Tweed Amps

Hot_Grits · Post by **Hot_Grits** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:28 am

DarcyPerry wrote:My fender deluxe is black. Not sure if it's HEAVYDEATHMETALGOTH black or just emo black. It's 90's so probably not emo. I use it for blues. I'm not sure if tweed adds anything to the tone. I do think that the Victoria double delux that Mr HotGrits brought over yesterday KICKS ASS.

Hey, do you need it on Sunday?

It's available on sunday if you need, Brother Darcy...

Hot_Grits · Post by **Hot_Grits** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:35 am

*UNIQUE* wrote:I have two Tweed amps - both made by me and reasonably true to Tweed specs.

The first is a single 12" 2 x 6V6 and a 5y3 rectifier. SOunds good. Breaks up WAY early...like on 3 or 4. Have made some mods to make that a little better, and use a 5751 in V1, or sometimes a 12AY7. Buit what you want to know is how does it sound? Well, great, and pretty much as Hot_Grits describes - thick but Fendery...but pretty much not useable in a band where some semi clean tones are required at some sort of volume.

The second is a Double Deluxe like Mr Grits. This amp sings...needs some better speakers, but even with the Mojo's in it it sounds amazing. Using a monster 5R4 rectifier...looks like a giant light bulb. Trying to find some pics of it...anyways, real simple. Volume x 2 and tone...that's it.

Maybe if you're thinking of gigging go the Double Deluxe....the extra punch is very useable in say, a covers band situation. The Tweed Deluxe probably won't push enough clean air, unless of course you mike up every time...then....get the Deluxe single!!! Let us know what you decide and why !

Crikey! another double deluxe owner!

-Can I run stereo next time I gig in the Tron?

-ooh, the very thought...

On the subject of speakers, I tried mine into a Celestion G12H30 loaded Matamp Quad of Ryan's, and it sounded great, in a slightly more Marshally direction. Try some if you can, a DD and G12H30 combo is some good-time rock'n'roll fun.

stark · Post by **stark** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:30 am

I had a play on that Vicky Trem De La Trem at Mojosound - at a specced 14W it was incredibly loud. Awesome amp, although I think I'd prefer a 210 instead of a 115. I didn't feel it nailed the Tremolux tone/feel 100%, but to be fair it's a 5E9-A (mines a 5E9) the speaker was a 15 and brand new, and maybe very efficient and maybe doped, all of which could account for it sounding a little harder and louder. And maybe a little cleaner too, although I don't now how dirty a stock Treomlux gets. Still, whatever sound it nails or doesn't nail, it's an amazing amp in its own right.

Hot_Grits · Post by **Hot_Grits** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:43 am

stark wrote:I had a play on that Vicky Trem De La Trem at Mojosound - at a specced 14W it was incredibly loud. Awesome amp, although I think I'd prefer a 210 instead of a 115. I didn't feel it nailed the Tremolux tone/feel 100%, but to be fair it's a 5E9-A (mines a 5E9) the speaker was a 15 and brand new, and maybe very efficient and maybe doped, all of which could account for it sounding a little harder and louder. And maybe a little cleaner too, although I don't now how dirty a stock Treomlux gets. Still, whatever sound it nails or doesn't nail, it's an amazing amp in its own right.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Baier does a good job of knocking the new sheen off his Victorias, but it's impossible to shake all the newness. There's something to be said for years on the clock, for better (warmer, more authentic tone) or worse (cranky old amp woes).

stark · Post by **stark** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:59 am

Hot_Grits wrote:There's something to be said for years on the clock, for better (warmer, more authentic tone) or worse (cranky old amp woes).

heh, yeah, for sure.

I wouldn't consider myself a "blues player", but I have a Tremolux narrow-panel 5E9, slighty modded for more gain - one component, a resistor IIRC, has been swapped out for one of a different value, and a 12AX7 in place of a 12AY7 in the pre. So it's pumping 22W instead of the specced 15-18.

I like the simplicity - 1 volume knob (for each channel) and 1 (global) tone means it's pretty much plug n play. After about 7 it doesn't get much louder, just more saturated. After 10 the attack starts to disappear, and at 12 there's almost no attack at all - very compressed, smooth, and spongy-feeling.

Power tubes and speaker are driven hard, so it's true overdrive, but at a comfortable volume . Humbuckers hit the pre harder of course, or add a low gain pedal like a Bluesbreaker 1, or a clean boost to bully the preamp and she really starts to wail, but too much and it starts to lose clarity. I rarely do that though, usually the only pedal I'll put in front of it is a delay.

It has its limitations - forget clean headroom, forget hi-gain, forget EQ, FX loops, DI outs, headphone jacks, master volumes and reverb - but within those limitations there's a lot of scope, at medium volume levels it's responsive and dynamic, at full tilt it just rocks, it's a joy to play, an instrument in its own right. It's difficult to describe, but it seems to radiate sound rather than project it.

DarcyPerry · Post by **DarcyPerry** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:57 pm

Hot_Grits wrote:
DarcyPerry wrote:My fender deluxe is black. Not sure if it's HEAVYDEATHMETALGOTH black or just emo black. It's 90's so probably not emo. I use it for blues. I'm not sure if tweed adds anything to the tone. I do think that the Victoria double delux that Mr HotGrits brought over yesterday KICKS ASS.

Hey, do you need it on Sunday?
It's available on sunday if you need, Brother Darcy...

Wicked bro!

Bozie · Post by **Bozie** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 5:58 pm

Hey, Hot Grits (and all other tweed owners) I was just wondering...

What kind of guitars are you using with your genuine tweed amps, is single coil the flavour of choice or are you using humbuckers as well?
Only reason I ask is that most people who have tweed amps seem to have strats or teles and I wondered if those amps just sound better with singles.

Do you use pedal boards with such simple amps to get the crunch, overdrive and fx you want?

I am interested because I have never played a tweed, but would love to have an amp that had the most amazing clean tone, that could also sound great with a pedal board and be very versitile.

Post by Bg » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:14 pm

Bozie wrote:but would love to have an amp that had the most amazing clean tone, that could also sound great with a pedal board and be very versitile.

Crate V series

thehenderson · Post by **thehenderson** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 7:36 pm

Bozie wrote:Hey, Hot Grits (and all other tweed owners) I was just wondering...

What kind of guitars are you using with your genuine tweed amps, is single coil the flavour of choice or are you using humbuckers as well?
Only reason I ask is that most people who have tweed amps seem to have strats or teles and I wondered if those amps just sound better with singles.

Do you use pedal boards with such simple amps to get the crunch, overdrive and fx you want?

I am interested because I have never played a tweed, but would love to have an amp that had the most amazing clean tone, that could also sound great with a pedal board and be very versitile.

Bozie, you seem to be describing a Fender Bassman, or Deluxe Reverb, or something in the 'blackface' series of fender amps rather than the tweed series. People seem to (and correct me if I'm wrong here) buy tweed amps for the way they break up, rather than any sort of clean headroom, where as blackface fender amps are made to be clean, and then to be crunched with pedals

Post by **GrantB** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 7:46 pm

Bozie, using single coils with these amps is probably a way to get a "cleaner" tone...especially older lower output pickups. Using humbuckers with these amps and clean is virtually impossible past 2 on the volume. But the driven tone is awesome.

Tweeds are great amps if you have the luxury of being able A/B them - then you can use something else for clean, and flick to the driven sound of the tweed for say lead work. The sound would be compressed tho so need to consider that punch-factor variance.

Hot_Grits · Post by **Hot_Grits** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:00 pm

Bozie wrote:Hey, Hot Grits (and all other tweed owners) I was just wondering...

What kind of guitars are you using with your genuine tweed amps, is single coil the flavour of choice or are you using humbuckers as well?
Only reason I ask is that most people who have tweed amps seem to have strats or teles and I wondered if those amps just sound better with singles.

Do you use pedal boards with such simple amps to get the crunch, overdrive and fx you want?

I am interested because I have never played a tweed, but would love to have an amp that had the most amazing clean tone, that could also sound great with a pedal board and be very versitile.

It's probably true that single coils are better suited to tweed amps. That's what Leo had around when he designed them. P90 guitars like Les Paul juniors sound amazing, and my favorite guitar with my tweed is my tele. I use a humbucker semihollow with mine all the time and it sounds great, though....

Much depends on what you think a great clean tone sounds like. You may plug into a Victoria and find that you actually like a blackface twin or deluxe or Vox AC30 clean sound better. Tweeds are thick and dimensional, but what many people like in a clean sound is tightness and sparkle.

As has been mentioned, Tweed amps aren't really noted as 'pedal' amps. You can totally use pedals with them, but you have to be picky with them. I had some pedals I was using with my blonde/blackface vibrolux and they don't work as well with my tweed amp. tweed amps have quite a solid midrange already, so many commonly loved overdrive pedals can add too much flavour and things can get a bit too overloaded in the midrange. I'd go for as transparent pedal as you can find for a tweed amp.

But overall, I'd agree that tweed amps are at their best when it's down to guitar, cable and bare hands. That's where the magic happens.

Cdog · Post by **Cdog** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:20 am

Imitation tweed here... peavey classic 50 4x10 combo. Glassy clean and smooth overdrive... I wind back the treble and pump the mids for a real vintage smoothness. Playing a texas special loaded strat... gives ya the blues in a good way...

oolaef · Post by **oolaef** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:22 pm

just a question- what constitutes a tweed amp apart from the weaved covering? or is just an era of fenders/boutiquey amps that happened to be covered with tweed? Or is it the tube rectifier?

just ordered a ceriatone marshall 18 watter clone with just trem speed/intensity and tone/volume controls on both channels now, cant wait to play it!

Post by Bg » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:28 pm

let me know how that 18 watt works out like, thats where I'm looking to buy

only without the trem....

stark · Post by **stark** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:40 pm

oolaef wrote:just a question- what constitutes a tweed amp apart from the weaved covering? or is just an era of fenders/boutiquey amps that happened to be covered with tweed? Or is it the tube rectifier?

I always thought it was the circuit. (which does translate to an era, and the type of covering used in that era).

You can cover any amp with tweed - it'll then be a "tweed amp", but it won't have tweed tone.