anyone play a 5E5 Narrow Panel Tweed Pro 1x15?

[CADdrafter]

looking for opinions on this amp.

where does it fit tone wise in Fender's tweed amp family?

 

[Trout]

looking for opinions on this amp.

where does it fit tone wise in Fender's tweed amp family?

The 5E5 Pro? or the 5E5-A Pro?

The 1955 5E5 pro is basically a 6L6 version of the cathode biased 5E3.
Nice and raw, IMO the purest of the early tweeds.

The 1956-1960 5E5-A pro is more like a 5E7 Bandmaster, same basic fixed bias circuit with the usual variations in minor components.

Both amps rate high as far as tone, but the differences are fairly wide.

 

[stratton]

Yeah, I have a 5E5. I blew the OP tranny in it years ago and replaced it with one my tech found. I had a tech then. Sigh....

ANyway, it sounds very different through the 15" Jensen. Full, warm and lush but a weird midrange spike that I have to work around to avoid inflicting pain!

It's very different through Celestion 12s, and sounds REALLY good through a Matchless 2X12 (V30-G12H) and stunning through a 4X12 Marshall with Greenbacks. Big, bold, almost Brit yet still Fendery. Beautifully balanced from top to bottom. That may be the best speaker option for it.

Like other Tweeds, it starts to get wound up at about 3, and gets a little louder but lots fuller from there. I'm going to put it in a head cab and see whassup.

 

[hogy]

I have several Tweed Pros, the '59 5E5-A is my favorite. It is one of Fender's best circuits IMO, essentially the same as the Tweed Bandmaster and Super.

I also hate 15" speakers with a passion, so mine sport new baffle boards with two 10" speakers each.

 

[CADdrafter]

I have several Tweed Pros, the '59 5E5-A is my favorite. It is one of Fender's best circuits IMO, essentially the same as the Tweed Bandmaster and Super.

I also hate 15" speakers with a passion, so mine sport new baffle boards with two 10" speakers each.

why no love for the 15" speaker?

 

[CitizenCain]

I have several Tweed Pros, the '59 5E5-A is my favorite. It is one of Fender's best circuits IMO, essentially the same as the Tweed Bandmaster and Super.

I also hate 15" speakers with a passion, so mine sport new baffle boards with two 10" speakers each.

So, like a Super in a bigger cab? Jonsing for Super myself right now.

 

[hogy]

why no love for the 15" speaker?

Because they sound gawdaful to me. All the frequencies are in the wrong spot, especially the treble. If you ever plug a Tweed Pro into a good cabinet, you will have this reaction:

So, like a Super in a bigger cab? Jonsing for Super myself right now.

Exactly. Since I've owned Tweed Supers and played them side by side with my 2x10 Pros I can say I much prefer the bigger cabinet. In fact, a single 12 is also an excellent choice for the Pro.

 

[stratton]

I have several Tweed Pros, the '59 5E5-A is my favorite. It is one of Fender's best circuits IMO, essentially the same as the Tweed Bandmaster and Super.

I also hate 15" speakers with a passion, so mine sport new baffle boards with two 10" speakers each.

Which 10s did you go with?

 

[hogy]

Which 10s did you go with?

My favorite tens are the Celestion ones used in late 1960s Marshall 8x10 cabs. I don't even know what their model designation is. I have a small stock of spares I bought from a misguided soul who converted his 8x10 cab to 4x12. As luck would have it, they're also 16 Ohms each, so two of them in parallel are a perfect match for the Pro's 8 Ohm output transformer.

 

[big mike]

Mine's a 57 I think...That about right Hogy?

Cool amp. lotsa fun...wish it had a 12...LOL

 

[blastastick]

I love the Jensen Bluebell 15" speaker in my wide panel Tweed Pro. AMAZING, would never trade it for 10" speakers. Full range and warm with a nice growl. With a KLon, or Landgraff DO it is the THE tone for Billy G style tones.

 

[hogy]

Mine's a 57 I think...That about right Hogy?

Cool amp. lotsa fun...wish it had a 12...LOL

Yeah, if memory serves it is a '57. You could easily make a 12" "adapter" out of plywood. Cut a square piece of 1/4 or 3/8 ply 14"x14" and transfer the 15" speaker's mounting hole pattern onto it. Then cut on opening for a 12" speaker into it, add new mounting bolts, and put it all together.

 

[big mike]

Ahhh. That's a good idea since I someday have to return it to my bassplayer. thanks!

 

[amp boy]

The 5E5 Pro? or the 5E5-A Pro?

The 1955 5E5 pro is basically a 6L6 version of the cathode biased 5E3.
Nice and raw, IMO the purest of the early tweeds.

The 1956-1960 5E5-A pro is more like a 5E7 Bandmaster, same basic fixed bias circuit with the usual variations in minor components.

Both amps rate high as far as tone, but the differences are fairly wide.

how do the differences vary...??

I have a 5E3, and am looking to find if there is another tweed for me to go along with it, or on it's own.......one that i would hope to build as well.

my initial thoughts to describe the sound would be....that tweed warmth, but with some clear before the storm.
does that just sound like a power issue...watts.....hahaha funny way i put it anyways.

 

[CADdrafter]

how do the differences vary...??

I have a 5E3, and am looking to find if there is another tweed for me to go along with it, or on it's own.......one that i would hope to build as well.

my initial thoughts to describe the sound would be....that tweed warmth, but with some clear before the storm.
does that just sound like a power issue...watts.....hahaha funny way i put it anyways.

i'm in the same situation you are.....

 

[dlguitar64]

I have a Victoria 35115 with an Eminence Legend 15 and i love it.Sounds better than any 12 i have had in other amps(carr rambler,z28,drri,66 pro)

 

[57special]

I love the 15" 's.
The narrow panel Pro is a very good big sounding amp. Next to a Bassman it's my fav narrow panel.
My fav Pro is the TV Front, though. Less spikey than the narrow panels.

 

[Gas-man]

Because they sound gawdaful to me. All the frequencies are in the wrong spot, especially the treble. If you ever plug a Tweed Pro into a good cabinet, you will have this reaction:




Exactly. Since I've owned Tweed Supers and played them side by side with my 2x10 Pros I can say I much prefer the bigger cabinet. In fact, a single 12 is also an excellent choice for the Pro.

Hogy,

What kind of music do you play? Ie: are you a rawker or a twanger?

 

[Pedro58]

I have a 5E5-A Clone built by Todd Shock at Wakarusa Amps. It is a great tweed amp. I have a Weber 15" in it that is a copy of the period-correct Jensen P15. I forget the model number. I went through four or five 15" speakers to get to what the amp called for originally! I tried the Eminence one that Greg Martin uses, a Legend? I tried the Emi Big Ben, and a few others. Nothing was right until I got the P15 type. I have thought about getting a Weber 15" Blue. He'll do that.

Anyway, after playing it with the 15" for years, I tried it through a 2X12 Bassman cab with Scumback 12's in it. I needed a little "more" at a gig than the low headroom P15 was giving me. Now, I play it through the 2X12's all the time!

Because of this, I've been thinking that I want to put a 2X10 baffle in it to see if that gives me a more portable solution. After seeing what hogy has to say about it (I know he hates 15"s and I know why), I may try celestion-style 10's!

But as far as the head goes, the 5E5-A fits really well into my style and setup and needs. It's the right power range, it sounds killer with Fender and Gibson guitars... A great sounding rig!

 

[hogy]

I've told this story before, I bought my first Tweed Pro after having heard Junior Watson for the first time, and reading that the Tweed Pro was his amp of choice. What followed were a number of years of trying every 15" speaker known to man, vintage and new, and hating them all.

Then my band opened up for Canned Heat feat. Junior Watson (this was in the early 1990s) and I got to see (and hear) Junior's magic Pro in person. It was a '59 Pro alright, mounted in a RI Bassman cab with four blue Eminence 10s.

Hogy,

What kind of music do you play? Ie: are you a rawker or a twanger?

I'm your regular Blues dilettante, with much more ambition than talent. Not much of a Rocker, and if by "twanger" you mean "Country", I hate that more than I hate 15" speakers.