Best repro vintage Fender jewel lamp covers

[mbratch]

Who makes a good jewel lamp cover for vintage Fender's (BF and SF models)?

I know the question sounds silly: there are lots of them out there. And I know this sounds anal, but after buying one I found I didn't like it. It didn't diffuse the light very well, but you could discern the bulb filament through the red. It was too transparent or something. The original jewel lamp covers diffused very nicely, making a warm, deep, rich red glow.

Since I saw someone else seeking only the nickel coated back panel screws for their vintage Fender, I thought the door was open for more anality [made-up word].

Any suggestions (after you're done laughing at me) are appreciated.

[phsyconoodler]

www.mojotone.com

[LZ_69]

Go to the local music store find an old fender with a lamp that you like

[alltone]

I bought a bunch of U.S. made old stock lamp holder assemblies at a good price but the jewels were similar to yours ,clear or semi-transparent.I didn't care for the look either.I blew some lacquer on the inside of the glass..Red and green looked good, blue as well.Not exactly the same look as a solid color, but better than clear.FWIW.

[mbratch]

Originally Posted by LZ_69

Go to the local music store find an old fender with a lamp that you like

LOL -- Better yet, substitute the uglier one that I have. GC wouldn't notice the difference.... ["Oh no he dih-ent!"]

Seriously... I see an ad on eBay where someone claims they have NOS jewel lights. They want $20 plus $15 shipping. Sheesh, as if they weren't scalping enough on the price, they have to charge that much shipping?

[phsyconoodler]

I put the mojo lamps right beside the old ones and I can't tell the difference.The old ones were dirty,that's the only difference I found.Same with the jewels.The old ones were cloudy from years of use.
So cloud up the new ones with something and be done with it.Or let them get old on their own.

[vibroverbus]

For whatever reason I've had good luck getting decent ones, I think from Angela, maybe Antique Electronic (tubesandmore), and another place that has good inventory but horrible customer service and TGP policies prevent me from discussing to the degree I would like. Both Angela and AES have great C.S. however.

Agree some 'aging' can help. Reminds me of likewise when I had to get a repro Fender logo for my BFPR and it looked terrible at first - so obviously new-from-the-factory-on-old-amp. I used a whole combination of gentle scuffing and rubbing just a tiny bit of a finish (think I used some boat stain or something) into it, then rubbing some dust down into the corners which looked much too pristine. Looks great now but without going over-the-top-relic-bullshit.

[III]

The green and purple replacement jewels from Fender look pretty good on my BF Bassman. Bright... but not too transparent. Then again, they're not as smoked up as the original red jewel.