[NonMBP][NonPedal] 5E8A build

[alanp]

Half-finished my 5E8A Low Power Tweed Twin project. I still have to replace some of the longer wire runs with shielded stuff.



But it works, and fairly decently. Despite the Low Power name, it will still make you go deaf if you push it. I've only had it up to 5, so far (And a mate's BCRich Eagle with SD invader pickups, for all their power, can't make the pre-amp overdrive. The amp just gets LOUDER.) You can get into mild crunch just a freckle before LOUD, but not metal.

The four big bottles aren't all power valves, by the way. Two are JJ 6L6GC power valves, the other two are JJ 5U4G rectifiers. Leo Fender was dead set on this being a clean-clean-clean amp in the 50s, and thus went with two rectifiers for an extra stout (for the time) power section. This was before the time of the GZ34. V1-3 in the pre-amp are 12AY7, as per original spec. (Fender ships with 12AX7 on their tweed amps, and the amps are not designed with 12AX7 in mind.)

Picked up something nice to play through it, too!



A Vintage Les Paul, Tobacco Sunburst with relicing or whatever Vintage calls it. Trevor Wilkinson had a hand in the hardware, and the woods are the right type. Mahogany and Maple, mmm.



I suspect the pickups aren't potted, since they feedback readily if you have the amp up too much with too much gain. (It's a feature, not a bug!) They aren't quite up to Dimarzio 36 Anniversary PAF standards, but they're close enough for rock n roll.

All in all, quite happy now (Current amp count? 5E3 Tweed Deluxe clone, 2204 (JCM800 50W) clone, and now a 5E8A clone.)

[blue_tokai]

Nice build!!! Wow, I'm impressed. Run into any problems along the way with the amp build?

[gtr2]

Well done!

[jubal81]

WoW Wow wow wow wow. Spectacular! Looks as solid inside as any I've seen. Beautiful cabinet work, too.
Is it a Mojotone or Weber kit?

[gordo]

Just about finished mine, although in head form cuz I'm too lazy to carry a twin.  How does it like pedals?  I'm looking forward to the clean headroom but was wondering how it sounded with an overdrive.

[midwayfair]

Fantastic work! And congrats on the NGD as well.

[slimtriggers]

 Really cool  That's a beauty of an amp!

Any reason you went with Greenbacks vs. something like a Jensen alnico?

[jprizz]

Looks great! Is that from a kit or done all on your own?

[alanp]

Thanks for the kind words

It's a Mojo cab and kit, with turretboard and grounding scheme designed by Ryan of 'The Amp Shop' here in Aotearoa. I went with greenbacks since my 5E3 sounds great with my G12H30 loaded 2x12, plus they reign in the amp's natural treble a bit. It arrived as half a dozen boxes of bits, hehehe.

Haven't tried pedals through it yet! Been enjoying that glorious clean.

There was a minor hiccup with a missing cap and a misplaced presence wire, but those were the only real issues. (Plus the standard 'forgot to put a fuse in'.)

[the3secondrule]

Hey Alan,

any more information on the kits you've built (links plz?)? i've been thinking about a 5e3 as my first amp build, but the cost of shipping kits to NZ has always put me off....

what does something like that usually cost?

Cheers,

J

[alanp]

Ryan at the Amp Shop (formerly Custom Audio Boutique) is the NZ dealer for Mojotone, and he got the cab and kit shipped as a lot with other orders from LA, so it worked out cheaper than I could have done it privately. It was roughly 1500NZD, excluding the speakers and valves (which I got earlier when there was a sale on his celestion stock.)

Plus it meant I could ask him technical questions, always a plus

http://www.mojotone.com/amp-parts/amp-kits-tweed-style/Tweed-Twin-Low-Power-Style-Amplifier-Kit
http://ampshop.co.nz/pages/contact-us

[mgwhit]

Great looking build -- time to start cranking out the Keef licks!

[jubal81]

I'm a huge Mojotone fan. They're only about 45 minutes up the road and I got a whole shop tour when I went to go pick up the 2X12 cab I had them make. After going through Andy threw in a 2-for-1 deal on some G12Hs.

Great, great customer service and extreme quality. I got a pair of their PAF clones specced with Alnico 4 and field charged. Holy hell they sound great.

Dern you, Alan. Now I'm going to have to spend days trying to talk myself down from ordering a tweed Princeton kit I don't need ...

[juansolo]

That looks superb. Kudos for lining up all the tweed so perfectly!

[atreidesheir]

That les paul looks like it sounds awesome
It is hard to imagine anything sounding better than a les-type through a tweed amp. That is super special.