Mid's comparison of Fender 57 twin and 55 Pro

[BluezyBruce]

Ok I have recently tried a Fender 57 low powered twin and found the mids to be the same no matter where I had any eq set. In other words I had to change the rest of the Eq with out changing the mid range of the amp tonally.

I Have been looking at 5E5A Pro amp for some time and wondering if the amp is the same way where you have the mids at a certain place and you must move the rest of the eq around to make it fit your agenda? But are they the same tones also?

I have also had a 5E3 deluxe amp with the tone control and never had this problem what soever.

I am wondering if the Pro will be like the Twin in the aspect of uncontrolled mid range section?

Thanks,

Bruce

[Wally]

Bruce, I'll bump this one up for you and see if soemone can better explain those tone controls for us. AS I see it, both the 5E8-A TWin and the 5E5-A Pro have a set mid cap.
I will guess that they act much the same. The 5E5 Pro that preceeded the 5E5A has a tone circuit more like the Deluxe with which you are familiar. The 'E' in those two PRo schematic designations indicate 1955. The 'A' was a change to the 5E5.

[ThermionicScott]

Well, both have nearly identical "E-series" Treble/Bass tone controls... since you got along with the tweed Deluxe, my guess is that you'd have to try the 5E5A pro out in person to know whether the whole package of circuit+speaker config sounds good to you.

- Scott

[Wally]

Originally Posted by Scott S

Well, both have nearly identical "E-series" Treble/Bass tone controls... since you got along with the tweed Deluxe, my guess is that you'd have to try the 5E5A pro out in person to know whether the whole package of circuit+speaker config sounds good to you.

- Scott

"E" Series tone??? The 5E5 doesn't have treble and bass....so not all 'E' series schematics are the same. As I noted, the 5E5A and the 5E8A have the same toen control layout and circuits. Just wanted to keep things straight, here.

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by Wally

"E" Series tone??? The 5E5 doesn't have treble and bass....so not all 'E' series schematics are the same. As I noted, the 5E5A and the 5E8A have the same toen control layout and circuits. Just wanted to keep things straight, here.

Right, Bruce mentioned the 5E5A (fixed-bias, Treble/Bass), which would have the tone circuit he's already experienced and didn't like.

I guess if he liked the 5E3, a 5E5 (cathode-bias, "Tone" control) might be worth a shot, but I like the flexibility of the Treble/Bass control better.

Hopefully that's clearer! I suck at communicating.

- Scott

[BluezyBruce]

I appreciate all of the technical advise from everyone. I should mention that the 5E8A twin I played on had almost no change on the treble and presence controls what so ever. In other words I set the presence at 12 and then turn the treble off, hit a chord then turn it all the way up with the chord ringing out and very very little change would happen. In fact you had to listen to notice the change. The Presence was exactly the same.

Now this may be how the amp works but I did wonder if the preamp tubes where to hot to allow the preamp to adjust(my thought) correctly. So please keep this in mind. All long plat 12ax7's.

Thanks,

Bruce

[ThermionicScott]

Hmm, that's not right. On the 5E5A/5E6/5E8/5E7/5F4/etc, the Treble knob should make a noticeable difference in the brightness and volume level from 1 to 12. And if the Presence knob doesn't add a nice sheen to the sound over "9" or so, it might not be hooked up correctly either.

(You didn't have the Bass knob up all the way, did you? It scoops out the treble frequencies past "9" or so -- quirk of this circuit.)

- Scott

[BluezyBruce]

No I put the bass control strait up at 12 oclock. I figured it would be ok.

[ThermionicScott]

Originally Posted by BluezyBruce

No I put the bass control strait up at 12 oclock. I figured it would be ok.

Yeah, the rough halfway point is about where it's added the most bass. On my 5E7, it's generally between 3 and 6.