Opinions on Great Tweed Amp Schematics

[Diablo]

Since it's difficult to go out and test drive all of the various models of tweed amps that were designed in the 1950s, I'd like to hear some opinions of which models sound great and are "must haves". I've got a Tweed Bassman 5F6A, and a Low Power Tweed Twin 5E8A to build next. Since I have the Tweed disease, tell me which amps I should consider for future builds.

[Jman]

Diablo,

I have built both a Tweed Champ and a Tweed Deluxe. I love them both. The Deluxe is rated at 12 - 15 watts, but is a loud 12 - 15 watts. It is a great sound for the blues. The Tweed Champ is rated at 5 watts and is considered the must have practice amp. Don't let the "practice" fool you. It gets great clean sounds and over the top gain when you increase the volume on your guitar.

My next build is going to be the Bassman 5f6A, then I will have all the Tweeds I would want - maybe a low powered Tweed Twin down the road. Hope this helps!

[tubeswell]

I built a 5F2A, which was cool (esp at the 'stairway' solo when dimed), then a 5G9 (which is still pretty unbeatable), then a 5E3, then a 6G15, and just now a cross between a JTM45 bluesbreaker/5F6A with bias-vary trem and verb. They all are different yet have a distinctly 'raw' quality.

For simpilicity and beauty of sound I love the 5G9. Its hard to beat the fixed-bias/bias-vary trem combination. I built mine with a 20W Ot with a primary zed of 5k, and I am running a G12-20 (Heritage series) in it and that combination of the woody greenback and the intense hypnotic trem just blows your socks off. When combined with the stand-alone reverb, you have about as versatile set-up as anyone. And for a little amp, its got more than enough juice to keep up at small club-type gigs (and weddings and party gigs) without being mic'd. So my vote still really goes to that. Plus I've had about 6 guys wanting me to sell it to them over the last 2 months (but sorry its not for sale )

[cminor9]

For simpilicity and beauty of sound I love the 5G9.

Hey tubeswell, I guess this is a thread hijack, but it'll give the OP some more discussion, so...

You built a 5E3 and you still prefer the 5G9?

I built a 6G3 and was, quite frankly, disappointed. I am starting to wonder if building a 5E3 is a bad move for a beginner, cause it just goes downhill from there (or so it seems.)

You like the 5G9 better? Is it as dynamic as the 5E3? That's one thing I don't appreciate about the 6G3...it just kinda is what it is, and you don't get so much of that whole turn-down-the-guitar-and-it-cleans-up, or turn-it-up-and-get-OD thing. I have learned that I really appreciate that in an amp. How's the 5G9 stack up in that regard? I do remember your sound clips, and it did sound beautiful. Does the OD sound much like your 5E3?

And to add to the discussion in another dimension, I have been jonesing to build a 5F4. Just about every sound clip I have heard has been nice, and everything I have read about them has been good. Plus, it seems a lot of people here build them and talk them up.

[tubeswell]

Well I built my 5G9 with adjustable fixed bias, and set the tube current at about at 22mA so it doesn't go dirty, but it does get a bit grittier. Whatever, it is perfect for the type of trem that compliments it (I think the 5E9A might be a whole different kettle of fish tho'). However I will say that when I first built the 5G9, I set the bias to the resistor values that were on the schematic and the tubes were running about 32mA as I recall, and they did saturate when dimed that way. So I guess the stock 5G9 is a bit dirtier than my one.

I think all the lower-powered tweeds have that potential

[PremiumPlus]

I've got a 5E3 that I built, a 5F2A Princeton, and a (Insert model no. here) tweed bassman 4x10 that I bought. Love them all, and the only one I'm longing for would be a low power twin. But that's even a maybe...the 5E3 Deluxe is probably my favorite grab-n-go amp. I really dig the sounds I can get with just my guitar and volume control, picking dynamics. Just a great amplifier.

[Chris / CMW amps]

If you like "round"/very old style (blues) sounds:

tweeds with Paraphase Inverters!

(also nice for harp)

[hasserl]

IMO the Champ, Deluxe, & Super/Pro/Bandmaster are all variations of the same theme. If you like a Champ you'll love a 5E3, and the Super/PRo/Bandmaster are big burly tattooed motorcycle riding brothers to the 5E3. The Bassman is a whole nuther beast, does a great clean and a rockin dirty, but it just doesn't do the same grindy tweedy thing as the others. The Twin is something else again, much cleaner than the others, and by the time you push it into breaking up it's really loud. Guys who love the twins tend to use pedals for their dirty work.

I love the 5E3, once you mod it to cut some bottom end and tighten up the flub. My favorite may be the Pro, I tend to like 15" speakers. IMO the Pro kills all on stage, in live use it's just a monster. It commands the stage like no other amp I've played or heard. I don't love it all by itself, for practice. But once on stage in the presence of other instruments, you're the king when you've got a Pro. No dirt pedals needed. Not a ton of headroom either though, if that's your thing a Bassman or Twin is more your style.

[Diablo]

Super/PRo/Bandmaster are big burly tattooed motorcycle riding brothers to the 5E3. The Bassman is a whole nuther beast, does a great clean and a rockin dirty, but it just doesn't do the same grindy tweedy thing as the others. The Twin is something else again, much cleaner than the others, and by the time you push it into breaking up it's really loud. Guys who love the twins tend to use pedals for their dirty work.
My favorite may be the Pro, I tend to like 15" speakers. IMO the Pro kills all on stage, in live use it's just a monster. It commands the stage like no other amp I've played or heard. I don't love it all by itself, for practice. But once on stage in the presence of other instruments, you're the king when you've got a Pro. No dirt pedals needed. Not a ton of headroom either though, if that's your thing a Bassman or Twin is more your style.

I was checking out the schematics of the Pro, Super, and Twin....and there's very little difference. I think there's only about three resistors that differ in value and a 12AX7 vs a 12AY7 here or there. The Twin does have a little different input tube circuit, but it's not so radically different from the others. They all have the same tone stack. Maybe it is just the 15" speaker?

[tubeswell]

I was checking out the schematics of the Pro, Super, and Twin....and there's very little difference. I think there's only about three resistors that differ in value and a 12AX7 vs a 12AY7 here or there. The Twin does have a little different input tube circuit, but it's not so radically different from the others. They all have the same tone stack. Maybe it is just the 15" speaker?

Yep the Pro 5E5A and the Super 5F4 are pretty similar except the Pro appears to have a 325-0-325 winding on the PT - and the Super looks like it has a 340-0-340ish winding on the PT. But I think those LFB resistors would have quite an effect on the tone and gain of the DC pair in each stage. Also the way the 5E8A twin front-end is wired with those 'semi-parallel' stages on each channel makes quite a difference in the tone too - would make for interesting jumpering combinations. And the Twin has 2 5U4GA rectifiers, which is interesting.

[Tele-Cat]

For my money, the Super and the Deluxe are my two favorites, followed closely by the Champ.

I like the Bassman but it's so loud when you finally get it to break up, it's really not that usable.