5E3 Deluxe Owners Club

[kungfumailman]

I am meeting a seller on Sunday to buy a 2007 fender 57 deluxe Reissue. It appears to be in excellent condition. I am buying this unless someone can talk me out of it.
Thanks -Kungfumailman

[bluesjuke]

I'm warning you!

You will not regret this!

Remember, I tried to tell you.

[kungfumailman]

bluesjuke,

I take it this is a yes on buying this amp for this price?

[bluesjuke]

IIRC these run around $1700. new.
Never heard anyone say they didn't like them.

A handwired 5E3 that is a Fender brand ain't a bad thing at all.
I'm also sure it will hold the value that you have in it.

That's the charm of buying used also.
New condition, much lower price, no devaluation.

[crossroader]

Originally Posted by bluesjuke

A handwired 5E3 that is a Fender brand ain't a bad thing at all.
I'm also sure it will hold the value that you have in it.

That's the charm of buying used also.
New condition, much lower price, no devaluation.

And then there's that whole tone thing.


So, kungfumailman, did you get it?

[kungfumailman]

crossroader,

I took a 120 mile road trip Sunday and got the Fender 57 deluxe. It looks to be in mint condition and he gave me a 12ay preamp tube as well. It took me a day or two to really appreciate the tone because at first I was continuously tweeking with the controls instead of playing my guitar. Now if I want to practice I just set both volumes about half way and the tone about 8 and the tone is fantastic. I also hooked up my boss 63 reverb pedal and this thing was tone city!

-Kungfumailman

[Sterling Indigo]

Awesome deal.

I think the dirtiest you can get is by plugging into Channel 1 with Volume 1 on 12 and Volume 2 on 10.5-11. Tone 12, use guitar tone. Cleans up a little when Volume 2 goes to 12. Just one of the many wonderfully weird volume interactivity peculiarities. Enjoy!

[crossroader]

Congrats, kungfumailman!

Yeah, there are all sorts of things you can dial in with those knobs.

I've taken to jumpering the channels on my Mission 5E3 - guitar into Channel 1, Input 1, then Input 2 into Channel 2, Input 1. Adjust to taste from there.

I also like to a stick my Dano PB&J delay in front to add a little space.

The best part is, no matter how I set it up, it ALWAYS seems to sound great!

[bluesjuke]

Originally Posted by crossroader

And then there's that whole tone thing.

You speak from the Gospel of Tone.

kungfumailman congrats!
Now you know the joy abd it' gets better as you discover all that this simple circuit can produce.

[Ricky D.]

Nice buy there, Kungfumailman!

[mr.danny]

My 5D3 restoration is complete and she is the queen of the harem! I'm glad there's 5E3 mania out there, because I'd never have been able to afford an original, unlike this one which cost me a lot less than a repro or vicky, even.

[xjazzy]

Congrats.
Looks sweet.

[Californiaman]

Oohhh,
look what I got fellows.
Piano Lacquor Black '57.
Best amp I've ever played.
Biggest problem I see with this amp is wiping the finger prints off.

[mr.danny]

Aren't those black deluxes like $4k list? That's enough to buy the most cherry original 5E3 out there, with change left over. The refrigerator handle is very Flot-A-Tone ;)

['56Teleman]

Originally Posted by kungfumailman

crossroader,

I took a 120 mile road trip Sunday and got the Fender 57 deluxe. It looks to be in mint condition and he gave me a 12ay preamp tube as well. It took me a day or two to really appreciate the tone because at first I was continuously tweeking with the controls instead of playing my guitar. Now if I want to practice I just set both volumes about half way and the tone about 8 and the tone is fantastic. I also hooked up my boss 63 reverb pedal and this thing was tone city!

-Kungfumailman

If you're playing that amp with (2) 12AX7's you really need to put the 12AY7 in there. It's the way the amp was designed to be run and, IMO, it sounds far better that way.


Enjoy!


EDIT: Now pony up with some pictures!!!

[Californiaman]

Originally Posted by mr.danny

Aren't those black deluxes like $4k list? That's enough to buy the most cherry original 5E3 out there, with change left over. The refrigerator handle is very Flot-A-Tone ;)

Got mine for far less than that.
Like anything, if you're patient and wait, you'll find one in your price range. Mine was $1,350.00. Good as new.

[mr.danny]

If I were going for a reissue (which I wouldn't) I'd go for tweed anyway - the holographic Warner Bros-lookin' logo and automotive styling doesn't do it for me personally, but I'm sure you and 299 other people will adore it and I wish you happy music-making.

..and I did wait very patiently till I found my '54 Deluxe for $1k. Probably fewer than 300 5D3's left on the planet, I'd think. Now, in this bad econonmy, is a great time to buy slightly compromised vintage gear if you've got money (I don't). There's a '63 refinished Tele on eBay with a BIN price just under $5k, which is a LOT less than when I was in the market 3 years ago!

[Californiaman]

I agree, buying vintage now in this economy means deals, deals, deals. Unless of course you're looking at buying Pete Anderson's Telecasters on Ebay. Cause they're expensive.

[Sterling Indigo]

Originally Posted by '56Teleman

If you're playing that amp with (2) 12AX7's you really need to put the 12AY7 in there. It's the way the amp was designed to be run and, IMO, it sounds far better that way.

+1 I finally tried this and it is amazing! No real loss in gain that I can tell so far. Just clearer, more defined gain. Hard to explain, more complex, less flubby? Flubby's a bad word, it wasn't bad before, but it sounds better now. I have to play with it more and run through all the channels to get a better idea. But I don't think I'll be going back to a 12AX7 in V1 for a while.

[Ricky D.]

Originally Posted by Sterling Indigo

+1 I finally tried this and it is amazing! No real loss in gain that I can tell so far. Just clearer, more defined gain. Hard to explain, more complex, less flubby? Flubby's a bad word, it wasn't bad before, but it sounds better now. I have to play with it more and run through all the channels to get a better idea. But I don't think I'll be going back to a 12AX7 in V1 for a while.

Mine is a Mission 5E3 kit. I haven't tried a 12AX7 yet, but with a 12AY7 in V1 it's into overdrive with the channel volume at 4. I don't need more front end gain. IIR, Fender shipped the reissues with 12AX7's in V1 because they didn't have a satisfactory source for the 12AY7.

.