channels jumped like a 2203 or does that not translate to this amp. Loving the samples I'm hearing but none locally to hear up close...

Dishimyuh · Sep 8, 2019

No, they are not linked internally. It's like a four hole Marshall, you can either jumper it or Y-cord it.

sonar · Sep 8, 2019

Such a simple amp, yet one of the greatest amp overdrives ever.

mustachio · Sep 8, 2019

Desert Island amp of all time. Each have their own sweet spot. Don't be afraid to use the unused volume pot when plugged into your respective channel. You can notch out some mids around 10-12 on the dial

scovell001 · Sep 8, 2019

I’m in the uk & have a version of this amp called a Lazy J20.

This is was the video that turned me onto the 5e3 style amp.
Can’t go wrong with a tweed deluxe, but you have to ‘re-learn’ how to use them as a guitar amp.
its like having your fingers connected directly to the speaker, the volume & tone controls load the signal instead of working as a volume would on a regular amp. Really fun amps, but also very revealing.

Texas Blues · Oct 12, 2019

5e3.

The girl next door.

You take to ma's house for supper.

And then.

Take her back to your place.

And she is a dirty talkin' whore.

Any questions?

57gold · Oct 12, 2019

Turn my 1959 Deluxe (with a Blue Celestion some Mullard and Visseaux tubes) up to 4 on the V dial 7 on Tone, and with a PAF guitar enjoy clean to growl to singing leads with a twist of my guitar's volume control. With the Blue, a very efficient speaker, it is loud enough in a bar setting with a strong drummer.

Can fiddle with second V control, which impacts the first to get it to compress a bit/adds some body. I do not jumper mine, as some do.

Leaving in a few for a party ay Silver King Brewery, appropriately in Tarpon Springs. Taking the Deluxe.

Texas Blues · Oct 14, 2019

57gold said:
Turn my 1959 Deluxe (with a Blue Celestion some Mullard and Visseaux tubes) up to 4 on the V dial 7 on Tone, and with a PAF guitar enjoy clean to growl to singing leads with a twist of my guitar's volume control. With the Blue, a very efficient speaker, it is loud enough in a bar setting with a strong drummer.

Can fiddle with second V control, which impacts the first to get it to compress a bit/adds some body. I do not jumper mine, as some do.

Leaving in a few for a party ay Silver King Brewery, appropriately in Tarpon Springs. Taking the Deluxe.

Good luck.

And be careful.

That amp could attract the wrong element.

Like hot cubano womerns.

Or blue eyed blonde cougars.

Triburst · Oct 14, 2019

The guitar playing in the clip by this guy that built a kit 5E3 clone is a bit on the "i'm nervous to be on video" side, but it is a GREAT example of the numerous tones you can get a Tweed Deluxe to make with various volume/tone settings on used and unused channels. Worth a listen if you're curious what they can actually do.

goldtop0 · Oct 14, 2019

I played one the other month, the only one in the country, and it was an exceptional sounding combo. Had the alnico speaker and was loud and full of rich tone without flubbing out.
It was a used one so cheaper than a new unit which would work out to around NZ$5-6k if one were to be bought into the country............just too pricey for a 12 watter unfortunately.

sonar · Oct 14, 2019

goldtop0 said:
I played one the other month, the only one in the country, and it was an exceptional sounding combo. Had the alnico speaker and was loud and full of rich tone without flubbing out.
It was a used one so cheaper than a new unit which would work out to around NZ$5-6k if one were to be bought into the country............just too pricey for a 12 watter unfortunately.

Maybe a diy build?

goldtop0 · Oct 14, 2019

sonar said:
Maybe a diy build?

Yes..........a distinct possibility Matt..........if......the same good sound and excellent performance can be replicated by any of the diy kits currently available.
I'll have to do some research re this for sure.
The combo in question did not exhibit any flapping/farting bottom end when pushed at high volume.......I was very impressed by that.

sonar · Oct 15, 2019

goldtop0 said:
Yes..........a distinct possibility Matt..........if......the same good sound and excellent performance can be replicated by any of the diy kits currently available.
I'll have to do some research re this for sure.
The combo in question did not exhibit any flapping/farting bottom end when pushed at high volume.......I was very impressed by that.

For the most part the Bright channel with the tone cranked won't fart out with PAF style pickups. If you like Teles and Strats things can get really interesting with the tone defeated some, or using the Normal channel.

I played around with a bunch of different cap and resistor values to "tighten up" the amp. I came to the conclusion that Leo knew best and prefer stock values. Decent transformers (with a voltage corrected PT) are a must and, imo, Alnico is an important part of the 5E3 DNA.

A Tweed Deluxe matched with your Princeton Reverb would make a potent duo.

goldtop0 · Oct 15, 2019

sonar said:
For the most part the Bright channel with the tone cranked won't fart out with PAF style pickups. If you like Teles and Strats things can get really interesting with the tone defeated some, or using the Normal channel.

I played around with a bunch of different cap and resistor values to "tighten up" the amp. I came to the conclusion that Leo knew best and prefer stock values. Decent transformers (with a voltage corrected PT) are a must and, imo, Alnico is an important part of the 5E3 DNA.

A Tweed Deluxe matched with your Princeton Reverb would make a potent duo.

Thanks for the background to your interesting 5E3 adventure.
Yes as is said in my case........gear acquisition syndrome or gear putting together syndrome in full flight:lol

Wilko · Oct 15, 2019

Rayvyn said:
Anyone out there run a 5E3 57 Deluxe? Are the channels jumped like a 2203 or does that not translate to this amp. Loving the samples I'm hearing but none locally to hear up close...

You mean like a 4-hole marshal. 2203/2204 are two inputs.

Texas Blues · Oct 16, 2019

Wilko said:
You mean like a 4-hole marshal. 2203/2204 are two inputs.

Thats what she said!

Big Al · Oct 16, 2019

Dishimyuh said:
No, they are not linked internally. It's like a four hole Marshall, you can either jumper it or Y-cord it.

Really now? Do you own or use one? I ask because I have for over 40 years and one of the hallmarks of the 5E3 is the interaction between the two volume controls without the need to jump the inputs ala Marshall. You can sculpt the mids for tighter cleanish tones by maxing the unused channels volume and boost gain and mids with that same volume at the half way point. All kinds of inbetween shades far more expressive and dramatic with Tone control and input choice also interacting to make for a very versatile amp for having such simple controls.

I do not understand how anyone familiar with one would make such a claim.

PaulD · Oct 16, 2019

I think there is some confusion here as to what is meant by the channels being linked. It is technically correct to say that the 2 channels are not linked, of course it is also correct that there is a lot of interaction between the controls.

When you plug into one of the channels the signal only passes through that particular channel but due to the design of the volume and tone controls the volume control for the unused channel will still affect the sound of that channel - this is not interaction between the channels, it is just that the second volume control is acting like an additional tone control on that particular channel. When the channels are jumpered the signal passes through both channels and this can provide a completely different range of sounds.

Triburst · Oct 16, 2019

Nope. The other channel's volume control does not act like a tone control. It acts like a "crunch" or "boost" control, until you pass about 8 or 9, THEN it actually cleans up for clear tones. The Tone control works as THE tone control for both channels.
Big Al is (as always) correct. Watch the video (above) that I linked. The volumes of each channel are posted as graphics as they are adjusted to get each tone.

PaulD · Oct 16, 2019

Triburst said:
Nope. The other channel's volume control does not act like a tone control. It acts like a "crunch" or "boost" control, until you pass about 8 or 9, THEN it actually cleans up for clear tones. The Tone control works as THE tone control for both channels.
Big Al is (as always) correct. Watch the video (above) that I linked. The volumes of each channel are posted as graphics as they are adjusted to get each tone.

You are misunderstanding what I was trying to say, I am talking about the technicalities of what is happening, not trying to describe the effect on the sound. I have built more 5E3 type amps than I care to remember so I know all about what they sound like. My point is that to say the channels are linked or interacting is not correct, there is no interaction between the channels (unless you physically jumper them). Describing it as an additional tone control was probably not the best choice of words but what is happening is that the volume control on the unused channel is having an effect on the tone control circuit of the channel in use - the unused channel itself plays no part in this, all of the signal is still only going through one channel.

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