Am after a Fender Deluxe Amp, 5e3 or a very good clone.

FastEddie

Can I be guided as to the pitfalls and highs of my choice.
I can wait and get a Fender, recent or vintage, or get a clone and get in earlier.

It won't be gigged, just me and my lonesome at home. 
I may jam at some point, but love to solitude of playing my guitar.

Am not in a searing rush, the longer I wait the more I have to spend. 

My current amp, since new in 2000 is a Cornell Romany. 
Guitars - Strat Delux, Martyn Booth Special , Tele, Gretsch.

Thank-you in advance.

dazzajl

You will get almost endless opinions here as to which is the best clone. I would personally disagree with all but one. 

For a amps that are all built from the same very simple circuit, they can all sound extremely different. You’re going to have to play some until one floats your boat. Or take a punt and hope for the best. 

breezytele

Yes, you'll get lots of opinions

And here’s one.... Lazy J20. Sounds so good with single coils !  
It was refined and refined by Jesse, solely for use  as his own amp , long before he ever thought of building and selling them as a business.

And that only happened by chance when the amp was borrowed for a recording session
After that, word of mouth spread, and he started getting requests for custom orders. 

You can google reviews easily enough that highlight the features of the amp

Jesse is a great guy and build quality is awesome. Mine is still utterly quiet years down the line.
oh, and they hold their value remarkably well.

chrisj1602

Honeyboy Amps look good 

TeleMaster

I might very well be selling a DRRI 65 in pretty much new condition. Bought 2018. Sounds great. Let me know if interested. Easy London/Essex area.  

ToneControl

2 things:

1. Decide if the 1950s tone stack works for you. For me, it needed a switch that could add a more scooped middle
2. Make sure you try different speakers to understand how important it is for a 5E3, the voicing is very personal. If in doubt,  look at what Victoria amps are using

markj

Garetone Bluesman. As simple as that.

Ossyrocks

markj said:

Garetone Bluesman. As simple as that.

+1

Lebarque

Another vote for Lazy J. Not tried a Gartone though. Do you want built-in reverb and trem?

TheMarlin

Vyse. The best I ever heard!

markj

Ossyrocks said:

markj said:

Garetone Bluesman. As simple as that.

+1

I just play at home for my own pleasure. it sounds so sweet clean or driven.

longshins

I second the point about tone stacks. 5e3s can sound woolly if you aren’t careful, I got the tone stack modded on mine to go from mid scoop through to normal, made the amp much more useable. 

FastEddie

longshins said:

I second the point about tone stacks. 5e3s can sound woolly if you aren’t careful, I got the tone stack modded on mine to go from mid scoop through to normal, made the amp much more useable. 

Oh. You both are able to swim in deeper waters than I. I'm paddling when it comes to technical matters.
That's why my main amp is a Romany. 1 plug, a few knobs and it sings sweet music.

I may need to find an amp person to sit down with and explain the mysteries with me. I'd not want to drop a lot of money on an amp and then ruin it's tone. 

I may come along to the jam as a spectator/learner. So can as there. 

If there is a thread I need to read please do let me know.

Thanks.

crunchman

I've got a very early Lazy J 20 - it doesn't even have a logo plate.  It was just in Chandlers as a "Jesse amp".  I bought it after I tried it in the shop as it sounded stunning (and sold my Cornell Romany Plus that I'd had before).

I've played some 5E3 clones and they are aren't as good as Jesse's tweaked version.  A Celestion Blue speaker might help, but I'd go for the Lazy J in your position.  In the long term, it will save money as it cures amp GAS.

longshins

I suppose the other thing would be to consider a different model from the tweed family if you are just playing at home, the 5e3 is loud and in my personal opinion I think attenuators sound cack. Maybe look at a 5f2a or something? 

markj

longshins said:

I suppose the other thing would be to consider a different model from the tweed family if you are just playing at home, the 5e3 is loud and in my personal opinion I think attenuators sound cack. Maybe look at a 5f2a or something? 

I play my Gartone Bluesman at home, its not too loud for me.

dean111music

Gartone are now doing the Bluesman in 10 and 20. Not sure what the 10 is supposed to be based on?? but the 20 is 5a3 i think

Gartone Bluesman 10

Rift Tweed 5 (champ)
Rift Tweed 15 (5e3)

mattacjones

Try vyse amps website. He always has one demo model on offer, you can't go wrong. I searched for a while and got one. Very very pleased with it. All handmade etc, including cabs. You won't regret it
http://vyseamps.com/classic.html

mattacjones

Here's one, going for 650 http://cream-amps.com/190.0.html

photek

mattacjones said:

Here's one, going for 650 http://cream-amps.com/190.0.html

Looks like £1300 to me or am I missing something?

mattacjones

No, that's the manufacturers site. The seller is someone I've had dealings with on the past. If anyone's interested, I can facilitate any intro.