Original Tweed Deluxe - what are the options available today

[rockabilly69]

I played two of them and both were equally good sounding.

 

[rockabilly69]

Yes.
Mine is all original and came with a P12R.
It had NO headroom.
Not that there's anything wrong with that
The p12q made it much more versatile.
Now I think the PT is shorted and I'm sad.
It was a minty original.

Professortwangs G20T is a gain monster, killer lead tone.

 

[ADP]

Swart builds fantastic sounding amplifiers. The build quality is top notch and he has his own designs. I own a little Swart STR. As for off the shelf parts; everyone utilizes parts from outside manufacturers. Fender used: Allen Bradley, Triad, Schumacher, Sprague, Oxford, JBL and Jensen. I'm perplexed by your vitriolic responses.

In regards to my vitriolic responses; It is a disservice to players today to have to sift through the endless market of terrible amplifiers for sale. Not that players nowadays have any sense of pride in ownership, any way. Those that do are just sitting back laughing at my attempt to say anything about it as they have also tried for years to no avail.

Enjoy your sell-out amps with Chinese parts, like I said, to each their own. Everyone likes whatever they like. That's why they apparently sell. Get a youtube influencer in on it and it's a homerun.

 

[charliechitlins]

Professortwangs G20T is a gain monster, killer lead tone.

Yup.

 

[charliechitlins]

In regards to my vitriolic responses; It is a disservice to players today to have to sift through the endless market of terrible amplifiers for sale. Not that players nowadays have any sense of pride in ownership, any way. Those that do are just sitting back laughing at my attempt to say anything about it as they have also tried for years to no avail.

Enjoy your sell-out amps with Chinese parts, like I said, to each their own. Everyone likes whatever they like. That's why they apparently sell. Get a youtube influencer in on it and it's a homerun.

I gave been gigging my 56 Deluxe since around 1985 when few people cared about such things.
I still gig it and a 50 Deluxe, 53 Pro and 58 5F6A Bassman.
I know what these amps are supposed to sound like.
I'm also not precious about the fact that they were mass produced with off-the-shelf parts.
I've heard plenty of clones that capture the tweed vibe beautifully.
Victorias are AMONG them.

 

[torren61]

I gave been gigging my 56 Deluxe since around 1985 when few people cared about such things.
I still gig it and a 50 Deluxe, 53 Pro and 58 5F6A Bassman.
I know what these amps are supposed to sound like.
I'm also not precious about the fact that they were mass produced with off-the-shelf parts.
I've heard plenty of clones that capture the tweed vibe beautifully.
Victorias are AMONG them.

Mass produced with the CHEAPEST off the shelf parts he could get. Leo didn't waste anything and he didn't spend if he didn't have to spend. As was previously pointed out, the circuits are not complicated. Differences between manufacturers should be negligible as long as the layouts and component values remain true to the original specs with the main tonal variations being speakers. I'm sure Victorias are really good amps and I'd sure like to hear a few in person. I'm skeptical that they blow away every other amp manufacturer.

 

[ourmaninthenorth]

I'm with that 15th century geezer Lydgate on the comparisons dodge, odious is about right. Or if one prefers the Bard's play on words in reference to said proposition, odorous. Strangely enough in Much Ado About Nothing.

Pretty much what this stuff boils down to when it gets to the binary stage of comparison, much dick waving about nothing.

Find an amp you like, buy it, play it. Then when you get fed up, find another amp you like, buy it, play it....etc etc ad nauseam.

I personally don't give a dogs bollocks about the innards and where they come from, don't know how they work, don't care.

They have to tickle my ears to get bought in the first place, and that is the result of my preference, not some interweb wag who tells me how many tricks I'm missing by not buying xyz, and that it'll make me sound like Page et al.

I couldn't sound like Page if I fookin was Page.

I sound like me, and can make the following definitive statement - I am, by a country mile, the best guitar player in my house.

Do I get a badge?

What's my point?

No fookin idea.

Funny how one's mind can wander in the face of so much certainty.

 

[MrNubs]

I'm with that 15th century geezer Lydgate on the comparisons dodge, odious is about right. Or if one prefers the Bard's play on words in reference to said proposition, odorous. Strangely enough in Much Ado About Nothing.

Pretty much what this stuff boils down to when it gets to the binary stage of comparison, much dick waving about nothing.

Find an amp you like, buy it, play it. Then when you get fed up, find another amp you like, buy it, play it ... if you can afford too, keep each one, cause it's a vicious never-ending cycle that will take 360 deg back to where you started

I personally don't give a dogs bollocks about the innards and where they come from, don't know how they work, don't care.

They have to tickle my ears to get bought in the first place, and that is the result of my preference, not some interweb wag who tells me how many tricks I'm missing by not buying xyz, and that it'll make me sound like Page et al.

I couldn't sound like Page if I fookin was Page.

I sound like me, and can make the following definitive statement - I am, by a country mile, the best guitar player in my house.

Do I get a badge?

What's my point?

No fookin idea.

Funny how one's mind can wander in the face of so much certainty.

 

[ADP]

....
I personally don't give a dogs bollocks about the innards and where they come from, don't know how they work, don't care.

.....

What's my point?

No fookin idea.

I know exactly how these tweed circuits work and react to different parts, tubes, potentiometers, and even the cabinet itself. My point? Only a couple of amp builders know what they are doing.

The rest are simply marketing their gear to players like yourself who simply don't care how things are made.

If you want a REAL amp call Victoria. If you want to buy something that looks cool and sounds good enough, that's fine too.

There is no argument here. If the OP wants a proper tweed, there isn't much choice.

 

[ADP]

Mass produced with the CHEAPEST off the shelf parts he could get. Leo didn't waste anything and he didn't spend if he didn't have to spend. As was previously pointed out, the circuits are not complicated. Differences between manufacturers should be negligible as long as the layouts and component values remain true to the original specs with the main tonal variations being speakers. I'm sure Victorias are really good amps and I'd sure like to hear a few in person. I'm skeptical that they blow away every other amp manufacturer.

All of those parts were also manufactured in the USA, when there was pride in supporting our own country. How much do those exact parts cost today? Your reponse is irrelevant

 

[57gold]

ADP - Maybe stuff has changed, but years back I looked into Victoria amps.

Owned a couple of 1950s-60s vintage amps, including a great 1959 Deluxe and hoped to get a new modern one to use as a pair with 1959 ES345 and 355 I owned and to take out to keep the old dog from getting more beat. Tried the Victoria Deluxe and Double Deluxe and a few others and they sounded just OK, kind of stiff, not as responsive as the 1959, not even close.

FWIW, had/ have NOS tubes in the 1959 - Bugle Boy, Mullard and some Visseaux 6V6s, which are pretty sweet.

Did try a local guy's Deluxe like model, a Tungsten I believe, and it was closer in tone to the 1959 Fender to my ears.

Before that, visited Kendrick, did business in Austin so stopped by the shop. He was an early Tweed replica guy; his amps didn't sound great to me and after visiting the shop and hearing a ton of BS in a messy environment...decided against any purchase of his gear.

 

[Wilko]

Pretty basic parts. No magic from "made in USA". There are plenty of great sounding tweed copies. Some with excellent mods like reverb and tremolo.

 

[ADP]

Well... That has everything to do with speakers. The modern Jensen speakers are brutal until a good 30hrs of play.

Pre-2005 Jensens from Italy have different cones and sound better. But again not like a real one.

That's all preference - I could argue the cabinet and the speaker itself are even more important than the amp itself.

 

[ADP]

Let me ask you this... When all of these "Tweed copy" builders have a question, who do they call?

Again, defend them all you want - it isn't an argument. It can be quantified by professional recordings and stage use.

 

[torren61]

All of those parts were also manufactured in the USA, when there was pride in supporting our own country. How much do those exact parts cost today? Your reponse is irrelevant

 

[ADP]

Is that an audio clip of your tone?

 

[charliechitlins]

Let me ask you this... When all of these "Tweed copy" builders have a question, who do they call?

Victoria has a hotline?

 

[torren61]

Is that an audio clip of your tone?

 

[Mark 63]

Here is an interesting comment tweed amps from a guy who builds them:

Just because an amp is vintage does not mean that it's going to sound great - in fact, many sound terrible. Moreover, the truth is that those rare "special" amplifiers are actually outliers - deviations from the norm. What contributes to their superior performance as opposed to their production standard are likewise deviations - from the averages in so far as component values (via drift and tolerances) and their subsequent affect on performance characteristics. Thus, a great vintage amp relies heavily on luck of the draw - and can be subject to changes in characteristics over time.​

​

I found this out when I built my first Tweed Deluxe; as described above, it didn't sound like I had expected it to and I was very disappointed. So I set out to remedy the situation by reading all I could find about the 5E3 Deluxe amp and experimenting with components and their values.​

About Tweed Deluxe Speed Shop

History and background of Rondo and the Tweed Deluxe Speed Shop

www.tweeddeluxe.com

Disclosure: I don't know this guy and haven't played any of his amps, but I think his demos sound fantastic. I do have a Victoria 35210 (5F4), and it's a great amp.

 

[jb_abides]