Tweed Deluxe 5E3: kits vs clones

[OffYourFace]

I miss having a 5E3. I had a clone years ago but sold it when I moved back to LA.

I was thinking of building the Mojotone or the new MOD Kit but they're not cheap. The kit with a lacquered cabinet is just under $1k BEFORE tax and shipping. That does not include a speaker. That's just way too much IMO.

The last 5E3 I played that made me wish for another was the Victoria 20112. I've seen those go for $1200 used so maybe it just makes sense to buy one already built? Does anyone here have the Victoria 20112?

Do any of you know of any other clones / kits that are cheaper? (that aren't Weber)

[B.T.]

If you go the DIY route I’ve had great experiences with this cab builder over the years. Really high quality stuff at fairly affordable rates. Real lacquer finishes, seals the insides.

https://reverb.com/item/10120169-tweed- ... e3-cabinet

You can drop him a line via the site.

[OffYourFace]

If you go the DIY route I’ve had great experiences with this cab builder over the years. Really high quality stuff at fairly affordable rates. Real lacquer finishes, seals the insides.

https://reverb.com/item/10120169-tweed- ... e3-cabinet

You can drop him a line via the site.

oh hell ya that's a great price and looks amazing. Thanks!

[marqueemoon]

If you go the DIY route I’ve had great experiences with this cab builder over the years. Really high quality stuff at fairly affordable rates. Real lacquer finishes, seals the insides.

https://reverb.com/item/10120169-tweed- ... e3-cabinet

You can drop him a line via the site.

oh hell ya that's a great price and looks amazing. Thanks!

Yeah. That looks awesome.

This builder offers a 5E3 chassis for $599. No personal experience though.

[Dr Tony Balls]

Do any of you know of any other clones / kits that are cheaper? (that aren't Weber)

Weber. (bear with me)

Much about the Weber kit is just fine. The iron, cab, chassis, small parts are all good AND it comes with a good speaker. The kit minus tubes, jacks, caps, resistors, pots comes to $650. The rest of the parts will be ~$200.

[panoramic]

i have one at my house that's all rigged up but works, I am not sure what kit it was from though. I have also made one from a kit that had some feedback woes (mojotone?). 5e3 kits, in my experience, can get pretty wild and tough to control. You must have had a good one previously or maybe I suck at wiring amps up LOL

[OffYourFace]

If you go the DIY route I’ve had great experiences with this cab builder over the years. Really high quality stuff at fairly affordable rates. Real lacquer finishes, seals the insides.

https://reverb.com/item/10120169-tweed- ... e3-cabinet

You can drop him a line via the site.

oh hell ya that's a great price and looks amazing. Thanks!

Yeah. That looks awesome.

This builder offers a 5E3 chassis for $599. No personal experience though.

Yes!!! Thank you.

[OffYourFace]

Do any of you know of any other clones / kits that are cheaper? (that aren't Weber)

Weber. (bear with me)

Much about the Weber kit is just fine. The iron, cab, chassis, small parts are all good AND it comes with a good speaker. The kit minus tubes, jacks, caps, resistors, pots comes to $650. The rest of the parts will be ~$200.

I don’t have any personal experience with the Weber kits, but friends of mine have always complained about the chassis. I guess the labeling always comes off and there’s some fit issues, but I’m not sure what else.

And our boy Lyle Caldwell is always talking trash on them lol.

[marqueemoon]

oh hell ya that's a great price and looks amazing. Thanks!

Yeah. That looks awesome.

This builder offers a 5E3 chassis for $599. No personal experience though.

Yes!!! Thank you.

The baby 5F2A they do is adorable. If they did an AC4 in that form factor I’d be all over it.

[hulakatt]

My first amp build was a 5e3 kit from Marsh amps. I used it as my main gigging amp for almost 10 years after and I still kinda regret selling it.

The Victoria amps are superbly made and are kinda responsible for helping usher in the era of tweed clones in the early 00's. One of the OG's of the tweed amp boutique scene and one of the better regarded ones.

[B.T.]

If you go the DIY route I’ve had great experiences with this cab builder over the years. Really high quality stuff at fairly affordable rates. Real lacquer finishes, seals the insides.

https://reverb.com/item/10120169-tweed- ... e3-cabinet

You can drop him a line via the site.

oh hell ya that's a great price and looks amazing. Thanks!

Yeah. That looks awesome.

This builder offers a 5E3 chassis for $599. No personal experience though.

Looks like excellent work but that power transformer looks pretty beefy for a 5E3, maybe better for big bottles gettin yer Neil on.

[hulakatt]

Anyone else remember the short lived fad of seemingly every tweed builder and and every Co that offered a tweed kit, also sold a Double Deluxe? It was really just a 5e3 with 4x6V6, bigger transformers, a bigger cab and 2x12 speakers. I thought they were really cool and wanted one. Now, just a few years later, nobody seems to offer one in any form and good luck finding one or even references to them.

[Dr Tony Balls]

Anyone else remember the short lived fad of seemingly every tweed builder and and every Co that offered a tweed kit, also sold a Double Deluxe?

Second amp I built!

[OffYourFace]

That looks cool! ^^ I like the black and brown combo.

I think I'll buy the Barbeaux chassis. I like the layout mods he did and those little phone demos sound great. They show the amp has headroom.

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on it but part of me still wants a 5E7 Bandmaster. But i should get the smaller amp... right? Even tho a 5E7 isn't terribly loud when cranked.

[hulakatt]

What surprised me the most about the 5e3 was how it did stay cleaner, louder than I expected but then it knife edged in to overdrive. There was some control over by tweaking all of the knobs, where you plugged in but how hard you dug in to the strings or how you worked the knobs on your guitar were the biggest ways to control the segue between clean and dirt on the amp.

It's an amp that truly shines with the knobs cranked up in to dirt but then everything controlled from the guitar. Loud too.

I mean, it works well as a pedal platform and at a decent volume as well. I gigged mine for years, mostly as a pedal platform, with either a tele or an LP and very, very rarely ran it anywhere near overdrive, even with the LP. Usually used a KoT or MKII Tonebender for drive.