Who Gigs With Their Original Tweeds?

I have used two of my tweeds as my main workhorses over the years,with some other amps thrown in between.These amps are a '59 Bassman and a '56 Pro.I had resolved myself to basically use them for fun and retire them from gig use,and get a newer "booteek" model or two.But today I plugged in the Pro,a '59 Tremolux,and a '57 Deluxe(all 3 through a 2-12 Fender tilt cab with 2 EVs and a 1-12 Marshall cab) and WOW! I think for now I will stick with the tone that no other amp gets.The Bassman needs a little tuneup,but the other three are fine.
Anyone else gigging with their old tweeds?

I might take my '57 Tweed Twin to the Maryland jam to see how everyone sounds through it. If I can get one of those amp stands that keeps the amp at an angle so noone can set drinks on it I will.

mine's a '55 Deluxe that someone recovered w/ black vinyl. And the speaker has been replaced. The advantage to these sacriligeous bastardisations is that it is no longer original, thus no longer "collectable", so I never feel bad about taking it out in public. I don't think the thugs and robbers even realize that it might have some value, it just looks like old junk. Pity the poor SOB playing a new Line6 amp...

Anyone else gigging with their old tweeds?
yes!

I might take my '57 Tweed Twin to the Maryland jam to see how everyone sounds through it. If I can get one of those amp stands that keeps the amp at an angle so noone can set drinks on it I will.

Or maybe you could use some of those wire spikes they put on buildings to keep the pigeons from sitting and pooping.:grin:

Thanks for the responses guys!
Jhundt,too bad about your Deluxe.When I bought mine,it had been spray painted black by the original owner---he said he hated yellow tweed,looked like luggage! It was real tight tweed too.My Bassman was recovered in period correct '60s black tolex,grill cloth,and metal Fender badge! They did a good job,and that's probably why it sat in pawnshop for almost 3 years early '80s).I left it alone....the Tremolux and Deluxe have been recovered by a friend of mine who owns an upholstery shop.You should check out one and get yours redone,they may be cheaper than amp recovering services.The material wasn't that expensive.
Chet------'57 Twin??? Drool!

Here are the recovered amps,Tremolux and Deluxe.They are more vintage yellow,I'm just a bad photographer!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/refin/TheMacandCompany.jpg

Been gigging my '56 Deluxe "rag pile" (according to Rob D.)for over 20 years.

Ya I do... I use the 49 deluxe and the 52 Pro at gigs... sometimes with another amp at the same time...

The DRRI and 52 Pro hooked up with a AD-9 delay sound good...

Sometimes I use the DRRI and the 49 deluxe too.

And then sometimes I just play the Pro. I have a 49 Pro too but I don't take it out as much, it's not as loud as the 52. Both Pro's have vintage Jensen speakers.

It's hard to explain a properly set up tweed...not a ton of clean headroom,but a tone that is so (forgive me for this abused term) complex,that you don't even miss reverb.The tone is spongey,warm,sustaining,soulful,and smile-inducing.I'm thinking of running the Bassman and Pro in a psuedo-stereo configuration,using some tasteful pedals and reverb/delay.On smaller gigs,the same idea with the Deluxe and Tremolux.

back about 1990 i cashed in my 63 dual showman head (not a tweed, i know but it hurts just the same) because the tubes were noisy and the pots sounded like frying eggs andi kept gtting shocked off the thing and i wanted something more reliable and i was too broke to tune her up. WHAT A DOOTCHBAG! when i was done beating myself up about it i wound up with a Randall RG-80 1x12 (gasp)solid state combo amp. maybe it's afreak of modern electronics(or maybe it's been dropped a few times) but it actually comes close enough to approximating a nice old tone to suit my needs. and it can do it LOUD when i want. in fact in 93 my band opened for zydeco legend Fernest Arceneau and the Thunders and he asked me to finish the tour with them because his guitaist had to split and he "liked my old sound".
i still play the RG-80. it just loves abuse. plus the people who listen to my stuff don't seem to give a poop!

Neil Young..

I was using my Vox and Marshall RI amps in the last band I was in. Now for gigging I use my 52' Pro.

I'm curious, Big Mike Simpson,
How does your 52 Pro sound?
When I restored mine I put the later 50's grill cloth on. The person who did it showed me that the air passes through better than the tight woven mohair linen. I'd love to compare the 2.

Also, I stuck Groove Tubes substitubes in the amp cause I couldn't find any metal 6sc7's that were free of crazy microphonics. I got a Mullard 12ax7 in the instrument ch, a Sylvania 12ay7 in the mic and a phillips 12ax7 in the PI, with JAN 5881's in it.

I put the later grill cloth in the 52 Pro when I recovered it. I don't remember if I did it on purpose or not. The 49 Pro has the original grill cloth. When I bought the 52 (for $250) it had been painted black with a brush, had steel corners put on and it had silverface grill cloth and a JBL D130 speaker... it had been "modernized" in the 60's.... so I retweeded it and replaced the grill cloth, tubes and caps and a resistor or two and found a period Jensen speaker for it... got about $500 in it.

As far as sound... the 52 is louder, breaks up around 6 or 7... sounds beautiful at 8 and projects the changes in pick attack.
The 49 Pro breaks up a little earlier, has a bit less overall volume, the breakup is "creamier" and the 49 is near mint (tweed, grillcloth and original victoria cover. I think the baffle board has been replaced though.

I'm still runnin 6SC7's in all 3 of my tweeds...

I will have to try switching the speaker leads with the amps back to back to see if there is a perceptable difference in grill cloth.

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/500/medium/109-0925_IMG.JPG

Yup, my 1955 Twin. What would be the point of not using it. If ya leave it sitting home, you ain't gotta an amp, you got a conversation piece. Plus, I have yet to hear an amp that sounds as good. And it is nice and light!

I hadda 53 deluxe, and found too good of a deal on a recently-built 5E3 clone chassis. I a/b'd the 2 chassis through the same cab, and while I could hear the difference, it certainly wasn't big enough to bother ME, much less the great unwashed out there...

So I sold the original 53 for a tidy profit and gig w/ my deluxe clone that I have about $500 in... and I don't worry so much at all about it getting bonked, kicked, or scraped. Not that it does, but it wouldn't bother me NEAR as much.

I'm in the process of gathering parts and building a 5F4 tweed super clone, too...

I put the later grill cloth in the 52 Pro when I recovered it. I don't remember if I did it on purpose or not. The 49 Pro has the original grill cloth. When I bought the 52 (for $250) it had been painted black with a brush, had steel corners put on and it had silverface grill cloth and a JBL D130 speaker... it had been "modernized" in the 60's.... so I retweeded it and replaced the grill cloth, tubes and caps and a resistor or two and found a period Jensen speaker for it... got about $500 in it.

As far as sound... the 52 is louder, breaks up around 6 or 7... sounds beautiful at 8 and projects the changes in pick attack.
The 49 Pro breaks up a little earlier, has a bit less overall volume, the breakup is "creamier" and the 49 is near mint (tweed, grillcloth and original victoria cover. I think the baffle board has been replaced though.

I'm still runnin 6SC7's in all 3 of my tweeds...

I will have to try switching the speaker leads with the amps back to back to see if there is a perceptable difference in grill cloth.

http://www.tdpri.com/telephoto/data/500/medium/109-0925_IMG.JPG



Nice shot there,BigMike!
You don't by any chance still have that D-130,eh?:wink:
When I put one in my narrow panel Pro,it was absolutely an animal.

I gig my '55 Flot-A-Tone Model 600, which is very Fender-like, a lot. It's about 20 watts and has a 15 inch Jensen field coil speaker in it. It's covered in something like heavy duty wall paper. Great for blues or country/RAB depending on how loud you crank it.

Nice shot there,BigMike!
You don't by any chance still have that D-130,eh?:wink:
When I put one in my narrow panel Pro,it was absolutely an animal.


No I don't still have that speaker... wish I did so I would have a spare for the Dual Showman cab in the pic behind the 49 Pro. The Showman cab has 2 of them in it.

I did not like the Pro with the JBL... it was "too clean" and it lacked the "character" of the vintage jensen... it was heavier too. I ran an Eminence 15 for a bit too but the older Jensen sounds better to my ears.

... was about 20 years ago, and I used my tweed Vibrolux all the time. I lugged my blackface VR, since traded off (See what I mean Woodshed!), a few times but I never really liked the tone I got out of it, which I know is sacrilege here but hey, you like what you like, no? My tone was always pretty good through the tweed, even if my playing left something to be desired! I really liked the extra balls the tweed Vibrolux has; it was really... assertive. I'll probably never gig again, but if I do I'll be using either the `57 Vibrolux or my `59 Princeton. My playing still leaves something to be desired, but indeed, my tone is pretty good!

I have a '55 Tremolux that I play all the time. It's the perfect 'jam volume' as I can crank it and get it good and overdriven then roll back the volume on the guitar to clean it up. It's also lightweight, dependable, and I don't need to use any pedals with it.

Does a Gibson tweed count? I have gigged with my 50's two tone GA40 amp, would do so anytime. Also gig fairly often with two newer tweed types, the Clark Tyger (tweed bandmaster) and Sewell Wampus Cat (basically a one channel '55 tweed pro). Mix and matching is a blast too. Tweed tones work so well for me on stage. Complex is the right word, gets that thick sounding clean, and higher volume drive that's easy on the ears.

Although I've got several tweed amps, the only one I'm using for gigs is a '58 Bandmaster that has been modded a bit. Before I bought it someone had changed the tube rectifier over to solid state & added an additional filter cap & added a 'presence' control.. The original 3-10" speaker cabinet was really ragged, so I had a new speaker cabinet built that sported 4-10s & is covered in a black stripe tweed. I've still got the old cabinet, & hoprfully someday I'll restore it to original.

Here's what else I've got as a collection of Fender Tweed history. All of these have been retired to home use only. Well, maybe some extra special gig would change my mind.

There's my very first 'new' amplifier...got it for my birthday 1956 to go with the lapsteel I had gotten the previous Christmas. a WHITE "Higher Fidelity" amp. While not a tweed covered amp, as it was covered with a light gray denim like cloth, it was of the same era ('55/'56) and yes, it was built by Fender. It has 3 tubes (12AX7, 6V6, 5Y3), volume & tone controls & rather than a flip type off/on switch, it is a rotary type. It matches up with the Fender Princeton 5D2 schematic, so I figure it's putting out 5 watts through a 8" speaker. It is the only amp like this that I've ever seen.

'55 Bandmaster....but this one has a single 15" Jensen speaker. When I got it, the original grill was missing & it had 'screen-door' mesh stapled over the front. I couldn't find the original brown color grill cloth, so I made my own using the oxblood color cloth. Everything else is original.

'59 Deluxe.....really great condition. the only non-origanl item on the exterior is a new leather handle. Inside a cap job & tubes are the only changes. Sound is heavely

late 50s Super.....I'm not really certain of the year of manufacture. For years I used this for my lap steel amp. It's got the growl of a reved up Hemi engine. 2-10" Altec Lansing bass speakers. What is left of the tweed is pretty nasty. Perhaps I should restore it but as-is there are so many memories living in that amp that I just don't feel up to it.

1960 Harvard...totally restored...a great job except a plastic handle is the only flaw. Got it last year on eBay. Nobody would make an opening bid on his $500 price & on the last day of the auction I offered him $400 plus shipping & now it's mine.

I've just this year found two more tweeds...neither of them are working. A pal bought a farm & these were in the trunk of a car in the barn. I traded him a Benelli pump shotgun for both.
1955-56 Tremolux...not much good to say here. Back panels are gone, no knobs, not a lick of cone on the speaker shell, outside of chassis is rusted. the transformers show continuity, but I don't know if they're any good yet. cloth wire inside is dry-rotted.Tweed is mildewed & smells really funky. The only hint in dating it is the 5Y3 rectifier tube (later years used a 5U4). A total overhaul is in order.

1959 Twin...not as bad shape as the one above but since it doen't work, it's kinda hard to say what is up inside of it. I was always of the belief that the old tweed Twins had 2-5881 tubes in the power section....this one has four of them. Tweed isn't bad...couple holes in the grill cloth...cord is all crumbly. I've yet to look inside the chassis.

1960 Harvard...totally restored...a great job except a plastic handle is the only flaw. Got it last year on eBay.Is this the Harvard with 2 6V6s? Or is it the 6G10 with one 6V6 only?

Bob Arbogast

Is this the Harvard with 2 6V6s? Or is it the 6G10 with one 6V6 only?

Bob Arbogast

I have the Harvard 6G10 with the single 6V6 output tube. The preamp tube is a 12AX7 & the rectifier tube is a 5Y3. Power tranny is a 125P1A & the output tranny is a 125A2A. The date code is "JK"...1960, November. this variety of the Harvard amp has 2 input jacks, as opposed to the 3 inputs for the older, more powerful Harvard.

I have the Harvard 6G10 with the single 6V6 output tube. The preamp tube is a 12AX7 & the rectifier tube is a 5Y3. Power tranny is a 125P1A & the output tranny is a 125A2A. The date code is "JK"...1960, November. this variety of the Harvard amp has 2 input jacks, as opposed to the 3 inputs for the older, more powerful Harvard.Does the 6G10 have a 10" speaker? Do you have any pictures of the amp (front, back, inside)??

Thanks.

Bob

I've gigged several times with my 59 Tremolux.

Many times with the '60 Tweed Bassman.

If you have the holy grail, why not use it?

I use a '52 TV Pro a lot, and my ragged but right '58 Deluxe is ideal for a lot of stuff I do. I just got a '60 center volume Concert with blue bells, and now that's my love- but I know I'll get tired of lugging that huge thing around.

Keifer, those 4- 5881 "High Powered " Twins are original, very rare, and VERY valuable. Good find!!

But if I had one I would. :mrgreen:

Nice displays, Big Mike.



dB

Got a Vicky 35310. It is 99% of the original on a bad day.
Suits me just fine.



-T.S.