Hi again guys, I modified the board and wired up the Tweedle Dee Deluxe circuit yesterday - went all the way with Sozo Blue caps and everything.
So far I like it, the difference is not as dramatic as I expected - based on some people saying it sounds sterile and removes the "tweed-ness" of the amp, not true at all imho. Wish the volume pot was a tad more logarithmic, but at the point where it just reaches full volume it sounds amazing! Stays clean with light to medium picking, and when I dig in it breaks up and compresses really nicely. This is with a Les Paul mind, would probably have more headroom with a Strat which I unfortunately don't own at the moment.
Regarding the OT, it's 6.6k with 8 ohm only, and while it is a safe mismatch with my 16 ohm cabs I want to replace it with a Classictone Tweed 8k OT. I'll also add a NFB 3 way switch with time, the same type Ceriatone puts in their TDD and 5E3.
Turn 5E3 clone into a Deluxe Reverb?
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Re: Turn 5E3 clone into a Deluxe Reverb?
Glad you like the circuit. I definitely love the sound of mine.
~Phil
~Phil
tUber Nerd!
Re: Turn 5E3 clone into a Deluxe Reverb?
Yeah it's really cool! I recorded a short clip through my Reactive Load into a cab, to get some sweet feedback while still using an IR.
One thing I noticed today is that it struggles to stay clean with the Les Paul, but that didn't really bother me until I plugged into the Reactive Load - which is a unit that behaves a little strangely when it doesn't receive the volume it wants. I'm not really that big of a clean guy anyway, but Fender amps are permanently branded in my mind as synonymous with great cleans. So I did consider for a minute to put in a 40w OT instead of a 20w Tweed style, but I don't know how much the PT can handle (don't even know what brand it is) and 6L6 might make the low end too boomy, which isn't that great with no tone stack to counter it. I like the way it sounds and breaks up, so I'm afraid I might ruin it if I go too far.
Let's hope the NFB switch will do the trick, and if not I hope the Marshall Silver Jubilee 2550 I have on the way in can take care of the most pristine of cleans, if needed. Of course it's mostly known for its overdrive channel, but the clean channel is amazing as well - from the clips I've heard, at least!
EDIT: After doing some research on why the volume has such a poor taper and how it might be rewired, I stumbled upon a section from Gerald Weber. He mentioned how interactive the volume controls are, and how diming the mic volume will scoop the mids a bit and make it a bit more blackface-esque. Not only did it do that, but it makes the taper significantly better and it now stays clean at fairly loud volumes! The only disadvantage is that it makes the amp a lot more noisy, but I can live with that. Again, will probably change the OT to the Classictone 8k one, but for now I'm really happy with it!
One thing I noticed today is that it struggles to stay clean with the Les Paul, but that didn't really bother me until I plugged into the Reactive Load - which is a unit that behaves a little strangely when it doesn't receive the volume it wants. I'm not really that big of a clean guy anyway, but Fender amps are permanently branded in my mind as synonymous with great cleans. So I did consider for a minute to put in a 40w OT instead of a 20w Tweed style, but I don't know how much the PT can handle (don't even know what brand it is) and 6L6 might make the low end too boomy, which isn't that great with no tone stack to counter it. I like the way it sounds and breaks up, so I'm afraid I might ruin it if I go too far.
Let's hope the NFB switch will do the trick, and if not I hope the Marshall Silver Jubilee 2550 I have on the way in can take care of the most pristine of cleans, if needed. Of course it's mostly known for its overdrive channel, but the clean channel is amazing as well - from the clips I've heard, at least!
EDIT: After doing some research on why the volume has such a poor taper and how it might be rewired, I stumbled upon a section from Gerald Weber. He mentioned how interactive the volume controls are, and how diming the mic volume will scoop the mids a bit and make it a bit more blackface-esque. Not only did it do that, but it makes the taper significantly better and it now stays clean at fairly loud volumes! The only disadvantage is that it makes the amp a lot more noisy, but I can live with that. Again, will probably change the OT to the Classictone 8k one, but for now I'm really happy with it!
Re: Turn 5E3 clone into a Deluxe Reverb?
Just another update to this: The noise and still-not-impressive taper got to me, so I decided to try out the "6G3 wiring" for the volume pots. I'd love to have a discussion on this, maybe start a new thread as this one kind of died out - but honestly I struggle to see the positives of the "vintage correct" 5E3 volume wiring. The guitar community is a weird place though, one of the very few places where things like distortion are desirable and nostalgia is a powerful thing. Actually I can't think think of any other branch or area where nostalgia plays such a big part as it does with us guitar gear heads.
It seems logical to me that Leo (or whoever designed his amps) changed the 5E3 wiring in their succeeding amps for a reason, and since distortion wasn't a popular thing at the time it's a pretty strange design for the time. Some people on another forum argued that the 6G3 wiring was for people who hadn't discovered or fallen in love with the volume interaction, and for me the most positive thing the volume interaction brought with it was the smoothening of the taper, and a little scoop in the mids - with a bunch of added noise. But again, I want the amp to be clean-ish as I have two Marshall amps taking care of the driven duties, though it still breaks up in a really nice way.
It seems logical to me that Leo (or whoever designed his amps) changed the 5E3 wiring in their succeeding amps for a reason, and since distortion wasn't a popular thing at the time it's a pretty strange design for the time. Some people on another forum argued that the 6G3 wiring was for people who hadn't discovered or fallen in love with the volume interaction, and for me the most positive thing the volume interaction brought with it was the smoothening of the taper, and a little scoop in the mids - with a bunch of added noise. But again, I want the amp to be clean-ish as I have two Marshall amps taking care of the driven duties, though it still breaks up in a really nice way.