Tweed Deluxe Clone by Full Tilt Audio

[Jerry J]

I looking on eBay for a Tweed Deluxe Clone and stumbled upon this amp by Full Tilt Audio in Austin, TX complete w/ a Weber Alnico Blue Dog. The quality looks really nice - lacquered tweed, nice pine cabinet, standby switch mod, etc. The seller is the second owner and says the original owner said it was p-t-p wiring.

Any of you Texans heard of Full Tilt Audio and is this a good amp? BIN is $650, there is currently no bids and its priced at $550 currently.

Also, would a Blue Dog be the first choice for a Fender Tweed? I know its an excellent speaker but it wouldn't be my first choice for this amp.

TIA

[BobB]

for a Tweed Deluxe. I have one in my replica I built. I think it fits the Tweed Deluxe character very well.

Bob

[mk]

I'm in Austin, but don't know anything about Full Tilt (I haven't been here long, and they appear to be gone). In any case, I've been watching that auction for several days. It's a great price if it's half as good as it looks. A Blue Dog sounds phenomenal in a tweed deluxe. It's going to be very hard not to bid on that amp if it's still sitting there with no bids at the end. I'm surprised it hasn't been snatched up.

[Jerry J]

I guess not too many people have heard of Full Tilt Audio but it does look like one hell of an amp. I just wish he posted pictures of the chassis.

[stevedenver]

if this helps you with the price-my MIssion tweed dleuxe IN KIT was over 800 when all was said and done, meter, extra wire and shrink tubes, finshing supplies-upgraded ot-

blue dogs sound great in a tweed dleuxe-

the blue dogs in the MIssion made me abandon the origianl plan of buying a Vic for about twice thekit cost-and i wasnt really looking to build a kit either-

the VIc comes with a jenson and the difference in sound was dramtic-the mIssion sounding far better

sounds like a fair deal even if you have to go to a tech to tweak something-at that price you have leeway -IMHO for porblems -sounds like a great deal at the BIN

[TexGoneNW]

Nobody bought it!

[Jerry J]

... a Marsh 5E3 Kit on eBay - $575 including a Jensen P12R RI.

I'm very excited and I'm thinking about getting a credit for the Jensen and ordering an Alnico Blue Dog. It sounds like the Blue Dog is the prefered speaker (or at least one of them) for the 5E3.

A couple of questions:

Should I keep the Jensen P12R (and order a Blue Dog later so I could have both speakers)? Are all Jensens currently made in Italy and who makes them? What about their quality? I know some models are suspect!

When I order the Blue Dog, what wattage should I select (15, 30, or 50)? How does that effect the sound?

What other Weber speakers would match up well with the 5E3? (I want like to keep my selection to an Alnico Weber.)

TIA

[BobB]

I got the 50 watt for mine.... from my research I remember that the 15 watt sounds the most like the old Celestion Blue and as you go up in wattage you get a bit higher head room... in other words the the amp will distort before the speaker. Higher wattage Blue Dogs are a bit mellower at higher wattages too.

Mine sounds real good. Very nice round fat sound with very smooth breakup as it distorts..... never harsh. I'd rather have amp distortion before speaker distorion and since the Tweed Deluxe does not have great headroom I wanted to get as much clean as I could. Unlike others I like the Tweed Deluxe for the light distortion tone it can provide vs. the real full blast tweed muddy gain.

Regarding the Jensen RI. I believe they are all made in Italy. My Jensen C12N was very high quality and a good sounding speaker, but edgy and brittle when pushed. Those that have AB'd the reissues with the original say that they don't sound the same. I have found that Weber speakers sound very close to their vintage counterparts.

If I were you I would forego getting both speakers. Buy the one you want. If the tone is there you are done, if not you can try another speaker. I have a bunch of unused speakers sitting around for the same reason.

Bob

[JDO]

i also have a blue dog for my 5E3 clone. although i don't know how it sounds yet. my chassis has been finished for a while but i haven't had the time or money to do anything about the cab.

and about the jensen. i would hold on to it until you get your amp up and running. then give it a listen. if you think it's lacking, try another speaker. but don't assume the blue dog is it. if it were the only speaker that sounded good in a 5E3, it would be the only one sold with them. but everyone has different ears and tastes. and i know of one person that didn't like the blue dog in their clone - bob arbogast (or however you spell his last name). not sure what he went with but he sold his blue dog. you can search through the tdpri to find posts by him about his 5E3 and see what he settled on.

[Jerry J]

My deal on eBay cost me $25 more than if I purchased the amp directly from Mike w/o a speaker. So the speaker only cost me $25. I will start off with the P12R and test it out. If the Jensen is lacking, then I'll research Weber options, but for the time being I better stick with what I got!

Now, how to break this purchase to my wife?

JDO, on another amp topic - you said you might post some pix on how you modified your VC to use Sprague filter caps. I haven't got to that project yet (the VC) and was wondering if you had those pix yet?

TIA

[JDO]

Originally Posted by Jerry J

My deal on eBay cost me $25 more than if I purchased the amp directly from Mike w/o a speaker. So the speaker only cost me $25. I will start off with the P12R and test it out. If the Jensen is lacking, then I'll research Weber options, but for the time being I better stick with what I got!

Now, how to break this purchase to my wife?

JDO, on another amp topic - you said you might post some pix on how you modified your VC to use Sprague filter caps. I haven't got to that project yet (the VC) and was wondering if you had those pix yet?

TIA

i'm in no way the amp man. just read and listen a lot. and from "experiementation" i've found out that we don't all have the same ears. i have friends who love ernie ball strings. i personally hate them. i use d'addario 11's. hence the speaker suggestion. plus, now knowing it was only 25 bucks more, that's a no brainer. you can easily sell it for 25+ if you don't like it.

about the champ. sorry, i haven't gotten any pics of the inside yet. maybe some time after tax time i'll have time to breathe and get them done.